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Straits Times
a day ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Canada vows to meet NATO defense budget target early, then spend more
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney makes a speech about defense and security at the Munk School in Toronto, Ontario, Canada June 9, 2025. REUTERS/Arlyn McAdorey Royal Canadian Navy submarine HMCS Victoria sails in the vicinity of Esquimalt Harbour while wearing a poppy on its sail in Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada November 5, 2021. S1 Kendric Grasby/Canadian Forces/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo A pair of Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CF-188 Hornets fly with a United States Navy EA-18G Growler during Exercise Maple Flag 51 over Alberta, Canada June 15, 2018. OS Erica Seymour/Canadian Forces/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo TORONTO - Canada, under pressure to spend more on its military, vowed on Monday to boost funding for the armed forces and hit NATO's 2% military spending target this fiscal year, five years earlier than promised. Prime Minister Mark Carney also said Canada was likely in future to devote a greater percentage of GDP on defense, given the need to replace outdated equipment and reduce its heavy reliance on Washington. "Now is the time to act with urgency, force, and determination," Carney said in a speech in Toronto, reiterating promises to work more closely with Europe's defense industry. The United States and other NATO allies have complained for years about what they see as the inadequate level of Canadian military funding. Ottawa spends about 1.4% of its gross domestic product on defense, well below its NATO commitment. The Liberal government plans to meet the 2% target by spending an additional C$9 billion ($6.58 billion) this fiscal year. The money will go toward increasing recruitment, repairing equipment and forging new defense relationships. "We think that this proportion of spending relative to GDP is going to go up somewhat," Carney later told reporters. "That's important because it will protect Canadians." Pressed as to how Canada could afford this at a time of rising budget deficits, Carney cited efforts to cut spending while ruling out tax cuts. Reuters reported last month that NATO chief Mark Rutte had proposed alliance members should boost defense spending to 3.5% of GDP and commit a further 1.5% to broader security-related spending to meet a U.S. demand for a 5% target. Carney won the April 28 election on a promise to stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and also to reduce the country's military reliance on Washington. Randall Bartlett, deputy chief economist at Desjardins, said the extra spending would increase the budget deficit beyond the roughly C$60 billion Carney's election platform promised. "If the government aims to increase defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2030 the deficit will only keep increasing," he said. Carney said another reason for Ottawa to act was what he called the decision by the United States to gradually withdraw from the concept of collective security. "Rising great powers are now in strategic competition with America. A new imperialism threatens. Middle powers compete for interests and attention, knowing that if they are not at the table, they will be on the menu," he said. The previous Liberal government last year formally committed to hit the NATO target by 2032. During the election campaign Carney pledged to get to 2% by 2030. Canada will boost pay for the armed forces and buy new submarines, aircraft, ships, armed vehicles and artillery, as well as new radar, drones and sensors to monitor the sea floor and the Arctic, Carney said, without giving details. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
RTX's Raytheon awarded $580 million production contract for Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band
Electronic attack capability will counter new and emerging adversary threats MCKINNEY, Texas, May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon, an RTX (NYSE: RTX) business, has been awarded a $580 million follow-on production contract from the U.S. Navy for the Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) system. Under the contract, Raytheon will provide additional production NGJ-MB pod shipsets, including pods for the Royal Australian Air Force, as well as spares and peculiar support equipment. "Offensive Electronic Attack provides a tremendous combat capability, protecting strike packages, kinetic weapons and high-value airborne assets across a broad range of missions," said Barbara Borgonovi, president of Naval Power at Raytheon. "With this contract, we'll ensure that our naval aviators in all theaters are better prepared to counter adversary threats and support the Joint Fight." NGJ-MB is a cooperative development and production program with the Royal Australian Air Force. It is an airborne electronic attack system consisting of two pods containing active electronically scanned arrays that radiate in the mid-band frequency range. The U.S. Navy employs NGJ-MB on the EA-18G Growler to target advanced radar threats, communications, data links and non-traditional radio frequency threats. Work under this contract will take place in Forest, Mississippi; McKinney, Texas; El Segundo, California; and Andover, Massachusetts through 2028. About RaytheonRaytheon, an RTX business, is a leading provider of defense solutions to help the U.S. government, our allies and partners defend their national sovereignty and ensure their security. For more than 100 years, Raytheon has developed new technologies and enhanced existing capabilities in integrated air and missile defense, smart weapons, missiles, advanced sensors and radars, interceptors, space-based systems, hypersonics and missile defense across land, air, sea and space. About RTXRTX is the world's largest aerospace and defense company. With more than 185,000 global employees, we push the limits of technology and science to redefine how we connect and protect our world. Through industry-leading businesses – Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney and Raytheon – we are advancing aviation, engineering integrated defense systems for operational success, and developing next-generation technology solutions and manufacturing to help global customers address their most critical challenges. The company, with 2024 sales of more than $80 billion, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. For questions or to schedule an interview, please contact corporatepr@ View original content: SOURCE RTX
