Category Archives: US defence spending

Pentagon lays off 5,400 civilian workers, with tens of thousands more firings due

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Pete Hegseth supports cuts of up to 8% of civilian workforce as Trump bids to institute massive government cuts

The Pentagon announced plans Friday to fire 5-8% of its civilian workforce, staring next week with layoffs of 5,400 probationary workers, a Department of Defense official said in a statement.

The initial civilian layoffs will be followed by a Department of Defense hiring freeze to analyze the military’s personnel needs in compliance with Donald Trump’s political goals, Darin Selnick, the acting under-secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in the statement.

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As the US walks away, Europe needs to step up for Ukraine. But does it have the will?

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Russia is relying on strength of numbers, and Putin may not honour a peace deal

After three years of Russia’s attempt to occupy and annex Ukraine, the country continues to put up a fierce resistance.

Russia is suffering more than 1,500 casualties a day and only slowly taking ground. But the Ukrainian army is also being put under immense pressure.

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Pacific island governor backs $800m US military upgrade amid China threat

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Northern Mariana Islands governor says ‘the world is changing in the Indo-Pacific’ as work continues in the US territory on defense development

The governor of the Northern Mariana Islands says an $800m US military upgrade plan which includes a new airfield in the Pacific territory “has to happen” amid concern over China’s recent missile tests in the region.

Tinian, home to about 3,500 people, is one of the three main islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated US territory. During the second world war, the US launched a nuclear bomb against Japan from Tinian, and now a major rehabilitation of a deserted airfield and other military upgrades are under way on the island.

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If Trump wins the election, Nato can expect more turbulence ahead

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Past threats former president – and present Russian ones – have spurred Europe to invest in self-defence, but as conflicts rise the alliance still looks vital

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Politeness and convention dictate that European leaders try to sound noncommittal when asked whether a Donald Trump presidency would hurt Nato. But despite the rhetoric about “Trump-proofing”, Nato cohesion will be at risk from a hostile or isolationist Republican president, who has previously threatened to leave the alliance if European defence spending did not increase.

“The truth is that the US is Nato and Nato is the US; the dependence on America is essentially as big as ever,” said Jamie Shea, a former Nato official who teaches at the University of Exeter. “Take the new Nato command centre to coordinate assistance for Ukraine in Wiesbaden, Germany. It is inside a US army barracks, relying on US logistics and software.”

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Guam fears becoming ‘target’ over planned $1.5bn US defence system

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Proposed air and missile defences raise ire of residents who are also concerned about environmental impacts

A planned missile defence system on the island of Guam could turn the US Pacific territory into a “target,” local residents have said, as opposition to the plans grow.

The Pentagon plans to invest $1.5bn in a 360-degree, air and missile defence architecture on Guam. It aims to complete the system by 2027.

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House Republicans pass defense bill, setting up clash on abortion policy

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Senate must now consider bill to fund US military containing amendments on abortion, transgender healthcare and diversity

The Republican-led House of Representatives on Friday approved a huge defense bill that includes amendments overturning the Pentagon’s policies on covering abortion services for the military, healthcare costs for transgender service members and diversity initiatives – setting up a historic clash with Democrats and the Biden administration that could imperil spending on the armed forces.

The amendments, pushed by the GOP’s right flank with the support of the speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, represent the latest instance of conservative lawmakers using their influence in Congress’s lower chamber to attempt to change Joe Biden’s policies on a range of issues that chiefly animate the Republican base.

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US aid policies undermined success of Afghanistan mission, says watchdog chief

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Poor oversight, lack of understanding and weak collaboration between allies contributed to ease of Taliban takeover, conclude US and UK aid bodies at London conference

America’s huge, badly-coordinated and politically-driven aid programme in Afghanistan engendered the corruption that undermined its entire mission and turned Afghans away from the western coalition, according to the head of a US aid watchdog.

“We did not really understand Afghanistan or how it worked as a country,” John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (Sigar), told a conference at the defence and security thinktank the Royal United Services Institute.

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Pentagon error overvalued US weapons aid to Ukraine by $3bn

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‘Inconsistencies in how we value equipment’ could lead to more weapons being sent to Kyiv to defend against Russian forces

The Pentagon overestimated the value of the ammunition, missiles and other equipment it sent to Ukraine by about $3bn, an error that may lead the way for more weapons being sent to Kyiv for its defense against Russian forces.

The error was the result of assigning a higher-than-warranted value on weaponry that was taken from US stocks and then shipped to Ukraine, two senior defense officials said on Thursday.

