Defense News and Headlines
Defense News and Headlines
Defense Pulse
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Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
The Pentagon announced the winners of its Gauntlet I uncrewed exercise, selecting Skycutter, Neros and Nepatree to supply 30,000 one‑way attack drones. The two‑week competition at Fort Benning tested 25 companies, with drones required to hit targets up to 6.2 miles after only two hours of operator training. The Department of Defense plans to spend roughly $5,000 per unit, though it hopes to drive costs toward $2,000 as production scales. These drones will be delivered over the next five months to augment U.S. forces.
The Senate approved a partial funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security that excludes ICE and CBP, but the House rejected it, extending the agency's shutdown. President Trump signed an executive order guaranteeing TSA workers’ pay and another banning...
Granite Construction has been awarded a $495 million contract from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to build the LRT‑4 Webb‑Zapata project in southern Texas. The scope covers 27 miles of tactical infrastructure, including roads, fencing, bridges, culverts, low‑water crossings, and extensive electrical...
The U.S. Navy will commission the USS Massachusetts (SSN 798), the 25th Virginia‑class fast‑attack submarine, on March 28 in Boston Harbor. The ceremony features senior officials including Navy General Counsel David Denton, Governor Maura Healey, and sponsor Sheryl Sandberg. Massachusetts is...
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's claim that Washington is demanding Ukraine cede the Donbas region in exchange for security guarantees. Rubio called the allegation a lie and said the United States has not set such...
Canada’s Department of National Defence unveiled a $51.7 billion CAD (≈$37.7 billion USD) 2026‑27 plan that earmarks new resources for space defence. The plan includes a $25 million CAD (≈$18 million USD) Space Rocketry Challenge for 2026‑27, rising to $50 million CAD (≈$36 million USD) annually,...
The Yemen‑based Houthis warned they will join Iran against any coalition that aligns the United States and Israel, threatening to block the Bab el‑Mandeb Strait. Saudi Arabia has hinted it may intervene, raising the prospect of a direct Houthi‑Saudi confrontation. A...
Supermicro sold AI‑focused servers equipped with Nvidia A100 GPUs to four Chinese universities, including two with direct military ties. Reuters documents show two additional universities attempted similar purchases, citing ties to the People’s Liberation Army and missile‑technology programs. The sales...
The Canadian government announced more than CAD 6.1 million (≈ USD 4.5 million) in defence‑related funding for Alberta. The money is split between space‑data firm Wyvern (≈ USD 2.1 million) for hyperspectral maritime monitoring, the University of Alberta (≈ USD 2.2 million) to create the DEFENDS commercialization centre, and CANDO (≈ USD 111 k)...
Combat drones and emerging ground robots are increasingly being powered by green hydrogen fuel cells, a shift driven by Ukraine’s rapid adoption and U.S. defense interest. Startups such as Sesame Solar have created mobile nanogrid refueling stations that can be...
Operation Epic Fury, the US‑Israeli offensive against Iran, has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, choking roughly 20% of global crude oil flow and a host of other critical commodities. The closure also traps 22% of urea and ammonia, 24%...
The Trump administration’s Department of Justice filed court briefs arguing that any weapon deemed in "common use" by law‑abiding citizens could fall under the Second Amendment, even hypothetically extending that protection to nuclear arms. The stance builds on the Supreme...
The latest episode of 60 Minutes revealed that North Korean operatives are posing as remote IT workers to infiltrate Australian companies, stealing data and funneling funds to Kim Jong‑Un’s weapons programs. The investigation, led by Nick McKenzie, highlights a sophisticated scam that exploits...
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth praised aggressive actions in the early weeks of the Iran conflict, while the Pentagon rolled out a new memo that sharply curtails the editorial freedom of the historic *Stars and Stripes* newspaper. The eight‑page directive,...
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is positioning Israel for a prolonged confrontation with Iran, seeking to weaken Tehran's nuclear ambitions while avoiding a full‑scale war. He is leveraging diplomatic pressure, covert operations, and regional alliances, especially with Saudi Arabia and...
