Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Airstrikes Hit ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq AFPS 26 Aug 2015 -- U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq.
• Leadership Feud Could Fracture Afghan Taliban VOA 26 Aug 2015 -- The brother of the deceased Taliban leader Mullah Omar is speaking out about an internal power struggle that risks fragmenting the Afghan insurgency.
• Taliban Captures District Center In Afghan Opium Heartland RFE/RL 26 Aug 2015 -- Afghan Taliban fighters have seized the administrative headquarters of the Musa Qala district in Helmand Province.
• Despite US Bombings, Taliban Capture District in Afghan’s Helmand Province Sputnik 26 Aug 2015 -- Despite US air strikes aimed at pushing Taliban fighters out of Helmand province, the group has captured the strategic town of Musa Qala.
• Two U.S. Troops Killed In Afghan Shooting RFE/RL 26 Aug 2015 -- Two U.S. soldiers have been killed by a man wearing an Afghan National Security Forces uniform in southern Afghanistan.
• 3 members of one family killed in US drone strike in Nangarhar Province Press TV 26 Aug 2015 -- A US drone strike has claimed the lives of at least three members of one family in the eastern province of Nangarhar in Afghanistan.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Speech: U.S. Transportation Command Assumption of Command DoD 26 Aug 2015
• Remarks by Secretary Carter at a Troop Event at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada DoD 26 Aug 2015
• Media Availability with Secretary Carter at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada DoD 26 Aug 2015
• Shocker: US Forces Only Captured 3 of the 116 Gitmo Detainees Sputnik 26 Aug 2015 -- New review by the Guardian reveals that an overwhelming majority of those so-called “worst of the worst terrorists” were captured by non-US forces for questionable purposes.
• Pentagon Officials at Odds With Top Generals Over F-35 Review Sputnik 26 Aug 2015 -- Now that the beleaguered F-35 fighter is finally somewhat close to being operational, the Pentagon can’t even agree on how many it wants to buy.
• Oshkosh wins $6.7 billion contract to manufacture JLTV Army News 26 Aug 2015 -- Oshkosh Defense was awarded a $6.7 billion contract Aug. 25 for production of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, or JLTV.
• US Sailors, Marines Enhance Regional Cooperation During CARAT Thailand 2015 NNS 26 Aug 2015 -- The 21st annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise between the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and the Royal Thai Armed Forces began Aug. 27 in the vicinity of Sattahip Naval Base.
• Fast Drones, Faster Decisions the Future for Combat Injured Army News 26 Aug 2015 -- During a break between meetings at the 2015 Military Health System Research Symposium, Lt. Col. Jennifer Hatzfeld spoke about the concept of innovation in the field of mobile trauma care.
• Integration lab to support C-5 software, hardware upgrades AFNS 26 Aug 2015 -- The C-5 System Integration Lab at Robins Air Force Base has been preparing to accommodate upcoming changes to the weapon system's color weather radar capabilities for the last several months.
• Russia ‘urges Iran to revoke S-300 suit’ Press TV 26 Aug 2015 -- Moscow says it has urged Tehran to revoke a lawsuit previously filed over Russia’s failure to meet contractual commitments to deliver S-300 air defense systems to Iran.
• Russia Completes Modernization of Indian Navy's Il-38 Fleet Sputnik 26 Aug 2015 -- According to Ilyushin general designer and deputy general director, Russia has completed the upgrade of all of India's Ilyushin Il-38 anti-submarine aircraft to SD standard.
• RAF Typhoons return from Baltic Air Policing mission UK MOD 26 Aug 2015 -- After four months, the detachment of Typhoon jets yesterday concluded its deployment as part of NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission.
• Plans for all-volunteer military still on track: defense ministry CNA 26 Aug 2015 -- The Ministry of National Defense denied media reports that it was backpedaling on its plan to convert Taiwan's military into an all-volunteer force, saying that it had only extended the target date.
• U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing, August 26, 2015 US Dept. of State 26 Aug 2015

