DefenceTalkThe Air Force’s most advanced strike aircraft, the F-35 Lightning II, is a vital capability that the nation needs to stay ahead of adversary technological gains, the Air Force chief of staff told a Senate panel here, June 19. Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Defense, Gen. Mark A. Welsh III said air […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35-is-backbone-of-air-forces-future-fighter-fleet-welsh-says-48196/

DefenceTalkThe United States and the Taliban cleared the decks for peace talks Tuesday even as a deadly attack on US troops underlined the still furious nature of their decade-long war. US officials welcomed the Islamist insurgent group’s opening of an office in Qatar to serve as a front for talks with Washington and President Hamid […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-to-open-peace-talks-with-taliban-48181/

DefenceTalkSouth Korea will buy European bunker-busting missiles as the United States refused to sell the same kind of weapons to the country, the state procurement agency said Wednesday. At a meeting presided over by Defence Minister Kim Kwan-Jin, the Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) approved a plan to purchase air-to-ground missiles with a 500-kilometre (312.5 […]https://www.defencetalk.com/south-korea-to-buy-european-missiles-48179/

DefenceTalkThe Army is incorporating a new sensor capability into its Apache helicopters. The Apache Sensors Product Office has accepted delivery of the new Modernized Day Sensor Assembly Laser Rangefinder Designator, or LRFD, the first component to be fielded in the Modernized Day Sensor Assembly. The laser represents increased capability to the Modernized Target Acquisition Designation […]https://www.defencetalk.com/army-updates-eyes-of-apache-helicopters-48173/

DefenceTalkIndications are that the F-35 joint strike fighter program — the most expensive aviation program in Defense Department history — is on track, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics told a Senate panel here June 19. Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee this morning, Frank Kendall said the F-35 will […]https://www.defencetalk.com/joint-strike-fighter-on-track-costs-coming-down-kendall-says-48171/

DefenceTalkThe Air Force released details of the service’s plan to fully integrate women into previously closed career fields June 18. The implementation plan was recently submitted to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel for review. More than 99 percent of Air Force positions are currently already open to female Airmen. In fact, 2013 marks the twentieth […]https://www.defencetalk.com/air-force-sets-plan-to-integrate-women-in-combat-jobs-by-2016-48168/

DefenceTalkRAF Typhoon aircraft will be armed with Meteor missiles from later this decade after an agreement was signed today by industry and the four Eurofighter nations. During a short ceremony at the Paris Air Show, Defence Ministers from the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain witnessed a contract being signed between Eurofighter and NATO Eurofighter and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/weapons-upgrade-for-raf-typhoon-agreed-at-paris-air-show-48162/

DefenceTalkEurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH has today signed a weapon system integration contract with NETMA, the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency, to facilitate and secure integration of MBDA’s Meteor Beyond Visual Range Missile system. The contract was signed at the Paris Air Show 2013 in Le Bourget by Jesus Pinillos Prieto, General Manager of NETMA and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/eurofighter-signs-contract-for-meteor-integration-48160/

DefenceTalkLE BOURGET, France: Cassidian looks back over what is now 10 years of test flight experience with its Barracuda UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) demonstrator, a time in which the company gathered unique know-how. Barracuda forms one of the elements of Cassidian’s comprehensive UAS capabilities, which make the company the European leader in this high-tech segment. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/barracuda-10-years-of-development-in-unmanned-flight-technology-48158/

DefenceTalkSaber Strike 2013 concluded June 13 as training locations in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia held closing ceremonies to commemorate two weeks of multinational exercises in the Baltics. “The exercise was an extreme success,” said Col. Frederick Jessen, U.S. Army Europe’s contingency-command post officer in charge. “We partnered with numerous nations improving our partner capacity and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/saber-strike-2013-demonstrates-multinational-partnership-in-baltics-48176/