European Parliament lawmakers are traveling to Beijing and Shanghai next week, the first delegation to China in eight years, to discuss the EU’s digital economy and e‑commerce regulations. Due to rising concerns over Chinese cyber‑espionage, the MEPs have been instructed...
The FBI confirmed that a hacking group tied to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security, operating under the name Handala, breached the personal email account of FBI Director Kash Patel and leaked photos and routine correspondence from 2010 and 2019....
The Japan‑South Korea‑US trilateral is reshaping from a broad security pact into a pragmatic techno‑alliance focused on AI, quantum computing, critical minerals and next‑generation nuclear energy. At the recent Trans‑Pacific Dialogue, leaders highlighted coordinated supply‑chain initiatives and pledged massive U.S....
The United States must reshape its nuclear strategy as China accelerates toward a 1,000‑warhead force by 2030 and Russia continues modernizing its arsenal, while the New START treaty has lapsed. Washington’s current deployment of 1,550 warheads and 700 delivery systems...
With the New START treaty now expired, U.S. defense planners argue the strategic nuclear force must grow to roughly 2,400 operationally deployed warheads and become more flexible to influence adversary decision‑making at every crisis stage. The brief cites Russia’s heightened...
The article contrasts hard‑power realism, which views military and AI dominance as essential, with a growing push for "middle‑power multilateralism" led by nations like Canada, Australia, India and Brazil. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Finnish President Alex Stubb outline...
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told G7 foreign ministers that the conflict with Iran will likely continue for another four weeks, emphasizing a timeline measured in weeks rather than months. He highlighted that the United States aims to achieve...
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) remains the sole legally authorized body to account for and monitor Iran’s nuclear stockpile under the Non‑Proliferation Treaty. Recent commentary warns that the ongoing US‑Israeli confrontation with Iran is already unsettling global markets and...
The National Nuclear Security Administration is integrating artificial intelligence into its core missions through human‑machine teaming, using predictive analytics to improve equipment maintenance and cybersecurity. This approach shifts personnel from routine monitoring to higher‑value decision‑making. Simultaneously, NNSA is advancing a...
On March 26, the U.S. War Department launched an unidentified suborbital missile from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, with no public details on the vehicle or its mission. The launch occurred around 12:30 p.m., leaving a thin white contrail over the...
Pro‑Iran hacktivist group Handala announced it accessed FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal email and posted screenshots online. An insider familiar with the breach said the leaked material appears authentic, though the FBI maintains it contains only historical personal information and...
Space Force is evaluating a significant increase in launch cadence at NASA’s Wallops Island range to satisfy rising commercial demand, Gen. Stephen Whiting told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Wallops, long used for niche missions such as small‑satellite and hypersonic...
For the first time, every NATO member has met the alliance’s 2 % of GDP defence‑spending target, lifting total NATO defence outlays to a record $1.4 trillion, up from $1.3 trillion a year earlier. The surge is driven largely by Europe and Canada,...
The U.S. Navy issued its final request for proposals on March 26 for a next‑generation Undergraduate Jet Training System to replace the aging T‑45 Goshawk fleet. The service set an aggressive acquisition timeline and a firm cost target while dropping the...
At RSAC 2026 the cybersecurity community warned that AI agents are moving from a defensive tool to a primary weapon for attackers. These autonomous agents can hijack identities, rewrite security policies and launch supply‑chain attacks at machine speed, outpacing traditional...
Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NYT correspondent David Sanger at Harvard Kennedy School that any further U.S. and Israeli escalation against Iran will be constrained by “markets and munitions,” meaning energy prices, financial markets and Israel’s interceptor stockpiles....
Northrop Grumman secured a firm‑fixed‑price contract worth $127.3 million to produce Lot 18 of the GQM‑163A Coyote Supersonic Sea‑skimming Targets (SSST). The award covers 28 target vehicles and associated support for the U.S. Navy and allied forces in Japan and South Korea,...
The U.S. State Department has cleared a $340 million foreign military sale to Japan for upgraded Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectiles (HVGP) capability. The package includes the missiles, test preparation, logistical support, range and safety services, and radio‑frequency assignments. The sale aims...
