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Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Brit AI-drone gunships to fly alongside Apache helicopters in war of the future
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) BRITAIN'S new AI-drone gunships will fly alongside Apache helicopters in future battles. Apache pilots will command up to six drones, known as mules, carrying missiles, sensors and jamming kit. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Britain's new AI-drone gunships will fly alongside Apache helicopters in future wars The mules will also be programmed to fight autonomously and control swarms of smaller drones on the ground. This triple-layer system will give the Army far greater firepower and aims to protect our fleet of Apache AH-64Es, Challenger 3 tanks plus soldiers on the ground. More integration of crewed and uncrewed aircraft had been hinted at in the Strategic Defence Review announced earlier this month. Defence Secretary John Healey told this week's RUSI land warfare conference in London: 'From this year, we will be investing more than £100million in new, initial funding to develop land drone swarms.' READ MORE ON DRONES GULF EXIT Brit & US spy planes quit Gulf amid fears of Iran reprisals over Israel's attack 'Our Autonomous Collaborative Platforms (the mules) will fly alongside the Apache attack helicopters and enhance the Army's ability to strike, survive and win on the battlefield. 'This will be a game-changer. It will be applying the lessons from Ukraine in a world- leading way. It will be putting the UK at the leading edge of innovation in Nato.' Chief of the General Staff Sir Roly Walker said 80 per cent of the Army's weapons in future wars would be drones — as it could take months to build Apaches and tanks and years to train their crews. He said drones were vital as the Ukraine war had 'shown how a £20million tank and four experienced crew can be lost to a £1,000 drone operated by a kid with a few days' training'. He added of the mule drones: 'You don't want to lose them but, if you do, it's not a tragedy because, although sophisticated, they are uncrewed.'
News18
an hour ago
- Business
- News18
An Old Tango in Washington: Donald Trump, Asim Munir & A Farce India Has Seen Before
Last Updated: While America is busy with its old tango with Islamabad, India will continue its economic ascent, building a future based on production, not deception President Donald Trump, in a move dripping with transactionalism, has rolled out the red carpet for Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, Syed Asim Munir. Recently anointed a 'Field Marshal" for saving Pakistan from India's fury by securing a 'ceasefire," Asim Munir is now in Washington. He arrives not as a statesman representing a nation, but as an exposed military leader with a begging bowl, seeking to mortgage his country's strategic alignment for his institution's financial and political survival. But this time, there was a crucial and unexpected prologue. Just before meeting Munir, President Trump requested a call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the 35-minute conversation, PM Modi made India's new doctrine vis-à-vis Pakistan crystal clear. He briefed Trump on Operation Sindoor, framing it as 'measured and precise", and made it clear that terrorism is now considered an actual war by India. The operation, he warned, is merely paused, and would resume with renewed ferocity were Pakistan to attempt any misadventure. With that single phone call, Munir's mission was kneecapped before it even began. He arrives not to a blank slate, but to a chessboard where India has already placed his king in check. Munir's itinerary, reportedly including meetings with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, is not a diplomatic courtesy. It is a coronation. It confirms who truly wields power in Islamabad, and it is not the man with the title of 'Prime Minister.' The meeting between an American President and a Pakistani Army Chief, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is relegated to the sidelines, is the most profound insult to the very notion of Pakistani 'democracy." It is a public declaration from Washington that the fig leaf has fallen. The civilian government in Pakistan is, and has always been, a flimsy façade – a Potemkin village designed to secure IMF loans and maintain the pretense of a 'modern' state. The real power, the entity that decides matters of war, peace, and nuclear codes, resides in the military's General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. By engaging directly with Munir, Trump is simply legitimising Pakistan's military rule. It is a display of strategic myopia, where short-term gains are pursued at the cost of long-term regional stability. A PIVOT FOR A PRICE: WOOING RAWALPINDI, WORRYING BEIJING But why now? The