The US military has released a video that shows the anti-ISIS coalition obliterating an ISIS defensive-fighting position near Fallujah, Iraq.

The airstrikes were conducted on April 24 and part of a larger operation by the anti-ISIS coalition on that day. Altogether, the coalition conducted three strikes in Syria and 11 in Iraq against the militant group.

US Central Command notes that the airstrikes in Fallujah targeted a wide range of targets. In addition to the defensive position, the strikes also destroyed three ISIS tactical units, an ISIS staging area, three fighting positions, two mortar positions, a bulldozer, a front-end loader, and three bed-down locations.

Other strikes in Syria and Iraq on the same day destroyed supply caches, additional tactical units, and a tunnel system. But the vast majority of the strikes were directed against ISIS in Iraq, particularly in Fallujah.

The following GIF shows the airstrike that destroyed ISIS's weapon cache in Fallujah:

You can watch the entire strike below:

SEE ALSO: Watch a US-led precision airstrike obliterate an ISIS weapons cache

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NOW WATCH: A Navy SEAL explains why he’ll never go skydiving as a civilian again

The author of a best-selling book about his father and other men who raised a US flag at Iwo Jima during World War II said Tuesday he no longer believes his father was in an iconic photograph of the event.

James Bradley, who wrote the book "Flags of Our Fathers," said in a telephone interview that questions raised about the photo by two amateur historians, which have prompted a Marine Corps investigation, led him to think back on comments his father made about the 1945 flag-raising.

Those comments by John Bradley, who died in 1994, now lead James Bradley to believe his father participated in an earlier flag-raising, but not the one captured in the famous picture.

"My father raised a flag on Iwo Jima," Bradley told The Associated Press. "The Marines told him way after the fact, 'Here's a picture of you raising the flag.' He had a memory of him raising a flag, and the two events came together."

AP photographer Joe Rosenthal shot the photo on Feb. 23, 1945, on Mount Suribachi, only days into a bloody battle with the Japanese that would stretch on for weeks. The picture was displayed on front pages of newspapers across the US, later was used in a war bond sale and was depicted in the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.

Since 1947, the Marines have identified the Iwo Jima flag-raisers as John Bradley, Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, Harlon Block, Michael Strank and Franklin Sousley. All were Marines except Bradley, who was a Navy corpsman.

On Monday, the Marine Corps announced it had begun investigating whether it mistakenly identified one of the men after history buffs Eric Krelle, of Omaha, Nebraska, and Stephen Foley, of Wexford, Ireland, began raising doubts about the matter. They argued that the man believed to be Bradley actually was Sousley, and that the person for decades thought to be Sousley was Harold Henry Schultz, who previously wasn't thought to have any connection to the flag-raising.

All of those involved in the flag-raising have died, including three who were killed in later fighting at Iwo Jima.

Bradley, whose book was made into a movie directed by Clint Eastwood, said misidentifying the men who joined in the second flag-raising would be an easy mistake.

"The key is, no one was keeping track," he said. "There was the fog of war, post-traumatic stress."

Bradley said after reviewing his father's statements and photographs from that day on Mount Suribachi, he's confident his father wasn't in the famous picture, but it's impossible to be 100 percent certain.

"I know what these guys look like. I've studied them for years," he said. "But I could be wrong."

SEE ALSO: 'If a man can carry a weapon, a woman can do the same': An all-female combat unit is taking revenge on ISIS in Iraq

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NOW WATCH: The US is showing its strength against Russia by sending its most advanced warplanes to the Black Sea

NATO has a new supreme commander, whose job is to strengthen it as a defense force after years of reductions of US troops in Europe.

"We face a resurgent Russia and its aggressive behavior that challenges international norms," US Army General Curtis Scaparrotti said earlier this week upon taking command of US forces in Europe.

He added that the Atlantic alliance's forces must be "ready to fight should deterrence fail."

Scaparrotti became supreme allied commander Europe at a May 4 ceremony at NATO's military headquarters near Mons, in southern Belgium.

His appointment comes at a time when the alliance regards Moscow as a threat to stability over its actions in Ukraine and has largely given up on military or civilian cooperation with Russia.

Scaparrotti has said he will press Washington to station a third permanent brigade of US troops in Europe to bolster the two brigades presently deployed in Germany and Italy. Any additional permanent deployment of troops would reverse reductions over the past four years, during which Washington deactivated two brigades in Europe due to budget pressures and new threats in the Middle East and Asia.

Today, there are fewer than 65,000 US military personnel permanently stationed in Europe, down from roughly 300,000 during the Cold War.

Scaparrotti's desire for more troops in Europe echoes the position of NATO's outgoing military commander, US General Philip Breedlove. To date, however, Washington has preferred to rotate additional troops in and out of Europe rather than permanently station more on the continent.

