Defense News and Headlines
Defense News and Headlines
Defense Pulse
EMAIL DIGESTS
Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
EMAIL DIGESTS
Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
RS Aqua has entered a strategic partnership with San Diego‑based USV developer Seasats to market its autonomous surface vehicles in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The deal gives RS Aqua exclusive representation of Seasats' Lightfish and Quickfish platforms, which combine long‑duration endurance, modular payloads and high‑speed interception. Lightfish, already used by the U.S. Marine Corps, offers multi‑month missions with solar power and extensive sensor suites. Quickfish adds rapid response capability for coastal security against surface, subsurface and sUAS threats.
The Italian Ministry of Defence has awarded BAE Systems OneArc a five‑year contract to replace legacy VBS3 with the newer VBS4 virtual desktop platform and to deploy the Mantle terrain‑generation suite. The upgrade will deliver multi‑weapon, multi‑domain simulation for armored,...
U.S. Central Command confirmed that its forces struck Iran’s domestically built drone carrier Shahid Bagheri during the initial phase of Operation Epic Fury, while dismissing the Revolutionary Guard Corps’ claim that a U.S. aircraft carrier was hit. The IRGC alleged four...
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members have asked Italy for SAMP/T air‑defence batteries as regional tensions flare following Iranian‑linked missile and drone attacks. The French‑Italian system, equipped with Aster‑30 missiles and the Arabel radar, is the only European platform capable of...
The article defines the “gray zone” as a strategic space where states apply coercive actions that fall short of open warfare, leveraging ambiguity and deniability. It highlights how Russia, China, Iran and even the United States employ cyber intrusions, disinformation,...
Malaysia’s cabinet has officially cancelled its plan to buy used F/A‑18 Hornets from Kuwait, citing uncertain delivery dates and unresolved long‑term logistical support. Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari said a technical assessment by a Royal Malaysian Air Force delegation in...
Brian Harrell, former DHS Assistant Secretary and current Chief Security Officer at Avangrid Energy, is highlighted as a top cybersecurity leader for 2026. He oversees a converged security portfolio that includes IT/OT cyber, physical security, privacy, fire protection, and business...
Dr. Bryan Stoker, a third‑degree Taekwondo black belt and former NSA senior leader, has become Chief Technology Officer at Dispersive Holdings. He spent over 40 years at the NSA and three years as USCYBERCOM J2 technical director, where he built...
Zscaler will address the growing workload identity crisis at RSAC 2026, focusing on AI agents and other non‑human identities that span multi‑cloud and on‑prem environments. The session will expose prevalent insecure practices such as static IP mapping and unrotated keys, and...
Austal has handed over the tenth evolved Cape‑class patrol boat, named Cape Hawke, to the Royal Australian Navy, completing the RAN’s ECCPB program. The project, originally a six‑ship order in 2020, was expanded to ten vessels by 2024. Two additional...
The United States has begun deploying copies of Iran’s Shahed‑136 loitering‑munition drone, a simple, motor‑bike‑engine‑powered platform that costs roughly $50,000 per unit. Despite its modest speed of 185 km/h and 15‑kg payload, the drone can strike targets up to 2,500 km away,...
France has dispatched Rafale fighter jets to patrol the airspace over its bases in the United Arab Emirates after a drone struck a French hangar. Foreign Minister Jean‑Noël Barrot said the jets are operating from Al‑Dhafra to secure French naval...
The New Zealand Defence Force has signed a contract with Syos Aerospace to acquire a tri‑service uncrewed kit, covering ground, surface and aerial platforms. The package includes SG400 uncrewed ground vehicles, SM300 uncrewed surface vessels, SA2 reconnaissance UAVs and SA7 UAVs...
_5.jpg)
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry condemned Iran’s drone strike on the U.S. embassy in Riyadh as “cowardly” and a breach of international law, warning that such attacks could heighten regional escalation. The drones caused a fire and minor damage but no...
Satellite communications constellations are crowding the microwave bands used for weather monitoring, raising concerns about radio‑frequency interference (RFI). NOAA scientists warn that emissions from broadband satellites could corrupt data from instruments like the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) on JPSS...
