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🇻🇬 Just when it looked like the postal service of British Virgin Islands had released no new stamps during 2019 Pobjoy Stamps announced that a new definitive series had been issued on 30 December 2019. The very attractive set of 7 Flowers stamps was designed by Bee Design and lithographed by Cartor and perforated 13.5 x 13. Production of the issue was coordinated by Creative Direction. I like the set very much. Rating:- *****.    Thanks to Juliet Warner of Pobjoy Stamps for information about this issue.   This means that the following Commonwealth postal administrations are not known to have issued any stamps during 2019:- Anguilla  Cameroon  Dominica Eswatini Gibraltar (Swiss Post) Lesotho Rwanda Samoa Solomon Islands Turks And Caicos Islands Zambia Just 10 countries (excluding Gibraltar Swiss Post).

The Arabic-speaking jihadist (left) introducing the group the “Soldiers of the Caliphate in Mali” before pledging allegiance to Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al Qurayshi. A short video uploaded online appears to show a cadre of jihadists in Mali’s central Segou Region pledging allegiance to Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al Qurayshi, the newly appointed leader of the Islamic State . The video features dozens of jihadists in the area of Nampala close to Mali’s borders with Mauritania. It is important to note that the video was not released through official Islamic State channels. Though this is not unusual for Islamic State-loyal jihadists in the Sahel. Prior to and even after being officially recognized by the Islamic State’s leadership in Iraq and Syria, the so-called “Islamic State in the Greater Sahara” released most of its propaganda and attack claims unofficially. In today’s short clip, an Arabic-speaking figure introduces the group as “Soldiers of the Caliphate in Mali,” before leading

C295 Air to Air Refueling The new capability for Airbus’ C295 to serve as an aerial tanker brings additional flexibility for this tactical airlifter, further increasing its already-proven versatility and opening additional mission opportunities. Airbus Defence and Space developed a removable air-to-air refuelling (AAR) kit for the twin-engine aircraft that utilises a 100-ft.-long deployable hose with a “basket” at the end – enabling the transfer of fuel to receiver aircraft equipped with a probe. A remote vision system allows crewmembers aboard the C295 tanker to monitor refueling operations from the cargo cabin. Recent flights to test the kit involved an Airbus-owned C295 that refueled a C295 from the Spanish Air Force, as well as proximity tests with the C295 and a fast fighter aircraft – a Spanish Air Force F-18. The C295’s removable refueling system – which weighs 1,500 kg. – consists of up to three additional fuel tanks, an operator’s console, and the hose drum unit “Cust

🇯🇪 It may be apt or, conversely perverse, to mention today - Brexit Day - that Jersey Post will issue   a set of 6 stamps and 2 miniature sheets to commemorate the 250th Birth anniversary of the man who wrote the music of the European anthem - Ludwig van Beethoven. The anthem is taken from Beethoven’s 9th Symphony which is highlighted on the £1.18p value. There is no apparent connection between Jersey and Beethoven apart from the fact that, according to Jersey Post, “the Jersey Symphony Orchestra has performed a number of his works over the years”. A rather tentative connection, I think. The total face value of the set is £5.19 plus £7.19 for the 2 miniature sheets.   The issue was designed by Hat-trick and lithographed by Cartor and will be released on 26 March 2020. Rating:- *. 🇫🇯 In a joint ceremony with the China Cultural Center in Fiji, Post   Fiji revealed the designs of 4 stamps which I assume are being sponsored by the Chinese government, to commemo

The Spanish Air Force, Ejército del Aire, is the third European air force to opt for the Swiss-produced PC-21, the Next Generation Trainer. Pilatus has committed to delivering a total of 24 PC-21s to Spain. The single-engine turboprop trainer aircraft will replace the Casa C-101 jet trainers used since 1980. The Ministry of Defence was looking for a new, highly efficient training platform to provide advanced training for Spain’s future military pilots tasked with protecting future generations. After a long and extremely professional evaluation, Pilatus beat several prestigious competitors to win the tender with the PC-21. The contract, which is worth over 200 million euros, was signed yesterday evening with the Spanish Dirección General de Armamento y Material (DGAM). Comprising an integrated training system, the order includes simulators developed and produced by Pilatus, spare parts and logistics support in addition to the PC-21 aircraft. Oscar J. Schwenk, Chairman of Pilatus, is

