Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

Sabaudia, 22 January 2026 – This afternoon, the first materials for the SAMP/T New Generation (NG) and GRIFO Surface-to-Air missile weapon systems were delivered to the Italian Army at the Santa Barbara barracks in Sabaudia (LT), home of the Air Defence Artillery Command (COMACA). click on image to enlarge The SAMP/T NG, produced by the EUROSAM industrial joint venture, consisting of MBDA Italy, MBDA France, and THALES, is a medium-range system that can also be used against ballistic missiles. It is the result of decades of Italian-French cooperation, which also included the development of the previous version of the SAMP/T,…

Hey folks, Fireside this week! Hopefully everyone enjoyed our series on the running debate over hoplites! As a social media note, I am going to attempt to start setting up a presence on Threads (with my own name, bretdevereaux, as my handle as always). I’m not leaving Bluesky by any means, just diversifying a bit; my presence on Twitter is likely to remain very limited as the quality of the discourse on that site has been…very poor. Which actually leads neatly into this week’s musing. Percy (far) and Ollie (near) both suddenly confused as to why I am in my…

An Ajax armoured vehicle on display at DVD 2024. Credit: Richard Thomas Despite committing billions of pounds, the UK’s Ajax infantry fighting vehicle programme continues to suffer with significant issues Service personnel are still being left injured after operating the platform for prolonged periods, despite an apparent fix years ago The UK Government was humiliated after being forced to suspend the use of Ajax days after the IFV had reached IOC At the recent International Armoured Vehicles exhibition and conference, the £6bn ($8.9bn) elephant in the room that resembles the Ajax programme managed to influence all manner of discussion, without…

Tripwire Presents and developer Arctic Hazard have delayed NORSE: Oath of Blood. The turn-based tactics RPG will now release on PC on February 17, 2026, with versions planned for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S shifted to a spring 2026 window. The new PC date is a two-week move from the previously announced February 3 launch. In the message shared by the teams, they framed the delay as extra time for polish and refinement before players start Gunnar’s campaign. NORSE: Oath of Blood is set in Norway during the Viking Age and follows Gunnar, a young warrior pushed into exile…

On the fifth episode of UFC 324 Embedded, Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje have a promotional shoot for the first numbered event in the Paramount Era; Jean Silva visualizes capturing UFC gold; Sean O’Malley’s mind gets blown by David Blaine’s mind-boggling magic tricks; Umar Nurmagomedov trains one last time in the UFC PI surrounded by UFC royalty; athletes take the stage to exchange words at the UFC 324 Pre-Fight Press Conference.UFC 324 takes place on Jan. 24 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by an interim lightweight title bout between former interim titleholder Justin Gaethje and No. 5 ranked Paddy Pimblett. It…

Helena Crevar was the real deal Friday night.The teen grappling sensation earned a comfortable win in her ONE Championship debut, getting past Teshya Noelani Alo via Estima lock at the 1:40 mark in an openweight contest at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday night.After her victory at One Championship 39, Crevar admitted she struggled with the hydration tests and could go up a weight class in the future after missing weight for the contest.“Next time I’m probably going up a weight class so I can pass the hydration and make weight as well,” Crevar said.It was the…

When journalists or policy experts fretfully discuss arms racing and military buildups in the Indo-Pacific, they tend to focus on Northeast Asian autocracies rather than Southeast Asian democracies. And yet Indonesia, a historically non-aligned nation with no recent history of great-power war, is currently engaged in a process of unprecedented military expansion. If fully realized, this sweeping set of reforms will grow its total active-duty personnel to over 1.2 million in just five years.This expansion will mostly come from the plan to establish “territorial development infantry battalions” in the army by 2029. Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin announced that each…

Meetings Coverage Security Council 10093rd Meeting (PM) SC/16279 21 January 2026 While the new year carries “high expectations” for progress in Haiti, the Security Council heard today that achieving this requires sustained security efforts, focused international engagement and assumed political responsibilities. “The country has no time to waste on prolonged internecine fighting,” said Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti and Head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH). All national stakeholders, he urged, must find common ground ahead of 7 February — the date on which the current transitional arrangement will end. Steps taken…

It’s frustrating to hear about research that suggests sitting is terrible for your health when you have to sit all day for work. But studies have linked sitting for long periods of time to everything from mental health issues to a shorter lifespan, making the connection hard to ignore. Now, new research suggests you’re not totally screwed on the health front if you have a desk job.The study, which was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, calls out different types of sitting—active and passive—and points out that one in particular may actually help to lower your risk of cognitive…

By Mike Vrabel | Virginia National Guard January 21, 2026 KOUVOLA, Finland — Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division Headquarters participated in the Finnish training exercise Operation Karelian Spear Nov. 28 – Dec. 4, 2025. The training, featuring the Finnish Karelian Brigade and other members of the Finnish Army Headquarters, as well as other foreign partners, was conducted in support of the State Partnership Program, in which Virginia and Finland have been formal partners since 2024. The training brought together military personnel from multiple NATO nations alongside the Virginia Army National Guard. Over the…