• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• US Forces Strike Targets in Syria VOA 27 Oct 2023 -- U.S. forces have struck two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated groups during the early morning hours of Friday.
• Letter to the Speaker of the House and President pro tempore of the Senate consistent with the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148) The White House 27 Oct 2023

Defense Policy / Programs

• Department of Defense Announces Pursuit of B61 Gravity Bomb Variant DoD 27 Oct 2023 -- Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced that the United States will pursue a modern variant of the B61 nuclear gravity bomb, designated the B61-13, pending Congressional authorization and appropriation.
• DOD, Lithuania Ministry of National Defence Enter into Security of Supply Arrangement DoD 27 Oct 2023 -- The Department of Defense today announced entrance into a bilateral, non-binding Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) with the Republic of Lithuania. The arrangement will enable both the U.S. and Lithuania to acquire the industrial resources they need to quickly meet defense requirements, resolve unanticipated disruptions that challenge defense capabilities, and promote supply chain resiliency.
• Joint Press Statement for Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Call With Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr. DoD 27 Oct 2023
• Readout of Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks' Remarks at the Navy New Flag and Senior Executive Training Symposium (NFLEX) DoD 27 Oct 2023
• SECNAV Del Toro Releases One Navy-Marine Corps Team: Advancing Department of the Navy Priorities US Navy 27 Oct 2023 -- Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro released his updated strategic guidance today - One Navy-Marine Corps Team: Advancing Department of the Navy Priorities. The document informs activities within the Department of the Navy to include planning, investments, budgeting, and prioritization of personnel and resources.
• UK ITF Members Train PWLS Ship's Company in Air-To-Air Missile Ground Handling Operations US Navy 27 Oct 2023 -- U.K. weapons personnel embedded with the Patuxent River F-35 Integrated Test Force (PAX ITF) recently carried out essential training with HMS Prince of Wales (R09) personnel in ground handling operations for the Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) aboard Britain's biggest warship during developmental test phase 3 (DT-3).
• SECNAV Del Toro Names Future Medical Ship USNS Balboa (EMS 2) US Navy Press Release 27 Oct 2023 -- Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced today that a future Bethesda-class expeditionary medical ship will be named USNS Balboa (EMS 2), during a ceremony at Naval Medical Center San Diego, Oct. 27.
• Navy to Christen and Launch Fleet Replenishment Oiler USNS Robert F. Kennedy US Navy Press Release 27 Oct 2023 -- The Navy will christen and launch the USNS Robert F. Kennedy (T-AO 208) as the newest John Lewis-class fleet replenishment oiler during an 8:00 a.m. PDT ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 28, in San Diego.
• Commission launches comprehensive consultation process with stakeholders aiming to deliver a European Defence Industrial Strategy European Commission 27 Oct 2023 -- Today, the Commission, in close cooperation with the High Representative, is launching a comprehensive stakeholder engagement process to inform the new European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS), announced by President von der Leyen in her 2023 State of the Union.
• Pacific Fleet's detachment complete business call programme and leave Tanjung Perak, Indonesia Russia MoD 27 Oct 2023 -- The Pacific Fleet's destroyer detachment including ships Admiral Tributs and Admiral Panteleev left the Indonesian port of Tanjung Perak in Surabaya after completing a business call as part of a long-distance sea voyage in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Russia's sourcing of weapons from sanctioned states poses a serious risk to international peace and security: UK statement at the UN Security Council UK FCDO 27 Oct 2023 -- UK Political Coordinator Fergus Eckersley at the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine.

Defense Industry

• Contracts For Oct. 27, 2023

Other Conflicts

Ukraine Conflict News
• 27 October 2023 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 27 Oct 2023