The rotations have sought to reassure nervous NATO allies in the wake of Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and amid Kyiv's ongoing conflict with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.Anxiety remains particularly high in the Baltics and Poland over a possible threat from Russia.

However, Scaparrotti's most immediate challenge could be to lay down a clear boundary beyond which NATO units will not tolerate mounting harassment by Russian forces. 

Russian warplanes routinely buzz NATO warships in the Baltics and the Black Sea as both sides have stepped up military exercises in response to the Ukraine crisis. The close flybys have created growing concern that they could lead to a direct confrontation.

Scaparrotti has taken a tough line against the harassment, telling US senators during hearings last month that the Russian flybys are deliberately provocative and dangerous.

"I think they're pushing our envelope in terms of our resolve,"he said. He added that Russia needs to know the United States will take action if American lives were endangered.

He said one of his first actions as NATO's commander will be to review the rules of engagement for US and allied forces regarding when to respond with force to safeguard their security.

Scaparrotti comes to the top NATO military post after serving as head of US forces in South Korea.

Prior to that, he served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

SEE ALSO: Watch US-led airstrikes annihilate an ISIS defensive position

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NOW WATCH: The US Army is sending Apache attack helicopters to fight ISIS in Iraq

The Russian Defense Ministry has announced the withdrawal of 30 of it's attack planes, including all of the Su-25 Frogfoots, from Syria on Wednesday.

This announcement follows a March 14 declaration that Russia would begin removing it's attack planes from the war torn country.

At the time, only a small number of Su-34 “multidimensional bombers” were withdrawn from Hmeymim airbase near Latakia, Syria, where Russia also operates a naval base.

Although Russia's stated intention in entering the Syrian civil war was to combat the international terror group ISIS, their actions have since shown their true focus was on supporting the Assad regime.

Since Russia announced their withdrawal from Syria, Syrian forces, with Russian advisors and air support, have reclaimed the ancient city of Palmyra from ISIS, though documents uncovered by US Special Forces suggest that Assad and ISIS had a pact that allowed ISIS to remove its heavy weapons from the city in exchange for handing control over to the regime.

The Su-25 Frogfoot is a close air support platform that has seen heavy use since it's deployment to Syria in late September, 2015. During their deployment, the Frogfoots were one of the most destructive planes used against the Syrian rebels.

SEE ALSO: Assad reportedly struck an ominous deal with ISIS to recapture Palmyra

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NOW WATCH: The US is showing its strength against Russia by sending its most advanced warplanes to the Black Sea

On March 5, Airmen from all over the US converged on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona for the 20th annual Heritage Flight, showcasing 70 years of US air superiority.

The P-38 Lightnings, P-40 Warhawks, P-47 Thunderbolts, and P-51 Mustangs, that ruled the skies during World War II flew alongside the F-16s, F-22s, and the F-35 in this moving tribute to the US's military aviation.

"The best thing about being a part of Heritage Flight is the impact that is has on people when they see us at an airshow,” said Dan Friedkin, the founder of the Air Force Heritage Flight Foundation and demonstration pilot, Airman Magazine reports.

“The music, the sound of the airplanes, and the visuals, inspire great feelings. It makes people proud to be an American, proud of the US Air Force and happy to see others inspired.”

See the highlights of the flights below:

SEE ALSO: Step inside the cockpit of the US's most iconic war planes

The aircraft, old and new, have to be meticulously maintained by the airmen.

Fred Roberts, a 93-year-old, a World War II P-51 Mustang pilot who took it to the Luftwaffe, was a hit at the event. “I love joking with young pilots and talking about our ventures,” Roberts said. “It truly puts a visual to the lineage of the aircraft.”

Here's a view from inside the Mustang's cockpit with the pilot who flew in the Heritage Flight.

From a .45-caliber bullet to a Ford-class aircraft carrier, the tools of the US military are as varied and specialized as the men and women who use them.

A recent video from MetaBallStudios provides excellent scale so you can understand just how massive some of the US's military hardware really is.

Watch the full video below:

SEE ALSO: Here's what 70 years of US air superiority looks like

DON'T MISS: 19 photos proving the US's aircraft carriers are the ultimate weapon

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Israeli Air Force warplanes struck five Hamas targets near the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah on Wednesday evening, in response to mortar fire from the terror group at IDF troops on the border, the army said in a statement.

The IDF confirmation came after Palestinian media reported IAF planes carrying out several bombing runs, striking targets near Rafah.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

IDF Spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said in a statement that Israel “will continue to operate in order to protect the civilians of Israel from all Hamas terrorist threats above and beneath ground.”

“Our efforts to destroy the #Hamas terror tunnel network, a grave violation of Israel’s sovereignty, will not cease or be deterred.”

The air strikes struck targets around Gaza’s derelict international airport and in nearby farming areas, without causing casualties, said the interior ministry for the Hamas-run Strip.

Just before the strikes were launched, Israeli officials warned Hamas to cease firing mortars at its troops on the Gaza border, or face a strong military response.

