Tag Archives: DEFBUY

World

Russia’s Lavrov compares West’s approach to Russia with Hitler’s ‘Final Solution’

Leave a comment

MOSCOW, Jan 18 (Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov drew a sharp rebuke from the White House on Wednesday for saying the United States had assembled a coalition of European countries to solve “the Russian question” in the same way that Adolf Hitler had sought a “final solution” to eradicate Europe’s Jews.

“How dare he compare anything to the Holocaust, anything. Let alone a war that they started,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.

Lavrov, who caused an international furore last year with remarks about Hitler, said Washington was using the same tactic as Napoleon and the Nazis in trying to subjugate Europe in order to destroy Russia.

Using Ukraine as a proxy, he said, “they are waging war against our country with the same task: the ‘final solution’ of the Russian question.”

“Just as Hitler wanted a ‘final solution’ to the Jewish question, now, if you read Western politicians … they clearly say Russia must suffer a strategic defeat.”

The ‘Final Solution’ was Hitler’s blueprint for the Holocaust, which led to the systematic murder of 6 million Jews, as well as members of other minorities.

Lavrov has caused outrage before with remarks about Hitler. Last May he said the Nazi leader had “Jewish blood”, drawing angry protests from Israel.

“It’s almost so absurd that it’s not worth responding to, other than the truly offensive manner in which he tried to cast us in terms of Hitler and the Holocaust,” Kirby told reporters at a briefing.

Reporting by Reuters, Katharine Jackson in Washington; Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Nick Zieminski

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

Ukraine’s interior minister among 15 dead in helicopter crash

Leave a comment

  • No immediate explanation for helicopter crash
  • Ukraine closer to receiving Western tanks
  • Zelenskiy to address World Economic Forum in Davos
  • Moscow sees no sign of talks

BROVARY, Ukraine, Jan 18 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s interior minister was among at least 15 people killed on Wednesday morning when a helicopter crashed near a nursery outside Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said.

Officials said nine people on board the aircraft and six on the ground, including three children, were killed when the French-made Super Puma helicopter crashed in a residential area in the suburb of Brovary on the capital’s eastern outskirts. Earlier, officials had given an initial death toll of 18.

The regional governor said 29 other people were injured, including 15 children.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the crash a terrible tragedy, saying the full casualty toll was still being determined and he had ordered an investigation.

“As of this minute, three children died. The pain is unspeakable,” he said in a statement.

At the scene, debris was scattered over a muddy playground and emergency workers milled about a fleet of ambulances.

In a courtyard lay several dead bodies wearing blue interior ministry uniforms and black boots, visible from under foil blankets draped over them. A large chunk of the aircraft had landed on a car, destroying it.

National police chief Ihor Klymenko confirmed that Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi was killed alongside his first deputy, Yevheniy Yenin, and other ministry officials flying in the helicopter operated by the state emergency service.

Ukrainian officials said it was not immediately clear what had caused the helicopter to crash. There was no immediate comment from Russia, which invaded Ukraine last February, and Ukrainian officials made no reference to any Russian attack in the area at the time.

“Unfortunately, the sky does not forgive mistakes, as pilots say, but it’s really too early to talk about the causes,” air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said, adding it could take at least several weeks to investigate the disaster.

Monastyrskyi, 42, a lawyer and lawmaker appointed in 2021 to run the ministry with responsibilty for the police, was the most senior Ukrainian official to die since the war began.

FIGHTING

Separately, Ukraine reported intense fighting overnight in the east of the country, where both sides have taken huge losses for little gain in intense trench warfare over the last two months.

[1/18] A view shows the site where a helicopter falls on civil infrastructure buildings, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the town of Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, January 18, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

Ukrainian forces repelled attacks in the eastern city of Bakhmut and the village of Klishchiivka just south of it, the Ukrainian military said. Russia has focused on Bakhmut in recent weeks, claiming last week to have taken the mining town of Soledar on its northern outskirts.

After significant Ukrainian gains in the second half of 2022, the frontlines have hardened over the last two months. Kyiv says it hopes new Western weapons would let it resume an offensive to recapture land, especially heavy tanks which would give its troops mobility and protection to push through Russian lines.