Flight trials have begun for a Royal Australian Air Force C-130J Hercules transport aircraft equipped with a Northrop Grumman Litening sensor pod. Mounted on a pylon underneath the wing of the Hercules, the AN/AAQ-28(V) Litening pod is capable of recording video in day and night-time conditions, and includes a Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) camera. Air Commodore Carl Newman, Commander Air Mobility Group, said the trials would examine the Litening pod’s utility for different Hercules missions. “Historically, RAAF Hercules crews have relied on radio, instruments and their own senses to understand the environment,” Air Commodore Newman said. “This trial will examine how the Litening pod can improve crew situational awareness to mitigate mission risks. “For example, the Litening pod could help us maintain contact with survivors during search and rescue operations, or examine conditions at an airfield or drop zone prior to delivering cargo or personnel.” The trial will also pair the

Incidence of sexual assault in US military academies rose again last year, the Pentagon said Thursday, despite efforts to combat the problem. During the 2018-2019 school year, there were 149 sexual assaults officially reported to authorities at three military academies — where students prepare for futures as military officers — compared to 117 during the previous school year, marking an increase of more than 25 percent, the Pentagon said in a report. This year’s count only covered sexual assault cases reported to authorities, which the Pentagon says makes it difficult to determine if the rise in cases is due to better reporting or if sexual assaults did indeed occur more frequently than the year before. Every two years, the nearly 13,000 students at the three schools — the army’s US Military Academy at West Point, New York, the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado — are also able to fill out anonymous questionnaires about sexu

The US government plans to relax restrictions on the army’s use of anti-personnel mines, reversing an Obama-era commitment that more than 160 countries have signed up to, and which aims to limit injuries to civilians, US media reported Thursday. According to CNN, President Donald Trump wants to reverse an order issued by his predecessor Barack Obama to bring the US in line with the Ottawa Convention that bans the use, production, stockpiling or transfer of anti-personnel mines, although Obama exempted the use of landmines in the Korean peninsula’s de-militarized zone. Trump was expected to rescind the 2014 order and leave it up to the Pentagon to decide on its use of landmines, CNN said, quoting unnamed military officials. Defense Secretary Mark Esper did not deny the reports. “There will be a change coming out. I’m not going to comment on it until it is,” he told reporters at a news conference. The Pentagon is expected to only deploy anti-personnel mines if they are fitted with

The OFFSET program hosts its third field experiment in Camp Shelby, Miss. Researchers integrate swarm tactics and human-swarm teaming technologies in third field experiment In its third field experiment, DARPA’s OFFensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics (OFFSET) program deployed swarms of autonomous air and ground vehicles to demonstrate a raid in an urban area. The OFFSET program envisions swarms of up to 250 collaborative autonomous systems providing critical insights to small ground units in urban areas where limited sight lines and tight spaces can obscure hazards, as well as constrain mobility and communications. In an interactive urban raid scenario, Swarm Systems Integrator teams deployed their assets in the air and on the ground to conduct the DARPA-designed mission, seeking multiple simulated items of interest located in the buildings at the Combined Arms Collective Training Facility (CACTF) at the Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center in Mississippi. The initial phase of the

Singapore Navy Commissions Final Three Littoral Mission Vessels (Source: Singapore Government; issued Jan 31, 2020) The Republic of Singapore Navy’s new fleet of Littoral Mission Vessels tied up at Changi Naval Base to mark the commissioning of the final three ships, which will substantially expand Singapore’s naval power. (RSN photo) Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo officiated at the commissioning ceremony of the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN)'s Littoral Mission Vessels (LMVs) RSS Fortitude, RSS Dauntless and RSS Fearless at Tuas Naval Base today. The commissioning of the final three LMVs marks a significant milestone for the RSN as all eight LMVs are operationalised, strengthening the Navy's capabilities to safeguard Singapore's waters, protect its Sea Lines of Communication and contribute to regional peace and security. Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Mrs Teo congratulated the RSN and her partners for the successful

Spain has ordered 24 Pilatus PC-21 turboprop trainers to replace its obsolete Casa C-101 Aviojets. The contract is worth €204.75 million, and calls for the first six aircraft to be delivered by March. Illustrated are Jordanian Air Force PC-21s. (Pilatus photo) The Spanish Air Force, Ejército del Aire, is the third European air force to opt for the Swiss-produced PC-21, the Next Generation Trainer. Pilatus has committed to delivering a total of 24 PC-21s to Spain. The single-engine turboprop trainer aircraft will replace the Casa C-101 jet trainers used since 1980. The Ministry of Defence was looking for a new, highly efficient training platform to provide advanced training for Spain's future military pilots tasked with protecting future generations. After a long and extremely professional evaluation, Pilatus beat several prestigious competitors to win the tender with the PC-21. The contract, which is worth over 200 million euros, was signed yesterday evening with the Spanish Direc

