* Japan’s ministry of defense expects Mitsubishi’s ATD-X Shinshin stealth fighter to start test flights later this year, a few months behind schedule. Mitsubishi’s long history of local fighter jet production was interrupted only recently.
Russia and Neighbors
* After 3 people died on Sunday during a gunfight in eastern Ukraine, Russia and Ukraine were quick to blame each other for the clash.
* Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych urged the interim government that deposed him to withdraw military forces from eastern Ukraine and send them back to their bases. His argument works in sync with his Russian hosts who claim that “the Kiev authorities are not able to control extremists, or do not want to control them.” Who thought last week’s “de-escalation” Geneva agreement would be interpreted by Russia as applying to themselves and their supporters?
* WSJ: Ukraine Accuses Kremlin Agents of Coordinating Separatist Unrest.
* Polish defense minister Tomasz Siemoniak says the US will deploy troops in Poland, though he may be talking about just a symbolic exercise in scope and duration.
* The American Interest: “It’s time to start thinking strategically about how to deal with Vladimir Putin in a post-Crimea world.”
* World Politics Review: In Ukraine, Russia Reveals Its Mastery of Unrestricted Warfare.
* Russia continues to be the main beneficiary of Azerbaijan’s booming defense budget, ahead of Turkey.
FP Argues with NYT on Vets
* Jesse Sloman from the Council on Foreign Relations – hardly a bastion of right wing extremists – thinks the New York Times op-ed page owes vets an apology for a column by Kathleen Belew claiming that the “return of veterans from combat appears to correlate more closely with Klan membership than any other historical factor.”
Unmanning the Oceans
* Today’s video provides a quick update on unmanned surface vehicles such as the WaveGlider and SailDrone. The US Navy has its own Littoral Battlespace Sensing-Glider program, for which Teledyne is to manufacture 150 production gliders and an equal number of spares.
