Defense News and Headlines
Defense News and Headlines
Defense Pulse
EMAIL DIGESTS
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Every morning
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EMAIL DIGESTS
Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
The Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center podcast explores whether a sustained dollar depreciation is emerging. Host Dan McDowell explains how a weaker greenback could reshape U.S. trade balances, investment flows, and national‑security calculations. The discussion highlights potential benefits for exporters alongside higher import costs for consumers and businesses. Listeners are left with a nuanced view of the dollar’s role in Washington’s policy agenda and global markets.
The U.S. Department of Defense has named Michigan’s National All‑Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC) a national test site for uncrewed aerial systems. The range offers roughly 200,000 acres of maneuver space and over 17,000 square miles of dedicated airspace, enabling realistic...
Boeing has been awarded a contract exceeding $400 million to modernise the flight deck of the USAF C‑17A Globemaster III. The programme will replace legacy avionics with a modular open systems architecture (MOSA), allowing rapid integration of new capabilities. Curtiss‑Wright will supply...
RTX has been awarded a non‑competitive contract worth up to $230.56 million to procure long‑lead‑time materials and components for F135 Lot 20 propulsion systems. The deal supports the production of 138 engines destined for the U.S. Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, as...
NATO is undergoing a major command reshuffle as the United States transfers leadership of its Joint Force Commands in Naples and Norfolk to European officers—an Italian and a British general, respectively. The U.S. will assume control of Allied Maritime Command...
GE Aerospace has signed three agreements with Saudi‑based Middle East Propulsion Company (MEPC) to supply ENSIP kits, and provide repair and overhaul services for the Royal Saudi Air Force’s F110‑129 engine fleet. The deals, announced at the World Defense Show...
The Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy introduces the “Donroe Doctrine,” a modernized Monroe Doctrine that seeks to bar non‑hemispheric powers, especially China, from controlling strategic assets in the Western Hemisphere. It pledges to push out foreign infrastructure firms and...
Naval Group and Lithuanian space‑tech firm Astrolight have signed an MoU to trial Astrolight’s POLARIS laser communication terminal on Naval Group’s new offshore patrol vessel for Lithuania. The partnership was announced at the Lithuanian Maritime Defence Industry Days and follows...
Raytheon and the U.S. Navy are assessing broader uses for the Mk 58 Compact Rapid Attack Weapon (CRAW), a torpedo originally built for Virginia‑class submarines. The system is transitioning from prototype to an operationally ready weapon, praised for its affordability and...
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman warned that the Artemis III moon landing is a litmus test for American exceptionalism, stressing that a U.S. miss before China’s 2030 landing would raise questions about national competence. The White House pushed the Artemis III...
Lockheed Martin has unveiled the Lamprey Multi‑Mission Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (MMAUV), a plug‑and‑play drone that latches onto ships or submarines and recharges via built‑in hydrogenerators. The modular vehicle can arrive at a theater fully charged and launch aerial drones, torpedoes,...
BAE Systems secured $137 million in U.S. Army Foreign Military Sales contracts to supply its AN/AAR‑57 Common Missile Warning System to allied customers. The deal expands CMWS coverage to aircraft fleets in over 20 nations, adding to more than 3,000 units...
Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration awarded a $37.5 million contract to HB Utveckling AB to build prototypes for updated CV90 infantry fighting vehicles, extending the fleet’s service life to at least 2045. The programme includes the purchase of 50 new CV9035 MkIIIC variants equipped...
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace has signed a contract with Patria to supply several hundred PROTECTOR RS4 remote weapon stations for the German and Swedish Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) 6×6 programmes, valued at approximately €140 million. The RS4, a turret‑on‑turret solution...
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that arms exports generated roughly $15 billion in foreign‑exchange earnings in 2025 and that more than 340 cooperation projects are slated for 2026‑2028. Independent analysts caution that Russia’s defence‑sector data are opaque, making the figure difficult...
At the World Defense Show 2026, MARSS introduced Nation Shield, the latest version of its NiDAR command‑and‑control platform. The system extends C2 capabilities to dismounted troops and vehicle units, delivering a unified operating picture from the edge to mission command....
