Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Islamic State Attack on Afghan Prison Lasts 20 Hours, Kills 29 VOA 03 Aug 2020 -- A deadly Islamic State attack on a prison in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad has left at least 29 people dead and around 50 others wounded, including prisoners and security personnel. Authorities say the attack by the local IS chapter went well into Monday afternoon after starting more than 20 hours earlier.
• Afghan Prison Attack Leaves At Least 39 Dead As Hundreds Of Prisoners Escape RFE/RL 03 Aug 2020 -- An attack by Islamic State (IS) militants on a prison in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar Province has left at least 39 people dead as violence continues in the war-torn nation.
• More than 300 prisoners at large after Daesh attacks prison in Afghanistan's Nangarhar Press TV 03 Aug 2020 -- More than 300 inmates have escaped a prison in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar after Daesh terrorists raided the compound overnight.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Ford Conducts First Air Intercept Control Event US Navy 03 Aug 2020 -- USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) completed an Air Intercept Control (AIC) event on July 30. A first for the crew, this accomplishment was another milestone of Ford's operational progress as she passes the half-way point of her 18-month Post-Delivery Test and Trials (PDT&T).
• Air Force update for COVID-19 US Air Force 03 Aug 2020
• US Defense, Air Force Departments invite hackers to re-imagine how space systems are secured US Air Force 03 Aug 2020 -- The U.S. Department of the Air Force and Department of Defense are changing the way they approach building secure and resilient space systems by inviting the global security research community to hone their space domain hacking skills in an open and collaborative environment.
• SecDef visits B-21 facilities in Florida US Air Force 03 Aug 2020 -- Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark Esper, visited the B-21 Raider design and development headquarters at Northrop Grumman, to witness the progress being made on the nation's most cutting edge dual-capable stealth bomber.
• USNS Newport Completes Integrated Sea Trials US Navy 03 Aug 2020 -- The U.S. Navy's twelfth Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) vessel, USNS Newport (EPF 12), successfully competed Integrated Sea Trials, July 30.
• U.S. Navy Conducts Joint Operations with U.S. Air Force in the Black Sea US Navy 03 Aug 2020 -- The Arleigh Burke class, guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78), a P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) from Patrol Squadron VP-47, four F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 31st Fighter Wing, Aviano Air Base, Italy, KC-135 Stratotankers from the 100th Air Refueling Wing, Mildenhall, England, and an MQ-9 Reaper assigned to the 52nd Expeditionary Operations Group Detachment 2, Miroslawiec Air Base, Poland, conducted a joint training mission in the Black Sea, Aug. 2, 2020.
• USS Porter Departs the Black Sea US Navy 03 Aug 2020 -- The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) began its southbound transit from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, Aug. 3, 2020, after conducting maritime security operations in the region.
• HMS Montrose Patrolling the IRTC for Maritime Security CENTCOM 03 Aug 2020 -- HMS Montrose, a Coalition Task Force (CTF) SENTINEL warship, has been patrolling the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the Gulf of Aden.
• Secretary of Defense Statement on Completion of the U.S.-Poland Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement Negotiations DoD 03 Aug 2020 -- The United States and Poland have completed negotiations on the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), building on our existing security cooperation and cementing our long-standing defense partnership.
• Esper Praises Outgoing National Guard Chief, Welcomes Incoming Chief DoD News 03 Aug 2020 -- Over the last few years, some 450,000 National Guardsmen have responded to unprecedented crises both home and abroad, ranging from devastating hurricanes, wildfires, volcanic eruptions and historic flooding to the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest, Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper said.
• Army Eyes Joint Force Solution, Closer Allies to Win in Indo-Pacific DoD News 03 Aug 2020 -- The Army's chief of staff discussed how to win in great power competition within the Indo-Pacific region after he traveled there to meet with military leaders.
• Task force US Marines land in Honduras USMC News 03 Aug 2020 -- Approximately 20 U.S. Marines with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Southern Command arrived to Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, July 31, 2020.
• Space Force Chief: DOD Must Work to Ensure Strong Space Industrial Base DoD News 03 Aug 2020 -- A secure, stable and accessible space domain is of vital interest to the United States. However, leadership in space is not a right, and nations such as Russia and China are racing to catch up to Defense Department capabilities and deny the benefits from this domain, the Space Force's top leader said.
• Central Military Commission urges study of third volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" PLA Daily 03 Aug 2020 -- The general office of the Central Military Commission has issued a circular requiring the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the People's Armed Police Force (PAP) to earnestly study the newly published third volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China."
