Page 2 - Us Defence

Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth tout record $1 trillion US defense budget

We are very cost conscious but the military is something that we have to build and we have to be strong because you have a lot of bad forces out there now, Trump said

Pentagon watchdog to review Hegseth's use of Signal to plan Houthi strike

The Pentagon's acting inspector general announced Thursday that he would review Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of the Signal messaging app to convey plans for a military strike against Houthi militants in Yemen. The review will also look at other defence officials' use of the publicly available encrypted app, which is not able to handle classified material and is not part of the Defence Department's secure communications network. Hegseth's use of the app came to light when a journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic, was inadvertently added to a Signal text chain by national security adviser Mike Waltz. The chain included Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and others, brought together to discuss March 15 military operations against the Iran-backed Houthis. The objective of this evaluation is to determine the extent to which the Secretary of Defense and other DoD personnel complied with DoD polici

EU chief asks member nations to use European, not American defence systems

European Union countries must purchase military equipment made in Europe under a new loan programme meant to help the continent provide for its own security, a top EU official said Tuesday, even though most of its defence materiel currently comes from US suppliers. At a summit last week, the EU's 27 leaders weighed a European Commission proposal for a new loan plan worth 150 billion euros (USD 163 billion). It would be used to buy air defence systems, drones and strategic enablers like air transport, as well as to boost cybersecurity. These loans should finance purchases from European producers, to help boost our own defence industry, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers. Von der Leyen said the contracts should be multiannual, to give the industry the predictability they need and that the priority should be for countries to buy equipment together in groups because we have seen how powerful this can be. European NATO members have placed about two-thirds of th

Ex-defense chiefs ask congressional hearings on Trump firing top officials

Five former secretaries of defence are calling on Congress to hold immediate hearings on President Donald Trump's recent firings of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and several other senior military leaders, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press. The five men - who represented Republican and Democratic administrations over the past three decades - said the dismissals were alarming, raised troubling questions about the administration's desire to politicise the military" and removed legal constraints on the president's power. Late last week, Trump fired Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr as chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth followed that by firing Adm. Lisa Franchetti, chief of naval operations; Gen. Jim Slife, vice chief of the Air Force; and the judge advocates general for the military services. Hegseth has defended the firing of Brown, saying that other presidents made changes in military personnel and that Trump deserves to pick his own

PM Modi, Trump launch ASIA to strengthen India-US military cooperation

Modi-Trump meeting: The initiative aims to drive next-generation defence and technological advancements, with a particular focus on underwater domain awareness

Trump 2.0 defense policy: Removing transgender troops, space-based defence

One of the controversial parts of Trump's executive order is aimed at revisiting the rules for transgender individuals in the US military. It has sparked widespread debate over inclusivity

Hegseth's former sister-in-law alleges wife's abuse in affidavit to Senate

Senators vetting the nomination of Pete Hegseth for US defence secretary received an affidavit on Tuesday from a former sister-in-law alleging that the onetime Fox News host was abusive to his second wife, to the point where she feared for her safety. Hegseth has denied the allegation. The sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, was formerly married to the nominee's brother, and in an affidavit obtained by The Associated Press, she said she believes that Pete Hegseth is "unfit" to run the defence department based on what she witnessed and heard. She said she first relayed her allegations to the FBI last December but was concerned that the information was not shared with Congress as senators consider Hegseth's nomination to lead the Pentagon. The affidavit describes Hegseth's treatment of his second wife, Samantha, and alleges repeat drunkenness and a domestic situation where Samantha had a safe word to indicate if she was in danger at home. Danielle Hegseth said Samantha texted that safe

In a first, 7 Indian space startups picked for Indo-US defence programme

Under the programme, they will work with the US Defense Innovation Unit, the Department of Defense and other government agencies on satellite observation, emerging space and defence technologies

Tencent makes largest share buyback in 20 years after US blacklisting

Chinese tech giant Tencent has denied allegations of being a Chinese military company or a military-civil fusion contributor, as claimed by the US Department of Defense

US defence giant RTX Corp aims to boost India headcount by 14% in 3 years

The jobs will be added across RTX's units, including around 300 engineers for aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney over the next 12-18 months

US' Pentagon rules out security threats as drones seen across New Jersey

Pentagon Press Secretary Major General, Pat Ryder, in a press briefing, clarified that none of the drones were assets of the US Department of Defence

Trump's pick to lead Defence Department accused of sexual assault in 2017

Pete Hegseth, a popular Fox News host who is Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Defence, was accused of sexual assault in 2017 after a speaking appearance at a Republican women's event in Monterey, California, according to a statement released by the city. No charges were filed in the case. Hegseth's attorney, Timothy Parlatore, told The Associated Press the allegations were completely false. This was investigated by the police at the time and they found no evidence, Parlatore said. Monterey City officials declined to release a police report that documented the accusations and instead issued a brief statement Thursday night in response to press inquiries. According to that statement, Monterey Police were contacted in October 2017 to investigate a sexual assault that allegedly took place several days earlier at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Monterey and involved Hegseth. The person who reported the assault - whose name, age and sex were not released - had bruises on the

US defence secy discusses regional de-escalation with Israeli counterpart

Their conversation highlighted the US' support for Israel's security, particularly in the face of threats from Iran and Iranian proxies

China's Hesai to continue lawsuit against US govt over blacklisting

The blacklist stems from the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, which requires the Pentagon to identify 'Chinese Military Companies' operating in the US

EU buying too much defence equipment from abroad, especially US: Report

European Union countries are buying too much of their defence equipment abroad, almost two thirds of it in the US, and failing to invest enough in joint military projects, a landmark report on EU competitiveness warned on Monday. The 27 member states are also failing to make best use of Europe's research and development capacities to modernise their armed forces, with just a fraction the level of US investment, said the report by former Italian prime minister and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi. The report comes as the EU continue to struggle to find enough weapons and ammunition to help Ukraine survive the full-scale Russian invasion, now in its third year, and to kickstart Europe's defence industry. Europe is wasting its common resources. We have large collective spending power, but we dilute it across multiple different national and EU instruments, said Draghi's report, which has been a year in the making and is likely to fuel an overhaul of the bloc's industrial ...

US takes additional steps to support Israel's defence amid regional tension

On Saturday, the US issued an alert, calling its citizens to book any ticket available to leave Lebanon

US indicts North Korean hacker for major cyberattacks, offers $10mn reward

North Korean hacker Rim Jong Hyok has been accused of orchestrating major cyber attacks on US defense, Nasa, healthcare systems, and Asian companies

US defence secy discusses hostage negotiation with Israeli defence minister

Earlier on June 11, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution vote on the US proposal for a permanent ceasefire and release of the hostages in Gaza

Deliveries of US F-35 jets to resume soon without complete software upgrade

The delays in delivery to the Pentagon were linked to the lingering issue on the TR-3 tech refresh

INDUS-X defence initiative between US, India marks 1st anniversary

The India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem has advanced the commitment of the two strategic partners to building a defence innovation bridge under the Critical and Emerging Technology Initiative, the US has said on the partnership's first anniversary. INDUS-X, which stands for enhanced strategic and defence partnership between India and the US, was launched on June 21 last year by the US Department of Defence and the Indian Ministry of Defence during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Washington, DC. "In its first year, INDUS-X has advanced both countries' commitment to build a defence innovation bridge under the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET)," the Department of Defence said in a press release on Friday. The iCET was launched by Prime Minister Modi and US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the QUAD summit in Tokyo on May 24, 2022. "INDUS-X has strengthened private sector cooperation between the United States and India by facilitating ...