Good morning. Here’s your Situational Awareness for Tuesday, 13 September 2022.
XI, PUTIN TO MEET THIS WEEK AND DISCUSS NEXT STEPS: Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet this week in high-level diplomatic talks. The meeting will take place in Uzbekistan during Thursday’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit. The highly anticipated meeting between the leaders is likely to foment closer ties between their two nations as they collectively seek to deter central Asian countries from partnering with western nations.
U.S. PRESIDENT AND JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER TO MEET IN NEW YORK THIS MONTH: U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida may hold a brief summit on the sidelines of the United Nations Assembly on, or about, 20 September, according to a report from Bloomberg. The meeting will supposedly be held to discuss issues related to China, Taiwan, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
CHINA CONTINUES ADVANCES IN HYPERSONIC DEVELOPMENT WITH MACH 33 WIND TUNNEL: Chinese engineers at a Sichuan-based test facility have reportedly built the world’s largest free-piston driven shock tunnel. The tunnel can simulate hypersonic flight conditions up to Mach 33 and can test aircraft and missiles by simulating the escape velocity from Earth’s gravitational field. The new hypersonic wind tunnel is based on the Australian-designed Stalker Tube developed during the Cold War. China’s new wind tunnel reportedly will provide ground test support for developing scramjet-powered aircraft.
AUSTRALIA REQUESTS B-21 STEALTH BOMBER CAPABILITY: Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles is reportedly considering procuring U.S.-made B-21 Stealth Bombers. Marles wants a renewed long-range strike capability for the Australian military, one that it lost when it retired its fleet of F-111 Aardvark aircraft in 2010. Acquisition of the B-21, which is still in development in the U.S., would serve as a strong deterrent against Chinese military activities against Australian interests in the South Pacific.
In today’s Early Warning, Mike takes a look at the next steps in the Western gray zone war against Russia, and Russia’s likely response. Plus, the team provides analysis on domestic issues, including the federal government’s latest attempt to gather purchasing information from American consumers, and a deeper look into today’s DailySA brief. Get access to the full Early Warning report here: https://forwardobserver.com/subscribe