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
Pentagon Eyes New USV for Indo-Pacific Contested Logistics
The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit announced a solicitation for dozens of Autonomous Resupply Vehicles (ARV‑S), unmanned surface vessels designed to transport 20‑foot containers for Army logistics in contested Indo‑Pacific environments. The ARV‑S must achieve a 1,600‑nautical‑mile round‑trip range, operate autonomously in sea states 4‑6, and carry at least two containers per mission. Production scalability is a key requirement, with the Army seeking to quickly field a fleet that can augment its aging watercraft. Congressional leaders have echoed the need, adding USV procurement language to FY‑27 legislation.
Claude Mythos Turns N-Days Into N-Hours With Rapid Exploit Creation
Anthropic announced that its Claude Mythos Preview model can automatically generate working exploits for known vulnerabilities in minutes to hours. In tests, Mythos produced 16 functional exploits for Firefox and Windows, including eight Windows privilege‑escalation exploits within 18 hours. The...
SWOs Assume Amphibious Command: Why It Matters
In an April 24, 2026 directive, CNO Daryl Caudle mandated that, beginning FY 2028, all amphibious warships – LHA, LHD, LPD and LSD – will be commanded exclusively by Surface Warfare Officers. The move ends the long‑standing dual‑community model that allowed aviators to helm...
Iranian Regional Command Blacklisted by EU over Strait of Hormuz Toll
The European Union on June 9, 2026 placed an Iranian regional command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy and two senior officials on its sanctions list. The blacklist targets the command that runs the “Tehran Tollbooth,” a screening system that forces...
Daily Memo: Germany and France Scrap Fighter Jet Plan
Germany and France have agreed to cancel their joint next‑generation fighter jet program after a protracted impasse over funding, specifications and timelines. The decision was announced by Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the EU‑Western...
Brussels Proposes Entry Ban on Russian War Veterans
The European Commission has drafted a new sanction measure that would bar any individual who served in the Russian armed forces since the war in Ukraine began from entering the EU. The proposal follows a letter from leaders of Lithuania,...
Swarm Aero Selects Honeywell Turboprop for Its New Unmanned Aircraft
Swarm Aero, a California‑based UAV swarm developer, announced that it will power its upcoming Group 5 unmanned aircraft with Honeywell’s TPE331 turboprop engine, with the first engines already delivered. The company has raised a total of $59 million, including a $35 million Series A,...
Pentagon Reveals Preferred Munitions for One-Way Attack Drones
The Pentagon’s $1.1 billion Drone Dominance program announced the winners of its Lethality Prize Challenge, selecting Bravo Ordnance, Kela Technologies, Kraken Kinetics, Mountain Horse Solutions and Northrop Grumman as providers of preferred munitions for one‑way attack drones. Northrop’s Common UAS Payload is...
Pentagon Picks Picket’s Rotating Turret for Counter-Drone Test
Picket Defense Systems has been chosen by the Defense Innovation Unit for Phase II of its Counter‑UAS Close‑In Kinetic Defeat Enhancement program, moving its Inferno RTC rotating‑turret weapon into live testing. The system claims zero aiming latency by continuously sweeping a...
Raytheon Spends $100M Expanding Patriot System Factory
Raytheon announced a $100 million expansion of its Portsmouth, Rhode Island plant to boost production and testing of the Patriot air‑defense system’s LTAMDS radar and GEM‑T missile subcomponents. The move follows a $53 million upgrade at its Andover, Massachusetts radar facility, taking...
Why Cybersecurity Teams Are Struggling to Keep up with AI Adoption
Fortinet executives warn that AI adoption is outpacing the ability of security teams to monitor and control the tools employees use. A McKinsey 2025 study shows almost universal AI usage, yet only half of board members feel fully aware of...
Spirit Electronics Announces Managed Access to U.S.-Based Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing for Aerospace and Defense Programs
Spirit Electronics unveiled a managed‑access service that gives aerospace and defense programs a secure, on‑shore route to 28nm CMOS semiconductor fabrication in the United States. The offering bundles design‑to‑production services, supply‑chain oversight, on‑shore assembly, testing, and lifecycle support within CMMC...
