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26 Apr 24. USAF awards $13bn Doomsday plane contract to Sierra Nevada. The U.S. Air Force said on Friday that it has awarded a $13bn contract to Sierra Nevada Corp to develop a successor to the E-4B, known as the Doomsday plane due to its ability to survive a nuclear war. The Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) project is intended to replace the aging 1970s-era aircraft, which is approaching end-of-service life, an Air Force spokesperson said in a statement.
Work on the SAOC will be carried out in Colorado, Nevada and Ohio and is expected to be completed in 2036, the Air Force added.
To satisfy operational requirements, the weapon system will comprise of a commercial derivative jet hardened and modified to meet military requirements.
Reuters in December reported that the U.S. Air Force eliminated Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab from its competition to develop a successor to the E-4B Nightwatch.
While typically used to transport the U.S. secretary of defense, the E-4B is designed as a mobile command post capable of withstanding nuclear blasts and electromagnetic effects, allowing U.S. leaders to deliver orders to the military in the event of a national emergency.
The E-4B is also capable of refueling mid-air and features conference and briefing rooms and advanced communications equipment.
The Air Force currently operates four E-4B aircraft with at least one on alert at all times. The fleet of highly-modified Boeing 747-200 jumbo jets has become increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain as parts become obsolete.
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The E-4B is expected to reach the end of its service life in the early 2030s. (Source: Reuters)
26 Apr 24. Senators push to update nuclear military might in defense bill. A key group of senators is pushing to include their bill on nuclear modernization when the Armed Services Committee drafts its annual defense policy legislation in June.
The Restoring American Deterrence Act, introduced by Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., would create a new Pentagon position to oversee deterrence policy, deploy up to 50 extra intercontinental ballistic missiles, require an assessment of U.S. sites suited to host highly enriched uranium facilities, and increase Defense Production Act grants for the industrial base.
“It’s clear that the flawed, outdated assumptions from 2010 that underpin our current strategy will not be enough to address the long-term threats we face,” Fischer told Defense News in a statement. “The Restoring American Deterrence Act is the landmark legislation our country needs to effectively deter our peer nuclear adversaries like China and Russia in the future.”
Fischer, the top Republican on the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, promised to work with the bill’s co-sponsors to include it in the fiscal 2025 National Defense Authorization Act.
Subcommittee Chair Angus King, I-Maine, and Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the top Republican on the full committee, have co-sponsored the legislation.
The bill is a response to bipartisan recommendations from the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States, which released a report last year calling for increased nuclear assets beyond the military’s current modernization plans.
The legislation would establish an assistant secretary of defense for nuclear deterrence policy and programs as well as require the Pentagon to develop a national integrated air and missile defense architecture compatible with NATO and Indo-Pacific defenses.
It would also require the Pentagon to develop a plan for the acquisition and deployment of up to 50 Sentinel ICBMs on top of the 400 Minuteman III ICBMs already deployed.
The bill also requires the defense secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to send Congress force-size requirements needed for both nuclear and conventional deterrence of major adversaries like China and Russia. Furthermore, it requires them to submit a plan to modernize the integrated tactical warning and attack assessment system, including a strategy for incorporating nontraditional sensors.
Additionally, it would require the Energy Department to assess two to four locations in the country suitable for uranium enrichment, including highly enriched uranium.
On top of that, it raises the caps on Defense Production Act subsidies for the industrial base to $1.5 billion from the current cap of $750 million. A summary accompanying the bill noted the increase is to address “the impact of inflation on overall costs and the expected need for increased use of this tool to bolster our defense industrial base and nuclear security enterprise.”
Lastly, it requires an interagency plan “to promote the development of a skilled manufacturing and high-demand vocational workforce” to support the expansion of the “industrial base and nuclear security enterprise.”
The strategic posture commission had sounded the alarm on the industrial base’s failure to keep pace with nuclear modernization requirements, citing the delayed Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine program, among other examples.
