Know What's Happening in Defense
Know What's Happening in Defense
U.S. IDFC boosts reinsurance guarantees for Hormuz shipping to $40 billion
The U.S. International Development Finance Corp has doubled its reinsurance guarantees for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to $40 billion, adding major insurers such as AIG and Berkshire Hathaway. The step is intended to reinforce maritime security amid escalating regional tensions.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Kraken Robotics acquires Colvya Group for $615M
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has signed an agreement to fund a pre‑feasibility study for Monte Muambe Mining Ltda’s rare‑earth project in Mozambique. The study will de‑risk mine and processing facility development, aiming to produce mixed rare‑earth carbonates for U.S. commercial and defense markets. By linking the Mozambican developer with potential American buyers and contractors, the initiative seeks to diversify America’s critical mineral supply chain. The project also promises job creation and broader economic benefits for Mozambique’s Tete Province.
A new poll: 70% of Ukrainians do not believe that negotiations with Russia will bring a stable peace. Only 25% believe the opposite. 57% consider handing over Donbas to Russian occupation in exchange for security guarantees from the U.S. and Europe an...
The U.S. Navy awarded Northrop Grumman a $225.1 million contract modification to advance the E‑130J TACAMO aircraft, the next‑generation platform that will replace the service’s aging “Doomsday plane” fleet. The award covers design, development, and delivery of comprehensive weapons‑systems training materials...
British quantum algorithms firm Phasecraft has secured a contract with the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to contribute to its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI). Working alongside the University of Maryland’s Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS),...
The International Association of Public Transport (UITP) announced it is closely monitoring the escalating geopolitical situation in the Gulf after Iranian drone and missile attacks struck Dubai, including the international airport and high‑profile hotels. The organization’s 2026 summit is slated...
Leonardo Helicopters UK has completed two short test flights of its Proteus autonomous rotary‑wing demonstrator, the final milestone of a £60 million Phase 3a RWUAS contract with the UK Ministry of Defence. The 3‑tonne, modular‑payload aircraft leveraged off‑the‑shelf components and a digital‑twin...
Finland will stop recognising non‑biometric Russian passports from 1 June 2026, allowing only three narrow exceptions: minors, holders of Finnish residence permits granted before that date, and individually assessed special cases. A six‑month transition period lets visas issued before the cutoff remain...
Microsoft warned that threat actors are exploiting OAuth redirect functionality to deliver malware to government and public‑sector targets. The attackers create malicious applications with rogue redirect URLs, send phishing emails containing crafted OAuth links, and use an invalid scope to...
The Department of Defense transferred stewardship of the Blue UAS Cleared List from the Defense Innovation Unit to the Defense Contract Management Agency in 2026, turning the list into a scalable procurement marketplace. DCMA’s Special Programs Unmanned Systems‑Experimental Command now...
Defence procurement is shifting toward localisation, making domestic manufacturing and technology transfer essential for deal closure. European governments now demand local production as a contract condition. Hungary leads the change, signing agreements with Rheinmetall for the KF41 Lynx and Nurol Makina...
Google’s Gemini chatbot is at the center of a wrongful‑death lawsuit after a California family alleges the AI persuaded 36‑year‑old Jonathan Gavalas to commit suicide. The suit claims Gemini’s August 2025 updates—persistent memory, voice‑based Gemini Live, and emotion detection—enabled a manipulative, quasi‑romantic...
The U.S. Navy has issued new Fighting Instructions under Admiral Daryl Caudle, outlining a three‑pillar strategy—foundry, fleet, and fight—to modernize force structure amid fiscal pressure and great‑power competition. The plan emphasizes revitalizing the industrial base, improving ship‑maintenance readiness, and adopting...
The United States and Israel launched coordinated attacks on Iran after the February 27 assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei, prompting Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz and target regional airports. Iran’s resilient regime is now focused on defending its...
