Latest news with #USDefence
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Next big arms race: Who can build the most drones nobody minds losing, America, Russia or China?
The Pentagon is tearing up its old drone playbook. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth wants drones treated like bullets, not aircraft. Cheap, expendable, and everywhere. His new memo kills red tape, hands buying power to frontline commanders, and backs US-made drones over imports. Every squad will get its own drone swarm by 2027. It's a bet that the next big fight will be won not by high-end jets, but by millions of low-cost flying munitions buzzing over the battlefield. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Manufacture fast, train hard, buy American Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads From theory to trenches Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The supply chain challenge Fighting with drones like ammunition US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth wants drones to be seen for what they've really become: disposable munitions, not prized aircraft. This shift, spelled out in a sweeping new Pentagon memo, could reshape how the United States fights, builds, and trains for war for decades to order tears up the old playbook that slowed drone development with paperwork, endless sign-offs, and tangled chains of command. His message is blunt: the enemy is churning out millions of cheap drones every year — Russia alone aims for four million this year, Ukraine even more. Meanwhile, US frontline units have been forced to make do with decades-old procurement systems designed for F-35s, not the Pentagon is flipping the table. Under the new rules, small drones — Group 1 and Group 2 in Pentagon-speak — are reclassified as consumables. Think hand grenades, not stealth bombers. Commanders at the O-6 level — colonels, captains, equivalents — now have the green light to buy, test, modify and deploy these drones directly, no more waiting for approval from the top brass or the distant the core of this pivot is an industrial push. 'Our overt preference is to Buy American,' Hegseth insisted. That means direct loans, advance purchase deals, and fast-track approvals for homegrown drone makers. The goal? A home-grown swarm of cheap, clever drones designed by American engineers and AI experts. Not one or two prototypes , but overhaul rests on three pillars. First, expand domestic production. Hegseth wants American drones built by American companies. The memo demands the Pentagon lean hard on domestic suppliers, using direct loans, advance purchases and private capital to flood the force with cheap, expendable drones.'Our overt preference is to Buy American,' Hegseth writes. 'We will power a technological leapfrog, arming our combat units with a variety of low-cost drones made by America's world-leading engineers and AI experts.'Second, he wants process reform. Building drone dominance isn't just about tech — it's about speed. Past rules treated small drones like fighter jets, bogging them down with the same airworthiness certifications and NATO standards meant for billion-dollar aircraft. From now on, small drones won't need the same testing. They'll be made, modified and lost in combat — and replaced just as fast.'Drone dominance is a process race as much as a technological race,' Hegseth writes. The new approach fuses frontline needs with the factory floor. Prototypes, 3D printing, battlefield tweaks — all wants the entire procurement model flipped. 'Drone dominance is a process race as much as a technological race,' he wrote. New drones will skip heavy NATO standards when they make no sense for cheap flying bombs. No more forcing small drones to meet the same paperwork as big third pillar is training. By the end of 2026, every US Army squad must have one-way attack drones in its kit. By 2027, major training events must include drones, swarm scenarios, live-fire tests, drone-vs-drone battles. Senior officers are under orders to strip away range restrictions, expand testing grounds, and make drone use second nature.'Lethality will not be hindered by self-imposed restrictions,' Hegseth said last week. 'Drone technology is advancing so rapidly, our major risk is risk-avoidance. The Department's bureaucratic gloves are coming off.'This pivot isn't academic. In Ukraine, drones have turned trench warfare into a tech race. Cheap first-person-view (FPV) kamikaze drones drop grenades through tank hatches. Commercial quadcopters spot artillery targets. More than 70 percent of Ukraine's battlefield casualties this year are linked to in the Pacific, the US faces China's vast manufacturing might. Chinese drone makers dominate the global civilian market — and parts of the military supply chain too. That's a vulnerability Washington wants closed memo spells this out. Every military branch must stand up new units, dedicated to getting drones out of PowerPoint slides and into soldiers' hands. These units will test designs, tweak them with 3D printers, feed lessons back to manufacturers and scale up production. Indo-Pacific Command gets first dibs — the clear signal is that the US is preparing to counter China's also a nod to the Replicator Initiative, launched in 2023 to push thousands of cheap, smart drones to the front lines. Progress has been slow. Hegseth's memo basically tells everyone: move this ambition depends on supply. Ukraine's small shops now churn out 200,000 drones a month. The US doesn't yet have that kind of industrial muscle for disposable drones. The memo leans heavily on private capital and domestic startups. Executive Order 14307, signed by Trump in June, aims to open more funding getting from high-level memo to warehouse shelves won't be easy. American drone makers will need parts, batteries, secure supply chains — and they'll need to do it without relying on Chinese subcomponents. The Pentagon has been burned before by drones carrying suspect Chinese new policy also blows open the way for improvisation. Frontline troops will be free to mod small drones on site, even build them from scratch if they have the right parts. The memo specifically allows military-made drones that meet the 'Blue List' of trusted components to skip lengthy bigger shift is cultural. For decades, the Pentagon treated UAVs as scarce, expensive assets. This new vision says drones are bullets with wings — use them, lose them, risk in that mindset. Small drones are easy to jam, easy to shoot down. But the point isn't perfection. The point is mass. If each squad has eyes in the sky, one drone shot down doesn't matter — another is bet is that the Pentagon can out-innovate and out-build its rivals if it gets out of its own way. Time will tell if the factory floor, the training ranges and the dusty frontlines can keep pace with the now, the message is clear: stop treating drones like prized possessions. Treat them like ammo. Build them cheap, fly them hard, lose them fast — and always have another ready to launch.
