Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- May 10, 2017

PHOTO: Kurdish YPG fighters head a convoy of US military vehicles in Syria. (Reuters: Rodi Said, file)

ABC News Online: Syrian war: US to arm Kurdish YPG fighting Islamic State despite fierce Turkish opposition

Despite fierce opposition from NATO ally Turkey, US President Donald Trump has approved supplying arms to Kurdish YPG fighters in Syria to support an operation to retake the city of Raqqa from Islamic State, officials said.

Ankara views the Kurdish YPG militia — fighting within a larger US-backed coalition — as the Syrian extension of the Kurdish PKK militant group, which has fought an insurgency in south-eastern Turkey since 1984.

The Pentagon immediately sought to stress that it saw arming the Kurdish forces "as necessary to ensure a clear victory" in Raqqa, Islamic State's de facto capital in Syria and a hub for planning the group's attacks against the West.

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Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- May 10, 2017

Turkey: US arming of Kurdish fighters 'unacceptable' -- Al Jazeera

Arming the Kurds: Why the U.S. is putting military needs over diplomacy -- Jim Michaels , USA TODAY

Iran reportedly tests supercavitating torpedo -- Jane's 360

Chinese military conducts live-fire drills, weapons tests -- Reuters

China Says It Tested New Missile in Northeastern Sea -- AFP

China cries ‘fake news’ in reaction to report about U.S. Navy chief Harris -- Japan Times

In a First, Japan Wants to Buy Tomahawk Cruise Missiles -- Popular Mechanics

South Sudan's Kiir replaces army chief Paul Malong -- Al Jazeera

France leads transnational exercise to train tactical transport crews -- Defense News

Gun manufacturer Heckler & Koch delivers first batch of assault rifles to French -- Defense News

Germany to reactivate Leopard 2 tanks -- UPI

Germany beefs up tank fleet with $832M acquisition -- Defense News

U.S.-Made Airplanes Deployed in Libya's Civil War, in Defiance of U.N. -- Time

Lawmakers to press McMaster on Trump ISIS strategy Wednesday -- Defense News

Rumored US troop increase in Afghanistan draws praise, worry on Capitol Hill -- Military Times

No Decision Yet on Sending More Troops to Afghanistan: White House -- Military.com

Tensions Rise As US Announces Military Drills Near Embattled Venezuela -- Zero Hedge

Navy Electronic Jamming Aircraft Take Quiet Toll on ISIS -- Defense Tech

Boeing demonstrates integrated aircraft communications system -- UPI

Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln Conducts ‘Fast Cruise’ as Midlife Overhaul, Refueling Nears Completion -- USNI News

Unprecedented: US Air Force Will Let a Defense Company Pick Its Next Jamming Plane -- Defense One

Air Force Arms MQ-9 Reaper with GPS-Guided JDAM Bomb -- Defense Tech

Army Maps Out Future Small-Arms Programs -- Military.com

Tunnel with nuclear waste collapses in Washington state -- AP

Lasers in combat: New Space and Missile Defense commander on what's to come -- Defense News

Trump wants to grow the Navy, but he doesn't have his own Navy secretary to sell it -- Navy Times

US tipped France to Russian election hacking, says Cyber Command chief -- Defense News

Chelsea Manning Will Leave A Military Prison In One Week -- NPR

Intelligence Leaders Are Practically Begging Trump to Condemn Russian Hacking -- Defense One

What Is America's Secret Space Shuttle For? -- Marina Koren, The Atlantic

Pentagon Unprepared for New Arms Race -- Sandra I. Erwin, RCD

Mattis Goes to the Baltics -- Glen E. Howard, RCD

Mattis OK With Defense Spending Boost — for Now -- DoD Buzz