* The Islamic State has been using a small UAV to conduct reconnaissance in Syria [National Defense], joining Hamas and Hezbollah among nonstate UAV users. This seems to be a clear break from the image of “guys in pajamas” equipped with AK-47s and pickup trucks.
* President Obama on Syria [WaPo]: “we don’t have a strategy yet.” Or Ukraine for that matter. But this gets points for being candid, and reflects a lack of consensus [Daily Beast] within the US Administration. And it’s not like any other country is offering much either.
Ukraine
* NATO released satellite imagery of Russian combat troops inside Ukraine, if videos from several Western media sources over the last several days had not been enough proof. And here’s a map from the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.
* Russia’s NATO mission plays tit for tat with Canada on Twitter with their own map. Duffel Blog has it best: Ukrainian border inexplicably jumped over Russian paratroopers. But that President Putin again used the word “Novorossiya“, in an address to pro-Russian rebels, is no laughing matter.
* Interestingly the Chinese state-owned CCTV America ran a segment with a guest openly calling for China to help Russia step back from its attack of Ukraine. But China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is mum on the matter.
US Doctrine
* New threats change the US Navy’s amphibious assault strategy [DoD Buzz]. The problem is that trying so hard to stay far away, and depending on long-range connectors with necessarily lower capacity, creates cost and capability problems.
Asia
* Japan’s defense ministry submitted a $47B 2015 budget, which though it is growing by roughly 3%, is not doing so at a rate nearly as high as China’s. AP | Defense News.
* China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier can carry 4 Z-18J airborne early warning (AEW) helicopters, 6 Z-18F anti-submarine helicopters, 2 Z-9C rescue helicopters, and 24 J-15 shipborne fighter jets, according to the Shanghai Morning Post via Want China Times.
* IBN interviewed Avinash Chander, the chief of India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to discuss a broad range of present and future programs: Part I – Part II.
K-Min
* Amazon.com showed a well-publicized demonstration of UAV deliveries in December last year, but it turns out Google has been running their own lightweight autonomous delivery experiment [The Atlantic] in Australia for 2 years. Video below:
