While the sinking of the Moskva and the question of how much longer Mariupol can hold out are getting headlines, there are broader developments going on.
Abraham Mahshie at Air Force Magazine reports U.S. Patriot Air Defense systems and other measures have been deployed at a regional airport in Poland that has become an international shipping hub for supplies going into Ukraine.
...Military and cargo aircraft from the United States and across Europe land, unload, and take off in quick succession here. Ukrainian registered cargo and military trucks line the gate waiting for their load, passing American Soldiers stationed next to Humvees. Then, they promptly stream down a nearby highway, over a hill, and out of sight in the direction of the Krakovets, Ukraine border crossing.
After Moscow promised to target defense assistance to Ukraine, the United States established an array of anti-aircraft, anti-missile systems, including Patriots, in Poland to protect this vital airfield and cargo transfer center. Camouflage netting covers command-and-control points scattered throughout. Even miles away, military equipment is strategically positioned on hilltops.
“It’s balanced risk,” Polish Chief of the Air Force Directorate Brig. Gen. Ireneusz Nowak told Air Force Magazine by videoconference from Warsaw.
more at the link
Watching the skies has taken on a new urgency: Nato intercepts of Russian aircraft near Poland's airspace are increasing. Again from Air Force Magazine:
WARSAW, Poland— Russia is increasingly harassing NATO aircraft near Polish air space, reinforcing the need for both Polish and NATO air policing, including various U.S. Air Force assets, a senior Polish Air Force official told Air Force Magazine.
“The current situation brings more tension—more risk—and it’s definitely more serious for the whole NATO community,” Polish Chief of the Air Force Directorate Brig. Gen. Ireneusz Nowak said via videoconference.
Nowak said Russian Su-35s, Su-27s, and MiG-29s from Belarus have approached Polish air space multiple times since the invasion of Ukraine.
“It’s a rather frequent situation,” Nowak said. “Fighters are scrambled twice or three times from the [quick reaction alert] typically in 24 hours, so that’s a lot.”
Russian air defense systems also track NATO aircraft.
“Whatever they have, they flew here,” he said. “There are a variety of threats.”
Nowak said Russia is also keeping its airborne early warning and control aircraft, the Beriev A-50, airborne at all times.
more at the link
There’s also robbing Peter to pay Paul. From Defense News:
WASHINGTON — Pandemic-related acquisition issues have sparked a backlog in the U.S. delivering $14.2 billion worth of military equipment to Taiwan that the island has purchased since 2019.
With much of Washington’s attention focused on how to rapidly deploy a steady stream of military aid to Ukraine, some lawmakers are concerned the Taiwan delay is undermining its ability to deter a potential Chinese invasion.
...Defense News has obtained a spreadsheet detailing the backlogged equipment, which includes Taiwan’s $8 billion purchase of 66 F-16 fighter jets as well as $620 million to replace expiring components of its Patriot missile system.
The delayed deliveries also consist of smaller, asymmetric weapons systems Washington believes would be useful in deterring and thwarting a potential Chinese invasion. China considers the self-governing island a rogue province and has promised to bring it back under Beijing’s control, by force if necessary.
Those asymmetric weapons include Stinger missiles, heavyweight torpedoes, high-mobility artillery rocket systems, Paladin howitzers, MS-110 reconnaissance pods and a field information communications system. They also include $2.37 billion in Harpoon Block II surface-launched missiles and $1 billion in air-launched SLAM-ER missiles.
More at the link
The GOP concerns expressed in the Defense News article are in somewhat contrast to GOP positions on Ukraine before the invasion, but then the GOP has been more vocal about threats from China than from Russia...
Regardless, China has been aggressively expanding its presence in the South China Sea and has been demonstrating military capabilities around Taiwan in a manner that is not reassuring. China has been making remarks not all that dissimilar to Putin’s claims about Ukraine being a part of China and a potential threat to China by reason of its alliances with foreign powers.
The increasingly vigorous response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by NATO and other countries has to be having an effect on calculations being made in Beijing — China is having to recalibrate its perception of Europe.
It’s not just China, either. Around the world, there are people trying to balance “What can we get away with while they’re busy” versus “Do we really want to risk getting their attention while they are cranked up”? The constraints on supplies of critical weapons is also a factor.
And, you don’t hear anyone talking about the peace dividend any more.
Maxims:
54. It's only too many troops if you can't pay them.
55 It's only too many weapons if they're pointing in the wrong direction.
58. The pen is mightiest when it writes orders for more swords.
68. Negotiating from a position of strength does not mean you shouldn’t also negotiate from a position near the exits.