The Florida National Guard held its first joint Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) spray certification in decades at Camp Blanding, involving more than 100 soldiers from Army and Air Guard units. The 715th Military Police Company and the 125th Security Forces Squadron...
The U.S. Air Force, Northrop Grumman and Bechtel have broken ground on a prototype launch silo for the LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile in Promontory, Utah. The silo will test a modular, repeatable construction method intended to accelerate deployment, curb...
The second half of 2025 saw a surge in DDoS attacks across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with 3.33 million incidents recorded, nearly double any other region. Hacktivist groups Keymous+ and NoName057(16) drove the majority of campaigns, targeting governments, financial...
RUAG International’s 2025 fiscal year saw net sales dip to CHF 412 million (~$521 million) while earnings before interest and taxes fell to a loss of CHF 114 million (~$145 million) due to high engineering costs in its Launchers division and one‑off transformation expenses. The company...
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued an updated ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 data exchange standard, documented in a 621‑page NIST SP 500‑290e4. The revision expands machine‑readability, adds richer metadata, and standardizes record structures for fingerprints, facial images, iris...
Lockheed Martin and Belgian composite specialist Coexpair have signed an MOU to explore manufacturing advanced composite parts for the F‑35 fighter. Coexpair will use its SQRTM 4.0 automated resin transfer molding platform and Maestro AI‑driven software to design and test representative...
BAE Systems held its ninth annual Partner 2 Win Supplier of the Year ceremony in Boston, honoring twelve suppliers for outstanding 2025 performance. The awards recognize on‑time delivery, high quality, and collaborative technology development across aerospace, defense, and security. Winners include precision‑machined...
Senate and House Democrats sent a letter to DNI Tulsi Gabbard asking whether using virtual private networks could strip Americans of their heightened FISA protections. They argue VPNs obscure a user’s true location, potentially reclassifying U.S. persons as foreign targets...
Hezbollah rebounded from Israel’s 2024 offensive that killed Hassan Nasrallah and decimated its top command, rebuilding its military capacity in just over a year. The group abandoned centralized command, adopting decentralized cells that act on broad directives and reverting to low‑tech...
Virginia‑based Applied Rapid Technologies (ART), a division of Obsidian Solutions Group, has been named the prime contractor for the Defense Logistics Agency’s Joint Additive Manufacturing Acceptance (JAMA) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity pilot program. The award positions ART to supply 3D‑printed, flight‑safety‑critical...
Google has deployed a high‑severity security update for Chrome, addressing eight critical vulnerabilities that impact roughly 3.5 billion users worldwide. The flaws span WebAudio, WebGL, WebGPU, font handling and FedCM, and are rated “High,” meaning they could enable code execution or...
China announced a 2026 defence budget of 1.9 trillion yuan (about $275 billion), a 7 percent rise that continues a decade‑long upward trend despite its defensive rhetoric. Independent analysts argue the official figure understates true spending, which likely includes substantial R&D and opaque...
At the RSA Conference (RSAC), industry leaders warned that autonomous AI agents are emerging as a significant cyber‑threat vector, demanding new safeguards from security teams. Speakers highlighted the dual role of AI as both an opportunity and a risk, urging...
The Dutch Ministry of Defence has ordered 12 Shield AI V‑BAT (MQ‑35A) unmanned aerial systems for deployment across eight Royal Netherlands Navy vessels. The vertical‑takeoff drones, which can operate for more than 12 hours on JP‑5 fuel, have already demonstrated...
Google announced it will complete a post‑quantum cryptography (PQC) migration across its products and services by the end of 2029. The timeline aligns with NIST’s 2024 PQC standards, which the company is already using for internal rollouts. Google’s roadmap emphasizes...
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions secured a roughly $49 million contract from the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division to deliver Oriole solid‑rocket motors and thrust‑vector‑control (TVC) nozzle kits. The award includes a $39.1 million base for the motors and a...
Britain announced an additional £100 million ($128 million) air‑defence package for Ukraine, bringing its air‑defence contributions to £600 million ($768 million) over the past two months. The aid includes delivery of 1,200 air‑defence missiles, 200,000 artillery rounds and supports the NATO Prioritised Ukraine Requirements...