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for August 26, 2015

Other Conflicts

• North Korea’s ‘Apology’ Over Land Mine Attack Criticized VOA 26 Aug 2015 -- The recent inter-Korean agreement that has ended a military standoff over a land mine attack that maimed two South Korean soldiers is causing controversy in South Korea.
• North, South Korea Relax Defense Posture Following Deal VOA 26 Aug 2015 -- North Korea has reduced its military readiness posture, South Korea said Wednesday, after the two sides reached a deal to defuse tensions on the Korean peninsula.
• Report With Tally Of 'Russian War Casualties' Causes Stir RFE/RL 26 Aug 2015 -- A Russian-language website has caused a stir with a report asserting that more than 2,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
• Kurds Launch New Offensive Against ISIL Fighters in Iraq Sputnik 26 Aug 2015 -- Kurdish Peshmerga forces, backed by a US-led coalition airstrike campaign, have retaken 10 villages from self-proclaimed Islamic State militants in the Kirkuk province on Wednesday.
• How An Ethnic Uzbek From Kyrgyzstan Joined Al-Qaeda In Syria (And Died) RFE/RL 26 Aug 2015 -- White Minaret, the Russian-language media wing of Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, has provided an account of an ethnic Uzbek from Kyrgyzstan who fought and died for the group.
• Assad: No Syrian Elections With Foreign Observers VOA 26 Aug 2015 -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, complaining of foreign interference in his country’s four-year civil war, said he would not permit international observers for any future elections.
• UNICEF demands that water not be used to achieve ‘military and political gains’ in Syria UN News 26 Aug 2015 -- Amid the unremitting brutality of the war in Syria and a scorching summer heat wave, there is increasing evidence that parties to the conflict are using water to achieve military and political gains.
• 34 PKK militants killed as Turkish jets hit northern Iraq Press TV 26 Aug 2015 -- More than three dozen members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have been killed after Turkish military aircraft carried out a series of airstrikes in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.
• Analysts: Turkey's Regional Influence Wanes VOA 26 Aug 2015 -- With both Saudi Arabia and Iran intensifying regional efforts to end Syria's civil war, observers are warning Turkey, which borders Syria, could be finding itself increasingly marginalized in peace efforts.
• Yemeni forces launch Scud Missile on Saudi Arabia Press TV 26 Aug 2015 -- Yemeni military forces have launched a Scud missile at a target in Saudi Arabia, as part of retaliatory strikes over the deadly Saudi military campaign against Yemen.
• Philippines Seeks US Help to Protect Troops in Disputed Sea VOA 26 Aug 2015 -- Senior U.S. and Philippines military officials have met in Manila, in an effort to expand defense ties as tensions worsen around China's disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea.
• Statement by the National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice on the South Sudan Peace Agreement The White House 26 Aug 2015
• South Sudan’s Kiir Signs Peace Deal VOA 26 Aug 2015 -- South Sudanese President Salva Kiir on Wednesday added his signature to a peace deal aimed at ending more than 20 months of fighting between government forces and rebels led by his former deputy, Riek Machar.
• UN envoy says Libyan parties must come together, make ‘final push’ for peace UN News 26 Aug 2015 -- Head of the UN Mission in Libya: “Time is running out” for leaders on all sides and at all levels to make the “final push”.

News Reports

• Task force to be formed to design Arak reactor: AEOI chief Press TV 26 Aug 2015 -- Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi says a working group is to be set up to design the Arak heavy water reactor.
• Iran, China discuss construction of nuclear plants Press TV 26 Aug 2015 -- The Iranian and Chinese nuclear chiefs have stressed cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear energy between Tehran and Beijing.
• Iran will keep pursuing freedom of nationals, Foreign Ministry says Press TV 26 Aug 2015 -- Tehran has called for the release of 19 Iranian nationals languishing in the US jails on charges of bypassing anti-Iran sanctions.
• Putin Meets Egyptian Leader As Russia Seeks Greater Role In Middle East RFE/RL 26 Aug 2015 -- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his second visit to Moscow in three months.
• Turkey's Election Appears to Be All About Erdogan VOA 26 Aug 2015 -- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s name won’t appear on any of the ballot papers Turks will be presented with on November 1.
• UN refugee agency chief calls on Europe to formulate a collective response to migrant crisis UN News 26 Aug 2015 -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, today urged the European Union to speed up the formulation of an adequate collective response to this unprecedented crisis.