🇮🇷💸📉 | The Islamic Republic Iran’s currency hits an all-time low amid a worsening energy crisis.

Harsh winter weather and failing infrastructure have forced authorities to shut off highway lighting in Tehran at night to save electricity and cancell classes, as the country faces energy outages in its major cities

🇨🇳🇲🇽 Over the past 3 years, the number of Chinese companies in Mexican industrial sites has doubled.

The FT's latest digital report with a very useful graphic to help visualize where China's companies are investing.

📎 Ryan Berg

Lot of Russian navy movements to-from Mediterranean. Linked to or shaped by the situation in Syria (and Ukraine), but some may have been planned earlier.

Expecting major withdrawal of equipment from Tartus

📎 CovertShores

🇲🇽 Regional expansion of Mexico's cartels, as well as their affiliates.

@CIG_telegram

🇮🇱🚨 SIRENS activated in Central Israel!

Ballistic missiles most likely...

@TabZLIVE

🇮🇱🇾🇪 The ballistic missile was intercepted, according to the IDF.

@TabZLIVE

🇮🇱❌🇾🇪🇾🇪 — Further Israeli airstrikes have reportedly hit the Hudaydah port and Ras Issa oil facility on the Yemeni coast, as well as the Dhahban Power Station

🇮🇱❌🇾🇪🇾🇪 | 🇮🇱 Israel Defense Forces on Twitter/X:

Following the approval of attack plans by Defense Minister Israel Katz, Air Force fighter jets, under the direction of the Intelligence and Navy branches, recently attacked military targets of the Houthi terrorist regime in the western coastal strip and deep inside Yemen.


https://fxtwitter.com/idfonline/status/1869581689389044094?t

🇮🇱❌🇾🇪🇾🇪 | 🇮🇱 Israel Defense Forces on Twitter/X:

The Houthi terrorist regime has carried out repeated attacks on the State of Israel, in which unmanned aerial vehicles and surface-to-surface missiles were launched towards the country's territory, most of which were successfully intercepted.

The targets attacked are used by the Houthi forces for their military operations

https://fxtwitter.com/idfonline/status/1869581692144693442?

🇮🇱❌🇾🇪🇾🇪 | 🇮🇱 Israel Defense Forces on Twitter/X:

The Houthi terrorist regime has been operating for the past year with Iranian guidance and funding, and in cooperation with Iraqi militias, in order to harm Israel, undermine regional order, and disrupt global freedom of navigation.
The IDF is determined to continue to act and harm anyone who poses a threat to the citizens of the State of Israel, at whatever distance is necessary.

https://fxtwitter.com/idfonline/status/1869581698524237935

🇺🇸🪖 Simone Ledeen on X:

"America’s defense production is abysmally behind. We can’t even make enough artillery shells for Ukraine, let alone for a larger conflict. Outdated factories, slow rebuilds, and empty stockpiles. Our defense industrial base needs fixing, fast."

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/12/weapons-production-munitions-shortfall-ukraine-democracy/680867/

📎 Simone Ledeen

🇨🇳/🇺🇸2024 China Military Power Report

The PLA Rocket Force now has 1300 MRBMs.

"Those missiles have a range that really only makes sense for hitting bases/targets in Japan (and maybe a few targets in the Philippines or India)."

📎 Tom Shugart

Also note: with 400 ICBMs China now has as many as the US’s 400 deployed Minuteman III’s - a situation I could scarcely have imagined just a few years ago when China’s inventory was in the dozens, not 100s.

(Note: the US does have additional spare MMIII’s + 50 unused silos.)

📎 Tom Shugart

🌏🇺🇸❌🇨🇳 Major US air bases in the Pacific within range of a MRBM with a 1,500mi range fired from inland China. There are approximately 35,000 active duty US military personnel serving on these bases (excluding Andersen).

📎 ripplebrain

🇺🇸❌🇨🇳 Key revelations from the DoD's China Military Power Report:

— By CMPR’s suspense date of “early 2024,” China already had over 600 operational nuclear warheads.
— All of China’s roughly 400 ICBMs can reach the continental United States (CONUS).
— PRC has the world’s leading hypersonic missile arsenal.
— 3 new silo fields add 320 silos for solid-propellant ICBMs.
— China working to double its DF-5 liquid-propellant ICBM force to likely 50 silos.
— September 2023, China test-launched two CSS-10 Mod 3/DF-31AG ICBMs from training silos in Western China.
— China simulated “Joint Firepower Strike Operations” against Taiwan, in part by live-firing PCH191 close-range ballistic missiles in its 2022 exercises, and drilling with the missile in its 2023 exercises.
— China’s four Type 093B Shang III guided-missile nuclear attack submarines, 3 of which may be operational by 2025, may have land-attack cruise missiles.
— China now has 5 types of ASBMs: DF-21D, DF-26, DF-17, DF-27, YJ-21.
— 5,000-8,000 km-range DF-27 IRBM/ICBM: The “long-range” DF-27 ballistic missile is deployed to the PLARF and likely has a HGV payload option as well as conventional land-attack, conventional antiship, and nuclear capabilities.”
— Potential targets include Guam, Alaska, and Hawaii.
Pentagon estimates China’s actual defense budget is $330-450 billion.
— China has world’s largest military force: 2.035 million active, 510,000 reserve, and 500,000 paramilitary
— China’s navy already has over 370 ships and submarines, including more than 140 major surface combatants.
— CMPR anticipates 395 PLAN battle force ships by 2025, including 65 submarines; and 435 by 2030, including 80 submarines.
— China’s air force has 51 Y-20A heavy lift transports, whose up to 2,400 nautical mile range may be extended by 16 Y-20U tankers.
— China stations 400 Marines at its Djibouti base.

https://media.defense.gov/2024/Dec/18/2003615417/-1/-1/0/2024-CMPR-FACT-SHEET.PDF

https://media.defense.gov/2024/Dec/18/2003615520/-1/-1/0/MILITARY-AND-SECURITY-DEVELOPMENTS-INVOLVING-THE-PEOPLES-REPUBLIC-OF-CHINA-2024.PDF

📎 Andrew Erickson