Today's Defense Pulse
U.S. Treasury expands sanctions on Iran-linked shipping network
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced a new sanctions round targeting a global network of shipping firms, tanker operators and intermediaries tied to Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical trades. Entities in Hong Kong, the UAE, India, Qatar, Singapore, China, Liberia and the Marshall Islands were added to the Specially Designated Nationals list.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Disciplined Growth Acquisition Corp raises $150M in IPO
Hegseth Acknowledges China and Russia Could Be Supporting Iran as U.S. Threatens Intensified Strikes Against "New Regime"
The United States launched a massive strike on Iran’s Isfahan ammunition depot, using 2,000‑pound bunker‑buster bombs that caused secondary explosions. Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that China and Russia are providing varying levels of support to Tehran’s war effort, though details remain classified. President Trump signaled a possible wind‑down of the campaign, even as he warned allies to secure their own fuel amid threats to the Strait of Hormuz. The attack pushed Brent crude above $110 a barrel, highlighting the conflict’s energy‑market impact.
Dino's Team Accelerates Naval Autonomy with Record-Breaking Shipbuilding
Dino and his team scaled @saronic faster than any defense company to date. He’s delivered hundreds of autonomous vessels to the US Navy, redefining naval autonomy, and the fastest-built big ships since WWII. Now, we’re scaling. I’m proud to have helped them...
DoD Expands Internal Software Factories, Boosting DevOps Across All Services
The Department of Defense announced an expansion of its internal software factories—including the Air Force’s Kessel Run, the Army Software Factory and the Marine Corps Software Factory—aimed at embedding DevOps pipelines, automation and rapid delivery across all services. The move...
U.S. President Says America ‘Won’t Be There to Help’ UK
U.S. President Donald Trump warned that the United States will no longer assist the United Kingdom after the UK declined to join American air operations against Iran. The remark was posted on social media while U.S. forces expanded a long‑range...
Japan Deploys First Operational Long‑Range Type‑12 Land‑to‑Ship Missiles
Japan has made its upgraded Type‑12 land‑to‑ship missile operational at Camp Kengun, giving it a 1,000‑km strike capability that can reach mainland China. The move, driven by Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, marks a shift toward offensive deterrence as Tokyo expands...
Spain Bars US Military Flights Over Iran War, Rerouting Bombers to England
Spain’s Defence Minister Margarita Robles announced the closure of Spanish airspace to US military aircraft participating in operations against Iran. The move forces US bombers and tankers to reroute via the UK, sparking a diplomatic clash with Washington and raising questions...
A Response to the Brennan Center’s “Myths and Facts” On Section 702 Backdoor Searches
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act will expire on April 20, 2026 unless Congress renews it, threatening a key intelligence tool for counter‑terrorism and cyber threat detection. The author disputes the Brennan Center’s claim that USP identifiers used...
Trump’s Withdrawal Could End Middle East Wars, Benefit All
This could be the offramp the world needs. You can think of it as the best outcome for everyone, under the circumstances. (1) From MAGA’s perspective, if Trump declares victory here and moves on, the US won’t waste yet more blood...
Japan Deploys New Longer-Range Missiles, Formally Designates ‘Type 25’ Systems
Japan’s ground Self‑Defense Force deployed two longer‑range missile systems on March 31, formally naming them Type 25 Surface‑to‑Ship Guided Missile (25SSM) and Type 25 Hyper‑Velocity Gliding Projectile (25HGP). The 25SSM extends the legacy Type 12’s reach to about 1,000 km, enabling strikes against naval and...
![Defense & Aerospace Daily Podcast [Mar 31, 2026] IISS’ Ben Barry](https://hixhlmpcokxhartfkpyi.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/images/thumbnails/6df7c461ee7c5b59f9062d8261026d17.webp)
Defense & Aerospace Daily Podcast [Mar 31, 2026] IISS’ Ben Barry
Ben Barry, retired British Army brigadier and IISS land‑warfare director, discusses his new book “The Rise and Fall of the British Army: 1975‑2025” on the Defense & Aerospace Daily Podcast. He examines the pivotal role of ground forces in a...