Operation Iron Swords / Operation Al-Aqsa Flood

• Daily Recap: Hamas - Israel War October 27th, 2023 (19:30) - Day 20 Israel Defense Forces 27 Oct 2023
• Israel Readies Massive Ground Incursion Into Gaza VOA 27 Oct 2023 -- Israel is stepping up ground and air operations in the Gaza Strip, Israel's chief military spokesperson said Friday, amid reports of heavy bombing of the besieged enclave.
• UNRWA Situation Report #16 on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem (all information valid as of 26 October 2023 at 18:00 local time) UNRWA 27 Oct 2023
• UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini Remarks on the Situation in the Gaza Strip (27 October 2023) UNRWA 27 Oct 2023
• Grave violence in Israel and Gaza has outraged the conscience of humanity, UN Commission of Inquiry says UN Human Rights Council 27 Oct 2023 -- All parties to the conflict in Israel and Gaza have shown reckless disregard for civilian life and must comply with international law to prevent atrocities from continuing, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, said today.
• UN General Assembly adopts Gaza resolution calling for immediate and sustained 'humanitarian truce' UN News 27 Oct 2023 -- The United Nations General Assembly on Friday adopted a resolution calling for an "immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce" between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in Gaza. It also demands "continuous, sufficient and unhindered" provision of lifesaving supplies and services for civilians trapped inside the enclave, as news reports suggest Israel has expanded ground operations and intensified its bombing campaign.
• 'History is judging us all,' Guterres says in fresh appeal for Gaza aid access UN News 27 Oct 2023 -- With the humanitarian system in Gaza on the verge of "total collapse", UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday again appealed for greater aid access to the besieged enclave, where "misery is growing by the minute."
• UN Demands Humanitarian Truce as Gaza Aid Faces Collapse VOA 27 Oct 2023 -- Israel expanded its military ground operation Friday night as the international community called for an immediate humanitarian truce and U.N. leaders warned that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip was nearing total collapse.
• UN Human Rights Spokesperson: 'Nowhere is Safe in Gaza' VOA 27 Oct 2023 -- U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk is appealing for an end to the violence and carnage in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli forces continue daily airstrikes in response to the brutal October 7 assault by Hamas militants on Israel.
• Food lifeline for desperate families in Gaza at risk without fuel, WFP says WFP 27 Oct 2023 -- The catastrophic conditions facing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza risk getting worse still, due to severe fuel shortages which threaten to bring food and other humanitarian operations to a standstill.
• EU Calls for 'Pauses' in Gaza Fighting Amid Doubts Over Bloc's Influence VOA 27 Oct 2023 -- French President Emmanuel Macron said he would help to build a "humanitarian coalition" to offer support to Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, following a two-day summit of European Union leaders in Brussels that wrapped up Friday.
• Jordan, Egypt Reject Any Palestinian Displacement into Their Countries VOA 27 Oct 2023 -- Jordan has spearheaded Arab calls for a cease-fire in the Gaza war as casualties mount. An Israeli ground invasion to destroy Hamas, Arab analysts warn, could escalate into a wider regional conflict. Israel's peace partners, Jordan and Egypt, decry any mass transfers of Palestinians to their countries.
• Canada to match donations for humanitarian response in Gaza and West Bank Canada 27 Oct 2023 -- Canada continues to actively advocate for humanitarian pauses and the rapid, sustained and unimpeded access of essential humanitarian relief to Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.
• Opening remarks by President von der Leyen at the joint press conference with President Michel following the meeting of the European Council of 26 October 2023 European Commission 27 Oct 2023
• EU coordinating 6 new humanitarian aid flights for Gaza European Commission 27 Oct 2023 -- A new EU aid flight has departed today from Copenhagen, carrying 51 tonnes of medicines, medical items, and education supplies on behalf of Unicef to Egypt for people in need in Gaza.
• Condemning Hamas' terrorism should not be controversial: UK at the UN General Assembly UK FCDO 27 Oct 2023 -- UK statement following the UN General Assembly vote on the Jordanian draft resolution on the situation in Gaza, Friday 27 October 2023.
• Hope and humanity must win out against the scourge of aggression and terrorism: Lord Ahmad statement at the UN General Assembly UK FCDO 27 Oct 2023 -- Statement by Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon at the UN General Assembly tenth emergency special session on Gaza.
• Defence Secretary travels to Middle East on regional security mission UK FCDO 26 Oct 2023 -- Defence Secretary Grant Shapps travelled to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to drive forward work to maintain regional stability.
• Deploying additional support Australia DOD 27 Oct 2023 -- The Australian Government has deployed additional ADF personnel and aircraft to the Middle East as part of Operation Beech.
• The Case For and Against Israel's Likely Ground War in Gaza VOA 27 Oct 2023 -- There has been no mystery about what comes next in Gaza. The only questions, it seems, have been how much force and for how long.

