President Trump Accepts Russian President Putin's Offer Of Medical Supplies To Combat Covid-19

A Russian Il-76 transport military aircraft is loaded with medical aid to be sent to Italy amid the Covid-19 pandemic. © Russian Defence Ministry / Alexey Ereshko

RT: Russian Covid-19 aid plane to US: Putin asked Trump if he needed help & he accepted, Kremlin spokesman says

A cargo plane loaded with medical supplies and protection equipment may depart for the US by the end of Tuesday, the Kremlin said, after a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The issue of protective gear was raised during the Monday phone talks, with Putin asking if the US needed help and Trump accepting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.

Moscow suggested the aid in anticipation that the US will be able to return the favor if necessary, once its manufacturers of medical and protective equipment catch up with demand, Peskov said.

The current situation “affects everyone without exception and is of a global nature,” he added.

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Update #1: Plane With Russian Medical Equipment May Be Sent to US by Day-End to Assist COVID-19 Fight - Kremlin (Sputnik)
Update #2: Russia may send plane with medical equipment to US by end of day (TASS)

WNU Editor: This is a reversal of U.S. policy of not accepting aid from Russia. But President Trump appears to not care about this restriction .... ‘Happily surprised’? Trump says Russia sent US ‘very, very large’ aid package to combat Covid-19 (RT). Not everyone is happy with this aid .... ‘This is NUTS!’ Russiagaters see red over Putin’s planeload of corona-aid for Trump, queue to look gift-horse in mouth (RT). As to what is my take. Take the aid. This is a crisis situation right now.

Russia's Top Coronavirus Doctor Who Met President Putin Last Week Tests Positive For Covid-19

Moscow Times/AFP: Russia's Top Coronavirus Doctor Who Met Putin Tests Positive

The head of Moscow's main coronavirus hospital who met with President Vladimir Putin a week ago has tested positive, he said Tuesday, as the Kremlin announced the Russian leader's health was fine.

Last Tuesday Denis Protsenko met with the Russian leader who inspected the Kommunarka hospital while wearing a bright yellow hazmat suit. But the 67-year-old Putin was also seen talking to Protsenko without any protective gear.

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WNU Editor: The Kremlin is saying that Russian President Putin is now being checked everyday. I am willing to bet that there are a lot of nervous people in the Kremlin right now.

More News On Russia's Top Coronavirus Doctor Who Met President Putin Last Week Being Tested Positive For Covid-19

Head of Russian coronavirus hospital visited by Putin tests positive for Covid-19 -- RT
Head of Russia's Coronavirus Hospital Who Met With Putin Tests Positive for COVID-19 -- Sputnik
Chief physician of Moscow clinic for coronavirus patients diagnosed with COVID-19 -- TASS
Russian doctor who met Putin last week diagnosed with coronavirus -- Reuters
Russian doctor who shook hands with Putin last week has coronavirus -- FOX News

U.S. Intelligence Agencies Are Having Problems Assessing The Pandemic In China, North Korea, And Russia

Reuters: U.S. spies find coronavirus spread in China, North Korea, Russia hard to chart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As U.S. spy agencies seek to assemble a precise picture of the world’s coronavirus outbreaks, they are finding serious gaps in their ability to assess the situation in China, Russia and North Korea, according to five U.S. government sources familiar with the intelligence reporting.

The agencies also have limited insight into the full impact of the pandemic in Iran, although information on infections and deaths among the ruling class and public is becoming more available on official and social media, two sources said.

The four countries are known by U.S. spy agencies as “hard targets” because of the heavy state controls on information and the difficulty, even in normal times, of collecting intelligence from within their closed leadership circles.

An accurate assessment of those countries’ outbreaks would aid U.S. and international efforts to limit the human and economic tolls from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, experts say.

The agencies are not just looking for accurate numbers, but also for any signs of the political ramifications of how the crisis is being handled.

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WNU Editor: I would add Iran to the list. I can understand why it is hard to understand what is happening in North Korea, and to a lesser extent China. But the Russian stats should not be that hard to figure out.

Update: This is what U.S. intelligence should focus on .... Before this pandemic ends, intel agencies should prepare for a world of threats(David B. Rivkin, Jr. and George S. Beebe, The Hill).