"Welcome to the Aya-Toll California"
President Trump announced he is prepared to end the United States’ involvement in the Iran war, even if the strategic Strait of Hormuz stays largely closed to commercial traffic. The statement hints at a shift from direct military engagement to...
CRP USA to Exhibit at RAPID + TCT 2026 with Windform SLS Solutions for Aerospace and Defense
CRP USA will exhibit its Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) solutions using Windform high‑performance composite materials at RAPID + TCT 2026 in Boston from April 14‑16. The showcase, located in Booth 2443‑3 within the America Makes Pavilion, targets aerospace, defense, and...
Democracy Alliance Ends; Who Will Replace UK's Partner?
Well, I for one am sad to see the end to a global alliance underpinned by a shared belief that democracy is worth defending. Which country do you expect will take the place of our special relationship with the UK? Hungary Russia N....
Alibaba Sellers Offer Shahed Drone Copies for Russia Delivery Despite China’s Export Controls
Chinese sellers on Alibaba are advertising functional copies of Iran’s Shahed‑136 loitering munition, disguising them as model planes, pesticide sprayers or survey drones. Despite China’s UAV export controls that began on September 1 2025 and Alibaba’s ban on military hardware, four listings...
Hegseth Discloses Recent Centcom Visit, Calls to Finish Mission
Press conference at Pentagon just began. Hegseth says he was in the Centcom region for half a day recently -- something not previously disclosed. He has a notably different tone in his opener today, sharing details about what he saw and...
Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems: A New Battlefield Reality
Technological advances and rising defense spending have accelerated development of lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS), which can select and engage targets without human intervention. The global autonomous weapons market, valued at $14.2 billion in 2024, is projected to more than double...
The US Navy Brought a ‘One-of-a-Kind’ Laser Weapon Back From the Dead
The U.S. Navy spent roughly six months and about $50 million to revive its one‑of‑a‑kind 150 kW solid‑state laser demonstrator, originally mounted on USS Portland in 2019. The restored system was fielded in the Pentagon’s Crimson Dragon exercise, where it successfully engaged four...
EnSilica Joins UK CHERI Adoption Collective to Accelerate Secure-by-Design Silicon
EnSilica has been selected to join the newly formed CHERI Adoption Collective, a UK‑government‑backed initiative aimed at embedding hardware‑level memory safety into critical systems. The collective brings together infrastructure operators such as BT, National Grid and SSE, along with semiconductor...
Finnish Startup Test of Things Lands €1.2 Million Pre-Seed to Automate Connected Device Security
Finnish cybersecurity startup Test of Things secured €1.2 million (about $1.3 million) in a pre‑seed round led by Vendep Capital, with participation from Business Finland and several angel investors. The company is developing an AI‑driven platform that automates security testing and regulatory...
RSAC 2026: Cohesity Enhances Cyber Resilience with Next-Generation Malware Scanning Powered by Sophos
Cohesity announced native integration of Sophos next‑generation malware scanning into its Data Cloud platform. The feature, included with the Enterprise Edition, detects zero‑day, polymorphic and fileless threats hidden in backup data without requiring a separate Sophos license. Scans run incrementally...
Rubrik and Rackspace Technology Launch UK Sovereign Cyber Recovery Cloud
Rackspace Technology and Rubrik have launched the UK Sovereign Cyber Recovery Cloud, a ransomware‑focused recovery service that keeps all data, hardware and management within UK borders. The offering provides an automated, isolated "clean‑room" environment that can restore public‑sector and regulated...
Somalia Army Takes Baidoa as South West State Leader Resigns
Somalia’s national army seized Baidoa, the administrative capital of the South West State, on March 30, 2026, prompting the regional president Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen to resign just two weeks after announcing a break with the federal government. The city,...
AI Cyberattacks Surge, Cloudflare’s AI Defense Boosts $NET
AI-driven cyberattacks are scaling rapidly — and $NET is a direct beneficiary Cloudflare’s AI-powered defense, driven by Cloudforce One and its global network, now blocks ~230 billion threats daily. Attack sophistication is rising fast. AI is being used for exploit development, network mapping,...
