Latest news with #Bradley
Irish Daily Mirror
27 minutes ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Rovers players hailed after record win for reaction to pre-match plan disruption
Stephen Bradley has hailed his Shamrock Rovers players for using their experience in Europe - after their pre-match plans were ripped up. The Hoops were due to train on Wednesday on the astroturf pitch that hosted Thursday's Europa Conference League second qualifying round against St Joseph's. It is customary for a visiting team to do this ahead of all European ties, in order to get familiar with their surroundings. However, the Hoops couldn't secure a suitable flight time that would have given them the opportunity to do a session on the unfamiliar surface, which Bradley described post-match as 'sticky'. It also robbed them of a chance to acclimatise themselves to the heat, which necessitated water-breaks midway through each half on Thursday. That didn't stop Rovers from claiming a record-breaking 4-0 win - their biggest ever margin of victory away from home in Europe. Click this link or scan the QR code to receive the latest League of Ireland news and top stories from the Irish Mirror. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice . It leaves them all but sure of progress to the third qualifying round - and Bradley believes the performance and result is down to the experience his players have gained in two league and group stage campaigns in the last three seasons. 'I think we are a different team,' he said. With the two league or group campaigns, whatever you want to call it, has definitely helped us grow and mature and understand it. 'For example, the flight times were tricky coming out, so we couldn't train on the pitch last night. We got here late, so we trained at home. That's something new for us that we haven't experienced. 'So the players saw the ground and the pitch for the first time before kick-off. If you are not an experienced team and a team that has been around, that can throw you. 'But we had a chat with the players before we left and we told them the plans, and they were fine, no problem. And we come here and we take care of business. 'I think that shows the level of maturity within the group and experience and understanding of what it takes to win in Europe. You have got to be ready for everything and the players were ready.' Bradley hailed his super subs, with Rovers' third and fourth goals coming from John McGovern less than two minutes after his introduction, and Jack Byrne. 'We know how important the bench is, we know how important the squad is, and the subs that came on today were excellent,' he said. 'They gave us real quality and energy, and obviously a couple of them scored, which is really important.' He was delighted to see McGovern, a recent arrival from Dungannon Swifts, score first Rovers goal. 'I think he showed real glimpses and he has done since he came in of why we wanted him here, and why we worked hard to get him here,' said Bradley. 'There are still bits that he needs to learn and tidy up on, how we play, how we press, little timings. 'But he will get that. But for someone to come in and hit the ground running like he has has been great to see. Long may that continue.' Rovers' comprehensive win means Bradley can rotate his squad next week for the second-leg, with a big League of Ireland game against Derry City coming just three days later. 'The scoreline will definitely play a part in the team selection,' he said. 'Also, there's players who deserve the opportunity and some just back from injury who need to get up to scratch. 'We'll definitely be moving things around on Thursday, with Sunday and the following Thursday in mind. We'll be shuffling it.' Meanwhile, Rovers' third round opponents will likely be Ballkani of Kosovo, after they claimed a 4-2 win over Maltese side Floriana in their first-leg. 'We did watch (that game) on the way over, so we got to see it. Ballkani were good. They won the game quite convincingly in the end so I'd imagine they will finish it off,' said the Hoops boss. 'It looks like we'll be heading to Kosovo in two weeks' time.' Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email .
