PATRIOTS INTO THE FRAY: The Ukrainian military has become quite proficient in operating air defenses provided by the West, but it says it needs more advanced systems to plug the holes in its missile shield.
This morning, for example, a wave of Iranian-made drones appeared in the skies over the central Shevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv, but Ukraine claimed to have knocked all of them out of the sky. “Today, the Ukrainian air defence took the terrorists down a peg by shooting down 13 out of 13 Shahed-136/131 drones,” the Ukrainian Defense Ministry tweeted.
The proficiency of the Ukrainian defenders, along with what Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder called “Russia’s cruel and continued heavy bombardment of innocent civilians and civilian infrastructure,” appears to be the key factor in overcoming the Biden administration’s reluctance to add America’s premier anti-missile system, the Patriot, to Ukraine’s arsenal.
“We continue to see Ukraine employ to great effect the capabilities that they have and, without going into specific numbers, can say that they have been able to successfully intercept, in many cases destroy, Russian missile and drone strikes,” Ryder said yesterday, stopping short of confirming that Patriots would soon be added to the mix. “But all that said, we’ve all seen the images on television and social media of those missiles and drones that did get through, and so we know that more continues to need to be done.”
US POISED TO SEND PATRIOT MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM TO UKRAINE: REPORTS
NOT A QUICK FIX: While the announcement of the Patriot could come soon, the actual batteries are not likely to appear in Ukraine until early next year. “Unless there’s been secret training going on for months, ‘approval’ doesn’t mean those systems will be on the battlefield immediately. Patriots require months of operator & maintenance training,” tweeted retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, former commanding general of the U.S. Army in Europe, who noted that while a crew of three can operate the consoles that fire the missile, “the system needs dozens of well trained Air Defenders to operate it.”
A typical Patriot battery has about 90 soldiers, with eight launchers that each hold between four and 16 missiles. The U.S. has a limited number of the systems, which are highly sophisticated, typically requiring months of training.
“Patriot is an extremely complex and expensive system to operate. Each round of Patriot is between $3 [million] and $4 million apiece,” retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, a defense analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Voice of America.
Montgomery isn’t sure Patriot is the optimum system for the threat Ukraine faces. “That is a very expensive system. It would use up a lot of the money being set aside for them, I think, with a very limited return on investment,” he said, arguing that it would be better to give Ukraine more of the systems it has now along with the Counter-Rocket, Artillery, Mortar system. “For me, Patriot is not a great answer.”
RUSSIAN REACTION: Two weeks ago, when NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg hinted that Patriots were under consideration for Ukraine, Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev reacted angrily, labeling NATO a “criminal entity” delivering arms to “extremist regimes.”
“If, as Stoltenberg hinted, NATO were to supply the Ukrainian fanatics with Patriot systems along with NATO personnel, they would immediately become a legitimate target of our armed forces,” Medvedev wrote on Telegram.
The U.S. has no plans to deploy “NATO personnel” to Ukraine. The training of Ukrainian crews is expected to be done in Germany.
DOZENS OF COUNTRIES PLEDGE $1 BILLION TO HELP UKRAINE THROUGH THE WINTER
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HAPPENING TODAY: The House will vote today on a one-week continuing resolution to prevent a Friday shutdown of the government as part of a deal to pass a full year’s budget for the Pentagon and 11 other federal agencies before Christmas.
The agreement announced by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) indicates that a compromise will allow 12 separate funding bills, which are supposed to be passed by Sept. 30, to be combined into an “omnibus” bill and pushed through as a package.
“I am pleased to confirm that Chairman Leahy, Chair DeLauro, and I have reached a bipartisan, bicameral framework that allows us to begin the difficult work of reaching agreement across twelve separate bills,” said Shelby in a statement. “If all goes well, we should be able to finish an omnibus appropriations package by December 23rd.”
“An omnibus remains the best and most responsible option to ensure we have all the resources we need to serve the American people at full capacity like they deserve,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). “And I expect an omnibus will contain priorities that both sides want, including more funding for Ukraine and the Electoral Count Act.”
The Electoral Count Act amendment would update an 1887 law to make clear that when counting electoral votes in Congress, the vice president’s role is ceremonial, with no power to reject votes. It would also make it harder for states to send illegitimate slates of alternate electors.
The Senate is also expected to consider the final $858 billion 2023 National Defense Authorization Act this week, which would authorize an increase of $45 billion in defense spending for the current fiscal year.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who rejected Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) plea to hold off negotiating a deal with the Democrats until Republicans take control of the House in January, said the omnibus appropriation bill would be “broadly appealing.”