timing, as always, is key. The escalating conflict between Israel and Iran has sent ripples of anxiety through the world. With Pakistan sharing a long and porous border with Iran, its geography once again becomes its greatest, and perhaps only, asset. Washington sees a frontline state, a potential staging ground, and a lever against Tehran. In this high-stakes game, Trump is making a classic American bet: that the loyalty of the Pakistani military can be bought, or at least rented. He is attempting to pry Pakistan from the tightening embrace of its two most committed patrons: China and Iran. This courtship is aimed squarely at Beijing. For years, China has nurtured Pakistan as its 'all-weather" ally, a strategic gateway to the Arabian Sea through CPEC and a loyal customer for its military-industrial complex. Trump's embrace of Munir, with its unspoken offer of American dollars and technology, is a direct challenge to that leverage. After all, an 'all-weather friendship" built on loans can look remarkably fragile when confronted with the immediate gratification of American patronage. Beijing is about to find out just how deep its influence in Rawalpindi truly runs. The second prize is the vast mineral wealth of Balochistan. Since he took office in January, Trump has been scanning the world topography for rare earth elements (REEs). The India-Pakistan flare-up appears to have brought Balochistan's rare earth deposits to Trump's attention. Balochistan, currently under Pakistani occupation, is estimated to contain 12 of the 17 known REEs. By gaining influence over the Pakistani security establishment, the US not only disrupts China's access to these deposits but positions itself to control these resources — a manoeuvre combining 19th-century colonial grabbing with 21st-century geostrategic competition. AN OLD SCRIPT, BUT INDIA HAS FLIPPED THE PAGE So where does this leave India? More secure than ever. India's mature response is one of quiet, almost amused, detachment, now bolstered by the knowledge that our red lines have been clearly communicated at the highest level. Our attitude should be simple: good luck to all those who wish to get in bed with the Pakistanis. After all, Prime Minister Modi has made it unequivocally clear to Trump that US mediation is not welcome and that India knows how to deal with Pakistan on its own terms. India learned long ago that American dollars poured into Pakistan do not create a stable, moderate neighbour. Instead, they fund a duplicitous military establishment that perfects the art of playing both sides. The US has armed Pakistan against the Soviets, only to see those same assets turned into a global jihadist factory that ultimately claimed American lives. It has funded Pakistan for the 'War on Terror', only to find Osama bin Laden living comfortably next to its premier military academy. History provides a brutal record: any nation entangled with the Pakistani state has suffered for it. If President Trump believes he can tame this animal, especially after being explicitly warned by India, then we can only wish him the very best. India will not interrupt its adversary when it is making a mistake. Trump is not the first American to be entrapped by the Pakistanis, and India knows he will not be the last. top videos View all Let the US navigate the labyrinth of Pakistani promises. While America is busy with its old tango with Islamabad, India will continue its economic ascent, building a future based on production, not deception. The meeting between Trump and Munir is not a threat. It is an affirmation of everything we already knew, but with one crucial difference: this time, the world knows that India is not just watching. We have already spoken. The stage is set, the actors are familiar, and we have already delivered our lines. Besides, were Pakistan to mistake American patronage as a safety net to attempt more attacks against India, it would be making a catastrophic miscalculation — one that would invite a response so swift and overwhelming that no global power, not even the United States, would be able to shield Islamabad from. The cost would not just be military defeat, but the accelerated and inevitable unravelling of a terror state already fraying at the seams. Disintegration would not be a threat. It would be a certainty for Pakistan. Sanbeer Singh Ranhotra Sanbeer Singh Ranhotra is a producer and video journalist at Network18. He is enthusiastic about and writes on both national affairs as well as geopolitics. tags : Asim Munir donald trump us pakistan relations Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: June 18, 2025, 11:42 IST News opinion Opinion | An Old Tango in Washington: Donald Trump, Asim Munir & A Farce India Has Seen Before
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
'$25 billion in first year...': Sen. Kelly clashes with Hegseth over 'Golden Dome' at Senate hearing
