DefenceTalkUS military leaders painted an overly optimistic picture of American efforts to fight the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, a damning government report released Thursday found. The interim report stems from a congressional task force investigating whistleblower allegations that intel bosses cherry-picked information that soft-pedaled the risk of IS while overstating US efforts […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-military-manipulated-intel-in-is-fight-68001/

DefenceTalkThe United States has approved the possible sale to Saudi Arabia of up to 153 tanks, hundreds of machine guns and other military gear in a deal worth $1.15 billion, the Pentagon said Tuesday. The announcement coincided with news that Saudi-led coalition warplanes had resumed air strikes on Yemen’s capital for the first time in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-approves-1-15-bn-tank-weapons-sale-to-saudi-67972/

DefenceTalkSyrian military forces bolstered by Russian air strikes are making progress in the battleground city of Aleppo, rolling back the short-lived gains of a rebel offensive. A watchdog voiced concerns meanwhile over reports of a chlorine gas attack Tuesday in nearby Saraqeb, close to where Russia said one of its helicopters was shot down the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/syrian-military-in-aleppo-fightback-67953/

DefenceTalkThe Syrian Air Force has received a batch of Su-24M2 (NATO reporting name: Fencer-D) frontline bombers supplied by Russia, according to the AMN news agency. “The Syrian Air Force has received several Su-24M2 aircraft supplied by Russia in order to beef up the Damascus’ combat capabilities to fight against international terrorism. At present, two Su-24M2 […]https://www.defencetalk.com/syrian-air-force-to-get-russian-su-24m2-frontline-bombers-67919/

DefenceTalkDefense ministers and other senior leaders of the counter-Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant coalition have agreed on next steps in the accelerated fight against the terrorist army in Iraq and Syria, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said today. Carter hosted the meeting, the third of its kind, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland for […]https://www.defencetalk.com/carter-defense-ministers-agree-on-next-steps-in-counter-isil-fight-67870/

DefenceTalkThe failed coup attempt in Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s firm crackdown on the alleged plotters have aggravated ties between Washington and Ankara, already poisoned by the war in Syria and human rights issues. Although they are NATO allies and officially partners in the fight against the Islamic State group, the United States and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/failed-turkey-coup-attempt-poisons-relations-with-us-67866/

DefenceTalkThe US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group has resumed air strikes from a Turkish air base that were suspended after a failed military coup d’etat, the Pentagon said on Sunday. “After close coordination with our Turkish allies, they have reopened their airspace to military aircraft,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-led-coalition-resumes-strikes-against-is-from-turkey-base-67859/

DefenceTalkIsrael’s military on Sunday fired two Patriot missiles at a drone that “infiltrated” from war-ravaged neighboring Syria, it said. The missiles missed the drone which “returned to Syria” after the incident in the central Golan Heights, where the demarcation line between the two countries is located, the military said. “Moments ago two Patriot air defence […]https://www.defencetalk.com/israel-fires-missiles-at-drone-from-syria-army-67844/

DefenceTalkRussia has conducted more than 50 air strikes since Tuesday against Islamic State (IS) jihadists near the Syrian city of Palmyra, the defence ministry in Moscow said. “The Russian air force has increased the intensity of its strikes against targets of the armed units of international terrorist organisations near the city of Palmyra,” the ministry […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-conducts-over-50-strikes-on-is-near-palmyra-in-3-days-67830/

DefenceTalkIndustry and the military are going to make complete life-cycle support contracts for Sukhoi Su-34 (NATO reporting name: Fullback) tactical bombers by year-end, Russian Aerospace Force (RusAF) Commander-in-Chief Victor Bondarev said during his visit to Sukhoi’s Novosibirsk Aircraft Plant. “We are going to switch to the complete life-cycle support as far as the Su-34 is […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-to-implement-complete-life-cycle-for-su-34-tactical-bomber-67717/