Other Conflicts

• Taliban Free Prominent Afghan Education Advocate VOA 27 Oct 2023 -- The Taliban government in Afghanistan released a nationally known education activist Thursday after nearly seven months in prison.
• Rights Groups, Officials Urge Taliban To Continue Releasing Activists After Wesa Freed RFE/RL 27 Oct 2023 -- Leading rights campaigners and Western officials have welcomed the release of Afghan education activist Matiullah Wesa after over seven months in Taliban custody, using the occasion to call for the release of the rest of the human rights defenders the militants have detained.
• The Azadi Briefing: Afghan Taliban Bans Fighters From Waging 'Jihad' In Pakistan RFE/RL 27 Oct 2023
• Pakistan urged to halt Afghan deportations to avoid 'human rights catastrophe' UN News 27 Oct 2023 -- Pakistan's plan to deport "undocumented" foreign nationals will disproportionately affect more than 1.4 million Afghans in the country, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Friday, expressing alarm.
• Syrian war at 'worst point' in four years, says Commission of Inquiry head UN News 27 Oct 2023 -- The world cannot forget about Syria, the Head of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the country has said, while also highlighting how the war there is connected to the conflict raging in the Middle East.
• Junta troops attack villages along British-era Myanmar railway Radio Free Asia 27 Oct 2023 -- Junta troops sent to repair part of a colonial British-era railway in northern Myanmar's Sagaing region have burned down some 800 houses in two townships since mid-August, forcing around 10,000 people to flee for their safety, residents and local armed groups say.
• Ethnic alliance launches offensive on junta in eastern Myanmar Radio Free Asia 27 Oct 2023 -- An alliance of three ethnic armies opened an offensive against Myanmar's military regime on Friday, launching attacks on outposts in seven different locations in Shan state, in the east, including the headquarters of the junta's Northeastern Command.
• Junta troops capture 15 Myanmar villagers to use as human shields Radio Free Asia 27 Oct 2023 -- Junta troops arrested 15 people and displaced more than 10,000 during raids in northern Myanmar, residents told Radio Free Asia on Friday.
• Congress expresses deep concern over humanitarian situation in Karabakh and neighbouring cities and regions Council of Europe 27 Oct 2023 -- The Congress held a debate on 26 October on the humanitarian situation following the flight of more than 100,000 Karabakh Armenians to neighbouring Armenia.
• Banjska Attack Has Been Setback For Serbia-Kosovo Dialogue Process, Ambassador Says RFE/RL 27 Oct 2023 -- The U.S. Ambassador to Serbia says an attack last month by armed Serbs on a village in northern Kosovo has proved "quite harmful" to the dialogue process between Serbia and Kosovo, but he says investigations into the attack are under way and there is still an opportunity to get the process back on track.
• Cameroon Asks Chad to Withdraw Border Troops VOA 27 Oct 2023 -- Cameroon is asking Chad to withdraw its troops from a fishing and agriculture island in the volatile region of Lake Chad.

