Latest news with #fighter
Scottish Sun
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
British fighter jets to carry nuclear weapons in face of ‘new era of threat' of Russia
It comes as the Prime Minister is set to expand the UK's nuclear deterrence across Europe NUKE THREAT British fighter jets to carry nuclear weapons in face of 'new era of threat' of Russia BRITAIN looks set to introduce jets armed with nuclear weapons for the first time as part of the latest defensive expansion against Russia. The government is in talks with US officials over the move, which would be the UK's biggest deterrent development since the Cold War. 6 Britain's tactical nukes and V-bombers were decommissioned after the Cold War Credit: EPA 6 Britain's Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin has called for the move Credit: AP 6 Investment in the aircraft would mean the UK would be able to launch nuclear weapons from both air and sea Credit: Alamy Sir Keir Starmer will launch a strategic defence review on Monday as the government looks to help Europe counter Putin's threat. The review points to the UK expanding its contribution to NATO's nuclear deterrence across the continent. It also recommends that the country's defence industry should be on standby for rearmament. Defence Secretary John Healey and Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, head of the armed forces, are leading talks with the Pentagon. They are looking to purchase fighter jets capable of carrying gravity bombs with lower power than conventional nuclear weapons. Britain's tactical nukes and V-bombers were decommissioned in favour of the Vanguard submarine programme after the Cold War. Investment in the aircraft would mean the UK would be able to launch nuclear weapons from both air and sea. At present, the military is only able to launch from one platform. Whereas US forces possess nuclear launch capabilities from land, air and sea. Britain will be wiped off the map with nukes unless it stops helping Ukraine, warns Putin's guru 'Professor Doomsday' American-built F-35 A Lightning stealth jets look to be the target for the government, with the jets having been recently procured by German military forces. They have a range of almost 900 miles and are capable of carrying a B61 thermonuclear gravity bomb. Radakin is understood to view the move as the UK's number one defence priority. Speaking to The Times, the Defence Secretary admitted that nuclear risks across the globe are rising. He said: "The world is definitely becoming more dangerous. Nuclear risks are rising. "For the first time since the Cold War, we face seriously increasing risks of state-on-state conflict. "The lesson from Ukraine is that a country's armed forces are only as strong as the industry behind them.' It comes as the government insisted it would reach its target to hike defence spending to three per cent GDP by 2034. Writing in The Sun on Sunday, Sir Keir said the time had come to 'transform how we defend these islands'. 6 Sir Keir Starmer will launch a strategic defence review on Monday Credit: AFP 6 Defence Secretary John Healey admitted global nuclear risks are rising Credit: AFP 6 Britain hopes to expand its contribution to NATO's nuclear deterrence against Russia Credit: PA He added: 'We will meet this moment head on — by mounting the kind of response not seen before in most of our lifetimes. "We will restore Britain's war-fighting readiness as the central purpose of our Armed Forces. "We are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces. 'So we must be ready to fight and win. After all, the best way to prevent conflict is by preparing for it.' Revealing details of the long-awaited Strategic Defence Review, he revealed the UK will move to wartime levels of arms production by building six new munitions factories. The £1.5billion investment will create or support nearly 2,000 jobs across the country.