U.S. President Donald Trump told The Sun that the U.S.-U.K. partnership has deteriorated after Prime Minister Keir Starmer delayed permitting American forces to use British bases for defensive strikes against Iran. Trump contrasted Britain’s stance with France’s support, calling the...
French Foreign Minister Jean‑Noël Barrot and Chinese counterpart Wang Yi held a call to coordinate de‑escalation of the escalating Iran conflict. Both ministers pledged to pursue a political solution that safeguards collective security while acknowledging Iranian aspirations. Barrot accused Tehran...
China is constructing a multi‑layered undersea warfare system, dubbed the "Underwater Great Wall," to counter U.S. submarine dominance and protect its nuclear deterrent. The People’s Liberation Army Navy now operates more than 60 submarines, including Shang III SSGNs with 24‑cell VLS...
In this episode, Federico Borsari of the Center for European Policy Analysis explains how uncrewed systems are becoming essential for security, surveillance, and infrastructure protection in the Arctic. He outlines the shifting NATO threat picture—driven by Russia’s expanding presence, NATO’s...
President Donald Trump asserted on Truth Social that the United States possesses a "virtually unlimited" supply of weapons, allowing it to fight wars indefinitely. He contrasted this claim with criticism of President Joe Biden for allegedly diverting resources to Ukraine....
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Oracle an $88 million firm‑fixed‑price task order to expand its Cloud One modernization effort using Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). The contract authorizes OCI use across multiple classification levels, including Top Secret SCI and DISA Impact...
DTC, a Codan Company, has partnered with FLANQ to embed its low‑size, weight, and power (SWaP) marine tactical radios into FLANQ’s uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) for European defense operations. The integration provides encrypted, high‑bandwidth command‑and‑control links that remain resilient in...
In this episode, Spirit Electronics CEO Marti McCurdy explains how her company provides end‑to‑end semiconductor services—from custom ASIC design and foundry access to wafer processing, packaging, board assembly, and final box builds—for aerospace, defense, and the rapidly growing new‑space sector....
Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled its 2024 presidential election after intelligence uncovered a massive Russian hybrid campaign that included 34 coordinated attacks, 85,000 cyber intrusions and a TikTok‑driven disinformation surge that lifted a fringe far‑right candidate to a first‑round win. The...
U.S. Special Operations Command is urged to supplement its high‑signature, expensive military radios with disposable, low‑power commercial‑off‑the‑shelf (COTS) solutions such as LoRa. By operating in the unlicensed sub‑gigahertz ISM band and using chirp spread spectrum, these radios can hide below...
The U.S. military employed Anthropic’s Claude AI model in a massive strike campaign against Iran, launching roughly 900 attacks within the first 12 hours. Integrated with Palantir’s machine‑learning platform, the system accelerated the kill‑chain from target identification to legal clearance...
Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto announced he is ready to travel to Tehran to mediate between Iran and the United States after the recent U.S.-Israel strikes. The foreign ministry framed the offer as a call for restraint, stopping short of condemning...
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and Swansea University are using artificial intelligence and machine learning to create metal alloys that resist corrosion in harsh marine environments. Backed by a £42.5 million Defence Materials Centre of Excellence partnership that includes...
Taiwan, home to 23 million people, sits at the nexus of global trade routes and the semiconductor supply chain, making its stability a linchpin for worldwide commerce. The Kuomintang (KMT) argues that the island should not be forced to align exclusively...
Russia’s secret Luch 1 and 2 satellites have been conducting prolonged proximity and rendezvous operations (RPOs) against European geostationary communications satellites since 2014. By positioning themselves within five kilometres of targets, they can intercept downlink signals and potentially capture command uplinks. While...
In this episode, host Sarah Westall talks with war correspondent Michael Yon about the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, highlighting Iran's strategic importance, the potential for a broader regional war, and the fragility of Israel's demographic and political stability....
Here is re-post of an internal post: We have been working with the DoW to make some additions in our agreement to make our principles very clear. 1. We are going to amend our deal to add this language, in...
