General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon

• The collaboration with GKN Aerospace builds on the successful testing and validation of IperionX 100% recycled titanium powder made from GKN scrap titanium feedstocks.
• This latest commercial partnership focuses on the manufacturing of high-performance titanium plate for testing by GKN Aerospace, which may also form part of further collaboration efforts between GKN Aerospace and IperionX – including projects linked to the U.S. Department of Defense.
• “GKN Aerospace is a leader in sustainability and the precision manufacturing of titanium components for the aerospace, space and military markets,” said Taso Arima, CEO of IperionX.
• “We are very proud to be working with GKN Aerospace to commercialize our market leading high-performance and sustainable titanium products.”

• Russia has had several months to prepare for the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
• Extensive fortifications, including trench systems reminiscent of the First World War, make any rapid advance difficult.
• Overcoming such a defensive system without specialized equipment, which Ukraine lacks, means that progress will be slow and casualty-heavy.

A variety of tools

• While these forces are focused on defeating Russia, interservice rivalry is sometimes a problem.
• The best-known formations are the army’s battle-hardened units who maintain tactical advantages against the Russians.
• These units, however, have suffered significant casualties since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
• The unit’s performance prompted the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior to create multiple brigades mirroring Azov’s force structure and tactics.

Differing military traditions

• Units with varied traditions can provide tools and abilities that some armies might otherwise lack.
• One of the observations from defence experts is that there are parallel military traditions in conflict in Ukraine: one western-inspired, one Soviet.
• But the basis for much of this training — American military doctrine — has several underlying assumptions.
• Second, this inherent requirement of U.S. military doctrine creates pressure for something western countries want to avoid in the short term: equipping Ukraine with F-16s.

The politics of war

• War, as the famous war theoretician Carl von Clausewitz famously emphasized, is an act of politics.
• But Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, must also confront the fact that their war in Ukraine is unlikely to meet all their objectives.

• This week, Australia announced its latest package of military and humanitarian support for Ukraine, totalling approximately A$110 million.
• The package comprises 70 military vehicles, which include 28 M113 armoured personnel carriers and other support vehicles (trucks, trailers and “special operations vehicles”).

Why has this latest package been criticised?

• The primary issue with the package is the supply of the M113 armoured personnel carriers.
• The M113 armoured personnel carriers that Australia is sending to Ukraine date back to the Vietnam War.
• Australia is in the process of retiring them in favour of a new, modern design of armoured personnel carrier.

Why are we not giving the Ukrainians what they want

• As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said this week:
  On Hawkei, I know that has been raised, the advice is that would not be the best way to provide assistance to Ukraine.
• On Hawkei, I know that has been raised, the advice is that would not be the best way to provide assistance to Ukraine.
• Read more:
  Why can't the West agree on how much military support to send to Ukraine?

We have other hardware we could offer

• Ukraine’s air force currently utilises old Soviet-era fighters, predominantly MiG-29s and Sukhoi Su-27s, which have been jerry-rigged to deploy Western munitions.
• After dragging its feet for months, the US recently announced it will approve allied exports of F-16 jets to Ukraine.
• First, it would require export approval from the US, which is required for all US military hardware to be resold or re-exported.
• However, this will be an issue for the F-16, or any other Western fighter jet sent to Ukraine’s air force.

Why Australia should do more

• The European Union, for instance, just announced it will increase its military aid fund to Ukraine by a further €3.5 billion (A$5.7 billion).
• But as Matthew Sussex, one of Australia’s leading Russia experts, has pointed out, Russia is a strategic competitor to Australia that will increasingly pivot its attention to the Indo-Pacific region.
• As such, our geographic distance is no excuse for weak support to a state attempting to counter an illegal and devastating invasion by Russia.

• ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Feb. 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kustom Entertainment, a subsidiary of Digital Ally, Inc., and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) will combine their efforts this coming weekend to host MULTI-PLATINUM entertainer and TV/film actor Trace Adkins.
• Adkins will participate in a key role on the pre-race grid of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding this weekend, March 3-5.
• “It is always a distinct honor to perform our national anthem at any event, but it’s an extra thrill to kick off the start of the Firestone Grand Prix,” said Trace Adkins.
• This is the first festival Kustom 440, a division of Kustom Entertainment, will produce and promote Trace Adkins and other musicians as part of Country Roots Festival.