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LA VÉRIFICATION - Si les moyens alloués à l'agence ne font qu'augmenter depuis sa création en 2004, les effectifs des garde-frontières permanents sont loin d'atteindre ceux annoncés par la tête de liste Renaissance.

À trois jours du scrutin, Emmanuel Macron a accordé jeudi un entretien télévisé à l'occasion du 80e anniversaire du Débarquement, alors que les candidats jettent leurs dernières forces dans la campagne des européennes. Le président a annoncé à cette occasion la "cession" de Mirage 2000-5 à Kiev et la formation de 4 500 pilotes ukrainiens en France. Il a réitéré son choix de ne pas reconnaître un État palestinien et a attaqué la stratégie de l'extrême droite en Europe.

Vingt-cinq chefs d'État et de gouvernement, dont le président ukrainien Volodymyr Zelensky, ont communié jeudi en Normandie avec les derniers vétérans à l'occasion du 80e anniversaire du Débarquement du 6 juin 1944, le conflit en Ukraine en toile de fond. 

Le président de la République, et avant lui celui des États-Unis, a dressé à plusieurs reprises des parallèles entre le retour de la guerre sur le continent européen et le débarquement du 6 juin 1944. Une mise en scène à trois jours de l’élection européenne.

L’extrême droite et les libéraux savent se rendre aux urnes. Ce dimanche 9 juin, ils iront déposer leur bulletin.

Les commémorations des 80 ans du Débarquement en France ont commencé : alors que Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, le roi Charles III, et Volodymyr Zelensky étaient tous présents en Normandie, la Russie de Vladimir Poutine, elle, n’a pas été invitée. L’invasion russe de l’Ukraine est cette année au centre des évènements. Dans son discours, le président américain, Joe Biden a fait un lien entre le Débarquement des Américains en 1944 et les efforts des démocraties dans leur soutien à l’Ukraine contre la Russie.

Pour contrer les difficultés rencontrées par les Français dans leur vie quotidienne, l’Europe peut être une solution. Illustration autour de cinq questions clés, auxquelles tentent de répondre les listes de gauche, avant le vote 9 juin.

Le constructeur au losange multiplie les partenariats industriels et financiers avec le géant de l’électrique Geely. De quoi faire craindre de nouvelles délocalisations.

La quatrième visite en France du président ukrainien, à l’occasion des cérémonies du Débarquement, sera marquée ce vendredi par la signature d’accords portant sur 650 millions d’euros sous forme de prêts et de dons.

Sigrid Gérardin est l’une des 23 syndicalistes de la liste communiste, où elle figure en deuxième position. Juste avant le vote, cette enseignante en lycée professionnel revient sur les leçons de la campagne.

Dans la plus petite commune des Hauts-de-Seine, la participation électorale est l’une des plus hautes du pays. À chaque élection, le camp macroniste dépasse les 45 %. Ce devrait aussi être le cas aux européennes de 2024. Un village archétypal du vote de classe, où le revenu annuel moyen s’élève à 109 000 euros.

C’est donc à une finale femme inédite que s’apprête samedi à vivre le public parisien. Si Iga Swiatek, une fidèle du rendez-vous sera bien là, la surprise vient d’Italie et de Jasmine Paolini, qui a déjoué tous les pièges et mis les parieurs à rude épreuve.

Les violences éducatives ordinaires sont en hausse en milieu sportif et familial, malgré des parents qui se prétendent plus informés. C’est ce que révèle jeudi 6 juin le deuxième baromètre de la Fondation pour l’enfance.

Summary: The U.S. Navy is advancing its capabilities by developing hypersonic anti-ship cruise missiles through the Hypersonic Air-Launched Offensive Anti-Surface (HALO) program.

-Contracts have been awarded to Raytheon and Lockheed Martin to create these missiles, which could be launched from surface ships, submarines, and potentially even land.

-The HALO missile is expected to surpass current options like the Harpoon and Tomahawk in speed, range, and effectiveness, providing a significant boost in naval strike capability.