• Building stronger defense crucial goal PLA Daily 03 Aug 2020 -- China should advance modernization of its national defense and armed forces in order to build a strong country, said Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.
• Military honing its capability to triumph in battle PLA Daily 03 Aug 2020 -- During a joint battle drill taking place during summer in a coastal area of Guangdong province, soldiers from the sixth company of the 74th Army Group of the People's Liberation Army faced a strong opposing force made up of a joint amphibious brigade.
• Chinese military: on guard for peace PLA Daily 03 Aug 2020 -- On Aug. 1, 1927, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China was born out of a mission to seek national independence and liberation of the Chinese people.
• Moments from strengthening Chinese military PLA Daily 03 Aug 2020 -- China's Army Day falls on Aug. 1. As the top commander, President Xi Jinping has been leading efforts to modernize national defense and the armed forces, and turn the People's Liberation Army (PLA) into world-class forces.
• MoD releases draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020 India PIB 03 Aug 2020 -- In order to provide impetus to self-reliance in defence manufacturing, multiple announcements were made under 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Package'.
• Mossad Budget Breaks All Limits as IDF Struggles to Keep Its Weapons Programmes Sputnik 03 Aug 2020 -- The military has been forced to make tough choices on which programmes should be slashed in order to keep others, while the country's powerful spy agency has seemingly ignored the issue of its extensive spending.

Defense Industry

• Contracts For Aug. 3, 2020

Other Conflicts

• 3 August 2020 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 03 Aug 2020
• China Warships, Fighter Jets Deployed in Spratly Islands Radio Free Asia 03 Aug 2020 -- China has deployed warships and sent fighter jets on a long-haul flight to bases it occupies in the disputed Spratly island chain, according to satellite imagery and state media, in the latest show of Chinese military strength in the South China Sea.
• Chinese military expert says Kyodo misinterprets his words over Dongsha Islands drill Global Times 03 Aug 2020 -- A Chinese professor said his words have been misinterpreted after Japanese media quoted his article and wrongly inferred that the Chinese mainland "is expected to carry out a large-scale landing drill" aimed at seizing the Taiwan-controlled Dongsha Islands in the South China Sea in August.
• Syrian air defenses respond to fresh Israeli aggression Press TV 03 Aug 2020 -- The Syrian air defenses have responded to the Israeli military's Monday night aggression against the Arab country's army positions, state media reports.
• Syrian Air Force jets destroy major militant weapons cache in northern Idlib Press TV 03 Aug 2020 -- Syrian Air Force fighter jets have reportedly targeted and completely destroyed a major cache containing various types of munitions belonging to foreign-sponsored Takfiri terrorists during an operation in the country's northwestern province of Idlib.
• Syrian Air Defenses Intercept 'Hostile' Targets Over Damascus, IDF Confirms Multiple Strikes Sputnik 03 Aug 2020 -- Syrian air defenses intercepted "hostile" targets late Monday over the capital city of Damascus following airstrikes by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), according to state media reports from the Syrian Arab News Agency.
• Syrian Army Repels Militants' Attack in Idlib, Suffers Losses - Russian Military Sputnik 03 Aug 2020 -- Militants tried to break through the positions of the Syrian army in the area of the village of Hamrat in Idlib de-escalation zone, the head of the Russian centre for Syrian reconciliation, Rear Adm. Alexander Shcherbitsky, said at a daily briefing on Monday.
• Turkey says oil deal between SDF, US firm amounts to 'financing of terrorism' Press TV 03 Aug 2020 -- Turkey has denounced a deal recently signed between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and an American company aimed at stealing oil in northeastern Syria, describing it as equivalent to 'financing of terrorism'.
• Israeli military says killed four people at Syria border Press TV 03 Aug 2020 -- The Israeli military says it killed four men near the border between the occupied Palestinian territories and Syria, claiming that they were planting explosives.
• Two Rockets Land Near Iraq's Taji Military Base Hosting US Troops, Reports Say Sputnik 03 Aug 2020 -- Two rockets fell in the vicinity of Iraq's Taji military base, which is located north of the Baghdad capital and hosts US-led coalition troops, but did not explode, Al Sumaria broadcaster reported on Monday.
• Six years after genocide, international community must prioritize justice for Yazidi community UN News 03 Aug 2020 -- Six years after ISIL launched a genocidal campaign against the Yazidi religious minority in Iraq, the international community must live up to its promise to deliver justice, survivor and Nobel Peace Laureate Nadia Murad told a virtual event on Monday marking the anniversary.
• Fear of Instability Behind Egypt's Readiness to Send Troops to Libya, Experts Say VOA 02 Aug 2020 -- Libya's civil war and its role in regional stability have become more uncertain since June 20 when the Egyptian parliament authorized its troops to cross the border to help the forces of General Khalifa Haftar against Turkey-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).