The officials conveyed the message to the Palestinian Islamist terror group through intermediaries, the Walla news website reported.

“We responded firmly, and we also conveyed stern messages to them,” senior defense officials told Israel’s Ynet news.

Hamas said in a statement that Israel bore “full responsibility” for the escalation in hostilities.

Israel’s warning came following six instances of cross-border fire from the Gaza Strip in the past day, including five mortars fired at Israeli troops near the border. The soldiers responded with tank fire, with at least one shell reportedly striking a power station in the Gaza City neighborhood of Shejaiya. Another report said a shell struck a house in Gaza City as well.

Earlier in the day, following the initial cross-border exchanges, Hamas evacuated schools and headquarters in Gaza City.

The IDF also banned farmers from working along the border following Wednesday’s incidents.

The military said Wednesday that it was operating to locate Hamas attack tunnels burrowed beneath the border with southern Israel. Last month the IDF located and destroyed a tunnel discovered near the Kerem Shalom Crossing.

The IDF believes the recent attacks on troops on the border — including gunfire at engineering corps machinery operating near the fence — mark a bid by Hamas to prevent the army from locating and destroying tunnels the group has dug since summer 2014.

Israel’s Channel 10 indicated that the new flare-up at the border may have begun because Israel discovered “a tunnel or something.” Hamas has been digging attack tunnels toward, and possibly into Israel, rehabilitating and expanding the attack tunnel network destroyed by Israel in the 2014 war.

Israel is determined to keep hunting down all the Hamas tunnels, and Hamas has the dilemma now of using them to attack Israel or risk Israel finding them, the TV report said. It added that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said recently that Israel had used new technology to uncover the Hamas tunnel dug into Israel last month, and that Hamas is worried that Israeli technology might indeed render its prized tunnel network vulnerable.

Two weeks ago, in a Times of Israel analysis piece, Avi Issacharoff highlighted the dilemmas as follows: “Israel faces no simple dilemma in grappling with the tunnel problem because, plainly, tackling the tunnels at root requires activity on the Palestinian side of the Gaza border and perhaps a wider solution regarding Hamas.

For Hamas, the dilemmas are just beginning. What will it do if it establishes that the various hints in the Israeli media about improved technology enabling tunnel detection turn out to be true, and its network of tunnels is known to Israel? Will it maintain its current policy of restraint, keeping things quiet? Or, to the contrary, might it move into accelerated action because it fears that this prized strategic asset, this network of terror tunnels, may be about to topple domino-style — exposed and destroyed by Israel?”

SEE ALSO: Watch US-led airstrikes annihilate an ISIS defensive position

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NOW WATCH: Israel banned a book featuring an Arab-Jew romance, so Arabs and Jews responded by kissing on camera

New details about the death of Charlie Keating IV, the Navy SEAL killed by ISIS fire in Iraq on Tuesday, have come to light after the cessation of fighting near Tel Askuf, a town just north of ISIS' Iraqi capital of Mosul.

US Army Col Steve Warren, the leader of Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led mission to degrade and destroy ISIS, told reporters at the Pentagon that Keating was part of the quick reaction force (QRF) that responded to a request for help from a small group of US forces approximately two miles away from the front lines between Peshmerga and ISIS forces.

According to Warren, a team of fewer than a dozen US advise-and-assist operatives in Tel Askuf called for help after 120 or so ISIS militants poured into the area using around 20 "technicals," or commercial vehicles used to transport troops, as well as at least one bulldozer.

“After the enemy forces [punched] through the forward lines there and made their move into Tel Askuf, our forces automatically became kind of embroiled in the ensuing battle,” Warren said, according to the US Naval Institute. “They rapidly called for the quick reaction force and continued on the fight until such time one service member was shot and then medevaced out.”

Within two hours of receiving the call for help, Keating and the QRF were on the scene supporting the US and peshmerga forces against ISIS.

At around 9:32 a.m. Keating “was struck by direct fire, and although he was medevaced within the all-important golden hour, his wound was not survivable,” according to Warren.

“No other coalition or American forces were injured, though both medevac helicopters were damaged by small arms fire,” Warren added.

“He was killed by direct fire. But this was a gunfight, you know, a dynamic gun fight, so he got hit just in the course of his gun battle — whether it was a sniper or some fighter with his AK is unclear ... This was a gunfight so there were bullets everywhere,” Warren explained.

The clash continued for about 14 hours, with US air support eventually dealing decisive blows against the advancing ISIS forces.

“Coalition air responded with 31 strikes taken by 11 manned aircraft and two drones. Air power destroyed 20 enemy vehicles, two truck bombs, three mortar systems, one bulldozer [and] 58 [ISIS] terrorists were killed. The Peshmerga have regained control of Tel Askuf,” said Warren.

