DefenceTalkEuropean Union foreign ministers insisted on Sunday they expected good relations with Donald Trump, after a crisis meeting that Britain, France and Hungary snubbed in a move that exposed rifts over the US president-elect. The ministers said they wanted more details about Republican Trump’s plans following his shock election win, which has sparked anxiety in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/eu-ministers-seek-strong-partnership-with-trump-68580/

DefenceTalkBritain scrambled fighter jets from an airbase in Scotland to intercept two Russian bombers approaching UK airspace, the Ministry of Defence said Thursday. The Russian planes flew from the direction of Norway and passed to the west of Britain’s Shetland Islands, northeast of the mainland. A Royal Air Force spokeswoman said: “Quick reaction alert Typhoon […]https://www.defencetalk.com/britain-sends-jets-to-intercept-russian-bombers-68205/

DefenceTalkNew British Prime Minster Theresa May on Monday won her first parliamentary battle when MPs overwhelmingly voted to replace the ageing submarines that carry Britain’s nuclear arsenal. In her first address to the House of Commons since taking office last week following the EU referendum, May warned that the threat from nuclear weapons was increasing […]https://www.defencetalk.com/british-mps-back-new-pm-and-vote-to-update-nuclear-deterrent-67861/

DefenceTalkThe British government is close to ordering two solar-powered high-altitude Zephyr surveillance drones from European aerospace giant Airbus, it said Wednesday. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced in a statement that the deal was worth £10.6 million ($15.2 million, 14 million euros), in the first ever order for Airbus Zephyr unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). “The […]https://www.defencetalk.com/britain-set-to-buy-two-zephyr-spy-drones-from-airbus-66661/

DefenceTalkParis: Britain, Germany and Turkey said Sunday they were temporarily grounding their Airbus A400M military transport planes after one crashed near Seville airport in southern Spain during a test flight. France, which has six of the planes, said it would only carry out “top priority flights” with A400M until more facts emerge on what caused […]https://www.defencetalk.com/britain-germany-and-turkey-ground-a400-military-planes-64145/

DefenceTalkArgentina branded Britain’s plans to beef up its defenses in the Falkland Islands a “provocation” and a pre-election stunt Wednesday. On Tuesday, British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said London would spend £180 million ($268 million) over 10 years to counter “continuous intimidation” from Argentina in the disputed South Atlantic islands, which the two countries went […]https://www.defencetalk.com/argentina-condemns-british-provocation-in-falklands-63638/

DefenceTalkOnce a source of irritation for the United States, France has nudged aside Britain to become the US military’s key European partner. The growing ties between the two militaries were on display this month when France’s top military officer, General Pierre de Villiers, hosted his US counterpart, General Martin Dempsey, aboard France’s aircraft carrier, the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/france-displaces-britain-as-key-us-military-ally-63600/

DefenceTalkA senior British minister ruled out sending arms to Ukraine Sunday as the United States and European nations sought ways to pressure Russia over the conflict in the ex-Soviet republic’s east. William Hague, who was foreign secretary until last year and is still a minister seen as close to Prime Minister David Cameron, said governments […]https://www.defencetalk.com/britain-will-not-send-arms-to-ukraine-minister-63278/

DefenceTalkFiji soldiers exposed to radiation during British nuclear tests in the Pacific more than 56 years ago are finally to receive compensation, a government minister was reported as saying Tuesday. More than 70 military personnel, unaware of the mission they were on, were deployed from the then-British colony of Fiji to Christmas Island, now part […]https://www.defencetalk.com/payout-for-fiji-veterans-of-british-atomic-tests-62246/

DefenceTalkA further delay to a report into Britain’s role in the Iraq war sparked angry claims of a cover-up on Wednesday, illustrating the lingering controversy over a conflict in which 179 British soldiers died. Six years after the inquiry started and 12 years on from the beginning of the war itself, its chairman John Chilcot […]https://www.defencetalk.com/british-iraq-war-report-delay-sparks-cover-up-claims-62080/