• PLO asks Europe to show decisive action against Israeli settlement expansion activities Press TV 03 Aug 2020 -- The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has called on Europe to take practical measures to prevent the Israeli regime from advancing its plans to build hundreds of new illegal settler units in the strategically sensitive E1 region of the occupied West Bank.
• Israeli warplanes launch fresh air raids in Gaza Strip Press TV 03 Aug 2020 -- Israel warplanes have launched new airstrikes against the positions of the Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas in the central parts of the besieged Gaza strip.
• Civilians Say Cameroon Government Undermines War Against Boko Haram VOA 03 Aug 2020 -- There are growing concerns among Cameroonians that their government and military are undermining the war against Boko Haram terrorists in the northern part of the country. Civilians and experts have criticized authorities' handling of the threat after a suspected Boko Haram militant attack on Sunday killed 17 people and wounded six others in a camp for displaced people. Cameroon's military rejects the criticism but admits that the Nigeria-based terrorist group is increasing the frequency of its attacks.
• Attacks, Abuses On the Rise in Africa's Sahel Region VOA 03 Aug 2020 -- While global attention remains centered on the coronavirus, a U.S. special envoy is sounding the alarm about crises in Africa's Sahel region, especially the political unrest in Mali, and the growing number of alleged human rights violations and abuses in the troubled region.

News Reports

• Portland Riots Read-out: August 3 DHS 03 Aug 2020
• Statement of Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers on the Public Release of the Department's Findings with Respect to the 29 FISA Applications that Were the Subject of the March 2020 OIG Preliminary Report US Dept. of Justice 03 Aug 2020
• Mexico Arrests Violent Gang Leader VOA 03 Aug 2020 -- Mexican police and armed forces arrested the leader of the violent Santa Rosa de Lima gang who have terrorized the north-central region of the country.
• Report: Russians Suspected Of Hacking Former U.K. Trade Minister's E-Mail Ahead Of Elections RFE/RL 03 Aug 2020 -- Russians are suspected of hacking into a former British trade minister's e-mail and leaking classified U.S.-U.K. trade documents ahead of Britain's 2019 elections, Reuters reported on August 3.
• Japan happy to join Five Eyes Global Times 03 Aug 2020 -- Tokyo would welcome an invitation to join the Five Eyes (FVEY) intelligence alliance, Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono was quoted as saying, raising eyebrows from its neighbor China.
• Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on August 3, 2020 PRC MofA 03 Aug 2020
• Hong Kong Lawyers Warn of 'Grave Concern' Over Postponement of Election Radio Free Asia 03 Aug 2020 -- Lawyers in Hong Kong have hit out at the decision by the city's leaders to postpone Legislative Council (LegCo) elections for one year, saying they have "grave concern" that the move wasn't even legal.
• China suspends HKSAR legal assistance treaties with New Zealand Global Times 03 Aug 2020 -- China said it would suspend the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)'s extradition and legal assistance treaties with New Zealand, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced Monday. Analysts noted New Zealand should refrain from making a bad move, like meddling in Hong Kong affairs, to ruin the prospects of China-NZ relations despite pressure from Australia and the US.
• China suspends HKSAR legal assistance agreement with New Zealand: FM Global Times 03 Aug 2020 -- China has decided to suspend the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)'s extradition treaty and agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters with New Zealand as New Zealand has politicized judicial cooperation and interfered in China's internal affairs by suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press briefing on Monday.
• China suspends extradition treaty with New Zealand Press TV 03 Aug 2020 -- China has suspended its extradition agreement with New Zealand in response to Wellington suspending its existing extradition treaty with Hong Kong.
• Trump Gives Microsoft 45 Days to Seal TikTok Deal VOA 03 Aug 2020 -- The Chinese-owned social media app TikTok "is going to be out of business in the United States" on Sept. 15, unless Microsoft or another U.S. company concludes a purchase deal that satisfies the U.S. government, President Donald Trump said on Monday.
• US 'robbery' of TikTok angers Chinese hi-tech companies Global Times 03 Aug 2020 -- Chinese tech companies entangled in the ever increasingly nasty crackdown waged by the US' Trump administration are mulling to act proactively, the Global Times learnt, with public anger growing on both sides of the Pacific, as the drama of the US forcing the sale of the hugely popular Chinese short-form video platform TikTok morphed one step closer to daylight robbery over the weekend.
