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☆ Canada to Buy 88 F-35 Jet Fighters to Refurbish Aging Air Force
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Paul Vieira | Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An F-35 demonstration in 2019. Canada was one of eight original countries to partner in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, as a way to defray some of its costs. OTTAWA—Canada said Monday it would purchase 88 F-35 combat jets manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp., ending a protracted, politically-charged process to refurbish the country’s aging air force. The total cost is budgeted at 19 billion Canadian dollars, or the equivalent of over $14 billion, with deliveries set to start in 2026 and all purchased aircraft expected to be in operation by 2034. Canada said the deal, struck with the Pentagon, provides the country with the best jet fighter to meet its obligations to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and protect the country’s Arctic, which officials say face elevated threats from Russia and China.

[1/3] U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning IIs fly side by side with Republic of Korea Air Force F-35s as part of a bilateral exercise over the Yellow Sea, Republic of Korea, July 12, 2022. OTTAWA, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Canada finalized a deal to buy 88 F-35 fighter jets from U.S. defense company Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) on Monday in a C$19 billion ($14.2 billion) project to replace its aging fleet of fighter aircraft. Anand said it was the largest investment in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 30 years. The F-35 fighter announcement coincides with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's trip to Mexico on Monday for the North American leaders' summit where he will meet U.S. President Joe Biden. Canada is part of a consortium that helped develop Lockheed Martin's F-35 and Ottawa will pay the same amount for the aircraft as the other participants, including the United States.

☆ Sweden Can’t Meet Turkey’s Demands on NATO Expansion, Prime Minister Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Jared Malsin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ISTANBUL—Sweden’s prime minister said Sunday that his country can’t meet some of the demands made by Turkey in order for the Nordic nation to enter the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. “Turkey both confirms that we did what we said we would do, but they also say they want things we can’t and don’t want to give them,” said Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson , speaking at a security conference in Sälen, Sweden.

☆ Sweden says Turkey asking too much over NATO application
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks during the annual Society and Defence Conference in Salen, Sweden, January 8, 2023. TT News Agency/Henrik Montgomery via REUTERSSTOCKHOLM, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Sweden is confident that Turkey will approve its application to join the NATO military alliance, but will not meet all the conditions Ankara has set for its support, Sweden's prime minister said on Sunday. "Turkey both confirms that we have done what we said we would do, but they also say that they want things that we cannot or do not want to give them," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a defence think-tank conference in Sweden. Finland and Sweden signed a three-way agreement with Turkey in 2022 aimed at overcoming Ankara's objections to their membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. "From time to time, Turkey mentions individuals that they want to see extradited from Sweden.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is deepening economic ties with Russia in a high-risk bid to support his country’s economy, defying Western sanctions on Moscow amid contentious relations with Turkey’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization partners. Turkey has increased its imports of Russian crude oil and is working with its Black Sea neighbor on a planned natural-gas hub and the construction of a nuclear-power plant. This comes at a time when Europe and its allies are trying to curtail Moscow’s revenue from energy exports over the war in Ukraine.

☆ Explainer: What is the Patriot missile defense system?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Patriot missile defence system is seen at Sliac Airport, in Sliac, near Zvolen, Slovakia, May 6, 2022. Here's what you need to know about the Patriot:WHAT IS THE PATRIOT SYSTEM? The Patriot, which stands for Phased Array Tracking Radar for Intercept on Target, is a theater-wide surface-to-air missile defense system built by Raytheon Technologies Corp (RTX.N) and considered one of the most advanced air defense systems in the U.S. arsenal. So far, the United States has provided a pair of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) to Ukraine. Russia has said the Patriot missile defense system would be a legitimate target for Russian strikes.

☆ Spending Bill Contains Billions for Ukraine, Funds U.S. Ammunition Manufacturing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Daniel Nasaw | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—The spending bill unveiled in the Senate early Tuesday contains $45 billion to support Ukraine in its battle against Russia. If passed by Congress, it would arm and equip Ukrainian and North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces, fund a surge of U.S. troops and materiel to Europe, bolster the U.S.’s domestic defense industry, extend budget and economic assistance to the Kyiv government and much more.

☆ Lawmakers Boost Military, Domestic Spending in Omnibus Bill
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Siobhan Hughes | Lindsay Wise | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy said the bill ‘directly invests in providing relief from the burden of inflation on the American people.’WASHINGTON—Lawmakers early Tuesday unveiled a wide-ranging spending bill for fiscal 2023 with sharp increases in military and domestic funding, kicking off a sprint to pass the bill before Christmas in the last act of the Democratic-controlled Congress. The bill, the product of months of behind-the-scenes haggling, also carries an additional $44.9 billion in aid to help Ukraine and North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, $40.6 billion for disasters such as drought and hurricanes, as well as funds earmarked for projects in lawmakers’ home districts. It includes changes to the 1887 Electoral Count Act that would make it harder to block the certification of a presidential election, widens a ban on TikTok on government devices, and extends a Dec. 27 deadline for Boeing Co. to secure federal safety approvals for two new versions of the 737 MAX airplane.

