Us Pentagon

Defence budget readies US for possible China confrontation: Pentagon

The US military must be ready for possible confrontation with China, the Pentagon's leaders said Thursday, pushing Congress to approve the Defence Department's proposed USD 842 billion budget that would modernize the force in Asia and around the world. "This is a strategy-driven budget and one driven by the seriousness of our strategic competition with the People's Republic of China," Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said in testimony before the House Appropriations subcommittee on defence. Pointing to increases in new technology, such as hypersonics, Austin said the budget proposes to spend more than USD 9 billion, a 40 per cent increase over last year, to build up military capabilities in the Pacific and defend allies. The testimony comes on the heels of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow, amid concerns China will step up its support for Russian President Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine and increasingly threaten the West. China's actions, said Gen. Mark Milley, chairman o

No evidence of fraud so far in weapons to Ukraine, says Pentagon IG

The Pentagon's inspector general said on Tuesday that to date his office has found no evidence that some of the billions of dollars in weapons and aid to Ukraine has been lost to corruption or diverted into the wrong hands, but cautioned that those investigations are only in their early stages. Keeping military aid to Ukraine protected from waste or fraud has become a critical part of keeping continued support for Ukraine intact in Congress, where some lawmakers have already begun to question why the US is spending so much to help Kyiv. Robert P. Storch was pressed by Congress members several times about any fraud findings. He said that a number of tips and allegations have come in to a new hotline, but that there have been limited findings to date, with many reports pending. Storch, who was testifying with other Pentagon leaders before the House Armed Services Committee, repeatedly said he did not want to talk about investigations that have not yet been completed. Rep. Mike Rogers

Pentagon releases selfie taken by US pilot of Chinese spy balloon

The US Department of Defense (DOD) has released a selfie image taken by an American pilot which shows the suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down earlier this month

We're calling them objects, not balloons, for a reason: Pentagon officials

The military will try to recover the object downed over Lake Huron, which they said likely fell in Canadian waters, to learn more about it

Want to be India's 'premier partner' in its extraordinary growth story: US

The US wants to be not only India's security partner of the first resort but also its premier partner in its extraordinary growth story, the Pentagon has said. These remarks were made by Pentagon Press Secretary Brig Gen Patrick Ryder on Wednesday while responding to a question on the recently launched India-US initiative on critical emerging technologies, which has a significant defence component in it. The high level of participation from across the US government, US industry, and our universities is unprecedented, and sends a strong signal that the United States wants not only to be India's security partner of first resort but to be the premier partner in India's extraordinary growth story, Ryder said. The Department of Defence is excited to work with other US agencies and partners as part of the White House-led United StatesIndia Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), he said. We look forward to sharing more information on our defence cooperation with India a

Another Chinese surveillance balloon transiting Latin America: Pentagon

The Pentagon on Friday night said that another Chinese surveillance is transiting Latin America. We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America. We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon. We have no further information to provide at this time, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said. The detection of the Chinese surveillance balloon transiting Latin America comes a day after the Pentagon found a Chinese surveillance balloon within its territory flying over Montana, leading to US Secretary of State Tony Blinken postponing his planned trip to Beijing.

Chinese balloon to remain over US skies for a few days, says Pentagon

The Chinese balloon, of the size of three buses, laced with a significant number of payloads will probably be over the United States for a few days, the Pentagon said on Friday asserting that it has surveillance capabilities. The development has angered the United States and in protest has cancelled the Beijing trip of Secretary of State Tony Blinken, who was scheduled to leave for China on Friday night. This would have been the first visit of a top American diplomat to China in several years. President Joe Biden has been briefed about the violation of US airspace by China and he is closely monitoring the developing situation, the White House said adding that as of now they have decided against destroying it because of the safety of the public, but all actions are on table. We will continue to monitor it. Right now, we assess that it'll probably be over the United States for a few days, but we'll continue to review our options and keep you updated as we can, Pentagon Press Secretar

Mystery balloon discovery over Montana missile fields cancels US-China trip

The Pentagon said at midday Friday that a Chinese spy balloon had moved eastward and was over the central United States, and that the U.S. rejected China's claims that it was not being used for surveillance. Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, refused to provide details on exactly where the balloon was or whether there was any new consideration of shooting it down. The military had ruled that option out, officials had said, due to potential risks to people on the ground. Ryder said it was at an altitude of about 60,000 feet, was maneuverable and had changed course. He said it currently was posing no threat. He said there was only one balloon being tracked.

