NATO and Europe!

 Dwindling Forces?

Without the back up of the United States, ie paying the bills of other peoples wars and the U.K. talking about supporting the Ukraine, when we and many of them have nothing to keep going for a few months? 

One finds it hard to believe that our government still has the clout to think we are a world key power, when we have been cutting back our own armed forces for the last twenty-five years!

It is easy to believe that the U.S. will back us up, but with the anti-Israel situation, we have lost curry favor already with the Donald.

Submarines and forces in Estonia may look good to the media, but when facing the Russian bear, many lives will be lost and this proud moment will lead to more memorials and duties for the British royal family to keep going???

Space flight not as easy as it Seems!

 This week we see a Moon lander flop over and the Musk Star-link Fail.

Space is still a dangerous place to be and what sets out for it does not always function, even with triple checking the systems, something that NASA learned over the years with the initial loss of rockets and then the disasters with the Space-shuttle and now even connecting to the International station remains a problem?

But many lesser nations have made it to Mars and the Moon, if not also to our Sun and we don;t get to hear much about them, because of our biased media who just cannot accept that they have been out-done!

Working together was seriously damaged under the Biden administration, but now Trump is fixated with Musk, cooperation with Russia might return to save the day?

Meanwhile China has its own Space station and a lander working on the dark side of the Moon with great success, the European space agency has many probes making breakthrough discoveries and the NASA New Horizons in now approaching a strange object well beyond its last target of Pluto.

Demise of the flying Boat?

 Beriev A-40 and Be-200.

Russia now is the only country to still build and sell flying boats that are dedicated to that particular role and the Be-200, which is a civil version of the larger A-40 has proved itself in the fire fighting role, easy to fill on landing, with an immediate take-off it can just keep working!

Very little is known about the Russian A-40 flying boat and what its long-range role with the Russian navy is, but perhaps this is the last line of a successful aircraft that maintained the Soviet naval defenses from 1945?

Other countries that maintain the flying boat is the peoples republic of China, which have adapted the Antonov An-12 to this role, but it is believed Russia has supplied the Chines navy with the A-40 and the BE-200!

While the rest of the world has abandoned this effective concept, with Japan and the U.S. retiring the last of there aircraft, many other countries have purchased the civil Be-200 for several roles, Greece, India and others and so the story will continue for some time yet?