DefenceTalkA key piece of the combat system for the Hobart Class Air Warfare Destroyers – the Phalanx Close-In-Weapon-System (CIWS) – has arrived in Adelaide. The Phalanx system for the future destroyers Hobart and Brisbane have been shipped from the United States to the AWD Alliance, CEO Rod Equid said today. “The Phalanx CIWS includes a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/phalanx-close-in-weapon-system-delivered-to-australia-47519/

DefenceTalkIran’s army “alone” is able to destroy Israel, army commander General Ataollah Salehi said on Thursday, responding to boasts by the Jewish state that its military that could attack its archfoe on its own. “Our message to this illegitimate regime (Israel) is the same, we do not need to utilise all of Iran’s military forces,” […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-able-to-destroy-israel-alone-commander-47524/

DefenceTalkDefense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Monday cancelled a new combat medal for US troops who launch drone strikes or cyber attacks after a torrent of criticism from veterans and lawmakers. Hagel opted to scrap the new “Distinguished Warfare Medal” for a pin or device that could be added to existing medals to recognize service members […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-calls-off-new-medal-for-drone-cyber-warriors-47504/

DefenceTalkChina on Tuesday issued a white paper on national defense elaborating on its new security challenges in peacetime and the employment of armed forces to cope with them. The document, the eighth of its kind issued by the Chinese government since 1998, warns that the Asia-Pacific region has become an increasingly significant stage for world […]https://www.defencetalk.com/chinas-defense-paper-stresses-new-military-employment-47501/

DefenceTalkNorth Korea’s military Tuesday issued an “ultimatum” saying it would attack without warning if anti-North Korean activities continued in the South. The warning came after protestors in Seoul on Monday burned portraits of North Korea’s founder Kim Il-Sung, his son Kim Jong-Il and grandson and current leader Kim Jong-Un. The act coincided with national celebrations […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-vows-attack-on-south-over-anti-north-activities-47499/

DefenceTalkA few months after the D-Day invasion in June 1944, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower surveyed the Normandy beaches with his son. “You’d never get away with this if you didn’t have air supremacy,” then 2nd Lt. John Eisenhower told his father. “Without air supremacy,” the elder Eisenhower replied, “I wouldn’t be here.” The United States […]https://www.defencetalk.com/air-superiority-advantage-over-enemy-skies-for-60-years-47489/

DefenceTalkThe Boeing X-48C research aircraft flew for the 30th and final time April 9, marking the successful completion of an eight-month flight-test program to explore and further validate the aerodynamic characteristics of the Blended Wing Body design concept. All 30 flights were conducted at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center. The X-48C typically flew for approximately […]https://www.defencetalk.com/boeing-x-48c-blended-wing-body-research-aircraft-completes-flight-testing-47481/

DefenceTalkIn the late 1990s, defense hawks and doves were involved in an intense debate over missile defense. The Clinton Administration had stomped on the brakes, reducing the Reagan-Bush program to a research effort. Official intelligence estimates saw the threat to the U.S. homeland from nations such as Iraq, Iran and North Korea as maturing only […]https://www.defencetalk.com/intelligence-leak-confirms-missile-threat-commissions-predictions-47485/

DefenceTalkA fully equipped Soldier may carry anywhere from 50 to 120 pounds on his or her back in theater. Refinements to precision-guided parachutes may reduce that load — if the Army can just convince Soldiers it can provide supplies to them as needed. Brig. Gen. Paul A. Ostrowski, with Program Executive Officer, Soldier, known as […]https://www.defencetalk.com/refined-precision-guided-parachutes-may-be-cure-all-for-overburdened-soldier-47494/

DefenceTalkWorld military expenditure totalled $1.75 trillion in 2012, a fall of 0.5 per cent in real terms since 2011, according to figures released today by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The comprehensive annual update of the SIPRI Military Expenditure Database is accessible from today at www.sipri.org. The fall—the first since 1998—was driven by major […]https://www.defencetalk.com/world-military-spending-falls-but-china-russias-spending-rises-47478/