Biden and his Corvette Stingray

Biden is now in real trouble over the discovery of classified documents in various places where they shouldn't be kept, including in the back of his garage at his home in Wilmington, Delaware. It hardly needs to be said that this discovery puts him on the same dodgy plateau as one Donald Trump who of course squirrelled away thousands of documents at his home in Palm Springs once he had left the White House. Biden had been doing pretty well until this revelation and is now in all sorts of political trouble. But one thing came out from all the fuss this week which was news to me, though probably not to the wise-guy reporters in Washington. Apart from the stache of classified documents in a box in the Wilmington garage, Biden also has a 1967 Corvette Stingray. Now that is a fancy sportscar if ever there was one. A real-deal classic, worth a bundle. Apparently his father gave it to him. I love Corvettes, always have done.The fact that the president of the United States has got one made me smile. Not with envy but with sort of disbelief that the Top Man has such a gorgeous car in his garage. He does wear pretty cool sunglases, so I guess the Corvette goes well, fashion-wise. But where is the pic of Biden driving his sporty car? That would surely boost his image and help him win the 2024 election. I've never heard of Trump riding around in a fancy car, just the usual boring 4x4 power mobiles. So come on, Joe, get the Corvette out of the garage and go for a drive.

Little harmony in the Mozart Group in Ukraine

The Mozart Group, an independent ex-military American organisation founded to help Ukraine fight the Russians, is suffering from distinctly unmusical divisions. A spat of angry tweets from the group’s hierarchy has cast a discordant note on the efforts of the Mozart players who pride themselves on training inexperienced Ukrainian soldiers and rescuing civilians in some of the towns and cities targeted by Russian missiles and artillery. Led by Colonel Andy Milburn, a retired US Marine Corps and special operations commander, the Mozart Group does not engage in combat but has, nevertheless, been depicted as trying to counter the excesses of the Russian Wagner Group of mercenaries acting as a proxy force for the Kremlin. The divisions in the group emerged when a war of words erupted between Milburn, founder and chief executive officer (CEO), and Andy Bain, chief financial officer (CFO) and also a US Marine Corps veteran. According to Milburn, Bain impounded all of Mozart’s vehicles in Kyiv. He then refused to release them until Milburn resigned and turned over the company, a registered charity, to him or “buy him out for a sum of $5 million”. Milburn dismissed reports that Mozart shareholders had fired him as CEO. “It’s fake news [and] the origin is Andy Bain, former CFO fired by me in December,” Milburn tweeted. Milburn who served in the US Marines for 31 years and finished his career commanding special operations forces against Isis in Syria, said he had sacked Bain, accusing him of financial irregularities. He claimed Bain was trying to shut down Mozart and accused him of having “extensive Russian connections”. The Pentagon has not got involved with the Mozart Group which while seemingly altruistic in its endeavour to assist Ukrainians, both military and civilian, is seen as adding complications to an already complex war environment. By contrast, the Wagner Group whose name inspired Milburn to call his organisation Mozart, has gained a reputation for ruthless and brutal assaults in Ukraine, particularly in the eastern Donbas region. Its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch and close confidant of President Putin, wrote on the Telegram social media platform in November that the Mozart Group consisted of “American mercenaries”. The same day he posted the accusation, Mozart’s website was hit by a cyber attack. Milburn denies Mozart is a private military company. “We don’t carry weapons, our tasks are humanitarian,” he has said. His organisation relies on private donations. Mozart volunteers who include British ex-military, have been operating in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine which has been targeted by the Wagner Group. US defence sources said that one of the downsides of having an independent organisation such as Mozart in the war in Ukraine was that they had no diplomatic or official backing and could therefore not be recovered by a US military rescue team if they needed help. “It also adds to Russia’s perception that they are at war with the West, and the US specifically, even though Mozart appears to be benevolent and are in Ukraine in a training and aid capacity,” one source said.

