DefenceTalkRussia will regard Western F-16 fighter jets sent to Ukraine as a “nuclear” threat because of their capacity to carry atomic weapons, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday. Modern warplanes have been at the forefront of Kyiv’s demands for military aid from its Western allies as it fights back against Russia’s offensive. Lavrov spoke […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-says-f-16-fighter-jets-in-ukraine-will-be-seen-as-nuclear-threat-80051/

DefenceTalkFrance’s announcement on Tuesday that it would send SCALP long-range missiles to Ukraine comes months after Britain began delivering its identical Storm Shadow. Developed jointly by the two NATO allies, Storm Shadow/SCALP is a 1,300-kilogramme (2,870 pounds) missile armed with conventional explosives, usually launched from aircraft such as the Royal Air Force’s Eurofighter Typhoon or […]https://www.defencetalk.com/frances-scalp-missiles-long-range-weapon-for-ukraines-armory-80036/

DefenceTalkGermany, Ukraine’s second biggest supplier of arms to resist the Russian invasion, pledged another 700 million euros ($771 million) in military assistance to Kyiv on Tuesday at a pivotal NATO summit. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said at the gathering in Vilnius that the new package “served Ukraine’s priorities: air defence, tanks, artillery”. Germany in May […]https://www.defencetalk.com/germany-pledges-700-mn-euros-in-new-arms-aid-to-ukraine-80032/

DefenceTalkChina would probably gain air superiority very quickly in any attack on Taiwan, something Russia crucially failed to do in its invasion of Ukraine last year, leaked US intelligence documents show, according to media reports Saturday. The classified documents, allegedly leaked by a US national guardsman in the worst US security breach in a decade, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-would-gain-swift-air-superiority-over-taiwan-us-leaks-show-80019/

DefenceTalkChina sent warships and aircraft near Taiwan for a second day on Friday and insisted the island remains “an inseparable part of China”, after President Tsai Ing-wen angered Beijing by meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Three Chinese warships sailed in waters surrounding the self-ruled island, while a fighter jet and an anti-submarine helicopter […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-sends-warships-and-aircraft-around-taiwan-for-second-day-80015/

DefenceTalkAn Israeli missile strike killed 15 people and destroyed a residential building in the Syrian capital of Damascus, a war monitor said Sunday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strike, which hit close to an Iranian cultural center, had killed 15 people including civilians. Since the beginning of the war in Syria in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/israeli-strike-in-damascus-kills-15-monitor-79871/

DefenceTalkCountries including the United States and China called Thursday for urgent action to regulate the development and growing use of artificial intelligence in warfare, warning that the technology “could have unintended consequences”. A two-day meet in The Hague involving more than 60 countries took the first steps towards establishing international rules on use of AI […]https://www.defencetalk.com/countries-urge-action-for-rules-on-ai-use-in-war-79875/

DefenceTalkLondon’s High Court on Tuesday examined the legality of a decision by the UK to renew sales of arms to Saudi Arabia that could be used in the war in Yemen. The case has been brought by UK-based NGO, Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), which accuses the government of contributing to breaches of international law […]https://www.defencetalk.com/uk-court-examines-legality-of-resuming-saudi-arms-sales-79829/

DefenceTalkEuropean powers must do more to dissuade China from invading Taiwan, including being prepared to unleash painful economic sanctions and train Taiwanese troops, the former head of NATO said Thursday. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who is visiting Taipei, said European and NATO powers were “too naive” in the run-up to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and risked […]https://www.defencetalk.com/ex-nato-chief-says-europe-too-naive-on-chinas-taiwan-threats-79690/

DefenceTalkAustralia said Thursday it has snapped up a US offer to obtain the same long-range, mobile rocket system Ukraine has deployed on the battlefield against invading Russian forces. The government said the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) would deter attacks on Australia but could also be transported by plane for deployment worldwide. “The effectiveness […]https://www.defencetalk.com/australia-buys-ukraine-tested-us-missile-system-79681/