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Aerospace & Defense

The Russian army that rolled into Ukraine on the morning of Feb. 24 brought with it some of the world’s most powerful, and indiscriminate, artillery. Now the Ukrainian army has captured at least five of these TOS-1 rocket-launchers—and reportedly has fired one of them back at the Russians.

Russian Tu-22M bombers dropped unguided bombs on Ukrainian troops in the besieged city of Mariupol. It requires a certain amount of recklessness, or desperation, to fly the big bombers within range of enemy air-defenses and may indicate the Russians are running low on cruise missiles.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has described China as America's "now and forever problem." But a military-first approach to China serves no one's interest, especially given the need to cooperate on urgent issues like climate change.

Reports that Russia has moved military personnel and equipment toward the border with Finland emerged early this week. The saber-rattling is viewed in the West partly as a prelude to grey zone operations to intimidate the Finns against joining NATO. It may have exactly the opposite effect.

Navies have had to work hard to protect their ships from sea-skimming missiles. Aerial protection is one of the best defenses, and a lack of it has vexed Russian sailors for decades.

Although the new Russian strategy alleviates some of the challenges that the Russians have faced to date, it does not resolve some of the larger issues that have plagued this military operation.

Regional airlines are important in the U.S., and have not yet benefitted from the synergies of consolidation. This space is ripe for consolidation among the independent and wholly-owned airlines operating regional service in the U.S.

Ukraine claims to have struck the Moskva with two Neptune anti-ship missiles, but they had help from at least one of its Bayraktar TB2 drones, which appears to have played a key role in the attack.

Russia, like America, has underestimated what it takes to change a people.

The moment of truth is at hand: Will we give Ukraine the means to win, or are we about to let Putin murderously snatch victory from the jaws of defeat?