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
XPONENTIAL Europe 2026, running March 24‑26 in Erding, gathers defense ministries, industry leaders, and start‑ups to showcase autonomous systems, robotics, and AI. The event highlights the XPO+ Launcher, a dedicated zone where emerging companies pitch to investors and secure commercial partnerships, culminating in a live award competition. A new focus on strategic autonomy brings the German Drone Defence & Innovation Forum, hosted by Diehl Defence and the Bundeswehr Innovation Center, to discuss autonomous defence, critical‑infrastructure protection, and civil‑security applications. Together, the exhibition and forums illustrate Europe’s drive to integrate cutting‑edge unmanned technologies across commercial and military domains.
I’ve found that most wars are filled with surprises, but the stakes of this conflict are obvious: it all comes down to who controls the Strait of Hormuz. We’ve seen this pattern before—with the Dutch in the 17th century and the...
Donald Trump has launched a war despite clear warnings that critical weapon stockpiles are dangerously low, reflecting a broader pattern of consuming present resources at the expense of future capacity. Throughout his presidency, fiscal policy, science funding, and alliance management...
Agentic AI is reshaping enterprises by giving autonomous software agents the ability to write code, move data, and execute transactions without human oversight. Traditional AI security relies on prompt filtering and output monitoring, which only constrain behavior after access is...
Seasats announced that its Quickfish autonomous surface vessel successfully completed an eight‑day continuous sea trial, demonstrating over‑35‑knot top speed and multi‑week on‑station endurance. The hybrid jet‑electric propulsion and a dedicated payload bay for UAV launch set it apart from other...
A great list of weapons and their components used to attack civilians and civilian areas in Ukraine. It would make a great addition to sanctions lists for Russia, Iran, and North Korea. There is a list of those who target...
President Eisenhower’s warning about the military‑industrial complex is being revisited as venture capitalists, private‑equity firms, and Wall Street banks pour capital into defense innovation. A new Pentagon investment‑banking unit is courting financiers, while Silicon Valley’s a16z launched a defense‑focused fund...
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is making her defiant stance against U.S. President Donald Trump over Greenland the centerpiece of her campaign for the March 24 election. After a historic defeat in municipal polls, her Social Democrats have rebounded from a...
The Irregular Warfare Center proposes a cognitive‑warfare framework to counter drug cartels by reshaping the economic and psychological incentives that sustain illicit markets. It argues that traditional counter‑terrorism tactics miss the core drivers of organizations like the CJNG, which blend...
Norway and the United Kingdom are evaluating a joint purchase of up to 30 new Joint Commando Craft for coastal operations in the North Atlantic and High North. The 24‑meter, 60‑ton vessels will provide greater speed, endurance, survivability and sensor...
Top Aces’ U.S. subsidiary won a $33.2 million contract to train Argentine Air Force pilots on the newly acquired F‑16 fleet. The two‑year program, managed by the U.S. Air Force Security Assistance Training Squadron, includes classroom instruction, simulator work and live‑fly...
Trumps learns the hard way the importance of diplomacy and soft power… GeopoliticalGuy | Substack https://bit.ly/4rAmIyw #Geopolitics #Iran #NATO #Hormuz #Trump
Raytheon has been awarded a $40.25 million cost‑plus‑fixed‑fee contract to operate and maintain the U.S. Navy’s relocatable over‑the‑horizon radar (ROTHR) at the Forces Surveillance Support Center in Chesapeake, Virginia. The agreement includes a one‑year base period with four optional one‑year extensions,...
Elbit Systems of America secured a $49.9 million contract from the U.S. Army to supply colour head‑up displays for the Air Soldier System, covering UH‑60 Blackhawk and CH‑47 Chinook helicopters through December 2030. The firm‑fixed‑price, indefinite‑delivery/quantity agreement includes post‑production support and hinges...
JeongKyun Park, a former Navy CERT member turned full‑stack developer, created ICE‑Forensic—a browser‑based digital forensics platform—to eliminate the need for installing heavyweight tools. Inspired by HexEd.it, he built a zero‑installation suite offering hex viewing, image metadata analysis, search, and hash...