China's fly-by-laser drones

China is developing a drone powered by high-energy laser beams which could keep it airborne for unlimited periods. Drones have become the de rigueur weapon of choice on the modern battlefield, especially in the war in Ukraine. But like combat aircraft, the range and operational endurance of drones are restricted by their power source. A drone that could effectively fly for ever would create a huge advantage in surveillance and intelligence-gathering missions. Researchers at the Northwestern Polytechnical University in Shaanxi province have succeeded in converting light energy from a laser into electricity, using a photoelectric conversion module that could be fitted to a drone. Lasers can be diverted by changing atmosphere and air turbulence. But the researchers led by Professor Li Xuelong of the university’s school of artificial intelligence, optics and electronics, have devised a way of adapting the shape and density of the laser beam so that it could be automatically adjusted to reduce the impact of weather patterns. Although there is no evidence that China is close to producing a drone with limitless endurance, the researchers have apparently demonstrated the technology to make this feasible. By contrast, the US Reaper drone which is America’s most deployed unmanned aerial vehicle has an operational endurance limit of about 40 hours and is powered by a turboprop engine. America’s longest-range drone, Global Hawk, can fly at high altitudes for more than 30 hours and is powered by a single Rolls-Royce turbofan engine. China’s current advanced drones, such as the Wing Loong models, are claimed to have an endurance capability of around 40 hours and are powered by a turbocharged engine. Until now, the focus of government-funded researchers in both western and Chinese defence industries and universities has been on developing lasers for use as anti-drone weapons. As the export of armed and surveillance drones has proliferated in recent years, so the need to counter the threat they pose has increased. Laser weapons are seen as one of the best options for the future. The US and China are engaged in developing such weapons. Like China, the Pentagon may also be looking into using lasers to power drones. Last year it emerged that the Pentagon’s research arm, DARPA, was examining ways of using lasers on fleets of drones to beam electricity to remote military theatres to save on the huge cost of flying in diesel to generate electrical power.

US and allies are converting Ukraine into a de facto Nato member

The US and Nato allies are converting Ukraine into a de facto alliance member with a proposed huge new build-up of weapons that could include the American Stryker armoured combat vehicle and European tanks. From a tentative start, the Pentagon is leading the way in providing battlefield equipment to enable the Kyiv forces to withstand a Russian offensive in the spring. The list of new armour and anti-tank capabilities will be announced next week at a meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group consisting of 50 defence ministers, headed by Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin. They will be assessing Kyiv’s long list of new weapons requests, with tanks and other armoured vehicles at the top. Although no decision has yet been made about offering Stryker combat vehicles, the fact that the Pentagon is considering going down this route – first reported by the US Politico website – underlines the sense of urgency within the alliance about the need to thwart Moscow’s plans for a big push against Kyiv in March or April, aided by a potential mobilisation of 500,000 more Russian troops. The Stryker is an eight-wheeled fighting vehicle that can carry nine soldiers, is protected by bolt-on ceramic armour all round and is armed with a .5-calibre machinegun. It first came into operational service in the US army in 2003 and was deployed to Iraq. With a maximum speed of more than 60mph on roads, it would give the Ukrainian army a faster-moving and quieter combat vehicle against the Russians than the Bradley fighting vehicle, 50 of which are already assigned for Kyiv under a deal announced last week. The Bradley is tracked and has a top speed of 35mph. While the US is still hesitant about supplying M1 Abrams battle tanks, the reasons are more to do with logistics and maintenance challenges for the gas-powered tank than concerns about escalating the confrontation risks between Nato and Moscow. Ukraine’s tank requirement is expected to be filled with a dozen British Challenger 2s, German Leopard 2s supplied by Poland, if Berlin gives the go ahead, plus a continuing delivery of 90 Czech T-72 Soviet-era tanks which are being upgraded by the US and Netherlands at a cost of $90 million. Twenty have arrived so far. The US and other allies have already sent or are in the process of delivering thousands of armoured vehicles to Ukraine. They include American Humvees, Canadian armoured combat support vehicles (ACSVs), French AMX-10RC light tanks, and Mastiff armoured patrol vehicles from the UK.

What can Charles and Camilla do about Harry?