Footage of the firefight obtained by The Guardian shows the US troops fighting alongside the Peshmerga, as well as medevac helicopters rushing to the scene.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter described Keating's death as "a combat death, of course. And very sad loss."

However, President Barack Obama has repeatedly avoided using the term "boots on the ground," and steered away from describing Special Operations deployments to Iraq and Syria as taking a combat role.

Instead, Obama explained on April 25 that a deployment of 250 Special Operations troops to Syria was “not going to be leading the fight on the ground, but they will be essential in providing the training and assisting local forces that continue to drive [ISIS] back.”

Warren maintained that the primary role of US troops in Syria would be to advise and assist, but the events on Tuesday that left Keating and several Peshmerga soldiers dead shows just how quickly these missions can turn into full on combat.

General Wahid Kovali, the leader of a Peshmerga counter-terrorism unit that fought alongside the US forces, told The Guardian that Keating and the QRF “were very good fighters."

Keating joins Louis Cardin and Joshua Wheeler as the only three US forces killed by ISIS in Iraq.

SEE ALSO: Russia says it has withdrawn a jet that was terrorizing the Syrian rebels

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NOW WATCH: A Canadian model went to Syria to fight ISIS

Editor's note: This may look like a somewhat routine landing to the uninitiated, but those strong winds are blowing a 185,000-pound (minimum) aircraft nearly backward. The plane's marvelous engineering, as well as the pilot's skill, makes this a pretty spectacular feat.

Depending on the type of aircraft, pilots may be required to apply a Wind Correction Angle (WCA) and “crab” the plane aligning nose and tail with the wind direction to counter the drifting effect of side winds during strong crosswind landings.

Whilst most of the planes “de-crab” once the main landing gear touches the ground (or shortly before), the U.S. Air Force iconic B-52 bomber was designed in such a way the landing gear can be set up to 20 degrees left to right of centerline for both takeoff and landing.

In this way, the Stratofortress can stay sideways even after touchdown.

This unique capability is shown in the following video, filmed by Fred Seggie at RAF Leuchars back in 2006 (some of you may have already seen it; still it is probably interesting for those who have never seen it).

SEE ALSO: Russia says it has withdrawn a jet that was terrorizing the Syrian rebels

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NOW WATCH: These are the US State Department’s 5 most wanted terrorists

BEIRUT – Reports have emerged that Kurdish insurgents attacked Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) troops near the country’s border with Iraq, an incident only briefly mentioned by Iranian media.

Media outlets based in the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government reported on the Wednesday fighting, with ARA News saying that Kurdish combatants staged an assault against IRGC troops in the villages of Hamran, Myouni and Sartaja outside the border town of Sardasht.

“This led the Iranian forces to [deploy] additional military reinforcements to the region in a bid to face the unexpected fierce offensive,” the news site added.

Rudaw News, in turn, cited witnesses in the three villages as saying that clashes were ongoing as helicopters circled overhead.

“At least 15 ambulances were seen rushing into areas where security forces were deployed,” the report also said.

Iranian media has remained mostly mum in its coverage of the fighting, however the state-controlled Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) reported Thursday that a funeral was held for two IRGC members killed in “clashes” in Sardasht.

However, the report did not go into further details on the violence.

As of yet, none of the anti-Tehran Kurdish factions based in the area have claimed credit for the military operation, however Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabiya television quoted local activists as saying that fighters in from the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) took part in the deadly clashes.

The PDKI, for its part, touted the fighting on its official Twitter account, claiming on Wednesday that more than 10 IRGC soldiers had died in Sardasht.

It also said that two Iranian helicopters had deployed to the region in a bid to aid “a large group of Revolutionary Guards that [were] suffering heavy losses,” adding that Iranian troops were shelling positions in the Myouni mountains.

The PDKI—a left-wing Kurdish nationalist group formed in 1945—announced on February 26 that it was restarting its “armed resistance against the Islamic Republic of Iran” and claimed an attack against a Basij base in the village of Majid Khan.

The group waged a deadly insurgency against Iranian authorities from 1989 to 1996, after which it maintained a peaceful policy until it purportedly engaged Iranian troops in the fall of 2015.

Another Kurdish opposition faction in Iran, the Kurdistan Freedom Party, announced Friday that it too was resuming its armed operations in Iran.

“Iran is at the doorstep of a wide-scale armed uprising … that will include all off its cities,” the commander of the PAK’s armed wing, Hussein Yazdanpana, toldAsharq Alawsat.

NOW's English news desk editor Albin Szakola (@AlbinSzakola) wrote this report.

SEE ALSO: Watch US-led airstrikes annihilate an ISIS defensive position

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NOW WATCH: American tourists have rarely seen this beautiful side of Iran

The Summer Olympics Games may be in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil but all eyes are on Peru this week as security forces from 20 nations compete at Fuerzas Comando, a friendly military skills competition where the top special operations forces and police forces from the Western Hemisphere compete for the coveted Fuerzas Comando Cup.