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fate Of Navy's F/A-XX Future Fighter Is In Limbo
The future of the U.S. Navy's F/A-XX sixth-generation stealth fighter program is still being reviewed by the Pentagon, White House, and Congress, a U.S. official told TWZ on Wednesday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing negotiations, responded to our questions about a published report that a contract award, potentially worth hundreds of billions of dollars, could be delayed by as much as three years. 'Nothing is being delayed,' the official stated. 'A decision hasn't been made yet. That decision is still being determined by [the Pentagon] and service leaders, with conversations among Congress as well. It's a big program. Obviously these things don't get settled on by one individual. Leaders are making a decision on whether to invest. It's all part of the process.' The Navy has previously said its goal is for the first F/A-XX aircraft, intended to replace F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters and EA-18G Growler electronic attack jets, to enter service in the 2030s. The F/A-XX 'is expected to feature superior range, speed, and sensor capabilities, with an emphasis on integrating manned and unmanned systems,' a 2025 Naval Aviation Playbook put out by the office of the Commander of Naval Air Forces, currently Vice Adm. Daniel Cheever, in March. 'This includes collaboration with autonomous drones serving as force multipliers and electronic warfare assets.' 'The Navy remains committed to the F/A-XX program, recognizing its importance in future force structure and design,' the document adds. 'Efforts are underway to balance near-term investments with the development of this next-generation platform.' However, a funding dispute pitting the sea service and some members of Congress against the White House has threatened to derail that timeline and cancel the program as currently defined, Reuters reported Wednesday morning. 'While the Navy wants to move forward with awarding a contract, some Pentagon officials are seeking to delay the program by up to three years,' Reuters wrote, citing three sources with knowledge of the program. Those sources said that 'concerns about engineering and production capacity' were at issue. The report did not elaborate further. On March 25, Reuters had reported that the Navy was going to announce the contract award for the F/A-XX engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase 'this week' based on information the wire service received from unnamed 'people familiar with the decision.' The award remains pending. Originally, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman were all in the running to develop the F/A-XX. However, Lockheed Martin was reportedly eliminated from the competition in March, because its proposal 'did not satisfy the service's criteria,' according to Breaking Defense, whose story cited an unnamed source with knowledge of the program. Delaying the award of a contract by three years 'would effectively cancel the program as it is currently defined,' Reuters explained, 'because contracts and pricing would expire during that time making a new competition almost inevitable.' TWZ cannot independently verify that claim, and the official we spoke with declined to offer specifics about the ongoing negotiations. As further proof that F/A-XX is in danger, Reuters noted that 'Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's cost assessment office plans to slash funding for the next-generation jet's development by shifting the $454 million that Congress provided for the F/A-XX in the fiscal year 2025 budget to other programs.' The Pentagon 'is separately preparing to ask Congress not to provide $500 million for the program which it had included in a pending reconciliation bill to help to accelerate the new jet's development,' the three sources told the wire service. The official we spoke with said no funding decisions about the F/A-XX have yet been made, adding that there is 'no sense of when' that might happen. 'It's not like there's a hard deadline,' the official posited. 'This is all in the context of budget decisions. We are discussing the Fiscal Year 2025 budget and beyond. Discussions are ongoing about where to invest defense dollars. The Pentagon declined to comment. We also reached out to the White House, Northrop Grumman, and Boeing for confirmation and more details, and we will update this story with any pertinent information provided. News of a potential delay in the program comes after the Navy revealed last month that the F/A-XX would offer just a 25 percent increase in range over the existing tactical combat jets in its carrier air wings. As we noted at the time, 'the disclosure was surprising, given that the service consistently makes it clear that extending the reach of its carrier strike groups is a critical priority as the range of expected threats also continues to grow.' In April, Navy Rear Adm. Michael Donnelly, director of the Air Warfare Division (N98) within the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, also said his service was 'definitely in the follow' behind the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps in work on the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) type drones expected to operate together with the F/A-XX. Delays in both efforts could be aligned. The debate now over the future of F/A-XX is happening as the U.S. Air Force is moving ahead with the development of its Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) crewed tactical fighter, now dubbed the F-47. In March, Boeing was awarded a contract to build at least 185 of those jets. 