Category Archives: NATO

Bipartisan House leaders have introduced a measure reaffirming the U.S. commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organizations mutual defense clause after President Trump declined to do so in a speech abroad last month.

Top leaders, including House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Speaker Paul RyanPaul RyanRecord number attend Congressional Women's Softball Game after shooting Dems point fingers after crushing loss Savor the flavor of Georgia win, GOP. Midterms will be different. MORE (R-Wis.), Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.), unveiled the resolution on Wednesday.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, are also co-sponsors.

Hoyer's office noted he had been working on the resolution since visiting Denmark, Belgium, Lithuania, and Estonia to reaffirm NATO commitments around the time of Trump's speech. He spearheaded the measure upon his return to Washington and collaborated with McCarthy and other top Republicans to garner bipartisan support.

With Russia continuing its aggression in Eastern Europe and its cyberwar against the worlds democracies, NATO is as relevant as it ever was during the Cold War. I hope the House will take a strong, bipartisan vote to pass this resolution soon, he added.

During a speech before NATO leaders in late May, Trump scolded U.S. allies for not spending enough on defense.

Trump also declined to explicitly endorse NATOs Article 5, which states that a threat to one member nation is a threat to all.

NATO allies found Trumps omission particularly striking given that his speech was delivered at the dedication of a memorial dedicated to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. That has been the only time NATO invoked Article 5.

Vice President Pence and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley have since said that the U.S. still supports NATOs Article 5.

Read more:
Bipartisan House leaders unveil resolution endorsing NATO's Article 5 - The Hill

Correspondents for RIA and TASS both reported the incident based on what they saw from the minister's plane. They said the NATO jet was "driven off" by a Russian Su-27 fighter, which "demonstrated" its armament by swinging its wings.

A NATO official confirmed that three Russian aircraft, including two fighters, were tracked over the Baltic Sea Wednesday.

"As the aircraft did not identify themselves or respond to air traffic control, NATO fighter jets scrambled to identify them, according to standard procedures. NATO has no information as to who was on board. We assess the Russian pilots' behaviour as safe and professional," the official said.

The same NATO official added that all sides involved acted in a safe and professional manner,

When asked by CNN if the NATO jet was chased away, the official said: "Once identification of the aircraft was complete, our jets broke away as it is standard procedure."

The Russian Defense Ministry has not responded to requests for comment from CNN. A television network run by the ministry released a video online that it described as showing the incident.

Shoigu was on his way to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, which is between Moscow and Poland.

Russian state media also reported that a NATO jet shadowed Shoigu's plane when he departed Kalingrad, but did not approach as closely as in the prior incident.

Wednesday's encounter with a NATO jet comes just two days after a Russian Su-27 fighter jet flew within five feet of a US Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft in the skies above the Baltic Sea.

US officials deemed that intercept "unsafe" as the armed Russian jet flew "erratically," in close proximity to the American spy plane.

Russia disputed claims that its aircraft was at fault during the encounter and said it intercepted two US reconnaissance aircraft as they "approached the Russian state border."

There have been more than 30 interactions between Russian and US aircraft and ships near the Baltic Sea since the beginning of June, a US official told CNN. The vast majority of these encounters have been safe and professional, the official added -- a point that adds to the significance of Monday's incident.

"Russia is certainly within its right to exercise within international airspace, but we want them to respect international standards for safety to prevent accidents," said Pentagon spokesperson Capt. Jeff Davis.

"The vast majority of interactions we have, intercepts that occur when we fly and that are intercepted by the Russians are safe. This is an exception, not the norm, but we were again operating in international airspace and did nothing to provoke," Davis said.

These recent intercepts occurred amid rising tensions between Russia and members of NATO -- particularly the US.

Earlier this month, the US Air Force deployed long-range B-52 bombers and 800 airmen to the United Kingdom in support of joint exercises with NATO allies and partners across Europe.

Those exercises have primarily taken place in the Baltic Sea, the Arctic and along Russia's border with several NATO partners.

Over the weekend over 1,000 US and NATO troops conducted a defensive drill in the Suwalki Gap in the border area between Poland and Lithuania. That area is seen by most experts as a likely Russian target in the event of a NATO-Russia military confrontation.

CNN's Oksana Brown, Mary Ilyushina, Pamela Boykoff, Emma Burrows and Ryan Browne contributed to this report.

