Taiwan stages military exercises aimed at China Taiwanese troops have practiced overtaking Chinese commandos landing at their base in a simulated air attack during an annual military exercise. During the April 19 drill at Hsinchu Air Base near Taipei, the troops were acting under the cover of tanks and helicopters firing dummy rounds and non-lethal…

Syria is in the midst of a tense, fluid and dangerous time, and the U.S. military stands ready to do whatever mission the president and Congress assign to it, top Defense Department leaders told the House Armed Services Committee April 18. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the…

General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, and Rheinmetall Defence of Dusseldorf, Germany, have formed a tank ammunition joint venture company named Defense Munitions International, LLC. The new company will develop and market new and existing 120mm kinetic energy and multi-purpose cartridges for the U.S. and international tank ammunition markets….

Australia expects to pull most of its troops out of Afghanistan nearly a year earlier than planned, the prime minister announced April 17, saying Australian soldiers have nearly completed their mission to transfer security responsibilities to Afghan forces in the decade-long war. Prime Minister Julia Gillard cited security improvements and the death of Osama bin…

U.S. helo crashes in Afghanistan A U.S. Army helicopter crashed on a nighttime mission in southwestern Afghanistan April 19, and the initial reports from the scene indicate that as many as four soldiers may have bene killed, a U.S. defense official said. In a brief official announcement, the American military command in Kabul said there…

Russia’s foreign minister sharply criticized NATO’s plan to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan by 2014, saying April 19 that coalition troops should remain in the country until Afghan government forces are capable of ensuring security. “As long as Afghanistan is not able to ensure by itself the security in the country, the artificial timelines of…

The global financial crisis hit military spending in the U.S. and Europe last year, while Russia and China kept increasing their spending on weapons, a leading think-tank said April 17. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says budget cuts kept worldwide military expenditures nearly flat at 0.3 percent in 2011, marking an end to an…

Boeing has begun an extensive maintenance training program for Turkey’s Peace Eagle Airborne Early Warning and Control program at a Boeing facility near Seattle, Wash. Classroom training for 10 Turkish Air Force personnel and two Turkish Airlines employees is being conducted by instructors from Boeing Defence Australia and Boeing Training and Flight Services. The training…

Iran’s president says the country’s armed forces will make the enemy regret any act of aggression against Iran. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s remarks came as Iranians April 17 marked National Army Day with a military parade. He did not specify who the enemy is but such language in Iran is a common reference to the West, especially…

Pratt & Whitney Global Service Partners’ Turkish Engine Center recently celebrated delivery of its 100th overhauled CFM56® engine to Turkish Airlines. The Turkish Engine Center is a joint venture between Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corp.; and Turkish Technic, a division of Turkish Airlines. “This engine delivery to Turkish Airlines marks a…