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…
KYIV, Ukraine — A Ukrainian F-16 shot down a Russian fighter jet for the first time since the American-designed planes arrived on the battlefield in 2024, the top-ranking U.S. general told Congress on Tuesday, emphasizing the impressive progress of Kyiv’s air defense…
VIENNA — The European Union has authorized its naval mission in the Indian Ocean to stop and board Russian shadow fleet tankers suspected of operating under false flags, the bloc announced on Wednesday.
EU member states have authorized Operation Atalanta, the union’s…
Australia whips together a hybrid air defense weapon
July 24, 2026
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…
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…
FARNBOROUGH, England — BAE Systems revealed a new unmanned fighter jet on Wednesday, boosting Britain’s entry into one of the defense industry’s hottest and most fiercely contested markets.
The U.K.’s biggest defense company showcased a model of its new jet…
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…
VIENNA — Russia has captured a large number of Ukrainian drones and may be planning to use them against NATO or to stage a false flag attack, Polish defense minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said, adding to earlier warnings of a potential escalation.
The senior…
LONDON — The weapon’s barrel points towards a drone in the sky. It briefly adjusts and then fires, with smoke rising where the round shoots.
But instead of a service member resting a finger on the trigger well in preparation for the next shot, in video footage of the…
LONDON — Solid rocket motor manufacturer X-Bow Systems is launching what the company hopes will be a much-needed remedy to the ongoing conundrum of combating cheap drones with multimillion-dollar interceptors.
The New Mexico-based firm this week pulled the curtain back on Buckler, an interceptor designed to kill Group 3 drones — UAS weighing up to 1,320 pounds and flying below 18,000 feet at…
