Jeff Seldin Profile picture
Mar 14 5 tweets 3 min read
BREAKING: #Russia|n Su-27 collides with US MQ-9 drone over the #BlackSea

Per @US_EUCOM, the Russian aircraft was 1 of 2 conducting " an unsafe & unprofessional intercept" when it struck the propeller of the MQ-9, causing US forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in
int'l waters"
MORE: Before #Russia|n Su-27 hit the US MQ-9 drone, "the [two] Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound
and unprofessional manner" per @US_EUCOM
"Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in int'l airspace when it was intercepted & hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash & complete loss of the MQ-9" per US Air Forces Europe & Air Forces Africa Cmdr Gen. James Hecker
US commander warns the #Russia|n Su-27 was almost lost, as well

"This unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash" per Gen Hecker

@US_EUCOM says the incident " follows a pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots...over intl airspace"
Incident took place at approximately 7:03 AM (CET) per @US_EUCOM

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Jeff Seldin

Jeff Seldin Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @jseldin

Mar 14
Senate Intelligence Committee vice chair promising "groundbreaking" report on #COVID19

In a video statement, @marcorubio says the report is "based on almost 18 months of investigations ...evidence that was either previously unknown or otherwise ignored by the US government"
Last week, @FBI Director Christopher told the Senate Intelligence Committee the bureau "has long assessed going back t the summer of 2021 that the origin of the pandemic was likely a lab incident in #Wuhan"
Where does the rest of US intelligence community stand on the question?

@ODNIgov Dir Avril Haines told the committee:

4 agencies + Nat'l Intelligence Council-"low confidence" #COVID19 pandemic caused by natural exposure to infected animal

@ENERGY: lab leak w/low confidence
Read 5 tweets
Mar 14
"China military modernization... is really just kind of awesome" @DefenseIntel #China Mission Group Chief Doug Wade warns @INSAlliance

"It's the totality of how the pull [all the modernization efforts] together that's the most impressive aspect"
Any move by #China on #Taiwan would be preceded by a range of activities, including #cyber activity, blockades, more violations of Taiwanese airspace & military measures short of putting troops on the ground, per @DefenseIntel's Wade
#China's Xi Jinping does not prefer to use force for unification w/#Taiwan - "China doesn't want to start a fight" per @DefenseIntel's Wade

But he cautions, "They haven't ruled it out"
Read 9 tweets
Mar 13
Pentagon asking for $30.6 billion for munitions in FY 24 - a 12% increase over FY 23 & a 50% increase over 5 years ago

"We are buying to the limits of the industrial base, even as we are expanding the industrial base" per @DepSecDef Kathleen Hicks
Munitions & munition production has been in the crosshairs due to demand/aid to #Ukraine

Per @DepSecDef, 1/3 of munitions spending will go for long range fires, including #hypersonic missiles
"This latest budget...procures the maximum amt of munitions that are most relevant for deterring &, if necessary, prevailing over aggression in the #IndoPacific..." per @DepSecDef's prepared remarks
Read 10 tweets
Mar 10
#Russia's use of #hypersonic missiles - specifically the Kinzhal - to batter #Ukraine has almost everyone's attention at the moment (see below)

BUT US defense intelligence officials warn #China's hypersonic program may be the more worrisome

1/x
voanews.com/a/british-mini…
"#China is leading #Russia in both supporting infrastructure & numbers of systems" @DefenseIntel Chief Scientist for Science and Technology Paul Freisthler told US lawmakers Friday

2/x
"#China has dramatically advanced its development of conventional & nuclear armed hypersonic missile technologies & capabilities" per @DefenseIntel's Freisthler

"...through intense & focused investment development testing & deployment"

3/x
Read 11 tweets
Mar 8
Happening now: US Senate's Annual Worldwide Threats with:

@ODNIgov Dir Avril Haines
@CIA Dir William Burns
@DefenseIntel Dir LtGen Scott Berrier
@CYBERCOM_DIRNSA Gen Paul Nakasone
@FBI Dir Christopher Wray
intelligence.senate.gov/hearings/open-…
"We are increasingly seeing rising competition in the technology space with authoritarian regimes that are challenging democratic norms at home & around the world," per Senate Intel Committee chair @MarkWarner
#China's communist party "is now a near-peer competitor with the United States in its economy, technology & military capabilities" per @MarkWarner
Read 60 tweets
Mar 7
#Russia #cyber ops in the war on #Ukraine - "We continue full spectrum operations w/a series of partners to include Ukraine to provide them assistance as they battle the Russians" @CYBERCOM_DIRNSA Gen Paul Nakasone tells lawmakers
#Russia "a very capable [#cyber] adversary" per @CYBERCOM_DIRNSA "We continue to work very tightly w/our other partners within the US gvt -CISA, @FBI- to ensure our US critical infrastructure is protected, and @NATO in general"
Background:

“If the conflict continues to not go well for #Russia, there is some chance that Russia will be increasingly brazen in its cyberattacks” an NSA spox told @VOANews “...will increasingly look outside of Ukraine's territorial borders"
voanews.com/a/us-bracing-f…
Read 22 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(