Questions tagged [military]
Questions related to the military. This may include questions about the actions or inaction of the military, the armed forces themselves or government action related to the military.
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Are the UK, Germany and USA not concerned about their (donated) tanks being captured and researched by Russia?
It has been well established that several NATO countries are donating armoured vehicles (and training crews) to Ukraine. Some of the more notable vehicles that are being delivered include the American ...
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Have US forces not pulled back from the Turkey-Syria border (along the entirety of it)? If so, when did this turn in policy happen?
I somewhat vaguely recalled that Trump agreed to a pullback of sorts of US forces from parts of northern Syria, reported in the press at the time as practically complete in that area:
Amid growing ...
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What is the rationale of shooting toxic shells in an area that was meant to be liberated?
The UK authorities confirmed that they will provide depleted uranium shells to the Ukraininan forces.
As usual to divert the attention from the metal toxicity they pointed out the low radioactivity. ...
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Aukus deal. Was Australia called in to share ballooning development costs?
The Aukus deal is a trilateral security pact between Australia, the Uk and the US. The biggest part of the pact is the acquisition of nuclear powered submarines jointly developed by the three ...
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Why isn't Argentina part of the F-35 program?
https://asiatimes.com/2023/03/china-argentina-on-verge-of-region-rattling-fighter-deal/
This week, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Argentina’s
Ambassador to China Sabino Vaca Narvaja ...
4
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Does China sell more weapons to Iran or to Saudi Arabia?
Interestingly, China is selling some non-trivial weapons like ballistic missiles to the "traditional US ally" Saudi Arabia.
Is it possible to know if China sells more weapons [e.g. in terms ...
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Was the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia an "invasion" or not? [closed]
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "invasion" means:
an instance of invading a country or region with an armed force.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "armed force&...
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Can the monarch prevent any Commonwealth realm from declaring war or launching a sanctioned military attack?
The USA requires that the president orders a (lawful) nuclear strike.
The United Kingdom requires that the Prime Minister orders a (lawful) nuclear strike, although the Chief of the Defence Staff ...
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Is nuclear strategy a contradiction in terms? [closed]
Nuclear strategy is clearly distinct from other types of military strategy due to the awesome power of nuclear weapons. Most notably, mutually assured destruction (MAD) makes a traditional military ...
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Has Iran presented any evidence that their drones (used in Ukraine) were sent to Russia before the war?
It seems Iran initially denied they sent drones to Russia, but later Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said that they sent some, but before the war.
“Some western countries have accused ...
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How does the military decide if an unidentified flying object can or should be shot down or not?
According to NY Times, the military shot down a few unidentified flying objects after being visually confirmed:
The U.S. and Canada are investigating three unidentified flying
objects shot down over ...
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Is there any official confirmation that Denmark will replace their French 155mm guns (that they're giving to Ukraine) with Israeli ones?
A couple of sources 1 2 seem to indicate that Denmark is giving away all their CAESAR 155mm howitzers to Ukraine... and planning to get Israeli ATMOS howitzers as replacements. The first part of this ...
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How can Estonia give "all" of their 155mm howitzers to Ukraine?
Kaimo Kuusk, the Estonian Ambassador to Ukraine apparently announced that:
We are giving all our 155mm howitzers to Ukraine.
I can't see how an army would agree to give all their artillery in that ...
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What is the German government's rationale for not allowing Leopard 2 tanks to be given to Ukraine?
There are many news articles today about how the German government is reluctant to allow Leopard 2 tanks to be given to Ukraine. For example, the BBC reports:
Under German law, the government in ...
10
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(When) did Switzerland tighten its neutrality law provisions regarding armaments and ammo post WW2?
According to RFERL and Swissinfo Ukraine is facing a shortage of 35mm gun ammo for the Gepards donated by Germany because said ammo is apparently manufactured in Switzerland. It looks like the Swiss ...
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What percentage of available manpower can a developed state afford to lose before they they experience a collapse in strategic cohesion? [closed]
Please be careful about mentioning real life examples as they tend to distract from the question. Historical examples of states reaching their manpower limits would be useful though.
There's a lot to ...
