DefenceTalkWashington is weighing expanding support for Syrian rebels by having the Pentagon take charge of arming the opposition instead of a clandestine effort by the CIA, officials said Wednesday. “It’s under consideration,” said a US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “If and how (it would be done) are both questions being discussed,” the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-may-take-charge-of-arming-syrian-rebels-us-officials-48958/

DefenceTalkThe Pentagon will host China’s Defense Minister General Chang Wanquan for talks Monday at a time of “positive momentum” in military relations between the two countries, a US official said. Chang was due to start his visit Friday in Hawaii where he was scheduled to meet the head of US Pacific Command, before heading to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/chinas-defense-minister-at-pentagon-for-talks-monday-48788/

DefenceTalkThe Pentagon has no plans to halt a $550 million deal with Russia to acquire helicopters for the Afghan Special Mission Wing, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday. In late June the Special US Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction urged the Pentagon to put the deal on hold until the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-stands-by-russian-arms-deal-48527/

DefenceTalkDefense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered a 20 percent cut in funding for the Pentagon’s top civilian and military headquarters by 2019, saying everyone has to “do their part.” Hagel announced the order Tuesday during a visit to a naval air base in Jacksonville, Florida, portraying the move as a signal that no element of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/hagel-orders-cuts-for-pentagon-headquarters-48512/

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/

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/

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/

DefenceTalkAmerica’s missile defense system failed on Friday in a test over the Pacific, with an interceptor failing to hit an incoming ballistic missile, the Pentagon said. The miss represented yet another setback for the costly ground-based interceptors, which have not had a successful test result since 2008. The test’s objective was to have an interceptor, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-missile-defense-test-fails-pentagon-48298/

DefenceTalkA Defense Department report released today describes China’s military modernization and the Chinese army’s interaction with other forces, including those of the United States, a senior Pentagon official said today. The annual report — titled “2013 Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China” — went to Congress today and covers China’s security […]https://www.defencetalk.com/dod-report-on-china-details-military-modernization-47704/

DefenceTalkThe Pentagon plans to cut its vast civilian workforce by 5-6 percent over the next five years to match similar reductions in the number of US troops, Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Tuesday. “These reductions are largely proportional to military end strength reductions that we proposed,” Carter said at the National Press Club in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-plans-to-cut-civilian-workforce-47722/