Defense News

3 days ago | defensenews.com | Gordon Arthur

TOKYO — As Japanese defense officials move to upgrade a military training infrastructure hard-pressed to produce F-35 pilots, vendors are proposing new planes to fill a gap. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force, or JASDF, has made small steps to begin turning around what experts have described as an obsolete training ecosystem. Officials have already selected Textron’s T-6JP Texan II as its basic trainer to replace the Fuji T-7, and a T-6 procurement contract should be signed before year’s end.

3 days ago | defensenews.com | Noah Robertson

SINGAPORE — At the end of Pete Hegseth’s speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s largest defense summit, America’s defense secretary argued some members of the crowd should focus elsewhere. “We would much prefer that the overwhelming balance of European investment be on that continent,” he said during a question and answer session. Hegseth’s response addressed one of the core themes at a conference typically focused on Asian security alone.

4 days ago | defensenews.com | Noah Robertson

SINGAPORE — The Philippines’ defense secretary cast doubt on a $5.6 billion purchase of American F-16 fighter jets approved in April, saying Manila hasn’t yet decided whether to move forward with the sale. Speaking on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, a defense summit held in Singapore, Gilberto Teodoro said the Philippines hadn’t yet received a formal offer to purchase the fourth-generation fighters. Even if it had, he said, his department doesn’t know whether it wants them.

4 days ago | defensenews.com | Noah Robertson

SINGAPORE — The United States is urging Australia to raise defense spending to 3.5% of GDP, almost a third above the target Canberra has set even for the early 2030s, the Pentagon said Sunday. “On defense spending, [Defense Secretary Pete] Hegseth conveyed that Australia should increase its defense spending to 3.5 percent of its GDP as soon as possible,” the statement read, referring to a meeting with Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles.

1 week ago | defensenews.com | Noah Robertson

SINGAPORE — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged allies to raise defense spending and warned that China may pose an “imminent” military threat in a landmark speech on the Trump administration’s approach to Asia. “There’s no reason to sugarcoat it. The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent,” Hegseth said at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a defense summit held in Singapore.