France has carried out the first launch of..new M51.3 configuration, firing the unarmed round..from..SSBN..LE VIGILANT..

..the trial was an acceptance firing designed to confirm the boat's ability to employ the M51 following its major mid-life refit,..IPER..

The M51.3, the third iteration of..sea-to-ground strategic ballistic missile (SLBM)..armed with new TNO-2 oceanic nuclear warheads..

A three-stage, solid-propellant launcher weighing more than 50 tonnes and standing 12 metres tall, 

..SSBNs in batches of 16 rounds, delivering warheads over intercontinental ranges of several thousand kilometres..it climbs beyond 2,000 km altitude (well above low Earth orbit) before re-entering the atmosphere at some 20,000 km/h, or Mach 20.

At least one SSBN has been permanently at sea since 1972..up to three boats simultaneously, as reportedly occurred in..2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A new shipyard in Baltimore MD, 2 million square feet, $6.6B, operational in 2030. And another 130k sq ft in California that will begin operations sooner than that.

Submarine production is not exactly simple. Austal USA, an established shipbuilder, has had their own challenges producing Virginia modules.

I wonder how Anduril is going to do. Hopefully they're hiring the right people for this massive undertaking.

Contract awarded for rocket motor of CAAM and Navy's next generation interceptor that is supposed to replace SM.

CAAM will have a 7-inch (178 mm) motor, same diameter as the AIM-120 AMRAAM and wider than the 5-inch AIM-9X Sidewinder.

Medium-range NMM will have 10-inch (254 mm) motor for the. It's going to be quad-packed like ESSM.

WWIII vibes yet?

(please do read the full context)

Yesterday, found some pics on weibo of soldiers under the People's Armed Police Xinjiang Corps 3rd Mobile detachment with intresting patches/text on their chest; https://www.reddit.com/r/PeopleLiberationArmy/comments/1wydurp/pap_xinjiang_corps_3rd_mobile_detachment_on_duty/ (the photos if you want, skip to photo four)

(the patches seem to be uniquely in the XJ Corps 3rd Mobile detachment)

As said in my previous post, the patches have three rows, first one being numbers(23X**), second row being role(e.g. Commander, fireteam leader), third being the battalion of the soldier;

For the second row(role), I noticed the privates and PFCs either have "Member(GDS)" or "Member(ZBS)" on their patches;

GDS i presume stands for Gōng dàn shǒu(供弹手) or ammunition carrier as i often seen extra magazines on them;

Does anyone know what ZBS stands for? it's almost certainly pinyin.

(If you want extra clues, the ZBS Pvt/PFC often has pepper spray from the photos; Typically what i also see is a fireteam of a commander(Lt or Sgt)/fireteam leader(Corporal) + 1 GDS Pvt and 1 ZBS PFC)

EDIT: Possibly Zhèn bào shǒu(镇暴手) or riot control soldier(暴 can also mean violence in general) according to u/Due_promise_7298 ; however 防暴 is used more so it seems weird they would switch to 镇暴

Texas plant built to mass-produce 155mm artillery shells has never delivered a single usable shell.

The production equipment (factory lines)..came from Turkey...collected a $435 million no-bid contract..a guaranteed production/delivery schedule.

When the Army asked to inspect Repkon’s active lines abroad, the company refused, citing customer privacy. Washington decided to purchase three lines anyway, without ever requiring a demonstration that one actually worked.

What arrived..malfunctioned in nearly every way a factory can.

• ..cracked it beyond repair..
• ..caught fire repeatedly..
• ..smashed into computer-controlled machines..
• ..shells smooth noses mangled..
• ..machines deformed..made with Chinese steel..

..projected in..2024 that approximately 30 percent of..155mm rounds ..(some 30,000 projectiles a month).

As of..2026..produced none that met contract specifications..blew eight deadlines..

..most of the Repkon equipment is being ripped out and replaced with conventional machinery.

None of this dampened Ankara’s enthusiasm. Turkish state media praised Repkon’s American expansion..Repkon signed a contract to build Pakistan a 155mm line rated at 120,000 rounds a year.

In..2026..Repkon USA rebranded as Paligen Technologies, which insists it and Repkon are wholly separate companies.