DefenceTalkNavy engineers are making final adjustments to a laser weapon prototype that will be the first of its kind to deploy aboard a ship late this summer. The prototype, an improved version of the Laser Weapon System (LaWS), will be installed on USS Ponce for at-sea testing in the Persian Gulf, fulfilling plans announced by […]https://www.defencetalk.com/all-systems-go-navys-laser-weapon-ready-for-summer-deployment-59273/

DefenceTalkJapan on Tuesday lifted a self-imposed ban on weapons exports, introducing new rules covering the arms trade in a move supporters say will boost Tokyo’s global role, but which unnerved China. The cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved a new plan that replaces the 1967 blanket ban, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/japan-lifts-own-blanket-arms-export-ban-59198/

DefenceTalkA modernized rocket launcher will soon enable MH-60 Seahawk helicopters to carry and deploy a variety of weapons for the first time. As part of an Early Operational Capability (EOC), the Navy delivered the new system, called the Digital Rocket Launcher, to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 15 in March for pre-deployment training. DRL is […]https://www.defencetalk.com/navy-weapons-program-delivers-new-capability-for-mh-60-helicopters-59192/

DefenceTalkThe head of the powerful US gun lobby railed against American media Thursday, saying it was biased and lying about the heated debate on regulating weapons. “One of America’s greatest threats is the national news media that fails to provide a level playing field for the truth,” NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre told an […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-gun-lobby-sees-media-as-enemy-58989/

DefenceTalkThe Rafale has successfully completed its first test flights in a new heavily-armed configuration, comprising six air-to-ground precision AASM Hammer missiles, four medium and long range air-to-air missiles from the MICA family, two very long range METEOR missiles, as well as three 2,000 liter fuel tanks. This preliminary work, self-funded by Dassault Aviation, is conducted […]https://www.defencetalk.com/dassault-aviation-rafale-further-improves-its-versatility-50168/

DefenceTalkAs the military use of unmanned aircraft systems has increased dramatically, including by entities that may pose a threat to the United States, scientists at Picatinny Arsenal are part of the effort to counter potential threats to U.S. armed forces by such systems. Unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, is the term to describe a far […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-army-develops-anti-uav-weapons-50060/

DefenceTalkThe White House said Monday that the United States will remain strongly committed to Iraq as it fights al-Qaida affiliated groups, but it said, again, that American troops will not return to Iraq. The surge in fighting between Iraqi government forces and al-Qaida-linked militants is a concern to the United States, which is accelerating the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-to-accelerate-iraq-weapons-drone-deliveries-50036/

DefenceTalkInvestment in cluster bomb producers fell this year after a US defence contractor stopped making the weapons, but major financial firms continued to back the trade, an NGO said Thursday. The amount of money invested in the seven companies that still make the indiscriminate weapons tumbled to $24 billion (17 billion euros) from $43 billion, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/financial-groups-pour-billions-into-cluster-bomb-trade-ngo-49927/

DefenceTalkRussia’s military will have 500,000 soldiers serving on professional contracts within a decade, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday. Half of the armed forces will be made up of professional service personnel by 2022 under plans to shift away from conscripts and more than double the number of contract soldiers from the present 220,000. But […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russian-military-to-recruit-500000-professional-soldiers-by-2022-49907/

DefenceTalkPresident Vladimir Putin said Tuesday the share of modern weaponry in Russia’s armed forces would reach 30 percent in 2014 and urged the military to stay alert for threats and challenges. The armed forces would receive more than 40 inter-continental ballistic missiles, 210 warplanes and helicopters, and more than 250 armored vehicles in a year, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/putin-says-russia-will-upgrade-its-weaponry-49903/