The War Zone
• Thomas Newdick
Iran is reportedly set to receive 90 launchers designed for Mi-28 helicopters and precision missiles, amid expanding military cooperation with Moscow. Separate footage shows Russian Mi-28s firing cruise missiles, underscoring the helicopter’s use as a platform for standoff weapons in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Geopolitical Developments & Conflict Impact
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Iran is reportedly set to receive 90 launchers designed for Mi-28 helicopters and precision missiles, amid expanding military cooperation with Moscow. Separate footage shows Russian Mi-28s firing cruise missiles, underscoring the helicopter’s use as a platform for standoff weapons in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Russia’s Defense Ministry has released footage of a Mi-28NM attack helicopter firing a small, low-cost cruise missile during combat operations in Ukraine. The footage highlights the helicopter’s use as a launch platform for this weapon in the ongoing conflict.
An opinion piece argues that Russia’s recent rendezvous and proximity operation (RPO) involving X36 may have let it characterize ICEYE’s radar in enough detail to develop a ground-based jammer or spoofer for use in Ukraine next year. The article presents that potential capability as the likely reason for the maneuver.
Ukrainian military intelligence told Reuters that Russia is using Rassvet, its homegrown Starlink-like satellite network, to support military communications over Ukraine. The system is intended to improve the accuracy of Russian strike drones and make them harder to jam; a Russian Security Council expert panel has also urged faster spacecraft production.
Ryazan’s governor said drone debris sparked a fire at an industrial facility in the Russian region, later reporting that it had been contained. Geolocated footage shows flames in the direction of an industrial zone that includes the Ryazan refinery, but the facility involved has not been identified and the exact filming date remains unconfirmed.
High activity
Qantas expects fuel prices to remain elevated through the rest of its financial year, lifting its anticipated fuel bill by about A$150 million to A$3.75 billion. The group and its low-cost unit Jetstar plan to cut capacity by 4% in the January-March quarter and raise fares, with domestic flying bearing the reductions.
US prosecutors are asking to keep a Chinese-registered Gulfstream G550 seized in Alaska after the aircraft spent six days in Tehran without US approval. The case puts a business jet and its international movements at the center of a US legal dispute involving travel to Iran.
Kyiv is pressing to begin talks on a replacement U.S. government contract for SpaceX’s Starshield network before its current access expires next year, with a new deal eyed by mid-2027. Separately, a Ukrainian diplomat says Patriot interceptors are needed faster than a recently announced $2.1 billion deal can deliver them, putting winter air defenses at risk.
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