227: IDF Preparing for Operations in Rafah + US Army Kills Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft Program + Ukraine President Replaces Senior Armed Forces General + Saudi Arabia Procures South Korean Air Defense Systems + More

For review:
1. USMC identifies five crewmembers killed in CH-53E Super Stallion crash.  The helicopter crashed over Pine Valley, California (about 50 miles east of San Diego).
2.  US drone strike in Baghdad kills high-ranking militia leader (Abu Baqir Al-Saadi), commander in charge of Kataib Hezbollah’s operations in Syria. 
Al-Saadi was linked to attacks on American troops in the region.
3.  IDF Preparing for Operations in Rafah. 
Statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office: "It is impossible to achieve the war goal of eliminating Hamas and leave four Hamas battalions in Rafah."
4.  Saudi Arabia Procures 10 x KM-SAM Block II Medium-Range Surface to Air Missile Systems from South Korea (LIG Nex 1 & Hanwha Aerospace) in a deal worth $3.2 billion. 
5. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Replaces Senior Armed Forces General. General Valerii Zaluzhnyi will be replaced by  Сolonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who is currently leading Ukraine's Ground Forces.
6. Baltic nations Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to build an anti-mobility defensive line across their collective borders in a $65 million effort. The line will have an estimated 600 bunkers, with emplacements beginning in 2025.  The bunkers will protect against artillery and mortar strikes and can house up to 10 Soldiers.
7. US Army Kills Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA)Program.- a once signature effort under the Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team. 
The Army will use freed funding for further investments in Black Hawk helicopters, CH-47F Block II Chinooks, the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program and research & development efforts for unmanned aerial reconnaissance capabilities.