Putin visits New Delhi: An Indian Perspective

10/03/2018
Important Defence Agreements to be inked during President Putin’s visit: Ambassador Varma By Vinay Shukla Moscow. Even as the spectre of US CAATSA sanctions looms over significant arms contracts with Moscow, India expects the signing of “important” defence deals during President Vladimir Putin’s New Delhi visit on October 4-5 for…

The Indian-Russian Arms Relationship: Managing the Challenge for US-Indian Relations

10/02/2018
By Richard Weitz India was de facto part of the recent U.S. decision to impose sanctions on the Chinese Defense Ministry’s Equipment Development Department, and its director, for their purchasing of advanced Russian weapons. Section 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act(CAATSA) of 2017 mandates penalties for entities…

Aussie-French Sub Deal Hits Turbulent Waters

09/28/2018
By Robbin Laird I first reported that the Aussie-Sub deal was facing significant negotiating challenges last month.  I discovered this when focusing on Collins class and its sustainment and modernization efforts and then discussed the dynamics since 2016 of the new sub contract. In discussions in Australia, I learned that…

A Japanese ASW Task Force Ventures Into the South China Sea

09/20/2018
The Japanese Self Defense force rarely mentions the operations of their submarines, short of participating in an exercise with the United States. But in a recent announcement by the Japanese, they highlighted that the Kuroshio, the helicopter carrier Kaga and two other destroyers, the Inazuma and Suzutsuki, conducted an antisubmarine…

Europe in the Throes of Change: A Perspective from the Italian Celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Defense of Rome

09/15/2018
Clearly, Europe is in the throes of fundamental change. Clusters of states such as the Northern European states are sorting out paths forward within an evolving European context, while Brexit and the crisis of integration of Europe along the lines set in the 1990s atrophies. Clearly, a new nationalism has…

The Indian-US Defense Partnership: New Steps Forward

09/11/2018
By Richard Weitz The inaugural meeting of the U.S.-India ‘two-plus-two’format that met on September 6, 2018 in New Delhi made substantial progress in deepening and broadening the bilateral defense relationship. Now the challenge is to seize the opportunities generated by the new format. The September 6 meeting brought together Indian…

Finland to Participate in Red Flag Exercise for the First Time

09/02/2018
The Finnish Air Force will participate for the first time in a Red Flag exercise held by the United States Air Force in Alaska from 4 to 19 October 2018. Finland will deploy six F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighters to the exercise. The Finnish detachment consisting of around 70 personnel at…