WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The US company Fortitude Ranch will operate its three vacation condos as survival communities on November 3 in anticipation of possible civil unrest that may follow the presidential and general elections, the company’s Vice President for Sales and Business Development Alicia Cachuela told Sputnik. “We are going to open up as a survival community on November 3 and spanning out for several days after that for the members… just in case of civil unrest, social unrest, the potential of a civil war,” Cachuela said. The United States has experienced protests and riots after the death of George Floyd, […]
US military
US police departments taking advantage of the ability to acquire Washington’s surplus military equipment could very well be contributing to unrest and violence in the same communities they are sworn to protect, according to a new analysis. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution revealed on Thursday that data from the US military and police departments nationwide presented a disturbing relationship between police killings and the US Department of Defense’s 1033 program – an initiative that allows everyday law enforcement to acquire surplus equipment designed for war. “The results paint a troubling picture: The more equipment a department receives, the more people are shot and […]
The remaining troops deployed to Afghanistan “should” be “home by Christmas,” declared US President Donald Trump on Wednesday – the 19th anniversary of the US invasion of Afghanistan. Trump took to social media Wednesday evening to announce that despite recent news, the American people should expect a December 25 return of the “small remaining number” of US troops deployed to Afghanistan. We should have the small remaining number of our BRAVE Men and Women serving in Afghanistan home by Christmas! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2020 Earlier Wednesday, White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien claimed that there’d only be […]
Amsterdam claims the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) was unable to participate in the US’ NATO-inclusive Operation Allied Sky because its US-made F-35 Lightning II aircraft had vulnerable fuel tanks due to pipe damage of unexplained origins, making them unsafe to fly in thunderstorms. “Damaged pipes have been found on F-35A fighters. These are pipes from the On-Board Inert Gas Generation System (OBIGGS) in a fuel tank,” read a Friday release issued by the Dutch Ministry of Defense. “All countries with F-35As were advised to avoid flights near storm cells and to protect the aircraft on the ground by a shelter […]
A US Navy veteran has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the failure to return his HIV-positive test results from a November 1995 checkup ultimately left him, and possibly past sexual partners, with HIV that went untreated for the past 25 years and developed into AIDS. The suit, filed in a federal court on Tuesday, detailed that the South Carolina-based veteran dubbed “John Doe” was not officially diagnosed as HIV-positive until he was hospitalized in 2018 and told by New York doctors that the virus had advanced to “full-blown AIDS.” The veteran’s HIV-positive status was hinted at by a doctor who […]
A $13.3 billion award has been given to defense contractor Northrop Grumman by the US Air Force amid the service’s engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase to replace its aging intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) nuclear delivery system. Northrop Grumman announced on Tuesday that the Virginia-based aerospace and defense contractor had been selected as the sole company to modernize the Air Force’s ICBM system under the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program. The new missiles will replace the rapidly aging Minuteman III ICBMs, which have served as the silo-based arm of the US nuclear triad since the 1970s. The contractor detailed that […]
A US defense official claims an ongoing federal probe into the July 12 fire that extensively damaged the USS Bonhomme Richard has led to suspicions of arson and the questioning of one sailor. Pentagon officials were recently notified that a US Navy sailor was taken in for questioning as part of an ongoing investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to a senior defense official who spoke with the Associated Press earlier this week. It’s worth noting that the sailor taken in for questioning was not detained by federal authorities. […]
Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) fighters, US Navy E/A-18G Growlers and two US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bombers linked up over the Sea of Japan on Wednesday to conduct a number of training missions and demonstrate their joint readiness in the Indo-Pacific region. Pacific Air Forces detailed in a June 17 news release that US and Japanese service members were able to conduct a number of realistic, lengthy missions while demonstrating the forces’ “unwavering commitment to the security and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.” The B-52s were observed conducting long-range escort and intercept training with four F-2s and 12 F-15s of […]
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia has recorded high level of US and its NATO allies’ military activity near its borders, the chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the Russian General Staff, Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy, said Monday. “The Russian Defence Ministry is constantly monitoring and registering a high level of military activity by the US and its NATO allies near our borders”, Rudskoy told a briefing. Even amid the coronavirus pandemic, NATO increased the number of drills that appear to target Russia, Rudskoy said. To expand its ability for surveillance over Russia, NATO is modernising GLOBUS III radar station in Norway, […]
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) watchdog has recommended the US Navy conduct its own analysis of its contracting approach after it was recently determined that ship maintenance schedule outcomes were less than positive and led to unexpected delays. Despite the Navy shaving down initial price estimates for ship repairs through the implementation of its Multiple Award Contract-Multi Order (MAC-MO) contracting strategy in 2015, the US Navy has observed a number of setbacks from the pilot program, according to a 61-page report released by the GAO on May 11. “We found that the Navy has lowered costs from initial estimates for […]
The US Department of Defense is requesting congressional authorization to strike a potential $17.7 billion deal with General Dynamics for two nuclear-powered, Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines. Amid lawmakers’ drafting of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, the Pentagon has requested Congress grant the department permission to secure two of the US Navy’s new Columbia-class subs via an estimated $17.7 billion deal with General Dynamics. The proposal would “permit the Navy to enter into one block buy contract for up to two Columbia-class submarines (SSBN 826 and SSBN 827), providing industrial base stability, production efficiencies, and cost savings when compared to an […]
The release of eight hazard reports by the US Navy is notably the first official look into how the service handles pilots’ reported sightings of unidentified aircraft as well as the similarities between encounters. The War Zone’s Tyler Rogoway and Joseph Trevithick revealed in a Tuesday report that the eight unclassified hazard reports were provided by the US Naval Safety Center in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. While the US military’s UFO-related scoops have been reduced to republishings and sputters of information in recent months, the Navy’s documents provide a less sensationalized, but detailed account of the […]