-This initiative aims to enhance the Navy’s readiness for potential conflicts in the Indo-Pacific and counter advances by Russia and China in hypersonic technology.

U.S. Navy’s New HALO Program to Develop Hypersonic Anti-Ship Missiles

The U.S. Navy is advancing its capabilities by developing hypersonic anti-ship cruise missiles through the Hypersonic Air-Launched Offensive Anti-Surface (HALO) program.

Contracts have been awarded to Raytheon and Lockheed Martin to create these missiles, which could be launched from surface ships, submarines, and potentially even land.

The HALO missile is expected to surpass current options like the Harpoon and Tomahawk in speed, range, and effectiveness, providing a significant boost in naval strike capability.

This initiative aims to enhance the Navy’s readiness for potential conflicts in the Indo-Pacific and counter advances by Russia and China in hypersonic technology.

The U.S. Navy is developing hypersonic anti-ship cruise missiles that could be deployed from surface ships, submarines, and jets. “This would give Navy surface and subsurface fleets an entirely new category of naval strike capability,” The War Zone reported.

The U.S. is working to catch up with Russia and China, who already have working hypersonic missiles, and to prepare for the possibility of a naval-based conflict in the Indo-Pacific.

Ship-Launched Anti-Ship Missiles

The Navy initiative in question is known as the Hypersonic Air-Launched Offensive Anti-Surface program, or HALO. Contracts were awarded to Raytheon and Lockheed Martin in early 2023. The firms will compete to see who can create a better product.

Program specifics are a well-guarded secret, although the common understanding is that ramjet or scramjet engines will propel the new missiles. The Navy’s fiscal year 2025 budget request hinted at further details about the HALO program:

“HALO will be a carrier-suitable, higher-speed, longer-range, air-launched weapon system providing superior Anti Surface Warfare capabilities…HALO will address advanced threats from engagement distances that allow the Navy to operate in,  and control, contested battle space in littoral waters and Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) environments.”

The Navy may be offering an overly rosy projection of what the HALO missile can accomplish. But without question, a hypersonic anti-ship missile would be a considerable asset once added to the Navy’s inventory, offering an upgrade over the existing Harpoon munition.

The Harpoon is a dedicated anti-ship missile capable of operating within a range of 75 miles. Tomahawk cruise missiles, which have a 1,000-mile range, can also be used for anti-ship purposes when needed. But the HALO program should substantially augment the Navy’ anti-ship missile capabilities.

In addition to the HALO, the Navy is also working on the Naval Strike Missile (NSM), a stealth option with a 100-mile range to be outfitted on the Littoral Combat Ship; and the multi-purpose SM-6, with a maximum range of about 230 miles. 

Of the Navy’s existing anti-ship missiles, the Harpoon is preferred. But HALO will expand the Navy’s strike options.

“HALO would therefore give Navy ships and submarines a new way to strike at an opponent’s ships rapidly, even at extended ranges,” The War Zone reported. “The weapon’s hypersonic speed would also present complications for shipboard defenses and just generally reduce the time enemy forces have to react.”

Air, Land, and Sea

If the HALO project can be configured to fire from surface and subsurface vessels, perhaps it can also be adapted to fire from land. The U.S. Army and Marine Corps would probably be interested in a land-based HALO option. The Marine Corps already uses land-based Tomahawks and NSMs, while the Army and Navy use Tomahawks and SM-6s.

The Air Force, meanwhile, is working to develop its own hypersonic cruise missile. Its Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile will “hold fixed, high value, time-sensitive targets at risk.”

About the Author: Harrison Kass 

Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.

Image Credit: The main image is from RTX. All other images are from the U.S. Navy. 

La cité du Nord, marquée par le chômage et la pauvreté, est l’une des communes qui votent le moins en France. L’abstention s’annonce à nouveau élevée cette année. Face aux problèmes qui pourrissent la vie des habitants, le scrutin de dimanche apparaît comme secondaire.

German Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP/Renew) warned against "CO2 tourism", as EU rules for renewable fuels could lead to liquified CO2 from Europe being shipped to other parts of the world to produce e-fuels for the EU market.

Summary: The U.S. Navy's VX-9 "Vampires" squadron is responsible for testing new weapons and systems before they are deployed on Navy aircraft.

-Recently, an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet from VX-9 was spotted carrying a RIM-176 Standard Extended Range Active Missile (SM-6), raising speculation about new capabilities.

-The SM-6, which has a range of up to 250 nautical miles, was originally designed for anti-air and anti-ship missions.

-If integrated with Super Hornets, it could significantly extend the strike range of U.S. carrier groups, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.

-This development suggests the Navy is exploring advanced warfare capabilities for its aircraft.

Navy’s VX-9 'Vampires' Testing New SM-6 Missile on F/A-18 Super Hornets

The aviators of the United States Navy's Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Nine (VX-9) "Vampires" could be described as the sea service's platform testers. Before most new systems make their way to the Navy's aircraft, they're put through various rigors with the pilots and ground crews of VX-9.

According to the U.S. Navy, the squadron "conducts operational test and evaluation of all air-to-ground weapons, air-to-air weapons, sensors, electronic warfare systems and mission software upgrades to aircraft and weapon systems. More than 350 VX-9 Vampires maintain and fly a diverse fleet of approximately 20 aircraft used in the demanding and dynamic role of operational flight test, supporting both Navy and Marine Corps tactical aviation."

In other words, they'll be the ones who will determine whether certain weapons and other systems will be employed by U.S. Navy warbirds when it isn't just a test!

Among the aircraft currently operated by VX-9 is the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and one of those warbirds was spotted in April carrying a RIM-176 Standard Extended Range Active Missile (ERAM) – also known as the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) – near Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake. Photos of the Super Hornet carrying the SM-6 were shared by photographer @StinkJet via a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

As Defence Blog reported, the sighting has raised questions about the potential new capabilities of the F/A-18 Super Hornet, as the SM-6 was originally developed by Raytheon as an extended range anti-air warfare (ER-AAW) platform that can be employed against fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, drones and as an anti-ship cruise missile. It has been integrated with the U.S. Navy's Aegis Combat System.

It is estimated that on the low end, the SM-6 has a range of 130 nautical miles (240 km), while higher estimates such it could reach a target from a distance of up to 250 nautical miles (463 km). An air-launched variant would be certainly welcome for carrier strike groups (CSGs) operating in the Indo-Pacific, where China has sought to introduce weapons that would force carriers to operate much further out.

According to Naval News, the SM-6 employs an X-band receiver that provides guidance – meaning it would work with an F/A-18E/F AN/APG-79 or F-35C AN/APG-81 AESA radars is possible. It further suggested that a forward-based F-35C – the carrier-based variant of the Joint Strike Fighter – could be employed to guide the SM-6 to target after it is launched by a Super Hornet from a safe distance, as the F/A-18E/F already can communicate fire control data via the Naval Integrated Fire Control–Counter Air (NIFC-CA) datalink system.

That is still just a matter of speculation.

Moreover, this is not the first time that photos have circulated online showing the F/A Super Hornet possibly putting the SM-6 through the motions. Another image made the rounds in 2021, and it would seem that the U.S. Navy seems very interested in extending how far its Super Hornets could sting.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

Image Credit: Creative Commons and Shutterstock. 

Washington has been making a series of bad assumptions that trace back 30 years.

Algérie, identité, mesures anti-immigration… La tête de liste LR aux européennes, François-Xavier Bellamy, revendique une stratégie de la radicalité dans la dernière ligne droite de sa campagne européenne. Une tactique qui ne lui permet pas de décoller dans les sondages, où il oscille toujours entre 6 et 8 % des intentions de vote.

Le Parlement israélien vient d’adopter en première lecture un projet de loi visant à empêcher les consulats basés à Jérusalem de servir les Palestiniens, coupant les territoires occupés du reste du monde.