The chief of the NATO military alliance has announced a plan to launch a new “virtual network” comprising national and commercial satellites as the war in Ukraine approaches one year.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking to reporters on Monday ahead of the bloc's defense ministers' meeting in Brussels, said the move is designed to bolster the alliance's "intelligence and surveillance" as well as support its "missions and operations."
“This will improve our intelligence and surveillance. And support NATO missions and operations,” Stoltenberg said, adding that it would allow for “better navigation, communication, and early warning of missile launches.”
It comes after Moscow warned that Western commercial satellites being used in the Ukraine war could be "legitimate military targets".
In October last year, a senior Russian foreign ministry official was quoted as saying that commercial satellites from the United States and its allies could become legitimate targets for Russia if they were involved in the war in Ukraine.
"Quasi-civilian infrastructure may be a legitimate target for a retaliatory strike," Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy director of the Russian foreign ministry's department for non-proliferation and arms control, told the United Nations, calling it "provocative".
Stoltenberg said the new network would require increased military spending from those nations, adding that the discussions during the NATO defense ministers meeting will seek to “maintain and step up defense spending across the alliance."
The NATO chief also reaffirmed the alliance's support for Ukraine in the war against Russia "for as long as it takes."
Russia launched what it calls the "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022, with NATO's eastward expansion blamed for the war. Next week, the simmering war will complete one year.
Russia views the alliance’s efforts to make Ukraine a member and to deploy missiles close to its borders as a direct threat to Russian territory.
Stoltenberg also hinted at the expansion of NATO’s efforts in Eastern European countries, and bolstering its "practical support" for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Moldova, whom he described as “valued partners which face Russian threats.”
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/02/14/698199/US-led-NATO-launch-new-surveillance-network
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is preparing to leave the Trump administration after what a new report has described as months of tension with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, potentially triggering another change at the army’s top echelons.
According to the Friday report by The Wall Street Journal, Driscoll is expected to step down before the end of the year and could leave his post earlier. The newspaper cited people familiar with discussions over his departure.
The Journal reported that Driscoll and his family vacated the official residence assigned to the army secretary at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall this summer, a move that could indicate he was preparing to leave the position.
The reported departure would come at a time of continuing uncertainty at the top echelons of the army.
Hegseth abruptly removed Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April, while Trump has not yet nominated a permanent successo....more below
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warns the enemies that any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic will not go unanswered.
In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC issued a “stern warning” to the enemies after US forces launched strikes against the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.
Following the US military attack on a point on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport with aerial projectiles, the IRGC carried out new strikes targeting the US air base from which the attack originated in the wee hours of Thursday, it added.
“This response is a serious warning to the enemy that they should know the act of aggression will not go unanswered,” the IRGC emphasized.
The elite military force warned of a “more decisive” response if the enemy repeated any act of aggression.
It also said the responsibility for the consequences of any IRGC response lies with the aggressor.
The statement comes after the IRGC Navy on Thursday forced an American tanker to turn back. The tanker ...
