Today's Defense Pulse
UK MOD issues new RA 5219 rules for flight‑test instrumentation and data recorders
Regulatory Article 5219 now mandates specific sensors, recorder capacities, data‑retention periods and compliance procedures for UK military air‑system flight trials. The latest Issue 8 revision was released on 29 May 2026, replacing earlier versions dating back to 2014. The rule applies to all future flight‑test programs of air platforms.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Disciplined Growth Acquisition Corp raises $150M in IPO
Defense Watch: Railgun Testing, DOGE Endures, FAMM Engines, Faster FMS
The U.S. Navy restarted railgun testing at White Sands, gathering high‑velocity firing data for future Trump‑class battleships. The Pentagon’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team reported $5 billion in FY‑27 savings, while senior leaders warned that NATO allies must assume most burden by 2035. The Air Force awarded PBS Aerospace a $3 million contract for FAMM turbojet engines, underscoring a push for affordable mass munitions. Defense officials emphasized that expanding production capacity, not streamlining Foreign Military Sales, is the critical bottleneck for delivering new weapons.
Iran's Cheap Drones Reshape Warfare; US Scrambles with LUCAS
Iran's cheap drones are rewriting the rules of modern warfare & the US and its allies are struggling to keep up. I joined @stephanie_h on @Marketplace Tech to break down the Shahed threat, why interception is difficult, and how the combat...
US‑flagged Vessels Stranded in Gulf, No Escort Updates
We don't use it? Five ships: APL Eagle, Alliance Fairfax, CS Anthem, Stena Imperative and Maersk Yorktown with 100+ American mariners are stuck in the Persian Gulf right now. No communication with the military or navy about escorts or when...
The British Army Is Winding Down Its Land Rover Fleet
The British Army announced it will phase out its fleet of Land Rover vehicles by 2030, ending over 70 years of service. Around 5,000 Land Rovers are still in use as of 2025, but they have been increasingly supplemented by...
Why a Small Town in Tennessee Is at the Center of a Renewed Global Arms Race
BWXT, a nuclear‑technology firm, secured a $1.6 billion federal contract to expand a munitions plant on the outskirts of Jonesborough, Tennessee, to refine depleted uranium for nuclear weapons. The project, which would emit up to 250 pounds of radioactive dust per year,...
How The Eurofighter Typhoon Stacks Up Against The Sukhoi Su-35 In 2026
The Eurofighter Typhoon and Russia's Su‑35 remain the premier fourth‑generation multirole fighters in 2026. Over 600 Typhoons are in service with NATO and Gulf states, while roughly 80‑100 Su‑35s operate for Russia and export customers. The Typhoon’s latest Captor‑E AESA...
Trump on Opening the Strait of Hormuz: You Need a Lot of Help
Former President Donald Trump asserted that the United States will not pursue a ceasefire with Iran, insisting on unconditional surrender while emphasizing the U.S. military’s abundant ammunition and troop levels. He suggested that China and Japan could play a role...
Terror Groups Under Increased Scrutiny in DNI’s Annual Threat Report
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s 2026 annual threat report places foreign Islamist terror groups at the top of U.S. security concerns, spotlighting Hezbollah and Iranian‑backed militias as persistent threats to American and allied interests. While Israel’s recent...
FBI, CISA Issue PSA on Russian Intelligence Campaign to Target Messaging Apps
The FBI and CISA released a joint public service announcement warning that Russian intelligence‑linked hackers are conducting a global phishing campaign against commercial messaging apps. The attackers impersonate Signal support staff to coax verification codes, compromising accounts of current and...
AI Is Now the Decisive Factor in Cyber Conflict
AI has become a decisive factor in cyber conflict, especially across the Asia‑Pacific region. Deep‑fake and generative AI have driven social‑engineering incidents up 53% year‑over‑year and fraud claims up 233%. By 2025, AI‑driven threats are projected to affect 56% of...
