DefenceTalkGermany’s military is overstretched and underfunded as its troops are engaged in anti-militant missions from Syria and Afghanistan to Mali while also aiding refugees at home, the defense commissioner said Tuesday. Plagued by a series of defense equipment failures, the military is “at a crossroads” and has reached “the limit of its capacity for interventions,” […]https://www.defencetalk.com/german-military-overstretched-commissioner-66578/

DefenceTalkA year after officially taking over the fight against Taliban and other insurgent forces in Afghanistan, local security troops have scored only “mixed results,” a US general said Tuesday. Despite billions of dollars in training, donated equipment and assistance over more than a decade, Afghan troops still are having trouble in many situations, said Brigadier […]https://www.defencetalk.com/after-year-leading-fight-afghan-forces-see-mixed-results-66443/

DefenceTalkThe U.S. Air Force delivered four A-29 Super Tucano airplanes to the Afghan air force Jan. 15 at Hamid Karzai International Airport here. Eight combat-ready attack pilots and a handful of maintainers graduated Dec. 17, 2015, and have returned to Afghanistan after a year of training at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, with the 81st […]https://www.defencetalk.com/afghan-air-force-receives-first-four-a-29-attack-aircraft-66403/

DefenceTalkKabul: A US soldier was killed and two wounded in an ongoing battle in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, where Afghan troops are pushing back Taliban insurgents, the Pentagon said. The troops had come under fire on Tuesday while conducting a mission with Afghan special forces in Marjah, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said. “This is an […]https://www.defencetalk.com/afghan-battle-ongoing-as-us-soldier-killed-pentagon-66269/

DefenceTalkQUETTA: Army Chief General Raheel Sharif said on Friday the nation would get rid of terrorism this year. He was addressing tribal elders of Gwadar, Talar and Turbat areas of Makran division. “The new year will be the year when terrorism will end,” he said. Gen Sharif, however, stressed the need for the entire nation […]https://www.defencetalk.com/terrorists-to-be-vanquished-this-year-says-pakistans-general-sharif-66193/

DefenceTalkThe overall security situation in Afghanistan deteriorated in the second half of 2015, with an increase in insurgent attacks and higher casualties among both Taliban and national forces, a Pentagon report stated Tuesday. This month marks a year since the US- and NATO-led mission in Afghanistan transitioned into an Afghan-led operation, with allied nations assisting […]https://www.defencetalk.com/afghan-security-worse-in-second-part-of-2015-pentagon-66109/

DefenceTalkKANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan: The U.S. Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance enterprise is vital to the national security of the United States and its allies, providing an unrivaled capability; focused, integrated ISR is inseparable from operations and enables mission execution. For the 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, efforts to increase those capabilities […]https://www.defencetalk.com/reaper-uav-extends-range-in-afghanistan-66054/

DefenceTalkA US F-16 was struck by enemy fire in eastern Afghanistan, military officials have confirmed to AFP, in a rare instance of an advanced fighter jet coming under a Taliban-claimed attack. The multi-million dollar jet sustained significant damage, forcing it to jettison its fuel tanks and munitions before returning to base, officials said. The attack […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-f-16-struck-by-enemy-fire-in-afghanistan-in-rare-attack-65660/

DefenceTalkPresident Barack Obama’s administration has underrepresented the true number of civilians killed in drone strikes, a news site said in citing a cache of secret files it published. On Thursday, the news site The Intercept unveiled documents leaked by a whistleblower about America’s use of unmanned aerial vehicles to kill terrorist targets in the Middle […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-downplays-civilian-drone-deaths-secret-files-show-65662/

DefenceTalkWASHINGTON: America’s longest war began in Afghanistan 14 years ago, sucking in hundreds of thousands of troops and costing Washington billions of dollars and huge political capital. President Barack Obama’s announcement on Thursday he was delaying the pullout of US troops beyond 2016 marks the umpteenth change of strategy aimed at stopping the Afghan quagmire […]https://www.defencetalk.com/americas-14-years-in-the-afghan-quagmire-65640/