Along with the US and Colombian delegations, teams from the nations of Argentina, Belize, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay will compete in this year’s event. 

The US team is represented by elite Green Berets from the Army’s 7th Special Forces Group.

The US is looking to finally bring home the gold after coming in second place each of the previous two years, losing to the Colombian special operations team. Colombia has won the last three Fuerzas Comando competitions and has won seven times overall since the games were established in 2011.

Sponsored by US Southern Command and executed by US Special Operations Command South, the annual event aims to improve cooperation, knowledge, and interoperability between participating countries. 

It’s broken down into two parts: an assault team competition and a sniper team competition.  Each event is scored and evaluated by judges from each of the 20 participating nations to provide a fair and balanced evaluation of all the participating nations.

The team who wins each event wins 200 points. The team with the most points by the end of the week-long event wins the title of Fuerzas Comando champion.

These are the events in which the teams will be judged:

SEE ALSO: 'There were bullets everywhere': New details emerge about the US Navy SEAL killed by ISIS fire in Iraq

Physical Fitness

This event consists of push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, and a 2-mile run.

2016 Competition Update: The Guatemala Team place 1^st in this event and were awarded 200 points. They were followed by Mexico and Honduras. The US team placed 14th in this event.  

Marksmanship

A series of tests assessing the marksmanship abilities of the assault team members using both rifle and pistol from various distances. Each of the events is timed.

Stress test

Competitors must run long distances with heavy objects and drag large mannequins across various stations on a firing range and then engage stationary targets. The team with the most successful hits wins 200 points.

The Israeli military announced Thursday it had found a second tunnel in as many months emerging from southern Gaza into Israeli territory, as violence on the southern border spiked with a series of cross-border exchanges.

The tunnel, which is slated to be destroyed in the coming days, is 28 meters deep and was located just a few kilometers from where another tunnel was located and destroyed last month, the army said.

The exact location of both tunnels has been kept under wraps by the IDF censor.

Israeli troops who were fired upon in several separate incidents since Tuesday were working to uncover the tunnel and other cross-border passageways, the army confirmed in a statement.

“The IDF considers above and below-ground terror activity a violation of the State of Israel’s sovereignty and a threat to its citizens and deems Hamas solely responsible,” a spokesperson said. “It is our job to locate and destroy them.”

While the tunnel was found about 100 meters inside Gaza, it extended into Israel, a spokesperson said, though he did not detail how far into Israeli territory it went.

He added the tunnel was found using a combination of technology, intelligence and engineering.

The statement was the first Israeli confirmation that troops had been operating on the Gazan side of the border fence.

The attacks on the troops led to Israeli reprisal shelling and a series of airstrikes Wednesday night and Thursday morning, injuring four people in Gaza, according to Palestinian sources.

There were no injuries reported on the Israeli side after the shelling.

Palestinian sources said earlier Thursday that Israeli troops had pulled back from areas along the Gaza border in the northern Strip, but had continued to work around Rafah, where the tunnel was discovered.

A Hamas official said late Wednesday that the pullout was part of an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire deal.

It was the first statement indicating that the IDF had in fact been operating beyond the border fence.

It was not clear whether the attack on troops earlier in the day had targeted soldiers on the Israeli or Gazan side of the border.

The IDF would not comment on the matter, saying only that its forces had come under fire “during operational activities adjacent to the security fence.” Earlier reports stated that troops were searching for attack tunnels leading into Israel.

The IDF said in a statement after carrying out a first sortie of airstrikes near Rafah that it would continue to operate to thwart threats above and below ground.

“The IDF will continue to operate in order to protect the civilians of southern Israel from all terrorist threats above and beneath ground that pose a severe violation of Israel’s sovereignty.”

On April 19, the IDF said it had found a concrete-lined tunnel some two kilometers long adjacent to the southern Gaza Strip.

The army accused the Hamas terror organization, the de facto ruler in Gaza, of being behind the tunnel’s construction and maintained it was dug “in order to carry out attacks against civilians,” a spokesperson said, though he would not discuss the specific intelligence that led to that finding.

That tunnel was first discovered inside Israeli territory since the end of the war in the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014. During that operation, dubbed in Israel as Operation Protective Edge, at least 34 tunnels were discovered and destroyed by Israeli forces, many of them leading into Israeli territory.

A number of tunnels were successfully used by Hamas fighters to infiltrate Israel and carry out deadly attacks on troops during the 2014 conflict.

Officials later said the tunnel may have been dug before the war and recently reinforced.

Following the 50-day conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip in summer 2014, Israel invested an estimated NIS 1 billion (approximately $250 million) in developing a detection system to locate such tunnels.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after the initial discovery that Israel’s tunnel detection system was the first of its kind in the world, calling the find a “world breakthrough.”

The army reportedly used such a system to discover the tunnel, though IDF officials stressed that technology was not the only aspect of the discovery operation, which also included extensive intelligence gathering and boots on the ground.

