Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Taliban return to Doha to begin intra-Afghan talks Press TV 05 Sep 2020 -- A senior Taliban delegation has returned to the Qatari capital of Doha, paving the way for the beginning of peace talks between the Afghan government and the militant group.
• Khalilzad Departs For Qatar, As Afghan Government, Taliban Express Readiness For Talks RFE/RL 05 Sep 2020 -- The U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, has departed for Qatar, as both the Afghan government and the Taliban expressed their readiness to start peace talks.
• Taliban Name Cleric as Chief Negotiator for Afghan Peace Talks VOA 05 Sep 2020 -- Afghanistan's warring factions are set to begin their first direct peace talks early next week in Qatar amid U.S.-led international calls for them to seize the "historic opportunity" to end the country's long war.
• Rescues and wildfires: National Guard responds on West Coast Army News 05 Sep 2020 -- Rescue missions and support to civil authorities fighting wildfires were the focus of West Coast troop visits by the National Guard's highest-ranking general and his senior enlisted advisor this week.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Special Tactics unit surpasses 6,900 days combating war in Middle East US Air Force 05 Sep 2020 -- In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks which marked the beginning of the Global War on Terrorism, U.S. service members saw an increased spike in deployments that has ultimately sustained its high tempo for nearly two decades.
• HSM-70, Gerald R. Ford Conduct Flight Operations In Port US Navy 05 Sep 2020 -- Sailors assigned to USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 70 worked together to land four MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopters on Ford's flight deck while the ship was moored at Naval Station Norfolk, Aug. 30.
• Navy Awards Studies Contracts for Large Unmanned Surface Vessel US Navy 05 Sep 2020 -- The Navy has awarded contracts totaling $41,985,112 to six companies for Large Unmanned Surface Vessel (LUSV) studies. Each contract includes an option for engineering support that if exercised would bring the cumulative value for all awards to $59,476,146.
• U.S. B-52 Bombers Complete Training Mission In Ukrainian Airspace RFE/RL 05 Sep 2020 -- Three U.S. B-52 strategic bombers have completed a training flight in Ukrainian airspace, according to a statement by U.S. Air Force command in Europe.
• Russia Not Interested in Arms Race, Defence Minister Says Sputnik 05 Sep 2020 -- According to the Russian military, NATO has increased its aerial surveillance efforts near the Russian border by 30 percent compared to the previous year.
• Russia's MiG-31 Scrambled to Intercept Norwegian Air Force Plane Over Barents Sea, MoD Says Sputnik 05 Sep 2020 -- A Russian fighter jet MiG-31 was scrambled to intercept a Royal Norwegian Air Force aircraft over the Barents Sea, the Russian Defence Ministry's National Defence Control Centre said on Saturday.
• 8 Russian fighters intercept U.S. bombers over Black Sea, Sea of Azov People's Daily 05 Sep 2020 -- Eight Russian fighter jets intercepted three U.S. strategic bombers over the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov on Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
• Army engineers train with new amphibious bridging vehicle PLA Daily 05 Sep 2020 -- An engineering unit attached to a combined arms brigade of the PLA 78th Group Army conducted in mid August the first field training of the new amphibious bridging vehicle. This new equipment will make the engineer troops more capable in performing the river-crossing support tasks.
• Iran eyes military exports as arms embargo expires: Defense Minister Press TV 05 Sep 2020 -- Iran's defense minister has said that the country eyes arms sales as UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic expire in October.
• Defense Minister Says Iran To Export Weapons When Embargo Lifted Radio Farda 05 Sep 2020 -- Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier-General Amir Hatami has said that lifting the arms embargo on Iran, which is due to happen in October, will allow Iran to "export more defense products".
• Iran to Export 'More Military Hardware' After Arms Embargo Expiration, Defence Minister Says Sputnik 05 Sep 2020 -- In mid-August, the UN Security Council rejected a draft resolution submitted by Washington to indefinitely extend the arms embargo against Tehran, something that was originally envisioned by the 2015 Iran nuclear deal ahead of its expiration in October.
• Turkey, Northern Cyprus to Hold Military Drills Amid Tensions in Mediterranean Sputnik 05 Sep 2020 -- Turkey and the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will hold annual five-day military exercises starting from Sunday amid Ankara-Athens tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, the Turkish Defence Ministry said on Saturday.
• Cyprus-based RAF jets deployed against Russian air force Press TV 05 Sep 2020 -- Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter jets based in Cyprus are conducting surveillance and countering missions against the Russian air force – and other military assets – over the Black Sea region.
• Feeling the Crunch: Will Britain Say Goodbye to the Battle Tank? VOA 05 Sep 2020 -- On the morning of September 15, 1916, during the battle of the Somme, one of the world's deadliest engagements, German soldiers were shocked to find themselves confronting the first ever deployed combat tanks.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• US deliberately stirs up trouble in S. China Sea: Chinese vice FM Global Times 05 Sep 2020 -- Chinese vice foreign minister Luo Zhaohui said the US deliberately stirred up trouble in the South China Sea and stands in the way of peace and stability in regions, calling on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to work together with China to safeguard regional peace, stability and promote free trade and multilateralism.
• Joint Forces Command of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen: Interception and Destruction of A Bomb-Laden (UAV) in Yemeni Airspace Launched by Terrorist, Iran-Backed Houthi Militia SPA 05 Sep 2020 -- A statement by the Official Spokesman of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen COL Turki Al-Malki stated that the "Joint Coalition forces intercepted and destroyed this evening (Friday) a bomb-laden UAV while in Yemeni airspace, which was launched by the terrorist, Iran-backed Houthi militia towards the Kingdom to deliberately and systematically target civilians and civilian objects."