Lockheed Martin Potentially Mixed Up Structural Fasteners in Most F-35s (excerpt) (Source: Air Force Magazine; posted Jan. 30, 2020) By John A. Tirpak Hundreds of F-35s could have the wrong fasteners in “critical areas,” according to the Defense Contract Management Agency. But F-35 builder Lockheed Martin says the problem may not need to be fixed. “All aircraft produced prior to discovery of this [problem] have titanium fasteners incorrectly installed in locations where the design calls for Inconel,” the F-35 Joint Program Office said in an email in response to a query from Air Force Magazine. “Because of this, the engineering safety analysis of the issue has assumed that each critical F-35 joint was assembled with the incorrect fasteners.” Inconel is an alloy of nickel and chromium, and is supposed to be used in places where greater strength and corrosion resistance are required, while the titanium bolts are used in areas where its strength and lightness helps reduce weight. Titan

On Tuesday, President Trump made public his Middle East peace plan , “Peace to Prosperity,” which is the foundation for his proposed peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians. The majority of militant factions in Gaza and the West Bank have publicly stated their full-throated opposition to the deal, some even mocking the plan. The plan is primarily broken up into two parts, the political and economic frameworks. Under the frameworks, there are a total of twenty-two sections that cover security, trade, prisoners, refugees, and a whole host of other subjects. Clip of Fursan al Fatah statement rejecting Trump’s peace plan Fursan al Fatah Brigades, which considers itself the armed wing of Fatah, published a video stating: “We in the Brigades of the Conquest of Fatah invite our people and the free world to confront this deal with blood and gunpowder, as this is the only language that this enemy and his supporters understand. “We in the Al-Fursan Knights Brigade warn the enemy

In view of the challenges in space such as the increase of orbital debris, militarization of space will be “very bad,” Charles Frank Bolden, former administrator of NASA, told Xinhua at the sideline of an international space conference in Israel. The 15th Ilan Ramon international conference was hosted on Tuesday by the Israel Space Agency, a governmental body affiliated with the country’s Ministry of Science and Technology, as part of the 2020 Israeli space week events. Ilan Ramon is the first Israeli astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003. “It would be very unfortunate for people like me who want to be able to explore space freely,” Bolden said, referring to militarization or weaponization of space. “You can wipe that out in a heartbeat if you actually get engaged in full-blown militarization of space when people can start firing kinetic weapons at each other,” he added. One of the effects of those possible attacks, according to Bolden, is the increase

The United States is awaiting a green light from the Iraqi government to deploy Patriot missile defense systems to protect US troops from Iranian missile attacks, Pentagon chief Mark Esper said Thursday. Iran launched 11 missiles at a US air base at Ain al-Assad and another at a base in Erbil on January 8 in retaliation for the killing days earlier of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Baghdad. No US troops were killed but dozens suffered traumatic brain injuries from the explosions, and Washington wants to deploy Patriot missiles to better protect the bases, which house some of the 5,200 US military personnel deployed in Iraq. The Patriot systems are composed of high performance radars and interceptor missiles capable of destroying incoming ballistic missiles in flight. Questioned Thursday about the delay in deploying the system, Esper told reporters the Iraqi government, which apparently is divided over the US military presence in the country, has yet to gi

The United States is awaiting a green light from the Iraqi government to deploy Patriot missile defense systems to protect US troops from Iranian missile attacks, Pentagon chief Mark Esper said Thursday. Iran launched 11 missiles at a US air base at Ain al-Assad and another at a base in Erbil on January 8 in retaliation for the killing days earlier of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Baghdad. No US troops were killed but dozens suffered traumatic brain injuries from the explosions, and Washington wants to deploy Patriot missiles to better protect the bases, which house some of the 5,200 US military personnel deployed in Iraq. The Patriot systems are composed of high performance radars and interceptor missiles capable of destroying incoming ballistic missiles in flight. Questioned Thursday about the delay in deploying the system, Esper told reporters the Iraqi government, which apparently is divided over the US military presence in the country, has yet to giv

The United States on Thursday extended exemptions to let an internationally backed nuclear deal with Iran go forward, even as it announced new sanctions to step up pressure. President Donald Trump in 2018 pulled out of the accord negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama, sending tensions soaring with Iran and leading Tehran to curb compliance, but European powers still back the deal. Brian Hook, the US pointman on Iran, said that the United States would for another 60 days issue exemptions in its sweeping sanctions to let Russian and other companies implement it without fear of punishment by Washington. The extension will "permit the continuation of nonproliferation projects that constrain Iran's nuclear activities," Hook told reporters. "We will closely monitor all developments in Iran's nuclear program, and Secretary (Mike) Pompeo can end these projects as developments warrant," he said. The exemptions affect the Bushehr nuclear power plant and the