Japan commissioned its fifth Taigei‑class attack submarine, JS Chōgei (SS‑517), on 10 March 2026. Built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the 84‑metre vessel features a diesel‑electric drive, 6,000 hp engine and large lithium‑ion batteries that extend submerged endurance. The sub incorporates the new ZQQ‑8...
The March 2026 USNI Proceedings article argues the U.S. Navy must abandon its traditional transoceanic power‑projection model and adopt a “panoceanic” doctrine centered on sea control and denial, driven by China’s expanding fleet. Commander Jeff Vandenengel describes a “Pacific Phase”...
China has pledged a non‑repayable $61 million grant to build nine border posts along Tajikistan’s Afghan frontier, covering 17,109 sq m of observation posts and headquarters. The project follows a series of lethal attacks on Chinese workers in late 2025, which heightened Beijing’s security...
The article argues that ideology is the driving force behind modern irregular warfare, shaping the tactics of adversaries such as China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, and North Korea. It criticizes U.S. policymakers for treating ideology as peripheral and calls for...
OpenAI has struck a controversial agreement granting the Pentagon direct access to its generative AI models, with officials hinting the technology could soon be used to assist target selection in the Iran theater and integrate with Anduril’s drone systems. Simultaneously,...
Israel announced a night‑time strike on Tehran that it says eliminated Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani and the head of the Basij militia, Gholamreza Soleimani. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar,...
In this episode of What Happens Next, host Larry Bernstein talks with Hal Brands, a Johns Hopkins professor and former strategic planner for the U.S. Secretary of War, about how success and failure will be measured in the ongoing Iran...
Shyam Sankar, co‑author of *Mobilize*, outlines four "Sputnik moments" that expose critical gaps in the U.S. defense industrial base: China’s hypersonic glide vehicle, Russia’s ability to sustain a long‑duration fight, the Houthis’ asymmetric threat to global trade, and a consumption...
A Michigan synagogue attacker, Ayman Ghazali, entered the United States on a spousal visa in 2011 and later carried out a truck‑ram and shooting that injured several first responders before killing himself. Israeli intelligence disclosed that his brother, Ibrahim Ghazali,...
As with much else, the Trump administration is not so much a break but a continuation on steroids of some issues concerning the overall US warfighting approach — e.g., the difficulty of linking technically-tactically impressive strikes at the tactical level...
KONGSBERG announced that its StrikeMaster missile launch vehicle will remain in Europe, citing strong interest from international partners. The system pairs Thales Australia’s Bushmaster protected mobility vehicle with a twin‑pack Naval Strike Missile (NSM) launcher, delivering rapid, land‑based precision strike...
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) logged 17 projectile‑related attacks on vessels in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman between Feb. 28 and Mar. 17, 2026. Most incidents caused only minor structural damage, small fires or brief suspensions,...
“It’s one of our main concerns about Russian activity here. We know they have been targeting Nato government and military communications with what they’ve got,” said one senior European diplomat based in Vienna. “Vienna has really taken on a lot...
Spent my whole life hoping nuclear weapons would diminish and disappear, only to find a bunch of old men want to sacrifice everything economically and morally to build more and more, until the world is bristling with the damn things....
In a tense Oval Office meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rebuffed former President Donald Trump’s plea for additional military assistance. Zelenskyy warned that Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz left the United States without strategic leverage and cautioned that...
In this case, I think it is more likely that these are J-6 drones formerly used by the PLA that have since been withdrawn and are now stored. Chinese drones have moved on…
Afghanistan says Pakistani airstrike killed 408 at Kabul drug rehab centre, Islamabad rejects charge https://t.co/zS7dubYXa3
The episode examines the Pentagon's new initiative to recruit Wall Street investment bankers for a 30‑person economic defense unit tasked with deploying up to $200 billion over three years into sectors deemed vital to national security, such as minerals, drones, and...