Western allies will be gathering on Friday at a U.S. air base in Germany to pledge more weapons for Ukraine. Attention is focused in particular on Germany, which has veto power over any decision to send its Leopard tanks, fielded by armies across Europe and widely seen as the most suitable for Ukraine.

Berlin says a decision on the tanks will be the first item on the agenda of Boris Pistorius, named its new defence minister this week.

Britain, which broke the Western taboo on sending main battle tanks over the weekend by promising a squadron of its Challengers, has called on Germany to approve the Leopards. Poland and Finland have already said they would be ready to send Leopards if Berlin allows it.

Lithuania’s president, attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said he was confident there would be a decision to send tanks.

“I’m confident because this is what I’m hearing here, talking with other leaders. There is momentum,” Gabrielius Landsbergis told Reuters in an interview.

Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz was due to address the forum later on Wednesday, though his government is thought likely to be waiting until later in the week to unveil any decision on tanks. Ukraine’s Zelenskiy was also due to address Davos by video link.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday Moscow saw no prospects of peace talks and there could be no negotiations with Zelenskiy. Russia has said talks are possible only if Ukraine recognises Moscow’s claims to Ukrainian territory; Kyiv says it will fight until Russia withdraws from all of Ukraine.

In his remarks, Lavrov compared the West’s approach to Russia to Hitler’s “final solution”, the Holocaust plot to murder all European Jews. Lavrov was criticised by Israel last year for saying Hitler was part Jewish and the worst anti-Semites were Jews, after being asked why Moscow portrays Zelenskiy, who has a Jewish background, as a Nazi.

In the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the civilian death toll from a missile that struck an apartment block on Saturday rose to 45, including six children, among them an 11-month-old boy, Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

Ukrainian authorities called off the search for survivors on Tuesday. Around 20 other people are still missing in the rubble after the attack, the deadliest for civilians of a three-month Russian missile bombardment campaign against cities far from the front.

Moscow denies intentionally targetting civilians. It launched what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine last year saying Kyiv’s ties with the West posed a security threat.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions forced to flee homes in what Kyiv and the West call an unprovoked invasion to subdue Ukraine and seize its land.

Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Angus MacSwan

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

Ukraine pushes for tanks as holdout Germany says new minister to decide

Leave a comment

  • New German defence minister announced as Boris Pistorius
  • Wary Berlin holding up tanks from other European allies
  • Death toll from missile strike in Dnipro rises to 44

DNIPRO, Ukraine/KYIV, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Ukraine came a step closer on Tuesday in its bid to win a fleet of modern battle tanks it hopes could turn the course of the war with Russia, after the West’s big holdout Germany said this would be the first item on its new defence minister’s agenda.

In the central city of Dnipro, authorities called an end to the search for survivors in the ruins of an apartment building destroyed during Russian missile attacks on Saturday.

Forty-four people were confirmed killed and 20 remain unaccounted for in the attack, the deadliest for civilians of a three-month Russian missile bombardment campaign, according to Ukrainian officials. Seventy-nine people were wounded and 39 rescued from the rubble.

Nearly 11 months after Russia invaded, Kyiv says a fleet of Western battle tanks would give its troops the mobile firepower to drive Russian troops out in decisive battles in 2023.

German-made Leopard battle tanks, workhorse of armies across Europe, cannot be delivered without authorisation from Berlin, which has so far demurred.

With Western allies meeting at a U.S. air base in Germany on Friday to pledge military support for Ukraine, Berlin is under intense pressure to lift its objections this week.

The decision sits on the desk of Germany’s new Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, named on Tuesday to replace Christine Lambrecht, who quit after comments critics called insensitive.

“When the person, when the minister of defence, is declared, this is the first question to be decided concretely,” German Economy Minister Robert Habeck told Deutschlandfunk radio broadcaster on Tuesday, before the appointment was announced.

FEARS OF ESCALATING CONFLICT

In his first comments on the job, Pistorius, a regional politician viewed as close to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, made no mention of weapons for Ukraine: “I know the importance of the task,” he said in a statement. “It is important to me to involve the soldiers closely and to take them with me.”

