Author: Defenceline Webdesk

While deterrence is generally assessed in terms of ships, missiles, aircraft, and reservists, a Taiwan scenario will not be determined solely by such hardware. A coercive effort on the part of China could be designed to deliver a quicker political solution for Taiwan. Beijing may attempt to persuade the populace sufficiently that the Taiwanese government was incapable of protecting, informing, and supporting its citizens—all before China ever has to make an amphibious landing. Yu-Hsuan Yeh, Bonny Lin, and Jane Nakano of the Center for Strategic and International Studies identified scenarios “short of an invasion of Taiwan” in which China could…

Global Defense News The United States is expanding SM-3 interceptor production as the Pentagon works to strengthen Navy missile-defense readiness Source link

Tajikistan and Iran have reportedly finalized the framework of a long-term agreement for the export of Iranian oil to energy-starved Tajikistan. The announcement comes a month after the two sides signed an agreement to establish a logistics corridor through Afghanistan.  Russia supplies an estimated 90 percent of Tajikistan’s oil product imports. Given increased Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, all of Central Asia is feeling the fuel pinch. This comes also as the U.S. conflict with Iran continues past a 60-day deadline the two sides set for an agreement in June. Pressure on global energy markets abounds and Central Asian…

Scott N. Romaniuk, RCD More Than a Submarine Replacement Program Source link

WASHINGTON — The Navy’s youngest of its four public shipyards is more than 100 years old. Now, President Donald Trump says it’s time for a fifth, in an effort to expand repair capacity for nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines.  Plans for the additional public shipyard were revealed in a new National Security Presidential Memorandum, along with several other key initiatives. The memorandum instructs Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to submit a proposal within 120 days to bolster submarine and aircraft carrier readiness — harnessing both the private sector and an additional shipyard to achieve those results.  The possibility of an…

Hours before South Korea and the United States began Ulchi Freedom Shield on August 17, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” the exercise. He called the drills “costly” and an “inappropriate and hostile” signal to North Korea, emphasized his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and linked his displeasure to Seoul’s refusal to join U.S. action against Iran. He noted in a post on Truth Social that the exercises were being scaled back, not scrapped entirely, only because “it is too late to cancel.” The exercise nevertheless started as scheduled, while the…

Derek Lacey, Axios A Huntsville, Alabama defense company gave an up-close demonstration this week of a powerful new anti-drone laser system Source link

WASHINGTON — The US military will scale back its participation in a joint exercise with South Korea this month due to the message it sends to Pyongyang and the event’s cost, US President Donald Trump announced in a social media post Sunday. “These exercises are not only costly […] but send a signal that is completely inappropriate and hostile,” Trump wrote, while also citing his “very good relationship” with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.  He also linked the decision to Seoul’s reluctance to take military actions against Iran.“While somewhat unrelated (?), I recently asked the President of South Korea…

Brad Cooper, The Wall Street Journal On Saturday I addressed the crew, congratulated them on a magnificent job, and sent them home. Source link

China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has not fought a major war in nearly five decades, leaving many of the concepts driving its modernization efforts untested in combat. So it’s no surprise that Chinese military researchers are soaking in everything they can from the conflict in Iran in order to measure those concepts against battlefield reality.  The takeaway seems clear: For the PLA, Iran has reinforced many of the ideas already driving China’s modernization around “intelligentized” and systems-oriented warfare. The conflict, PLA scholars are saying, shows China is already on the right track with developing a military capable of challenging other…