Author: Defenceline Webdesk

The United Nations refugee agency yesterday expressed its concerns over Malaysia’s return this week of nearly 1,500 asylum seekers to Myanmar, in spite of the ongoing conflict and dire humanitarian situation inside the country. The 1,476 people were returned to Myanmar via ship on Tuesday, the first phase in the agreed “voluntary” repatriation of some 5,000 asylum seekers currently held in Malaysian immigration detention centers. While Malaysia insists that the returns are strictly voluntary, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said yesterday that it was concerned about the fate of the 1,476 people, given the country’s continuing conflict and…

Next-gen fighters, or legacy platforms? Manned or unmanned systems? Lasers and electronic warfare? The future of European airpower is very much up in the air. For the last part of our roundtable series, the panel looks into their crystal balls to guess what the European skies could play host to in 30 years. Breaking Defense Editor-in-Chief Aaron Mehta is joined Breaking Defense Europe co-editors Tim Martin and Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo, along with noted aviation expert Douglas Barrie of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. You can find the previous episodes here and at Breaking Defense Europe. Source link

The T-7A will replace the 1960s-era T-38 aircraft. Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Joshua McClanahan. The US Air Force’s Air Education and Training Command (AETC) has completed its first flight linking a T-7A Red Hawk training aircraft with the T-7A Ground-Based Training System in a live-virtual-constructive exercise. The 16 September event connected a T-7A flown by instructors from the 99th Flying Training Squadron with two simulator cockpits operated by civilian instructors from the 12th Training Squadron. Discover B2B Marketing That Performs Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms. Find out more…

Northrop Grumman ground-tests a solid-fuel ramjet system. Credit: Northrop Grumman. Northrop Grumman has secured an $18.8m contract from the US Army to develop and integrate solid-fuel ramjet propulsion for missile prototypes in the eXtended Range Counter-Uncrewed Aircraft System (XRC) programme. The contract will be executed in collaboration with the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Centre. Discover B2B Marketing That Performs Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms. Find out more Work will take place at the company’s Allegany Ballistics Laboratory facility in West Virginia, a site specialising in…

The Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed following the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran in February, leaving oil tankers unable to transit the strait, which is both the entrance to the Persian Gulf and one of the world’s most critical trade arteries. Japan imports more than 90 percent of its crude oil from the Middle East. Gasoline prices have surged, and the effects on daily life have been wide-ranging. The current crisis has a precedent. During the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, the Japanese government actively debated whether to send Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) minesweepers and Japan Coast Guard…

During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US Army benefited from an enormous advantage in night-vision technology — an advantage captured in the phrase “we own the night.” Retired Maj. Gen. Jefforey Smith argues that commanders now need to bring a similar mindset to electromagnetic spectrum operations (EMSO), where the ability to sense, communicate, maneuver and survive in a contested spectrum increasingly determines battlefield advantage. Smith, market development executive for the US Army and USSOCOM at Silvus Technologies, spoke with Breaking Defense about how the electromagnetic spectrum is changing warfare, what commanders need at the tactical edge, and why…

In this edition of the Middle East Defense Digest, Breaking Defense Middle East Bureau Chief Agnes Helou unpacks recent regional developments, including a $24 billion F-35 purchase requested by Saudi Arabia, six helicopter drones delivered to Angola’s navy and why post-Assad Syria is looking forward to reacquiring nearly all of its military bases. Helou then speaks about Iran war strategy and weapons systems with Ryan Bohl, senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at the RANE Network.   Source link

“BIG news! India plans to buy the battle-tested Javelin anti-tank system,” U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor announced on X on August 28, as the Indian Army signed the letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) for the purchase of the missile system through the foreign military sales (FMS) route, also adding that it’s opening the door to “co-production possibilities.” For the Indian Army, it marks 16 years of ups and downs and the long lead time to fill a critical capability gap in anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM), even if only piecemeal. The Javelin is a versatile, one-man-portable and platform-mounted fire-and-forget…

WASHINGTON — The United States announced it has now withdrawn its remaining military forces from Iraq, marking the end to operations that began more than two decades ago.  The last of US forces and equipment departed from Erbil Air Base, completing the withdrawal agreed to by Washington and Baghdad in 2024, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced today in a statement.  “The primary responsibility for addressing Iraq’s remaining security challenges, including ISIS remnants and Iran-aligned militias that undermine Iraqi sovereignty and regional stability, now rests with the Government of Iraq,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a separate statement.  “The…

U.S. President Donald Trump rolled out the red carpet for President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington and greeted him in person at Joint Base Andrews on the evening of September 23, a rare gesture for an American president. Critics in both parties warned that the pageantry would reward a rival.  However, the red carpet, the state dinner with its exquisite menu, the cannon salute and the bald eagle sculpture gifted to Xi are just the surface. Beneath them, the bilateral relationship has begun to take a new direction.  At their Beijing summit in May, the two leaders agreed to…