More:
NATO jet intercepts Russian minister's plane - CNN

The U.S. Department of Defense says the presence of the world's most expensive fighter jet in Paris is a clear sign of the U.S. commitment to NATO.

The F-35A took to the skies above the French capital on Monday, wowing the crowd with a series of high- and low-speed maneuvers.

Gen. Tod D. Wolters, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, said the exhibition was an example of the willingness of the U.S. Air Force to work with allies.

"The presence of the U.S. F-35A at this Paris Air Show shows a degree of cooperation with our partners. And the NATO region will very soon further embrace the F-35Bs in the United Kingdom," he said in a panel presentation Monday. "The more we sit together side by side and think through ways to better integrate the better. That is exactly what is happening at this air show."

Wolters added that training allies in the operation of the F-35 was part of the wider goal to create a strong NATO force.

"I'm the NATO air chief. We wake up and our goal is to train and exercise like there is no tomorrow and our purpose is to take that NATO force and with each and every hour, minute, second we want a gradual improvement in our readiness.

"And that means that we will be ready for every occurrence that could take place in the region with the aim of protecting the sovereign land and skies of NATO members," he added.

The F-35 has been criticized for being too expensive, but news agency Reuters is reporting that people familiar with the matter say the plane's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, is on the brink of a huge $37 billion deal to sell 440 F-35 fighter jets to 11 nations.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called NATO obsolete and has rebuked European allies for not spending enough on defense.

Speaking at the same presentation, Heidi Grant, deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for International Affairs, said it is clear that NATO countries have been getting the message for some time.

"My observation is that years ago many countries depended on the U.S. but I think that in the last several years our partners are realizing that our stocks and munitions aren't what they used to be," she said.

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.

Watch: Inside the F-35

Read the original here:
US says F-35 shows NATO commitment as rumors fly of massive deal - CNBC

PARIS

Military conflicts and growing threats around the world continue to underpin demand for weapons, but industry and government leaders from the United States, Europe, Russia and the Middle East say they don't see a huge near-term spike in arms orders.

Executives report being busier than ever at this year's Paris Airshow, the oldest and biggest aerospace expo in the world, which featured aerial acrobatics by Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-35 fighter jet.

But they caution that foreign arms sales take years to complete, and NATO governments must get through lengthy budget and bureaucratic processes before they can raise military spending to meet a NATO target for members to spend 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense.

No big spurt seen

"We're seeing some growth, but I like to be pragmatic. I'm not seeing a big tick up in defense spending across the board," Leanne Caret, who heads Boeing's defense business, told Reuters in an interview. Her division generates about 40 percent of its revenues overseas, a big change from just several years ago.

Boeing officials expect steady gains in weapons sales, but warn against expectations for any kind of "gold rush" despite U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge to boost military spending, saying there may be more of a shift in what platforms and weapons programs are in demand.

Recent increases in tensions between Russia and the United States have raised concerns about another arms race, but top officials in both countries agree that there will not be a mad rush to bulk up on weapons.

Moscow's top arms trade official, Dmitry Shugaev, told reporters at the show that Russian weapon makers remained competitive despite Western sanctions, but the cyclical nature of the business and budget constraints are dampening prospects for a big surge in global arms sales.

He also expressed skepticism that NATO members would rapidly increase their military budgets, despite pledging to move toward the 2 percent goal.

Trump position

Trump's public declarations that NATO members are not pulling their weight may have had some impact. Lockheed Martin's Aeronautics business leader, Orlando Carvalho, said national security budgets and military systems' demand outside the United States are beginning to increase, "especially with the focus that the president has put on NATO."

In 2016, total world military expenditure rose 0.4 percent to $1.69 trillion, according the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The European Union's economic and financial affairs commissioner, Pierre Moscovici, also cited that risk, warning that European countries needed to match political pledges to boost military spending with actual resource commitments.

"There is now a window of opportunity for investing more in European defense ... but as with all windows, a window closes if you don't go through it," he said.

Gradual increases in Europe

Germany and other European countries are boosting military spending, concerned about terrorism and Russia's increasingly assertive military stance after its annexation of Crimea and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, but the increases are likely to be more gradual than dramatic.