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What the Army is doing to keep its tanks alive against drones
Despite the claims of internet experts, tanks and other armor aren't obsolete, but they have a major problem. On modern battlefields, main battle tanks that were once the lords of the plains are being taken out by cheap quadcopter drones that some had written off as toys for idle hobbyists just ten years ago, despite their almost immediate weaponization by militant groups. Other threats, like loitering munitions, and a proliferation of anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) with top-attack capability like the Next generation Light Anti-tank Weapon (NLAW), make this one of the most dangerous times for armor since the British Mark I became the first tank to see combat on Sept. 15, 1916, on the Somme. With armor facing threats like never before, the Army is requesting $108 million in the fiscal year 2026 budget for technology to enhance its survivability. Leaders are funding a modular suite of protection technologies that can be added to current and future armed vehicles to keep them relevant and survivable. The branch, with thousands of Abrams tanks and armored vehicles like the Bradley and Stryker, is building the future fleet to detect threats early, disrupt them with jammers or sensor spoofing, defeat them with interceptors or directed energy weapons, and disappear using camouflage, signature reduction, and deception. At the heart of this new approach is the Modular Active Protection System (MAPS). It is essentially an operating system for vehicle defense, designed to let the Army, or anybody else, mix and match sensors, launchers, jammers, and countermeasures across its vehicle fleet. A MAPS-compatible Bradley or Abrams could field different defensive kits depending on the mission or threat environment. One of the key components of MAPS is the hard-kill interceptor — typically short-range projectiles designed to knock out incoming rockets, ATGMS, or drones. They're most commonly called active protection systems (APS). Systems like Trophy and Iron Fist have seen real-world success on Israeli vehicles. The Iron-First Light Decoupled was chosen to protect Bradleys while the Trophy APS has been on Abrams for some time. These systems have their drawbacks, however. They can be easily overwhelmed, require reloading, and are expensive, though a bargain if they keep a vehicle and the crew alive. Top Stories This Week News The Army has a novel solution to its drone problem: Shoot them with tanks The Army has a novel solution to its drone problem: Shoot them with tanks By Matt White News A Marine general will command the Naval Academy for the first time A Marine general will command the Naval Academy for the first time By Matt White News Marine who criticized leaders for Afghanistan withdrawal to head promotions review Marine who criticized leaders for Afghanistan withdrawal to head promotions review By Jeff Schogol According to the budget documents, $92 million of the $108 million requested is going to manufacture top attack defenses, commonly called 'cope cages.' The design hasn't been finalized, so it's yet unknown how effective they will be against drone-dropped munitions, which active protection systems can struggle with due to their angle of drop and the speed of the falling munition. Systems like Iron Fist are being updated to deal with this particular top attack threat, but as we mentioned, it can be easily overwhelmed. Another big piece of how the Army plans to protect against small drones is lasers, particularly the 50-kilowatt units mounted on Directed Energy Maneuver Short Range Air Defense, or DE M-SHORAD Stryker variants. These systems have undergone multiple rounds of testing and have been deployed to Europe and the Middle East. In these tests, the lasers proved capable of downing small drones, but not without problems. Soldiers identified that the weapon's power draw, which is significant, was complicated by the need to remain mobile and move often. Things like dust, rain, fog, and other common environmental elements on a battlefield also proved to be an issue. Leaders are also aware that the harder you are to see, the harder you are to kill, so they're investing in other passive protection measures. Technologies such as signature management paint are mentioned in the budget, but other efforts like noise-reduction and modular camouflage systems are being implemented as well. Reducing the electromagnetic, thermal, and acoustic signatures emitted from a vehicle can give crews time to identify a threat before it identifies them, and allow soldiers to employ whatever countermeasure is appropriate. What still remains to be seen is how effective all this will be, and if it can keep armor from sliding into irrelevance. In our latest YouTube video, we get deeper into what all these systems do well, what they don't, and if this will just turn tanks into even more expensive targets. Solve the daily Crossword
Nahar Net
5 hours ago
- Business
- Nahar Net
US approves $322 million in arms sales to Ukraine
The United States on Wednesday announced the approval of $322 million in arms sales to bolster Ukraine's air defenses and its armored combat vehicles. The announcement of the sales comes after Washington temporarily halted some weapons shipments to Ukraine earlier this month even as Kyiv faced heavy Russian missile and drone attacks. The sale of HAWK air defense equipment and sustainment will cost up to $172 million, while Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle equipment and services will total up to $150 million, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said. The proposed HAWK equipment sale "will improve Ukraine's capability to meet current and future threats by further equipping it to conduct self-defense and regional security missions with a more robust air defense capability," DSCA said. And the Bradley equipment and services will help meet Ukraine's "urgent need to strengthen local sustainment capabilities to maintain high operational rates for United States provided vehicles and weapon systems," it said. The State Department approved the possible sales and the DSCA provided the required notification to the US Congress, which still needs to sign off on the transactions. The latest proposed military sale to Ukraine follows another announced in early May valued at $310.5 million for F-16 training and sustainment. Russia's President Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in 2022 and has shown little willingness to end the conflict despite pressure from the United States. Under former president Joe Biden, Washington committed to providing more than $65 billion in military assistance to Ukraine. But President Donald Trump -- long skeptical of assistance for Ukraine -- has not followed suit, announcing no new military aid packages for Kyiv since he returned to office in January.