News Reports

• Designating Individuals and Entities with Ties to Terrorist Organizations US Dept. of State 27 Oct 2023 -- Today, the United States is imposing sanctions on eight key individuals for supporting Hamas, as well as Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) officials involved in financing and training Hamas. A number of the individuals and entities designated today have played key roles in facilitating sanctions evasion by Hamas-affiliated companies.
• Treasury Targets Additional Sources of Support and Financing to Hamas US Treasury 27 Oct 2023 -- Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed a second round of sanctions on key Hamas-linked officials and financial networks following the October 7 barbaric attacks on Israel and its civilian population. Today's action targets additional assets in Hamas's investment portfolio and individuals who are facilitating sanctions evasion by Hamas-affiliated companies. Treasury is also designating a Hamas official in Iran and members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as a Gaza-based entity that has served as a conduit for illicit Iranian funds to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
• US Imposes New Sanctions on Hamas VOA 27 Oct 2023 -- The U.S. Treasury Department announced a second round of sanctions Friday on the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Hamas-linked officials in response to its October 7 attack on Israel that killed more than 1,400 people, including women and children.
• Chinese censors clamp down on public mourning for former premier Radio Free Asia 27 Oct 2023 -- "The people's premier." "Rest in peace." "A good premier whose political career shouldn't have ended the way it did."
• Li Keqiang: The diplomat between Xi's power and global challenges Radio Free Asia 27 Oct 2023 -- In the midst of the intricate geopolitical chessboard, the death of former Chinese premier Li Keqiang at 68 marks the end of an era for a diplomat internationally recognized for his dedication to global relations. Li's tenure was a unique juxtaposition: sandwiched between the autocratic leadership of Xi Jinping and escalating global challenges, notably the U.S.-China trade war.
• Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning's Regular Press Conference on October 27, 2023 PRC MofA 27 Oct 2023
• White House expects Biden and Xi to meet next month Radio Free Asia 27 Oct 2023 -- A White House official said Friday that preparations are underway for U.S. President Joe Biden to meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in San Francisco next month.
• Secretary Blinken's Meeting with People's Republic of China Director of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Foreign Affairs Commission and Foreign Minister Wang Yi US Dept. of State 27 Oct 2023
• US, China Gear Up Preparation for Biden-Xi Meeting Next Month VOA 27 Oct 2023 -- The United States stopped just short of announcing a widely anticipated summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday, after two days of talks in Washington with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
• Readout of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan's Meeting with People's Republic of China Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission and Foreign Minister Wang Yi The White House 27 Oct 2023
• Readout of President Joe Biden's Meeting with People's Republic of China Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission and Foreign Minister Wang Yi The White House 27 Oct 2023
• Li Yuhan, Rights Lawyer in China, Given 6 ½ Year Sentence VOA 27 Oct 2023 -- Li Yuhan, the Chinese human rights lawyer who won the 2020 Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison. Detained six years ago, she was charged with "picking quarrels and provoking trouble."
• Li Keqiang passes away People's Daily 27 Oct 2023 -- Li Keqiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 17th, 18th and 19th Communist Party of China central committees and former premier, passed away on Friday in Shanghai.
• PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan Oct. 27, 2023 ROC MND 27 Oct 2023
• Seoul won't stand idly by on Russia-N Korea arms deal: S Korean FM Radio Free Asia 27 Oct 2023 -- The South Korea government has told Russia that it will not stand idly by if Moscow hands over missile development technology to North Korea, said South Korea's foreign minister Park Jin.
• U.S. Sanctions Members Of Iran's IRGC In Effort To Dismantle Hamas's Funding Network RFE/RL 27 Oct 2023 -- The United States has announced sanctions on members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as part of an effort to dismantle "Hamas's funding networks" following the militant group's "barbaric" attack on Israel earlier this month.
• IAEA Task Force Says ALPS Treated Water Release is Progressing as Planned During First Mission to Japan Since Water Discharge Began IAEA 27 Oct 2023 -- The discharge of treated water from Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) is progressing as planned and without any technical concerns, the Task Force set up by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed after its mission this week to review the safety of the discharge with reference to the international safety standards, two months after it began.
• Hungary's Orban Says EU's Strategy On Ukraine 'Has Failed' RFE/RL 27 Oct 2023 -- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the only European Union leader to have met with Russian President Vladimir Putin since he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, says the bloc's strategy with regards to the war "has failed" and a plan B should be created as Kyiv will not win the frontline battle against Russia.
• Explainer: What is a UN General Assembly emergency special session and why it matters UN News 27 Oct 2023 -- As the UN's 193 Member States meet on how to address the ongoing Israel-Palestine crisis, we took a look at how the current rarely convened General Assembly emergency special session came about, what it means and why it matters.
• World News in Brief: Ukraine aid convoy, attacks in South Sudan, radioactive discharge update UN News 27 Oct 2023 -- Humanitarian operations continue to deliver life-saving assistance in Ukraine, amid ongoing attacks across the country, the UN said on Friday. 
• Nigerian Presidency Welcomes Verdict Affirming Tinubu's Victory VOA 27 Oct 2023 -- Nigeria's presidency and the ruling All Progressives Congress party have welcomed this week's decision by the Supreme Court upholding the election victory of President Bola Tinubu.
• Ugandan Economists Say Country Still Investment Destination Despite US Advisory VOA 27 Oct 2023 -- Ugandan economists and officials expressed confidence in the country's economy and urged investors to ignore a U.S. government advisory about risks they may face if they conduct business there.