Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Casualty Update 25 Sep 2015 [PDF]
• Coalition Continues Anti-ISIL Airstrikes in Syria, Iraq AFPS 25 Sep 2015 -- Yesterday, U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Defense Policy / Programs

• USS Carney Joins Other FDNF Ships in Rota, Spain NNS 25 Sep 2015 -- The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) arrived at Naval Station Rota, Spain, joining three other destroyers as part of the Forward-Deployed Naval Force, Sept. 25.
• US Completes Missile Defense System Deployment at Naval Station in Spain Sputnik 25 Sep 2015 -- The United States completes on Friday the deployment of a missile defense system in the Spanish province of Cadiz as part of its NATO ballistic missile campaign in Europe, Spanish media reported, citing the Ministry of Defense.
• Fourth US missile defence ship arrives at its new home port in Spain NATO 25 Sep 2015 -- Navy destroyer USS Carney arrived at its new home in southern Spain on Friday (25 September, 2015), the fourth American multi-mission ship to be stationed in Europe and contribute to NATO's ballistic missile defence shield.
• KC-46A tanker completes successful first flight AFNS 25 Sep 2015 -- A KC-46A Pegasus tanker (EMD-2) made history with its first flight Sept. 25 from Paine Field in Everett, Washington, landing a few hours later at Boeing Field in Seattle.
• Rogers Discusses NSA Reorganization, National Security Threats AFPS 25 Sep 2015 -- Navy Adm. Michael S. Rogers, director of the National Security Agency, previewed an upcoming NSA reorganization and discussed a range of national security threats with members of a Senate panel here yesterday.
• USNS Comfort Arrives in Mayport NNS 25 Sep 2015 -- The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) arrived in Mayport, Sept. 25 after completion of the humanitarian and civil assistance mission Continuing Promise 2015 (CP-15).
• Research Vessel Neil Armstrong (AGOR 27) Delivered NNS 25 Sep 2015 -- The Auxiliary General Purpose Oceanographic Research Vessel (AGOR), R/V Neil Armstrong, AGOR 27, delivered to the U.S. Navy, Sept. 23.
• Royal Bahamas Defence Force Improves Its Maritime Domain Awareness NNS 25 Sep 2015 -- The government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas enhanced its Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) when the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) upgraded its current command center here during a Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE) with Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, U.S. Northern Command (NAVNORTH) Sept. 22-24.
• Future USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) Completes Acceptance Trial NNS 25 Sep 2015 -- The future USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) successfully concluded its acceptance trial Sept. 18, after completing a series of in-port and underway demonstrations for the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV).
• New KFOR Commander holds positive talks on Kosovo with Serbian Armed Forces Chief NATO 25 Sep 2015 -- Kosovo has become increasingly secure and this positive trend is especially prominent in Northern Kosovo, where they have been no major security incidents in recent months to jeopardise the peace and freedom of movement. This was the conclusion of the Commander of the Kosovo Force (KFOR), General Guglielmo Luigi Miglietta and the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces (SAF), General Ljubisa Dikovic. Their meeting in Nis, Serbia, last Wednesday (23 September, 2015), was their first since the appointment of General Miglietta in August.
• NATO to Focus on Countering Russia's Maritime Capabilities Sputnik 25 Sep 2015 -- Norwegian Defense Minister Ine Erikson Soreide said that NATO will respond to enhanced Russian maritime capabilities by shoring up its own sea-based defenses.
• US, China agree to work to avoid military confrontations in Pacific: Obama Press TV 25 Sep 2015 -- US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed to launch "new channels of communication" to avoid accidental military confrontations between their armed forces in the Pacific Ocean.
• US, China Agree to Reduce 'Risk of Miscalculation' Between Armies Sputnik 25 Sep 2015 -- The United States and China have agreed to reduce the risks of miscalculated moves between the two countries' armed forces in the Asia Pacific region, US President Barack Obama stated on Friday.
• Russia Not Establishing Military Base in Syria So Far, Situation May Change Sputnik 25 Sep 2015 -- As Russian troops are not engaged in combat in Syria, Russia is not setting up a military base in Latakia. Russian specialists are training the Syrian army to operate weapons. However, the situation may change.
• Russian Naval Flotilla Heading for Syria Sputnik 25 Sep 2015 -- A fleet of Russian warships is bound for the Eastern Mediterranean for drills off the coast of Syria, the Defense Ministry said in a statement Friday.
• Building Afghan air force command, control hub from ground-up AFNS 25 Sep 2015 -- the pilots in their aircraft and the support personnel on the ground would not communicate and it would be chaotic, ultimately not being on the same sheet of music.
• Palestine Wants Military Training, Not Weapons From Russia - FM Sputnik 25 Sep 2015 -- The purchase of weapons from Russia is not currently on Palestine's agenda but military training is a key priority, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Maliki said Friday.
• Estonia Plans to Increase Military Spending by $41.5Mln in 2016 Sputnik 25 Sep 2015 -- Estonia plans to spend 449 million euros ($503 million) on defense in 2016, an increase of 37 million euros compared to 2015, according to the defense ministry press service.
• Australia, Norway to Jointly Work on Improvement of F-35's Missiles Sputnik 25 Sep 2015 -- Norway and Australia will cooperate on the modernization of the Joint Strike Missile (JSM) - weapon that is planned to be used with Norway's F-35 fighter jet - making it possible hitting targets from a distance of 300-kilometers.

