DefenceTalkPakistani air strikes killed at least 21 militants Sunday in attacks on their hideouts in a restive northwestern tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, officials said. The attacks were launched in the Kuki Khel area of the Khyber tribal district, where the Taliban and another banned Islamist group, Lashkar-e-Islam, have taken refuge. “In precision air strikes, at […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pakistani-air-strikes-kill-21-militants-officials-60747/

DefenceTalkMD Helicopters, Inc. (MDHI) was recently awarded a firm fixed price contract to manufacture and deliver twelve (12) MD 530F aircraft for the Afghan Air Force. This is an Option award to the Department of the Army Non–Standard Rotary Wing (NSRW) Aircraft Contract for provision of Primary Training Aircraft (PTA). The exercise of this Option […]https://www.defencetalk.com/md-helicopters-to-deliver-12-md-530f-helicopters-to-the-afghan-air-force-60673/

DefenceTalkRecently, POGO reported on the failed attempt to provide C-27A Spartan aircraft to the Afghans in order to fulfill their medium airlift requirements. Now, the successor effort to replace the C-27As with C-130Hs is also experiencing turbulence. Fortunately, after the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) sounded the alarm, a congressional committee has taken […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-efforts-to-stand-up-afghan-air-force-still-falling-down-60275/

DefenceTalkWith the recent collapse of the Iraqi state and its armed forces, the American taxpayer might correctly question how effective U.S. security assistance to Afghanistan has been over the past decade and whether the Afghan security state might similarly falter after the bulk of U.S. and NATO forces redeploy from the country at the end […]https://www.defencetalk.com/c-27a-shining-example-of-the-billions-wasted-in-afghanistan-60038/

DefenceTalkThe US Army has launched an investigation into why Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl went missing and was later captured by Afghan insurgents in 2009, officials said Monday. The 28-year-old soldier is currently undergoing medical treatment and counseling at a military hospital in San Antonio, Texas after his May 31 release as part of a controversial swap […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-army-opens-probe-into-ex-pow-bergdahls-disappearance-59936/

DefenceTalkPakistan on Monday launched fresh air strikes on the northwest tribal region where it has deployed up to 30,000 troops in a long-awaited offensive to eliminate Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants from their border stronghold. The action in North Waziristan was launched a week after a brazen insurgent attack on Pakistan’s main airport in Karachi which […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pakistan-deploys-troops-jets-in-anti-militant-offensive-59894/

DefenceTalkPresident Barack Obama recently announced that, following the end of major combat operations in Afghanistan this year, the United States will retain a residual force of 9,800 troops to continue to train local security forces and conduct counterterrorism operations. Under this new plan, the number of troops in Afghanistan will continue to decline until Fiscal […]https://www.defencetalk.com/new-afghan-war-plan-announced-but-how-much-will-it-cost-59746/

DefenceTalkPresident Barack Obama today announced the United States plans to keep nearly 10,000 American troops in Afghanistan next year — a level largely in line with what U.S. commanders had requested — and that nearly all U.S. forces will leave the country by the end of 2016, bringing to an end a U.S. military mission […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-to-keep-nearly-10000-troops-in-afghanistan-in-2015-59716/

DefenceTalkPrecision military air strikes on Wednesday killed at least 32 militants including key commanders in a restive Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border, officials said. “Confirmed militant hideouts were targeted early morning today in North Waziristan through precise aerial strikes,” a senior security official told AFP. He added, “there are reports of 32 terrorists […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pakistan-air-strikes-kill-32-militants-59683/

DefenceTalkChina hosts a little-known Asian regional forum on security on Wednesday keen to raise the event’s profile and show willingness to work with neighbours, despite recent disputes over maritime territory. Chinese President Xi Jinping will present his vision of foreign policy, government officials say, a year into his term which has seen Beijing look to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-hosts-asia-security-forum-with-wary-neighbours-59653/