'The F-47 will fly during this administration,' an Air Force official told TWZ on Tuesday, after Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin posted a slide on X offering new details about that program. Among other information, Allvin shared that the F-47 will have a combat radius in excess of 1,000 nautical miles, a significant improvement over the existing fleet of fighters, but also not as large as some may have expected. You can read more about it in our story here. As internal deliberations rage over the future of the F/A-XX program, which is being designed in large measure to be able to fight in the Pacific, China has already been flight testing its two next-generation fighter-like aircraft. One is commonly — but unofficially — called the J-36, and the other the J-XDS, also referred to as the J-50. TWZ has previously published a highly detailed analysis of both the J-36 and J-XDS/J-50, which readers can find here. Overall, the Navy's F/A-XX program has been even more secretive than the Air Force equivalent. However, as we have explored in the past, the jet will be central not only to the Navy's future tactical aviation plans, but also to the future of the service more generally. Similarly, major changes to the F/A-XX program now would have larger ramifications for the Navy's aviation plans, including likely compelling the service to rely longer than expected on its aging fleets of Super Hornets and Growlers. More resources could also be pushed toward the F-35C Joint Strike Fighter as a result. A major delay or cancellation of the Navy's NGAD crewed tactical fighter program would be a huge setback for the sea service. Contact the author: howard@
West Australian
25-04-2025
- Climate
- West Australian
Anzac Day 2025: Burial at sea marks sombre reminder of Diggers' sacrifice
The ashes of veterans who've recently died have been given a ceremonial burial at sea during one of Australia's most poignant Anzac Day dawn services. Illuminated in poppy red and with flags at half mast, Elephant Rock on Queensland's Gold Coast was the location for a solemn acknowledgement of the men and women who have served, and continue to serve, in conflict. Several thousand people attended the service near the NSW border on Friday to mark the 110th anniversary of Australian and New Zealand forces making their landing at Gallipoli in Turkey. The service was opened by Peter Thorpe from the Currumbin Palm Beach RSL sub-branch. But the 2025 instalment was not without its own challenges. Damage caused by ex-tropical cyclone Alfred, which smashed parts of southeast Queensland in March, left those paying their respects standing on the edge of dunes. Choppy waters fuelled by rain overnight lapped the car park near to where Friday's service was taking place. Inflatable rescue boats were on hand during the burial at sea, a tribute during which the ashes of recently passed service men and women are laid to rest. A roll call of veterans who have died echoed around the beach as the boats moved into strong waves off the shore. Oars were raised as one into the air to pay respects to the fallen. Children from the local surf lifesaving club stood with a choir as the Australian and New Zealand national anthems culminated the service. Further services across the length and breadth of Queensland will continue on Friday. The roar of an EA-18G Growler could be heard through torrential rain in Brisbane city early in the morning, one of many flyovers scheduled across the state. A parade through Brisbane's city streets will begin with an address from the state's governor, Jeannette Young.
Perth Now
24-04-2025
- Climate
- Perth Now
Burial at sea marks sombre reminder of Anzac sacrifice
The ashes of veterans who've recently died have been given a ceremonial burial at sea during one of Australia's most poignant Anzac Day dawn services. Illuminated in poppy red and with flags at half mast, Elephant Rock on Queensland's Gold Coast was the location for a solemn acknowledgement of the men and women who have served, and continue to serve, in conflict. Several thousand people attended the service near the NSW border on Friday to mark the 110th anniversary of Australian and New Zealand forces making their landing at Gallipoli in Turkey. The service was opened by Peter Thorpe from the Currumbin Palm Beach RSL sub-branch. But the 2025 instalment was not without its own challenges. Damage caused by ex-tropical cyclone Alfred, which smashed parts of southeast Queensland in March, left those paying their respects standing on the edge of dunes. Choppy waters fuelled by rain overnight lapped the car park near to where Friday's service was taking place. Inflatable rescue boats were on hand during the burial at sea, a tribute during which the ashes of recently passed service men and women are laid to rest. A roll call of veterans who have died echoed around the beach as the boats moved into strong waves off the shore. Oars were raised as one into the air to pay respects to the fallen. Children from the local surf lifesaving club stood with a choir as the Australian and New Zealand national anthems culminated the service. Further services across the length and breadth of Queensland will continue on Friday. The roar of an EA-18G Growler could be heard through torrential rain in Brisbane city early in the morning, one of many flyovers scheduled across the state. A parade through Brisbane's city streets will begin with an address from the state's governor, Jeannette Young.
