The first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and president of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel, today praised the unusual nature of the ties established with Vietnam over the last 65 years.

“Vietnam and Cuba have forged such an exceptional relationship that it has stood the test of time and become a benchmark for friendship and cooperation, particularly in times of enormous challenges to peace,” he said at a ceremony commemorating the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Díaz-Canel pointed out that this unique bond transcends formalities and protocols because it is rooted in and reinforced by deep traditions and identities forged in the days when the Cuban Solidarity Committee constantly denounced the crimes of imperialism in Vietnam.

That brotherhood, he added, became even more heartfelt when the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, assured a huge crowd that we were willing to give even our own blood for Vietnam.

The Cuban head of state assured that today these ties are being consolidated in all areas: political parties, parliament, defense and security, the judiciary, workers' organizations, women's organizations, young communists, and solidarity.

He emphasized that political dialogue at the highest level is systematic and characterized by frankness, mutual trust, broad agreement on approaches to the international agenda, and a permanent willingness to exchange experiences on the processes of renewal in Vietnam and the updating of the economic and social model in Cuba.

He highlighted the historic visit of To Lam to Havana in 2024 as a decisive event for bilateral ties, which confirmed their close nature and outlined new economic and cooperation projects in strategic sectors for Cuba, with a new focus on sustainability and shared benefits.

He recalled that Vietnam is currently the leading Asian investor in Cuba, with projects linked to food production, basic necessities, biotechnology, and renewable energy.

“Cuba reaffirms its willingness to promote an increasingly attractive environment for Vietnamese entrepreneurs, based on the facilities and incentives approved by the Cuban government,” he said.

He also highly valued Vietnam's unwavering support in the fight against the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States and the unjust and unacceptable inclusion of Cuba on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Díaz-Canel also reiterated his gratitude to Vietnam “for its invaluable support for Cuba's food security.” In this regard, he noted that the special sensitivity shown by the Vietnamese Party and government in creating trade facilities to guarantee rice supplies to the Cuban people, amid the complex situation we face, “confirms the strength and depth of our friendship.”

Prior to the start of the ceremony, Díaz-Canel and his Vietnamese counterpart, Luong Cuong, toured an exhibition of 65 photographs selected from the archives of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) that reflect the close and fraternal relationship that has existed for more than six decades between the parties and peoples of both countries.

A fuel venting issue has emerged in some of the U.S. Air Force’s new F-15EX Eagle II fighters, which has reportedly left them sidelined. The root cause remains under investigation, but manufacturer Boeing is already testing multiple potential fixes. Aviation Week was first to report on the F-15EX fuel venting troubles in a larger story published last Friday about the Air Force’s progress in fielding the jets. As of May, Boeing had delivered nine Eagle IIs out of what is now a planned fleet of 129 of the aircraft.

“Fuel venting occurs when fuel overflows from the tanks inside the aircraft and, by design, then flows overboard through special ports near the tips of the wings on the F-15,” a Boeing spokesperson told TWZ today. “It occurs occasionally on various aircraft, including all F-15 models.” “Some F-15EX aircraft have vented fuel at a higher-than-expected rate, which has a joint USAF and Boeing team investigating the root cause,” they continued. “We have several potential solutions we are testing, including new factory work instructions requiring verification of proper torque on connectors to ensure that’s not a factor, and the team is investigating if we may have a batch of valves showing problems.” TWZ has also reached out to the Air Force for more information.

Well, guess the production line already existing didn't help much, huh. Deindustrialization comes for us all in the end

As noted, aircraft, in general, are equipped with vents for their fuel tanks. In addition to providing a way for fuel to escape if the tanks are overfilled or overpressured, they also allow air in to maintain pressure. Fluctuations in pressure will occur as the fuel in a plane’s tanks expands and contracts due to changes in pressure and/or temperature in the air, including during rapid maneuvers, especially when inverted or on the ground. In flight, fuel venting may look like wing vortices or smoke. Problems with the vents can potentially lead to more serious issues. The fuel venting issues with the F-15EXs have been significant enough to keep some of them “on the ground,” at least temporarily, according to Aviation Week‘s Brian Everstine. How many of the Eagle IIs delivered to date are impacted is unclear. It is also not clear why this has only emerged now, as the basic EX airframe has been flying for years.

It’s also unknown how a strike by approximately 3,200 machinists within Boeing’s defense business unit, which just began on Monday [the article is from August 5th, so it's been a month now], may impact work to resolve the F-15EX fuel venting issue.

See, this is the kind of shit workers in the imperial core could be doing, Now, obviously these workers aren't doing it out of commitment to the anti-imperialist cause or anything, but just pure self-interest on the part of American workers, in a thoroughly neoliberalized economy where the ghouls at the top are looking to squeeze out every last cent of profit, could grind the war machine to a near halt. Especially now with all the munitions and equipment that have been expended in Ukraine and Israel - this stuff is going to need to be replaced, but that process could be significantly slowed down by stuff like this. Of course, with unions devastated and no meaningfully organized left to drive action like this...

“We’ll manage through this. I wouldn’t worry too much about the implications of the strike. We’ll manage our way through that,” Kelly Ortberg, Boeing’s CEO, said during an earnings call last week when asked about the potential implications of a strike.

yeah dude, no worries about your workers walking out right as you need to fix a glaring issue with your product! surely bringing in scabs is totally not going to exacerbate any potential quality control problems that may have led to this in the first place!

Though the F-15EX fuel venting issue appears to be relatively limited at present, it does come at a time when Boeing is just starting to rebound after years of serious upheaval and problems on both the commercial and defense sides of its business. This includes technical and quality control issues that have caused delays and cost growth across a number of major programs for the U.S. military, including the future VC-25B Air Force One jets, T-7A Red Hawk jet trainers, and KC-46 tankers. Boeing did notably win the Air Force’s sixth-generation stealth fighter earlier this year with what is now designated the F-47.

From all indications, the F-15EX has otherwise been a model program, at least on the testing and evaluation front, helped in part by the well-established underlying design. The Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Fighter Wing has been leading the way in fielding the F-15EX operationally within the Air Force, as you can read about more in this past TWZ feature. The California, Louisiana, and Michigan Air National Guards are also in line to get a squadron each of Eagle IIs. The F-15EXs will also be assigned to two active-duty squadrons forward deployed at Kadena Air Base in Japan. The Eagle II test jets just made their first-ever trip to the Pacific in July as part of the Resolute Force Pacific 2025 large-scale exercise. Boeing has also been securing export sales, and otherwise seeing interest, in further F-15 variants that build off of the EX configuration. In the meantime, Boeing is now testing multiple options to at least mitigate the excessive fuel venting some F-15EXs are experiencing.