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Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
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Current Operations

Defense Policy / Programs

• PEO Aviation announces Future Long Range Assault Aircraft Awards Army News 18 Mar 2020 -- Program Executive Office, Aviation announces the Project Agreement holders for the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) Competitive Demonstration and Risk Reduction (CD&RR).
• Air Force's Operations Line Up With Defense Priorities DoD News 18 Mar 2020 -- Air Force people, missions and partnerships are in line with Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper's priorities as the nation deals with the coronavirus pandemic, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein said.
• Ford's Portside Anchor Makes Splash for First Time NNS 18 Mar 2020 -- USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) conducted an inaugural anchoring evolution during its independent steaming event on March 15. It was the first time Ford conducted the evolution using its portside anchor.
• Projecting Airpower: JSTARS join aircraft utilizing PSAB to modernize employment for future US Air Force 18 Mar 2020 -- Since its revitalization as a host for U.S. forces in 2019, Prince Sultan Air Base has evolved to provide needed operational depth in the Middle East.
• China's JL-9 Mountain Eagle trainer jet to be modified for aircraft carrier operation: reports Global Times 18 Mar 2020 -- The naval version of the JL-9 Mountain Eagle trainer jet is being modified to enable it to train aircraft carrier jet pilots on an actual aircraft carrier at a time when China is in urgent need of training more aircraft carrier jet pilots, as its second carrier was just commissioned last year, reports said on Tuesday.
• China-Cambodia Golden Dragon 2020 joint exercise kicks off first phase PLA Daily 18 Mar 2020 -- The Golden Dragon 2020 China-Cambodia joint military exercise kicked off its first phase training from March 15, local time.
• Shrugging Off COVID-19 Fears, China & Cambodia Hold Joint Military Drills VOA 18 Mar 2020 -- China and Cambodia bucked the global trend of event cancellations this week by starting joint military exercises as a way to show the world they're over the coronavirus outbreak and getting friendlier despite apprehension in other countries.
• Agreement with USA for Supply of Arms India PIB 18 Mar 2020 -- One contract and two Letters of Offer and Acceptance (LOAs) have been concluded with the US side for procurement of Helicopters and Self Protection Suite. The delivery of the helicopters will commence from May, 2021.
• Import of Defence Equipment India PIB 18 Mar 2020 -- An amount of Rs. 45,705.57 crore has been spent on the import of Defence equipment during the year 2018-19. Percentage of Defence Budget (Defence Services Estimates) spent for the financial year 2018-19 on salaries is 46.10% and on Defence Research & Development Organisation (excluding Salaries) is 4.42%.

Defense Industry

• Contracts For March 18, 2020

Other Conflicts

• 18 March 2020 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 18 Mar 2020
• Yemeni forces fully liberate northern province of Jawf, turning the tide of conflict: Army spox Press TV 18 Mar 2020 -- The spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces says the country's troops, supported by allied fighters from Popular Committees, have managed to seize full control over the country's northern province of al-Jawf from Saudi-sponsored militiamen loyal to former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
• More than 20 Houthis, including a leader, were killed and others wounded in Yemeni governorate of Ma'rib SPA 18 Mar 2020 -- More than 20 Houthi elements were killed and others wounded today by the fire of the Yemeni National Army in the Sarwah Front, west of the Yemeni province of Ma'rib.
• Pakistan: Firefight Near Afghan Border Kills 4 Troops, 7 'Terrorists' VOA 18 Mar 2020 -- Pakistan said Wednesday a counterterrorism military raid near the border with Afghanistan has killed at least four soldiers, including an officer, and seven "terrorists."
• Women plough the way to peace in South Sudan resettlement project UN News 18 Mar 2020 -- Women who had been displaced by fighting in South Sudan are sowing seeds of peace, with support from the UN mission in the country, UNMISS.
• Fifty Boko Haram Militants Killed in Niger SPA 18 Mar 2020 -- Fifty fighters from Boko Haram were killed in an overnight clash in the south-east of Niger, the government said.
• U.S. Senator Criticizes Russia For Rights Abuses in 'Occcupied Crimea' RFE/RL 18 Mar 2020 -- U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (Democrat-New Jersey) has criticized Russia for what he called "serious human rights" abuses in Crimea during the six years since Russia's "illegal occupation and annexation" of the peninsula from Ukraine.