The Congressional Budget Office released a report last year stating the military’s current nuclear modernization plans will cost $756 billion from 2023 to 2032. But the strategic posture commission said the “current modernization program should be supplemented to ensure U.S. nuclear strategy remains effective in a two-nuclear-peer environment.”
The commission’s report stated that current modernization programs were developed under the 2010 security environment, mainly with Russia on the mind and China as a “lesser-included case.”
(Source: Defense News)
25 Apr 24. Officials Say Manufacturing Arms at Scale a Deterrent to Adversaries.
Keeping the armament production lines moving at speed and scale at the right price sends a strong signal to allies that the U.S. is a reliable partner. It also sends a message of deterrence to adversaries, Defense Department officials said.
William A. LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, and Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, discussed mobilizing industry and unlocking innovation yesterday during the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Global Security Forum 2024.
Since the end of the Cold War, defense industries have not been doing much production work for the department, LaPlante said.
With U.S. support for Ukraine, some are surprised that DOD can’t ramp up production overnight. For example, production of munitions has been down over the last 30 years, he said.
Also, in the past, DOD has funded programs that last maybe two years and then the funding dries up. Industry investors don’t like taking that risk and getting burned. They want multiyear contracts to keep production predictable, LaPlante said.
“I can’t overemphasize the importance of funding, because the industrial base is not going to do anything without funding,” he said.
The fact that it took months to get the supplemental funding request from lawmakers shook up a lot of people abroad because of the negative message it sends, he said, adding that its passage this month was a relief to everyone.
Also, the supplemental funding will inject much-needed money into U.S. defense industries, he said.
“I can’t emphasize how much we have begun to rebuild the industrial base. With the supplementals, there are now factories breaking ground around the country,” he said.
The war in Ukraine has demonstrated to the world that the department can move really fast. “We get contracting done within a couple of weeks. We get stuff moving right away. Literally, right now there are planes flying with equipment to Ukraine,” he said.
Regarding the ramping up of defense manufacturing over the last two years, people are now saying “these guys are serious. They’re not messing around. They’re not just doing a few hypersonics demos and then waiting a little bit. They’re actually serious,” LaPlante said.
Shyu pointed out that the department is developing, testing, producing and fielding new weapons that are highly effective and reasonably priced.
Examples she cited are lasers, high-powered microwaves, systems to counter hypersonics and tripling the range of 155 mm artillery rounds.
Also, DOD is working collaboratively with partner nations to accelerate the development of vital technologies, she said. (Source: U.S. DoD)
24 Apr 24. Supplemental Bill Becomes Law, Provides Billions in Aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan.
President Joe Biden today signed into law a bill that provides much-needed security assistance to American partners, including Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
“It’s going to make America safer. It’s going to make the world safer. And it continues America’s leadership in the world,” Biden said during a briefing following the signing ceremony. “It gives vital support to America’s partners so they can defend themselves against threats to their sovereignty and the lives and freedom of their citizens.”
The president said that the security supplemental, worth about $95 bn, is not just an investment in the security of U.S. partners around the world, but also in U.S. security at home and abroad.
“This is directly in the United States’ national security interest,” Biden said. “If Putin triumphs in Ukraine, the next move of Russian forces could very well be a direct attack on a NATO ally.”
If that happened, Biden said, the U.S., as a NATO partner, would be bound to assist.
“We’d have no choice but to come to their aid, just like our NATO allies came to our aid after the September 11 attacks,” he said. “That’s why we’re supporting and surging support now to Ukraine, to stop Putin from drawing the United States into a war in Europe.”
Among expenditures in the security supplemental package is more than $60 bn for support to Ukraine. Biden said that assistance will begin to flow immediately, initially as part of a new package of security assistance through presidential drawdown authority, which involves military equipment pulled from existing U.S. inventory.