Pentagon reiterates importance of India-US defence, security relationship

India has been designated as a major defence partner of the United States

US Senate passes record $858 billion defense bill, sends bill to Prez Biden

The fiscal 2023 NDAA authorizes $858 billion in military spending and includes a 4.6% pay increase for the troops, funding for purchases of weapons, ships and aircraft, and support for Taiwan

Pentagon awards $9 bn Cloud project to Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Oracle

Ending the bitter Cloud war, the Pentagon has awarded its multi-bn dollar Cloud-computing contract to all the major players -- Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Oracle - that can reach up to $9 bn

Pentagon debuts its stealth bomber, B-21 Raider amid concerns with China

America's newest nuclear stealth bomber is making its public debut after years of secret development and as part of the Pentagon's answer to rising concerns over a future conflict with China. The B-21 Raider is the first new American bomber aircraft in more than 30 years. Almost every aspect of the programme is classified. Ahead of its unveiling Friday at an Air Force facility in Palmdale, California, only artists' renderings of the warplane have been released. Those few images reveal that the Raider resembles the black nuclear stealth bomber it will eventually replace, the B-2 Spirit. The bomber is part of the Pentagon's efforts to modernise all three legs of its nuclear triad, which includes silo-launched nuclear ballistic missiles and submarine-launched warheads, as it shifts from the counterterrorism campaigns of recent decades to meet China's rapid military modernisation. China is on track to have 1,500 nuclear weapons by 2035, and its gains in hypersonics, cyber warfare, spa

China warned US officials not to interfere in its ties with India: Pentagon

China has warned American officials not to interfere in its relationship with India, the Pentagon has said in a report to the Congress. Throughout its standoff with India along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Chinese officials sought to downplay the severity of the crisis, emphasising Beijing's intent to preserve border stability and prevent the standoff from harming other areas of its bilateral relationship with India, the Pentagon said in a report on Tuesday. "The PRC (People's Republic of China) seeks to prevent border tensions from causing India to partner more closely with the United States. PRC officials have warned U.S. officials to not interfere with the PRC's relationship with India," the Pentagon said in its latest report to the Congress on Chinese military buildup. In a section on the China-India border, the Pentagon said throughout 2021, the PLA sustained the deployment of forces and continued infrastructure build up along the LAC. Negotiation made minimal progress as

China to have 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035, up from current 400: Pentagon

China is likely to have a stockpile of about 1,500 warheads by 2035, up from the current estimated number of 400, the Pentagon has said. In its annual report to the Congress on China's ambitious military build-up, the Pentagon said Tuesday that over the next decade, Beijing aims to modernise, diversify, and expand its nuclear forces. China's current nuclear modernisation exercise has exceed the previous modernization attempts in both scale and complexity, it said. China is investing in and expanding the number of its land-, sea-, and air-based nuclear delivery platforms and constructing the infrastructure necessary to support this major expansion of its nuclear forces, it said. China, it said, is also supporting this expansion by increasing its capacity to produce and separate plutonium by constructing fast breeder reactors and reprocessing facilities. In 2021, Beijing probably accelerated its nuclear expansion, it said. The Pentagon said it estimates that China's operational nucl