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Who exactly in the German government said that they won't be sending Leopards to Ukraine unless the US sends Abrams tanks?
I've seen this widely reported, e.g. the BBC says
Berlin has reportedly been unwilling to send the vehicles ["much-coveted Leopard tanks"] unless the US commits to providing its own Abrams ...
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Why is sending so few tanks to Ukraine considered significant?
It is reported that thousands of tanks are currently being used in the Ukraine War. To help Ukraine, Britain is sending 14 Challenger 2 tanks and America is sending a few (50) Bradley infantry ...
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What's the official status of the DPR (and LPR) militias under the laws of the Russian Federation?
Interestingly, TASS still posts news about the feats of the DPR militia, e.g. there's one dated Jan 10, and it seems to be from 2023 (as it references M777 howitzers, which Ukraine didn't have last ...
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What is the current internationally accepted way of resisting an external power that invades a country?
As is common in modern history, the last few decades have seen superpowers and great powers invading sovereign countries in the Middle East, Africa, South America and Central Asia under various ...
6
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How does India access its air base in Tajikistan?
Farkhor Air Base is a military air base located near the town of Farkhor in Tajikistan, and is operated by the Indian Air Force in collaboration with the Tajik Air Force.
As we can see in the map, ...
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What are “Russian nationalist military bloggers”?
In a recent article, Anger in Russia as scores of troops killed in one of Ukraine war's deadliest strikes. Polityuk, Pavel, there is a reference to “Russian nationalist military bloggers”.
One such ...
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Why are European countries increasing their defense budgets if they are members of a nuclear-armed NATO?
Mirror question to Why would Russia care about NATO troops on its borders if it has nuclear weapons?
Naively one would think that Russia should not worry about NATO because they have nuclear weapons. ...
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How has the "Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022" benefited Ukraine?
The United States of America has enabled President Biden to offer more help to Ukraine against the Russian aggression through the "Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022":
In ...
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What are the political reasons behind the Western media highlighting the HIMARS vehicles over the MLRS vehicles that Ukraine has recently received? [closed]
Ukraine has received 20 HIMARS vehicles and "more than 10" MLRS. A HIMARS has six rounds, which is half of the twelve rounds of an MLRS, but it is on a wheeled chassis instead of a tracked ...
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Why doesn't the "Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022" exclude repayment explicitly?
It is widely stated that "Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022" exempts Ukraine from paying back for military aid, e.g.
Under the current American law . . . makes the recipient ...
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What are the signs (news reports etc.) which suggest that another clash between China and India is a real possibility in the coming years?
See the following Article on a widely read Indian Newspaper website (It can be translated in English using google):
China is targeting India, not Taiwan - Dainik Bhaskar
Also, this (behind paywall): ...
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What are Indian missiles named after? [closed]
Wikipedia says that Indian missiles are named after the five elements in nature -
The Agni missile (अग्नि IAST: Agni "Fire") is a family of medium to intercontinental-range ballistic ...
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When can "civilian, including commercial, infrastructure elements in outer space" be legitimate military targets?
The following quote of the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Konstantin Vorontsov found in Fox News' October 27, 2022 Russia threatens to target Western commercial satellites like Elon Musk's ...
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Can a private citizen host a military base of another country?
The question is just this:
Can a private citizen of a given country host a military base of another country on his private property?
This might be especially important if this property is close to ...
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Why did Israel stop working on IAI Kfir project?
I know that IAI Lavi was later developed and scrapped.
IAI Kfir
However, the IAI Kfir project was a successful project where 220+ aircraft were built.
Why did Israel stop working on this project?
It ...
4
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What reasons were given for the region-based funding of Russian recruitment/mobilization drives?
This is a bit superseded by the recent partial mobilization in Russia, but I am still a bit confused by Russian federal subjects (regions) being asked to fund recruitment.
(July 30th) Russia is ...
3
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2
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Does military spending include academic R&D budgets too?
Does military spending include the R&D funds provided to the academic institutions too?
For example, suppose the government of a country hires a university faculty to do some research with the aim ...
3
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Vital US interests: how are they defined and are they different between Republicans and Democrats?