“I’m making sure the shipments start right away,” he said. “In the next few hours — literally, a few hours — we’re going to begin sending in equipment to Ukraine for air defense munitions, for artillery, for rocket systems and armored vehicles.”
Shortly after the president spoke, the Defense Department released details of a $1bn security assistance package for Ukraine which includes, among other things, RIM-7 and AIM-9M missiles; Stinger anti-aircraft missiles; tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire-guided, or TOW, missiles; ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System; 155 mm and 105 mm artillery shells; and a variety of combat vehicles.
The bill also includes some $14.1bn for funding to support Israel, Biden said.
Earlier this month, on April 13, Iran and its proxy groups launched more than 300 airborne weapons at targets in Israel, but the U.S., Israeli and partner forces destroyed a significant portion of them before they reached their targets. The president said the U.S. remains committed to Israeli security.
“My commitment to Israel, I want to make clear again, is ironclad,” Biden said “The security of Israel is critical, and we’ll always make sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against Iran and the terrorists it supports.”
The supplemental security bill, Biden said, helps Israel replenish its air defense capabilities and also provides for additional defense needs.
The supplemental funding also provides $9.5 bn for humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine and other populations caught in conflict zones across the globe.
“This bill includes $1bn for additional humanitarian aid in Gaza,” he said. “We’re going to immediately secure that aid and surge it … including food, medical supplies clean water.”
Also included in the bill is funding for partners in the Indo-Pacific region, and humanitarian aid for Haiti, Biden said.
“This is a reminder what America can do when we come together, despite our differences,” he said. “I want to thank everyone in Congress who made it possible.” (Source: U.S. DoD)
24 Apr 24. Vice Chiefs: Operating Jointly Provides Advantage Over Adversaries. The U.S. military is at its best when its separate branches are working together. That was the resonant message communicated by the vice chairmen of the U.S. armed forces’ six branches during a panel discussion today at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
With a theme of “Preparing U.S. Military Forces for Competition and Contestation,” the 90-minute discussion covered a wide range of topics, including many related to how joint operations give U.S. forces a leg up against America’s adversaries.
Regarding the military’s comparative advantage to operate jointly, one panelist said it’s something that is happening more frequently, and that it’s something America’s near-peer adversaries hadn’t counted on.
“They didn’t think we’d be able to fight . They also didn’t think we’d be able to fight our allies. They also didn’t think we were going to be able to fight our commercial partners,” said Gen. Michael A. Guetlein, the Space Force’s vice chief of space operations. “So, what we’re learning from not only what’s going on in the Middle East, but especially in Ukraine, is that we’re bringing all of this to bear, simultaneously, on the adversary.”
Guetlein added the caveat that America’s adversaries are also acting in a similar fashion, thus necessitating that the joint force constantly works to ramp up more integration and networking among the branches.
To that end, a significant portion of the discussion was focused on the Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control, or CJADC2, that the Defense Department is developing.
CJADC2, which had its initial iteration in February of this year, is the DOD’s approach to developing both material and non-material solutions to deliver information and decision advantage to commanders.
“Command and Control been the integrating and synthesizing function of all the seven joint functions that we have, and it’s one of the most critical components of how we fight as a combined joint force,” said Gen. James J. Mingus, the Army’s vice chief of staff.
“CJADC2 is making sure that we as a joint force move together forward.”
Admiral James W. Kilby, vice chief of naval operations, said that it’s important for all the vice chiefs to acknowledge their and their individual branch of service’s reliance on each other, in order to successfully work together as a joint force.
“This effort, which has been going on for quite some time, is an imperative,” he said.
“How we get there is what we really need to focus on, so we can collectively benefit from each other.”
Members of the panel also spoke of real-world examples of how the separate branches working jointly bring a comparative advantage to the battlespace.
“From a Red Sea perspective, it takes a joint force for this big fight we’re preparing for; everybody brings something to that game” Gen. Christopher Mahoney, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, said of the ongoing conflict with Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists.
