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By: Ben Watson - The D Brief - Link: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ik...96426188719350

Welcome to this Wednesday edition of The D Brief, brought to you by Ben Watson
with Bradley Peniston. Share your newsletter tips, reading recommendations, or
feedback for the year ahead here. And if you’re not already subscribed, you can
do that here.

Moscow attack kills 16 in Ukraine

Russian missiles killed more than a dozen people in the northern Ukrainian city of
Chernihiv on Wednesday at about 9 a.m. local. An eight-floor apartment building
was attacked in the barrage, which also injured at least 60 people across the city,
the Associated Press reports from Kyiv. Reuters reports just three Russian cruise
missiles caused Wednesday’s death and destruction across Chernihiv.

“This would not have happened if Ukraine had received a sufficient number of air
defense systems and if the world's determination to counter Russian terror had
been sufficient,” said Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskyy, writing on social
media while sharing a few post-strike images from Chernihiv.

Ukraine’s air force posted at least 15 times on Telegram, and so far all posts warn
about imminent missile attacks across at least eight regions of the country.

Context: “Ukraine is facing an acute shortage of ammunition, including air defence
systems and missiles, with vital funding from the U.S. blocked by Republicans in
Congress for months and the EU failing to deliver munitions on time,” Reuters writes.
In the meantime, “Russia has taken advantage of these delays in recent weeks,
intensifying its attacks on Ukrainian cities and targeting the energy sector and
other critical infrastructure.”

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Developing: House GOP chairs from six key committees urged quick passage
of the supplemental aid bill for Ukraine, the
chairmen said in a joint statement Tuesday evening.

“Speaker Johnson has produced a plan that will boost U.S. national security
interests in Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific,” said House Foreign
Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul of Texas, the Armed Services
Committee's Mike Rogers from Alabama, Intel Committee Chairman Mike Turner
of Ohio, Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole from Oklahoma, the Appropriations
Committee’s Subcommittee on Defense Chairman Ken Calvert of California, and
Mario Díaz-Balart of Florida, who chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on State,
Foreign Operations, and Related Programs.

“There is nothing our adversaries would love more than if Congress were to fail to
pass critical national security aid,” they said, declining to acknowledge those delays
are attributable to their fellow GOP colleagues in the lower chamber. “We don’t have
time to spare when it comes to our national security. We need to pass this aide
package this week,” the five lawmakers said.

The view from Kyiv: “Without this aid, we’ll have no chance of winning,” Zelenskyy
told PBS Tuesday. “Today, our artillery shell ratio is 1-10. Can we hold our ground?
No. In any case, with these statistics, they will be pushing us back every day,”
he said.

Frontline perspective: “We are short of everything,” one Ukrainian commander
operating near the contested city of Chasiv Yar told the Wall Street Journal
Wednesday.

[Read more - see below]

“Drone-and-Missile Warfare Tests Supply-Strapped Defense Systems,” the Wall
Street Journal reported separately on Wednesday;

“Hackers Linked to Russia’s Military Claim Credit for Sabotaging US Water Utilities,”
WIRED reported Wednesday;

And relatedly, “Tex. hack may be first disruption of U.S. water system by Russia,
” Ellen Nakashima explained in the Washington Post’s Tech 202 newsletter
Wednesday.

Israel on edge

UK’s top diplomat: Israel has decided to retaliate against Iran. After a Wednesday
meeting in Israel with President Isaac Herzog, British Foreign Minister David Cameron
told reporters,“It’s clear the Israelis are making a decision to act,” adding, “We hope
they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible” and that is “smart
as well as tough.” (Times of Israel, Reuters)

Iran said on Wednesday that its military is ready to meet any attack with a “severe response.
” (Reuters)

Mideast missile duels have cost US Navy nearly $1B, secretary says. Defending Israel
from Iranian missiles last weekend and fighting off Houthi attacks on Red Sea
shipping—including 130 “direct attacks” on U.S. warships since October—have
required the expenditure of almost a billion dollars’ worth of missiles, Navy Secretary
Carlos Del Toro said Tuesday in a bid to convince House lawmakers to approve $95 billion
in supplemental funding.

