Know What's Happening in Defense
Know What's Happening in Defense
Trump administration proposes record $1.5 trillion defense budget for FY2027
The FY2027 budget request totals $2.16 trillion, allocating a historic $1.5 trillion to the newly renamed Department of War and $63 billion for Homeland Security. The plan emphasizes expanded immigration enforcement, Coast Guard modernization, and a surge in defense spending.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Kraken Robotics acquires Colvya Group for $615M
The author argues that extreme cold in the Arctic is a decisive constraint, not a manageable condition, and that U.S. military strategies overstate persistent presence while underestimating equipment degradation and human limits. Recent Defense Department Arctic strategies acknowledge harshness but offer only superficial mitigation, leaving logistical and physiological challenges largely unaddressed. The piece calls for rotational deployments, realistic readiness metrics, and firsthand winter experience to ground policy in operational reality. Without these adjustments, ambitious Arctic ambitions risk becoming costly, unsustainable exercises.
Epirus and Digital Force Technologies have merged Epirus' Leonidas high‑power microwave weapon with DFT's Seraphim command‑and‑control software to create a unified detect‑to‑defeat counter‑UAS system. The integrated solution links autonomous detection, tracking and non‑kinetic microwave defeat, allowing a single burst to...
Tom Enders - "We should have kept and nurtured our relationship with [Britain’s] BAE Systems. We are looking back to more than 50 years of successful co-operation in fighter aircraft development with the United Kingdom,” #avgeek
Turkey’s Air Force confirmed that an F‑16 fighter jet crashed near a highway in western Turkey, killing the pilot. The aircraft took off from the 9th Main Jet Base Command in Balıkesir and lost radio and tracking contact at 00:56...
The United States has sanctioned Russian cyber‑exploit broker Operation Zero, its director Sergey Zelenyuk, and a UAE‑based front company for stealing eight zero‑day vulnerabilities from a U.S. defense contractor. Australian insider Peter Williams allegedly sold the exploits for roughly $1.3 million...
Micro‑Magic has introduced the U5000, a tactical‑grade MEMS inertial measurement unit positioned to match the performance of Sensonor’s STIM320 series. The device delivers gyroscope bias stability of ≤0.1°/h, angle random walk of ≤0.1°/√h, and accelerometer bias under 30 µg, while operating...
ALTUS LSA, a UAV developer, is joining two Horizon Europe initiatives—FORESIGHT and PANTHEON—to create advanced drone platforms for disaster response. FORESIGHT focuses on heavy‑lift multicopter UAVs capable of carrying 40‑100 kg payloads, equipped with LiDAR and laser beacons for navigation in...
Lt. Gen. Rebecca J. Sonkiss said the Air Force’s Next‑Generation Air Refueling System (NGAS) could evolve into a family of systems with varied capabilities. The Air Mobility Command is keeping all options open, from stealth airframes to blended‑wing bodies and...
U.S. defense and tech giants are confronting a shifting landscape as Europe pursues digital sovereignty, strategic autonomy, and faster defense innovation spurred by the Ukraine war. New EU rules like the Digital Networks Act and Data Act compel American cloud...
So great to see @PMOIndia visiting Israel, a vital strategic partnership that keeps growing stronger with deepening cooperation across defence, technology, trade, innovation, and other key areas. More major agreements and frameworks expected to expand collaboration in military and emerging...
President Donald Trump used his State of the Union address to repeat unverified claims that a June 2025 strike "obliterated" Iran’s nuclear program and that his interventions ended eight wars, including a cease‑fire between Thailand and Cambodia. He also asserted...
President Donald Trump used his State of the Union address to honor retired Navy Captain Royce Williams, a 100‑year‑old Korean War ace, by presenting him with the Medal of Honor. Williams survived a 35‑minute dogfight in 1952, downing four Soviet...
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Israel, India signaled intent to acquire the Israeli‑developed Sky Sting beyond‑visual‑range missile for its LCA Tejas Mk‑1A fleet. The missile, still under development, boasts a 250 km range, Mach 5 speed and an AI‑enabled RF...
Dr. Nathan Jones, associate professor at Sam Houston State University and senior fellow at SWJ El Centro, has been featured in major media outlets discussing the fallout from the reported death of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes,...
