The world military today (February 14, 2024) has the following main information: The Russian army put the 2S40 Phlox self-propelled gun into service, Iran launched its first long-range ballistic missile from a warship, the Minister of National Defense said. The US room is currently in “good health”.
* Iran launched its first long-range ballistic missile from a warship
According to Iran International, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on February 13 announced the first successful test launch of a long-range ballistic missile from a warship. This announcement was made during a naval exercise deploying ballistic missiles from the IRGC warship Shahid Mahdavi.
Specifically, IRGC announced that a new long-range ballistic missile successfully test-launched from a warship can attack targets at a distance of up to 1,700km. General Hossein Salami, head of the IRGC, announced: “The launch of long-range ballistic missiles from warships has been carried out successfully. If there is a conflict at sea and Iranian warships are attacked, we will respond with equal or greater force.”
Iran launched its first long-range ballistic missile from a warship. Photo: Iran International
Iranian state television also reported that the IRGC conducted a drill simulating a surface-to-surface ballistic missile attack on the Palmachim air base from central Iran. Palmachim is a base that plays an important role in deploying Israel’s fifth generation F-35 stealth fighter. Iran’s exercise took place in the context of increased regional tensions after the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on October 7.
* The Pentagon announced the health condition of the Secretary of Defense
On February 14, Anadolu Agency reported that Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is currently in “good health” and will be discharged from the hospital at the end of February 13 ( US time, the morning of February 14, Vietnam time).
According to Ms. Sabrina Singh, “Minister Austin is still at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and is in good health. However, we expect Secretary Austin to be discharged from the hospital later today.” Ms. Singh also added that Mr. Austin is currently not diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Previously, Defense Secretary Austin had to cancel his planned trip to Brussels to attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group due to bladder surgery. The meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group is expected to take place on Wednesday (February 14) and will focus on discussing issues related to aid to Ukraine. With Mr. Austin’s absence, the meeting will be held online. However, Ms. Singh said, “The Minister still intends to participate in the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Liaison Group online and will deliver a message about US support for Ukraine.” Ms. Singh also emphasized that aid to Ukraine needs to be approved by the US Congress.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Photo: Anadolu Agency
Previously, on February 13, the US Senate approved an aid package worth 95.34 billion USD for allies, including Ukraine and Israel. Welcoming the move, Ms. Singh said the Ministry of Defense had asked the House of Commons to act “urgently” and was confident that the House would continue to support Ukraine.
* The Russian army put the 2S40 Phlox self-propelled gun into service
According to Bulgarian Military, Russian TV channel “Zvezda” recently reported that the 2S40 Phlox self-propelled artillery system has been assigned to the Russian army and a number of units have been deployed to Ukraine.
The clip on Zvezda’s Youtube channel shows the stages in the development of the 2S40 Phlox self-propelled artillery system and a series of test firings both day and night. Through the clip, it can be seen that the 2S40 Phlox system has significant attack power when placed on the Ural-63704-0010 armored truck chassis.
The 2S40 Phlox is a 120mm self-propelled howitzer system consisting of heavy artillery, mortars and long-range machine guns on an armored 6×6 truck chassis, capable of resisting small arms bullets and close-explosive shrapnel. The 2S40 Phlox is fully equipped with electronics and weapons to be able to operate as an independent weapon system, replacing mortars such as the 2C12 Sani 120mm and 2B16 Nona-K.
The Russian army put the 2S40 Phlox self-propelled gun into service. Photo: Bulgarian Military
This system, when deployed to combat units, will significantly improve the mobility of weapons and equipment. The 2S40 Phlox uses 120mm bullets, has a range of 13km for artillery shells and 7.5km for mortar shells, a maximum rate of fire of 10 rounds/minute for artillery shells and 8 shots/minute for mortar shells. The system can carry 80 shells. In addition, the 2S40 Phlox is also equipped with a remote-controlled 12.7mm Kord machine gun mounted on the roof of the vehicle and the vehicle can withstand mines with a destructive force equivalent to 2kg of TNT explosives. The operating crew consists of 4 people and can quickly fire and leave the firing position in just a few minutes, improving the ability to avoid enemy counterfire.
GENERAL ENGLAND (synthetic)