Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG-29 fighter jet crashed last night near Pakistan border, marking IAF's 6th crash of 2024.

Russia used 48N6DM missile of the S-400 air defense system in a surface-to-surface mode during missile attack on Kyiv on the morning of September 2, 2024.

— Ukrainian air defense successfully intercepted and destroyed the 48N6DM missile.

— When used in surface-to-surface mode, it has low accuracy and poses a significant threat to civilian infrastructure.

— The missile has a powerful 180 kg warhead with numerous fragments, increasing its destructive potential against civilian targets.

Source: Defense Express

It Is Not Hamas That Is Collapsing, but Israel

— Yitzhak Brik, former IDF Major General, argues that it is Israel, not Hamas, that is on the verge of collapse due to the prolonged conflict.

— The stated goals of "bringing Hamas to collapse" and "freeing all hostages by military pressure" have not been achieved.

— Continued fighting in Gaza is seen as futile and potentially counterproductive.

— The IDF is described as growing weaker with each passing day, with increasing casualties. Many reservists are refusing to be redrafted, and conscripted soldiers are exhausted and losing skills due to lack of training.

— The war is severely damaging Israel's economy, international relations, and social cohesiveness. The IDF lacks sufficient forces to fight on multiple fronts simultaneously.

— Hamas remains in control of most of its tunnel network.
He argues that the IDF has only destroyed a small percentage of Hamas's tunnels.

— Brik advocates for agreeing to a hostage deal and stopping the war in Gaza immediately. He calls for replacing the entire political and military leadership implicated in the "terrible failure" of October 7, 2023.

Source: Haaretz

The UK and US plan to extend the Mutual Defence Agreement (MDA) indefinitely, FT reports.

This agreement governs technology sharing between their nuclear weapons programs.

The change removes the previous 10-year limit on the agreement.

The U.S. is nearing an agreement to provide Ukraine with Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSMs).

— These are long-range cruise missiles capable of reaching deep into Russian territory.

— The decision is expected to be announced in autumn 2024. Ukraine would need to wait several months before receiving the missiles.

— JASSMs can fly close to the ground and take circuitous routes to avoid air defenses.

— Older models have a range of about 230 miles (370 km).
There's also a longer-range version that can fly over 500 miles.

— Efforts are underway to make the missiles operable with non-Western fighter jets in Ukraine's inventory. Ukraine operates Soviet-era MiG-29, Su-24, and Su-27 jets.

— The newest versions of JASSMs cost about $1 million each. They have a large, 1,000-pound warhead.

— Guidance is provided by GPS and an inertial navigation system. An infrared imaging seeker helps with final targeting, achieving accuracy of about 10 feet.

Source: Reuters

Shit happens: Flight engineer's night vision goggle battery pack cable "accidentally" switched off an engine of U.S. CV-22B helicopter.

— NVG cable looped around engine control lever, shutting off right engine.

— Aircraft struck ground at 40 knots, bounced, and slid 360 feet in Melrose Air Force Range, New Mexico on August 2023 with no fatalities.

Damage: $2 million in repairs needed for antennae, lights, nose landing gear doors, and FLIR turret.

Source: The Aviationist

Polish journalist Anna Husarska visited Municipal Cemetery Number 17 in Kharkiv, Ukraine.

Husarska observed a dramatic increase in the number of soldier graves compared to her visit a year earlier.

She states:

"There seem to be twice as many graves of killed soldiers as I saw there exactly a year ago."

She wishes someone from the Biden administration would view her video footage of the cemetery.

Husarska poses a rhetorical question:

"How many more graves will there be next year if we keep Ukraine from fighting back?"

Source: WaPo

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is set to be dismissed.

Other resignations today:

— Strategic Industries Minister: Alexander Kamyshin
— Justice Minister: Denys Maliuska
— Ecology Minister: Ruslan Strilets

"STINKY" Wi-Fi on U.S. Navy ship: Senior enlisted leaders of U.S. Navy's littoral combat ship USS Manchester's gold crew secretly installed an unauthorized Wi-Fi network during a 2023 deployment.

— They used a Starlink satellite internet dish installed on the ship's exterior, creating a network dubbed "STINKY".

— This allowed them to check sports scores, text home, and stream movies while rank-and-file sailors had restricted internet access.

— Command Senior Chief Grisel Marrero led the effort, involving the entire chiefs mess. Over 15 Manchester chiefs were implicated in purchasing, installing, and using the Starlink system.

— The ship's commanding officer, Cmdr. Colleen Moore, confronted Marrero multiple times, but Marrero repeatedly denied the network's existence.

— Marrero was relieved of duty in late 2023 and later convicted at court-martial.

— The chiefs paid $2,800 for the Starlink High Performance Kit. Monthly costs were divided among the chiefs, with options for $62.50 monthly or a one-time $375 fee.

Source: Navy Times

Ukrainian Army continues to utilize FPV drones to deploy thermite incendiary munitions against Russian positions.

Russian Army is also testing Ukraine's "Dragon's Breath" FPV drones to deploy thermite incendiary munitions.

It can reach temperatures exceeding 2,400 degrees Celsius (approximately 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit) when ignited.

Typically consists of iron oxide and aluminum powders.

Russia has established a covert trade channel with India to acquire sensitive goods and components for its war effort in Ukraine, FT reports.

— In October 2022, Russia planned to spend about 82 billion rupees (approximately $1 billion at the time) on securing critical electronics. Russia aimed to use rupees accumulated from oil sales to India to fund these purchases.

— The focus is on dual-use technologies (goods with both civilian and military applications) that are subject to Western export controls. These include components for telecommunications, server equipment, and other complex electronic systems.

— Russia explored building facilities in India to secure components. Moscow envisaged investing in Russo-Indian electronics development and production facilities.

— India-Russia trade reached an all-time high of $66 billion in the 2023-24 financial year, a fivefold increase from the year before the Ukraine invasion. India has been a major buyer of Russian crude oil since the invasion.