UPI
7 hours ago
- Sport
- UPI
Tampa Bay Rays demote pitcher Taj Bradley to Triple-A
July 24 (UPI) -- The Tampa Bay Rays demoted pitcher Taj Bradley to Triple-A after his rocky start to 2025, manager Kevin Cash announced. Bradley is 6-6 with a 4.61 ERA. Cash announced the move after the Chicago White Sox beat the Rays 11-9 on Wednesday in Tampa, Fla. Bradley allowed four hits and four runs over 1 2/3 innings. "We've optioned Taj," Cash said. "Tough decision, certainly, but we felt like it's best for him to get down there right now. He's gotta get to work. We talked about the two-pitch mix he's been rolling out there. We think that its best. It's probably a better environment for him to work rather than compete every single pitch. "But know that Taj Bradley is massive to our success and we need to get him back to the form we know he is capable of." Bradley allowed just three hits and no runs over six innings in his previous start, an 11-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday in Tampa. He also allowed just two hits and one run over six innings in a loss to the Boston Red Sox on July 10 in Boston. Bradley allowed a combined 14 hits and eight runs over 11 innings in two prior starts, which each led to Rays losses. "I didn't take too much to heart, knowing that I [have] stuff to work on," Bradley told reporters. "I'm throwing off two pitches right now. I need that third, changeup, to get back to where it was last year. ... I just take it as it is, go down and get back to work, just keep going." Bradley, 24, went 8-11 with a 4.11 ERA over 25 starts last season. He went 5-8 with a 5.59 ERA over 23 appearances in 2023, his debut campaign. The Rays (53-50), who lost three of their last four games, sit in fourth place in the American League East, 7.5 games behind the division-leading Toronto Blue Jays (60-42). They will take on the Cincinnati Reds in a three-game series opener at 7:10 p.m. EDT Friday in Cincinnati.
Irish Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
St Joseph's v Shamrock Rovers streaming details of ECL 2nd qualifying rd 1st leg
Shamrock Rovers' 16-match Euro odyssey last season ended in heartbreak of a defeat on penalties to Molde in Tallaght on February 20. Just over six months later, the Hoops return to the stage but are not on the champions' path on this occasion having lost their Premier Division crown to Shelbourne. Hoops boss Stephen Bradley insists that it's not an impossible task to qualify for the Conference League group stages and their bid to climb the mountain again starts today. 'We're really looking forward to it," said Bradley. "We've obviously done really well in Europe in the last few years, with two group stages in the last three years. "We want that again, time will tell if we can make that happen. But if we want to make that happen, it starts here. We'll go there and fully respect St Joseph's and our approach will be to win the game and help put ourselves in the next round." Where is the game taking place? St Joseph's are hosting the game at the Europa Point Stadium in Gibraltar. What time is kick-off? The game will kick off at 5pm and Rovers will have to deal with hot conditions despite the late afternoon kick-off, with temperatures of over 30 degrees expected. How can I watch it? It is not being broadcast on terrestrial TV but you can stream the game live for €4.99 on OneFootball at this link What are the betting odds? St Joseph's to win 4/1, draw 11/4, Shamrock Rovers to win 4/7 Full strength Bradley has a full strength squad at his disposal for the game against opponents who saw off Cliftonville on penalties in the first qualifying round. The Hoops boss was at both legs and says the tie turned on a Cliftonville in both games. 'They play similar systems to ourselves. They've scored five goals over the two legs against Cliftonville so they know how to score goals," he said. "There's no doubt they have some really dangerous players, you can see that and they have good quality in midfield and their front three are dangerous. We've watched them in real detail and they'll be given the respect they deserve. To score five in two legs shows they know how to score goals. 'We're an experienced team. We're ready to win the game. Whatever it throws up, we'll be ready for it. The squad's in a good place. "We always get better in the second part of the season. It's up to us to go and do it. We want to do it. We want to be there again. We want another taste of that. How we went out (last season) still doesn't sit right with me. We want to try and get back and put that right. That starts here." Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.