SEE ALSO: Israeli jets have bombed Hamas targets in Gaza

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NOW WATCH: Israel banned a book featuring an Arab-Jew romance, so Arabs and Jews responded by kissing on camera

The Royal Navy fired flares to warn of a Spanish patrol boat approaching an American nuclear submarine off Gibraltar.

The fast patrol boat HMS Sabre fired warning shots across the bow of a Guardia Civil vessel as it twice tried to cut across the path of USS Florida during an incursion into Gibraltar’s waters.

Gibraltar says Spanish vessels regularly stray deep into its territorial waters and the Foreign Office has attacked the incursions as provocative.

But defence sources said it was rare for a Royal Navy vessel to fire flares and it had only happened a couple of times in the past two years.

One Naval source said: "It just got too close and when it's a nuclear submarine, you get twitchy any way. If you have responsibility for the protection of it, then you are going to take action much quicker than you might normally. The force protection measures worked and the vessel went away."

Officials in the British overseas territory have complained about the incident as USS Florida visited the British Naval base last month, the Sun reported.

Spain claims sovereignty over the strategic outpost, which stands on the southernmost tip of the Iberian peninsula, but has been a British Overseas Territory since the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.

In recent years Madrid has warned it is ready to impose a new border tax, close its airspace to planes using the British overseas territory's airport, and investigate the affairs of Gibraltarians with Spanish economic interests.

The row escalated in 2013 after Gibraltar began building an artificial reef it said would improve fish stocks depleted by incursions by Spanish fishermen.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence declined to comment on nuclear submarine operations or force protection measures.

SEE ALSO: This map shows how many more military aircraft the US has than every other country on earth

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NOW WATCH: Watch Russian warplanes fly dangerously close by a US Navy ship

The US Navy is the dominant force on the world's oceans. 

Helping to support open trade lanes, tackle piracy, and providing humanitarian missions are all part and parcel of the Navy's mission in addition to its obvious military role. These massive responsibilities require that the Navy must be always ready to act. 

Below, we've shared some of our favorite photos of the Navy operating at night.

SEE ALSO: Surreal photos of Marine night operations that look straight out of a video game

Boatswain's Mate Seaman Clayton Jackson, from Minneapolis, guides an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the "Dragon Whales" of Sea Combat Squadron 28 during a night vertical replenishment aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea.

An MV-22 Osprey assigned to the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 166 takes off during flight operations aboard the amphibious-assault ship USS Boxer.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the third Mobile User Objective System satellite for the US Navy creates a light trail as it lifts off, January 20, 2015

Frank Levingston, the oldest living World War II veteran, died on May 3 in Bossier Parish, Louisiana. He was 110 years old, which also made him the oldest living man in the United States.

According to his Wikipedia page, he was born on November 13, 1905 in North Carolina, one of seven children. Levingston enlisted in the US Army in 1942. He served as private during the war in the Allied invasion of Italy which lasted from September 1943 to January 1944. After receiving an honorable discharge in 1945, he became a union worked specializing in cement finishing. He never married.

On August 16, 2015, he became the oldest recognized living military veteran in the United States, following the death of Emma Didlake.

“I’ve been through so many dangerous things and I’m still here. I’m thankful to the almighty God for it,” Levingston said in an interview with WTVR marking his 110th birthday. “I think I’m one of the blessed ones.”

Pamela Gobert, one of Levingston’s good friends, said in that interview: “He’s always got a kind word and he lets me know that sometimes it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” said Gobert. “One time we were at Memorial and a young lady asked him ‘Mr. Frank how old are you going to live?’ and he said ‘110.’”  He was right.

In December of 2015, he went on an honor flight to Washington, D.C. – it was his first time to ever visit the nation’s capital and war monuments. He helped to mark Pearl Harbor Day by taking part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the World War II Monument.  He was unable to meet the President but did meet representatives of his state.

(Watch footage of his visit here.)

Levingston, a member of the Greatest Generation who had little formal education, gave his most valuable lesson in life: “Be honest. That’s about all I can tell you.”

SEE ALSO: Amazing colorized photos show a unique side of World War II

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NOW WATCH: Rare color film shows what it was like for Marines during WWII, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War

WWI was one of the first truly modern conflicts. Fought mainly along trenches, the war saw the introduction of chemical weapons, tanks, and aerial combat.

Thought of as the war to end war, over 9 million soldiers were killed in the conflict and 21 million were injured. These casualties were largely helped along by the war being the first to feature widespread use of machine guns.

The following graphic, from Norwich University's Online Masters in Military History program, shows the destructive impact and history of the machine gun on the war. 

