DefenceTalkThe European Union said on Thursday that trade and tech talks with the United States would go ahead as planned next week, despite France’s submarine spat with Washington putting them in doubt. A furious Paris had floated the idea of delaying the meeting of the new Trade and Technology Council in Pittsburgh on September 29 […]

DefenceTalkFrance on Friday recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia in a ferocious row over the scrapping of a submarine contract, an unprecedented step that revealed the extent of French anger against its allies. President Emmanuel Macron recalled the envoys after Canberra ditched a deal to buy French submarines in favour of US […]

DefenceTalkAustralia’s decision to acquire nuclear-powered submarines under a newly announced alliance with the United States and Britain has highlighted regional concerns over China’s growing maritime might in the Pacific. Justifying ditching an earlier deal with France for conventional submarines, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was “not a change of mind, it’s a change […]

DefenceTalkA quick barrage of missile tests and bumper defence deals in the Pacific have highlighted a regional arms race that is intensifying as the China-US rivalry grows. “There’s a little frenzy in the Indo-Pacific of arming up,” said Yonsei University professor John Delury. “There’s a sense of everyone’s doing it.” Within 24 hours this week, […]

DefenceTalkFrance expressed fury Thursday over Australia’s surprise decision to scrap a huge submarines deal in favor of nuclear-powered subs from the US, slamming the move as a breach of trust. “It’s really a stab in the back. We had established a relationship of trust with Australia, this trust has been betrayed,” Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le […]

DefenceTalkBeijing on Thursday slammed a new US alliance with Australia and Britain, under which Canberra will acquire nuclear submarine technology, as an “extremely irresponsible” threat to regional stability. The agreement “seriously undermines regional peace and stability and intensifies the arms race”, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular press briefing. The Western allies […]

DefenceTalkThe United States announced a new alliance Wednesday with Australia and Britain to strengthen military capabilities in the face of a rising China, with Canberra to get a nuclear submarine fleet and American cruise missiles. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his British counterpart Boris Johnson did not mention China in unveiling […]

DefenceTalkNorthrop Grumman Australia has successfully delivered the Triton Network Integration Test Environment (NITE) to the Commonwealth of Australia ahead of schedule, marking another milestone in the Australian MQ-4C Triton program. Developed by Northrop Grumman and based at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Edinburgh, NITE will support Chief Information Officer Group (CIOG) to configure and […]

DefenceTalkOne drug trafficker texted another that he had a “job” and a proven way to get it done: two kilograms of cocaine from Bogota using the French embassy’s protected diplomatic pouch. The pair were straightforward, because they were using the newest, safest mode of communicating: a special-purpose, highly encrypted, messaging-only cellphone called ANOM that operated […]

DefenceTalkRheinmetall is pleased to announce the delivery of the first 25 Boxer 8×8 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRV) to the Australian Army under the $5.2 billion LAND 400 Phase 2 Mounted Combat Reconnaissance Capability project. Minister for Defence, Hon. Peter Dutton MP visited Rheinmetall Defence Australia’s Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence (MILVEHCOE) in Redbank, Queensland, to […]