Military & Security

Fenella McGerty, Senior Defence Budgets Analyst, IHS Aerospace, Defence & Security – IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly Key points: France’s announcement goes even further than Germany’s plan to increase spending by EUR1.9 billion over 2015-2016. While many countries in Eastern Europe have already increased spending, we may finally be …

Zachary Keck The Buzz China has conducted the first test flight of a new, upgraded version of its J-11 fighter jet. According to Russian media outlets, which cited unnamed Chinese reports, on Wednesday the People’s Liberation Army Air Force conducted the first flight tests of its J-11D fighter …

Kyle Mizokami The Russian Army is back. Like a bear awakening from hibernation, the Russian Ground Forces are shrugging off decades of neglect with a rearmament program designed to make it once again the most powerful army in Eurasia. Russia’s ten-year armament program, scheduled to run through 2020 …

Peter Harris China has been “weaponized” in U.S. domestic politics. This is evident in the current debate over the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).  For even though China is not a prospective member of the TPP, an incipient trade agreement among twelve Asia-Pacific nations, this has not stopped proponents …

By Gilad Shiloach The Vocativ ISIS is urging its fighters in Syria to move to the front-lines of its battle in Iraq, where the extremist organization has been losing intense battles against Iraqi security forces, according to documents obtained by Syrian groups fighting the terrorists. “The crusader, the …

Russia and China will for the first time hold joint naval drills in the Mediterranean Sea next month, according to a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense. Chinese National Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said that Moscow and Beijing will for the first time hold joint naval …

By Finian Cunningham The claims that Merkel’s government knew about German state intelligence spying on behalf of the Americans against the country’s own industrial interests raise disturbing questions about the integrity of German government leaders. The apparent betrayal of German national interests by Chancellor Angela Merkel is not only evident over the …

The Pentagon said Wednesday that the U.S. would “be able to respond” if necessary to help a Marshall Islands-flagged ship that was diverted, and boarded, a day earlier by Iran — though it remains unclear how far the U.S. Navy might be willing to go if the tense …

By Yerevan Saeed Kurd Post The US House Armed Services Committee passed a watered down defense bill on Thursday, removing a clause asking for recognition of Kurdish Peshmergas and Sunni tribal forces as “country,” but maintaining that some of the military aid should go directly to the two …