SEE ALSO: Never-before-published photos show what WWI trench warfare really looked like

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NOW WATCH: Rare color film shows what it was like in the Marines during WWII

For Asia watchers, all eyes are on the North Korea Workers Party Congress convening in Pyongyang starting May 6. Curiosity abounds about what will be discussed, who will be promoted and dismissed, and if Kim Jong Un's byungjin policy ("parallel progress" of nuclear weapons and economic development) will morph more toward the economy than the military.

I want to caution against the inclination to hyper-focus on the party congress (including on what’s "new") and over-read its significance.

The Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea (DPRK) held its first party congress in 1946, and the idea was to hold regular plenums every five years.

For those who ask why the meeting is held now, after a 36-year hiatus, it might help to know that even under Kim Il Sung—the grandfather and "Great Leader," under whose watch the party enjoyed the most status and influence—full meetings of the party delegates took place irregularly: 1946, 1948, 1956, 1965, 1971, 1980. Numerous central committee meetings, party conferences, and other smaller gatherings were held more frequently.

Past legacy

Like any grand convocation of political parties, there is a scripted and ritualistic aspect that will be apparent in the seventh congress: narrative of overcoming obstacles and hardships, often placed in the DPRK's way by hostile foreign powers; achievements in the economic, cultural, and ideological path toward revolutionary socialism; the importance of Kim Il Sung's vision and leadership, and so on. 

There is also a regular business component: the selection of new members to the Central Committee, which expanded during the grandfather's tenure; discussion of economic and other problems such as cultural backwardness and wavering loyalties in society; and the rooting out of dissenters and challengers to Kim and his loyal supporters.

Many of these institutionalized elements will be evident in the coming days of the seventh congress. And if people find some developments "shocking" and therefore "substantive," we should remember that a year before the 1948 congress, 40,000 to 60,000 party members of the "wrong" faction were purged (expelled).

It took the almighty Kim Il Sung the first three congresses to consolidate his power. We should not expect the young grandson, who lacks a power base of his own and has no revolutionary credentials, to work miracles through his first and only meeting of the party.

It's the economy...

Every government worries about the impact of the economy on political leaders' legitimacy and authority. North Korea is no exception. Kim Il Sung spent a lot of time designing, calculating, building support for, and squashing opponents of his economic vision.

From the early 1960s through the 1970s, the DPRK was hell-bent on building an "industrial socialist state" from the literal ashes of the Korean War and managed to outpace South Korea in economic indices of growth and standards of living until the early 1970s.

The grandfather's emphasis on industrialization will most likely be modified toward light industries for mass consumption under the grandson. But there is likely to be a common emphasis on autonomy and self-reliance, partly because the DPRK economy is being squeezed by sanctions and because it is part of the young Kim's political inheritance.

At the 1980 congress, in his long address to the delegates, Kim Il Sung stated:

"Relying on the foundations of an independent national industry and the material basis laid for equipping all branches of the national economy with up-to-date techniques already in the period of the Five-Year Plan [1957-61] our Party saw that a powerful struggle was unrolled in the Seven-Year Plan [1961-1970] period to build an independent modern industry which is comprehensively developed, possessed of a solid raw-material base of its own and equipped with new techniques and to effect the all-round technical reconstruction of the national economy."

I would not be surprised to hear a variation of this theme from the mouth of Kim Jong Un. It's vague enough with no specific benchmarks to reach, inspiring enough for party cadres, and prepares the country for hard work and sacrifice at any time. But it does focus on the importance of modernizing the economic base.

So, we know we should expect some fanfare about military achievements (especially nuclear), some shuffling of party elites, and emphasis on the need for loyalty and support of the Kim regime and vision. What that vision is and how realistic it may be is what we don't know.

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Lately, the Armed Services Committees of the US House and US Senate have been on a crusade to save the Cold War-era A-10 Warthog from being mothballed in favor of the F-35, but an Air Force test pilot just gave surprising testimony on the two air frames' relative close-air-support capabilities in an interview with Defense News.

Lt. Col. Raja Chari, director of the F-35 integrated test force and commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron, makes an important distinction between the capabilities of the two competing aircraft.

"You need to really define: What exactly are you talking about when you say [close-air support (CAS)]? The way you define the question will dramatically affect the answer that you come up with," Chari said. "Are you talking about CAS in a low-threat environment, or CAS in a high-threat environment? Basically, contested or uncontested?"

For Chari, when the enemy has substantial antiair capabilities, the A-10 "isn't really in the conversation."

The A-10, as a low-cost, long-serving close-air-support platform, has earned a dear place in the hearts of infantry soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the success of the Warthog largely hinges on the fact that it is used to wipe up insurgents and militias with little or no antiaircraft capabilities.

The F-35, on the other hand, is well suited to evade detection and enemy defenses.

The A-10 has also been heralded for its ability to fly slow and low over targets, sometimes loitering in the air for up to 90 minutes, but, as Chari notes, with tanker planes to refuel, the F-35 can achieve a similar loitering time.

