DefenceTalkThe contract for the purchase of 24 Rafale aircraft by Qatar came into force today. Signed in Doha on 4 May 2015, in the company of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, and Mr. François Hollande, President of the French Republic, this contract represents a new milestone […]https://www.defencetalk.com/rafale-contract-in-qatar-comes-into-force-66124/

DefenceTalkThe French air force used its first cruise missiles against Islamic State group targets in Iraq on Tuesday, the defence ministry said. “Launched from the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, the raid was made up of a dozen fighter planes equipped with cruise missiles and bombs,” the French ministry said in a statement. The jets […]https://www.defencetalk.com/france-uses-first-cruise-missiles-against-isis-66115/

DefenceTalkThe United States is prepared to deploy attack helicopters in support of an Iraqi offensive to retake the Islamic State-held city of Ramadi, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Wednesday. Carter told a US Senate hearing that the Iraqi army was beginning to move on the city in Iraq’s Anbar province, which fell to IS […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-ready-to-deploy-attack-helicopters-to-retake-iraqi-city-66030/

DefenceTalkBaghdad: Decades of irresponsible arms transfers to Iraq fueled the Islamic State group’s firepower and ability to carry out atrocities on a massive scale, Amnesty International said in a report published Tuesday. The London-based human rights watchdog called for tougher controls in order to put a stop to the alarming fallout from the proliferation of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/reckless-arms-transfers-to-iraq-fuelled-is-crimes-report-65998/

DefenceTalkBeirut: Suspected US-led coalition air strikes killed at least 26 civilians in a Syrian village, piling pressure on the alliance after allegations another bombing raid left regime soldiers dead. The coalition has been bombarding the Islamic State group for more than a year in Syria and neighboring Iraq, where the jihadists have declared a self-styled […]https://www.defencetalk.com/new-suspected-us-led-syria-raids-kill-dozens-of-civilians-65996/

DefenceTalkGermany pushed its NATO allies Wednesday to re-open high-level channels of communication with Russia, arguing that Moscow has a constructive role to play in many areas, especially in ending the Syrian conflict. “We still have very different experiences with Russia, there is a difficult situation in eastern Ukraine, again breaches of the ceasefire,” German Foreign […]https://www.defencetalk.com/germany-pushes-nato-to-engage-russia-65970/

DefenceTalkWashington: The United States will increasingly rely on special operations troops to battle Islamic State jihadists in Iraq and Syria, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Tuesday, while calling on international powers to beef up their own efforts. Speaking to lawmakers in the House Armed Services Committee, the Pentagon chief said he was deploying a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-special-forces-to-fight-isis-in-iraq-syria-65953/

DefenceTalkMoscow on Saturday slapped economic sanctions on Turkey in the latest tit-for-tat move over the downing of a Russian warplane, as Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was “saddened” by the jet incident. With the row showing no sign of abating, the Kremlin released the text of a decree signed by Russian President Vladimir […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-slaps-economic-sanctions-on-turkey-over-jet-downing-65930/

DefenceTalkRussia’s state-owned RIA Novosti news agency says that the advanced S-400 antiaircraft system has been deployed at a Russian military base in Syria. Russia announced it would deploy the advanced surface-to-air missile system after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane along the Turkey-Syria border on November 24. The system has reportedly been deployed in Syria’s […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russian-says-s-400-already-deployed-in-syria-65919/

DefenceTalkGermany is planning to deploy 1,200 troops to help France in the fight against Islamic State jihadists in Syria, its army chief said Sunday, in what would be the military’s biggest deployment abroad. “From a military point of view, around 1,200 soldiers would be necessary to run the planes and ship,” army chief of staff […]https://www.defencetalk.com/army-chief-germany-planning-to-deploy-1200-troops-for-is-fight-65916/