The U.S. Navy Wants To End Shock Trials

The Shock Trial is on the way out U.S. Navy

Forbes: The U.S. Navy Eyes A Shock Trial-Free Future

The U.S. Navy is debating the utility of shock trials. Shock trials test how ships handle undersea explosions, giving sailors a better understanding of how the vessel will hold up in battle. In technical terms, shock trials make the hull vibrate to see how the installed and integrated components respond to ensure the ship can continue to fight. Once a regular feature of naval shipbuilding, the Navy’s enthusiasm for this real-world simulation of battlefield conditions has dwindled over time. Why?

There are a variety of reasons the Navy wants to move away from shock trials. Shock trials are expensive, only taking place under a constrained set of conditions. Weather conditions and environmental concerns make scheduling difficult. Even worse, busy shipyards make it challenging to bring a ship in for timely repairs after the shock trial occurs.

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WNU Editor: This tells me that the costs and time lost repairing the ship have become unsustainable for the US Navy.

The U.S. Navy Is Unprepared To Handle The Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

On March 25, Hospital Corpsmen 1st Class Jonathan Ivey, left, screens Ensign Mackenzie Jones for signs of the coronavirus before allowing him to board the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8). (US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jeremy Laramore)

Navy Times: An outbreak on a Navy warship — and an ominous sign of a readiness crisis

It started on Monday, March 16, with one chief on board the littoral combat ship Coronado feeling sick and being sent home for a few days.

Ten days later, nine Coronado sailors had tested positive for COVID-19 and more than 30 crew members are having their movements restricted — about half the crew of the small warship currently in port in San Diego.

The ship’s planned underway periods have been postponed until the outbreak is under control, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

“It was a total shit-show,” said a sailor familiar with the outbreak on Coronado. “Everybody started getting sick. I felt like the right thing to do was get everybody off the ship, test everybody whether they were sick or not. Then put the people who were fine on a barge next to the ship, bring on the people in HAZMAT suits and have the ship cleaned professionally.”

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WNU Editor: Giving sailors buckets and bleach and told to wipe down things is not how you disinfect location.

Captain Of The U.S. Aircraft Carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt Pleads For Help With 150 To 200 Sailors Infected With Covid-19

The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group in formation in the Indo-Pacific region, January 25, 2020. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Kaylianna Genier

Business Insider: The captain of the aircraft carrier struck by a coronavirus outbreak is begging the Navy for more help

* The commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, which was forced into port in Guam due to a coronavirus outbreak, wrote a letter to the Navy on Monday warning that the "the spread of the disease is ongoing and accelerating."
* "Sailors do not need to die. If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset — our Sailors," Capt. Brett Crozier, the carrier's CO, wrote in the letter exclusively obtained by The San Francisco Chronicle.
* He called on the Navy to find rooms off-ship to isolate almost the entire crew, a drastic measure the captain feels is necessary to achieve a clean ship.

The commanding officer of a deployed aircraft carrier hit by a coronavirus outbreak is pleading with the US Navy for help, pushing the service to isolate all crew members off of the ship, The San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday.

The Navy reported three coronavirus cases aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt last Tuesday. The number of cases spiked to more than 30 by Friday, Fox News reported at the time. The Chronicle reports that there are now over 100 cases aboard the carrier.

The coronavirus forced the ship into port in Guam, where the Navy is testing the entire crew for the virus. The Navy has repeatedly insisted that the ship remains operationally capable.

"The spread of the disease is ongoing and accelerating," Capt. Brett Crozier, the carrier's commanding officer, wrote in a letter to the Navy exclusively obtained by The Chronicle.

The outlet, citing an anonymous source aboard the ship, said that as many as 150 to 200 sailors have the coronavirus.

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More News On The Captain Of The U.S. Aircraft Carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt Pleading For Help With 150 To 200 Sailors Infected With The Covid-19 Coronavirus

Exclusive: Captain of aircraft carrier with growing coronavirus outbreak pleads for help from Navy -- SFChronicle
Captain of Aircraft Carrier Pleads for Help as Virus Cases Increase Onboard -- New York Times
Commander of aircraft carrier hit by coronavirus outbreak asks Navy for more support -- CNN
‘Sailors do not need to die’: Captain of nuclear aircraft carrier asks US government for help as coronavirus infects more than 100 on board -- The Independent

Viper Strike Was The First Micro Missile

Image: Creative Commons

Charlie Gao, National Interest: Meet the Viper Strike The First Micro Missile

How dangerous is it?