Cato Networks Unveils Modular Adoption Model for SASE Platform
Cato Networks announced a modular adoption model for its core SASE platform, allowing enterprises to select and add capabilities such as AI security, SD‑WAN, SSE and universal ZTNA on demand. The solution runs on the GPU‑powered Cato Neural Edge, a...
PR-DC Introduces the First Military-Certified Multicopter Capable of Launching Three Aircraft Rockets
PR‑DC unveiled the IKA‑ROCKET, the world’s first military‑certified multicopter capable of launching three aircraft rockets. The system, built on the IKA‑20‑M hexacopter, passed internal tests that proved it can fire rockets from all three launch positions while hovering and during...
How Close the Iran War Came to a Nuclear Disaster
The Iran‑Israel conflict has spilled onto nuclear sites, with Iran’s missiles striking near Israel’s Dimona research center and multiple attacks on Iran’s Bushehr plant and Arak heavy‑water complex. While the Bushehr reactor remained operational and radiation levels stayed stable, the...
Telling China's Story Well: The PRC's Strategic Narrative as an Instrument of National Power
Since President Xi Jinping’s 2013 call to "tell China’s story well," the PRC has built a thirteen‑year strategic narrative program that treats discourse power as a core element of comprehensive national power. The effort is organized around four pillars—Party, Dream,...
Nevada Guard Soldiers Strengthen ROK-US Alliance During Freedom Shield 2026
Nevada National Guard soldiers from the 17th Sustainment Brigade took part in Exercise Freedom Shield 2026, a ten‑day multinational command‑post drill in South Korea. The unit embedded with the Eighth Army Interoperability Directorate and the new Combined Ground Component Command,...
Collaborative Capability Development
The Department of Defense is piloting a third acquisition model called the Collaborative Integrator, where the government contracts multiple vendors to deliver discrete capability pieces while actively coordinating their work. This approach is being used for the Golden Dome command‑and‑control...
DroneShield Partners with Kinetic Interceptor Manufacturer with Origin Robotics MOU
DroneShield and Origin Robotics have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to combine DroneShield’s sensor‑fusion detection suite with Origin’s autonomous BLAZE interceptor drones. The partnership aims to deliver a seamless detect‑track‑engage capability against emerging threats such as low‑cost Shahed loitering munitions....
Nebraska National Guard and Tanzania Formalize State Partnership
On March 12, 2026, the Nebraska National Guard and Tanzania Peoples’ Defence Forces signed a formal letter of intent, officially adding Tanzania to the U.S. National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program. The agreement builds on joint exercises in 2025‑26 and...
Five Eyes Excuse Fuels Canadian Surveillance Expansion
The next time you hear Canadian police or national security folks try to justify expanding surveillance powers by saying "our Five Eyes partners" have the capability, think of this: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/technology/72853/rise-facial-recognition-policing
U.S. Cuts Hormuz Use, Calls Out Weakening Royal Navy
“We use the Strait of Hormuz dramatically less than most.” Secretary @PeteHegseth then called out Britain’s weakened navy from the Pentagon podium: “Last I checked there’s supposed to be a big bad Royal Navy prepared to do that as well.“ https://t.co/lwRiXcdYj6
Guidance: Industry Security Notice (ISN)
The UK Ministry of Defence’s Industry Security Notices (ISNs) continue to evolve, with the latest revision on 31 March 2026 adding Defence Cyber Certification (DCC) guidance under DEFCON 658 and clarifying the cyber‑security model scope. Over the past six years the ISNs have...
Hormuz Turns Toll Road as VLCC Burns
Hormuz now a pay to pass corridor. From being forced to pay a “toll” to a VLCC attacked and on fire, a day in the maritime mess at the Strait of Hormuz. https://t.co/ENyO92nyeS
Ukraine's Drone Attacks Slash Russian Oil Exports
This is something to keep an eye on. Ukraine has been damaging Russian oil export capacity, via drone. The country's seaborne shipments last week were the lowest since 2022, but unclear if it's the start of a longer trend. ...