‘Black Bird, a Finnish war-monitoring group, said Russian troops in February lost more Ukrainian territory than they captured for the first time since November 2023. But Russian soldiers have advanced in other areas, including at the southern edge of the Zaporizhzhia...
Germany just refused to join the Hormuz escort coalition. "We lack the mandate." $100+ oil isn't a blip. It's a policy choice the West keeps making by not making one. $WTI https://t.co/hftmXwpdXG
During a 33‑minute Fox News interview, former President Donald Trump claimed he could cripple Iran’s critical infrastructure within an hour but said the United States is deliberately holding back. He discussed monitoring alleged Iranian sleeper cells, dismissed unverified drone threats...
Sweden has seized its first shadow fleet vessel. They even went after a bulk carrier rather than a tanker. As more countries join in on the crackdown on Russia's shadow fleet, the dominoes are beginning to fall. Full Newsletter: https://t.co/pUmv12pCMy
So Iran has basically set up VIP access (or a separate customs checkpoint, if you prefer) for friendly vessels, per JPM “In practice, this creates a system in which the Strait is not formally closed, yet transit increasingly depends on political...
Ballard Partners has signed a six‑month, $2 million agreement to represent the general command of the Libyan Armed Forces, advising on public‑policy positioning, communications, and U.S. government engagement. The contract automatically renews for successive six‑month periods unless either party provides 30‑days...
Iran and its proxies have intensified drone and missile strikes on UAE energy infrastructure, targeting both downstream storage hubs and upstream production sites. A fire at Fujairah port halted oil loading and forced berths to close, while a drone hit...
The Trump administration entered the Iran war without a clear strategy for a potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that moves about 20% of global oil. Iran’s shutdown of the strait pushed Brent crude above $100 per...
Security researchers reported that a maliciously altered npm package was used to obtain full AWS administrative privileges within just 72 hours. The attackers leveraged the compromised library to enumerate S3 buckets, terminate production EC2 and RDS instances, and decrypt application...
Brazil’s lead Tamandaré‑class frigate (F200) has left the Itajaí shipyard and is sailing to Rio de Janeiro for formal commissioning. The program, a joint effort by TKMS, the Brazilian Navy and state‑owned EMGEPRON, targets a fleet of four modular frigates...
ZeroUSV successfully demonstrated the first fully autonomous launch of a Teledyne Slocum ocean glider from its Oceanus12 uncrewed surface vessel, marking a milestone for the Royal Navy’s Atlantic Bastion programme. The trial showed a glider deployed without any human intervention,...
South Korea’s National Tax Service inadvertently disclosed the mnemonic recovery phrase of a seized Ledger hardware wallet in a press release. The wallet held roughly $5.6 million in crypto assets seized from 124 high‑value tax evaders. Within minutes, thieves moved about...
Quantum computers are nearing practical use, threatening current encryption like RSA and ECC, with a potential "Q‑Day" as early as 2029. The economic fallout of a successful quantum attack could exceed $3 trillion, prompting CISOs and CTOs to prioritize post‑quantum cryptography...
The U.S. Navy has signed a five‑year IDIQ contract with Pittsburgh‑based Gecko Robotics, starting with a $54 million award and a $71 million ceiling. Gecko’s autonomous inspection robots will crawl inside 18 Pacific Fleet vessels to generate detailed digital twins and feed...
The U.S. Navy and the General Services Administration awarded Gecko Robotics a $71 million contract to deploy wall‑climbing robots and AI‑driven drones for inspecting ships, aircraft and other equipment. Gecko claims its systems can locate structural defects up to 50 times...
Meanwhile Ukraine is almost back to 24/7 power after a long winter of constant Russian attacks on the electricity grid. Russia is still trying too: just yesterday was another power infrastructure attack on Kyiv that failed. Communism does not work. Also look...
During Exercise Iniochos 2026, NATO fighter jets—including French Mirage 2000s, Greek F‑4 Phantoms, Slovenian PC‑9s and Hellenic F‑16s—flew low‑level through the famed Greek Mach Loop. The multinational air drill, hosted at Andravida Air Base from 2 March to 23 March, featured a full...
