Today's Defense Pulse
Iran drafts MOU with US promising Strait of Hormuz reopening within 30 days
Iran has issued a 14‑point draft memorandum of understanding that would see U.S. forces withdraw from Iranian territory, lift oil sanctions and suspend the naval blockade. The draft also calls for the release of half of Iran’s frozen assets and a reconstruction plan of at least $300 billion, with Tehran pledging to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days.
Also developing:
By the numbers: KONGSBERG acquires 90% stake in Zone 5 Technologies
U.S. Sanctions Russian Broker Over Zero-Day Exploits Theft
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 in cryptocurrency. The designations, issued under the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act and Executive Order 13694, freeze U.S. assets and bar American persons from dealing with the entities. The move signals a shift toward treating exploit marketplaces as national‑security threats rather than mere criminal enterprises.
Micro-Magic Launches U5000 Tactical MEMS IMU
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 Develops UAV Platforms for Collaborative Disaster Response Projects
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...
AMC Still Open to Wide Range of Options for New Tanker, Including Family of Systems
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...
Several Trends Are Shifting Defense Tech Toward Europe
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...
Modi's Israel Visit Deepens Strategic Defence and Tech Ties
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...
Trump Repeats Claims to Have ‘Obliterated’ Iran’s Nuke Program, Ended ‘8 Wars’
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...
Trump Presents Medal of Honor to 100-Year-Old Korean War Veteran During State of the Union
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...
India Eyes Israel’s 6th-Gen, AI-Enabled BVR Missile To Supercharge LCA Tejas, Blunt China’s PL-15/PL-17 Edge
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 of SWJ El Centro on El Mencho
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,...
Space Force Moving to Upgrade Its Elements of Long-Range Kill Chains
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 Reaffirm Defence Cooperation in Doha Talks
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 Capacity, Not Reactors, Limits Supply
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
NK's Nuclear Strike Capability Grows From Russian Aid
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 Calls for Multi-Orbit Connectivity to Bolster India's Space Sovereignty
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...
Call for Papers: Special Issue on Sources and Archives for Intelligence History in Cold War Europe | Intelligence and National...
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...
Beyond the Queue: Smarter Security Will Ultimately Shape the Future of Global Air Travel
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...
X-BAT Drone ‘Fighter’ Will Begin VTOL Flight Testing In Kansas This Year
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,...
Phishing Campaign Targets Freight and Logistics Orgs in the US, Europe
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...
Tech Companies Shouldn’t Be Bullied Into Doing Surveillance
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...
Ratcheting up the Economic Coercion on Japan; Mixed Holiday Economic Data; Germany's Merz Arrives in Beijing; US-China; AI; Political Education...
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...
Pentagon Eyes 2028 to Deliver Much-Delayed Background Investigation System
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...
Lohmeier: Next Budget Will Fund ‘Year of Readiness’ in Fiscal ’27
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...
SECAF Meink Unveils ‘Ringleader’ Exercise to Test Satellite Sensor Fusion for Tactical Battle Management
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...
A Banner Year for Military Space Funding— with an Unclear Path Beyond
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...
SISU Solutions Joins ICTPA Panel
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...
Ukrainian Artillery Thwarts Hostomel Airborne Landing, Shifts War
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...
Why Canadian Critical Minerals Are More Critical Than Ever – by Christopher Hernandez-Roy (Canadian Politics and Public Policy – February...
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 Hires Trio of Dell Vets to Lead Federal Push
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 to Evade a Missile
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 Debuts AI on F-35 Fighter Jet to Identify Targets
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...
Kremlin Propaganda Targets Trump, Masks Ongoing Ukrainian Devastation
“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...
Q&A: Palo Alto’s Eric Trexler Urges Identity-First, AI-Secure, Platformized Cyberdefenses
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...
US Imposes Cyber-Related Sanctions on Russian, UAE Individuals and Entities
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...
Ukrainians Don’t Want to Be Resilient. Putin Has Given Them No Other Choice.
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 Confirms New Armored Vehicle Shipment to Ukraine
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...
Lift Cybersecurity, Warns Report
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...
Five Probable Paths to End Ukraine War
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
Upcoming Analytics May Quantify Russian Military Rebuilding Percentages
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.
Ukraine as a European Nation
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...
Debunking War Myths: Offensives, Attrition, CENTCOM Spending
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...
Israeli Media's Attack Warnings Remain Unreliable Predictions
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 Right Direction on MAPS?
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...
US Fighters Must Base in Israel Amid Limited Options
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.
Hegseth Threatens to Label Anthropic a Supply-Chain Risk
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...
DISA's $201M Browser Contract Shows Resellers Still Have a Role to Play
DISA has issued a $201 million solicitation for cloud‑based internet isolation (CBII), requiring authorized Menlo Security resellers to deliver a managed service. Menlo Security supplies the underlying remote‑browser platform, while resellers will operate, integrate, and support the solution within DISA’s security...
Only 12 US Warships Deployed,
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.
China’s Indifference to US Pressure Still Raises Global Concerns
+1. Even if China doesn't care about US pressure, talking to the CD raises questions among countries that China does care about.
Firebreaks: Mitigating the Risks of AI Integration Into Nuclear Operations
The Firebreaks project responds to a Carnegie Corporation call to curb emerging AI‑driven nuclear risks. Led by the Arms Control Association, Berkeley Risk and Security Lab, and the European Leadership Network, the initiative maps how artificial intelligence could intersect with...
VCs Misuse Dual‑use Hype; Stop Relying on Grants
Certainly GTM is very different. And there are supply chain issues in current environment. Would add: NOT doing dual use is not an excuse to rely on grants and research money, stuff becoming too expensive, and not being able to...