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for September 25, 2015

Other Conflicts

• Syria: UN cites utter desperation behind 'tsunami' of refugees into Europe UN News 25 Sep 2015 -- Despair at appalling living conditions among the 4 million Syrians who have already fled to neighbouring countries is fuelling the current flood of refugees to Europe as they flee once more, this time from restrictions and under-funded aid programmes that have led to child labour and even 'survival sex,' the United Nations said today.
• Syria army clears Damascus-Homs routes Press TV 25 Sep 2015 -- Army forces in Syria have flushed foreign-backed militants out of the routes linking the capital, Damascus, to the western city of Homs.
• Monitor: Truce Takes Effect in Key Syrian Battle Zones VOA 25 Sep 2015 -- Syrian government forces and rebel fighters have agreed to a cease-fire in the western region of the country, set to go into effect Friday under U.N. auspices.
• 'Many people have reached the end on the line in Iraq,' warns senior UN relief official UN News 25 Sep 2015 -- Ten million Iraqis, or a quarter of the population, are going to need humanitarian aid by year's end amid "dramatically" worsening conditions that are forcing many people to leave their homeland because they no longer see a future inside their country, a senior UN relief official said today.
• Iraq makes fresh gains in anti-Daesh battle in Anbar Press TV 25 Sep 2015 -- Government forces and volunteer groups in Iraq have made fresh gains against Takfiri Daesh militants in the western province of Anbar.
• Iraq's Yazidis Tell Hague Court Islamic State Committed Genocide RFE/RL 25 Sep 2015 -- Iraq's Yazidis, a minority targeted for particularly brutal treatment by the Islamic State (IS) group, have urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the militants for committing crimes of genocide and sexual slavery.
• Kremlin Denies Russia, Syria, Iran Created Center in Baghdad to Fight ISIL Sputnik 25 Sep 2015 -- Earlier on Friday, Fox News citing information from Western special services said that Russia, Syria and Iran had allegedly organized a center in Baghdad in an attempt to begin coordinating efforts with Shiites against the Islamic State.
• UN: Thousands of Iraqis Likely to Join Exodus to Europe VOA 25 Sep 2015 -- A senior United Nations official says thousands of Iraqis are likely to flee to Europe in search of asylum as conditions in their country worsen and they lose hope of any changes for the better.
• Kiev bars Russian flights carrying military cargo, troops Press TV 25 Sep 2015 -- Ukraine has banned all transit flights of the Russian airlines carrying military equipment, soldiers or so-called dual-purpose cargo over its territory.
• Media Mistakes Russian Military Housing for 'Huge' Base on Ukraine Border Sputnik 25 Sep 2015 -- The Russian Defense Ministry has denied Western media reports concerning an alleged Russia's "huge military base" under construction on the border with Ukraine, saying that the construction is just a military housing.
• Aid Groups Say Ejection From Separatist-Held Ukrainian Territory 'Unacceptable' RFE/RL 25 Sep 2015 -- Humanitarian aid organizations have sharply criticized Russian-backed separatists for kicking them out of eastern Ukraine, saying the move will put civilians in the conflict-torn region deeper in jeopardy as winter approaches.
• Crisis in Africa's Lake Chad Basin 'must not be forgotten' - UN humanitarian chief UN News 25 Sep 2015 -- The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator today reminded the world to pay attention to the Lake Chad Basin, now an epicentre of "violence and terror" where children as young as six-years old have been used as suicide bombers and the scene of the fastest-growing displacement crisis in Africa.