“It would meet the defense number of the NDAA without having to pay a bonus above what President Biden asked for for domestic priorities of the Democrats,” McConnell said. “Why would they accept that? Well, according to our calculations, [Democrats] spent about $700 billion in the two reconciliation bills earlier this Congress on their domestic priorities. So the priority now is to get defense adequately funded. Also, we need to stick with our friends in Ukraine.”
MCCARTHY TELLS MEMBERS HE IS A ‘HELL NO’ ON OMNIBUS SPENDING BILL
TIKTOK BAN GAINS STEAM: As Republican governors around the country have been banning the Chinese social media app TikTok, three members of Congress are co-sponsoring a federal law to ban TikTok from operating in the United States.
The bipartisan legislation was introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and would block and prohibit “all transactions from TikTok and any other social media company in, or under the influence of, China, Russia, and several other foreign countries of concern,” according to a joint statement.
“TikTok is digital fentanyl that’s addicting Americans, collecting troves of their data, and censoring their news,” said Gallagher. “Allowing the app to continue to operate in the U.S. would be like allowing the USSR to buy up the New York Times, Washington Post, and major broadcast networks during the Cold War.”
BIPARTISAN BILL INTRODUCED TO BAN TIKTOK
HAWLEY’S LAST STAND: Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) took to the Senate floor to continue his campaign to block Defense Department nominees demanding the Senate convene a selection committee to investigate the shortcomings of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan more than a year ago.
Holding up a T-shirt emblazoned with a photo of Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, one of the 13 U.S. Marines killed during a terrorist bomb attack at the Abbey Gate of the Kabul airport, Hawley said Schmitz’s family and many Americans are waiting for answers.
“We’re waiting for answers as to why the commanders on the ground weren’t heeded. We’re waiting for answers as to why the White House wasn’t ready to do a proper evacuation. We’re waiting to hear why hundreds of American civilians were left behind to terrorists there in Afghanistan,” Hawley said.
“So, no, I’m not willing to pretend that everything is fine at the Pentagon. Everything is not fine at the Pentagon. I am not willing to say that business as usual should go on. And no, I am not willing to waive the rules of regular order and expedite nominations without even a vote on the floor of this Senate,” he said. “But I understand my colleague’s sense of urgency here. I understand that he wants to move these nominations, and so, in the spirit of trying to reach a compromise, as he proposes, I would just say this: Why don’t we agree to take a vote, just a vote, on having a select committee to look into what happened at Abbey Gate and get those answers and make them public?”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: US poised to send Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine: Reports
Washington Examiner: Dozens of countries pledge $1 billion to help Ukraine through the winter
Washington Examiner: Congress reaches deal to avoid government shutdown
Washington Examiner: Mitch’s demands: What McConnell wants to avoid a short-term continuing resolution
Washington Examiner: Bipartisan bill introduced to ban TikTok
Washington Examiner: Border Patrol facility in El Paso overwhelmed, 700 immigrants outside in near-freezing temperatures
Washington Examiner: Gates-backed startup delays advanced nuclear reactor after loss of Russian fuel
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Looking for a new Lada, or why a US submarine hunter might be flying over the Baltic Sea
Washington Post: Until Ukraine Accepts ‘New Realities,’ Peace Is ‘Impossible,’ Kremlin Says
Washington Post: Poll Finds Most Russians Support Peace Talks, Reject Return Of Crimea
Breaking Defense: US, Allies Mull Paths for Engaging China to Ward off Conflict over Space Exploration
Breaking Defense: How Many Ships? Lawmakers Set To Establish Independent Commission To Study Navy’s Structure
Military.com: Republicans Tee Up Challenge to Open Transgender Military Service Ahead of House Majority
Air Force Times: The Air Force Is Trying out a New Kind of Tanker: Its C-17 Cargo Plane
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Pratt Says F135 Upgrade for F-35 Would Save $40 Billion over New Adaptive Engines
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force and Boeing Delay T-7A, Citing Escape System Problem
Air & Space Forces Magazine: New Commander Pledges to ‘Stay the Course on Transforming’ AFSOC
Military.com: Nearly Two Dozen Air Force Honor Guardsmen Are Sporting Beards Following Policy Change
The Hill: Lawmakers Ask Pentagon Chief For Details On Waivers Allowing Retired Generals To Consult For Foreign Governments
Defense One: Amphibious Warship To Be Named For Fallujah Battles
Marine Corps Times: Marine Corps’ Top Dog Promoted To Private 1st Class
19fortyfive.com: WATCH: Ukraine War Footage Shows Rare Tank vs. Tank Battle (Russia Lost)
19fortyfive.com: China Will Freak: Where Will Australia Buy a Nuclear Submarine?