Pink Villa
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
ONE: High School Heroes episode 1 to 4 recap– Lee Jung Ha flights bullies with Kim Do Wan's technical advice, masked vigilante follows
ONE: High School Heroes premiered with its first four episodes on May 30, Friday. The Wavve original drama explores the struggle against bullying within a high school setting. Starring Lee Jung Ha and Kim Do Wan, this series starts with the former suddenly becoming the victim of bullying, after the latter instigating him to fight back. Catch up on all the key updates of the debut week's episodes here. Kim Eui Gyeom (Lee Jung Ha) faces immense mental torment from his father to excel academically and become a doctor. His elder brother was the previous victim, whose struggle ended with s*icide. As he sees a fellow classmate being bullied, a particular poking gesture of the tormentor triggers a strong reaction from Kim Eui Gyeom, culminating in a fierce showdown between him and the bully, Choi Hong Il (Im Hyun Tae). As Kim Eui Gyeom stands up for himself, he becomes a target for the browbeaters, who escalate the situation by involving the senior bullies. However, Kim Eui Gyeom refuses to back down and takes down each of his tormentors one by one. During his confrontations, he catches the attention of Kang Yun Gi (Kim Do Wan), a classmate who offers his technical expertise. Despite initial reluctance, Kim Eui Gyeom finds Kang Yun Gi's advice beneficial when facing the school's top fighter, jujutsu ace Nam Seung Sik (Shin Jun Seop). Kang Yun Gi himself is a skilled fighter who prefers to observe and support Kim Eui Gyeom from the sidelines rather than engaging in action himself. It appears that he has a personal reason for avoiding violence, hinted at by his regular hospital visits to someone in critical condition. However, things will change in the upcoming episodes of ONE: High School Heroes, as Kang Yun Gi will join forces with Kim Eui Gyeom to take down troublemakers, marking a significant shift in his role. After successfully cleaning up their own school, they plan to expand their mission by targeting bullies from other local schools through a masked vigilante operation. Their first target will be Kim Nam Hyeop (Hong Min Ki), a skilled Muay Thai practitioner and son of a prominent professor.
Economic Times
2 days ago
- General
- Economic Times
A fillip for India's Veerangana tradition
One family factoid that my mother proudly revealed when I displayed a brief teenage fascination for tanks, fighter aircraft and warships was that her second eldest sister (in a family of five daughters and a son) served in the Women's Auxiliary Corps during World War II. My feisty aunt, who went into a totally different career eventually at All India Radio, apparently drove trucks and jeeps, one of the few roles open to women in the armed forces back was athletic in her youth, belying her tiny stature, even playing tennis-in a saree, as per the norms of the day. So when India was tapped for volunteers by its colonial ruler as the war in Europe spread around the world, she eagerly grabbed the opportunity to wear a uniform and serve. The teenage me marvelled at my aunt (already a portly radio professional by the time I came along) grabbing such an unusual opportunity as the daughter of a senior civil servant. Seeing the smiling faces of the 17 cadets of the first batch of women to graduate from India's National Defence Academy in Khadakwasla in Pune last Friday, many Indians would probably be reminded of Colonel Sophiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, the calm and steely 'faces' of the Indian armed forces during the tense days of Operation Sindoor earlier in May. But I imagined my late aunt instead; she would have been over a century old now. India has had a very long history of women in combat, although the school textbooks tend to stick to references to their roles in the British Indian Army, as well as the women-only Rani of Jhansi regiment of Indian National Army. In fact, the latter actually belied the long-held belief that women cannot (and perhaps even should not) be deployed in combat roles and would not have the strength or stamina to undergo the required training. The INA women did it all. Their grit and fighting spirit should have inspired the Indian armed forces to carry forward the legacy of the Rani of Jhansi regiment after Independence but the institution remained beholden to the British military heritage. Though women joined the medical and judicial wings, they were commissioned to some selected other arms only from the end of the 20th century. And a quarter of the 21st century has elapsed before this first batch of women graduated from now, there will be many doubts about whether Indian women have the wherewithal to serve in the fighting divisions of our armed forces in the same way as men. There are already qualifying 'expert' comments about how women will perform their roles well as soldiers today as wars have become more technical rather than physical. Less battle cries and engaging the enemy in tank, gun and one-to-one combat and more drone, missile and is a disservice to the long tradition of veeranganas-brave women-in Indian history, a part of our heritage that has been woefully under-appreciated. India is unique in terms of its consistent reverence for feminine power, Shakti. The warrior goddesses of other ancient faith systems have been forgotten and supplanted by others that do not revere women in their fierce fighter form. Yet India has held true to that belief through the vicissitudes of history. When this first batch of women NDA graduates took that 'Antim Pag' or Last Step from the precincts of their training academy into the world of soldiers defending India, they were taking the first step towards fully reasserting our ancient faith in Shakti. All women in uniform who preceded them (per force in limited roles in our armed forces so far) will not be the only ones wishing them a valorous future. My aunt and mother will be smiling too, somewhere.