Pentagon Bars Alibaba, Baidu, BYD From U.S. Defense Contracts in Expanded Military List
The U.S. Department of Defense has added Alibaba Group, Baidu Inc. and electric‑vehicle maker BYD Co. to its 1260H “Chinese military companies” list, barring them from future U.S. defense contracts. The move expands the blacklist to nearly 200 firms and...
Analysts Rank MP Materials and USA Rare Earth as June's Top U.S. Rare‑Earth Stocks
Wall Street analysts have spotlighted MP Materials and USA Rare Earth as the two leading rare‑earth mining stocks for June, citing MP's record production and a $400 million DoD share purchase, and USA Rare Earth's $1.6 billion CHIPS‑Act deal and heavy‑rare‑earth acquisitions.
Agile, Sovereign, Edge-Ready: Rewiring Defence IT for a Contested Decade
European land forces now face the most demanding security environment since the Cold War, as the Ukraine war forces a rapid shift from connected command posts to fully disconnected, sovereign operations. HPE is repositioning its portfolio to meet this shift,...
BlackSky to Accelerate Broad-Area Collection Work Under NRO Contract Modification
The National Reconnaissance Office has issued a contract modification to BlackSky Technology to speed development of its AROS broad‑area collection satellites, targeting a flight‑ready, multi‑spectral mapping spacecraft by 2028. The AROS constellation will augment BlackSky’s existing Gen‑3 high‑resolution fleet, enabling...
Ukrainian Civilians Face New Threat From Russia’s Upgraded Jet Drones
Russia has begun fielding a new generation of jet‑powered strike drones capable of striking targets up to 1,000 km away and carrying larger warheads. The Kremlin plans for these systems to account for roughly half of its aerial bombing campaign,...
US Lawmakers Prepare a Historic Investment in Stockpile Replenishment in FY2027
U.S. lawmakers are moving to approve a historic $90 billion investment to rebuild the Department of Defense’s missile and interceptor stockpiles for FY2027. The plan includes roughly $25 billion earmarked for munitions such as the PAC‑3 MSE and the procurement of close...
Trump Wants NATO Allies to Step Up-Can France Lead the Way
President Donald Trump is intensifying criticism of NATO allies, demanding greater European burden sharing for both conventional and nuclear deterrence. In March 2026, French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a "forward deterrence" doctrine, expanding France’s nuclear force for the first time since...
The Real Test of the Defence Investment Plan Is Endurance
The UK government will publish its Defence Investment Plan before the July 7 NATO summit, outlining which high‑profile programmes – such as the next‑generation combat aircraft (GCAP), AUKUS submarines and Army upgrades – will be funded. Analysts warn that a...
Thales UK Completes New Round of RapidDestroyer RFDEW Counter-Drone Trials
Thales UK announced successful completion of a new RapidDestroyer RFDEW trial in April at Pershore, Gloucestershire, in partnership with Teledyne E2V. The upgraded four‑panel effector neutralised 80 drones, demonstrating near‑instant defeat and an engagement range of up to 1 km. At...
Over 100 NPM, PyPI Packages Hit in New Shai-Hulud Supply Chain Attacks
New iterations of the Shai‑Hulud supply‑chain worm have infected more than 100 open‑source packages across NPM and PyPI. The Miasma variant alone compromised 57 NPM packages and over 300 malicious versions, while the Hades variant affected 29 PyPI packages, including...
Tests Suggest Russian Satellites Can Jam GPS On a Continental Scale
Researchers at the University of Texas and Stanford have identified 75 days of short, high‑power GPS interference bursts that were simultaneously detected across Europe, Greenland and Canada. The signals line up with the L1 frequency used by the U.S. GPS...
French Govt Messaging Service Breached in Account Hijacking Attack
France’s government‑run encrypted messaging app Tchap suffered a breach after a hacker hijacked a user account, gaining access to public chat rooms and private data. The attacker claimed to have exfiltrated more than 13.5 GB of documents, scraped roughly 650,000 messages...
Taiwan Simulates Defence Against Chinese Naval Attack
Taiwan’s armed forces staged a large‑scale amphibious‑assault simulation along a 20‑kilometre stretch of the Dajia River near Taichung, employing anti‑tank missiles, artillery, mortars, indigenous Thunderbolt‑2000 rocket launchers and U.S. M109A2 Paladin howitzers. The drill marked the first use of missile...
