NEWS BRIEFS: INTERNATIONAL
6 December 2023
(AP)
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Relief & Works Agency, said today that there is no haven in besieged Gaza for civilians, including in UN shelters and Israeli-designated “safe zones.” More than 16,000 Gazans have reportedly been killed by Israel’s response to Hamas terrorists’ October attack.
6 December 2023
(Defense News)
Several Republican Senators walked out of a December 6 classified White House briefing on a $113-billion U.S. defence spending package that includes support for Ukraine and Israel. They said the administration had not responded to their questions about Ukraine beyond what was public knowledge.
6 December 2023
(CNN)
Rocked by years of allegations that its leadership covered up serious misconduct issues, the U.S. Coast Guard acknowledged today that it had “failed to keep our people safe” and promised reforms. “These failures and lack of accountability are entirely unacceptable,” it said in a report based on complaints by personnel as well as staff interviews.
5 December 2023
(Military Times)
A U.S. Senator is ending his blockade of more than 400 military promotions which he began nearly 10 months ago because he disagreed with Defense Depart policy that permitted access to abortions. However, first-term Alabama Republican Tommy Tuberville said December 4 that he would continue to block 11 of the most senior promotions approved by the White House.
5 December 2023
(C4ISRNet)
The U.S. Army has reported successful trials of a troop-portable electronic jammer developed by Mastodon Design, a New York subsidiary of Virginia-based CACI International through a $1.5 million prototyping contract using the company’s electronic-warfare products for vehicle installations.
5 December 2023
(CT Insider)
The U.S. Defense Department says Pratt & Whitney will remain the sole source for upgrades of its engines in Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter. It follows the award in July of a $66-million contract with the RTX subsidiary to support fleetwide engine modernization efforts.
5 December 2023
(AP/AFP)
Two years after Australia reneged on a deal to purchase French submarines in favour of U.S. boats, sparking a diplomatic tiff, France and Australia have reset their relationship with reciprocal access to Pacific bases and increased joint activities. “We are determined to […] beef up our cooperation with the partners in the region,” French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said after she and her Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, signed an agreement December 4.
5 December 2023
(Defense News)
Diehl Defence of Germany has signed a contract valued at some €600 million to supply Latvia with IRIS-T medium-range air defense systems. Diehl said December 4 that the deal under a framework agreement with Estonia as well as Latvia in September is the Baltic NATO ally’s “biggest defense investment since its independence more than 30 years ago.”
5 December 2023
(Defense News)
South Korea will join Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands and Portugal in ordering the Embraer C-390 Millenium medium-sized twin-jet transport for its air force. While neither the number of aircraft nor the contract value have been disclosed, the order includes spares, service and support, training and ground support equipment.
4 December 2023
(C4ISRNet)
NATO has wrapped up cybersecurity exercises in Estonia, welcoming Japan, South Korea and Ukraine to the proceedings as the alliance seeks like-minded governments to harden their collective virtual defences. Cyber Coalition 2023 focused on sharing threat intelligence and responding to attack scenarios on virtual national critical infrastructure as well as military targets and structures of military nature.