There are two major events in the middle east today. Iran hijacked a South Korean ship and Saudi Arabia and Qatar have a new diplomatic deal that creates a unified Arab front against Iran. 1. Iran seized a South Korean-flagged tanker in Gulf waters and detained its crew. $7 billion in Iranian funds are frozen …
Oman, Sudan, Comoros, Djibouti and Mauritania are in talks with Israel to normalize relations. Israel already had peace deals with Egypt and Jordan. They just recently reached normalization agreements with UAE and Bahrain. Saudi Arabia’s current King Salman is against normalization but reports are that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would be in favor of …
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel have normalized relations. As part of the deal, Israel has suspended the annexation of the West Bank. The UAE is one of six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The members are the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. The GCC issued a …
US All Liquids oil production is at 19.6 million barrels per day. US oil production is forecasted to increase by 1-2 million barrels per day by the end of 2020. US crude oil production is at 12.5 million barrels per day. Saudi Arabia had to cut oil production to support oil prices. Saudi Arabia is …
China’s Navy now outnumbers the US Navy by 300 ships to 287 ship. The US ships are still much larger and more powerful and about 100 of China’s ships are coastal frigates and corvettes. The frigates and corvettes are really a stronger Coast Guard. China needs a stronger coast guard because of the many ships …
Hypersonic missiles and weapons development are technology to future-proof weapons against surprise developments in defense capability.
DARPA has scheduled the first test of a new advanced hypersonic glide weapon interceptor defense for 2020.
The Pentagon has decided to cut the US aircraft carrier fleet from 11 to 10. In 2014, there was a proposal to cancel the mid-life upgrade of the USS George Washington. This proposal was defeated. The mid-life upgrade cancellations have been part of negotiations to get larger military budgets. The proposal will be in the …
In a New Year’s Day speech, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un made an offer toward denuclearization. Kim indicated that North Korea wants a deal and is interested in another summit. Kim would put nuclear production capability as part of negotiations. A path to the goal of complete denuclearization could be created. North Korea could be …
North Korea offers to permanently abolish its key missile facilities in the presence of foreign experts, in a new gesture by leader Kim Jong Un to revive faltering talks with Washington over his country’s nuclear program. After a summit in Pyongyang, Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the North was also willing to …
The Secretary of the US Air Force presented a plan to grow the Air Force from 312 squadrons today to 386 by 2030. This is 24% larger. The strategy is based on estimates of the expected threat by 2025 to 2030. At the end of the Cold War, the Air Force had 401 operational squadrons. …