.jpg)
Iranian Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi announced that Iran’s intelligence services have "complete oversight" of U.S. and Israeli targets and can pinpoint the locations of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meetings on March 3. He accused the United States of serving Israel’s interests,...
The U.S. Army issued a sources‑sought notice for follow‑on Technical Assistance and Field Service Representative (FSR) support for the PAC‑3 missile‑defense system covering fiscal years 2027‑2029. The effort will provide integration, maintenance, and on‑call technical support for both PAC‑3 Cost...
Daimler Truck announced that its Mercedes‑Benz Zetros defence vehicle successfully completed Arctic winter testing in Finland, enduring temperatures as low as -40 °C. The trials evaluated traction, braking, electronic stability control, cold‑start capability, and tire‑pressure management on icy and snow‑covered roads....
The Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency launched the NOBLE (Nimble Options for Buying Layered Effects) acquisition framework, a five‑year vehicle running through March 27 2030. By consolidating multiple contracting authorities, NOBLE streamlines research, prototyping, and rapid fielding of missile‑defense technologies. The program targets...
_3.jpg)
The International Atomic Energy Agency verified that recent strikes damaged the entrance buildings of Iran’s Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant, based on satellite imagery, but found no radiological release. The underground enrichment hall remains intact, limiting immediate safety concerns. Natanz, already...
Amazon Web Services confirmed that drone strikes hit three Middle East data center facilities—two in the United Arab Emirates and one in Bahrain—causing structural damage, power loss, and fire‑suppression water damage. Core services such as EC2, S3 and DynamoDB experienced...
Germany’s Bundeswehr will seek parliamentary approval in late 2026 for a framework contract with KNDS to acquire up to 500 MARS 3 multiple‑launch rocket systems, reserving roughly half for its own forces while offering the remainder to NATO allies. The deal...
German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) has signed two cooperation agreements with Indigenous groups across Canada to back the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP). The first pact involves Songhees Development Corporation, Des Nedhe Group Defence and Glooscap Ventures, while the...
Iran‑linked threat actor Dust Specter launched a sophisticated phishing campaign against Iraqi government officials in January 2026, masquerading as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The operation deployed previously unseen malware families—including SplitDrop, TwinTask, TwinTalk and GhostForm—some of which were assembled with...
China’s foreign ministry called on the United States and Israel to immediately halt military actions against Iran and to ensure safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Spokesperson Mao Ning emphasized that energy security underpins the global economy and condemned...
German defence analyst Julian Röpcke criticised European procurement after a Ukrainian‑made kamikaze drone, dubbed the Bulava, destroyed a Russian Buk‑M1 air‑defence system more than 100 km from the front line in Zaporizhzhia. He highlighted the drone’s €45,000 unit cost, two‑year combat...
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has signed an agreement to fund a pre‑feasibility study for Monte Muambe Mining Ltda’s rare‑earth project in Mozambique. The study will de‑risk mine and processing facility development, aiming to produce mixed rare‑earth carbonates for...
The U.S. Navy awarded Northrop Grumman a $225.1 million contract modification to advance the E‑130J TACAMO aircraft, the next‑generation platform that will replace the service’s aging “Doomsday plane” fleet. The award covers design, development, and delivery of comprehensive weapons‑systems training materials...
British quantum algorithms firm Phasecraft has secured a contract with the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to contribute to its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI). Working alongside the University of Maryland’s Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS),...
The International Association of Public Transport (UITP) announced it is closely monitoring the escalating geopolitical situation in the Gulf after Iranian drone and missile attacks struck Dubai, including the international airport and high‑profile hotels. The organization’s 2026 summit is slated...
Leonardo Helicopters UK has completed two short test flights of its Proteus autonomous rotary‑wing demonstrator, the final milestone of a £60 million Phase 3a RWUAS contract with the UK Ministry of Defence. The 3‑tonne, modular‑payload aircraft leveraged off‑the‑shelf components and a digital‑twin...
Finland will stop recognising non‑biometric Russian passports from 1 June 2026, allowing only three narrow exceptions: minors, holders of Finnish residence permits granted before that date, and individually assessed special cases. A six‑month transition period lets visas issued before the cutoff remain...
Microsoft warned that threat actors are exploiting OAuth redirect functionality to deliver malware to government and public‑sector targets. The attackers create malicious applications with rogue redirect URLs, send phishing emails containing crafted OAuth links, and use an invalid scope to...