19fortyfive.com: Putin’s Troops and Tanks Are Dying In Ukraine (Soon Crimea Will Be Lost)
19fortyfive.com: China and India: On the Brink of a War?
19fortyfive.com: B-21 Raider Stealth Bomber: Now for Sale?
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | DECEMBER 14
7:50 a.m. 801 Mount Vernon Pl. NW — State Department 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Day Two with President Joe Biden delivering keynote remarks at 1:30 p.m. and first lady Jill Biden delivering remarks during a spousal program at 10 a.m. https://www.state.gov/africasummit
10 a.m. 2154 Rayburn — House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing: “The Rise of Anti-LGBTQI+ Extremism and Violence in the U.S.” http://oversight.house.gov
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. N.W — Center for Strategic and International Studies book discussion: American Defense Reform: Lessons from Failures and Successes in the Navy, with co-author retired Navy Rear Adm. Dave Oliver and co-author Anand Toprani, associate professor of strategy and policy at the Naval War College https://www.csis.org/events/reforming-dod-management-lessons-navy
10:30 a.m. — McCain Institute virtual discussion: “Reaffirming America’s Strategic Alliances,” with Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte and former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, fellow at the McCain Institute https://www.eventbrite.com/e/conversations-with-secretary-mark-esper
11:45 a.m. — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin welcomes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to the Pentagon.
2 p.m. — Stimson Center forum: “North Korea: Is Denuclearization Dead?’ with Robert Gallucci, distinguished professor, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service; Siegfried S. Hecker, senior fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University; Sharon Squassoni, research professor of international affairs, George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs; and Joel Wit, distinguished fellow in Asian and Security Studies, Stimson Center https://www.stimson.org/event/north-korea-is-denuclearization-dead/
2 p.m. — Defense News webcast: “Smart Bases for Defense,” with Jay Bonci, chief technology officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Air Force; and Phillip Ritter, principal architect, Federal Division, Nokia https://events.defensenews.com/smart-bases-for-defense/
2 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: “Emerging Security Issues in Space Policy,” with Assistant Defense Secretary for Space Policy John Plumb; FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr; Jaisha Wray, associate administrator for international affairs at the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration; and Sarah Mineiro, CEO and owner of Tangara Enterprises https://www.csis.org/events/emerging-security-issues-space-policy
3 p.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: “Taiwan Policy in the New Congress,” with Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) https://www.hudson.org/events/taiwan-policy
THURSDAY | DECEMBER 15
9 a.m. 801 North Glebe Rd., Arlington, Virginia — Intelligence and National Security Alliance discussion: “Today’s global challenges and CIA’s efforts to address them,” with CIA Director William Burns and former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Sue Gordon https://www.insaonline.org/detail-pages/event
11:30 a.m. 550 C St. SW — Washington Space Business Roundtable discussion: “Satellite acquisition reform,” with Assistant Air Force Secretary for Space Acquisitions and Integration Frank Calvelli and Sandra Erwin, reporter at Space News https://www.wsbr.org/events/wsbr-december-luncheon
11:30 a.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace virtual discussion: “Is Russia-Ukraine a Forever War?” with Ekaterina Schulmann, Russian political scientist; Andrew Weiss, CEIP vice president for studies; and Aaron David Miller, CEIP senior fellow https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/12/15/carnegie-connects
11:30 a.m. — Brookings Institution virtual discussion: “Ukraine’s Economy: Today’s Challenges, Tomorrow’s Needs, and Lessons from Past Reconstruction Efforts” https://www.brookings.edu/events/ukraines-economy-todays-challenges-tomorrows-needs-lessons-from-past-reconstruction-efforts/
11:45 a.m. — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin meets with Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas.
FRIDAY | DECEMBER 16
9 a.m. — Middle East Institute 11th annual Turkey Conference https://www.mei.edu/events/meis-11th-annual-turkey-conference
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I would say this needs to be finished no later than late evening on the 22nd. We intend to be on the road going home on the 23rd. We intend not to be back here between Christmas and New Year’s. And if we can’t meet that deadline, we’d be happy to pass a short-term CR into early next year.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) warning Democrats that if they can’t come to a compromise agreement on the budget, they’ll have to deal with a Republican House next month