As an example of this, Mahoney pointed out how the Department of the Navy was able to provide some mobility in the Red Sea region when the military lacked basing rights.
Another example of joint force comparative advantages involves two other branches of the armed services.
“I can tell you that on the topic of airbase air defense … there is not a closer relationship than that, specifically, between the Army and Air Force,” said Gen. James C. Slife, the Air Force’s vice chief of staff.
“And I’m really encouraged by … us leveraging one of our comparative advantages, which is our ability to work jointly.”
The morning panel was one portion of CSIS’s day-long Global Security Forum 2024. (Source: U.S. DoD)
23 Apr 24. U.S., Zambian Armies Kick Off Land Forces Summit.
U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa, joined with the Zambian army Monday in the Zambian town of Livingstone to cohost the African Land Forces Summit 2024, the Pentagon announced today.
The summit, which runs from April 22-26, “brings together over 40 land force military chiefs from across Africa other European partner nations, along with academic thought leaders and government officials for candid dialogue to discuss and develop cooperative solutions,” Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said during a briefing.
Ryder added that the theme of this year’s summit is “Regional Solutions to Transnational Problems.”
“Africa’s security challenges originate from different parallels such as ethnic, geographical and cultural sources,” Ambrose L. Lufuma, defense minister of the Republic of Zambia, is quoted in an Army news release about the summit. “Therefore, it requires African solutions, in partnership with our cooperating partners.”
“Challenges such as human trafficking, mass migration, environmental degradation and climate change wreak havoc and cause untold human suffering. These issues transcend national borders, they subvert sovereignty, cross jurisdictions and strain national resources. No country can solve these challenges alone,” Maj. Gen. Todd R. Wasmund, commanding general, SETAF-AF, is quoted in the same release.
In addition to the multiple discussions, those attending the summit will also have opportunities to watch a military demonstration by the Zambian army’s special forces; to join local school children to participate in a tree planting ceremony; and to experience Zambian culture, in general, according to the release.
At the summit’s conclusion, said Ryder, the DOD will sign the two newest state partnership programs: one between North Carolina and Zambia, and the other between North Carolina and Malawi.
Through the State Partnership Program, which originated in 1993, the National Guard conducts military-to-military engagements in support of DOD security goals, while also leveraging “whole-of-society relationships and capabilities” to facilitate “broader interagency and corollary engagements” that span military, economic, government and social spheres, according to the National Guard’s official website.
This is the 12th iteration of the African Land Forces Summit since the event first took place on the continent of Africa in 2012. Prior to that, the inaugural ALFS took place in Washington, D.C., in 2010. (Source: U.S. DoD)
23 Apr 24. Defense Innovation Unit prepares to execute $800m funding boost. The Defense Innovation Unit is working quickly to determine how and where to spend the nearly $1bn Congress provided in March through the fiscal 2024 appropriations act.
The $983m allocation, nearly $800 more than what DIU received last year, will support the growing organization’s mission to help the Defense Department quickly foster and field commercial capabilities in large numbers, according to DIU director Doug Beck.
Due to prolonged budget deliberations in Congress that delayed the release of appropriations, DIU’s funding came more than five months into the fiscal year, presenting Beck’s team with the challenge of using that money in a short period of time.
However, Beck said April 23 he doesn’t foresee any issues with DIU quickly putting that money to work on a condensed timeline.
“Obviously, it would be nice to have had an appropriation earlier in the year,” he said during an Association of Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International conference in San Diego. “That said, there’s so much to do that we’re really not at risk of not finding the critical things to focus that investment on.”
Beck didn’t discuss the specific initiatives DIU will funnel the funding toward — or what additional staff he might need to support these efforts — but said it will fall in four primary buckets: accelerating existing programs, launching new ones, supporting projects housed within other Defense Department innovation organizations and addressing some of the challenges commercial companies face as they try to work with DOD.
“We’re still sorting through what areas those might be, but it’s about lowering those barriers that so many of our commercial tech partners face as they’re trying to come into supporting the department,” he said.
