Know What's Happening in Defense
Know What's Happening in Defense
U.S. IDFC boosts reinsurance guarantees for Hormuz shipping to $40 billion
The U.S. International Development Finance Corp has doubled its reinsurance guarantees for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to $40 billion, adding major insurers such as AIG and Berkshire Hathaway. The step is intended to reinforce maritime security amid escalating regional tensions.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Kraken Robotics acquires Colvya Group for $615M
The U.S. Space Force has shifted an upcoming GPS III satellite launch from United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 after a February anomaly halted Vulcan’s military flights. The GPS payload, originally slated for this month, will now launch no earlier than late April, preserving the constellation’s modernization schedule. The decision underscores the service’s emphasis on rapid delivery and flexibility while ULA investigates the performance issue. The swap also reassigns Vulcan to a later 2028 mission, highlighting ongoing launch provider dynamics.
Assuming the USS Boxer is heading to the Middle East, and considering that she only left San Diego two days ago, she won't be near the Persian Gulf until mid-April. If the reinforcements are intended to reopen the Strait of...
Critics say the Liberal government is exposing Inuit communities to Chinese surveillance and economic dependence through unchecked Arctic investments. A report by the China Strategic Risks Institute warns that Beijing is leveraging infrastructure deals to gain data access and influence...
Alexander Vershbow argues that Havana Syndrome remains an urgent security challenge, citing a surge in unexplained health incidents among U.S. diplomats and allied personnel. He warns that dismissing the phenomenon risks underestimating a potential hostile capability, possibly linked to Russian...
The El Paso airspace shutdown earlier this year was triggered by a counter‑drone operation that employed GPS‑jamming technology. The incident exposed how national‑security measures can unintentionally disrupt the satellite‑navigation systems that modern cargo aviation depends on for routing, fuel‑efficiency and timing....
On 18 March 2026 a Russian Navy Su‑30SM entered Estonian airspace for about a minute, prompting the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission to scramble Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons from Ämari. The Su‑30, flying without a flight plan or radio...
Northrop Grumman’s Talon IQ modular testbed successfully completed its first flight using Shield AI’s Hivemind as the digital brain. The autonomous mission, conducted in Mojave, saw the aircraft execute a combat air patrol and engage simulated targets without human input....
Luminary Cloud unveiled three new physics‑AI defense models—SHIFT‑CCA, SHIFT‑Submarine and SHIFT‑Pump—at the AIAA SciTech Forum 2026. The models promise sub‑second inference, cutting traditional simulation times from hours to fractions of a second. Built on the company’s GPU‑native Physics AI Factory,...
Austal USA has awarded Master Boat Builders a contract to fabricate two hull modules for the U.S. Navy’s Navajo‑class T‑ATS program. The agreement follows a 2025 memorandum of understanding and positions Master Boat as a key subcontractor in a distributed‑production...
Section 702 of the FISA, which permits warrantless collection of foreign communications, is set to sunset on April 20 unless Congress acts. Rep. Darin LaHood, chair of the House Intelligence Committee’s NSA subcommittee, urged an 18‑month “clean” reauthorization aligned with...
Canada’s National Research Council (NRC) is earmarking C$161 million over five years for quantum‑technology research as part of a broader C$900 million Defence Industrial Strategy. The funding targets quantum sensing, internetworking, and quantum‑safe communications, while C$28 million is set aside for biomedical counter‑measures...
Many people of faith have asked why the Temple Mount, al aksa, the Western Wall and Church of the Holy Sepulchre are not open. It is because the Iranian death cult is firing on these holy places. Israel is ensuring that...
Ukrainian officials are assisting five Middle Eastern nations—UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan—to counter Iranian Shahed drones by providing expert assessments and deploying cheap, battle‑tested interceptor units. These interceptors, honed in Ukraine’s fight against Russia, have become a leading...
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed on March 20 that Brigadier General Ali Mohammad Naeini, its public spokesperson for the past two years, was killed in an overnight U.S.-Israeli strike. Naeini, a veteran of four decades and a specialist in...