Pistorius will host U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday ahead of Friday’s meeting of allies at Ramstein air base.

Germany has been cautious about approving weapons that could be seen as escalating conflict.

Scholz, speaking on Tuesday in an interview for Bloomberg TV, confirmed that discussions with Germany’s allies on tanks were ongoing but should not be conducted in public.

The Kremlin said last week that new deliveries of weapons, including French-made armoured vehicles, to Kyiv would “deepen the suffering of the Ukrainian people” and would not change the course of the conflict.

Vladimir Solovyev, a pro-Kremlin presenter on Rossiya 1 state television, said any Western countries which supplied more advanced weapons to Ukraine should be considered legitimate targets for Russia.

[1/5] A view shows a kitchen inside an apartment block heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Yan Dobronosov

Since President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, the United States and its allies have given tens of billions of dollars’ worth of weaponry including rocket systems, drones, armoured vehicles and communications systems.

Ukraine’s top general, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said he had outlined his forces’ “urgent needs” in a first personal meeting on Tuesday in Poland with the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley.

Poland and Finland have already said they would send Leopards if Berlin gives re-export approval.

Separately, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday the Netherlands would join the United States and Germany in sending Patriot missiles to Ukraine.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said NATO allies were conveying a clear message to Putin by boosting their arms supplies to Ukraine.

“The message we’re sending to Putin… is that we made a commitment to support Ukrainians until they are victorious,” Cleverly told a forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

A senior Ukrainian official blamed Russia for carrying out the bulk of more than 2,000 cyberattacks on Ukraine in 2022, speaking at a news conference he said was itself delayed because of a cyberattack. There was no immediate comment on his allegations from Moscow.

CUDDLY TOYS AT MEMORIAL

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions driven from their homes since Russia launched last February what it calls a “special military operation” to eliminate security threats in Ukraine. Kyiv and its Western backers call Russia’s actions a land grab.

Ukrainian forces drove Russian troops back during the second half of 2022, but over the past two months the front lines have largely been frozen in place despite both sides enduring heavy losses in relentless fighting.

Moscow has turned since October to a tactic of raining missiles down on Ukrainian cities far from the front lines in the east and south, mainly targeting electricity infrastructure.

Russia says it aims to reduce Ukraine’s ability to fight; Kyiv says the attacks serve no military purpose and are intended to harm civilians, a war crime.

In Dnipro, residents left flowers and cuddly toys at a makeshift memorial near the apartment block devastated during a wave of missile attacks on Saturday.

Hundreds of mourners bade farewell to boxing coach Mykhailo Korenovskyi, killed in a strike, while footage showed the kitchen of his apartment, decorated in bright yellow colours, now exposed to the air after the external wall was torn off.

A recent family video, filmed in the same kitchen, showed Korenovskyi’s daughter smiling and blowing out four candles on her birthday cake while he stood behind her, holding another child in his arms.

Moscow denies intentionally targeting civilians, and blamed Ukraine’s air defences for the missile that hit the apartment block. Kyiv says it was hit by a notoriously inaccurate Russian anti-ship missile for which Ukraine has no defences.

Writing by Peter Graff and Gareth Jones; Editing by Nick Macfie, Alex Richardson and Mark Heinrich;

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

Sweden, Finland must send up to 130 “terrorists” to Turkey for NATO bid, Erdogan says

Leave a comment

ANKARA, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Sweden and Finland must deport or extradite up to 130 “terrorists” to Turkey before the Turkish parliament will approve their bids to join NATO, President Tayyip Erdogan said.

The two Nordic states applied last year to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but their bids must be approved by all 30 NATO member states. Turkey and Hungary have yet to endorse the applications.

Turkey has said Sweden in particular must first take a clearer stance against what it sees as terrorists, mainly Kurdish militants and a group it blames for a 2016 coup attempt.

“We said look, so if you don’t hand over your terrorists to us, we can’t pass it (approval of the NATO application) through the parliament anyway,” Erdogan said in comments late on Sunday, referring to a joint press conference he held with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson last November.

“For this to pass the parliament, first of all you have to hand more than 100, around 130 of these terrorists to us,” Erdogan said.