US Targets China’s Military-Tech Firm Ties While Forging Its Own
The U.S. Department of Defense added Alibaba, Baidu and BYD to its 1260H list, labeling them as entities that support the People’s Liberation Army and tightening restrictions on Chinese firms linked to military‑civil fusion. The move follows a 2021 congressional...
Smart Shooter Wins $5.8M U.S. Marines AI Rifle Scope Deal
Smart Shooter won a follow‑on U.S. Marine Corps contract for its SMASH 2000LE fire‑control systems, initially worth $3.4 million with options that could lift the total to about $5.8 million. The AI‑powered rifle scopes enable Marines to engage small, fast‑moving drones by...
Ukraine War Drives ‘Minimum Deployable Capability’ Doctrine in Uncrewed Systems Development
Ukraine’s ongoing war has turned the battlefield into a real‑time laboratory for uncrewed vehicle development, prompting firms to adopt a "minimum deployable capability" (MDC) doctrine. Syos Aerospace exemplifies this shift, focusing on rapid fielding, lean serial production, and a system‑of‑systems...
Ukraine Sets 2,000km Strike Target in New Artillery Doctrine
Ukraine’s commander‑in‑chief approved a 2030 development concept for the rocket forces and artillery, targeting a 2,000 km (1,243 mi) strike capability. The plan prioritises domestic design and serial production of ballistic and cruise missiles while phasing out aging Soviet‑era systems. It also...
NATO Launches Ramstein Flag 2026 Near Russia as Israel‑Iran Tensions Ease
NATO kicked off the Ramstein Flag 2026 live‑fly exercise, deploying over 200 aircraft from 18 allies near Russia’s border. At the same time, Israel and Iran announced a halt to hostilities, easing market volatility but leaving analysts wary of underlying...
NATO Allies Need a Plan for Addressing Threats Below the Threshold of War
Europe faces a surge of subthreshold, or gray‑zone, aggression—from telecom sabotage to weaponized migration—traced to hostile states. NATO, whose charter only obligates collective defense against armed attacks, currently lacks a clear mandate to address these threats. The upcoming NATO summit...
AFP Chief Confirms Monitoring of Mysterious Manned Platform Inside Bajo De Masinloc
The Armed Forces of the Philippines confirmed a six‑by‑six‑meter platform with an antenna and six people inside the lagoon of Scarborough (Bajo de Masinloc) Shoal. AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner said aerial patrols are determining whether the structure is floating or...
Lockheed Martin Plans a Major Expansion in Canada Following the HIMARS Acquisition
Lockheed Martin announced plans to expand its Canadian operations after Ottawa approved the purchase of 26 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers. The deal, part of the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program, includes launchers, munitions, training and support services...
Navigating Duality in Space
RAND’s three‑year Duality in Space project released its first‑year report, mapping the global landscape of dual‑use satellites that serve both civilian and military functions. The study finds no universally accepted definition of dual use and highlights asymmetries between established space...
U.S. Army Helicopter Crashes Near Strait Of Hormuz—Trump Says ‘Pilots Are Fine’
An U.S. Army AH‑64 Apache attack helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz, with both crew members rescued and reported unharmed by President Trump. The cause of the crash remains uncertain, with speculation ranging from Iranian fire to a technical...
Ukraine Answers Shaheds with Autonomous Interceptors
Ukraine has begun fielding autonomous interceptor drones that can independently engage Russian Shahed attack drones. The system automates about 95% of the interception workflow, from launch to target destruction, with a human operator only selecting the target. Officials say the...
Japan Considers AEW Radar Pod for MQ-9B SeaGuardian Drones
Japan’s Ministry of Defense is evaluating a Saab‑GA‑ASI airborne early‑warning radar pod for its MQ‑9B SeaGuardian drones to close a surveillance gap over the Pacific. The move follows heightened concerns about Chinese bomber and carrier activity near the Bashi Channel....
