New autonomous aircraft in development for Marines
DefenseNews : New versions of the Kratos XQ-58 Valkyrie drone will be manufactured for the U.S. Marine Corps after the service made the drone a new program of record, Kratos CEO Eric DeMarco told investors during a phone call last week. A U.S. Marine Corps XQ-58A Valkyrie, front, conducts a test flight with two Air Force F-35A Lightning II. The Valkyrie drone, an unmanned aircraft known for its versatility and many warfighting capabilities, has been flying since 2019 and until this point has been used by the U.S. Air Force and Marines for test…
Pak Army Chief Asim Munir in US: ‘We’ll Take Half the World Down’: Nuclear Threat Shocks Global Audience
DefenseNews: Pakistan's Field Martial also threatened to destroy any infrastructure that India builds on the Indus water channels, saying his country has no dearth of missiles. Washington : Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir has openly warned of a "nuclear war" from American soil. Addressing an event in Tampa, Florida, Pakistan's de facto military ruler threatened to take down "half the world" if his country faced an existential threat in a future war with India. "We are a nuclear nation. If we think we a…
Ukraine Scrambling for Clarity as US Downplays Halt to Arms Shipments
DefenceNews: US officials on Wednesday downplayed a White House announcement that Washington was pausing some weapons shipments to Ukraine, after the war-battered country was caught off guard and appealed for clarity. Ukraine is contending with some of Russia’s largest missile and drone attacks of the three-year war, and a halt to the provision of munitions — especially for air defense — would be a significant blow to Kyiv. “The Department of Defense continues to provide the president with robust options regarding military aid to Ukraine, cons…
Netanyahu Vows to Uproot Hamas as Ceasefire Proposals Are Discussed
DefensNews: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday vowed to eradicate Hamas, even as the Palestinian militant group said it was discussing new proposals from mediators for a ceasefire in Gaza. Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is an Israeli politician and diplomat who has served as Prime Minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. The Israeli leader had yet to comment on US President Donald Trump‘s claim that Israel had backed a plan for a 60-day truce in its offen…
Pentagon awards $5 billion contract to speed up ship manufacturing
DefenseNews: The Defense Logistics Agency Maritime Mechanicsburg awarded a $5 billion contract this month to six businesses with the goal of boosting ship manufacturing at speed. The Maritime Acquisition Advancement Contract is an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract designed to accelerate procurement processes. The MAAC has five one-year options at $1 billion each and can potentially reach up to $10 billion. “There are significantly long lead times the Navy faces ... this contracting vehicle streamlines and reduces our end of the …
UK F-35 buy paves way for a return to warplane-based nuclear deterrent
DefenseNews: THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The United Kingdom is expected to buy 12 F-35A fighter jets, marking a significant boost to the country’s nuclear deterrence posture, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. Announced ahead of the NATO summit held in The Hague, the government called the acquisition “the biggest strengthening of the UK’s nuclear posture in a generation.” The new procurements will allow Britain to “join NATO’s nuclear mission” by reintroducing to the Royal Air Force so-called dual-capable aircraft: airframes that can carry both co…
Researchers home in on origins of Russia’s Baltic GPS jamming
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Polish researchers have collected detailed information on Russia’s Baltic Sea GPS jamming operations, a mysterious nuisance for aviators and mariners in the region that began when Russia attacked Ukraine. The airwaves over the Baltic Sea have been compromised ever since the war began. In the past years, thousands of planes and ships have had their navigation systems bamboozled, with some ending up veering off course or even needing to cancel their trips altogether. The culprit behind these mysterious aberrations: radio…
.webp)
Military requests pulling 200 troops back from California protest duty
DefenceNews: The top military commander in charge of troops deployed to Los Angeles to respond to protests against immigration raids has asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth if 200 of those forces could be returned to wildfire fighting duty, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Monday. President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of about 4,000 California National Guard troops and 800 active duty Marines against the wishes of Gov. Gavin Newsom in early June to respond to a series of protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcem…
Filipino military pushes naval base upgrades, fearing Chinese spying
DefenseNews: MANILA, Philippines, The Philippines is ramping up its maritime defense posture with plans to establish and upgrade several naval bases in critical areas across the archipelago, including an island base under a basing agreement with the United States and a former American base in Luzon. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro told reporters last month about plans to speed up infrastructure works in Balabac Island, a joint Air Force and Navy base in the southern end of Palawan province. The island is a “strategic location” for the count…
Ukraine arms freeze part of wider military aid review, Pentagon says
DefenseNews: A day after the White House confirmed that the U.S. has suspended some military aid to Ukraine, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson said the decision stemmed from a larger review of America’s military support for countries around the world. “We can’t give weapons to everybody all around the world. We have to look out for America and defending our homeland,” Sean Parnell said in his first standalone briefing Wednesday. On Tuesday, Politico and other outlets reported that the U.S. had paused the delivery of some munitions, including c…
All US military boots should be made in America, lawmakers contend
DefenseNews: New bipartisan legislation reintroduced in the Senate this week aims to ensure all combat boots worn by U.S. service members are manufactured entirely in the United States. The Better Outfitting Our Troops, or BOOTS, Act has united a diverse coalition of lawmakers across the political spectrum in proposing that all U.S. military boots are produced from only American-manufactured components. That includes optional combat boots, which are authorized by commanders as an alternative to the military’s standard-issue boots. Sponsors of …
Setting the scene: Army to test new hub for stockpiling in Australia
DefenseNews: The U.S. Army will test a nascent capability to effectively preposition equipment and supplies forward in the Pacific theater in Australia during the large-scale exercise Talisman Sabre kicking off this month, according to U.S. Army Pacific Command commander Gen. Ronald Clark. As the U.S. military tackles preparing for the difficult challenge of sustaining a possible protracted operation in the Pacific theater, the services are working together to develop what they are calling Joint Theater Sustainment Distribution Centers. The Ar…
European drone builders tinker with AI in navigation and targeting
MILAN: Drawing from Ukraine’s battlefield successes, a growing number of European companies have begun fielding drones with artificial intelligence features. An element of Ukraine’s recent “Spider Web” operation on June 1 – a covert drone attack carried out deep inside Russia – was largely overlooked: the supporting role played by AI. According to the Center for Strategic and International studies, AI-driven tools were likely critical in training the software of explosive, first-person-view drones. These tools enabled the drones to spot threat…
Missile Defense Agency’s FY26 budget targets homeland missile defense
DefenseNews : The Missile Defense Agency’s budget request for fiscal 2026 is flat at $10.2 billion and depends on another $3 billion in supplemental funding not yet passed by Congress, bringing the total ask to $13.2 billion, according to Defense Department documents. If both the budget and supplement were approved by Congress, the agency would receive a boost in funding from last year. “This budget represents a $2.8 billion increase (27%) over our FY 2025 enacted President’s Budget,” an MDA budget overview document states. Of that total, MDA …
DefenseNews: Defense firms closely watching tariffs, but split on potential sting
DefenseNews : Major defense contractors appear to be split on the potential impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs, with one major firm bracing for hundreds of millions in potential lost profits, while others predict minimal effects. In an April 22 earnings call with investors, executives from RTX Corp. — formerly known as Raytheon — predicted $850 million in losses if tariffs stay in effect for the rest of 2025. Executives from Boeing and Lockheed Martin, on the other hand, expressed more confidence that they will be able to blunt the w…
Posts
Social Plugin