The $55.6 billion represents closed deals, many of which had in in the works for years. But the focus of the Trump administration pumping up US arms sales to boost domestic manufacturing jobs has led to officials across the Pentagon and State Department to proclaim pushing American kit is a big part of their international engagements.

Japan is in the middle of taking a hard look at its role providing security for the region, while it races to meet fresh threats from China and North Korea.

The Trump Administration is putting the final touches on a plan to speed up arms sales to allies, and play catchup to China and Israel in selling armed drones.

WASHINGTON: DC’s biggest defense conference just stopped getting smaller. The Association of the US Army’s annual meeting is a cultural touchstone for the largest service and a leading indicator for the health of the defense industry. Like the Pentagon budget, AUSA attendance peaked during the troop surge in 2010, then shrank rapidly with the drawdowns,… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Sequestration would force the Defense Department and other federal agencies to lay off workers long before the defense industry had to, said a report released today by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Though big defense contractors, led by Lockheed Martin, have warned that the threat of sequestration might require them to send… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON [updated 6:45 pm with Rep. Smith and AIA comment]: The Labor Department issued guidance today stating that defense companies and other federal contractors do not need to issue layoff notices sixty days in advance of sequestration. House Armed Services Chairman Buck McKeon immediately denounced the guidance as “politically motivated,” and his staff called it… Keep reading →

On the eve of the international Farnborough Airshow, a prominent aerospace and defense analyst says there is a wave of investment ready to pour into the defense sector – but investors are “paralyzed” by the unresolved threat of sequestration. “A lot of people in the industry and a lot of investment capital outside the industry… Keep reading →

Paris: Any time one American defense company buys another it can trigger government review for a host of reasons, from antitrust to security concerns. When an American company financed by a foreign entity tries to buy another American company it triggers review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). It is… Keep reading →