US: Sen. Mark Kelly prodded Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth for more details on the "Golden Dome" missile defence system proposed by the Trump administration. Kelly questioned if some of Hegseth's proposed budget cuts would affect the system's success. Show more Show less
Express Tribune
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Former Israeli deputy defence minister threatens Pakistan's nuclear programme
Listen to article Former Israeli Deputy Minister of Defence and Labour Party Central Committee member, Meir Masri, has threatened Pakistan's nuclear programme in a social media post. Masri, who wrote in Arabic, and Urdu, posted on X (formerly Twitter), saying, 'After Iran's campaign, we may seek to dismantle Pakistan's nuclear programme.' بعد حملة إيران، قد نسعى إلى تفكيك النووي الباكستاني. — Meir Masri | מאיר מסרי (@MeirMasri) June 18, 2025 Masri currently holds no official government post but retains influence within Israeli political and strategic circles as a member of the Labour Party's senior leadership. He further went on to say, "Pakistan is not far from Iran. Your understanding is sufficient." باكستان لا تبعد كثيراً عن إيران. وفهمكم كفاية. پاکستان ایران سے زیادہ دور نہیں ہے۔ آپ کی سمجھ کافی ہے۔ — Meir Masri | מאיר מסרי (@MeirMasri) June 15, 2025 Social media users were quick to respond, with many rallying behind Pakistan and condemning Meir Masri's remarks. Do discuss with Captain Lutz before any such plan, he will definitely help you with the strategy 😎🇵🇰 — Pakistan Strategic Forum (@ForumStrategic) June 19, 2025 Some pointed out that such threats only strengthen Pakistan's resolve and national unity. Others reminded Masri of Pakistan's nuclear deterrent and past diplomatic restraint. Lol, you didn't dared to run a mission Phantom Flight back in when we didn't had nukes and now we have so keep day dreaming! — Usman Ghani (@THistorians) June 18, 2025 On Monday, Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar issued a stern warning to Israel amid rising regional tensions. 'Our message is very clear for Israel: Dare not look at Pakistan,' he said, emphasising that the country remains on high alert and has the strength and resolve to respond decisively to any aggression. Dar also recalled the national unity shown by Pakistanis during previous escalations with India, affirming that the nation would remain united in defending its sovereignty. Read: DPM rebukes fake news claiming Pakistan plans nuclear strike on Israel These remarks came amid swirling rumours on social media claiming Pakistan threatened to launch a nuclear strike on Israel in retaliation for any attack on Iran—claims the government categorically denied. Meanwhile, Iranian missile strikes caused heavy damage across central and southern Israel, including a direct hit near Soroka Medical Centre in Be'er Sheva. Israel confirmed incoming attacks in multiple locations and responded with airstrikes targeting Iran's Khondab nuclear facility, raising fears of a wider regional escalation. Iranian state media reported that the Khondab heavy-water reactor had been evacuated before the Israeli strike, with no radiation risk detected. In Holon near Tel Aviv, a missile strike seriously injured one person and wounded over two dozen others as a residential building collapsed.
NDTV
9 hours ago
- Business
- NDTV
It Is The Best Of Times, It Is The Worst Of Times, For Pakistan
Pakistan Field Marshal Asim Munir's June 18 White House lunch hosted by US President Donald Trump offered plenty of hors d'oeuvres that we Indians need to munch and digest at leisure. The visiting Pakistani dignitary is also scheduled to meet the Secretaries of State and Defence before concluding his five-day visit, which has been shrouded in secrecy and frequent redefinition of its agenda and objectives. He was first said to be invited to attend the US Army's 250th anniversary, which he did not eventually attend. Chances are that its real agenda is to set the terms of engagement to enable Pakistan to resume, all over again, America's usual 'Dirty Work', albeit this time for a new objective: affecting a regime change in neighbouring Iran. Last-minute offer of an unprecedented White House lunch and the host's expression of effusive love for Pakistan and its Field Marshal are tell-tale signs that the two sides have agreed to pursue a comprehensive joint strategy on Iran, deemed important enough in Washington to risk riling New Delhi, at least in the short run. A Strange Turn Over the past two months, there have been many other straws in the air indicating the tailwinds for America's ties with Pakistan. While Trump and his team condemned the Pahalgam terrorist attack of April 22, they were deafeningly silent on Pakistan's culpability. While US Vice President JD Vance said on May 8 that the ongoing India-Pak hostilities were 'none of our business', two days later, Trump peremptorily took credit for effecting a ceasefire between the belligerents 'at the verge of a nuclear war' (he has repeated this claim despite India's stubborn denials). Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to Gen Munir, the Chief of the Pakistani armed forces, ostensibly to discuss the ceasefire. A billion-dollar IMF (International Monetary Fund) bailout package for Pakistan was approved within hours of the May 10 ceasefire, ignoring New Delhi's strong reservations. In his June 10 House Committee testimony, the US Centcom Chief described Pakistan as 'a phenomenal partner' in counter-terrorism. While many of these American pronouncements were accompanied by balancing remarks for India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, these only show a reversion to the India-Pakistan re-hyphenation. What's Behind These Words? It does not take a genius to guess the broad likely contours of the deal are being stealthily negotiated (while pretending that the Field Marshal was miffed at being forced to cool his heels in a hotel) before the White House lunch. Trump's White House is currently fixated on Iran. Pakistan, with a 909-km-long border with that country, is most probably being offered an opportunity to become a 'Frontline State' in return for the usual handsome rewards. For economically tattered and politically unstable Pakistan, this gratuitous offer is manna from heaven that it is in no condition to refuse. The ever-guileful Islamabad, however, is certain to drive a hard bargain: a long-term strategic partnership placing Islamabad near the fulcrum of the post-crisis Gulf security architecture with accompanying financial, military bailout and re-hyphenation with India. In return, Pakistan would be expected to render help in reshaping Iran in several ways: in the short term, to provide a staging post for the American forces to operate in Iran to defang the latter's nuclear programme, and, over the long run, depending on the outcome of the Tehran regime change project, collaborate by seeding and sustaining an insurrection and/or keeping the Mullah regime off balance. Pakistan's staging role would be preferable to both Washington and the Gulf Arabs, who although host many American military bases, are loath to be subject to Iran's threatened wrath. Not The First Time Indeed, Rawalpindi GHQ has been the Pentagon's useful and profitable minion many times before. During the Cold War, military-run Pakistan was among the early opt-ins as a lynchpin to South West Asia's Western security architecture through SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) and CENTO (Central Treaty Organization) against Communism. Islamabad was rewarded with Patton Tanks and Sabre jets, which were unabashedly used against India in the 1965 and 1971 conflicts. Entry of the Soviet Union's Red Army into Afghanistan in 1979 was the second such opportunity, which made Pakistan a 'Front Line State' for the West. Gen Zia ul Haq's dictatorship, then an international pariah for the execution of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was quickly rehabilitated and made a staging post for a not-so-secret campaign by the US and some Gulf states to train and equip the Mujahideen fighters to bleed the invaders till the Russians finally withdrew in 1989. Pakistan not only milked the aid pipeline but also got F-16s and other military hardware. Even more importantly, Americans turned a blind eye to its covert nuclear weapon programme under the infamous Dr AQ Khan, as Islamabad was deemed too important an ally to worry about such trifling matters as nuclear proliferation to Libya, Iran and North Korea. The Afghanistan Saga Once the Mujahideen took over Afghanistan in 1992, the US quickly lost interest in Pakistan, much to the latter's chagrin. But soon thereafter, September 11 happened, giving Islamabad a third such opportunity to help the Pentagon stage an invasion to dislodge the same Islamic militants it helped bring to power less than a decade ago. Americans rediscovered, at their peril, the Pakistani duplicity in helping them but also nurturing Afghanistan-based 'Taliban', al-Qaeda and other jihadists. This epoch lasted two decades, during which, once again, Pakistan was the base as well as a conduit for the massive US deployments in Afghanistan. By this time, Pakistanis had mastered the art of being perfidiously transactional towards Americans. Their gains during two decades of US involvement in Afghanistan are put at nearly $50 billion. Islamabad pretended to support the American campaign against the Afghan Taliban but also secretly sustained the latter, to eventually gleefully claim a victory when the Taliban Emirate was re-established in Afghanistan in August 2022 as the US troops left the country. The US spent over $2.3 trillion and suffered over 2,400 dead soldiers while chasing al-Qaeda all over the country, when all the while, its supremo, Osama bin Laden, was holed up in a safe house near a large Pakistani cantonment apparently under ISI protection, until the US special forces got him in 2011. 