"If you are talking a non-contested environment, which would be the only place you could make that comparison with the A-10, you are going to have tankers, so it's kind of moot," Chari said of the A-10's supposed loitering advantage.

"You could easily get to 90 minutes [in the F-35] if you are 15 minutes from where you are going to loiter," Chari continued.

Also, the faster F-35 can reach its destination before the A-10 and has a bigger gun than the F-15s currently carrying out CAS alongside the A-10.

"I'm not downplaying the A-10, it's an awesome platform, but it's also — you have to know the role it can fit in," Chari concluded.

SEE ALSO: Here's what 70 years of US air superiority looks like

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Once again, a senior Iranian commander has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz to U.S. shipping. According to the Associated Press:

The remarks by the acting commander of the Guard also follow those of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who on Monday criticized U.S. activities in the Persian Gulf.

It’s unclear whether that signals any new Iranian concern over the strait or possible confrontation with the U.S. following its nuclear deal with world powers.

In his remarks, Salami said, “Americans should learn from recent historical truths,” likely referring to the January capture of 10 U.S. sailors who entered Iranian waters. The sailors were released less than a day later, though state TV aired footage of the sailors on their knees with their hands on their heads.

“If the Americans and their regional allies want to pass through the Strait of Hormuz and threaten us, we will not allow any entry,” Salami said, without elaborating on what he and other leaders would consider a threat.

This isn’t the first time Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz. They did it five years ago, and at several points prior to that. Indeed, it does so frequently, usually for one of two reasons:

• First is to bolster the price of oil. Iran is a rentier state. The notion that economic reform can gain traction against the opposition of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other entrenched interests is belied by the experience of Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, president between 1989 and 1997.
  
  Rafsanjani long cultivated a reputation as an economic reformer and, while he was business friendly largely to support his own businesses, he was nevertheless serious about freeing the Iranian economy from some of the worst legacies of state-centered management philosophy.
  
  And yet, even a powerbroker as well connected as he was not able to implement any significant reforms. The quickest way to make a bundle is to spout off rhetoric about closing the Strait of Hormuz. That alone is usually enough to add a few dollars to the price of a barrel for a short period of time. It might not last, but it’s enough to reap a few extra hundred million dollars.

• The second reason is simply to exploit American weakness. The Supreme Leader’s demand that the United States leave the Persian Gulf and its international waterways is actually nothing new. For example, he made the demand on the 30^th anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, and has constantly demanded the U.S. remove its “iron fist” from beneath its velvet glove, a flowery way of demanding the removal of the U.S. Navy from the Persian Gulf. Such demands tend to gain momentum when the Supreme Leader believes the United States to be weak.
  
  He began the 2009 speech, for example, by noting how frequently President Obama reached out. “He sent us messages constantly, both orally and written: ‘Come and let us turn the page, come and create a new situation, come and let us cooperate in solving the problems of the world.’ It reached this degree!” before demanding good faith required U.S. withdrawal.
  
  He has become all the more convinced of American weakness as Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have caved to every new Iranian demand and objection. They were tests not of American generosity, but of American strength, and Khamenei concluded the U.S. wanting.

Herein lies the danger. It’s not in Iran’s interest to close the Strait of Hormuz: They need to import gasoline just as much as they need to export oil.

But if they truly believe the United States to be a paper tiger and if they believe the American nativism on display in both Democratic and Republic primaries means that the reaction to an incident will be to turn and run, they might push at American forces in the region perhaps further than any American leader would ever allow.

SEE ALSO: Iran is facing a 'wide-scale armed uprising' as Kurdish insurgents have started targeting the Revolutionary Guard

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On May 4, US Army Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti assumed command of NATO's Allied Command Operations from US Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, who retired after 39 years of service.

Upon taking his post, Scaparrotti wasted no time in stressing the importance of a ready, agile force that could "fight tonight" against a "resurgent" and threatening Russia.

Indeed, Russia has engaged in propping up Syrian President Bashar Assad, had Russian planes fly aggressively toward US ships and planes, and threatened military retribution should Finland join NATO.

In response, the US is leading a series of military drills in Russia's backyard to increase readiness should Russia cross the line.

Among these exercises are Dragon Pioneer in Moldova, and Noble Partner in Georgia. Additionally, the Army has performed it's first Sealift exercise in 15 years.

In the slides below, see how the US and NATO are increasing military readiness to deter Russian aggression:

SEE ALSO: Air Force test pilot shares if the F-35 or A-10 is better for close air support

Here's a video of US armored vehicles rolling out in Moldova for Dragon Pioneer 16.

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Here's a photo of the first M1A2 Abrams tank ever deployed to Georgia.

From the US Army: "Noble Partner 16, which is scheduled to take place May 11 to 26 and will include approximately 1300 participants from the US, Georgia and the UK. The exercise is a reoccurring training event that takes place at Vaziani Training Area, Georgia."

Here are a few Bradley tanks getting ready to roll out for Noble Partner 16.