Major fighting in Gaza has ceased, yet the cease‑fire remains fragile and humanitarian conditions are only marginally improving. Over 92% of residential structures are destroyed, leaving half a hundred million metric tons of rubble and a crippled health system. The...
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead a delegation to the Munich Security Conference, marking Washington’s most visible re‑engagement with Europe since a year of heightened unilateralism. The Munich Security Index now rates the United States as a greater geopolitical...
The U.S. State Department approved a $1.7 billion Foreign Military Sale to Spain for a mid‑life upgrade of its five Álvaro de Bazán (F‑100) class Aegis‑equipped frigates. The package provides five new Aegis Weapon System shipsets, upgraded digital signal processors, modern MK‑41...
The World Defense Show 2026 highlighted a $63.5 billion Middle East vehicle procurement market projected through 2036, with nearly half ($31.7 billion) tied to unawarded programmes. The unawarded segment covers almost 10,000 vehicles, dominated by main battle tank contracts for Bahrain, Turkey...
The UK Ministry of Defence confirmed that the future Type 83 destroyer remains in the concept stage, with the outline business case expected by June 2026. The program is being evaluated against the Royal Navy’s Hybrid Navy Strategy and the broader Defence...
The Wyoming Army National Guard partnered with the volunteer Wyoming Hoist Team to conduct joint hoist training with the Big Horn County Search and Rescue and Wyoming Life Flight in the Greybull Mountains on Jan. 28, 2026. The exercise taught civilian rescuers...
In December 2025 the United States and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a strategic partnership that gives Washington preferential access to Congolese mineral deposits. The article argues that the next step is building logistics corridors, using the Lobito Corridor—linking...
Singapore’s ST Engineering unveiled the Vantrex, a new 6×6 infantry fighting vehicle at the World Defense Show 2026. The design merges the lower chassis of the Terrex s5 with a commercial‑truck‑derived upper structure, positioning it between the company’s Rhino 4×4...
Polish Strategic Advisor Lt. Gen. Piotr Błazeusz told TVP World that Poland has both a primary defence plan and contingency “branch” plans in case U.S. support wanes, but he remains confident Washington will not abandon its European allies. He questioned...
Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) has launched AL NOUKHITHA, the first 62‑meter Al‑Dorra‑class missile boat built for Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense. The vessel is the inaugural unit under a subcontracted contract with EDGE Group, representing the largest naval export deal...
On 10 February 2026, the UK Ministry of Defence published its Votes A 2026‑2027 paper, seeking parliamentary authority to set the maximum number of personnel for the armed forces for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2027. The document outlines...
The Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center released Global Foresight 2036, its fifth strategic‑foresight report. Drawing on a survey of nearly 450 geostrategists and foresight practitioners, the paper outlines a ten‑year vision across geopolitics, the global economy, technology, and Earth systems. It highlights...
Three years after ChatGPT's debut, Atlantic Council experts caution that current AI, built on large language models, excels at pattern‑based tasks but lacks true predictive power for complex geopolitical outcomes. They highlight AI's probabilistic nature, limited ability to generate new...
An Atlantic Council survey of 447 experts from 72 nations paints a bleak picture of the world in 2036. Most respondents expect China to become the top economic power, while the United States retains military superiority, creating a bipolar or...
At Singapore Airshow 2026, Israeli defence firm Rafael unveiled two new Spike family effectors – the L‑Spike 1X, a section‑level ISR and loitering munition, and the L‑Spike 4X, a battalion‑scale loitering missile. CEO Yoav Turgeman stressed that customers now demand battle‑proven systems...
RAND researchers evaluated HQ STARCOM’s manpower, revealing pervasive staffing shortfalls across directorates and heavy reliance on civilians and contractors. The study identified fragmented roles, unclear functional‑mission links, and structural tension between STARCOM’s flat hierarchy and required command control. An optimization...
NATO members, led by Finland, warn that invoking Article 5 for Ukraine could erode the clause’s deterrent power. They argue that extending collective defense to a non‑member engaged in an active war would blur the threshold for future attacks, especially hybrid...