Finnish politicians interpreted Erdogan’s demand as an angry response to an incident in Stockholm last week in which an effigy of the Turkish leader was strung up during what appeared to be a small protest.

“This must have been a reaction, I believe, to the events of the past days,” Finland’s foreign minister Pekka Haavisto told public broadcaster YLE.

Haavisto said he was not aware of any new official demands from Turkey.

In response to the incident in Stockholm, Turkey cancelled a planned visit to Ankara of the Swedish speaker of parliament, Andreas Norlen, who instead came to Helsinki on Monday.

“We stress that in Finland and in Sweden we have freedom of expression. We cannot control it,” the speaker of the Finnish parliament, Matti Vanhanen, told reporters at a joint news conference with Norlen.

Separately on Monday Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson said that his country was in a “good position” to secure Turkey’s ratification of its NATO bid.

Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Saturday that time was running out for Turkey’s parliament to ratify the bids before presidential and parliamentary elections expected in May.

Reporting by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Gareth Jones

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

U.S. strongly committed to Japan defense, Biden tells Kishida, hails military boost

Leave a comment

WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden told Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday the United States was “fully, thoroughly, completely” committed Japan’s defense and praised Tokyo’s security build up, saying the nations had never been closer.

Kishida is in Washington on the last stop in a tour of the G7 industrial powers and has been seeking to bolster long-standing alliances amid rising concern in Japan, and the United States, about mounting regional security threats from China, North Korea and Russia.

In a meeting at the White House, Biden called it a “remarkable moment” in the U.S.-Japan alliance. He said the two countries had never been closer.

“Let me be crystal clear: The United States is fully, thoroughly, completely committed to the alliance, and importantly … to the defense of Japan,” he said, while also thanking Kishida for strong leadership in working closely on technology and economic issues.

“We are modernizing our military alliances, building on Japan’s historic increase in defense spending, and new national security strategy,” Biden said.

Kishida thanked Biden for U.S. work on regional security and said: “Japan and the United States are currently facing the most challenging and complex security environment in recent history.” He said Tokyo had formulated its new defense strategy released last month “to ensure peace and prosperity in the region.”

He said the two countries shared fundamental values of democracy and the rule of law “and the role that we are to play is becoming even greater.”

Kishida said he looked forward to a “candid” exchange of views on issues including “a free and open Indo-Pacific” – language the two sides use to describe efforts to push back against China – the G7, which Japan’s currently chairs, and climate change.

In a later speech at Washington’s Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Kishida called China the “central challenge” for both Japan and the United States and said they and Europe must act in unison in dealing with the country.

DRAMATIC MILITARY CHANGE

Japan last month announced its biggest military build-up since World War Two – a dramatic departure from seven decades of pacifism, largely fueled by concerns about Chinese actions in the region.

“Biden commended Japan’s bold leadership in fundamentally reinforcing its defense capabilities and strengthening diplomatic efforts,” according to a joint U.S.-Japan statement issued after the meeting.

U.S. and Japanese foreign and defense ministers met on Wednesday and announced increased security cooperation following nearly two years of talks and the U.S. officials praised Tokyo’s military buildup plans.

[1/5] U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida walk through the colonnade on their way to the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 13, 2023. T.J. Kirkpatrick/Pool via REUTERS

Japan’s military reform plan will see it double defense spending to 2% of GDP and procure missiles that can strike ships or land-based targets 1,000 km (600 miles) away.

Before the meeting, a senior U.S. official said Biden and Kishida were expected to discuss security issues and the global economy and that their talks are likely to include control of semiconductor-related exports to China after Washington announced strict curbs last year.

SEMICONDUCTORS

The joint statement said the United States and Japan “will sharpen our shared edge on economic security, including protection and promotion of critical and emerging technologies, including semiconductors.”

Kishida, Japan’s Foreign Minister Hayashi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken later signed an agreement on peaceful space exploration at NASA’s headquarters in Washington.

Blinken said this would take space cooperation “to new heights” and strengthen the partnership in areas including research into space technology and transportation, robotic lunar surface missions, climate-related missions, and “our shared ambition to see a Japanese astronaut on the lunar surface.”

