Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Afghan Officials Hold First Prisoner-Swap Talks With Taliban, U.S. Envoy Says RFE/RL 22 Mar 2020 -- The Afghan government has held its first talks with the Taliban about a prisoner swap, the U.S. envoy to the war-torn country has said.
• US Envoy Says Afghan Government, Taliban Discussed Prisoners Swap Via Video Conference Sputnik 22 Mar 2020 -- The Afghan government and the radical Taliban* movement have discussed the exchange of prisoners in a rare video call format to pave the way for a broader peace agenda, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said.

Defense Policy / Programs

• USAFE supports Italy COVID-19 response US Air Force 22 Mar 2020 -- In response to the ongoing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, an 86th Airlift Wing C-130J Super Hercules out of Ramstein Air Base, Germany, transported an En-Route Patient Staging System (ERPSS) to Aviano Air Base, Italy, for delivery to the Italian Ministry of Defense. This mobile, or fixed system, provides 10 patient holding/staging beds and can support a maximum throughput of 40 patients in a 24-hour period.
• Combined arms battalion becomes basic combat unit of PLA Global Times 22 Mar 2020 -- The powerful combined arms battalion, each one including almost all types of basic military arms and professions, has now become a basic combat unit of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), enabling the service to react much more quickly in the fast-paced dynamic of modern warfare, gaining more advantages, experts said on Sunday.
• Top DPRK leader observes demonstration firing of tactical guided weapon People's Daily 22 Mar 2020 -- Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), observed the demonstration firing of tactical guided weapon on Saturday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Sunday.
• 'New Tactical Guided Missiles' Tested in North Korea's Recent Launch - Report Sputnik 22 Mar 2020 -- The recent launches by North Korea were tests of new tactical guided missiles that are expected to make an "epochal" change to the country's defen?e strategy, North Korean media reported.

Defense Industry

• Russian Arms Exports in 2019 Surpassed $15.2 Billion Sputnik 22 Mar 2020 -- Russia exported arms worth more than $15.2 billion in 2019, to around 50 different countries, Russian Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin said.

Other Conflicts

• Yemeni air defense deters Saudi-led jets from striking areas in Ma'rib Press TV 22 Mar 2020 -- Yemeni air defense units have thwarted a Saudi airstrike against strategic and residential areas in the central province of Ma'rib, says the spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree.
• UAE-, Saudi-backed militants clash in Yemen's Aden again Press TV 22 Mar 2020 -- Yemen’s port city of Aden has been rocked by violent clashes between UAE-backed separatists and Saudi-backed militants, amid a deepening rift within the Riyadh-led military coalition waging war on the impoverished Arab nation.

News Reports

• Kim Yo Jong, First Vice Department Director of WPK Central Committee, Issues Statement KCNA 22 Mar 2020 -- Kim Yo Jong, first vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, issued the following statement Sunday:
• Supreme Leader: US officials are charlatans and terrorists IRNA 22 Mar 2020 -- The Supreme Leader of the Islamic revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that no wise person could ever think of accepting aid offers from the US which is accused of engineering the coronavirus.
• Iran Doubts US Aid Amid Pandemic, Suspects Their Involvement in Virus Spread - Supreme Leader Sputnik 22 Mar 2020 -- According to the head of state, Washington has offered to help Tehran fight the coronavirus outbreak. At the same time, the United States stated this week that there will be no sanctions relief for Iran, despite calls to ease the pressure amid the coronavirus pandemic.
• France's Unilateral Release of Iranian National Jalal Rohollahnejad US Dept. of State 22 Mar 2020 -- "The United States deeply regrets France’s unilateral decision to release Iranian national Jalal Rohollahnejad from its custody. Rohollahnejad was the subject of a U.S. extradition request."
• Former Detainees In Prisoner Swap Return To France, Iran RFE/RL 22 Mar 2020 -- Two former detainees released in a prisoner swap between France and Iran have returned to their home countries after each having spent months in confinement.
• Zelenskiy, IMF Director Hold Talks On Greater Financial Support Amid COVID-19 Crisis RFE/RL 22 Mar 2020 -- Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva about greater financial support as the eastern European country faces a possible crisis due to the coronavirus.
• Out Went The Cabinet, In Came The Coronavirus: Pressure Mounts For Reforms In Ukraine RFE/RL 22 Mar 2020 -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had the wind at his back last year.