Kuwait and Oman Sign Cybersecurity Pact to Counter Rising Digital Threats
Kuwait and Oman have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to deepen bilateral cybersecurity cooperation. The pact creates channels for sharing threat intelligence, joint training of incident‑response teams, and coordinated response to attacks on critical infrastructure. It also sets the stage...
Gremsy to Present UAV Payload Systems at Eurosatory 2026
Gremsy will appear as an official exhibitor at Eurosatory 2026 in Paris, showcasing its latest EO/IR camera payloads and gimbal stabilization systems. The company will demonstrate the VIO, ORUS L, LYNX, and upcoming KESTREL payloads alongside low‑SWaP G‑Hadron and MIO gimbals...
KONGSBERG and DRASS Partner to Develop Advanced Underwater Systems
Kongsberg and Italy’s DRASS have entered a strategic partnership to co‑develop next‑generation underwater systems. The alliance will merge Kongsberg’s expertise in autonomous vehicles, sonar and navigation with DRASS’s pressure‑tolerant batteries, compact optronic periscopes and subsea platforms. Together they aim to...
Marcos: PH 'Will Never Be Intimated' In Protecting Sovereign Rights over West Philippine Sea
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared the Philippines will never be intimidated in defending its sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea, stressing the urgency of bolstering naval capabilities. Speaking at the Philippine Navy’s 128th anniversary, he directed the Department of...
Pentagon Adds Alibaba, Baidu and BYD to China Military-Linked Firms List
The Pentagon has updated its 1260H list of China‑linked firms, adding tech giants Alibaba, Baidu and electric‑vehicle maker BYD along with biotech, lidar and robotics companies. Direct Department of Defense contracts with these firms will be prohibited later this month,...
United States Navy Supercarrier To Lead 2026 International Exercises
The U.S. Navy’s supercarrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN‑71) will lead the 2026 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises, scheduled for June 24‑July 31. The drill will involve more than 30 nations, roughly 40 surface ships, five submarines and 140 aircraft, drawing about 25,000 personnel...
Rubio Lays Out Trump Administration’s Iran Endgame
Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee, outlining the Trump administration’s rationale for the Feb. 28 airstrike on Iran and its broader “endgame” strategy. He warned that Iran’s expanding drone and missile arsenal could shield its nuclear...
Anduril CEO Brian Schimpf Says Economic Warfare Is the ‘New Normal’ for Military Conflicts—And the U.S. Needs to Get Serious
Anduril CEO Brian Schimpf warned that modern warfare has shifted from destroying military assets to inflicting economic pain, targeting data centers, oil refineries and shipping lanes. He cited the rapid pace of strikes in the Israel‑Iran conflict and the depletion...
Chokepoint Busters: Marines Seek Toolkit to Help Aviators Clear Way for Amphibs
The Marine Corps has issued a Request for Information seeking analytical tools to help its Future Attack/Strike (FASt) initiative clear maritime chokepoints for amphibious forces. The RFI calls for models that can assess kinetic and non‑kinetic weapons, long‑range fires, and...
Manufacturing Scales up as Canberra Firm Expands Target Drone Production
Canberra‑based defence maker Boresight has unveiled the BQ750, a larger target drone that expands on its BQ400 platform with greater endurance, payload and size. The new system integrates with Boresight’s Ground Control Station, allowing operators to manage up to ten...
US Leads Record Rise in Spending on Nuclear Arsenals, Campaign Group Says
Spending on nuclear weapons by the nine nuclear‑armed states jumped 19% in 2025 to $119 billion, according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). The United States led the rise, allocating $69.2 billion—22% more than the previous year and more...
AI Slop Will Kill Cybersecurity Storytelling If We Let It
Elizabeth Safran warns that unchecked AI‑generated content is diluting cybersecurity storytelling, citing sloppy press releases and a misleading LinkedIn post as examples. She argues that delegating narrative control to large language models erodes credibility, introduces factual errors, and fuels hallucinations....
Qatar-Gifted ‘Bridge’ Air Force One Painted, Final Modifications Underway
The U.S. Air Force confirmed that the Qatar‑gifted Boeing 747‑8, designated as the VC‑25B bridge aircraft, has been painted in the new red‑white‑blue livery and is now undergoing its final modifications. The plane will serve as an interim presidential transport...