At the ceremony, Kishida said the U.S.-Japan alliance was “stronger than ever.”

As well as chairing the G7, Japan took up a two-year term on the U.N. Security Council on Jan. 1 and holds the rotating monthly presidency of the 15-member body for January.

Kishida has said he backs Biden’s attempt to limit China’s access to advanced semiconductors with export restrictions. Still, he has not agreed to match sweeping curbs on exports of chip-manufacturing equipment that Washington imposed in October.

The U.S. official said Washington was working closely with Japan on the issue and believes they share a similar vision even if their legal structures are different. He said the more countries and significant players that backed the controls, the more effective they would be.

A Japanese official said economic security, including semiconductors, was likely to be discussed, but that no announcement was expected on that from the meeting.

Biden and Kishida committed to “strengthening vital trilateral cooperation” among the United States, Japan and South Korea, said the joint statement, which follows North Korea’s decision to exponentially increase its nuclear force and codify its right to a first strike.

Kishida’s visit follows one by Biden to Tokyo in May and a meeting between the two at a November regional summit in Cambodia.

(This story has been refiled to delete the extra word ‘defense’ in paragraph 1)

Reporting by Jeff Mason, Andrea Shalal, David Brunnstrom, Michael Martina, Tim Ahmann and Eric Beech; Editing by Don Durfee, Alistair Bell and Grant McCool

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

Taiwan condemns China for latest combat drills near island

Leave a comment

TAIPEI/BEIJING, Jan 9 (Reuters) – Taiwan condemned China on Monday for holding its second military combat drills around the island in less than a month, with the defence ministry saying it had detected 57 Chinese aircraft.

China views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory and has been ramping up military, political and economic pressure to assert those claims.

The Eastern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army said its forces held “joint combat readiness patrols and actual combat drills” in the sea and airspace around Taiwan, focused on land strikes and sea assaults.

The aim was to test joint combat capabilities and “resolutely counter the provocative actions of external forces and Taiwan independence separatist forces”, it added in a brief statement late on Sunday.

Taiwan’s presidential office said China was making “groundless accusations” and strongly condemned the drills, saying the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait and the region were the common responsibility of both Taiwan and China.

Taiwan’s position is very clear, in that it will neither escalate conflicts nor provoke disputes, but will firmly defend its sovereignty and security, the office said in a statement.

“The nation’s military has a close grasp of the situation in the Taiwan Strait and the surrounding area and responds calmly. Our people can rest assured,” it added.

On Monday, Taiwan’s defence ministry said that over the previous 24 hours it had detected 57 Chinese aircraft and four naval vessels operating around the island, including 28 aircraft that flew into Taiwan’s air defence zone.

Some of those 28 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial buffer between the two sides, among them Su-30 and J-16 fighters, while two nuclear-capable H-6 bombers flew to the south of Taiwan, a ministry map showed.

In China’s similar exercises late last month, Taiwan said 43 Chinese aircraft crossed the median line.

China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control, has made regular military incursions into the waters and airspace near Taiwan over the past three years.

It held war games around Taiwan last August, following a visit to Taipei by Nancy Pelosi, then the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Taiwan strongly rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s 23 million people can decide their future.

Beijing has been particularly angered by U.S. support for Taiwan, including weapons sales.

Like most nations, the United States has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but it is the island’s most important arms supplier and international backer.

Reporting by Sarah Wu and Beijing newsroom; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Clarence Fernandez

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

Business

Historic UK satellite launch may spur military appetite

Leave a comment

Jan 8 (Reuters) – A mobile air-launched rocket system to be used in Britain’s first domestic satellite launch could sow the seeds for a globally dispersed rapid-response capability to put extra eyes in space in times of war, executives and analysts said.

Virgin Orbit (VORB.O), part-owned by billionaire Richard Branson, plans to launch nine satellites from a LauncherOne rocket attached under the wing of a modified Boeing 747, to be flown from a new spaceport in Cornwall on Monday.

Barring delays, it will be the first time a satellite has departed from western European soil.

For now the focus is on commercial payloads from companies such as Space Forge, which is developing in-orbit manufacturing.

