DefenceTalkSeven nations have joined the United States and the Iraqi government with pledges to provide arms to Kurdish forces in northern Iraq where they are battling terrorists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said today. Albania, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Italy, France and the United Kingdom “have committed to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/hagel-seven-nations-pledge-arms-for-iraqi-kurds-in-fight-against-isil-60437/

DefenceTalkThe US Congress approved $225 million for Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile defense system, credited with destroying missiles fired by Hamas before they could reach their targets. House of Representatives approved the funding by 395-8 in a late Friday vote. The Senate earlier approved the measure unanimously before the start of its five week summer recess. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/congress-approves-aid-funding-for-israels-iron-dome-60300/

DefenceTalkThough the United States must protect its people and is helping Iraq to face the threat posed by the extremist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, it is up to Iraq to do the heavy lifting, a senior Defense Department official said today. Elissa Slotkin, performing the duties of the principal deputy undersecretary […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iraq-must-do-its-heavy-lifting-pentagon-official-says-60250/

DefenceTalkRussia has begun supplying military helicopters and fighters jets to Iraq, a report said Thursday, as Iraq’s defence minister visited Moscow to press for equipment to thwart a jihadist offensive. “A number of contracts with Iraq have entered into force and are being fulfilled,” the Interfax news agency quoted a source in Russia’s defence export […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-delivering-weapons-to-iraq-report-60261/

DefenceTalkIsrael intensified its bombardment of Gaza Wednesday, killing four children on a beach in an apparent naval salvo and launching deadly air strikes, as regional leaders sought to end the killing. The punishing air campaign aimed at halting cross-border rocket fire by Hamas militants resumed after Egyptian-brokered truce efforts collapsed on Tuesday. So far, Israel’s […]https://www.defencetalk.com/children-killed-on-beach-as-israel-resumes-gaza-bombardment-60191/

DefenceTalkIt was supposed to be an evening of entertainment in Gaza, watching the World Cup semi-final at a cafe, a welcome break from 48 hours of Israeli air strikes. But the evening was cut brutally short when an Israeli raid flattened the Fun Time Beach cafe in the southern Gaza Strip in the early hours […]https://www.defencetalk.com/world-cup-fans-killed-as-israel-raid-hits-gaza-cafe-60109/

DefenceTalkAlthough it appears to hit incoming Hamas rockets, Israel’s system could be falling short of detonating the rockets’ warheads. Even though Israel’s U.S.-funded “Iron Dome” rocket-defense interceptors appear to be hitting Hamas rockets in recent days, they are almost certainly failing in the crucial job of detonating those rockets’ shrapnel-packed explosive warheads, expert analysts say. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/israels-iron-dome-is-a-total-failure-at-its-most-important-job-experts-say-60103/

DefenceTalkIn Gaza’s stifling midday heat, grieving relatives of a family killed in an Israeli air strike sit outside a mosque, weary from their Ramadan fast and nervously anticipating the next deadly blast. The mourners, most of them men, have come to bury six members of the Hammad family, including a teenager and two women, killed […]https://www.defencetalk.com/gazans-bury-family-as-israeli-bombs-fall-60098/

DefenceTalkHamas militants in Gaza fired dozens of rockets at Israel Monday, which responded with multiple air strikes in a new escalation which threatened to spiral into another a major confrontation. It was the worst escalation in and around Gaza since November 2012, with tensions threatening to drag the region into a fresh confrontation as Israel […]https://www.defencetalk.com/gaza-on-brink-of-war-israel-60080/

DefenceTalkThree Sukhoi ground attack jets shown landing in Iraq in a video released by the defence ministry are likely from Iran, a think tank said Wednesday. Iraq has purchased more than a dozen Sukhoi jets from Russia in a bid to bolster its forces in their battle against a sweeping militant offensive that has overrun […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iraqs-new-jets-likely-from-iran-experts-60040/