☆ Lawmakers Boost Military, Domestic Spending in $1.65 Trillion Omnibus Bill
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Siobhan Hughes | Lindsay Wise | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy said the bill ‘directly invests in providing relief from the burden of inflation on the American people.’WASHINGTON—Lawmakers early Tuesday unveiled a wide-ranging, $1.65 trillion spending bill for fiscal 2023 with sharp increases in military and domestic funding, kicking off a sprint to pass the bill before Christmas in the last act of the Democratic-controlled Congress. The bill, the product of months of behind-the-scenes haggling, also carries an additional $44.9 billion in aid to help Ukraine and North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, $40.6 billion for disasters such as drought and hurricanes, as well as funds earmarked for projects in lawmakers’ home districts. It includes changes to the 1887 Electoral Count Act that would make it harder to block the certification of a presidential election, widens a ban on TikTok on government devices, and extends a Dec. 27 deadline for Boeing Co. to secure federal safety approvals for two new versions of the 737 MAX airplane.

☆ Trust between the West and Russia has been destroyed, NATO chief says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The West has tried to build bridges with Russia since the end of the Cold War but any trust that was established in recent years has been destroyed with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, NATO Director-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday. "NATO strived for decades to develop a better, more constructive relationship with Russia," he told CNBC's Hadley Gamble in Brussels. Stoltenberg said a level of trust that had been established during a rapprochement between Western nations and Russia in recent decades had been destroyed by Moscow's decision to invade Ukraine. "Even if the fighting ends, we will not return to some kind of normal, friendly, relationship with Russia. "I think the war has had long-lasting consequences for the relationship with Russia."

☆ Japan, Britain and Italy to build jet fighter together
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Japan, Britain and Italy are merging their next-generation jet fighter projects in a ground-breaking partnership spanning Europe and Asia that is Japan’s first major industrial defense collaboration beyond the United States since World War II. Amid what it sees as deteriorating regional security, Japan this month will announce a military build up plan that is expected to double defense spending to about 2% of gross domestic product over five years. “It’s also good for our international reputation”The proposed jet fighter aircraft Tempest, shown during the Farnborough Airshow, in southern England in July. Britain also wants Japan to improve how it provides security clearances to contractors who will work on the aircraft, sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. “The United States supports Japan’s security and defense cooperation with likeminded allies and partners, including with the United Kingdom and Italy,” the U.S. Department of Defense said in a joint statement with Japan’s Ministry of Defense.

TOKYO/LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Japan, Britain and Italy are merging their next-generation jet fighter projects in a ground-breaking partnership spanning Europe and Asia that is Japan's first major industrial defence collaboration beyond the United States since World War Two. Amid what it sees as deteriorating regional security, Japan this month will announce a military build up plan that is expected to double defence spending to about 2% of gross domestic product over five years. Britain also want Japan to improve how it provides security clearances to contractors who will work on the aircraft, sources with knowledge of the discussion told Reuters. The United States, which has pledged to defend all three countries through its membership of NATO and a separate security pact with Japan, also welcomed the joint Europe-Japan agreement. "The United States supports Japan's security and defence cooperation with likeminded allies and partners, including with the United Kingdom and Italy," the U.S. Department of Defense said in a joint statement with Japan's Ministry of Defense.

☆ NATO Membership for Sweden and Finland on Track, Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( William Mauldin | Michael R. Gordon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—Finland and Sweden are on track to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the near future despite friction with Turkey, U.S. and Nordic officials said. The Northern European nations’ foreign ministers met in Washington Thursday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken , and all three voiced optimism that Turkey and Hungary, the final two NATO members that haven’t ratified the new members, would do so soon.

☆ Antony Blinken Pledges Western Support for Ukraine’s Power Grid
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( William Mauldin | Daniel Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Secretary of State Antony Blinken presented Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure as a reason for Western nations to stick together in supporting Ukraine. BUCHAREST—Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Western countries would step up support for Ukraine’s power sector and remain united against efforts by Russian President Vladimir Putin to divide Europe over energy supplies. “His strategy has not and will not work,” Mr. Blinken told reporters following meetings of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized democracies. “We will continue to prove him wrong,” said Mr. Blinken, who added that “heat, water, electricity—for children, for the elderly, for the sick—these are President Putin’s new targets.”

REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerCompanies Lockheed Martin Corp FollowBERLIN, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The leaders of Germany and Norway said on Wednesday they would jointly ask NATO to coordinate the protection of Europe's subsea infrastructure in light of the suspected attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipeline network. European countries have stepped up vigilance around critical installations after the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which connect Russia to Germany, ruptured in September and spewed gas into the Baltic Sea. "We take the protection of our critical infrastructure very seriously and nobody should think that attacks would remain without consequences," he said. In an emailed statement, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he welcomed Germany and Norway's proposal. "We have stepped up our efforts after the recent sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, and it is vital to do even more to ensure that our offshore infrastructure remains safe from future destructive acts," he said.

☆ NATO Chief Urges Military Support for Ukraine as Russian Attacks Rage On
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Isabel Coles | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

As Russia presses a campaign targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine while winter sets in, the head of NATO said the alliance must deny Moscow a victory that would embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin and other authoritarian leaders. Speaking at a meeting of the military alliance’s foreign ministers, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday the group must continue to provide military support for Ukraine, at a time when U.S. officials have begun nudging Kyiv to consider peace, before the changing weather stalls the Ukrainian forces’ recent advances.