• Uyghur Women, Rarely Informed About Forced Birth Control Procedures, Suffer Lifelong Complications Radio Free Asia 03 Aug 2020 -- Uyghur women who are forced to undergo birth control procedures in northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) are rarely informed about their side effects, and regularly experience lifelong health complications they believe are related to the surgeries, according to sources in exile.
• Former head of State Information Center expelled from CPC and dismissed from office Global Times 03 Aug 2020 -- Ma Zhongyu, former deputy chief of China's State Information Center, has been expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and removed from his post for bribery and privately keeping confidential materials, the country's top anti-graft government body said on Monday.
• Voting with Their Feet: Children of High-Level CCP Officials Choose to Live Abroad VOA 03 Aug 2020 -- A recent article by an outspoken Chinese sociologist has gone viral on Beijing's tightly-controlled social media, sparking debates about the children of China's privileged class who choose to live overseas.
• Key components of China's navigation satellite system BDS-3 100% domestic Global Times 03 Aug 2020 -- All key components of the Beidou-3 satellite are 100 percent made-in-China, showing the country's ambitions in independently controllable technology breakthroughs.
• Beidou satellites to stay ahead of game PLA Daily 03 Aug 2020 -- Designers of China's Beidou Navigation Satellite System will keep upgrading software on Beidou satellites to improve their capabilities and maintain technological advantages, according to a key figure in this program.
• Taiwan mum on Somaliland's possible recognition of Taiwan CNA 03 Aug 2020 -- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Monday declined to comment on a report by the Somaliland Chronicle that the self-declared East African state is preparing to recognize Taiwan.
• Why US Lawmakers Introduce Bill After Bill to Help Taiwan VOA 03 Aug 2020 -- American lawmakers have introduced a flurry of bills in the past two years to improve Taiwan's defenses and raise its international exposure as legislators backed by President Donald Trump step up resistance against China, an old rival of Taipei, analysts say.
• North Korea Sends Special Forces to Ryanggang Province Border With China Radio Free Asia 03 Aug 2020 -- North Korea has deployed 1,500 elite special forces soldiers to the Sino-Korean border area of northern Ryanggang province to target corruption and smuggling while preventing citizens from escaping to China, sources in the region told RFA.
• Plan To Build 'National Museum' In Khomeini's Mausoleum Sets Up Scene For Personality Cult Radio Farda 03 Aug 2020 -- Brief and cryptic reports were published in Iranian media August 3 about plans to establish a second branch of the national museum in the basement of the mausoleum of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini. The plan may reflect an attempt to set up the scene for a personality cult.
• Former Minister's Son-In-Law On Trial For Corruption Flees Iran Radio Farda 03 Aug 2020 -- The son-in-law of former industries minister who was on trial in a 6.6 billion euro corruption case has used a "different passport" to flee the country, a judge announced in court on Monday.
• Jamshid Sharmahd's first confession after his arrest IRNA 03 Aug 2020 -- Jamshid Sharmahd's first confession following his arrest was released.
• Big powers' miscalculations root cause of surge in extremism in West Asia: Iran FM Press TV 03 Aug 2020 -- Iran's foreign minister says miscalculations and major mistakes made by the world's big powers over the past decades are the main cause of the surge in extremism in the West Asia region.
• Iran sanctions former aide to John Bolton ISNA 03 Aug 2020 -- Iran's Foreign Ministry imposed sanctions on Richard Goldberg, a member of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD) and a former aide to former US National Security Adviser John Bolton.
• Riled up Pompeo slams Iran-China deal, threatens with sanctions Press TV 03 Aug 2020 -- The US administration, riled up by a potential long-term strategic partnership between Iran and China, has threatened to slap the same unilateral sanctions already imposed on Tehran against Beijing in case the deal was finalized.
• Pompeo Says Iran Sanctions To Be Applied To China If $400 Billion Trade Deal Signed Radio Farda 03 Aug 2020 -- Referring to a $400 billion 25-year trade deal between Iran and China U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on August 2 said the United States will apply all Iran sanctions also to the "Chinese Communist Party and their businesses and state-owned enterprises".
• Iran's petrochemical income rises 80% IRNA 03 Aug 2020 -- CEO of Iran's National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Behzad Mohammadi said on Monday that the revenue has increased by 80% in the new Iranian year (started March 20).
• Iran reaching full penetration rate for natural gas: Minister Press TV 03 Aug 2020 -- Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh says the country will reach almost a full natural gas penetration rate next summer.
• Iranian Workers Strike In Different Sectors, Notably Oil And Gas Radio Farda 02 Aug 2020 -- A wave of labor strikes has hit Iran on Saturday, August 1 in different sectors and plants, including Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane industrial complex, and more importantly in the oil and gas industry.