U.S. Army Upgrades M1 Abrams Engine Systems
Honeywell International secured a $45 million contract modification to develop and qualify the J8 digital electronic control unit for the M1 Abrams' AGT1500 gas‑turbine engine. The upgrade, part of the Total Integrated Engine Revitalization (TIGER) program, extends the 1,500‑horsepower propulsion system’s...
U.S. Pulls Back: Future Aid Uncertain
"The US wont be there to help you anymore." With all the help they've had so far with the war, will they want more?
30 Gulf Ship Attacks Expose US Protection Gaps
Why is anyone surprised by this with nearly 30 ship attacks in the Persian Gulf since March 1. Add to that, even US flagged ships feel like they are not getting the attention, let alone protection, they deserve.
RTX Secures $3.8 Billion Engine Contract for F-35 Production
RTX announced a $3.81 billion contract modification to produce F135 engines for Lot 18 and Lot 19 of the F‑35 program, extending production through March 2028. The award funds propulsion systems for U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, partner nations, and foreign‑military‑sales customers, with...
Drone Strike Damages Laden Supertanker, Gulf Shipping Tensions Rise
"Drone Strike Hits Laden Supertanker Off Dubai as Gulf Shipping Incidents Flare Again" H/T @MikeSchuler https://t.co/86eTtck1NM
Quickly Detect Axios Supply‑Chain Compromise with New Claude Skill
🚨 Want to quickly check if you've been compromised by the Axios supply-chain attack? Hari (@hrkrshnn) just shipped a free @claudeai skill for us 🙏 /plugin marketplace add cantinasec/plugins /plugin install cantinasec@cantinasec-plugins /reload-plugins /cantinasec:axios https://t.co/XlUdHdDcl7
Tuesday Radio Prep
The White House revealed that Iran is engaging in private negotiations even as it publicly rejects dialogue, while a key U.S. ally has begun blocking its airspace to Iranian military flights, heightening regional tension. Meanwhile, a major airline sparked controversy...
🌊 The Risk of Iran’s Uranium
Iran retains a sizable cache of highly enriched uranium despite the June 2025 "12‑Day War" in which Israel and the United States bombed its nuclear facilities. The last verified inventory shows roughly 200 kg of 20% enriched uranium and 440 kg of...
Anthropic: US Statecraft Battles Go Domestic
The Pentagon designated Anthropic and its Claude chatbot as a supply‑chain risk after a dispute over AI safety guardrails, prompting the company to sue. A federal judge issued a temporary injunction on March 26, blocking the blacklisting and describing it as...
This App Makes Even the Sketchiest PDF or Word Doc Safe to Open
Dangerzone is a free, open‑source tool that sanitizes PDFs, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OpenOffice, EPUB and image files by sandboxing them and converting each page to an image‑only PDF. The process runs in a container or virtual machine with no internet...
Ukraine Drone Strike Shows New Threat to Russian Oil Exports
The global energy trade has been taking hit after hit, and things might be getting worse. Ukraine launched a large drone attack on oil export facilities in the Baltic, proving they can disrupt Russian exports. Full Newsletter: https://t.co/Tp92ahyVzj https://t.co/Zk1DX6pw9v
What China’s Spy Chief Was Really Seeking in Indonesia
China’s Minister of State Security Chen Yixin visited Jakarta on March 27, meeting President Prabowo Subianto and Indonesia’s intelligence chief. The talks focused on expanding cooperation between China’s MSS and Indonesia’s BIN, emphasizing regional stability and security coordination. While no...
Iran Attacks Ship, POTUS Okays Operation Wind‑down; Oil Steady
Iran struck a ship with Kuwaiti oil in a Dubai port and press reports POTUS told aides can consider winding down operation without securing Strait of Hormuz. Oil remains firm. Mkts uncertain. Large euro options at $1.15 expire today...
Iran's Parliament Security Committee Approves Plan to Impose Tolls on Strait of Hormuz
Iran's Parliament Security Committee approved a Strait of Hormuz Management Plan that introduces a rial‑based toll system for vessels transiting the vital waterway. The plan explicitly bans American and Israeli ships and targets nations imposing unilateral sanctions on Tehran. It...