In the missile defense arena, Western concerns about rapid advances in technology by North Korea, China and Iran, as well as Russia's increased military activities, are driving orders for a range of defensive systems, according to U.S. and European executives.

"The threat is absolutely increasing and it's increasing rapidly," said Tim Cahill, vice president of air and missile defense systems at Lockheed. "In every region around the world, the level of interest in integrated air and missile defense has been going up in the last few months."

Wes Kremer, president of Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems, said he was meeting with officials from countries that had not shown any interest in missile defense systems just four or five years ago.

"Back then, they didn't see a ballistic missile threat, or they didn't see Russia as a threat, but now that has changed," he said.

Read more here:
Threats, NATO Demands Underpin Global Arms Demand - Voice of America

The NATO alliance intercepted 32 Russian military aircraft nearing allied airspace above the Baltic Sea last week, Lithuanias Ministry of Defense announced on Monday.

Between June 12 and 18, allied jets scrambled nine times to identify and escort multiple Russian aircraft, including fighter and bomber jets, at a time of high military traffic in Baltic skies because of the alliances annual drills.

The intercepts were prompted by Russian military flights to and from the Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad and involved a varied range of warplanes, Lithuanias Defense Ministry said in a statement. The number of annual intercepts of Russian aircraft above the Baltic skyrocketed following the collapse of relations between Moscow and the West over events in Ukraine in 2014. Scrambles have remained high since.

Daily Emails and Alerts- Get the best of Newsweek delivered to your inbox

Related: Russia and Lithuania lock horns over Soviet billions in reparations

Multiple models of Russias Ilyushin, Sukhoi, Tupolev and Antonov planes made the forays, triggering a response from the Baltic Air Policing mission. Among the intercepts were multiple Su-27 and Su-24 MR fighter jets and Su-34 fighter bomber jets.

Units of all three models formed part of Russias deployment to Syria since its military intervention in 2015.

One Russian air force group over the Baltic attracted attention last week when a convoy consisting of Ilyushin Il-22, Sukhoi Su-24, Sukhoi Su-27, Sukhoi Su-34 and supersonic Tupolev Tu-160 long-range bombers prompted three European air forces to escort them through different segments of their trip, fearing they would violate national airspace. The scrambles involved nonaligned states Finland and Sweden as well as NATO ally Denmark.

The U.S. Army in Europe holds its annual series of defense drills with local allies in the Baltic region every summer. The exercises, called Saber Strike, last for almost the entire duration of June, while Russia is planning its own set of drills in the region with nearby ally Belarus for September.

Lithuania has complained that Russias propensity to announce a relatively small number of troops will take part in such a drill, before deciding to effectively increase its size tenfold closer to the date, is evidence that the drill is a simulated attack on NATO.

Here is the original post:
NATO Intercepts 32 Russian Warplanes Above Baltic in Just Seven Days - Newsweek

WASHINGTONMeeting the 2 percent NATO defense spending target isnt just about allies bringing tanks and artillery to the table, U.S. Army Europe Commander Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, said Tuesday.

The U.S. has often said NATO countries should step up to the plate and spend 2 percent of its GDP on defense and the rhetoric heated up when President Donald Trump, on the campaign trail, criticized allies for not paying their share.

Hodges agreed that allies should spend more on defense, but its not the typical weapons or equipment that is needed. Im not looking for more German tank battalions or more British artillery battalions. Countries are doing that, he said, adding, but ways that they can contribute to the alliance, improve infrastructure, improve freedom of movement and help provide ammunition.

The U.S. Army and its NATO and Eastern European allies have been working to deter Russia from advancing beyond its illegal annexation of Crimea for several years. Russia continues to wage hybrid warfare in Ukraine and intelligence and information wars elsewhere in the region, keeping Baltic States and other European nations on high alert.

NATO is also nearly complete deploying multinational battalions to Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, another contribution to deterring Russia.

With units and troops from the U.S. Army and its allies spread over huge swaths of territory, Hodges said its far more important for allies to contribute in ways that enhance freedom of movement across borders and large territories by providing heavy equipment transport and other transportation, guaranteeing rail access and improving rail heads in order to be able to move a brigade by rail in 48 hours.

Hodges noted the U.S. Army's heavy equipment transport vehicles used to carry M1 tanks exceed weight requirements based on European road laws and it is having to lease 18 vehicles.