How Smart GovCons Increase Win Probability Before the Draft RFP Drops
Government contractors are shifting from post‑RFP hustle to disciplined pre‑RFP marketing, embedding capture, business development, and proposal teams months before a draft solicitation appears. By monitoring agency signals such as RFIs, industry days, and policy trends, firms craft win themes...
GAO Evaluation of CMMC Program and Important Information for Defense Contractors
The Government Accountability Office released a report reviewing the Department of Defense’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program, calling it fundamentally sound but in need of adjustments. GAO highlighted gaps in external factor analysis, such as the limited pool of...
New Methods for Assuring Digital Identity and Authenticity
The surge of generative AI has made realistic deepfakes and synthetic media commonplace, prompting a market shift toward foolproof digital identity verification. Emerging defenses combine hardware‑enforced trust, cryptographic watermarks and continuous behavioral biometrics to prove content provenance. Regulatory pressure, such...
Pentagon Flags Anthropic’s Foreign Workforce as a National Security Risk to Dismiss Company’s Lawsuit
The Pentagon filed a declaration labeling Anthropic’s employment of foreign nationals, especially Chinese citizens, as a national‑security risk under China’s National Intelligence Law. The agency argues this risk exceeds prior concerns about domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons, and it contrasts...
Iran Could Outproduce Its Own Drone Attacks Daily
if iran retains one-third of its reported 10,000 per month production it would produce more drones per day than it is currently firing.
Army Receives First Optionally Piloted Black Hawk
The U.S. Army has taken delivery of its first H‑60 Black Hawk equipped with the DARPA‑funded ALIAS optionally piloted system. The retrofit kit adds fly‑by‑wire controls and an autonomy suite that can manage takeoff, flight and landing, while still allowing...
The Follies of Predicting War
Phillips Payson O’Brien’s new book *War and Power* argues that wars are won or lost far beyond sheer firepower, highlighting the 2022 misreading of Russia’s chances in Ukraine. He critiques battle‑centric, realist analyses and proposes a “full‑spectrum power” framework that folds economic...
The Army National Guard’s New Tool Gives Students a Firsthand Look at Disaster Response
The Army National Guard is launching "Disasterville," a traveling virtual‑reality program that brings three ten‑minute disaster simulations—earthquake, flash flood and wildfire—to high school gymnasiums across the United States this spring. Participants work in teams of five, using VR headsets and...
Advanced Shipbuilding 'Factory of the Future' Opens in Alabama
Hadrian opened a 2.2‑million‑square‑foot ‘Factory of the Future’ in Cherokee, Alabama, funded by $900 million Navy OBBBA money and $1.5 billion private capital. The facility will mass‑produce components for Virginia‑class attack and Columbia‑class ballistic‑missile submarines, creating up to 1,000 high‑paying jobs. By...
US Army Signals End of Traditional Combat with Drone Shift
The U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division conducted a live‑fire drill at Fort Campbell showcasing drones as the initial combat element rather than mere support tools. Multiple UAV platforms, from the MQ‑1C Gray Eagle to small reconnaissance drones, operated alongside Special...
US Made Detailed Preparations for Potential Ground Troops in Iran - Report
Pentagon officials have drafted detailed plans to deploy U.S. ground forces into Iran, including two Marine units of roughly 2,200 troops each. The first unit is slated to arrive from Japan early next week, with a second sailing from California...
Cheap $800 Drone AK‑47 Threat Redefines Warfare
This is the equivalent of AK 47, but for drones. The world is not prepared for this yet, as we have seen it with the Gulf states. If you're using anti-aircraft missiles to shoot these things down, you're going to be in...
Oil Waivers Risk Sustaining Russia’s War Effort Amid the Iran War
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a short‑term general license allowing the purchase of Russian crude already on board vessels, effective March 12 through April 11. The waiver follows a similar 30‑day exemption for India and aims to dampen market turbulence caused...