☆ Ukraine War’s Economic Ripples Sow Discord Between Washington, Allies
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | Andrew Restuccia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden is shown speaking to French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier this month. European officials are starting to express frustration at their increasing reliance on Washington for security and economic stability. WASHINGTON—Trans-Atlantic ties are starting to fray as French President Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders chafe at new U.S. policies they say compound economic woes fueled by the war in Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis. Russia’s war in Ukraine has reinvigorated the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and ignited a boom in trade and investment between the U.S. and Europe. But after nearly a year of unity as the U.S. and its allies confronted the fallout from Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s invasion of Ukraine, European officials are starting to express frustration at their increasing reliance on Washington for security and economic stability.

☆ 'Losing is not an option': Putin is 'desperate' to avoid defeat in Ukraine as anxiety rises in Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Leaders meeting in Yerevan on November 23, 2022. That, Russian political analysts say, will be catastrophic for Putin and the Kremlin, who have banked Russia's global capital on winning the war against Ukraine. They told CNBC that anxiety was rising in Moscow over how the war was progressing. Needless to say, that latest withdrawal darkened the mood even among the most ardent Putin supporters. Another Russian analyst said Putin is increasingly desperate not to lose the war.

☆ Belarus officials say Vladimir Makei, long-time foreign minister, has died suddenly
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Belarus’ long-standing foreign minister has died suddenly, the country’s foreign ministry said Saturday, two days before he was meant to meet his Russian counterpart. "The Foreign Minister of the Republic of Belarus Vladimir Makei has passed away," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus said in a tweet. Before the presidential elections and mass anti-government protests in Belarus in 2020, Makei had been one of the initiators of efforts to improve Belarus’ relations with the West and had criticized Russia. “We are shocked by the reports of the death of the Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Vladimir Makei,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova posted in her Telegram channel. “In 2020, Makei betrayed the Belarusian people and supported tyranny.

☆ Belarus foreign minister Makei dies - Belta
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 26 (Reuters) - Belarus Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei has died at the age of 64, state news agency Belta reported on Saturday. "Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei has passed away suddenly," Belta reported. Before the presidential elections and mass anti-government protests in Belarus in 2020, Makei had been one of the initiators of efforts to improve Belarus' relations with the West and had criticised Russia. However, he abruptly changed his stance after the start of the protests, claiming they were inspired by agents of the West. "We are shocked by the reports of the death of the Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Vladimir Makei," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova posted in her Telegram channel.

☆ Putin was repeatedly snubbed at an international summit of countries meant to be Russia's friends
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Putin's meeting with the CSTO security alliance went south when an ally repeatedly snubbed him. Vladimir Putin met with leaders from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-dominated alliance of post-Soviet nations. CSTO leaders in Yerevan, Armenia on November 23, 2022. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands as they attend the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit in Yerevan, Armenia, November 23, 2022. Putin also did not go to the G20 earlier this month and he did not address it virtually.

☆ Poland’s Exposure to Ukraine War in Spotlight After Missile Blast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Drew Hinshaw | Karolina Jeznach | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PRZEWODÓW, Poland—Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Poland has been at the leading edge of NATO’s efforts to arm its neighbor against Russian forces—without letting the war spill onto the alliance’s own territory. Now, the stray missile that killed two Polish nationals and prompted high-level discussions within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, puts the spotlight back on a country that has been Ukraine’s biggest champion in Europe and is at the greatest risk should the conflict spill over into a wider war.

☆ Missile That Hit Poland Likely Launched by Ukraine in Air Defense, Western Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Laurence Norman | Daniel Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS—The missile that crashed in Poland on Tuesday, killing two people, was from a Ukrainian air-defense system, according to two senior Western officials briefed on preliminary U.S. assessments, but Poland is continuing its own investigation of the explosion. The initial findings will be discussed Wednesday at an emergency meeting at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, where ambassadors from the alliance’s 30 members are set to review intelligence and consider their options.

☆ NATO could invoke Article 4 after Russian missiles struck Poland. Here's what that means.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The incident could invoke NATO Article 4, which allows any member to call for a consultation when threatened. Several NATO countries previously invoked Article 4 after Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Such defiant language ostensibly appeals to the collective defense principle at the heart of NATO Article 5. As such, NATO and its members have no binding obligation to defend Ukraine against Russia's attacks. Biden has made clear that US troops thus far deployed to Eastern Europe are there to bolster NATO member countries wary of nearby Russian aggression.

☆ Why isn't Ukraine already in NATO? Here's what it takes to join the 30-country alliance
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Ukraine's pursuit of NATO membership has been cited as a key factor in Russia's invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has long been vocal about his country's desire to secure both NATO membership and additional assistance. "So there were some formal reasons why the Alliance could say that Ukraine was not ready yet to join the Alliance." Will Finland and Sweden join NATO? Both countries submitted official letters of application to join NATO in May 2022 and were formally invited to join the alliance in June.

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