FS Vinay Kwatra meets Pentagon official, discusses bilateral defence ties

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra met US Under Secretary of Defence for Policy Colin Kahl and the two senior officials discussed initiatives to further advance the bilateral defence cooperation and underlined the importance of the 'India-US Major Defence Partnership' which has helped in shaping the future of the Indo-Pacific region. Kwatra, currently on an official visit to the US, met Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Monday and discussed Indo-US ties and ways to further advance their bilateral security and regional cooperation, the situation in the Indo-Pacific region and Ukraine. During the meeting on Tuesday Kahl and Kwarta discussed initiatives to advance bilateral defence cooperation ahead of the next 2+2 Ministerial meeting in New Delhi, a media release said. "It was a pleasure meeting w/Indian Foreign Secretary @AmbVMKwatra this afternoon. We discussed a range of bilateral initiatives to advance the US-India defence partnership and promote a #FreeandOpenIndoPacific ...

Assistance to Pakistan's F-16 not designed as a message to India: Pentagon

The US has said that its decision to provide a USD 450 million sustenance package for Pakistan's F-16 fleet is not designed as a message to India rather it is associated with America's defence partnership with Islamabad which is primarily focused on counterterrorism and nuclear security. On September 8, the Biden administration approved a USD 450 million F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment programme to Pakistan, reversing the decision of the previous Trump administration to suspend military aid to Islamabad for providing safe havens for the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network. India has conveyed to the US its concerns over Washington's decision to provide a sustenance package for Pakistan's F-16 fighter jet fleet. In a notification to the US Congress, the State Department made a determination approving a possible foreign military sale for sustainment and related equipment for an estimated cost of USD 450 million, arguing that this will sustain Islamabad's capability to meet curren

US heartened by PM Modi's comments to Putin last weekend: Pentagon official

The United States is heartened by the recent comment made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russian President Vladimir Putin that this is not the time for war in Ukraine, a senior Pentagon official said on Thursday. Prime Minister Modi had met President Putin in Uzbekistan city Samarkand on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, which concluded last week, and during the meeting Modi told the Russian president, Today's era is not an era of war, and I have spoken to you on the phone about this." On his part, Putin told Modi that he was aware of India's concerns over the Ukraine conflict and that Russia will do everything possible to end it as soon as possible. The US has said that it is heartened by the comments made by Prime Minister Modi. We were heartened by Prime Minister Modi's comments last weekend, Dr Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs told a group of reporters and think-tank experts during a virtual round ...

US, India now more closely aligned than ever in the past: Pentagon official

The relationship between India and the United States today are more closely aligned in than ever in the past, a senior Pentagon official has said, noting that they are focused on the long game which is building the partnership into the future and supporting India's ability to shape a favorable balance of power in the Indo Pacific. We view the US India partnership as central to our vision for a free and open Indo Pacific. While there may be bumps in the road along the way, we are really focused on the long game which is building our partnership into the future and supporting India's ability to shape a favourable balance of power in the Indo Pacific, Dr. Ely S. Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs told a group of reporters and think-tank experts during a virtual round table. He said that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is scheduled to meet the Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon on Monday. This comes on the heels of a lengthy ...

US has very close partnership, defence relationship with India: Pentagon

The United States has a very close defence relationship with India, the Pentagon has said as it dismissed questions about the latest multinational military exercises involving Russia, India and China. India's a sovereign nation, they can make their own decisions in terms of who they're going to conduct exercises with, Pentagon Spokesman Brig Gen Patrick Ryder told reporters at his news conference on Tuesday. Certainly, we have appreciated our partnership with India in the region. They're an important partner, as you know. And we'll continue to work closely with them, he said responding to a question on India participating in a war game with Russia and China. They have participated in games -- war games with Russia and China, which seems a little bit troubling to some people, he was asked. We have a very close partnership and relationship -- defence relationship with India. We obviously will continue to work with India and further develop that relationship, Ryder said. The Vostok .

Indian defence attache now has unescorted access to Pentagon: US Air Force

Indian defence attache now has unescorted access to the Pentagon, a top US Defense Department official has said