Singapore downplays defense spending hike, though with warning of instability
COVID-19 stalled defense programs, so money moves from last year to this, giving Singapore defense spending a single year bump of over 12 percent.
Singapore’s ST Engineering seeks to boost defense exports: cyber, ammo, ships
Breaking Defense talks with Chua Jin Kiat, executive vice president for international defense for ST Engineering, about the company's foreign sales goals.
‘Regional hub’ for F-35 work: Australia boots up stealth coating factory for Indo-Pacific
"Not only does the Williamtown stealth-coating facility provide Australia with a valuable sovereign capability and cut down on cumbersome timelines for sustaining Australian F-35s in the United States, it will also serve as a second source of service for US aircraft in the region," analyst Ashley Townshend told Breaking Defense.
All domain C2, data sharing key for Talisman Sabre: US 3-star
The new Combined Joint Network Operations Security Center (CJ-NOSC) "gives us the ability [to] collaborate along with our partners, which hasn't existed before," US Lt. Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of Army I Corps, told Breaking Defense.
CJCS Dunford Talks Turkey, Iran, Afghan Troop Numbers & Daesh
Breaking Defense contributor James Kitfield spoke with Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during Dunford’s swing through Japan, Singapore, Australia, Wake Island, and Hawaii. BD readers know that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis promised Sen. John McCain yesterday that America would get a new Afghan strategy by mid-July. In this second part of Kitfield’s interview, […]
US Military Advantage Eroding Coz Of BCA: CJCS Dunford
Breaking Defense contributor James Kitfield spoke with Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during Dunford’s swing through Japan, Singapore, Australia, Wake Island, and Hawaii. Dunford testifies before Congress this week on the administration’s defense budget request. Most important, the chairman tells us he will make the case that the Budget Control Act’s caps “have to be […]
SecDef Mattis To Tap Former Army FAO For DASD South Asia
WASHINGTON: One of the more important national security jobs in this town, deputy assistant defense secretary for south and southeast asia, will be filled by a former Army officer with extensive foreign affairs and counterinsurgency experience, a well placed source tells us. Retired Col. Joe Felter, who now works at Stanford’s Hoover Institute, “led the […]
SAIC, Singaporeans Challenge BAE For Marine Corps ACV: Tests To Begin
An upstart odd couple has challenged armored vehicle giant BAE for the right to build the Marine Corps’ swimming tank. One is Singapore’s ST Kinetics, maker of the Singapore Armed Forces‘ amphibious Terrex vehicle. The other is McLean, Va.-based SAIC, best known as a service contractor, which is working with the Singaporeans to build a […]
Mattis Heads To Japan, Korea: Why Asian Alliances Will Survive TPP’s Death
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump killed the Trans-Pacific Partnership just two days ago, but this morning, multiple experts and one four-star general agreed that America’s Pacific alliances — except perhaps the Philippines — would survive and even thrive. A few hours later, aptly enough, the Pentagon announced that Defense Secretary James Mattis, the new administration’s most outspoken […]
Best Of 2016: China Rising
That China is a growing threat — even an “enemy” — is one thing incoming president Donald Trump and the Washington national security establishment agree on. But just how dangerous is China’s increasing military strength and international assertiveness? What painful historical experiences drive Chinese thinking in ways a Westerner might not understand? And what’s the […]
SecAF James: Lessons From The Pacific
Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James traveled through Asia, visiting Indonesia, India, Singapore, and the Philippines at the end of the summer. We didn’t hear a great deal about the trip in the US at the time but her meetings with her defense counterparts clearly impressed. In this op-ed, James shares the lessons she learned. China […]
Aussies Lead Pacific Pack In Amphib Ops: CSIS
WASHINGTON: America’s Pacific partners are building up their amphibious forces, but they can’t storm a beach against a high-tech adversary like China. Even the most advanced allies — Australia, Japan, and South Korea — would need US support for a raid against a well-armed terrorist group, especially in command & control, logistics, and helicopters, reports the […]
The P-8, Singapore & South China Sea Strategy
OVER THE MALACCA STRAIT: Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and his host, Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen, made a stark and clear statement to China before the Shangri-La summit began, boarding America’s preeminent sub-hunting and surveillance plane, the P-8 Poseidon. “How do you like this aircraft?” asked Carter as they boarded the P-8. “I love this […]
US On China: Cooperate Where We Can, Confront Where We Must
SINGAPORE: In his speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue here, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter laid out a cautious and carefully crafted vision for security in Asia. Carter called for an “inclusive (and) principled security network,” one that would try to include China and encourage it to abide by international law, rather than seeking to confront and […]
US Won’t Back Off On Korean Missile Defense, South China Sea: SecDef
ABOARD SECDEF1: The US will remain steadfast in the face of Chinese complaints as it builds its Pacific coalition, Defense Secretary Ash Carter made clear to reporters en route to the Shangri-la summit in Singapore. Carter and his staff already are looking past the secretary’s speech here on Saturday to two potential flashpoints this summer: First, […]