The U.S. Space Force announced a push to modernize the data‑transport and battle‑management components of long‑range kill chains, a critical capability for future high‑intensity conflicts. Leaders highlighted System Delta 85, established in August 2025, as the hub for space domain...
Pakistan and Qatar have reaffirmed their defence cooperation during high‑level talks in Doha. Senior officials from both nations agreed to deepen military collaboration, including joint exercises, technology sharing, and expanded training programs. The partnership is framed as a strategic response...
Uranium enrichment is running straight into a hard physical bottleneck Enrichment capacity, not reactors, is the constraint The US is still deeply dependent on Russian enrichment https://t.co/UzZh17Lcy5 #NuclearEnergy #Uranium #EnergySecurity #SupplyChains #EnergyTransition #Geopolitics
I wrote up a short set of observations on how the lethality of North Korea's tactical nuclear delivery platforms has benefited from its material support for Russia in its war on Ukraine: https://t.co/7XpbUa0g8w
Viasat’s President Ben Palmer urged India to adopt multi‑orbit, multi‑band satellite communications to secure spectrum access and resilient SATCOM. He highlighted the company’s push for compact terminals that give beyond‑line‑of‑sight connectivity to tactical unmanned platforms. Palmer praised India’s strategic stance...
Intelligence and National Security announces a special issue dedicated to sources and archives for Cold War European intelligence history. Editors Matteo Giurco and Christopher Moran seek papers that examine institutional archives, open‑source material, memoirs, and the gaps left by classified...
Airports in 2026 face a rapidly evolving threat matrix that blends physical, digital and human risks, from sophisticated stowaways and drone incursions to a 600% surge in cyber‑attacks. Balancing passenger convenience with robust security is no longer optional—it defines the...
Shield AI announced that its X‑BAT vertical‑take‑off‑and‑landing combat drone will begin flight testing near Newton, Kansas, later this year. The company highlighted VTOL capability as the program’s core differentiator during the AFA Warfare Symposium. X‑BAT is designed to combine stealth,...
A financially motivated group called Diesel Vortex has been running a phishing campaign against freight and logistics operators in the U.S. and Europe since September 2025. Using 52 domains and Cyrillic homoglyph tricks, the actors stole 1,649 unique credentials from...
The U.S. Department of Defense has warned AI firm Anthropic that it could be labeled a “supply chain risk” unless the company lifts its self‑imposed bans on autonomous weapons and surveillance use. Anthropic, which was cleared for classified work in...
China’s Ministry of Commerce escalated economic pressure on Japan by adding 20 Japanese firms to its export control list and another 20 to a watch list, targeting dual‑use items. Foreign Minister Wang Yi intensified rhetoric, accusing Japan of harboring ambitions...
The Pentagon’s Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) now targets fiscal 2028 to field the next‑generation National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) system, a project originally slated for 2019. The program’s budget has swollen to $4.6 billion through FY2031, with $2.2 billion projected...
Air Force Undersecretary Matthew Lohmeier announced that the FY 2027 budget will be framed as a “year of readiness,” directing billions to foundational accounts such as spare parts, flying‑hour funding, facility sustainment, and enterprise IT. The budget aligns with President Trump’s proposed...
Secretary of the Air Force Dr. Troy E. Meink announced the "Ringleader" exercise, a program to test and operationalize sensor fusion from military and intelligence satellite constellations for high‑fidelity ground and air moving target indication. The initiative leverages the Proliferated...
Funding for the U.S. Space Force in fiscal 2026 climbs to roughly $42 billion, while total Department of Defense space spending is estimated at $57.7 billion after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act injected $13.8 billion of mandatory reconciliation money. The bulk of the new dollars support...
Australia's Department of Defence has added SISU Solutions to its Information Communications Technology Provider Arrangement (ICTPA) panel, making the SME one of the few approved across all service modules. SISU can now supply systems integration, application services, and ICT personnel...
If you’d like, I can tell you what future history textbooks will write about the moment when the first and most decisive turning point occurred -- the one that, much later, ultimately led to the defeat of Russia’s full-scale invasion...
Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy, unveiled on 17 February 2026, places critical minerals at the core of national security and industrial policy. The government frames domestic mining as essential for defence supply chains, reducing reliance on China’s near‑monopoly over rare earths and...