As Western militaries shift back into a conventional focus after spending more than a decade fighting insurgencies, they are bringing along some tech developed for counterinsurgency that has applications in a peer or near-peer conflict. One important innovation that is looking to change how air-to-ground support can occur is the development of a new class of “micro precision munitions”: guided rockets, bombs, and missiles that weigh around 20 kg or less. The GBU-44/B Viper Strike was one of the first of this new class of weapon. But does it have a future?

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WNU Editor:A lot of work to reinvent the Hellfire missile, but with a smaller warhead.

This Is Why The U.S. Marines Are Dumping Their Tanks

A US Marine refuels an Abrams tank. Credit: Lance Cpl. Reine Whitaker.

Dave Makichuk, Asia Times: Why the Marines are dumping their tanks

Armored vehicles have had trouble surviving against the threat of precision strikes and the plethora of drone and recon systems

In late February, Turkish forces launched an operation targeting Syrian regime army troops, decimating more than a hundred tanks and armored vehicles, dozens of artillery pieces and hundreds of Syrian forces.

Posted videos highlighted the mixed role of drones, Paladin artillery systems and aircraft pounding Syrian armor from the skies over the course of several days.

The Syrian army appeared helpless to defend from the onslaught of long range systems. Even tanks camouflaged by buildings and bushes were no match for sensors and thermal imaging watching from the skies.

The lesson was not lost on US Marine Corps officials, who have decided to divest the force of tanks, cut ground cannon artillery and light attack air platforms.

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WNU Editor: What the Turks did to the Syrian Army last month was an eye-opener to everyone on what ground combat will look like in the future. It took only a  few days for drones, artillery, and air strikes to halt and destroy the Syrian Army's offensive in Idlib province. Another war-zone that has become a testing ground on what ground combat will look like has been in the Ukraine war. Drones, precision strikes, and artillery devastated the Ukraine Army at the beginning of the conflict. A lesson that the Ukraine Army has learned, now relying on mobile units that can survive these type of attacks, and to respond in kind.

Entire Crew Aboard A Russian Nuclear Submarine Are In Quarantine After Being Exposed To Covid-19

b-port.com

The Barents Observer: Entire crew of nuclear submarine in coronavirus quarantine

A civilian who went onboard the cruise-missile carrier “Orel” had met with a man who tested positive to the coronavirus.

“Orel” (K-266) is an Oscar-II class nuclear-powered submarine sailing for the Northern Fleet. Normally, the submarine has a crew of about 110 sailors.

The civilian that had met with a man infected with the coronavirus was on board “Orel” in a “business matter”, Murmansk-based news-online B-port reports.

Also, the crew of a nearby submarine and the personnel on a floating workshop are placed in quarantine.

The submarine is based in Zapadnaya Litsa, the westernmost bases of the Northern Fleet on the Kola Peninsula.

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Update #1: Entire Crew Of A Russian Nuclear Submarine Is In Quarantine After COVID-19 Exposure (Warzone/The Drive)
Update #2: Another Submarine Quarantined: Nowhere Is Out Of Reach Of Coronavirus (Forbes)

WNU Editor: If you can read Russian, the original report is here .... Экипаж подводного крейсера «Орёл» поместили на карантин (b-port.com).

Israel's 'Doomsday Bunker' Has Been Activated

Warzone/The Drive: This Is Israel's Doomsday Bunker For Top Officials That Has Been Activated For COVID-19

The deep underground facility was built for the Israeli government to safely operate during and manage a crisis. COVID-19 appears to be such an event.

Isreal has activated its National Management Center (NMC), a continuity of government (COG) bunker that looks right out of a science fiction movie. The facility serves as an extremely hardened command and control site for top Israeli officials so that they can continue to run the country during a major crisis. The spinning-up of the National Management Center is a result of the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country and the potential instability and strategic implications that could go along with the outbreak. As The War Zone recently noted the U.S. government has done the same, activating its Cheyenne Mountain underground complex and other hardened installations as the virus spreads through the U.S. population and the United States military.

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WNU Editor: I suspect that every major country in the world has activated similar facilities that are isolated and in quarantine to handle this crisis in the event that their central government succumbs to this pandemic.