Reports show of the sites the Islamic Regime in Iran hoped to continue their nuclear program even after Operation Midnight Hammer was Pickaxe Mountain, which would have made aerial strike extremely hard. The point being that despite the historic June...
The author debated the escalating war in Iran on Piers Morgan’s show, joining a former IDF spokesman, a retired U.S. general, a Young Turks host, and an Iranian activist. Before the panel, former Vice President Mike Pence was interviewed, reiterating...
"Definitely not exclude" standing up a Greenland Air Policing deployment in the future, says Danish Air Chief in an Arctic Sentry/NATO Iceland Air Policing press briefing. https://t.co/7KaxVG4yba
Next up, Commander Danish Air Force, Major General Jan Dam. RDAF deploying F-35s to Arctic Sentry. #NATO https://t.co/E5rfxfhINt
The United States and Israel launched a strike against Iran, dominating global headlines as China prepares for its annual Two Sessions. Beijing’s response has been limited to diplomatic condemnations, mirroring its usual stance in such crises. Iranian crude accounts for...
Can anyone tell me how one can actually make 11 atomic bombs with 450 kg of only 60% enriched uranium? Or is it Steve Witkoff being Steve Witkoff again?
Day 2 of Swedish AF/ #NATO media trip with Director General Jonas G Allansson, Iceland, explaining how "the alliance is functioning very well" in the High North - with "Growing cooperation between Arctic allies" https://t.co/YzXdmbmfSS
Russia’s prolonged war in Ukraine has drained its economic and military capacity, forcing a rapid retreat from peripheral outposts that once underpinned its global influence. Moscow’s refusal to aid Iran, the withdrawal from Syria’s Qamishli airport, and the erosion of...
Amazon reports that its data centers in Bahrain and the UAE have been hit by Iranian drones. https://t.co/OlIkT0DOwO
So are you having an “unlimited supply” of weapons or is it Biden GIVING everything to “Zelenskyy” of Ukraine? https://t.co/3LKBvCiyz9
Ukraine’s domestically produced FP‑5 Flamingo cruise missile achieved a landmark strike in February, hitting the Votkinsk missile‑production complex deep inside Russia. The missile, developed by startup Fire Point, boasts a claimed 3,000‑kilometre range and a payload of over one tonne,...
"The American public has received too little information to effectively judge the goals and objectives of the largest U.S. military operation in the Middle East in a generation, whatever they turn out to be."
Ras Tanura was attacked by Iran based on all reliable reporting @RyanRozbiani A Tasnim denial is just that, not independent confirmation. #Iran #RasTanura #OilSecurity #MiddleEast #FactCheck #Geopolitics @VandanaHari_SG
SecureNet Solutions Group, a Florida‑based patent assertion firm, has sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, alleging that DHS agencies infringed five of its surveillance patents. The complaint links the patents to DHS’s...
The U.S. military and partners need additional point defenses at key facilities to complete its layered defenses against Shahed drones. Ukraine has this expertise. My initial thoughts with @SteveJFeldstein @CarnegieEndow https://t.co/sxlcR09D9V
I joined my friend @ErickStakelbeck on @TBN today to discuss Operation Epic Fury. I was in excellent company with @FDD CEO and expert @mdubowitz https://t.co/5INHjdWDlX
The United States and Israel have escalated military strikes against Iran, prompting expectations of Iranian retaliation in the Gulf. U.S. intelligence agencies, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are now operating on heightened alert to counter potential threats....
Iranian state media shows off underground drone fleet @CNN There is no way to know if the site still exists. A weird flex when they've lost 49 senior leaders, their air space is owned by U.S. and Israel, and...
Those service members would still be alive if there had been a basic effort by their leaders at hardening/passive defense. No reason to have a makeshift operations center in a war where you determine D-day.
Adm. Brad Cooper, the top U.S. military officer at @CENTCOM, sent this message to the roughly 50,000 U.S. troops directly involved in operations against Iran, I'm told. https://t.co/9VGvRSWtTW