SBS Australia
3 days ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
'Not unexpected' for China to observe Australia's military games, minister says
Talisman Sabre military exercises have begun in Brisbane. Defence industry minister Pat Conroy says he would expect China to observe them as they have the last four times. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in China for trade and tourism-centred meetings. Australia's defence industry minister says he expects China's military to surveil joint military drills between Australian Defence Force and the United States, as he rebuffed American calls to declare what Australia's role would be in a potential war with China over Taiwan. As the Talisman Sabre war-game exercises between Australia and the US begin in Brisbane, Pat Conroy told the ABC's Insiders program he expects China to monitor the drills, but is not aware of its intelligence services having done so yet. "It's our most important bilateral exercise with the United States," Conroy said of Talisman Sabre. "It's not unusual for other countries to observe that. China has observed those exercises for the last four exercises. It won't be unexpected if they continue to do that." Australian Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy says China has monitored the last four Talisman Sabre military gamesbetween Australia and the US Source: AAP / AAPIMAGE During Talisman Sabre 30,000 personnel from 19 countries will participate. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the annual event and is expected to be the largest yet. Conroy said it would "not be unusual for China to observe" and Australia would "adjust the exercises accordingly". Talisman Sabre, a regular wargames exercise between Australia and some allies is set to take place, with the government aware that China is likely to monitor the exercises. Source: AAP / PA/Alamy "We'll obviously observe their activities and monitor their presence around Australia but we'll also adjust how we conduct the exercises. "People observe these exercises to collect intelligence around procedures, around the electronic spectrum and the use of communications and we'll adjust accordingly so that we manage that leakage," he added. Australia rejects US call to declare Taiwan war role Meanwhile, Australia has rebuffed calls to declare what role the nation would play in a potential war with China over Taiwan, with Conroy saying it won't automatically follow the US into a future conflict. Washington is reportedly pushing both Japan and Australia to clarify their positions for a hypothetical conflict over the democratically-government island, which Beijing considers part of its territory. Elbridge Colby, a key Pentagon strategist, has been pressing defence officials from both countries to declare their positions in meetings over the issue, according to a report in the Financial Times. Asked whether Australia would commit to joining the US if it entered a war with China over Taiwanese sovereignty, Conroy ruled out committing to such a conflict ahead of time, reiterating the government's longstanding position. "The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance," he said. "Sovereignty will always be prioritised." Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrives at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China for a six-day visit. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch Prime Minister Anthony Albanese landed in Shanghai late Saturday, kicking off a six-day tour which will focus on economic and security issues. Defence analysts have flagged Albanese will likely raise live-fire drills conducted by the Chinese military off Australia's coast earlier in the year after Beijing failed to notify authorities ahead of time. But Conroy would not be drawn on whether Albanese will directly raise those concerns with Chinese President Xi Jinping when the two leaders sit down during his second visit as prime minister. — With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press
AsiaOne
5 days ago
- Politics
- AsiaOne
Zelenskiy discusses war supplies, Russia sanctions with US lawmakers, World News
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had discussed improved air defences and intensified sanctions against Russia with two US lawmakers who are backing a bill to impose tougher punitive measures against Moscow. Zelenskiy, writing early on Friday (July 11) on Telegram, said he had met Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut in Rome in conjunction with international meetings on Ukraine. "Right now, our priority is strengthening air defences. Russia wants to move on to using 1,000 drones in the space of a single attack," Zelenskiy wrote. "It is therefore important to boost defences, particularly to invest in interceptor drones. We spoke about continuing supplies from the United States and joint weapons production." Ukraine, he said, was ready to work together with Europe to buy "large US Defence packages to protect lives". On Thursday, Zelenskiy said Ukraine had received all necessary political signals for US military aid to resume after a pause last week. He also said that Ukraine had reached agreement with Germany for Berlin to buy two Patriot missile interceptor systems and an accord for Norway to pay for one system. Russia has been intensifying attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, with Zelenskiy saying Moscow had deployed around 400 drones and 18 missiles on Wednesday night, primarily targeting the capital. The previous night, Russian forces launched a record 728 drones at Ukraine. US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had approved sending US defensive weapons to Ukraine and was considering additional sanctions on Moscow, underscoring his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the failure to make progress on solving Russia's war with Ukraine. Zelenskiy discussed US weapons supplies in Rome on Wednesday with Trump's Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg. In his comments on Telegram, Zelenskiy said that, together with Graham and Blumenthal, he had discussed the legislation on tougher sanctions against Russia "and those who support it in the war". "Undoubtedly, this is precisely the lever that can bring peace closer and make diplomacy worthwhile," he wrote. The bill calls for a 500 per cent tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports. [[nid:720041]]
