Know What's Happening in Defense
Know What's Happening in Defense
Israeli intelligence aids U.S. rescue of downed airman in Iran
Israeli intelligence agencies provided critical location data and operational guidance to U.S. forces during a rescue mission for a stranded airman in Iran on April 5, 2026. The coordination enabled a safe extraction and prompted Israel to temporarily pause regional attacks to avoid interference. The operation highlights rare direct cooperation between the two nations in a high‑risk environment.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Kraken Robotics acquires Colvya Group for $615M
Federal agencies are converging on five security priorities—AI security, post‑quantum cryptography, zero‑trust architecture, edge security, and data‑security posture management—to shape 2026 procurement. New NIST, CISA, NSA, GSA and DoD directives turn these topics from research into contract requirements. Vendors must map product capabilities to each agency’s specific guidance, from AI model guardrails to continuous crypto inventory. The pace of mandates, especially for zero‑trust certification and PQC migration, creates a narrow window for compliant solution providers.
Rapid7’s 2026 analysis warns that the predictive security window has collapsed as attackers exploit disclosed vulnerabilities within days, outpacing patch cycles. The industrialization of cybercrime, driven by efficient internet access brokers and silent‑entry data grabs, accelerates this speed. Predictive defenses...
Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater, has joined the board of Ukrainian drone‑software firm Swarmer and is championing its sale to the U.S. military. Swarmer raised $15 million in a Nasdaq offering, saw its shares jump roughly 500 % and claims its platform...
Qatar confirmed extensive damage to Ras Laffan Industrial City after multiple aerial strikes, including fires at the Exxon‑Mobil‑owned condensate refinery that processes up to 400,000 barrels per day. The Qatari interior ministry raised the security threat level, urging citizens to...
Senator Markwayne Mullin’s confirmation hearing for the Department of Homeland Security turned into a rigorous test of his temperament and accountability, with senators probing past comments about a 2017 assault and his confrontational style. Democrats pressed him on whether he...
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA chief John Ratcliffe testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that Iran remains years away from fielding intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States, directly contradicting a key Trump‑administration justification for...
U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin, President Trump’s nominee for DHS secretary, faced Senate questions about restoring the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) workforce after Kristi Noem cut roughly one‑third of its staff and slashed its budget. Mullin declined to promise...
Defense Unicorns and the US Air Force Sustainment Center demonstrated rapid software installation on the F‑22 Raptor using the Unicorn Delivery Service (UDS), marking the first minute‑scale deployment directly onto the aircraft. The UDS enables approved software to be loaded...
Bell Textron has finished the first Structural and Power Improvements for Next‑Gen Effects (SPINE) upgrades on an AH‑1Z and a UH‑1Y helicopter. The upgraded aircraft left the Amarillo Assembly Center and are now undergoing flight testing at Naval Air Station...
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard defended leaving foreign election‑interference threats out of the annual global‑threat assessment, prompting sharp questioning from Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner. The omission raises alarms that the intelligence community may be constrained from reporting...
Freedom Shield 26, the annual joint drill between South Korea, the United States and the United Nations Command, has incorporated a dedicated space‑domain component. The U.S. Space Force’s Korea S7 directorate is spearheading the development of space‑focused scenarios and training...
U.S. intelligence agencies report that China does not currently plan to invade Taiwan in 2027, preferring a non‑military path to unification. The assessment tempers earlier Pentagon warnings that the People’s Liberation Army aims to be capable of a forceful takeover...
BRICS members remain divided over the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, with China and Brazil condemning the attacks while India stays neutral and South Africa hesitates. The bloc’s recent expansion to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE has...
ConnectWise has issued a critical patch for ScreenConnect after uncovering CVE‑2026‑3564, a cryptographic signature verification flaw affecting versions prior to 26.1. The vulnerability enables attackers to extract ASP.NET machine keys and forge authenticated sessions, potentially leading to unauthorized access and...
