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Lloyd Austin

$842 bn budget proposal for defence driven by competition with China: Lloyd

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin III said that the $842 billion budget proposal for the fiscal year 2024 for the Defense Department is a strategy-driven budge

Updated On : 29 Mar 2023 | 9:03 AM IST

US, Russian military chiefs resume contact to discuss destruction of drone

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he spoke to his Russian counterpart on Wednesday about the destruction of a US drone over the Black Sea, which had brought the two countries closest to direct conflict since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine a year ago. It was the first call between Austin and Defence Secretary Sergei Shoigu since October. I just got off the phone with my Russian counterpart, Minister Shoigu, Austin said at a Pentagon press briefing. As I've said repeatedly, it's important that great powers be models of transparency and communication, and the United States will continue to fly and to operate wherever international law allows. The US military said it ditched the Air Force MQ-9 Reaper in the sea after a Russian fighter jet struck its propeller. Russia has denied that it caused the incident. The US has said it was working on declassifying surveillance footage from the drone that would show Tuesday's crash. That Austin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu were talki

Updated On : 16 Mar 2023 | 8:36 AM IST

Keep Covid military vaccine mandate intact, says US defence chief Austin

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he wants to keep the military's COVID-19 vaccine mandate in place to protect the health of the troops, as Republican governors and lawmakers press to rescind it. This past week more than 20 Republican governors sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking that the administration remove the mandate, saying it has hurt the US National Guard's ability to recruit troops. Those troops are activated by governors to respond to natural disasters or unrest. Congress may consider legislation this coming week to end the mandate as a requirement to gather enough support to pass this years' defense budget, which is already two months late. Austin said he would not comment on pressure from the Hill. We lost a million people to this virus," Austin told reporters traveling with him Saturday. A million people died in the United States of America. We lost hundreds in DOD. So this mandate has kept people healthy. I'm the guy who ordered the military to require the

Updated On : 04 Dec 2022 | 10:29 AM IST

US faces pivotal years in countering China, says Pentagon chief Austin

The US is at a pivotal point with China and will need military strength to ensure that American values, not Beijing's, set global norms in the 21st century, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday. Austin's speech at the Reagan National Defence Forum capped a week in which the Pentagon was squarely focused on China's rise and what that might mean for America's position in the world. On Monday it released an annual China security report that warned Beijing would likely have 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035, with no clarity on how China would seek to use them. On Friday in a dramatic nighttime rollout, Austin was on hand as the public got its first glimpse of the military's newest, highly classified nuclear stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, which is being designed to best the quickly growing cyber, space and nuclear capabilities of Beijing. China is the only country with both the will and, increasingly, the power to reshape its region and the international order to suit its ...

Updated On : 04 Dec 2022 | 8:59 AM IST

US defence chief Austin says 'tyranny and turmoil' in Russian invasion

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Saturday Russia's invasion of Ukraine offers a preview of a world where nuclear-armed countries could threaten other nations and said Beijing, like Moscow, seeks a world where might makes right. Austin made the remarks at the annual Halifax International Security Forum, which attracts defense and security officials from Western democracies. "Russia's invasion offers a preview of a possible world of tyranny and turmoil that none of us would want to live in. And it's an invitation to an increasingly insecure world haunted by the shadow of nuclear proliferation," Austin said in a speech. "Because Putin's fellow autocrats are watching. And they could well conclude that getting nuclear weapons would give them a hunting license of their own. And that could drive a dangerous spiral of nuclear proliferation." Austin dismissed Putin's claims that "modern Ukraine was entirely created by Russia," calling it a vision of "a world in which autocrats decid

Updated On : 20 Nov 2022 | 7:19 AM IST

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin blames Putin's war for Poland explosion

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday the deadly missile explosion in Poland this week is a consequence of Russian President Vladimir Putin's war of choice against Ukraine, and said international stability and prosperity are at stake in the conflict. Austin made the remarks at the annual Halifax International Security Forum which attracts defense and security officials from Western democracies. The tragic and troubling explosion in Poland this week reminded the whole world of the recklessness of Putin's war of choice, Austin said. On Tuesday, two workers were killed when a projectile hit the grain-drying facility close to Poland's border with Ukraine. While the source of the missile is under investigation, NATO officials have said they suspect it was fired from a Ukrainian missile battery. Officials from Poland, NATO and the United States have blamed Russia for the deaths in any case, saying a Ukrainian missile would not have misfired had the country not been forced to

Updated On : 20 Nov 2022 | 7:06 AM IST

US Defence Secretary to host Pakistan Army chief for talks at Pentagon

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday will host Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa at the Pentagon for talks amidst signs of enhanced military engagement between the two countries. Last week, Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was in the town meeting top officials of the Biden Administration, including Secretary of State Tony Blinken. Bajwa will be accorded an "enhanced honour cordon" at the riverside entrance of the Pentagon by Austin following which the two will be holding a meeting on bilateral and regional issues. America's engagement with Pakistan, in particular with its military, has increased in recent months. Last month, the US announced a USD450 million F-16 fighter jet sustenance package for Pakistan.

Updated On : 04 Oct 2022 | 9:32 AM IST

India, US express need to boost defence ties amid rising global challenges

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday agreed that the global situation this year has become more challenging, especially due to the challenges in the Indo-Pacific, and underscored the need to further strengthen the bilateral relationship, in particular the defence ties. The remarks came amidst China's increasingly intimidatory behaviour in the region. Jaishankar is here in the American Capital for bilateral consultations with several US Cabinet ministers, including his counterpart Secretary of State Antony Blinken. I do share with you that the global situation has become far more challenging this year (due to) a variety of reasons, the Indo-Pacific in particular," Jaishankar said in his opening remarks at the top of his meeting with Austin at the Pentagon here. "It's important that the stability, security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific should be secured. That is best done amongst others by cooperation between two countries," he .

Updated On : 27 Sep 2022 | 7:16 AM IST

Rajnath conveys concerns to US over sustenance package for Pak's F-16 fleet

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday conveyed to US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin India's concerns over Washington's decision to provide sustenance package for Pakistan's F-16 fighter jet fleet. Singh apprised Austin about India's concerns on the issue during a telephonic conversation. "I conveyed India's concern at the recent US decision to provide sustenance package for Pakistan's F-16 fleet," the defence minister said on Twitter. The US has planned to provide Foreign Military Sales (FMS) worth USD 450 million for hardware, software and spares for the F-16 fighter fleet of Pakistan. "Had a warm and productive telephonic conversation with the US Secretary of Defence, Mr. Lloyd Austin. We discussed growing convergence of strategic interests and enhanced defence & security cooperation," Singh said. "We also discussed ways to strengthen technological and industrial collaboration and also explore cooperation in emerging and critical technologies," he said. Singh said he was

Updated On : 14 Sep 2022 | 6:56 PM IST

US approves up to $675 mn in further military aid to Ukraine: Lloyd Austin

U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin says President Joe Biden has approved additional military aid to Ukraine worth up to $675 million. Austin said at the start of a meeting Thursday with senior officials from allied countries at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany that Biden approved the latest tranche of U.S. assistance on Wednesday. He said that the package includes howitzers, artillery munitions, Humvees, armored ambulances, anti-tank systems and more. Austin gathered officials from allied countries to renew their commitment to military support for Ukraine for the long haul.

Updated On : 08 Sep 2022 | 3:54 PM IST