On April 13, 2029, an icy chunk of space rock, wider than the Eiffel Tower is tall, will streak by Earth at 30 kilometers per second, grazing the planet’s sphere of geostationary satellites. It will be the closest approach by one of the largest asteroids crossing Earth’s orbit in the next decade. Observations of the […]

As 2018 turned to 2019, growth in the global defense environment moderated slightly, according to a new white paper from Forecast International. The Global Defense Spending Annual Snapshot produced by Forecast’s International’s Military Markets group highlights the factors behind the modest deceleration, while noting that the short- and medium-term military investment climate remains stout. Buoyed […]

Although Iranian missiles damaged equipment and infrastructure at U.S. and ally-occupied military installations in Iraq yesterday, training and defensive readiness paid off in no lives being lost, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. “There’s sirens that go off on these bases. … There’s bunkers and jersey barriers, and there’s places to go […]

An envoy of U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Friday that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s unwillingness to boost defense spending might give the United States no choice but to move American troops stationed in Germany to Poland. The comments by Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, signal Trump’s impatience with Merkel’s failure to raise defense […]

The United States is “unwinding” Turkey from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program as a result of the country buying the Russian S-400 air defense missile system, Pentagon officials said. Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen M. Lord and Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Policy David J. Trachtenberg told reporters in the Pentagon […]

DefenceTalkNATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has told DW that European defense efforts should remain within the alliance. Stoltenberg also criticized Russia over its SSC-8 missile program, saying it breached the INF treaty. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told DW in an interview on Monday that a European army as proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron […]https://www.defencetalk.com/europe-should-keep-its-defense-within-nato-says-stoltenberg-71932/

DefenceTalkU.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis praised Brazil’s clout and urged closer strategic ties Tuesday in what appeared to be part of a concerted push back against growing Chinese influence in Latin America. Mattis, who is starting a tour of the region, told military officers at Rio’s war college that Brazil and the United States had […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-defense-chief-woos-brazil-as-chinese-influence-grows-71805/

DefenceTalkToday President Donald J. Trump sent Congress a proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 budget request of $716 billion for national security, $686 billion of which is for the Department of Defense. The National Defense Strategy, which aligns with the National Security Strategy, connects strategy to the FY 2019 budget priorities, enabling the Department to compete, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/dod-releases-fiscal-year-2019-budget-proposal-71467/

DefenceTalkChina has denounced the United States government for its Cold War and zero-sum mentality as reflected in its new national defense strategy. The 2018 US National Defense Strategy (NDS) unveiled on Friday named China and Russia as top threats to the US, just like the US National Security Strategy did last month. “We face growing […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-blasts-new-us-defense-strategy-71130/

DefenceTalkThe US Congress on Thursday overwhelmingly authorized $700 billion in national defense spending for next year, a substantial increase over Donald Trump’s request, and sent the measure to the president for his signature. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2018 is a negotiated compromise between the two chambers of Congress. The Senate passed it Thursday […]https://www.defencetalk.com/congress-sends-700-bn-defense-bill-for-trumps-signature-70827/