The funding comes as DIU’s influence in the Pentagon is growing. The organization has struggled since its inception in 2015 to get buy-in and resources from Defense Department leaders. That began to shift last year when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin elevated DIU to report directly to his office and named Beck, a former Apple executive, to lead it.
Beck now sits on the Deputy’s Innovation Steering Group, which oversees DOD efforts to rapidly field technology to address high-need operational problems. He also chairs a separate Defense Innovation Working Group and DIU is playing a key role in Replicator an effort to field thousands of drones in two years and develop a process for quickly delivering capabilities to military users.
The appropriations act spreads the new DIU funding across a number of accounts and calls on the organization to use the money to rapidly field technology to get after high-need operational problems. That aligns with the technology hub’s increased focus on technology scaling, an initiative called DIU 3.0.
“The entire DIU 3.0 strategy is about focusing on those things that achieve true strategic impact and contribute that true strategic impact defined by deterring major conflict or helping win if forced to fight,” he said. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
24 Apr 24. The US Senate has approved a $95bn bill to deliver security aid to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific region with overwhelming bipartisan support, in a boost to Joe Biden’s top foreign policy priorities. The final passage of the legislation in Congress on Tuesday ended a political logjam that had lasted for months and paved the way for Washington to quickly dispatch new weapons to Ukraine as it battles Russia’s full-scale invasion. US officials said some aid for Kyiv would be forthcoming within days. The bill will also bolster US military assistance for Israel — which has exchanged drone attacks and missile strikes with Iran over the past 10 days — and comes despite mounting tensions between the White House and Israeli leaders over the country’s war in Gaza against Hamas and the heavy Palestinian civilian casualties. The approval represents a legislative victory for Biden as he faces an election match-up against Donald Trump in November and a defeat for foreign policy isolationists, particularly Republican lawmakers close to the former president, who had been holding up support for Kyiv for months. The bill won support from 79 senators, with 18 voting against. Biden immediately cheered the bill’s passage, saying he would sign it on Wednesday. Aid could start reaching Ukraine as early as this week. “Congress has passed my legislation to strengthen our national security and send a message to the world about the power of American leadership: we stand resolutely for democracy and freedom, and against tyranny and oppression.” John Kirby, the White House National Security Council spokesperson, said: “Mr Putin thinks he can play for time, so we’ve got to try to make up some of that time.” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also thanked the US Senate shortly after the vote, which he said “reinforces America’s role as a beacon of democracy and leader of the free world”. Zelenskyy emphasised the importance of long-range capabilities, artillery and air defence systems. Dwindling stocks of anti-air missiles have in recent weeks allowed Russian forces to launch wide-ranging missile attacks targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructures. The highest hurdle for the bill was cleared on Saturday after Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, decided to bring Ukraine aid up for a vote despite months of internal divisions and opposition from some rank-and-file lawmakers such as Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who threatened to oust him from his role. Supporters of the legislation from both parties and in the White House saw its passage as a bittersweet victory because of the time it took for it to pass Congress. “So much of the hesitation and short-sightedness that has delayed this moment is premised on sheer fiction,” Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate minority leader, said on Tuesday, blaming Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host who recently interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, for “demonising” Ukraine. “Make no mistake: delay in providing Ukraine the weapons to defend itself has strained the prospects of defeating Russian aggression. Dithering and hesitation have compounded the challenges we face,” McConnell said. Recommended Instant InsightPeter Spiegel Coalition government, American style Opponents of Ukraine aid continued to attack the legislation. JD Vance, the Ohio Republican senator close to Trump, likened the arguments in favour of the aid to those that led to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. “It’s the same exact talking points 20 years later with different names,” Vance said. Some leftwing lawmakers, meanwhile, criticised the bill for allowing Israel to keep receiving offensive weapons from the US. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator, pushed for an amendment to strip those measures from the legislation, but it was not considered. Sanders joined two Democrats and 15 Republicans who opposed the package. “I voted no tonight on the foreign aid package for one simple reason: US taxpayers should not be providing bns more to the extremist Netanyahu government to continue its devastating war against the Palestinian people,” he said. Europe Express, premium, Monday to Saturday. (Source: FT.com)
22 Apr 24. U.S. Poised to Begin Arms Delivery to Ukraine, Begins Talks on Niger Withdrawal. U.S. officials are poised and ready to begin delivering needed military capabilities to Ukraine following passage of supplemental budget legislation by the House of Representatives Saturday, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said today.