But the launch is also seen by many as a blueprint for quicker launches of limited satellite capacity for tactical military purposes, in what planners call “Responsive Launch”.

“Ukraine woke up the world in a lot of ways,” Virgin Orbit Chief Executive Dan Hart told a news conference in southwest England on Sunday.

“Clearly there is a hope of a pan-European, as well as a U.S. collaboration … and that we have responsiveness so that if something happens in the world, we can get assets there right away,” he told the pre-launch briefing, monitored online.

Virgin Orbit said last year Britain’s Royal Air Force was doing exercises to demonstrate the value of “Responsive Launch”.

Britain had a brief foray into space launch activities in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when its Black Arrow rocket was cancelled after just one successful mission.

The rocket’s four launches took place in Australia in an era when commercial satellites barely existed.

Now, constellations of miniaturised satellites are heading an explosion of commercial activity in low Earth orbit.

‘FLEXIBLE AND AGILE’

Lobbing small satellites into low orbit at short notice would do little more than fill temporary gaps in coverage from large spy satellites, but experts say the technology has some dual civil and military potential and could spread costs.

“It gives you greater resilience or redundancy or duality of systems, whether that’s for position, navigation and timing or quicker access … as we’ve seen in Ukraine,” Ian Annett, deputy chief executive of the UK Space Agency, told Sunday’s briefing.

“It’s a natural transition that helps us develop security capabilities, but also, for government, keeps costs down whilst providing commercial opportunities as well.”

Elon Musk’s SpaceX activated its Starlink constellation over Ukraine after Russia’s invasion last February. Its communication links have been used by civilians and by Ukraine’s military.

Luxembourg said in October it had signed a letter of intent with Virgin Orbit to develop a “rapid and flexible response to different threats”, for NATO and other allies.

Its defence ministry has called for “new, more flexible and agile satellite launch procedures and techniques from Europe”.

Britain’s own 2022-25 space roadmap calls for dual-use capabilities in Earth Observation and Space Domain Awareness.

Virgin Orbit is also talking to Japan and Australia.

Questions remain, however, over how quickly the mobile launch concept could work its way into actual budgets, which are dwarfed by U.S. spending on space.

“Everyone is playing up military space as the next big thing,” said UK-based defence analyst Francis Tusa. “But ministries of defence have eyes larger than their stomachs.”

The system’s liquid propellant and final rocket assembly also require some local infrastructure, and Europe’s crowded airspace has thrown up significant regulatory obstacles.

“At the moment, it’s a bit bigger on the commercial side, but we see the defence and national security side growing so I think in this steady state, it’ll probably end up being 50/50,” Hart told Reuters.

Reporting by Tim Hepher; Additional reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by David Holmes

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

Putin deploys new Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles to Atlantic

Leave a comment

  • Putin sends hypersonic missiles to Atlantic
  • Sends of frigate with Zircon missiles
  • Putin says no other power has such weapons
  • Russia has used hypersonic missiles in Ukraine
  • This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine

MOSCOW, Jan 4 (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin sent a frigate to the Atlantic Ocean armed with new generation hypersonic cruise missiles on Wednesday, a signal to the West that Russia will not back down over the war in Ukraine.

Russia, China and the United States are in a race to develop hypersonic weapons which are seen as a way to gain an edge over any adversary because of their speeds – above five times the speed of sound – and manoeuvrability.

In a video conference with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Igor Krokhmal, commander of the frigate named “Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov”, Putin said the ship was armed with Zircon (Tsirkon) hypersonic weapons.

“This time the ship is equipped with the latest hypersonic missile system – ‘Zircon’,” said Putin. “I am sure that such powerful weapons will reliably protect Russia from potential external threats.”

The weapons, Putin said, had “no analogues in any country in the world”.

More than 10 months since Putin sent troops into Ukraine, there is no end in sight to the war which has descended into a grinding winter artillery battle that has killed and wounded tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides.

Russia has also used hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles in Ukraine.

Along with the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle which entered combat duty in 2019, the Zircon forms the centrepiece of Russia’s hypersonic arsenal.

Russia sees the weapons as a way to pierce increasingly sophisticated U.S. missile defences which Putin has warned could one day shoot down Russian nuclear missiles.

