Page 7 - Us Military

China recruiting US fighter pilots to boost air defence: US intelligence

The Five Eyes bulletin added that the Chinese recruitment efforts seem to be targeting current and former military pilots from Five Eyes countries and those from France and Germany

Not ruling out using military force to defend Taiwan, says Prez Biden

Biden said he has made clear to Chinese President Xi Jinping that the United States will not seek independence for Taiwan as Washington had agreed with Beijing

US military-built pier in Gaza breaks apart: Here's all you need to know

A string of security, logistical and weather problems has battered the plan to deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza through a US military-built pier. Broken apart by strong winds and heavy seas just over a week after it became operational, the project faces criticism that it hasn't lived up to its initial billing or its USD 320 million price tag. US officials say, however, that the steel causeway connected to the beach in Gaza and the floating pier are being repaired and reassembled at a port in southern Israel, then will be reinstalled and working again next week. While early Pentagon estimates suggested the pier could deliver up to 150 truckloads of aid a day when in full operation, that has yet to happen. Bad weather has hampered progress getting aid into Gaza from the pier, while the Israeli offensive in the southern city of Rafah has made it difficult, if not impossible at times, to get aid into the region by land routes. Aid groups have had mixed reactions bot

Houthi rebels claim they shot down another drone; US army denies claim

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed on Tuesday they shot down an American drone over the impoverished Arab county. The US military did not immediately acknowledge the claim. If confirmed, this would be the second MQ-9 Reaper drone downed by the Houthis over the past week as they press their campaign over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Last Friday, the Houthis claimed downing an American drone over the province of Marib, hours after footage circulated online of what appeared to be the wreckage of an MQ-9 Reaper. And early Saturday, a vessel also came under attack in the Red Sea. Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said Tuesday the drone was shot down with a locally made surface-to-air missile. He did not say when it took place but alleged the drone was carrying out hostile missions over Yemen's southern province of Bayda. The US Mideast-based Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press regarding the

First aid shipment sent across newly built US pier into Gaza Strip

Trucks carrying badly needed aid for the Gaza Strip rolled across a newly built US floating pier into the besieged enclave for the first time on Friday as Israeli restrictions on border crossings and heavy fighting hinder food and other supplies reaching people there. The shipment is the first in an operation that American military officials anticipate could scale up to 150 truckloads a day entering the Gaza Strip as Israel presses in on the southern city of Rafah as its 7-month offensive against Hamas rages on. But the US and aid groups also warn that the pier project is not considered a substitute for land deliveries that could bring in all the food, water and fuel needed in Gaza. Before the war, more than 500 truckloads entered Gaza on an average day. The operation's success also remains tenuous due to the risk of militant attack, logistical hurdles and a growing shortage of fuel for the trucks to run due to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip since Hamas' October 7 attack on

US military completes Gaza Strip pier project, aid to flow soon amidst war

The US military finished installing a floating pier for the Gaza Strip on Thursday, with officials poised to begin ferrying badly needed humanitarian aid into the enclave besieged over seven months of intense fighting in the Israel-Hamas war. The final, overnight construction sets up a complicated delivery process more than two months after US President Joe Biden ordered it to help Palestinians facing starvation as food and other supplies fail to make it in as Israel recently seized the key Rafah border crossing in its push on that southern city on the Egyptian border. Fraught with logistical, weather and security challenges, the maritime route is designed to bolster the amount of aid getting into the Gaza Strip, but it is not considered a substitute for far cheaper land-based deliveries that aid agencies say are much more sustainable. The boatloads of aid will be deposited at a port facility built by the Israelis just southwest of Gaza City and then distributed by aid groups. US ..

US, Taiwan navies quietly held drills in April amid rising China threat

US-Taiwan military engagement, including visits and training, are kept low-key and are often not officially confirmed because of China's objection to military contacts between Washington and Taipei

Biden blocks a crypto mining firm from land ownership near military base

President Joe Biden has issued an order blocking a Chinese-backed cryptocurrency mining firm from owning land near a Wyoming nuclear missile base. The order forces the divestment of property operated as a crypto mining facility near the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base. It also forces the removal of certain equipment owned by MineOne Partners Ltd., a firm that is partly owned by the Chinese state. This comes as the US is slated on Tuesday to issue major new tariffs on electric vehicles, semiconductors, solar equipment, and medical supplies imported from China, according to a US official and another person familiar with the plan. The divestment order was made in coordination with the US Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States a little-known but potentially powerful government agency tasked with investigating corporate deals for national security concerns that holds power to force the company to change. A 2018 law granted CFIUS the authority to review real estate ...

'Small, smart, cheap': How US plans to counter China's PLA in Indo-Pacific

The US agrees that China has more missiles, more ships and more men, but it has a plan to counter Beijing's quantitative military edge

Why the US may impose its first ever sanctions on an Israeli military unit

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the possibility of sanctions on a Israel Defense Forces battalion 'the peak of absurdity and a moral low'

Philippines to hold military exercise with US amid tensions with China

Japan and the U.S. have cooperated in supporting the PCG's capacity building, and the three countries held trilateral Coast Guard exercises for the first time last June

Biden to host Iraqi leader; US military presence in region under question

President Joe Biden is set to host Iraq's leader this week for talks that come as tensions across the Middle East have soared over the war in Gaza and Iran's unprecedented weekend attack on Israel in retaliation for an Israeli military strike against an Iranian facility in Syria. The sharp rise in security fears has raised further questions about the viability of the two-decade American military presence in Iraq, through which portions of Iran's Saturday drone and missile attack on Israel flew or were launched from. A U.S. Patriot battery in Irbil, Iraq, knocked down at least one Iranian ballistic missile, according to American officials. In addition, Iranian proxies have initiated attacks against U.S. interests throughout the region from inside Iraq, making Monday's meeting between Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani all the more critical. The talks will include a discussion of regional stability and future U.S. troop deployments but will also focus on economic, trade and

