Russian Orthodox Church Strengthening Support for Ukraine Invasion
Given its close alignment with the Kremlin, it is not surprising that the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) has adopted a “you are either with us or against us” philosophy and…
India Cancels Plans To Purchase Russian Equipment
The Make in India initiative initially encouraged the Indian Armed Forces to gradually purchase domestic weapons or equipment whenever possible, before establishing import ban lists in the past year (see:…
China-Russia Pledges of Deeper Cooperation Show Tangible Results
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Beijing in early February, and Russia and China took the opportunity to cement their increasingly close relationship further. The accompanying excerpts from Putin’s public letter…
PLA Experimenting with Formations To Optimize Combat Effectiveness
A brigade in northeastern China appears to be experimenting with new combat formations. In the accompanying excerpt from the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) newspaper PLA Daily, the unnamed brigade, which…
Iran Busts Weapons and Ammunition Smuggling Ring
Iran has long had difficulty controlling illicit weaponry within its borders. At the conclusion of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, there was little if any organized demobilization or disarmament: conscripts simply…
Iran and Syria Discuss Transportation Cooperation
IRGC owned airlines have long shuttled men and material between airports in Tehran or the nearby city of Karaj and both Damascus and Beirut. ...
China Strengthening Position in Central America with Recognition by Nicaragua
At the end of 2021, Nicaragua’s dictator Daniel Ortega announced that his country would recognize China after severing over 30 years of diplomatic relations with Taiwan (See “Nicaragua’s Ortega Consolidating…
Respected Russian Academic Speculates on War in the Arctic
A recent article in the pro-Kremlin news outlet Voyenno-Promyshlennyy Kuryer sees the possibility of a military conflict breaking out in the Barents Sea region of the Arctic Ocean. The author…
New Artillery System on the Horizon for Russian Far North and Arctic
Russian military and industrial-focused news weekly Voyenno-Promyshlennyy Kuryer recently announced that field tests on the Arctic Magnolia variant artillery system are partially completed and successful. According to the article, the…
Iran Unveils New Radar and Simulator, Continues Trend in Self-Sufficiency
When Saddam Hussein’s Iraq invaded Iran in 1980, Tehran had difficulty operating advanced military platforms ordered by the ousted shah or accessing the spare parts necessary to keep them operational.…