An Israeli‑US airstrike hit the village of Dizaj Amir Madar in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province on March 20, killing three civilians and wounding three others. The strike struck a local workshop and damaged adjacent residential buildings, prompting an immediate emergency response....
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defence reported that its air defenses shot down 27 drones launched toward the kingdom on March 20. Twenty‑six of the unmanned aircraft were destroyed over the Eastern Province, home to Saudi Aramco’s primary production and export...
Geopolitical cyber threats are shifting from ransomware to destructive wiper campaigns, exemplified by Iran‑linked Handala’s March 2026 attack on Stryker that crippled operations in 79 countries. The article outlines a five‑step containment playbook for CISOs, emphasizing credential protection, zero‑trust network segmentation,...
Ekco has introduced a Managed Risk Operations Centre (ROC) in Ireland, powered by Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management. The service consolidates fragmented vulnerability data into a continuous, business‑aligned risk reduction model. It prioritises exposures based on exploit likelihood, asset criticality and...
Marines conducted water‑entry, swim and firing trials of the next‑generation Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV) prototypes from General Dynamics Land Systems and Textron at Camp Pendleton. The tests showcased a new autotrim or "cruise‑control" feature that automatically maintains course and azimuth,...
The UK Ministry of Defence has published its electronic procurement card (ePC) transactions exceeding £500 for January and February 2026. The data are released as OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ODS) files, each under 250 KB, and are updated monthly to cover all ePC...
This IMHO is the most important post of the month. Read it, reread it, then take notes. RULES OF ENGAGEMENT RULES OF ENGAGEMENT RULES OF ENGAGEMENT Why was @secwar able to hermetically seal the southern border, eliminate crime in DC, arrest Maduro, and sink...
France intercepted the Russian‑linked tanker Deyna in the Mediterranean, revealing it was sailing under a false Mozambican flag after departing Murmansk. The vessel is part of Russia’s shadow fleet that evades sanctions by using counterfeit registries. French authorities have seized...
Ghana announced it will acquire a new presidential jet by November 2026, adding a dedicated aircraft to the state fleet. The move follows criticism over President John Dramani Mahama’s recent use of his brother’s private Global 6500 for a diplomatic trip...
Cybersecurity scales with process + templates 🔐 Key docs every org needs: 🛡️ InfoSec: incident logs, access matrix, data classification 🌐 Network: DDoS plan, VPN/NAC logs, patch schedule ☁️ Cloud: config baseline, IR log, backup testing, asset inventory 🧩 AppSec: secure coding checklist, SAST logs,...
🚨 THE MARKET IS ONE ISLAND AWAY FROM RELIEF AND CHAOS US is quietly considering lifting Iran sanctions but behind the scenes? There's talk of something far more aggressive. And it all comes down to one tiny island in the Persian Gulf...
On March 13, 2026 President Trump issued an Executive Order that revises the delegation framework of the Defense Production Act. The order transfers direct DPA authority over energy‑related resources from the Department of Commerce to the Department of Energy and clarifies how...
.@OHB reports double-digit percentage increases in rev, backlog, profit for 2025 and sees four aces in the coming budgets at @esa @defis_eu @bundeswehrInfo and @NATO. Not to mention US and @ArianeGroup launcher component orders, and Digital division.https://t.co/MIRKGHICwc https://t.co/Y5An8jqVWd
Trump, last week: "the Iranian navy has been destroyed, the air force no longer exists, and their missiles, drones, and everything they own are being annihilated" Reality, today: https://t.co/mJ7X09y7eQ
Lockheed Martin has signed off on all eleven industrial cooperation projects tied to the Czech Republic’s F‑35 Lightning II programme, including a partnership with Ray Service to manufacture wire harnesses domestically. The Czech government plans to purchase 24 F‑35A fighters,...