The Senate must approve the bill and deliver it to President Joe Biden for his signature.
Ryder said the legislation will make the United States and its allies and partners more secure. This new legislation is proof to Russian President Vladimir Putin that his supposition that the group supporting Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion would fall apart was absolutely wrong, the general said.
On Friday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will host the 21st meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. The virtual meeting comes two years to the day from when Austin first convened the group. “I would say that it’s notable that despite Russia’s assumptions that the international community would fragment and lose interest in supporting Ukraine over time, the opposite has been true,” Ryder said.
The group is composed of 50 nations, and it has remained unified in opposition to Putin’s invasion. Putin also thought his attack on Ukraine would somehow fracture the NATO alliance. “You’ve seen the NATO alliance for collective defense expand, underscoring international consensus that Ukraine’s security matters to the security of all of our nations,” the press secretary said.
In West Africa, Ryder confirmed that discussions began between Niger and the United States on the withdrawal of American troops from Niger. “The department is providing a small delegation from the Pentagon and U.S. Africa Command to participate in the discussions,” he said. “In terms of departure timing, we are not going to speculate and get ahead of the discussion.”
This does not mean the end of the counterterrorism mission in West Africa and the Sahel, Ryder said. “We continue to take the … terrorist threat seriously,” he said. “And we’re going to continue to work with partners throughout Africa on that front.”
The U.S. military will continue to work with reliable partners to address the threat that affects countries and citizens all throughout the region. “We will continue to work toward that. We will continue to explore options to ensure that we can continue to conduct the kinds of counterterrorism advising, assisting and operations that we need to,” he said. (Source: U.S. DoD)
22 Apr 24. US prepares to scrap ITAR for AUKUS nations. The US will offer ITAR exemption to Australia and the UK under AUKUS, overcoming a longstanding obstacle to defence integration.
The US has begun to overcome a major hurdle to defence integration with its AUKUS partners – Australia and the UK – with plans to exempt the two countries from its enduring International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).
In addition, the US Commerce Department also announced an expansion of the scope of licence-free trade to AUKUS nations by amending the Export Administration Regulations on 18 April 2024.
The department cited the need “to enhance technological innovation among the three countries and support the goals of the AUKUS Trilateral Security Partnership”.
It follows the passage of the US National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in December 2023, which established a list of criteria that needed to be fulfilled by the Australian and British governments before the exemptions came into effect.
These reforms will significantly reduce licensing requirements for both the UK and Australia, as well as facilitate public and private sector security institutions to deliver a more integrated defence industrial base.
The Australian Defence Forces (ADF) said that the new exemptions will remove licensing requirements for “most military goods and technology items”. This appears to include both Pillar I submarine components and Pillar II advanced technologies. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) did not immediately respond for comment on what specific parameters have been set in that regard.
Nonetheless, this will reduce the burden associated with US export licences for dual-use goods to Australia worth almost $2bn (A$3.1bn).
The Australian Government has already responded in kind with its law in March this year, which offers an exemption for the UK and the US from its export control permit requirements – this is expected to come into effect in September 2024.
Similarly, the UK will also release its Open General Export Licence in September 2024 to give effect to the exemption for Australia and the US.