NDTV
2 days ago
- Science
- NDTV
"Space May Not Cooperate": Veteran Astronaut's Warning To Shubhanshu Shukla
New Delhi: As India readies to send its second astronaut into space, the international space community is watching with admiration and support. Among those cheering from the sidelines is European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who had spent over a year aboard the International Space Station in 2016-17 and 2021 and has trained alongside India's astronaut-designate Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla. Will Mr Shukla make a good astronaut, the veteran astronaut was asked. "Oh, I think he will. The four astronaut-designates from India, they are all fantastic people." Mr Pesquet, who met the Indian astronaut corps during their global training rotations, recalled their early interactions with warmth. "I was lucky enough to meet them a while ago. They were having some training in different locations across the world and then I was also training for my second mission and that's how we met. We've been friends ever since," he said. Mr Shukla, a decorated fighter pilot and test pilot, trained at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany-home to ESA's astronaut corps. "He came to Cologne, EAC, the home of the European astronauts for training," Mr Pesquet noted. "And if things go well, I'll be at the launch cheering for him." As India prepares to launch the astronaut-designate aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule for a fortnight-long mission to the International Space Station, questions about safety naturally arise. Mr Pesquet, who has flown on both Soyuz and Crew Dragon, gave a reassuring response. "No, it's not too risky," he said. "It's always calculated risk. You have to take some amount of risk to go to space. You know, it's not like sitting on your couch in front of the TV. It's a very different activity. But it's very controlled, it's framed really well by all the engineers and all the work that's been done." He emphasised that while zero risk doesn't exist, the Crew Dragon has proven itself. "There's never zero risk, it doesn't exist. But I think with the experience that the SpaceX engineers have building up on the Crew Dragon, it's more and more safe every day," he added. To Mr Shukla, Mr Pesquet offered heartfelt advice. "Trust your training, because sometimes, it's still an unexpected environment that you haven't been in. So trust your training, like you've been doing your whole life. Do the right thing. Keep calm. If things don't go the way it's expected-its space, you know, it doesn't always cooperate," he said. He encouraged Shukla to savour the experience. "Enjoy the ride. Try to make yourself some good memories. Look at the Earth, take pictures of your activities, of your crewmates, and it's going to go super fast. So be really conscious in trying to imprint those memories on your brain, because you're going to need them when you come back," Mr Pesquet advised. To Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of India, Mr Pesquet said, "Be part of the mission. Make sure that Shukla is supported, which I think is the case by the government, by ISRO, by the entire population. It's going to be a huge wave of national pride and hopefully happiness." And finally, to Shukla himself: "I wish you a very safe launch, very safe mission, and a happy landing. Enjoy the memory, and I'll see you soon when you're back on Earth." Mr Shukla will be part of the Axion-4 Mission, that is scheduled for launch on June 8 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida's Cape Canaveral.
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Islamic State group claims first attack on Syrian government forces since Assad's fall
BEIRUT: The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for two attacks in southern Syria, including one on government forces that an opposition war monitor described as the first on the Syrian army to be adopted by the extremists since the fall of Bashar Assad. In two separate statements issued late Thursday, IS said that in the first attack, a bomb was detonated targeting a 'vehicle of the apostate regime,' leaving seven soldiers dead or wounded. It said the attack occurred 'last Thursday,' or May 22, in the al-Safa area in the desert of the southern province of Sweida. IS said that the second attack occurred this week in a nearby area during which a bomb targeted members of the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army, claiming that it killed one fighter and wounded three. There was no comment from the government on the claim of the attack and a spokesperson for the Free Syrian Army didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the attack on government forces killed one civilian and wounded three soldiers, describing it as the first such attack to be claimed by IS against Syrian forces since the fall of the 54-year Assad family's rule in December.
