DefenceTalkIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that Iran was a year away from making a nuclear bomb was contradicted by his secret services, according to reports Monday citing leaked documents. The inconsistency was revealed in a cache of communications between South African intelligence services and their global partners — including Israel’s Mossad and America’s CIA […]https://www.defencetalk.com/leaks-contradict-israels-claim-iran-was-close-to-bomb-63309/

DefenceTalkIsrael is to purchase 14 F-35 stealth fighters from US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin at a cost of around $110 million each, the defence ministry said Sunday. “The defence ministry will purchase an additional 14 F-35s for around $3 billion, each plane costing an average of $110 million,” a ministry statement said. The $2.82 billion […]https://www.defencetalk.com/israel-to-buy-14-f-35-fighter-jets-from-us-63280/

DefenceTalkIndia’s Kalyani industrial group announced on Thursday a “substantial” joint venture with Israel to make missiles and other weapons, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi eased rules on foreign ownership in defence. Kalyani and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems will make advanced missile systems and other technologies at a facility near the the southern Indian city […]https://www.defencetalk.com/indias-kalyani-group-announces-israel-defence-venture-63252/

DefenceTalkIsraeli conduct during last summer’s war in the Gaza Strip increased the number of civilian casualties, an independent report has said, by failing to differentiate between military targets and civilian populations. Despite claims to the contrary, the military did not give sufficient warning for civilians to evacuate residential areas before striking them, according to the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/israel-failed-to-minimize-civilian-toll-in-gaza-war-report-62100/

DefenceTalkEarlier this week, IAF flight school cadets flew on the new instructional plane, the Aermacchi M-346, for the first time. Its predecessor, the Skyhawk, was used by the IAF for four decades Excitement was in the air in Hatzerim Airbase this week, when pilot cadets flew on the new instructional plane, the M-346, or the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/first-israeli-cadets-fly-on-aermacchi-m-346-62067/

DefenceTalkSix Hezbollah fighters were killed Sunday in an Israeli air strike on the Syrian side of the Golan, including the son of assassinated senior commander Imad Mughniyeh. The deaths were announced after an Israeli security source told AFP that an Israeli helicopter conducted a strike against “terrorists” near Quneitra, on the Syrian side of the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/six-hezbollah-fighters-killed-in-israeli-strike-62022/

DefenceTalkA new squadron of 19 F-35 jets will be incorporated into the Israeli Air Force beginning in 2019 after the decision to purchase another set of planes was confirmed by the IAF and government officials. These newly engineered fighters are a step up compared to the F-16I, especially with the addition of new state-of-the-art stealth […]https://www.defencetalk.com/new-f-35-fighters-to-join-israeli-air-force-in-2019-61285/

DefenceTalkIsrael and the United States on Tuesday tested the Jewish state’s Arrow 3 ballistic missile interception system, the defence ministry said, with local media reporting the trial was cut short. “A target missile was successfully launched and tracked by the Arrow Weapon System, as part of the planned joint testing program,” the ministry said in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/israel-us-in-abortive-missile-defence-test-61176/

DefenceTalkThe establishment of a second F-35 stealth fighters squadron was approved by the Israeli government earlier this week, after a two-year long process. In addition, the government approved the acquisition of precision-guided munitions. The first of the 14 stealth fighters of the second squadron are scheduled to land in Israel in 2019 and will join […]https://www.defencetalk.com/israel-airforce-details-f-35-plans-61100/

DefenceTalkOverview Since the end of the Cold War, a new nuclear order has emerged, shaped by rising nuclear states and military technologies that threaten stability, writes George Mason University’s Gregory Koblentz in a new Council Special Report. During the Cold War, the potential for nuclear weapons to be used was determined largely by the United […]https://www.defencetalk.com/strategic-stability-in-the-second-nuclear-age-61063/