TEKEVER, a pan‑European AI‑centric defence tech firm, has entered a strategic partnership with New Zealand‑based EPE to deliver advanced autonomous systems to the NZ market. The deal combines TEKEVER’s AR5, AR3 EVO and ATLAS platforms with EPE’s local customer relationships and support...
Iran fired drones and missiles at Cyprus after the island hosted a British base, prompting an immediate EU defence response. President Nikos Christodoulides said Greece, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands deployed forces, effectively testing the EU’s Article 42(7) mutual‑assistance clause....
Britain escalated defence support for Gulf states amid Iran's indiscriminate attacks, convening senior officials and representatives from 13 UK defence firms with regional ambassadors. The UK government confirmed plans to acquire additional Lightweight Multirole Missiles from Thales to equip British...
Katrina Manson’s new book, *Project Maven*, chronicles the U.S. military’s decade‑long push to embed artificial intelligence in drone surveillance, beginning with the 2017 initiative that automated video analysis. Drawing on more than 200 interviews, the work reveals a hidden ecosystem...
Coexpair and Lockheed Martin have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop, demonstrate, and test composite parts for the F‑35 using Coexpair’s SQRTM 4.0 technology. The partnership will follow a phased approach, with Lockheed providing process‑qualification support while Coexpair builds and...
Boeing’s B‑17 Flying Fortress remains the all‑time best‑selling combat aircraft with 12,731 units built, a record set during World War II’s massive production surge. Lockheed Martin, while never eclipsing the B‑17’s single‑model total, boasts several high‑volume platforms—including the C‑130 Hercules (2,700+), F‑16...
Ukraine’s defense tech sector exploded during the war, growing from a handful of firms to over 500 drone manufacturers that produced millions of units annually. Investment surged from $1 million in 2023 to over $105 million projected for 2025, driven by foreign...
Thanassis Cambanis revisits his 2024 call for a U.S. pullout from Syria, noting that the recent American withdrawal has sparked chaos and a power vacuum. The Syrian regime swiftly reclaimed the Kurdish‑held enclave, while the fate of high‑risk Islamic State...
In this episode Ken Miller talks with Dr. Karen Haig, a cognitive EW and AI expert, about how artificial intelligence enables truly cognitive electromagnetic warfare—systems that sense, decide, act, and learn in real time with minimal human input. They explain...
BAE Systems will conduct its first test of the Anti‑Threat System (BATS) in April 2026, followed by live‑fire trials in the summer. Developed in just six months starting October 2025, the AI‑driven command‑and‑control software integrates diverse sensors and effectors through...
The United States launched combat operations against the Islamic Republic of Iran, marking the first direct engagement in roughly two weeks. The author contrasts this brief conflict with a 47‑year history of Iranian aggression and U.S. involvement in the Middle...
russia sending two shipments of oil. and gas to…cuba. will president trump order interdiction? i’d say pretty good chance he will.
The Interlock ransomware gang has been leveraging a maximum‑severity remote code execution flaw (CVE‑2026‑20131) in Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center since late January, giving them a 36‑day zero‑day window before Cisco’s public advisory on March 4, 2026. The exploit permits unauthenticated attackers...
Let's unpack this.. What if the White House has no intention of reopening the Strait of Hormuz? What if this war is really about ships & tariffs? I had a long discussion with senior DOE official yesterday on background. I can’t share...
"Gulf States Want the U.S. to Cripple Iran's Regime Before Ending the War." @WSJ https://t.co/twMeku5of8 “Any long-term political settlement must address the full spectrum of threats, including Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic missile capabilities, and their network of regional proxies,” added Sultan...
U.S. Army Special Forces were observed fielding a sniper rifle equipped with a Multi‑Function Muzzle Device (MFMD) during a March 2026 validation exercise at Indiana's Muscatatuck Urban Training Center. The MFMD, developed by Strategic Sciences, integrates flash suppression, recoil control,...
NightBeacon Assist rolled out today to our SOC analysts. Can ask specific questions or to do automation workflow to enrich data even more if needed. Allows analyst to ask the assistant questions about the ticket if they don't understand or...
