Germany plans to expand defence cooperation with Greece, focusing on joint procurement and maritime defence. Talks also addressed EU policy, regional tensions with Turkey, and security issues in the eastern Mediterranean.
Germany approved €8.4 billion in arms export licences in 2025, marking a clear drop after two record years. Government data show a sharp fall in approvals for Ukraine, while Norway became the largest recipient and licences for Turkey rose to their highest level since 1999.
Turkey signed separate agreements at the International Defence Industry Fair in Istanbul last week, with plans to purchase 40 Eurofighter aircraft from the United Kingdom and sell 48 of its indigenous Kaan fighter aircraft to Indonesia.
The meeting is to take place on Friday in Istanbul at the level of deputy foreign ministers and would be the first round of negotiations since a ceasefire came into force after Israel’s war against Iran, which mainly targeted Iran’s nuclear and military facilities.
The Pentagon said last week the U.S. will indefinitely postpone a military exercise in Georgia ‘due to the Georgian government’s false accusations against the United States and other western entities, to pressure Georgia to open a second front against Russia to alleviate pressure on Ukraine, and of participating in two coup attempts against the ruling party.’
Eight of the F-35A fighters intended for Turkey will now be acquired by the USAF in an order that also includes six additional F-35A aircraft, for an order worth USD 861.73 million.
Progress is scarce on a resolution to the Ladakh stand-off
Australia plans to hike defence spending
NATO allies France and Turkey have had a row
Finland’s air force has discarded its old insignia
Germany has disbanded a special forces unit over right wing extremism
Lockheed Martin is offering to transfer its F-16 assembly line to India with officials proposing the idea to the Indian government in April.
Unsurprisingly, India’s two largest defense suppliers are also the biggest exhibitors at the show. Israel has taken up the most space at the show with 1,293 square meters and Russia brings the largest number of companies to the show, with the count at 37.
The MoU on conduct of mutual exercises and training courses between the militaries of Pakistan, Turkey and Afghanistan was signed by Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani from Pakistan, General Necdet Ozal from Turkey and General Shah Muhammad Kairimi from Afghanistan.
The first batch of Indians evacuated from the strife-torn north African nation of Libya will land here in a special Air India flight close to midnight Saturday, officials said, while three Indian warships set sail to Libya to help in the evacuation of the 18,000 Indians in the country.
India has begun evacuating its citizens early Saturday from violence-stricken Libya by sending two Air India planes to the north African country’s capital Tripoli. Two Indian warships, INS Mysore and the Austin-class amphibious transport dock INS Jalashwa slipped their moorings in Mumbai on Saturday and are underway for Alexandria, which they expect to reach in a little over a week.
India has been elected to the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member, along with four other countries on Tuesday. In the first round, India got 187 votes, the highest number of the winning candidates, South Africa got 182 and both Pakistan and Swaziland got 01 vote each, presumably their own.
