DefenceTalkPentagon chief Chuck Hagel on Friday hosted Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi for talks on military ties between the two countries, including the delicate issue of cyber security, officials said. With a Chinese delegation in the US capital this week for annual strategic and economic talks, Yang held a 45-minute meeting with Hagel at the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-chief-chinese-official-discuss-military-ties-48434/

DefenceTalkIn 2010 a Customs Union comprising Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan was launched as part of a Russia-led project aimed at economic reintegration within the former Soviet space (as Russian President Vladimir Putin explained in an article published in Izvestiya in October 2011). Evidence gathered during the short period of the Union’s existence suggests this project […]https://www.defencetalk.com/should-the-west-be-afraid-of-moscows-plans-for-a-eurasian-union-48430/

DefenceTalkThe United States and China will on Wednesday try to find common ground on rows ranging from hacking to trade access, with few expectations of breakthroughs. Senior officials will hold talks Wednesday and Thursday in Washington in the Strategic and Economic Dialogue, billed as the main annual meeting between the world’s two largest economies. The […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-china-to-take-up-hacking-business-rows-48350/

DefenceTalkHeavy US government spending cuts took a sharp swing on Monday as the Pentagon began putting about 650,000 civilian workers on unpaid leave. The Department of Defense’s civilian employees face furloughs of up to 11 days through the end of the fiscal year on September 30. The furloughs will slash their paychecks by 20 percent […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-begins-furloughs-civilians-48336/

DefenceTalkPakistan reached an understanding with the United States on drone strikes targeting Islamist militants and the attacks can be useful, according leaked remarks from a former intelligence chief. Pakistan publicly condemns US missile attacks on Taliban and Al-Qaeda operatives as a violation of its sovereignty, but the new revelations are the latest sign of double-dealing […]https://www.defencetalk.com/report-reveals-pakistan-us-understanding-on-drones-48334/

DefenceTalkA recently completed defense acquisition program report, which is now before Congress, is part of a data-driven effort to find out what’s working best in equipping the nation’s military and to fix what isn’t, the Pentagon’s undersecretary of acquisition, technology and logistics said in an interview with American Forces Press Service. Frank Kendall said the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-releases-first-annual-acquisition-report-48324/

DefenceTalkUK Government and a group of Britain’s leading defence and security companies today announce that they have joined forces to launch the Defence Cyber Protection Partnership (DCPP), aimed at bolstering the security of the UK against cyber attack through action within the defence industry. Collective expertise Recognizing that cyber attacks are a serious threat to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/defence-cyber-protection-partnership-dcpp-launched-48310/

DefenceTalkWith its popularly supported overthrow of president Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s army has placed itself at the forefront of a difficult transition fraught with the risks of confronting the Islamist’s backers. The military has announced a roadmap that includes the suspension of the constitution and appointment of the country’s top judge Adly Mansour as interim president […]https://www.defencetalk.com/egypt-army-on-frontline-of-tough-transition-48302/

DefenceTalkRussia’s state arms exporter said Wednesday that its order portfolio stood at $34 billion as of June 1. Rosoboronexport delivered $6.5 billion worth of weaponry to foreign customers in the first half of this year, deputy head Igor Sevastyanov announced, adding that the current order portfolio included contracts with 67 countries. Russia, which last year […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russias-weaponry-exporter-reports-34bln-in-orders-48283/

DefenceTalkDefence budgets in the Asia Pacific region will overtake the United States and Canada by 2021, according to a study by respected analysts IHS Jane’s published on Tuesday. Weapons spending in China and other Asia Pacific countries is expected to rise 35 percent above its 2013 level to $501 billion (383 billion euros) by 2021, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/asia-pacific-defence-budgets-to-outstrip-north-america-by-2021-48269/