Iran is firing MORE and they are hitting MORE per shot than during the first days of the conflict. Not good.. https://t.co/IWj7Szy0jL
At Fortinet Accelerate 2026, the company unveiled FortiOS 8.0 and previewed FortiSOC, its cloud‑delivered Security Operations Platform. The new OS adds AI‑aware controls, deep OCR‑based DLP, expanded SASE capabilities and built‑in post‑quantum cryptography to protect the growing shadow‑AI surface. FortiSOC consolidates...
Distinguished Columbia Univ. Prof. Jeff Sachs on the US-Israeli war on Iran: “This war is to nobody's advantage. It's a pure lose, lose, lose all around. Lose for Israel, lose for the United States, and lose for the rest of the...
U.S. Navy Minesweepers Stationed In Middle East Are Now In Singapore Two of three Littoral Combat Ships assigned to Middle Eastern minesweeping duties have made another move in the opposite direction. https://t.co/1Koe7fWqrr
For the geopolitical experts out there - what are the odds that the US was keen to start this war due to intel that China was looking to make a move on Taiwan and that an energy crisis / Strait...
#Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez ousted defense chief Vladimir Padrino López in a SWEEPING shake-up of the armed forces. https://t.co/Fo5Ft4JE8x
Distinguished UChicago Prof. John Mearsheimer on regime change in Iran: “It's hard to get regime change or impossible to get regime change using air power alone…If you want regime change in Iran, you're going to have to invade that country. And...
The first week of the US-Israeli war in Iran cost more than the annual budgets of major government agencies. WAR = A TRUMP TAX. https://t.co/ioXw5U0cVU
Looks like Iran struck the abandoned Safeen Prestige, a 23k ton, Malta-flagged container ship, previously hit on March 4th and abandoned. https://t.co/gs0BwcrHY2
We break on China/Taiwan-- buried in IC Worldwide Threat Assessment: “Chinese leaders do not currently plan to execute an invasion of Taiwan in 2027, nor do they have a fixed timeline for achieving unification,” said the annual threat assessment, released...
Let's jump in on the build plan and replace our LHAs with these. (follow me for more impractical naval solutions)
@MDA_space to build/maintain 3 ground-based optical space surveillance sensors by 2028 to complement current 150-kg Sapphire sat, launched in 2013. Valued at CAD 32M ($23.4M), it's part of CAD 375M @NationalDefence Surveillance of Space 2 program, to include Sapphire successor....
Iran’s Energy Infrastructure Is Now On The Targeting List The attack on the South Pars gas field puts Iran's energy production, which is critical to funding the Iranian government, in the crosshairs. https://t.co/wO4BOtxxHy
Axios Future of Defense event in DC on March 23 Guests include @MarkTEsper and @jacobhelberg. Request an invite: https://t.co/G6Ks6HED8O
What if the United States doesn’t care about reopening the strait for Europe? My latest gCaptain Op-Ed 👇
Israel's reckless escalation in attacking Iran's South Pars gas facilities - hitting onshore processing facilities for Phases 3-6, gives Iran plausible excuse (if it needed it) to hit back against regional energy facilities Neutrals & world energy consumers will suffer https://t.co/Kx7MytxmEn
Iran’s arsenal has taken a hit, but it likely isn’t exhausted. Launches are sustained and Saudi Arabia is increasingly in focus. The pattern suggests recalibration, not depletion: Iran can impose costs by causing just enough pain. My analysis @business: https://t.co/BVJUzCttTS...
Distinguished UChicago Prof. John Mearsheimer on Iran’s strategy: “As time goes by, our ability to shoot down those missiles, shoot down drones decreases. It doesn't flatline, and it certainly doesn't increase… The Iranians have a serious set of military options against...
"What is Strategy in War?" There are a TON of people that need to read this right now. Words have meaning. Strategy. Political goals. Levels of War. Tactics. Ends, Ways, Means. With @LiamSCollins in @smallwars https://t.co/o27njmt7mI