Somebody should be paying for that. I shouldnt be paying for 18 British HETs, Hodges said.

Allies could also buy fuel and ammunition and provide storage sites, he added.

Beyond immediate deterrence, Hodges noted the U.S. Army and its allies have to be prepared to fight a peer adversary now and into the future and that means developing capability rapidly that will allow them to go up against countries like Russia.

The Army never invested in long-range fires, for instance, Hodges said, because it knew it could rely heavily on the U.S. Air Force. But that wont be the case when going up against a country like Russia during a lengthy land operation in the future.

See the original post:
US Army Europe chief: NATO allies should bolster infrastructure - DefenseNews.com

NATO Moves to Shore Up Vital Supply Line Wall Street Journal (subscription) STANAI, LithuaniaThe North Atlantic Treaty Organization brought two battle groups together Tuesday in a drill meant to demonstrate the alliance's ability to keep open vital supply lines between Poland and Lithuania, shoring up what military ...

Here is the original post:
NATO Moves to Shore Up Vital Supply Line - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Russian President Vladimir Putin sees an opportunity under President Donald Trump's administration to crack Americas NATO military pact with its main Western allies, says a former top U.S. diplomat.

"I suspect [Putin] sees an opportunity to do what military force alone could never do, and that is crack the NATO alliance,Doug Lute, the former U.S. ambassador to NATO in the Obama administration, said on Sunday.

If he can crack it politically, or if he can provoke internal fissures inside the alliance, Lute said during an interview on ABC News show This Weekon Sunday, then Putin sees an enormous opportunity to achieve a long-standing Russian goal.

Daily Emails and Alerts- Get the best of Newsweek delivered to your inbox

Lute said that for the first time in 70 years, what was once a rock-solid commitment to the alliance is in question underTrump, and that possibly opens potential opportunities for opponents.

Trump has been unpredictable in his commitment to the 70-year military alliance during his months as president.

Before his inauguration, then President-elect Trump called NATO obsolete, only to reverse his stance months later after meeting with NATOs leaders.

Read more: White House and Putin among biggest critics of Russia sanctions bill

Despite advice from his generals, Trump hesitated to affirm NATOs Article 5which says an attack on one member is an attack on allduring a speech at the alliances new headquarters at the end of May.

National security adviser H.R. McMaster, Defense Secretary James Mattisand Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had all worked to include a statement supporting Article 5 in Trumps speech, according to five sources that spoke with Politico. Trump reportedly took it out.

In thatsame speech,Trump chastisedcertain member countries for owing "massive amounts of money" to the United States and NATO. All NATO countries have committed to spend about 2 percent of their GDP in their individual military budgets to support the alliance. Last year, only five of all 28 nations met that goal.

Weeks later, during a press conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, however, Trump said he was "committing the United States to Article 5."

All this has been very disorienting to our NATO allies, said Lute. After Trumps speech in May, one senior diplomat told Reuters the presidents remarks were not made in the right place or time" and that they were left with nothing else but trying to put a brave face on it.

Trumps statements prompted German Chancellor Angela Merkel to say, just days after the meeting, that the times in which we can fully count on others are somewhat over.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a signing ceremony following talks with his Slovenian counterpart Borut Pahor at the Kremlin in Moscow on February 10. Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool/Reuters

Many Eastern European nations who are NATO members have been wary of a Russian military buildup on their frontiers. NATO forces have been deployed in response, but they fear a weakening NATO alliance.

If that was not enough, Russia is already drawing a wedge between America and its closest NATO allies in other ways. Germany and the European Union have been disturbed by new congressional sanctions against Russia for interfering in the 2016 election, according to Jonathan Fenby, managing director of European political researchat the investment research firm TS Lombard.

A bill that passed the U.S. Senate last week seeks to impose stricter sanctions on Russia in response to its campaign to influence the 2016 American election. The bill has moved forward on distrust in Congress of Trumps willingness to punish Russia. The presidents election campaign is currently the subject of an FBI investigation into whether its officials or associates colluded withRussia tointerferein the election.

Russian energy companies building the Nord Stream 2 gas export pipeline to Europe, however, are targeted in the new sanctions bill.

This is the latest of a series of developments that augur ill for trans-Atlantic relations, wrote Fenby in a research letter to investors Sunday.

