Defense

ROME — Italy is holding tests with MBDA to mount the European firm’s armaments on the new Astore Levante drone being built by Turkey’s Baykar and Italy’s Leonardo, the head of the Italian air force has said. The Italian air force is due to acquire six of the drones, which are derived from Baykar’s TB-3 and are being assembled in Italy by LBA Systems, a joint venture between Baykar and…

A new U.S. Army multi-domain task force, one of five recently established or under development by the service, was activated this week with a ceremony at Fort Carson, Colorado. The 4th Multi-Domain Task Force will focus on synchronizing long-range precision fires in the Indo-Pacific region “to deny, disrupt and disaggregate adversary capabilities” and create advantages for other units in the…

WARSAW, Poland — Estonian unmanned aerial system producer KrattWorks is developing a new aerial target drone that will mimic the operations of jet-powered Shahed-type drones, enabling militaries to practice shooting down one of the main aerial threats used by Russia in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. As part of its international expansion plans, the company is promoting its unmanned solutions…

VIENNA — German lawmakers on Thursday approved the acquisition of four additional MEKO A-200 DEU frigates from shipbuilder TKMS, bringing Berlin’s planned fleet to eight ships after the government abandoned its troubled F126 program. The Bundestag budget committee had approved the first four vessels July 8, alongside an option for four more. The Defense Ministry said the decision to exercise…