'Project Iran' Isn't Easy The proposed Iran project faces considerable odds. Firstly, the six-day-old Israeli Operation, 'Rising Lions', aimed at obliterating Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities, is not yet in its decisive stage, and despite staggering losses, the Islamic Republic, a system with staying power, is still standing and retaliating against Israel, whose capacity to wage a protracted war of attrition against a country ten times more populous over a thousand kilometres away is not infinite. Secondly, Iran is ten times more populous to be a scaled-up model of the past US-Pakistani schemes for Afghanistan. Thirdly, the Shia-majority Iran is socially very different from the Sunni-majority Pakistan to allow a natural soft landing. Pakistan becoming an American cat's paw could even unravel the former's delicate Shia-Sunni divisions. Relevant to note that Shia constitute around 15% of Pakistan's population and are sympathetic to Iran's Islamic Revolution. Socially, too, the sparsely populated common border is restive with mutual insurgencies: from the Balochistan Liberation Army in Pakistan to Jaish al-Adl, Sunni militants trying to secede from Iran. Their activities could complicate any calculus. Further, unlike Afghanistan, Iran is not a landlocked country dependent on access to the sea via Pakistan. A Bit Awkward For Both Trump And Pakistan Last, but not least, there is hardly any ethnic or political love lost between Iranians and Pakistanis. Historically, Iranians have mostly looked westwards, and the contacts with the East have been few and far between. The total bilateral trade in 2024 was estimated to be only $2.4 billion. Moreover, on several occasions in the past, Pakistan sought to mediate in Iran's disputes with the West and the Gulf Arab states. But nothing came out of these gratuitous efforts, mainly because the Tehran power elite suspected glib-talking Pakistanis of being insincere and biased. A case in point was earlier this week, when an Iranian General cited Pakistani assurance to nuke Israel in case it used nuclear weapons against Iran, only to have the Pakistani defence minister flatly deny the same. Rawalpindi GHQ's alacrity for working for the American regional agenda in past has had blowbacks for Pakistan's internal fabric, such as instability and insecurity due to illegal immigration, terrorism, gunrunning, rentier economy, and the army's political dominance to the detriment of democracy. The proposed collaboration on the Iran project this time is likely to invoke even more daunting specifics. Firstly, while Pakistan has always lived by its wits, this time, it faces the unpredictable, transactionalist Donald Trump, a dealmaker with a penchant for sudden surprises (ask Zelensky). Secondly, while anti-Communism and the Afghanistan conundrum had a national consensus in Pakistan, alignment against Iran can be very different, as it has the potential to split the society. In the same vein, an open collaboration with Israel and the US running amok against Iran is unlikely to make Islamabad popular in the Islamic Ummah. Thirdly, Pakistan's lurch from China to the US may lack elegance and credibility. There would be blowbacks for the Trump presidency, too, from a direct invasion of Iran with Pakistani connivance, such as a loss of credibility about 'not starting endless wars abroad', alienation of the over 5 million-strong Indian diaspora in the country, and loss of political synergy built with India. What Does India Need? A Nimbler Diplomacy What are the important takeaways for India from this slippery saga? Firstly, it attests to the correctness of our quest for 'strategic autonomy' in the long run. Secondly, it exposes our naivety in putting inordinate faith in the Trump presidency, which has adopted a cynical 'run-with-the-hare-and-hunt-with-the-hounds' geopolitical approach anchored to short-term transactions and permanent narcissism. While we may not be a direct victim of Trumpian vicissitudes on China, Pakistan, Iran sanctions, or Ukraine, we suffer considerable collateral damage and have shown the right stiff upper lip needed to manage his whims. It also calls for a reassessment of our strategic options in a notoriously dynamic world where predictive diplomacy is needed abroad instead of harping on age-old shared values. While there is no need to be as unprincipled as Pakistan, our diplomacy needs to be nimbler and less abrasive or prescriptive. We also need to consider the wisdom of the old Americanism: 'You fool me once, shame on you; You fool me again, shame on me.'