Germany and Austria, whose companies are investing in the pipeline, criticized the Senate vote for adding a new and very negative quality in European-American relations. Fenby said. Trumps withdrawal from the Paris climate change agreement was also condemned by EU members who are NATO allies.

The new sanctions are just another brick in the wall of European reaction to Trumps criticism of European defence spending, Fenby wrote.

Considering the presidents rhetoric and growing divisions, Lute said, Americas allies are sort of whipsawed between key advisers and the president himself, and wonder, I think, Who actually speaks for this administration?

See the original post here:
Putin Could 'Crack' NATO Under Trump, Warns Former U.S. ... - Newsweek

An international controversy over nonprofits funded by progressive Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros has created a vulnerability in the NATO alliance, the State Department warned.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's spokesperson urged Hungarian leaders to scrap legislation mandating that Hungarian nonprofits supported by foreign contributors identify their donors. The bill is the latest development in nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ongoing campaign against Soros, but his domestic and international critics regard it also as a step toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"If signed into law, this would be another step away from Hungary's commitments to uphold the principles and values that are central to the [European Union] and NATO," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Monday.

Hungary joined NATO in 1999, when Orban was in the midst of a four-year run as prime minister. Since returning to the post in 2010 the midst of an economic crisis that required an international bailout, Orban has had a fraught relationship with the European Union. The 2015 refugee crisis created additional strain, and human rights groups criticized his efforts to constrict the flow of asylum-seekers into Hungary.

Orban responded by attacking Soros, a campaign that hasn't ended. "There is an important element in public life in Hungary which is not transparent and not open and that is the Soros network, with its mafia-style operation and its agentlike organizations," he said in June.

The State Department contradicted that assessment and suggested that Orban is enabling corruption. "The United States is concerned by the Hungarian parliament's passage of legislation that unfairly burdens and targets Hungarian civil society, which is working to fight corruption and protect civil liberties," Nauert said.

The Hungarian leader's skepticism of the EU and "globalist" refugee policies, perhaps aided by Soros' status as a prominent progressive donor, has endeared him to some American conservatives who see a likeness to Trump.

But Orban's domestic opponents see shades of Putin. Orban criticized Western sanctions imposed on Russia in response to Putin's annexation of Crimea and destabilization of eastern Ukraine. And Putin has implemented legislation requiring international nonprofits to register as "foreign agents" and giving him the authority to shut down foreign nonprofits.

"We should not be afraid of the NGOs but rather of the members of Parliament who represent Russian interests," said an opposition lawmaker, per The New York Times.

Hungary also passed legislation designed to shutter Central European University, one of the most prominent institutions in the country, due to funding from Soros. But, though Orban has praised Trump, the new president's administration opposed that bill and continued to criticize his hostility to the nonprofits.

"By portraying groups supported with foreign funding as acting against the interests of Hungarian society, this legislation would weaken the ability of Hungarians to organize and address concerns in a legitimate and democratic manner," Nauert said.

Read the original post:
State Department warns Hungary: Anti-Soros law 'another step away ... - Washington Examiner

1. The Council recalls its conclusions of 6 December 2016 on the Implementation of the Joint Declaration by the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission and the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (15283/16).

2. The Council welcomes the progress made in the implementation of the common set of proposals (42 actions) and in this regard acknowledges the report submitted jointly by the High Representative/Vice President/Head of the European Defence Agency and the Secretary General of NATO in accordance with paragraph 9 of the Council Conclusions of 6 December 2016.

3. The Council calls for continued progress on implementation of the common set of proposals and looks forward to receiving the next report, including possible suggestions for future cooperation, in December 2017.

4. The Council reaffirms that EU-NATO cooperation will continue to take place in the spirit of full openness and transparency, in full respect of the decision-making autonomy and procedures of both organisations and in close cooperation with and full involvement of Member States . It will be based on the principles of inclusiveness and reciprocity without prejudice to the specific character of the security and defence policy of any Member State. The Council recalls that NATO cooperation with the non-NATO EU Member States is an integral part of EU-NATO cooperation and in this regard, the Council welcomes the positive contribution of non-NATO EU Member States to NATO activities. Such activities are an integral part of EU-NATO cooperation and the Council strongly supports their continuation.

Continue reading here:
EU-NATO cooperation: Council welcomes progress made - EU News