March 2021 – Washington Institute For Defence & Security

09 Mar 21

NATO Tests Maritime Security Drone

NATO Maritime Air (MARAIR) Operations team carried out a communications test flight with the NATO Alliance Ground System (AGS) during its flight on February 25, 2021. As the AGS was flying over the Central Mediterranean, MARAIR based out of NATO Maritime Command headquarters in Northwood, U.K. was able to establish a communications link to the […]

08 Mar 21

Turkey hires U.S. lobbying firm to return to F-35 jet programme

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey has hired a Washington-based law firm to lobby for its readmission to the U.S. F-35 fighter jet programme after it was suspended over its purchase of Russian air defences, a contract filed with the U.S. Department of Justice showed. Ankara had ordered more than 100 stealth fighters and has been making […]

08 Mar 21

‘The EU cannot defend Europe’: NATO chief

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned Thursday that Europe’s defence depends on close transatlantic bonds and not on a quest for the continent’s strategic autonomy. Most EU member states are also NATO member states, and their citizens’ safety relies on an alliance that far outspends their own capitals on security, he argued. In an interview […]

08 Mar 21

US deploys new defence systems in Syria

Damascus, March 6 (IANS) The US forces have started deploying new defence systems in its bases in northern and eastern Syria to protect against any possible attack by Iran-backed militias, a war monitor reported. In a statement issued on Friday, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that anti-drone air defence systems and surface-to-surface […]

08 Mar 21

India’s S-400 deal with Russia may trigger US sanctions: Congressional Report

WASHINGTON : India’s multi-billion dollar deal to purchase the Russian-made S-400 air defence system may trigger US sanctions on New Delhi, a US Congressional report has warned. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) – an independent and bipartisan research wing of US Congress – in its latest report to Congress, said India is “eager for more technology-sharing […]

08 Mar 21

How Biden’s Experience Could Make or Break His Middle East Policy

by Ahmed Charai – President Joseph R. Biden has a unique strength that much of the world has overlooked: He has nearly a half-century of experience navigating the maze of agencies and departments in Washington. That experience is why President Barack Obama, who had only three years of experience in the U.S. Senate, tapped Biden to […]

08 Mar 21

Difficult post-ISIS challenges emerge for US, allies

BY SETH J. FRANTZMAN, The Hill – With the military defeat of ISIS in Syria, its once large “caliphate” that stretched across Iraq and Syria has been reduced to dozens of tents near the Euphrates River. Now, new challenges are arising. ISIS members from Western countries are demanding a right to return to their home […]

08 Mar 21

The U.S. Army’s Massive 155mm Cannons Can Now Kill from Long-Range

by Kris Osborn – National Interest – For decades, mobile and Self-Propelled Army 155mm artillery cannons maxed out ranges at about 30-to-40km, until now. In recent years the Army has massively extended the range at which its GPS-guided precision rounds can attack, by architecting a first-of-its-kind Extended Range Cannon Artillery program Due to its continued role providing […]

08 Mar 21

Putin’s Secret Weapon: Russia’s Tsirkon Hypersonic Missile Is Nasty

By Peter Suciu – In December of last year, the Russian Northern Fleet’s Project 22350 frigate Admiral of the Soviet Union Fleet Gorshkov successfully conducted a test-launch of a Tsirkon hypersonic missile. It was fired from the Russian warship in the White Sea against a target 450 km away in the Barents Sea. It was the third test in as many […]

08 Mar 21

China Tightens Grip on East African Port

By Costas Paris – WSJ – Feb. 21, 2019 6:00 am ET – A Chinese port operator is tightening its grip on a strategic container terminal in East Africa, resetting operations and infrastructure at a site crucial to Beijing’s push to control seagoing trade lanes between Asia and Europe. China Merchants Port Holdings is asserting control […]