Indian Express
02-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
India and US to sign defence framework when Rajnath and Hegseth meet next
India and the United States have agreed to sign a new 10-year defence partnership framework when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, meet later this year, a Pentagon spokesperson has said. This was decided in a phone conversation between Singh and Hegseth on Tuesday, senior US Defence spokesman Colonel Chris Devine said in a statement. Hegseth also met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at the Pentagon on Tuesday. 'On July 1, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth spoke with India's Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh. Secretary Hegseth emphasised the priority the US places on India as its key defence partner in South Asia… Secretary Hegseth and Minister Singh reviewed the considerable progress both countries have made toward achieving the defence goals set out in the February 2025 joint statement by President (Donald) Trump and Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi. The two discussed pending major US defence sales to India and the imperative of close defence industrial cooperation between the two countries,' Col Devine said. 'Secretary Hegseth and Minister Singh agreed to sign the next 10-year US-India defence framework when they next meet this year,' the spokesperson said. There is no timeline for this meeting so far. On Hegseth's meeting with Jaishankar, the spokesperson said the two sides discussed defence partnership and close cooperation embodied in the February 2025 joint statement. 'Noting mutual concern about the danger of aggression in the Asia-Pacific region, the two reviewed pending major defence sales, the forthcoming signing of the next 10-year defence framework, and progress on advanced technology policy reviews. Secretary Hegseth and Minister Jaishankar welcomed the next INDUS-X Summit, a bilateral defence tech forum, and the accompanying launch of the Autonomous Systems Industry Alliance (ASIA),' he said. The US Department of Defence said Hegseth noted at the meeting that Trump and Modi had set a 'strong foundation for our relationship, which we're building on here today: productive, pragmatic and realistic'. Saying that India and the US 'boast a rich and growing history of cooperation driven by a shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific', Hegseth said both sides are 'mutually aware of the security concerns' in the region and 'have the ability to counter that threat together'. He also mentioned US efforts to provide India with the 'tools needed' to counter threats in the Indo-Pacific region. 'The US is very pleased with the successful integration of many US defence items into India's inventory. And building on this progress, we hope we can complete several major pending US defence sales to India, expand our shared defence industrial cooperation and co-production efforts, strengthen interoperability… between our forces, and then formally sign a new 10-year framework for the US-India major defence partnership… which we hope to do very soon,' Hegseth said at the meeting. Jaishankar said that while India has a strong relationship with the US, more can be done. 'We believe that our defence partnership is today truly one of the most consequential pillars of the relationship. It's not built merely on shared interests, but we believe in really deepening convergence… of capabilities, of responsibilities,' Jaishankar said. 'And what we do in the Indo-Pacific, we believe, is absolutely crucial to its strategic stability.' The two sides also discussed participation in the next India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem Summit, where they will continue to build on defence industrial cooperation and produce new innovations in technology and manufacturing, the US statement said. 'We're eager to work alongside you to realise our shared goals… they're deep and ongoing,' Hegseth said. 'The world is a complicated place, perhaps growing in its complexity, and certainly our partnership, and the contribution that we can make together would be of immense importance, not just for us, I think, but for the larger region — I would even argue, for the world,' Jaishankar said. During their meeting in February, Modi and Trump had announced plans to pursue new procurements and co-production arrangements for Javelin anti-tank guided missiles and Stryker armored vehicles. They also discussed procurement of six additional P-8I maritime patrol aircraft. Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism '2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury's special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban's capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More
News18
01-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
India's Operation Sindoor: A Strategic Shift in Counterterror Doctrine?
Last Updated:July 01, 2025, 11:12 IST Videos World | "Every bit of it. From strategic change in India's doctrine on terrorism, to the individual technologies...": US Defence expert John Spencer (@SpencerGuard) on what intrigued him most about precision ops to public messaging and tech integration — Spencer says "every bit of it" signals a strategic evolution in how India now responds to terrorism, in stark contrast to its posture post the 2008 Mumbai examines how India's use of intelligence, technology, and psychological ops this time has caught the world's attention — and why global militaries are watching also talks about why he thinks India's response this time was different from its response to 2008 Mumbai attacks@Zakka_Jacob | n18oc_world News18 Mobile App - More from world Azerbaijan Alleges Torture Deaths, Russia Demands Journalists' Release, Armenia Slams "Interference" "Review Sharaa, HTS…' Trump Lifts Sanction as Israel Eyes Ties, Syria Govt Ordered Alawite Massacre? 'Porky Pig...': Elon Musk Slams Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill', Says 'Time For New Party' | News18 trending news India Women Vs England Women Live Score, 2nd T20I: Smriti Mandhana In Focus As IND Aim For 2-0 Lead 2-year-old sexually assaulted by neighbour in Delhi's Bawana Sakshi, Jaismine, Lakshya Chahar advance at World Boxing Cup JNU to hold entrance exam for two PhD courses not covered under UGC-NET latest news
