August 2019

[ad_1] WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department on Tuesday cleared over $4.2 billion in potential weapon sales for Japan, South Korea, Hungary, Lithuania and Denmark. The sales, announced by State on the Defense Security Cooperation Agency website, would bring the total foreign military sales cases cleared by State to $51.9 billion with roughly five weeks to go in fiscal year 2020. The largest dollar value for the package comes from… Read More »State clears $4.2 billion in potential arms sales to Japan, S. Korea, Hungary, Lithuania and Denmark

[ad_1] NEWPORT, R.I. — Secretary of Defense Mark Esper today called for expanding base locations in the Pacific while continuing regular freedom of navigation operations in the region, as part of a broader attempt to stymie China’s influence. Esper, speaking at the Naval War College, called the Indo-Pacific theater “our priority theater,” as the department continues its shift towards an era of great power competition. “Many of you spent most… Read More »Esper calls for new basing investments in the Pacific

[ad_1] WASHINGTON — Lithuania’s plan to buy the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle from the U.S. has been cleared by the State Department, according to a Defense Security Cooperation Agency notification. The department notified Congress Aug. 27 that it had approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Lithuania of 500 JLTVs — the U.S. Army’s humvee replacement — for an estimated cost of $170.8 million. The Lithuanian Ministry of Defence first… Read More »Lithuania’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle buy clears State Dept. hurdle

[ad_1] WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is in early talks with Australia’s government about a deal that would lead to that nation processing a significant portion of rare earth materials required by the U.S. Department of Defense, according to the department’s top acquisition official. Ellen Lord, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, told reporters during a Monday briefing that she spoke with counterparts in Australia during a summer visit… Read More »To combat China’s hold on rare earth minerals, Pentagon looks to Australia

[ad_1] The Pentagon wants to know what its adversaries are up to in the area immediately beyond geosynchronous orbit, and the Space Development Agency has a plan to deliver. Currently, that blueprint involves three rapid, semi-autonomous Advanced Maneuvering Vehicles operating in cislunar space, the area between geosynchronous orbit and the moon’s orbit. That layer is meant to discourage bad behavior in deep space by other nations, said Jerry Krassner at… Read More »The Pentagon wants to solve a deep space problem with three vehicles

[ad_1] YUMA PROVING GROUND, Ariz. — In the mountainous desert of Arizona, an AH-64E helicopter hiding behind 1,600 feet of craggy mountain fires a missile at a target representing a Russian Pantsir medium-range, surface-to-air missile system on the opposite slope. The Aug. 26 scenario, attended by Defense News, was part of a U.S. Army’s experiment to achieve greater standoff against enemy threats using the Rafael-manufactured Spike Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) anti-tank, guided… Read More »Can an Israeli missile give US Army aviation an advantage in future warfare?

[ad_1] South Korea announced Thursday it will not renew its bilateral military information-sharing pact with Japan, known as the General Security of Military Information Agreement, or GSOMIA. Amid ongoing South Korea-Japan trade disputes and North Korea’s latest wave of short-range missile tests, this decision heightens regional tensions, undermining not only South Korea’s national security interests but also America’s and Japan’s. South Korea and Japan signed the GSOMIA in November 2016… Read More »South Korea is playing into the hands of North Korea and its allies

[ad_1] WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s new desire to join the European Main Battle Tank project, an initiative spearheaded by the Franco-German tandem, is part of a larger regional trend under which numerous Eastern European allies are pursuing plans to acquire new vehicles and replace their Soviet-designed tracked and wheeled rides. Following an Aug. 16 meeting between Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak and his German counterpart, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the Polish leader… Read More »Poland’s search for new European tanks is contagious

[ad_1] WASHINGTON — After four years on the job, U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson on Aug. 22 handed the reins over to Adm. Michael Gilday. Gilday was a nontraditional pick selected from the three-star ranks after the Senate-confirmed CNO, Adm. Bill Moran, stepped down amid an Inspector General investigation. Richardson, who was himself a nontraditional selection, was pulled from his job as head of the naval… Read More »US Navy’s top officer sounds off on his way out the door

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