These US reforms come at a time when the AUKUS roadmap is making some headway following news that the British company Rolls-Royce has already begun making components for the nuclear reactor due to be fitted into the first SSN-A (nuclear-powered attack submarine – AUKUS).
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Richard Marles, announces the build and sustainment partners for Australia’s nuclear-powered submarines during AUKMIN in Adelaide, South Australia. Credit, 22 March 2024: ADF.
However, the UK MoD noted that despite reaching the 120-day milestone set by the NDAA, the UK is in the process of finalising “the last technical steps” to benefit from the NDAA provisions. The MoD has yet to respond with details of these ‘last steps’.
“We are confident that by the next 120-day period we will have completed all the requirements for full implementation of the ITAR exemptions,” said the UK MoD in a release welcoming the reforms.
During the recent Undersea Defence Technology conference in London, the US director for AUKUS, Commander of Submarine Forces, Dan Packer, observed that the US is good when it comes to “government-to-government” relations, but they “have not got industry down yet” and this will require “baby steps”.
Although there are still details to be ironed out, scrapping the enduring ITAR restrictions for its close partners is a considerable step forward for the US – a country known for its guarded approach to knowledge and technology sharing. (Source: army-technology.com)
20 Apr 24. US secretary of state Antony Blinken will warn China that the US will take punitive steps unless it stops sending weapons-related technology to Russia, as Washington considers putting sanctions on Chinese financial institutions. During a visit to China next week, Blinken will tell his counterparts that the US and its allies are becoming increasingly impatient with Beijing’s refusal to stop providing Moscow with everything from chips to cruise missile engines to help rebuild its industrial base. Blinken does not plan to reveal what measures the US will take, but several people familiar with the situation said it is considering sanctions on Chinese financial institutions and other entities. One person said his message would be the clearest warning yet that the US had delivered in person to Chinese officials. The US has in recent weeks stepped up its warnings about the situation, including in meetings with European and G7 allies. In an interview, deputy secretary of state Kurt Campbell said China was undermining European security by supplying Russia with dual-use technologies at the same time as trying to develop closer economic and political ties with Europe. “What we’ve tried to underscore with European and Chinese interlocutors is that these dual objectives are inconsistent, and that we want China to think very carefully about the way forward,” he said. Campbell said the US was being “very direct” about its concerns and would “hold China accountable” for its actions. Blinken will visit China from April 24 to 26 and hold meetings in Shanghai and Beijing. Campbell said Blinken would raise the issue with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi. One US official said that other G7 members had told Washington that they had, or would, raise the issue with China after a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Capri this week where Blinken discussed the matter. One person said China had become increasingly concerned about the possibility of sanctions on its banks. President Joe Biden issued an executive order in December warning foreign financial institutions that they “risk losing access to the US financial system if they facilitate significant transactions relating to Russia’s military industrial base”.
“China has been worried for some time that the US might increase sanctions on China, particularly in the banking arena, because of its support to Russia during the war,” said Dennis Wilder, a former CIA China analyst now at Georgetown University. Four top Chinese lenders selectively stopped accepting payments from Russia last month, according to Russian media reports, particularly in relation to transactions for critical electronic components. The US state department declined to comment. Treasury secretary Janet Yellen raised the issue during a visit to China this month, but Blinken intends to press the matter in stronger terms. Biden voiced concern to Chinese President Xi Jinping when the leaders spoke by telephone three weeks ago. Campbell said it was “too early to say whether China is re-evaluating its stance and its position with respect to Russia and the war in Ukraine” following the spate of warnings from Washington. While the US hopes the threat of punitive measures will persuade China to change course, it is also urging European countries to take action. The US believes European pressure is critical since China is worried about the impact on its economic relations with Europe as its own economy slows. One person familiar with the deliberations said Europe had imposed sanctions on only three Chinese groups since the start of the Russian invasion two years ago, in comparison with 100 such actions against Chinese entities by Washington. Senior US officials last week released a list of technologies that they said China was sending to Russia. (Source: FT.com)
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