ATLANTIC VOYAGE

Shoigu said the Gorshkov would sail to the Atlantic and Indian oceans and to the Mediterranean Sea.

“This ship, armed with ‘Zircons’, is capable of delivering pinpoint and powerful strikes against the enemy at sea and on land,” Shoigu said.

Shoigu said the hypersonic missiles could overcome any missile defence system. The missiles fly at nine times the speed of sound and have a range of over 1,000 km, Shoigu said.

The main tasks of the voyage were to counter threats to Russia and to maintain “regional peace and stability jointly with friendly countries”, Shoigu said.

A U.S. Congressional Research Service report on hypersonic weapons says that Russian and Chinese hypersonic missiles are designed to be used with nuclear warheads.

The target of a hypersonic weapon is much more difficult to calculate than for intercontinental ballistic missiles because of their manoeuvrability.

Beyond Russia, the United States and China, a range of other countries are developing hypersonic weapons including Australia, France, Germany, South Korea, North Korea and Japan, according to the U.S. Congressional Research Service.

Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, +79856400243; editing by Philippa Fletcher

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

Chinese jet came within 10 feet of U.S. military aircraft -U.S. military

Leave a comment

WASHINGTON, Dec 29 (Reuters) – A Chinese military plane came within 10 feet (3 metres) of a U.S. air force aircraft in the contested South China Sea last week and forced it to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision in international airspace, the U.S. military said on Thursday.

The close encounter followed what the United States has called a recent trend of increasingly dangerous behavior by Chinese military aircraft.

The incident, which involved a Chinese Navy J-11 fighter jet and a U.S. air force RC-135 aircraft, took place on Dec. 21, the U.S. military said in a statement.

“We expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific region to use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law,” it added.

A U.S. military spokesperson said the Chinese jet came within 10 feet of the plane’s wing, but 20 feet from its nose, which caused the U.S. aircraft to take evasive maneuvers.

The United States has raised the issue with the Chinese government, a separate U.S. official said.

The Chinese embassy in Washington D.C. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the past, China has said that the United States sending ships and aircraft into the South China Sea is not good for peace.

U.S. military planes and ships routinely carry out surveillance operations and travel through the region.

China claims vast swathes of the South China Sea that overlap with the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Trillions of dollars in trade flow every year through the waterway, which also contains rich fishing grounds and gas fields.

In a meeting with his Chinese counterpart in November, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin raised the need to improve crisis communications, and also noted what he called dangerous behavior by Chinese military planes.

Despite tensions between the United States and China, U.S. military officials have long sought to maintain open lines of communication with their Chinese counterparts to mitigate the risk of potential flare-ups or deal with any accidents.

Australia’s defence department said in June that a Chinese fighter aircraft dangerously intercepted an Australian military surveillance plane in the South China Sea region in May.

Australia said the Chinese jet flew close in front of the RAAF aircraft and released a “bundle of chaff” containing small pieces of aluminum that were ingested into the Australian aircraft’s engine.

In June, Canada’s military accused Chinese warplanes of harassing its patrol aircraft as they monitored North Korea sanction evasions, sometimes forcing Canadian planes to divert from their flight paths.

Relations between China and the United States have been tense, with friction between the world’s two largest economies over everything from Taiwan and China’s human rights record to its military activity in the South China Sea.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan in August infuriated China, which saw it as a U.S. attempt to interfere in its internal affairs. China subsequently launched military drills near the island.

The United States has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

Reporting by Idrees Ali and Doina Chiacu
Editing by Frances Kerry and Josie Kao

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Idrees Ali

Thomson Reuters

National security correspondent focusing on the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Reports on U.S. military activity and operations throughout the world and the impact that they have. Has reported from over two dozen countries to include Iraq, Afghanistan, and much of the Middle East, Asia and Europe. From Karachi, Pakistan.

Read original article here

World

Pacifist Japan unveils biggest military build-up since World War Two

Leave a comment

TOKYO, Dec 16 (Reuters) – Japan on Friday unveiled its biggest military build-up since World War Two with a $320 billion plan that will buy missiles capable of striking China and ready it for sustained conflict, as regional tensions and Russia’s Ukraine invasion stoke war fears.

