363: Israel PM Netanyahu Fires Defense Minister Gallant + AP Report: N. Korean Troops in Combat with Ukraine Forces + France to Send Loitering Munitions to Ukraine + More

I - On Defense Podcast

For review:
1. Lebanon Army conducts probe concerning Israeli Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit raid.
A Lebanese judicial official said that the probe had found that operatives from the Israeli Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit entered Lebanese waters in a speedboat equipped with radar-jamming devices that evaded detection by Lebanon’s and UNIFIL’s naval radars during the raid in Batroun, south of Tripoli, some 140 kilometers (87 miles) north of Israel’s maritime border with Lebanon.
2. Israel PM Netanyahu Fires Defense Minister Gallant.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday evening, citing a lack of mutual trust during a time of war as his reason for doing so. He (PM Netanyahu) said that the two disagreed on the management of the war, and that Gallant had made statements and taken actions that contradicted cabinet decisions.
3. AP Report: N. Korean Troops in Combat with Ukraine Forces.
Ukrainian and North Korean troops engaged in “small-scale” fighting, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov told South Korea’s public broadcaster KBS in an interview.
4. France to field unmanned naval surface vessel.
The drone, dubbed Seaquest (needs better name) and measuring approximately 30 feet long and 10 feet wide, and can be equipped with payloads focusing on intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting.
5. France to Send Loitering Munitions to Ukraine.
The OSKAR (Opportunity Strike Kinetics Aircraft Ruggedized) platform integrates a 2.3 kilogram (5 pound) warhead and can fly for up to 45 minutes. The system is back-packable and is designed to strike fixed targets, light vehicles and personnel.
6. Netherlands to procure 12 x H225M Caracal helicopters for Special Operations Forces.
The Dutch Ministry of Defence announced that a new unit, (300 Special Operations Squadron) based in the southern Netherlands, had been formally stood up to support the future rotary fleet.
7. Possible US Foreign Military Sale to S. Korea for 4 x Boeing E-7 Wedgetail surveillance and early warning aircraft.