In a major reversal, on Nov, 17, U.S. President Joe Biden succumbed to the calls of Ukraine’s loudest supporters in Washington and Europe by authorizing Kyiv’s use of U.S.-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) deeper into Russia. The move was the most dramatic change to Washington’s Ukraine policy since the Nov. 5 election, but hardly…
VIENTIANE, Laos — China’s defense minister will not meet with America’s secretary of defense this week, marking the first time in a year that Beijing has paused high-level military talks. A senior American defense official, speaking with reporters before a summit of Asian defense officials in Laos, said that the Pentagon had offered to meet…
PALAWAN, Philippines — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited a Filipino military base only miles from the South China Sea, a sign of resolve against Chinese harassment in the waterway that flared this summer. Antonio Bautista Air Base was Austin’s final stop in the Philippines, a country he’s visited more than any previous secretary…
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — China’s premier defense exhibition, Zhuhai Airshow, opened its gates this week headlined by the J-35A fifth-generation fighter as well as a J-15T fighter designed for catapult operations aboard aircraft carriers. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is a secretive organization, but it uses events like the Zhuhai Airshow to unveil new equipment…
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel launched airstrikes early Saturday on what it described as military targets in Iran in retaliation for a ballistic missile assault Oct. 1, officials said. There was no immediate information on damage in the Islamic Republic. Israel’s military described the attack as “precise strikes on military targets in Iran,” without…
In 2012, China had less than 100 satellites in orbit. Last month, the country launched its 1,000th spacecraft. That milestone, according to the U.S. Space Force’s top intelligence officer, demonstrates the evolution and growth China’s space enterprise has undergone in the last decade. But for the Defense Department, the concern is as much about the…
A recently launched mobile software application merges virtual armor training with a video game-like experience on a soldier’s smartphone. The application, called the Standardized Armor Base of Training-Experimental, or SABO-X, has been a featured simulator training system for armor soldiers in an office setup. But since the mobile app came online in August, leaders are…
The chairs of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees are pushing the Biden administration to share more defense equipment with Australia and the United Kingdom — America’s two partners in the AUKUS agreement. In a letter sent to the White House on Tuesday, first reported by Defense News, the two Republican lawmakers argued…
MANILA, Philippines — American and Filipino security officials have agreed to keep a U.S. mid-range missile system in the northern Philippines indefinitely to boost deterrence despite China’s expressions of alarm, two Philippine officials said Wednesday. The U.S. Army transported the Typhon missile system, a land-based weapon that can fire the Standard Missile-6 and the Tomahawk…
A bipartisan pair of senators is introducing a bill that would let the U.S. sanction countries that support the Chinese Maritime Militia — one of Beijing’s tools for “gray zone” operations, or those that fall below the threshold of war. The legislation comes from Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Mitt Romney, R-Ut., who is retiring…