DefenseNews

US Congress approves money for Taiwan defense. Does it mean Trump is done hesitating?

NEW TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan — U.S. President Donald Trump is still holding off approval of a $14 billion weapons package for Taiwan, a potential military rival to Beijing. He pulled back in May after meeting his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, who opposes U.S. military aid to Taiwan. But on July 15, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that includes $500 million in Foreign Military…
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DefenseNews

From steppe to sea, a Ukrainian drone unit hunts Russian ships

In a field in southern Ukraine, soldiers scrawled sardonic messages on a sleek grey attack drone that would soon be hunting Russian ships on the Black Sea — part of a widening Ukrainian campaign to isolate Crimea and weaken Moscow’s war effort. Operating far behind the…
DefenseNews

Indonesia orders Leonardo light fighters, eyes naval helicopters

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — The Indonesian Air Force will soon add yet another aircraft type to its eclectic fleet, after a deal with Leonardo for a dozen M-346F Block 20 light fighters was announced this week. Lorenzo Mariani, Leonardo’s CEO and General Manager, said: “The introduction of the M-346F in Indonesia provides clear evidence not only of the aircraft system’s inherent quality…
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DefenseNews

Australia whips together a hybrid air defense weapon

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Australia successfully tested a “Frankenstein” medium-range air defense system last month, harnessing existing and new capabilities in a way nobody has tried before. After dawdling over the need to improve its ground-based air defense (GBAD) capabilities, Australia — with American assistance — is prioritizing a hybrid solution that takes sensors, software and…
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DefenseNews

Boeing’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat makes Farnborough Airshow debut

LONDON — An unusually warm London sun beat down on the grey body of an aircraft. Sleek and gently curved, an average onlooker taking a cursory glance at the airframe may have assumed it to be a small fighter jet. And it may accompany fighter jets, but no pilot will ever…
DefenseNews

Backed by France, Macron sees Germany as nuclear-deterrence ‘vanguard’ in Europe

VIENNA — Nuclear cooperation between France and Germany has moved from words to first actions, with French nuclear-capable bombers visiting a German airfield this month and joint exercises on the calendar. The leaders in Paris and Berlin had formed a “nuclear steering group” in March to coordinate the countries’ closer integration in atomic strategic matters. It is part of a major French…
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