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex or Harold as his brother William seems to call him, has pretty well declared war on his father, stepmother, brother, sister-in-law and anyone else in the Royal Family who has taken against him. As a result, King Charles III and his Queen Consort, Camilla, now referred to by some newspapers, notably The Times, as the Queen will have to decide what the hell to do with this errant prince. It's not just his memoir which has sold 400,000 copies on day one of its release (official release), nor his endless interviews to promote his book but the whole Harry and Meghan situation. They are definitely a situation which has to be dealt with. Can they keep silent for ever, should they try reconciliation privately, should Harry be given a role in the Coronation in May, should they be allowed anywhere near Buckingham Palace or any of the other palaces? Right now Charles and Camilla and William and the rest have opted for the silent option. Say nothing, not even no comment. Just mouths shut, ignore the whole shebang. It infuriates Harry but it's probably the best course for now. But can it be kept up for ever? Because if there is no family reunion with Harry, Meghan and their two kids, then the books and TV interviews and chat shows will just keep coming. OK, there is a good chance everyone on the planet will be sick of the Sussexes soon and any future books/memoirs will die a death. Let us hope so. But the trouble is, people DO want to read all this guff, if only to be able to berate Harry and Meghan to mates in the pub. They are a never-ending conversation piece and publishers will take notice and ask for more and more. Meghan of course will produce her own blockbuster for $20 million, and I have no doubt that a helluva lot of people will want to buy it. So, Charles and Camilla, there may come a time when you will have to step out of the shadows and answer back. Big time. Not yet but before we all get swamped by Harry and Meghan's varying recollections of past events.

Will a new Russian mobilisation make a difference?

There are widespread reports that Putin's next move in Ukraine is to mobilise another 500,000 troops for a massive spring offensive. But will fresh troops make the sort of difference which Putin is desperate for? Well, clearly, shoving another half a million newly recruited warfighters into Ukraine to confront the battle-hardended but weary Ukrainian forces would give the Russian forces and their commanders the chance of a renewed momentum as well as frustrate Kyiv's hopes of retaking Crimea and the eastern Donbas region. But the Ukrainians have learned so many invaluable lessons in the ten months of the war that even with such a large influx of new Russian soldiers Putin is likely to fail to make the sort of breakthrough he wants. For a start, by the time the newly mobilised troops have been trained and deploy to Ukraine, the Kyiv government will have 50 US-supplied Bradley armoured fighting vehicles and a whole pile of new advanced weapons which should be more than enough to keep the Russians, reinforcements included, cowering in their trenches. Joe Biden is already coming under renewed pressure to supply more and more fancy weapons to change the balance on the battefield in Ukraine. Robert Gates, former Pentagon chief, and Condoleezza Rice, ex-secretary of state, are the latest George W Bush officials to urge a much greater supply of weapons for Kyiv to get the job done this year and end the war. Well, the last package of arms announced last week were worth more than $3 billion, so I think Biden is doing a pretty good job keeping the Ukrainians equipped to fight the Russians. But I think Gates and Rice are probably right. This is the year when the war has to end one way or the other. A massive counter-offensive by the Kyiv forces may be the only way to drive the Russians out. But as I have written before, that could be when the US and Nato accelerate the possibility of a war between the alliance and Russia. Is it worth the risk? Probably yes because Putin would be too scared to take on the might of Nato. If Russian forces are being defeated by Ukrainian "minnows" what chances have they got of beating Nato?

Britain is grinding into gridlock

This poor country is now set for a mighty battle. And I'm not talking about the monarchy and Prince Harry but Government versus trades unions. It's Maggie Thatcher versus the miners all over again. This time, though, there is no one remotely resembling the Iron Lady to take on the unions and get the country sorted out. There is so much rebellion going on in Britain that the government of Rishi Sunak, the quiet man of 10 Downing Street, seems to be incapable of stemming the tide of protests over pay and conditions and overwork. Very few things seem to be working in this country right now: anyone wanting the NHS urgently has to wait, sometimes fatally long periods, ambulancemen and women are on strike, nurses are on strike, doctors are talking of going on strike, train drivers are striking continuously, cities are emptying because commuting workers can't get into the office, the weather is terrible, the nation's finest cultural events are being cancelled because of savage cuts in Arts Council funding, food prices are rising steeply, heating the home is beyond a joke, investments are falling in value, house prices are dropping, and no one really seems to be in charge, apart from Mick Lynch, leader of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, who is on TV every moment of every day spouting his pearls of wisdom which basically amounts to no, no, no to any deal. Sunak has summoned various leaders to chat about everything but he is no Maggie. He will plea and try to charm. But the likes of Mick Lynch won't fall for that. And on top of all this we have Harry whingeing on every day like he is the only important person on this planet. God help us.