• Strikes In Iran's Oil Sector Continue And Expand To Other Industries Radio Farda 03 Aug 2020 -- Workers in various industrial sectors in Iran, including oil, gas and petrochemical industries, continued their strikes on Sunday and Monday, amid worsening economic condition and high inflation.
• Iran resumes electricity exports to Afghanistan after brief halt Press TV 03 Aug 2020 -- A spokesman of the Iranian Energy Ministry says electricity exports to neighboring Afghanistan has resumed following a brief halt caused by a suspected attack on transmission lines.
• Iran And South Korea Agree On More Humanitarian Trade Radio Farda 03 Aug 2020 -- South Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran have agreed to establish a working group on expanding humanitarian trade as part of efforts to maintain bilateral partnership within the scope of a U.S.-approved sanctions exemption, a South Korean source close to the matter said Sunday, August 2.
• Ayatollah Who Voted For Khamenei In 1989 Says He Was The Only Choice Radio Farda 03 Aug 2020 -- Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani, a former Friday Prayer Imam and a member of the Assembly of Experts says Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was the only choice for the Islamic Republic's next leader when Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeyni died in June 1989.
• Belarus's Rubber-Stamp Parliament Opens Session Called By President Ahead Of Election RFE/RL 03 Aug 2020 -- An extraordinary parliamentary session called by authoritarian Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has started in Minsk, just days ahead of an August 9 presidential poll.
• 'We Love, We Can, We'll Win': Belarusian Opposition Candidate Tsikhanouskaya Rallies Thousands Ahead Of Presidential Vote RFE/RL 03 Aug 2020 -- An estimated 20,000 people attended a sprawling rally for Belrusian opposition candidate Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya one week ahead of the country's presidential vote.
• China aids construction of Pakistan's 'Three Gorges Dam' despite pandemic Global Times 03 Aug 2020 -- Despite the novel coronavirus pandemic, China and Pakistan are stepping up efforts on committed projects focusing on cooperation in industrial development, agriculture and the improvement of people's livelihoods. The Diamer-Bhasha Dam and Power Project, nicknamed the "Three Gorges Project" by the Pakistani people, joins a long list of bilateral cooperation efforts between the two countries.
• Lebanese Foreign Minister Resigns VOA 03 Aug 2020 -- Lebanon's foreign minister has resigned.
• Lebanon appoints president's diplomatic advisor as new foreign minister Press TV 03 Aug 2020 -- Lebanon has appointed the diplomatic advisor of President Michel Aoun as the country's new foreign minister, hours after Nassif Hitti surprisingly stepped down from the position in protest at the government's mishandling of a spiraling economic crisis.
• Lebanon's foreign minister resigns amid economic crisis Press TV 03 Aug 2020 -- Lebanon's Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti has submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Hassan Diab in protest at what he described as the government's mishandling of the financial crisis.
• Lebanese foreign minister quits, Aoun adviser takes over SPA 03 Aug 2020 -- Lebanon named the president's diplomatic adviser as new foreign minister on Monday after Nassif Hitti quit the post.
• US-backed opposition parties pledge to boycott Venezuela's December election Press TV 03 Aug 2020 -- Venezuela's opposition parties spearheaded by US-backed opposition figure Juan Guaido say they will not partake in the upcoming parliamentary elections in December, once again making claims of electoral fraud dating back to the 2018 vote for democratically-elected President Nicolas Maduro.
• Venezuelan FM Says Ready to Resume Talks With Guyana to Resolve Essequibo Dispute Sputnik 03 Aug 2020 -- Venezuela says it hopes to resume dialogue on the disputed Essequibo region with Guyana's new government as soon as possible, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said in a statement.
• Cambodian Civil Society Groups Demand Release of Union Leader Charged With 'Incitement' Radio Free Asia 03 Aug 2020 -- Scores of civil society groups in Cambodia on Monday condemned the arrest of union leader Rong Chhun, demanding that the government release him and drop charges of "incitement" he faces over his criticism of the country's handling of a border dispute with Vietnam.
• Serbian Parliament Sworn In After Election Largely Boycotted By Opposition RFE/RL 03 Aug 2020 -- Serbia's newly elected parliament was sworn in on August 3 in Belgrade amid a noisy protest in front of the parliament building and claims that the election that put them into power was rigged.
• Mali Opposition Plans More Protests to Demand President's Ouster VOA 03 Aug 2020 -- Protesters in Mali are planning to go to the streets again this week as opponents continue to demand the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. Tensions are growing after the opposition in Mali rejected a plan by West African leaders to end the country's political crisis.