SCSP Announces Launch of National Security Commission on Robotics for Advanced Manufacturing
The Special Competitive Studies Project announced the National Security Commission on Robotics for Advanced Manufacturing, co‑chaired by SCSP President Ylli Bajraktari, Sen. Ted Budd and Sen. Elissa Slotkin. The commission will craft a unified strategy to scale next‑generation robotics and...
2026 Annual Threat Assessment (ODNI) – What Has Changed Since 2024?
On March 18 the Office of the Director of National Intelligence published its 2026 Annual Threat Assessment, describing a security environment where major powers, transnational actors, and rapid technological change intersect. China remains the primary strategic competitor, while Russia, Iran...
The Stark Divide in the UAE and India War Info Systems
During the Iran‑Israel escalation, the UAE deployed a government‑run emergency alert system that pushed multilingual warnings to every mobile SIM and imposed steep fines for sharing unverified footage, keeping misinformation low. In contrast, India’s media landscape flooded viewers with outdated,...
Ursa Major Test Flies a New Liquid-Fueled Missile Engine for Air Force
Ursa Major announced that its Draper liquid‑fueled rocket engine completed a successful flight on the Air Force Affordable Rapid Missile Demonstrator on Jan. 27, 2026. The sub‑orbital test reached supersonic speeds, providing the first in‑flight validation of propellant stability and throttling performance....
Trivy Security Scanner GitHub Actions Breached, 75 Tags Hijacked to Steal CI/CD Secrets
Trivy, a widely used open‑source vulnerability scanner, suffered a second supply‑chain breach when attackers force‑pushed 75 of 76 tags in the official aquasecurity/trivy‑action repository to deliver a malicious payload. The code runs inside GitHub Actions runners, harvesting environment variables, cloud...
The University of Texas at El Paso Is Gearing up to Build Drone Tech
The University of Texas at El Paso’s Aerospace Center secured a $2 million congressional grant to expand its unmanned‑air‑system (UAS) capabilities. The funding will upgrade the Tornillo and Fabens test sites with enhanced power, computing, networking, radar, and beyond‑visual‑line‑of‑sight (BVLOS) operations....
Pennsylvania Army National Guard Soldiers Place 2nd in Lithuania Land Forces Best Infantry Squad Competition
Pennsylvania Army National Guard soldiers competed in Lithuania’s Best Infantry Squad Competition for the first time, finishing second among foreign teams. The eight‑person squad faced 10 Lithuanian squads and units from Germany, Estonia, Latvia, the Netherlands, and two active‑component U.S....
LCS Unsuitable for Minefield Clearance Without Dedicated Expertise
The "LCS doesn't have to work in the minefield" argument never held water. For one, you don't know where the minefield begins. The enemy doesn't send you a map. Look at USS Tripoli and USS Princeton. Neither believed it to be...
Israel Fires Missiles to Shield Dome of the Rock
Israel launching missiles to protect the Dome of the Rock from Iranian attack was not on my bingo card. We live in truly strange times.
Lonely Superpower: Trump Iran War and the End of American Consent
The United States is confronting a strategic deadlock as President Trump pushes an Iran war while key institutions and allies push back. The resignation of NCTC Director Joe Kent, who called the conflict fabricated, underscores internal intelligence dissent. Former presidents...
Robust Fleet Essential; Can't Force Ships Through Hormuz
We may be getting a reminder just how much it matters not to have a robust commercial shipping fleet - no matter what we say, we can’t make other countries’ merchant ships go through the Strait of Hormuz if they...
Former CENTCOM Chief Warns of Perils Deploying Troops to Iran
Exclusive: As Trump mulls options to send U.S. troops into Iran, former @CENTCOM commander Joseph Votel offers unique insights into the challenges and dangers of such operations. https://t.co/LrZrcgIgiS
Fake ‘Trusted Sender’ Labels Misused in New Apple Mail Phishing Scheme
A new phishing campaign embeds counterfeit “trusted sender” banners directly into email bodies, tricking recipients into believing messages are verified by Apple Mail. Apple’s mail client does not generate such labels, so the banners are pure HTML graphics that appear...