News Reports

• Former Top Moscow Investigator Sentenced For Accepting Bribe From Crime Boss RFE/RL 18 Mar 2020 -- The former head of the Moscow branch of Russia's Investigative Committee, Aleksandr Drymanov, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for accepting a bribe from a notorious crime boss.
• Coronavirus Fears Aside, Putin Pushes to Expand Power VOA 18 Mar 2020 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated a nationwide vote on constitutional amendments that would open the door to extending his power might face delays because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, which has affected Russia little but ravaged other parts of the globe.
• Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang's Regular Press Conference on March 18, 2020 PRC MofA 18 Mar 2020
• China takes countermeasures against restrictive measures on Chinese media agencies in U.S. People's Daily 18 Mar 2020 -- China on Wednesday announced countermeasures against restrictive measures on Chinese media agencies in the United States, according to an official statement.
• China to expel US journalists in tit-for-tat move Press TV 18 Mar 2020 -- The Chinese government has announced plans to expel China-based American journalists with three major US newspapers in a tit-for-tat move after Washington's decision earlier this month to limit the number of Chinese journalists in the US.
• Outcry as 13 U.S. Journalists Face 'Imminent Banishment' From China Radio Free Asia 18 Mar 2020 -- China is getting ready to expel at least 13 U.S. news correspondents working in the country amid growing bilateral tensions with Washington over press freedom and visas for journalists.
• US-China Ties Further Tested After Journalists' Expulsion Amid COVID-19 Outbreak VOA 18 Mar 2020 -- The United States is pushing back on China's actions to expel American journalists, a move that officials and observers said "serves no good purpose" at a time when the world is dealing with the "extraordinary international uncertainty" about the spread of COVID-19.
• Ayatollah Khamenei pardons, commutes prisoners' sentences amid coronavirus outbreak Press TV 18 Mar 2020 -- Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has agreed to a request by Iran's Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raeisi to pardon or commute the sentences of a number of prisoners amid the outbreak of a new coronavirus in the country.
• US imposes fresh sanctions on Iran amid coronavirus outbreak Press TV 18 Mar 2020 -- The United States has announced a new round of sanctions against Iran as part of its so-called "maximum pressure" campaign against the Islamic Republic.
• U.S. Imposes Sanctions On Chinese, South African Firms Over Iran Deals RFE/RL 18 Mar 2020 -- The United States has imposed sanctions on nine companies and three individuals for allegedly doing business with Iran's petrochemical industry.
• Further Sanctions on Entities Trading in or Transporting Iranian Petrochemicals US Dept. of State 18 Mar 2020 -- Yesterday, the U.S. Department of State sanctioned nine entities and three individuals who have engaged in activity that could enable the Iranian regime's violent behavior.
• Constraining Iranian Nuclear Scientists US Dept. of State 18 Mar 2020 -- On March 16, in response to the Iranian regime's unacceptable nuclear escalations, the Department of Commerce is imposing restrictions on five Iranian nuclear scientists by adding them to the Department of Commerce's Entity List. These
• Iranian National Extradited To U.S. For Allegedly Exporting Military Items RFE/RL 18 Mar 2020 -- An Iranian national arrived in Texas on March 14 from Georgia as part of an extradition procedure for allegedly exporting sensitive military equipment from the United States to Iran, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release on March 17.
• Iraq's PM-designate vows to prepare free, fair elections within a year Press TV 18 Mar 2020 -- Adnan al-Zurfi, who has been designated by President Barham Salih as Iraq's prime minister, says his top priority is to set the stage for the holding of free and untainted parliamentary elections within a year from forming the next government.
• Gulnara Karimova Sentenced Again For Corruption, Financial Crimes RFE/RL 18 Mar 2020 -- Gulnara Karimova, the imprisoned elder daughter of the late Uzbek President Islam Karimov, has received an additional 13 years and four months in prison in the latest court ruling against her and her former associates.