US shoots down Iran-launched attack drones to show 'support' for Israel

President Joe Biden and his national security team monitored Iran's aerial attack against Israel on Saturday as US forces joined efforts to down explosive-laden drones launched by Tehran. With tensions at their highest since the Israel-Hamas war began six months ago, Biden pledged that American support for Israel's defense against attacks by Iran and its proxies is ironclad. US forces shot down some Iran-launched attack drones flying toward Israel, according to a US defense official and two other US officials who spoke Saturday on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter. The US and Israel had been bracing for an attack for days after Iran vowed to retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike this month on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed 12 people, including two senior Iranian generals in the Revolutionary Guard's elite Quds Force. The US defense official said the effort to intercept Iran's attack was continuing. Biden cut short a weekend stay at his Delaware

Amid China's aggression, Biden reiterates support for Philippines, Japan

President Joe Biden said Thursday that U.S. defense commitment was ironclad as he gathered Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House on Thursday in the midst of growing concern about provocative Chinese military action in the Indo-Pacific. The United States defense commitments to Japan and to the Philippines are ironclad. They're ironclad," Biden said as he began three-way talks at the White House with Kishida and Marcos. "As I said before, any attack on Philippine aircraft, vessels or armed forces in the South China Sea would invoke our mutual defense treaty. The White House summit was called amid growing concern about provocative Chinese action in the Pacific, which will be a large focus of the leaders' talks. The White House sees the summit as countering China's attempts at intimidation and sending a message that China is the outlier in the neighborhood, according to an administration official. President Joe Biden is ..

US set to deploy new mid-range missile system in Asia-Pacific by year end

A Typhon unit consists of a mobile operations centre and it can fire the Standard Missile 6 and the Tomahawk cruise missile

US, Japan, Oz and Philippines to stage military drills in S China Sea

The United States, Japan, Australia and the Philippines will hold their first joint naval exercises, including anti-submarine warfare training, in a show of force Sunday in the South China Sea where Beijing's aggressive actions to assert its territorial claims have caused alarm. The four treaty allies and security partners are holding the exercises to safeguard the rule of law that is the foundation for a peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific region and uphold freedom of navigation and overflight, they said in a joint statement issued by their defence chiefs Saturday. China was not mentioned by name in the statement, but the four countries reaffirmed their stance that a 2016 international arbitration ruling, which invalidated China's expansive claims on historical grounds, was final and legally binding. China has refused to participate in the arbitration, rejected the ruling and continues to defy it. The Philippines brought its disputes with China to international arbitration in 2013 aft

Destroyed Houthi drones over Red Sea and in Yemen, says US military

The US military has said its forces destroyed one unmanned aerial vehicle in a Houthi rebel-held area of war-ravaged Yemen and another over a crucial shipping route in the Red Sea. It was the latest development in months of tension between the Iran-backed rebels and the US. The drones, which were destroyed Saturday morning, posed a threat to US and coalition forces and merchant vessels in the region, the US Central Command said on Sunday. It said that one done was destroyed over the Red Sea, while the second was destroyed on the ground as it was prepared to launch. These actions are necessary to protect our forces, ensure freedom of navigation, and make international waters safer and more secure for US, coalition, and merchant vessels, CENTCOM said. There was no comment from the Houthi rebels, which control much of Yemen's north and west. The rebels launched a campaign of drone and missile attacks on shipping in the Red Sea in November. They have also fired missiles toward Israel,

Niger's junta says US military presence in country is no longer justified

Niger's junta said on Saturday the US military presence in the country is no longer justified, making the announcement on state television after holding high-level talks with US diplomatic and military officials this week. Niger plays a central role in the US military's operations in Africa's Sahel region and is home to a major airbase. The US is concerned about the spread of jihadist violence in the region, where local groups have pledged allegiance to al-Qaida and the Islamic State extremist groups. In reading the statement, the junta's spokesman, Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, stopped short of saying US forces should leave. He said Niger was suspending military cooperation with Washington and added that US flights over the country's territory in recent weeks were illegal. The US military in recent years began operating a major airbase in the Niger city of Agadez, some 920 kilometers (550 miles) from the capital of Niamey, using it for manned and unmanned surveillance flights and oth

Intel stands to win $3.5 billion to produce advanced chips for US military

The Wall Street Journal reported in November that Intel was in talks for between $3 billion and $4 billion in government subsidies from the programme

US military airdrop meals into Gaza in emergency humanitarian aid operation

US military C-130 cargo planes on Saturday dropped food in pallets over Gaza, three US officials said, two days after more than 100 Palestinians who had surged to pull goods off an aid convoy were killed during a chaotic encounter with Israeli troops. Three planes from Air Forces Central dropped 66 bundles containing about 38,000 meals into Gaza at 8:30 am EST, according to two of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity before a public announcement. The airdrop is expected to be the first of many announced by President Joe Biden on Friday. The aid will be coordinated with Jordan, which has also conducted airdrops to deliver food to Gaza. At least 115 Palestinians were killed and hundreds more wounded in the Thursday attack as they scrambled for aid, the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said. Israel says many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic crush for the food aid, and its troops fired warning shots after the crowd moved toward them in a threatening way. White Ho