In March 2022, the White House declared the ultimate goals of the DoD in their National Defense Strategy (NDS).
I did not read it, because as far as I know it is still classified, but I found ...
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Why does the "Tanks for Ukraine" discussion focus on the Leopard 2?
It may simply be my media bubble but it seems that the discussion on providing main battle tanks to the Ukraine focuses strongly, almost entirely, on the German Leopard 2. Why is that?
Now I ...
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Why does Egypt spend so much on defense?
Egypt is one of the largest spenders in the defence sector in the Muslim world.
They have only two theoretical adversaries in the region: (1) Israel and (2) Turkey.
They have a peace treaty with ...
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Iran's Military in Which Regime Had More Power? [closed]
At the moment, Iran holds the 14th rank in military power in comparison to other countries. Iran's Supreme Leader claims that he has been prioritizing military power over the economy to increase ...
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Vagueness rather than specificity when the risks are enormous
Summary
(Sep 27, 2022) Threats of nuclear retaliation are easily the most complicated political issues. In time historians might decide that Feb 24, 2022 was the launching date of WW3. In this ...
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What's the balance of (pro-)Russian forces in Ukraine between regular Russian units and Wagner, LPR+DPR armies etc.?
Are there some official Russian figures and/or Western estimates on what in the balance of (pro-)Russian forces engaged in Ukraine? Basically, how many are regular Russian forces vs various other ...
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What is pushing India to purchase Dassault Rafales?
India has approximately 300 Su-30MKI air superiority jets. They are custom built for India using Israeli electronics and avionics.
Pakistan doesn't even have air superiority jets.
Therefore, what is ...
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Bestowing honourary military appointments in the UK
In the UK, what is the process for the monarch to bestow honourary military appointments. For example, when HM Queen Elizabeth II made then Prince Charles an Admiral of the Fleet in 2012. Is it solely ...
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Why doesn't Iraq just blockade the Bashiqa base if they really want the Turks gone from there?
Apparently there's a seven year dispute between the Iraqi central government and Turkey over the Turkish base at Bashiqa (near Mosul) located at about 150 km from the Turkish border. Seemingly there ...
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Why is Pakistan requesting $450 million of F-16 sales from the USA? [closed]
Biden administration approves upgrade of Pakistan’s F-16 fighter aircraft in $450-million deal
According to the above news, Pakistan is probably getting spare parts and engines for its grounded F-16s....
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Does Konashenkov typically take questions after his briefings for the media?
Western sources typically show brief clips of Russia MoD spokesman Lt. General Igor Konashenkov giving his media briefings about the war, but the clips shown in the West are too short to get an idea ...
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What is publicly known about policy disagreements between generals Bajwa and Faiz Hameed?
According to the BBC there was a fallout between Chief of Army Staff general Bajwa and his supposed would-be successor general Faiz Hameed, then Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence. ...
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How much does the Pakistan military depend on (vintage) US equipment nowadays?
I can find graphs like this which suggest Pakistan has almost entirely switched to China for arms imports
However, that picture may be missing that Pakistan may have "vintage" US equipment ...
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Is the Pakistan Army stuck in a position where they must abide by the USA's policy of Pakistan, or does it just want to control the country's affairs? [closed]
I will give one example only. However, this example can be extrapolated into other sections of the Pakistan military.
If we look at the Pakistan Air Force, their attack backbone is composed of F-16 ...
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Does any NATO country assume being under an "armed attack" if it suffers casualties due to a radiation leak?
As the title says, does any NATO country's defense doctrine identifies radiation leaks occurred elsewhere, but presumably causing casualties in such country, as an equivalent of armed attack against ...
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Does Russia have a troop-surge party?
Back in early 2008 (for instance) there was a Gallup poll on whether the US public approved of the (then) troop surge in Iraq. Somewhat unsurprisingly [to me], in that instance the results were fairly ...
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What did the Dutch law commission find about their own military participation in Iraq (2003-2005)?
As I don't speak/read Dutch, the most detailed article I found about this is in Der Spiegel. In summary (from there), the Dutch law commission found
that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was illegal
that ...
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