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/

DefenceTalkA delegation from the Taiwan-US Inter-Parliamentary Amity Association of Taiwan’s Legislature said Wednesday in Washington that Taiwan wants to purchase advanced F-35 fighter jets that best suit its defense needs. Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator and Association Chairman Lin Yu-fang briefed reporters in Washington after the delegation’s meeting at the Pentagon with David Helvey, deputy assistant secretary […]https://www.defencetalk.com/taiwan-makes-pitch-for-purchase-of-f-35-fighter-jets-48416/

DefenceTalkIn 2010 a Customs Union comprising Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan was launched as part of a Russia-led project aimed at economic reintegration within the former Soviet space (as Russian President Vladimir Putin explained in an article published in Izvestiya in October 2011). Evidence gathered during the short period of the Union’s existence suggests this project […]https://www.defencetalk.com/should-the-west-be-afraid-of-moscows-plans-for-a-eurasian-union-48430/

DefenceTalkPakistan’s first group of female paratroopers completed their training on Sunday, the military announced, hailing it as a “landmark achievement” for the deeply conservative Muslim country. Captain Kiran Ashraf was declared the best paratrooper of the batch of 24, the military said in a statement, while Captain Sadia, referred to by one name, became the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/first-pakistani-women-paratroopers-make-history-48436/

DefenceTalkA new helicopter to be used by both the Royal Australian Navy and Army was today inducted into the Australian Defence Force Fleet during a commissioning ceremony at HMAS Albatross, near Nowra, NSW. The ceremony also marked the formal induction of 808 Squadron to operate the new MRH 90 Taipan Multi-Role Helicopter. Chief of the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/australian-navy-commissions-808-squadron-and-new-mrh-90-helicopter-48361/

DefenceTalkThe FREMM multi-mission frigate on order for the Royal Moroccan Navy is pursuing sea trials off the French coast in preparation for delivery later this year. In June, French naval shipbuilder DCNS successfully completed a third series of trials to test the performance of the ship’s combat system. The crew and DCNS specialists completed the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/dcns-sea-trials-fremm-frigate-royal-moroccan-navy-48358/

DefenceTalkThe Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress July 9 of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Saudi Arabia of 30 Mark V patrol boats and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $1.2 billion. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has requested a possible sale of 30 Mark V patrol boats, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/mark-v-patrol-boats-for-saudi-arabia-48355/

DefenceTalkThe X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator completed its first carrier-based arrested landing on board USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) off the coast of Virginia July 10. “It isn’t very often you get a glimpse of the future. Today, those of us aboard USS George H.W. Bush got that chance as we witnessed […]https://www.defencetalk.com/x-47b-makes-first-arrested-landing-at-sea-48353/

DefenceTalkLockheed Martin’s Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) recently completed four engineering verification flight tests, as part of the U.S. Navy’s System Design and Development program. During the tests conducted at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., four projectiles were fired at various hard and soft targets located 45 nautical miles downrange. All four targets were […]https://www.defencetalk.com/lockheed-lrlap-projectile-scores-four-of-four-in-tests-for-us-navy-48363/

DefenceTalkThe United States and China will on Wednesday try to find common ground on rows ranging from hacking to trade access, with few expectations of breakthroughs. Senior officials will hold talks Wednesday and Thursday in Washington in the Strategic and Economic Dialogue, billed as the main annual meeting between the world’s two largest economies. The […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-china-to-take-up-hacking-business-rows-48350/