The Pentagon is deploying thousands of additional U.S. Marines to the Middle East, according to a recent report from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
“Just as Ukraine was a wake-up call for the entire world...I think Iran is a second wake-up call in that we’re seeing the most well-capitalized, best organized militaries in the world run out of some things pretty quickly." https://t.co/p2ZgYVbGw8
The Pentagon is set to prolong the federal National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C. until Jan. 20, 2029, covering 2,865 troops drawn mainly from Republican‑led states. The extension, awaiting Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s signature, underscores a shift in domestic security policy...
Good discussion on OWA drones and happy to contribute some thoughts to this piece. https://t.co/9wzT67vLWy
Trump does not connect actions he takes on one day to events that occur weeks later. Allied leaders know that if they help him in the Persian Gulf, he won't be grateful, or even remember. https://t.co/T41LaJfTWa
On March 13, a French Navy officer logged a 7‑km run on the Strava app while aboard the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. Because his profile was public, the GPS data instantly revealed the carrier’s exact position northwest of Cyprus,...
Good work by the C-RAM teams, but let’s hope that Iranian Shaheds do not get upgraded Russian Gerans (and the tech goes along with them), which skim rooftops or maneuver between buildings like they do against Kyiv.
With conflicts & threats escalating in multiple theatres - Can the UK adapt its air & space power resources to meet the challenges? Analysis #avgeek #NATO https://t.co/vB6s61ktZ3 https://t.co/MEZDMDGcrf
Pete Hegseth, newly appointed U.S. defense secretary, publicly rebuked the press for fixating on the “trivial” details of his Iran war strategy. He argued that the media’s focus on the absence of a comprehensive plan distracts from the administration’s broader...
Belarus' Alexander Lukashenko says Trump has invited him to Mar-a-Lago to discuss a "big deal" with the US. This would presumably bring his country in from the cold after years of sanctions over his repressions and help for Russia's invasion of...
AI is already making online crimes easier. It could get much worse. | MIT Technology Review https://t.co/OOi3OhIPMa
U.S. airstrikes have reportedly degraded Iran's coastal missile infrastructure, yet the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively blockaded as drones and naval mines pose persistent threats. Between March 1‑15, only 89 vessels – including 16 tankers – traversed the waterway, a sharp...
Ex-president Dmitry Medvedev and Viktor Medvedchuk, Putin's favorite Ukrainian, have written a long article arguing Russia's "new regions" had the right to hold "referendums." That Russia's army had already annexed them from Ukraine is glossed over... https://t.co/06WkWbT190
“Drones and Urban Warfare in Ukraine,” the latest episode of my @WarInstitute podcast is out. I sit down with Dr. Anthony Tingle who just returned from his 9th research trip to Ukraine to discuss the evolution of drones and the different...
On March 11, U.S. startup iRocket and Arnold Defense successfully conducted a live‑fire test of the iRocket iRX‑100 tactical missile from an Arnold Defense 70 mm rocket launcher in the Mojave Desert. The solid‑fuel missile accelerated to roughly Mach 2, traveling about...
Separately, Germany is building its own version of the NSA. Germany's intelligence service is vastly expanding what has to date been a small section. https://t.co/v3wcztzBqI
Germany to ease weapons export restrictions for 6 months to support Gulf states & Ukraine, according to @BR24. Previously, every single transaction had to be approved, now focus on reporting requirements.
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The United Arab Emirates announced it has dismantled a terrorist network allegedly funded by Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, arresting several operatives. The cell used a fictitious commercial front to launder money, finance terrorism and threaten national security. Lebanon’s foreign ministry...
President Trump's Iran strategy has what the Forever Wars never did: having the Army take a backseat to naval and airpower.
Online bot traffic will exceed human traffic by 2027, Cloudflare CEO says | TechCrunch https://t.co/WGWoAMpWVy
Joined the great @AudieCornish @CNN this morning. We talked about how Iran’s asymmetric capabilities could make the risks of a worst case scenario real: US boots on the ground, a shooting war in the Strait of Hormuz, and oil prices...