“We've been firing SM-2s, we've been firing SM-6s, and—just over the weekend—SM-3s
to actually counter the ballistic missile threat that's coming from Iran. So we need this
supplemental to pass this week,” during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing.
The Senate passed the supplemental in February; the GOP-controlled House has yet to
bring it to a vote. Defense One’s Lauren C. Williams has more, including a rundown on
missile prices, here.

Why can the U.S. shoot down Iranian drones over Israel but not Ukraine? There are
reasons both practical and political, Defense One’s Patrick Tucker writes.

Around the Defense Department:

Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin spoke to his Chinese counterpart for the first time in about 18
months Tuesday. The two conducted a video teleconference to discuss the South China Sea,
Russia’s Ukraine invasion, North Korea, and Taiwan, according to the
Pentagon’s readout.

According to China, Taiwan is the second-most important issue, behind a stable relationship
with the U.S. Indeed, Defense
Minister Admiral Dong Jun’s press team says they relayed to Austin that “the Taiwan question
is the very core of China's core interests and China's core interests brook no compromise.”
Minister Dong also promised a Chinese response to what he described as “any ‘Taiwan
independence’ separatist activities and external supports,” according to China’s readout.

From Beijing’s perspective, “The current situation in the South China Sea is generally stable,”
the military said after the call with Austin Tuesday, “and regional countries have the willingness,
wisdom, and capability to resolve the issue.” As a result, “The US should clearly recognize
China's firm position, earnestly respect China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights
and interests in the South China Sea,” the defense ministry said.

China’s defense ministry made no mention of Ukraine, Russia, or North Korea, summarizing
instead that the two military leaders “also exchanged views on other issues of common concern.”

Tying up the phones: Austin spoke with two other counterparts of his from around the world on
Tuesday: Ukraine’s Rustem Umerov and Israel's Yoav Gallant. Austin “reiterated steadfast U.S.
support for Israel's defense and reaffirmed the strategic goal of regional stability” in his call with
Gallant, and he “discuss[ed] the situation on the ground and reaffirm[ed] our unwavering
commitment to Ukraine's defense capabilities and fight for freedom from Russian aggression”
in his call with Umerov, Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Tuesday.

U.S. Army on pace to hit recruiting goal this year, breaking a years-long streak. The service is
on track to find 55,000 new soldiers this year, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said during
congressional testimony Tuesday, Defense One’s Sam Skove writes.

In a first, Air Force will launch two programs without asking Congress. Efforts to improve
GPS and track moving targets will begin under the “quick-start initiative” greenlit by
lawmakers in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which allows service secretaries
to launch new efforts as threats arise. Defense One’s Audrey Decker reports, here.

DOD looks to geothermal energy to ease logistics challenges. On Tuesday, the Pentagon's
Defense Innovation Unit announced that it is doubling to six the number of technology
companies involved in an initiative to use advances in geothermal energy technologies,
which draws upon liquid heated by the Earth, is carbon neutral, and doesn’t require long
and vulnerable supply
lines.

This will bring the number of bases with geothermal projects to seven, adding Naval Air
Station Fallon, Nevada; Naval Air Facility El Centro, California; and the Army’s Fort Bliss
in Texas to existing projects at four Air Force and Army installations in Alaska, California,
Idaho, and Texas.

Ultimately, the Pentagon hopes that geothermal plants will power farflung installations
around the world. Patrick Tucker has more, here.

Lastly: On Capitol Hill this morning, Defense Secretary Austin, Joint Chiefs Chairman
Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., and Comptroller Mike McCord are testifying before
the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense about the military’s $850 billion
fiscal 2025 budget request. That began at 10 a.m ET, and has been periodically
interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters. Catch it live or in reruns, here.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and his top officer, Gen. David Allvin, joined Chief of
Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman for a full House Armed Services Committee
budget hearing about their FY25 budget request. Details and livestream, here.

 [Brought to you by Peraton]

Fortifying cyber resilience: Peraton's data-centric approach to government security

Government agencies must continue to invest in strengthening cyber resilience to
prevent and counter today’s threats. Industry partners are key to their success.
Peraton, a company with 120+ years of history in information technology and
national security, provides data management for agencies such as the Department
of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and across the intelligence
community.

Learn more @ LATEST PODCAST
Ep. 149: The state of the Army
Our annual State of Defense series continues with a focus on the Army
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