Hanwha Ocean has inked an MOU with eleven South Korean submarine builders to jointly pursue contracts in Saudi Arabia and the broader Middle East. The consortium will market the KSS‑III Batch‑II “Jang Yeongsil” submarine, emphasizing platform construction, combat systems, and long‑term...
Fincantieri’s submarine arm, WASS, landed a €200 million contract with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence to supply MU90 lightweight torpedoes. The deal, announced at the 2026 World Defence Show in Riyadh, is the largest ever for WASS and the first direct...
U.S. and China dominate the AI ecosystem, employing 70% of the world’s top machine‑learning researchers, controlling 90% of computing power, and securing the majority of AI investment. This concentration creates an “AI divide” that could lock most other countries into...
Pakistan’s Navy issued a formal tender for two 10 kW shipborne laser weapon systems, with scalability to 30 kW, to be installed on surface combatants for counter‑UAS and swarm defence. The systems must integrate AI/ML to achieve sub‑100 ms sensor‑to‑effector latency, 360‑degree coverage...
The Defense Innovation Unit has issued a solicitation for a Containerized Autonomous Drone Delivery System (CADDS) that can store, launch, recover and service large numbers of unmanned aerial systems from a single container on land or sea. CADDS is designed...
Indonesia and Australia signed the Treaty on Common Security in Jakarta, committing both capitals to regular security consultations and coordinated responses to emerging threats. The pact builds on the 1996 Lombok Treaty and the 2024 Defence Cooperation Agreement, but stops...
The Pentagon announced that Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe and the late Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, both members of the West Virginia National Guard, will receive the Purple Heart for injuries sustained in a November ambush near the White...
Fort Hood, Texas, will host the Army’s inaugural campus‑style dining facility, the 42 Bistro, opening Feb. 18. Soldiers enrolled in the Essential Station Messing program receive a daily $39 ‘freedom dollars’ credit to purchase meals, while others pay out‑of‑pocket. The venue,...
On February 9, Atlantic Council senior director Matthew Kroenig appeared on the School of War podcast to discuss China’s rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal. He highlighted recent Chinese test activities and the pace at which Beijing is increasing warhead counts and delivery...
Staff Sgt. Billy Scafidel, an armory chief with the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for rescuing a fellow Marine from a submerged truck on Sept. 1, 2024, near Camp Pendleton. After hearing a splash, Scafidel...
The Trump administration’s 2025 trade strategy oscillated between aggressive, unpredictable tariff threats and a quieter push for long‑standing trade objectives. While high tariffs and threats destabilized markets, the administration began issuing exemptions and rolled back many threats, stabilizing tariff levels...
FedRAMP 20x seeks to modernize federal cloud compliance by replacing static checklists with continuous validation through Key Security Indicators (KSIs). The initiative promises faster, more flexible authorization for SaaS providers, but progress is hampered by funding cuts, staff shortages, and...
Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, called a snap election that delivered a historic super‑majority for the Liberal Democratic Party, winning 316 of 465 lower‑house seats. The result gives the LDP unprecedented legislative power to push Takaichi’s agenda without...
More than 100 Wisconsin Army National Guard signal soldiers gathered at Camp Douglas on Jan. 31, 2026 for a combined signal exercise hosted by the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team S6. The two‑day drill emphasized complex communications, integrating trunked land‑mobile radios...
Over 110 U.S. and Italian soldiers completed a four‑day proficiency test at an Italian base, meeting German Armed Forces standards to earn the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge. The event, overseen by Germany’s 10th Panzer Division, included ruck marches, weapons...
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has expanded her office’s involvement in election security, including participation in a recent FBI raid on a Georgia elections office and the seizure of voting machines in Puerto Rico that were found to have...
Adm. Daryl Caudle, the Navy’s 34th Chief of Naval Operations, unveiled the United States Navy Fighting Instructions, a comprehensive doctrine guiding organization, training, equipment, and combat in a contested global environment. The guidance introduces a "Hedge Strategy" that balances high‑end...