The sweeping, five-year plan, once unthinkable in pacifist Japan, will make the country the world’s third-biggest military spender after the United States and China, based on current budgets.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who described Japan and its people as being at a “turning point in history”, said the ramp-up was “my answer to the various security challenges that we face”.

His government worries that Russia has set a precedent that will encourage China to attack Taiwan, threatening nearby Japanese islands, disrupting supplies of advanced semiconductors and putting a potential stranglehold on sea lanes that supply Middle East oil.

“This is setting a new heading for Japan. If appropriately executed, the Self-Defense Forces will be a real, world-class effective force,” said Yoji Koda, a former Maritime Self Defense Force admiral, who commanded the Japanese fleet in 2008.

The government said it would also stockpile spare parts and other munitions, expand transport capacity and develop cyber warfare capabilities. In its postwar, American-authored constitution, Japan gave up the right to wage war and means to do so.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a serious violation of laws that forbid the use of force and has shaken the foundations of the international order,” the strategy paper said.

“The strategic challenge posed by China is the biggest Japan has ever faced,” it added, also noting that Beijing had not ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control.

A separate national security strategy document that pointed to China, Russia and North Korea, promised close cooperation with the United States and other like-minded nations to deter threats to the established international order.

“The Prime Minister is making a clear, unambiguous strategic statement about Japan’s role as a security provider in the Indo-Pacific,” U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. “He has put a capital “D” next to Japan’s deterrence,” he added.

Meeting Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Chairman Mitsuo Ohashi in Taipei on Friday, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said she expected greater defence cooperation with Japan.

“We look forward to Taiwan and Japan continuing to create new cooperation achievements in various fields such as national defence and security, the economy, trade, and industrial transformation,” the presidential office cited Tsai as saying.

China accused Japan of making false claims about China’s military activities in the new security strategy, according to a statement from its embassy in Japan.

UKRAINE LESSON

“The Ukraine war has shown us the necessity of being able to sustain a fight, and that is something Japan has not so far been prepared for,” said Toshimichi Nagaiwa, a retired Air Self-Defense Force general. “Japan is making a late start, it is like we are 200 metres behind in a 400-metre sprint,” he added.

China defence spending overtook Japan’s at the turn of the century, and now has a military budget more than four times larger. Too few munitions and a lack of spare parts that ground planes and put other military equipment out of action are the most immediate problems for Japan to tackle, military sources have told Reuters.

Kishida’s plan will double defence outlays to about 2% of gross domestic product over five years, blowing past a self-imposed 1% spending limit that has been in place since 1976.

It will increase the defence ministry’s budget to around a tenth of all public spending at current levels, and will make Japan the world’s third-biggest military spender after the United States and China, based on current budgets.

That splurge will provide work to Japanese military equipment makers such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) (7011.T), which is expected to lead development of three of the longer-range missiles that will be part of Japan’s new missile force.

MHI will also build Japan’s next jet fighter alongside BAE Systems PLC (BAES.L) and Leonardo SPA (LDOF.MI) in a joint project between Japan, Britain and Italy announced last week.

Tokyo allocated $5.6 billion for that in the five-year defence programme.

Foreign companies will also benefit. Japan says it wants ship-launched U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles made by Raytheon Technologies (RTX.N) to be part of its new deterrent force.

Other items on Japan’s military shopping list over the next five years include interceptor missiles for ballistic missile defence, attack and reconnaissance drones, satellite communications equipment, Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters, helicopters, submarines, warships and heavy-lift transport jets.

To pay for that equipment, Kishida’s ruling bloc earlier on Friday said it would raise tobacco, corporate and disaster-reconstruction income taxes. But, with opposition to tax hikes within his ruling Liberal Democratic party still strong, the Japanese leader has yet to say when he will implement those higher rates.

Reporting by Tim Kelly, Sakura Murakami and Nobuhiro Kubo in TOKYO; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in TAIPEI and Eduardo Baptista in SHANGHAI; Editing by David Dolan, Gerry Doyle, Jon Boyle, William Maclean

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here