• Militants Shell Settlements in Syria's Latakia, Aleppo Provinces, Russian Military Says Sputnik 05 Sep 2020 -- The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* terrorist group shelled settlements in the Syrian provinces of Latakia and Aleppo, the deputy head of the Russian Defence Ministry's Centre for Syrian Reconciliation, Rear Admiral Alexander Grinkevich, said on Saturday.
• Update: Chinese, Indian defense ministers meet in Moscow Global Times 05 Sep 2020 -- The defense ministers of China and India reportedly met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in Moscow, Russia on Friday. Experts said the meeting serves as an opportunity for the two sides to exchange ideas on the current border tensions and avoid more fierce confrontations due to miscalculations.
• Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh meets Chinese Defence Minister at latter's request on the sidelines of SCO meeting in Moscow India PIB 05 Sep 2020 -- Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh met General Wei Fenghe, State Councillor and Defence Minister of China on 4th September in Moscow on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting. The two Ministers had frank and in-depth discussions about the developments in the India-China border areas as well as on India-China relations.
• Chinese, Indian defense ministers discuss border tension in Moscow PLA Daily 05 Sep 2020 -- Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe on Friday met with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh and urged the Indian side to jointly ease tensions and safeguard the peace and stability of the China-Indian border.
• Chinese Defence Ministry Says India Responsible for Escalation of Border Tensions Sputnik 05 Sep 2020 -- Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe told his Indian counterpart, Rajnath Singh, that New Delhi is fully responsible for the escalation of tensions in the border area.
• Two French Military Personnel Killed in Operation in Mali Sputnik 05 Sep 2020 -- The two soldiers were killed after their armored vehicle was stricken by an improvised explosive device, the Elysee Palace said in a statement on Saturday evening. According to the statement, a third serviceman was injured in the blast.

News Reports

• Russia's Khabarovsk Continues Protests To Support Arrested Former Governor RFE/RL 05 Sep 2020 -- Hundreds of locals in the Far Eastern Russian city of Khabarovsk have taken to the streets for the 57th consecutive day to protest the arrest in July of the region's popular former governor.
• Trump Says No Reason To Doubt German Assessment Russian Opposition Leader Poisoned RFE/RL 05 Sep 2020 -- U.S. President Donald Trump said he has seen "no proof" of Russian state involvement in the poisoning of gravely ill Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny but he has no reason to doubt a German assessment that he was poisoned.
• Germany Expects Russia to Act on Navalny Case in Coming Days, Foreign Minister Says Sputnik 05 Sep 2020 -- Russia should take action with regard to the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny in the next few days or else Germany will resort to discussing an appropriate response with its partners, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said.
• China, Czech Republic at Odds After Czech Officials Visit Taiwan VOA 05 Sep 2020 -- China is warning of retaliation in response to a visit to Taiwan by a Czech Senate delegation, saying Senate President Milos Vystrcil crossed a "red-line" and violated the one-China principle under which Beijing asserts sovereignty over the island.
• North Korea satellite imagery 'suggestive of submarine missile launch' Press TV 05 Sep 2020 -- An American think tank has claimed that satellite imagery of a North Korean shipyard shows activity suggestive of Pyongyang's readiness to test a medium-range submarine-launched ballistic missile.
• Iran Parliament's Economic Committee Chair Says Tehran Stock Exchange Is "Manipulated" Radio Farda 05 Sep 2020 -- Mohammad-Reza Pour-Ebrahimi, the Chairman of the Parliament's Economic Committee, has repeated the allegations that Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) is "manipulated," furthering claims that the government of President Hassan Rouhani has manipulated the market and created a bubble the in TSE to augment its own budget deficit.
• Union Assemblies Decreased in Tehran, Deputy Police Chief Claims Radio Farda 05 Sep 2020 -- Hamid Hodavand, the Deputy Commander of Tehran's Law Enforcement, said that in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (beginning March 20, 2020), the number of union-related assemblies in Tehran dropped by 27 percent, compared with the same period in 2019.
• Divine Intervention? Catholic Church In Belarus Sides With Anti-Lukashenka Protesters RFE/RL 05 Sep 2020 -- As riot police moved in to break up a demonstration in Minsk on August 26 to push demands for the ouster of longtime authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka following his disputed reelection, protesters scrambled.
• Tsikhanouskaya: Protesters Have 'Reached Point Of No Return' RFE/RL 05 Sep 2020 -- Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya says her country is in "deep political crisis," as the government of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka "doesn't listen to its people."
• Lebanon Still Facing Financial Crisis, One Month After Massive Explosion VOA 05 Sep 2020 -- Lebanon is in the throes of its worst financial crisis since its independence in 1943, observers say, and the Beirut port explosion in early August has only compounded its woes. Public debt amounts to more than 150% of GDP and is among the highest in the world. Audits of the central bank are ongoing, but experts say it will be a challenge to get the country's financial house in order
• Lebanese army busts Daesh-linked terror cell plotting attacks Press TV 05 Sep 2020 -- The Lebanese army has dismantled a terrorist cell linked to the Daesh Takfiri group before it could carry out acts of terror in the Arab country.
• Members of Daesh-Linked Terrorist Cell Who Plotted Attacks in Lebanon Arrested Sputnik 05 Sep 2020 -- The Lebanese military intelligence detained members of a terrorist cell, which is linked to Daesh* and planned attacks in the country, the press office of Lebanon's armed forces said on Saturday.
• Family Of Sanctioned Ukrainian Politician Selling Refined Oil To U.S. RFE/RL 05 Sep 2020 -- The family of a sanctioned Ukrainian politician with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin has been selling refined oil products to the United States through an intermediary, the latest example of a Kremlin friend finding legal ways around Washington's financial restrictions.