Iran's Drone Swarms Strain Gulf Missile Defenses
Iran's Shahed deployment and targeting are improving, thanks to tactics like launching swarms of drones with varying flight paths. These strategies are rapidly exhausting missile defenses in the Persian Gulf. #iranwar #shahed #geopolitics https://t.co/QUFZ0xOxqT
Embargo Iranian Oil, Not Seize Kharg, to Open Strait
Headlines that the US is thinking about taking Kharg island are pushing up Brent (lhs) and causing stocks to tank (rhs). Taking Kharg doesn't reopen the Strait and could turn into a fiasco. Better to embargo Iranian oil and force...
FBI Takes Down Leak Sites Tied to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security
The FBI seized four domains that Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security used to host stolen data, linking the operation to the state‑run “Handala” group. Handala leveraged Microsoft Intune’s wipe function to destroy data on more than 200,000 Stryker devices,...
US Ground Troops in Iran Trigger Market Sell‑off
🚨 UPDATE THE U.S. IS PREPARING TO DEPLOY GROUND FORCES IN IRAN. People are now expecting the war to go on for months. This is why markets are dumping. https://t.co/63v1BaTPgn
Iran Holds Leverage Over Strait Reopening, No Clear Solution
Five-byline alert: 🚨 “.. the Iranians have real leverage with this, and there’s not an obvious fix for it,” an intelligence official said of efforts to reopen the strait. @CNN https://t.co/F0HsBMF0Ha https://t.co/23PCXm7d3r
This Missile Just Proved Itself in Iran. The US Needs More, ASAP
The U.S. Army’s Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) made its first combat debut during the opening hours of the war on Iran, demonstrating a longer range than the legacy ATACMS and the ability to double payloads on HIMARS and MLRS launchers....
New Massive Project Rivals SCS's Big Three Islands
Here comes another Big One - on track to be as big as any of the Big Three SCS artificial island bases. https://t.co/3JJiM1TcAx
Deep Secrets of Agent‑Based D&R Sell Out Fast
One of my #RSAC presentation is a sponsored session ... and yes, this is the one that sold out :-) Because it is about the deep secrets of how we use agents for D&R. We should probably make a...
Trump: U.S. Could End Iran Military Operations 'Right Now' But Will Continue so Iran Can 'Never Rebuild'
President Donald Trump told MS Now that the United States could cease its Iran‑focused military campaign immediately and still keep Tehran from rebuilding its war‑fighting capacity for a decade. He added that a prolonged presence would make Iran’s reconstruction impossible. The...
Distributed Low‑tech Assets Power Ukraine's Air Defense
"Ukraine’s air defense is not just high-end systems. It is machine-guns, pickup trucks, acoustic and other sensors, and shared data. Distributed defense is the lesson." https://t.co/6z5VwFDMMl
Trump’s “War without Entanglement” Reveals Deeper Commitments
Trump’s way of war promises “war without entanglement.” But it means strikes, re-strikes—and potentially boots on the ground. The Iran war is exposing the limits, risking the very forever wars Trump ran against. My latest essay for @business (gift link):...
Työvene to Build SWATH-Based Transfer Vessel for German Navy
Finnish shipbuilder Uudenkaupungin Työvene secured a contract from Germany’s BAAINBw to design and build a Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) personnel transfer vessel for the German Navy. The 60‑person capacity craft will operate from Neustadt in Holstein, ferrying crew...
South Korea’s First C-390 Millennium Completes Maiden Flight
South Korea’s Republic of Korea Air Force successfully completed the maiden flight of its first Embraer C‑390 Millennium, marking the aircraft’s inaugural operational test. The flight follows a public tender that made South Korea the first Asian customer for the...
Dozens of Drones Swarm Bomber Base in Multiple Waves
Re-upping this because apparently there were multiple waves of more than a dozen drones over one of our bomber bases last week. 😬