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Defence spending in western and central Europe tops last year of cold war

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Stockholm International Peace Institute’s annual report finds UK was region’s biggest spender in 2022 at $68.5bn

Defence spending in western and central Europe has surpassed that of the last year of the cold war, an annual report has found, as military expenditure across the world hit an all-time high of $2.24tn (£1.8tn) last year.

The outbreak of war in Ukraine has triggered the steepest increase in military expenditure in Europe in three decades, according to the Stockholm International Peace Institute (Sipri).

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‘Colossal waste’: Nobel laureates call for 2% cut to military spending worldwide

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Governments urged to use ‘peace dividend’ to help UN tackle pandemics, climate crisis and extreme poverty

More than 50 Nobel laureates have signed an open letter calling for all countries to cut their military spending by 2% a year for the next five years, and put half the saved money in a UN fund to combat pandemics, the climate crisis, and extreme poverty.

Coordinated by the Italian physicist Carlo Rovelli, the letter is supported by a large group of scientists and mathematicians including Sir Roger Penrose, and is published at a time when rising global tensions have led to a steady increase in arms budgets.

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House Republicans join Democrats to override Trump’s veto of defence bill – video

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Donald Trump suffered fresh humiliation on Monday when more than 100 Republicans joined Democrats in the House of Representatives to override his veto of a $741bn defence bill. If, as expected, the Senate follows suit this week, it will be Congress’s first such rebuke of his presidency, which has only three weeks left to run. The National Defense Authorization Act, which funds service members’ pay, overseas military operations and other needs, has been passed by Congress every year since 1967. Trump exercised his veto last week, returning the bill with objections including its proposal to change the names of 10 military bases honouring Confederate leaders.

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US plans big expansion of navy fleet to challenge growing Chinese sea power

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Defence secretary promises future fleet including unmanned ships that will focus on Indo-Pacific region

The US secretary of defence, Mark Esper, has announced an ambitious plan to expand the US Navy with a range of unmanned and autonomous ships, submarines and aircraft to confront the growing maritime challenge from China.

The Pentagon chief said a sweeping review of US naval power dubbed “Future Forward” had laid out a “game-changer” plan that would expand the US sea fleet to more than 355 ships, from the current 293.

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Trump move to take US troops out of Germany ‘a dangerous game’

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UK politicians and military experts warn decision could hand advantage to Russia

British politicians and European military experts have warned that Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw 9,500 troops from Germany risks handing a strategic advantage to the Kremlin and undermining the postwar western military alliance.

It would also affect the United States’s ability to operate in the Middle East and Africa – although there is scepticism as to whether the notoriously fickle president will be able to carry out the threat before November’s election.

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Donald Trump launches space force for ‘world’s new war-fighting domain’ – video

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Donald Trump launched the US space force, the first new US military service in more than 70 years. ‘Space is the world’s new war-fighting domain,’ Trump said during a signing ceremony of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act that includes the force.

The move is part of a $1.4tn (£1.1tn) government spending package reversing automatic spending cuts to defence and domestic programmes

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Donald Trump officially launches US space force

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US president approves funding for America’s first new military service in 70 years

Donald Trump has launched space force, the first new US military service in more than 70 years.

In signing the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act that includes the force, Trump claimed a victory for one of his top national security priorities two days after being impeached by the House of Representatives.

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US won’t ‘tiptoe’ around Chinese behaviour in Asia, says US defence chief

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Acting US defence secretary Patrick Shanahan warns stability in the region is under threat, including the South China Sea

The United States will no longer “tiptoe” around Chinese behaviour in Asia, with stability in the region at threat on issues ranging from the South China Sea to Taiwan, acting US defence secretary Patrick Shanahan has said.

Shanahan did not directly name China when making accusations of “actors” destabilising the region, but went on to say on Saturday that the United States would not ignore Chinese behaviour, the latest acerbic exchange between the world’s two biggest economies.

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Trump announces huge expansion of US missile defense system

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Arms control experts fear system review, unveiled at Pentagon, could fuel arms race with Russia and China

Donald Trump has announced plans for a huge expansion of US missile defense with aim of destroying enemy missiles “anywhere, anytime, any place”.

The missile defense review, which Trump unveiled on Thursday in a speech at the Pentagon, calls for a major upgrade in land and sea-based missile interceptor systems, as well as the development of a layer of satellite sensors in low orbit that would help track new types of cruise missiles and hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs) countries like Russia and China are developing.

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