IonQ has bolstered its federal division by appointing three former Dell executives to senior roles, while former NGA director Robert Cardillo serves as executive chairman. Steve Harris will lead the go‑to‑market organization, Cameron Chehreh will head field engineering, and Mike...
Air Force test pilots used tactical AI on a Lockheed X‑62A Vista to autonomously evade a simulated surface‑to‑air missile, demonstrating rapid threat response without pilot input. The experiment, dubbed “Have Remy,” was disclosed by Skunk Works at the Air and...
Lockheed Martin successfully demonstrated AI‑enhanced target identification on an F‑35 during the Project Overwatch flight test at Nellis Air Force Base. The machine‑learning model processed sensor data in real time and presented pilots with potential combat targets, marking the first...
“Moscow intends to pass to Washington information about Kyiv’s plans to obtain nuclear weapons from the West.” Well, that pretty much reveals the obvious target audience of the Kremlin’s latest round of propagandistic nonsense about Ukraine: Donald Trump and his real-estate...
Eric Trexler, senior VP for the public sector at Palo Alto Networks, highlighted the federal government’s massive, fragmented cyber‑attack surface and the $27 billion FY 2025 cybersecurity budget, of which roughly $1.8 billion targets identity management. He noted that while agencies have made...
The U.S. Treasury announced cyber‑related sanctions on four individuals and three entities, including parties in Russia and the United Arab Emirates. The measures target those involved in acquiring and distributing malicious cyber tools that threaten U.S. national security. The sanctions...
The article argues that Ukrainian resilience is not a voluntary virtue but a forced response to Vladimir Putin’s relentless invasion, which seeks to erase Ukraine’s national identity. While global media celebrates the population’s courage, the resilience narrative can mask the urgent...
Canada announced a new military aid package that includes more than 400 armored vehicles—66 LAV 6s and 383 Roshel Senators—and a $2 billion budget for fiscal year 2026‑27. The package also extends the Operation UNIFIER training mission to 2029, increasing Canadian personnel on...
Australian government agencies are urged to upgrade cybersecurity after Cisco and the University of Canberra released the "Securing the Nation" report. The study highlights that 59% of federal agencies view legacy, end‑of‑life technology as a top security challenge and warns...
As the conflict enters its fifth year, I’ve mapped the most credible pathways to how it ends: ceasefire, collapse, escalation... Five scenarios. Assigned probabilities. Clear drivers and risk implications. My latest Substack is below, or the link is in my bio. https://open.substack.com/pub/geopoliticalguy/p/how-the-war-in-ukraine-ends?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Yes I joked on the podcast that this kind of progress bar isn’t exactly the smartest way to represent it, but we’re probably not far from seeing analytical products with this kind of percentage assessment on Russian military reconstitution.
Military analyst Dmytro Snegiryov backs Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov’s proposal for a comprehensive audit of Ukraine’s armed forces, urging genuine reforms rather than symbolic gestures. The Ukrainian military currently fields roughly 880,000 personnel, with only about 300,000 assigned to combat...
The latest RC is out with @MassDara. We go through some of the current myths, arguments, and assumptions about the war. From assessing offensives to attrition ratios, and my rant on how CENTCOM is about to spend everyone’s munitions. @WarOnTheRocks...
Israel media thinks the attack has been coming on many nights for weeks. The chances continue to rise, but don't take this as a hard indicator in any way. Totally unreliable.
The Army’s Marketplace for the Acquisition of Professional Services (MAPS) has faced another postponement, with a draft solicitation now slated for the end of the quarter after earlier February deadlines were missed. Critics argue MAPS duplicates existing government‑wide acquisition contracts...
As we have mentioned, very limited basing options for this due to threats and (supposed) airspace restrictions. US fighters basing in Israel was a given.
There's a word for this. Starts with an F. "Hegseth said he could label [Anthropic] a supply-chain risk, a move typically reserved for companies linked to adversaries, or invoke the Defense Production Act to force the company to work with the...
Abraham Lincoln Canberra Delbert D. Black Frank E. Petersen Jr. John Finn McFaul Michael Murphy Mitscher Pinckney Santa Barbara Spruance Tulsa Plus the Ford carrier strike group and two additional destroyers (Bulkeley and Roosevelt) nearby in EUCOM.
