DEFENSE

PARIS — France and Germany have formalized an agreement to develop a future battle-tank system, with the countries’ defense ministers signing off on an industrial work-share pact here on Friday. The countries’ defense firms – KNDS, Rheinmetall and Thales, among others – can now get to work on proposals, which are expected in the coming […]

JERUSALEM — Major Israeli defense companies will not be allowed to participate this November in a popular defense exhibit in the Netherlands, Israeli defense industry executives told Defense News. Exclusion of Israeli companies from the exhibition, known as NEDS, comes amid statements by the Dutch government that no military products have been exported to Israel

WARSAW, Poland — Slovak Defense Minister Peter Gajdos said that while the ministry has received offers from the U.S. to supply the F-16 and Sweden to deliver the JAS-39 Gripen for its planned purchase of 14 fighter jets, MiGs aren’t under consideration. “Certainly, no one is counting that we will purchase MiGs,” Gajdos said, according

PARIS ― France has added €1.8 billion (U.S. $2.1 billion) funding to its 2018 defense budget to hit €34.2 billion as part of a planned rise in military spending over the next five years, the Economy and Finance Ministry said. Asset sales will add further funds to bring total defense spending next year to €34.4

MOSCOW — Russia on Wednesday completed the task of destroying its huge, Cold War-era chemical weapons stockpiles, winning praise from an international chemical weapons watchdog. Russian officials reported the destruction of the country’s last remaining artillery projectile filled with VX toxic agent to President Vladimir Putin. The work took place at the Kizner facility in

PARIS — France and Italy reached an agreement on Wednesday on the acquisition of STX by Fincantieri, with the Italian company acquiring 51 percent of the French shipyard, thanks to the loan of 1 percentage point from the French government, France Info radio reported. The agreement on STX was reached at a Franco-Italian summit held

LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May warned Thursday of growing protectionism in the global economy, slamming plane-maker Boeing for its role in the U.S. government decision to impose a massive tariff that could cost thousands of jobs in Northern Ireland. Addressing a conference organized by the Bank of England, May mounted a strong defense

SAN DIEGO — The federal government gave the media a first peek Wednesday at construction of prototypes for U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall. Crews working on two of the eight prototypes moved dirt, with one of the crews also installing steel reinforcing bars before concrete is poured. Each crew gets only 60 square

MELBOURNE, Australia — At a news conference in New York on Monday, North Korea’s foreign minister accused U.S. President Donald Trump of declaring war via Twitter, and the minister threatened to shoot down U.S. Air Force bombers conducting flights near the Korean Peninsula. Ri Yong Ho told reporters that his country “reserves the right to

LONDON — Britain’s top defense procurement official has resigned after little more than two years in the post, and is heading to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to run the Etihad Aviation Group. Tony Douglas, the chief executive at the Defence Equipment and Support organization, is set to stand down at the end of this

PARIS and ROME — Naval Group and Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri have together taken a close look at a German tender for MKS-180 warships and decided against pursuing a deal, signaling a strong cooperation, the chairman of the French shipbuilder said on Thursday. “Naval Group and Fincantieri had made a pitch in a German warship competition

NEW DELHI — India has ruled out putting boots on the ground in Afghanistan. The announcement came after delegation-level talks Sept. 26 between visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and India’s defense minister, Nirmala Sitharaman. Sitharaman said, however, that India’s efforts to build Afghanistan economically will continue. “We are also at the moment training their