News Reports

• Remarks by President Obama and President Xi of the People's Republic of China in Joint Press Conference The White House 25 Sep 2015
• Remarks by President Obama and President Xi of the People's Republic of China at Arrival Ceremony The White House 25 Sep 2015
• China behind cybertheft in US: NSA chief Press TV 25 Sep 2015 -- Director of the US National Security Agency (NSA) Michael S. Rogers has accused Chinese officials of having a hand in the theft of commercial data in the US.
• US, China Agree to Refrain From Cyber Theft, Economic Espionage Sputnik 25 Sep 2015 -- The United States and China agreed not to engage in cyber-related theft of intellectual property or economic espionage, the White House said in a press release on Friday.
• US, China Agree Not to Conduct, Support Cyber Theft VOA 25 Sep 2015 -- U.S. President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have agreed that neither country's government will conduct or 'knowingly' support cyber theft of intellectual property or commercial trade secrets, an issue that has been a source of tensions.
• Amano confirms Iran's cooperation within IAEA's verification scheme IRNA 25 Sep 2015 -- Secretary of the International Atomic Energy Agency Yukiya Amano confirmed Iran's participation in his agency's verification process.
• Putin Heads to UN With Serious Syrian Agenda VOA 25 Sep 2015 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin travels to New York on Monday for a highly touted speech at the United Nations General Assembly – his first appearance at the international body in nearly a decade.
• What To Look For When Putin Speaks At The UN RFE/RL 25 Sep 2015 -- When Russian President Vladimir Putin finally takes the UN stage on September 28, he won't need to take off his shoe and bang the podium with it like a Soviet predecessor, Nikita Khrushchev, reportedly did 55 years ago.
• UNICEF launches new appeal to support refugee and migrant children in Europe UN News 25 Sep 2015 -- Warning of a "massive" increase in the numbers of children on the move to Europe, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced today that it will be appealing for $14 million to address the needs of migrant and refugee children who have escaped war-torn countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
• U.S. Ambassador Upbraids Ukrainian Prosecutors Over Anticorruption Efforts RFE/RL 25 Sep 2015 -- The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine has accused the country's Prosecutor-General's Office of obstructing efforts to combat corruption and shielding its own employees from graft investigations.
• Finnish Espionage: Cabinet Security Chief to Probe Phone Tapping Claims Sputnik 25 Sep 2015 -- Reports by the Swedish-language daily Hufvudstadsbladet suggested that former Defense Minister Carl Haglund and senior National Coalition MP Ilkka Kanerva may have been targets of phone espionage.
• Security Council welcomes reinstatement of the transitional authorities in Burkina Faso UN News 25 Sep 2015 -- Welcoming the recent reinstatement of President Michel Kafando and the transitional authorities of Burkina Faso in the wake of a coup d'état last week, the United Nations Security Council urged all parties in the country to refrain from violence and resume the transition process without delay.
• Malawi facing worst food crisis in decade, requires $81 million in relief aid - UN agency UN News 25 Sep 2015 -- More than 2.8 million people will face hunger in the coming months in the worst food crisis in a decade in Malawi, where a staggering four out of every 10 children suffer from stunting, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today.
• Malawi Faces Worst Food Crisis in a Decade VOA 25 Sep 2015 -- The United Nations World Food Program reports it is scaling up life-saving operations for more than 2 million people in Malawi. The WFP said Malawi faces the worst food crisis in a decade following severe floods and drought that have ruined this year's harvest.