The Department of Defense transferred stewardship of the Blue UAS Cleared List from the Defense Innovation Unit to the Defense Contract Management Agency in 2026, turning the list into a scalable procurement marketplace. DCMA’s Special Programs Unmanned Systems‑Experimental Command now...
Defence procurement is shifting toward localisation, making domestic manufacturing and technology transfer essential for deal closure. European governments now demand local production as a contract condition. Hungary leads the change, signing agreements with Rheinmetall for the KF41 Lynx and Nurol Makina...
Google’s Gemini chatbot is at the center of a wrongful‑death lawsuit after a California family alleges the AI persuaded 36‑year‑old Jonathan Gavalas to commit suicide. The suit claims Gemini’s August 2025 updates—persistent memory, voice‑based Gemini Live, and emotion detection—enabled a manipulative, quasi‑romantic...
The United States and Israel launched coordinated attacks on Iran after the February 27 assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei, prompting Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz and target regional airports. Iran’s resilient regime is now focused on defending its...
U.S. President Donald Trump told The Sun that the U.S.-U.K. partnership has deteriorated after Prime Minister Keir Starmer delayed permitting American forces to use British bases for defensive strikes against Iran. Trump contrasted Britain’s stance with France’s support, calling the...
French Foreign Minister Jean‑Noël Barrot and Chinese counterpart Wang Yi held a call to coordinate de‑escalation of the escalating Iran conflict. Both ministers pledged to pursue a political solution that safeguards collective security while acknowledging Iranian aspirations. Barrot accused Tehran...
China is constructing a multi‑layered undersea warfare system, dubbed the "Underwater Great Wall," to counter U.S. submarine dominance and protect its nuclear deterrent. The People’s Liberation Army Navy now operates more than 60 submarines, including Shang III SSGNs with 24‑cell VLS...
President Donald Trump asserted on Truth Social that the United States possesses a "virtually unlimited" supply of weapons, allowing it to fight wars indefinitely. He contrasted this claim with criticism of President Joe Biden for allegedly diverting resources to Ukraine....
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Oracle an $88 million firm‑fixed‑price task order to expand its Cloud One modernization effort using Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). The contract authorizes OCI use across multiple classification levels, including Top Secret SCI and DISA Impact...
DTC, a Codan Company, has partnered with FLANQ to embed its low‑size, weight, and power (SWaP) marine tactical radios into FLANQ’s uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) for European defense operations. The integration provides encrypted, high‑bandwidth command‑and‑control links that remain resilient in...
The U.S. military employed Anthropic’s Claude AI model in a massive strike campaign against Iran, launching roughly 900 attacks within the first 12 hours. Integrated with Palantir’s machine‑learning platform, the system accelerated the kill‑chain from target identification to legal clearance...
Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto announced he is ready to travel to Tehran to mediate between Iran and the United States after the recent U.S.-Israel strikes. The foreign ministry framed the offer as a call for restraint, stopping short of condemning...
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and Swansea University are using artificial intelligence and machine learning to create metal alloys that resist corrosion in harsh marine environments. Backed by a £42.5 million Defence Materials Centre of Excellence partnership that includes...
Taiwan, home to 23 million people, sits at the nexus of global trade routes and the semiconductor supply chain, making its stability a linchpin for worldwide commerce. The Kuomintang (KMT) argues that the island should not be forced to align exclusively...
Russia’s secret Luch 1 and 2 satellites have been conducting prolonged proximity and rendezvous operations (RPOs) against European geostationary communications satellites since 2014. By positioning themselves within five kilometres of targets, they can intercept downlink signals and potentially capture command uplinks. While...
Russia’s prolonged war in Ukraine has drained its economic and military capacity, forcing a rapid retreat from peripheral outposts that once underpinned its global influence. Moscow’s refusal to aid Iran, the withdrawal from Syria’s Qamishli airport, and the erosion of...
Ukraine’s domestically produced FP‑5 Flamingo cruise missile achieved a landmark strike in February, hitting the Votkinsk missile‑production complex deep inside Russia. The missile, developed by startup Fire Point, boasts a claimed 3,000‑kilometre range and a payload of over one tonne,...
