The United States plans to deploy more high-tech missile systems to the Philippines to help deter aggression in the South China Sea, where the treaty allies on Tuesday condemned what they called China’s “illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive activities.”
Beijing has repeatedly expressed alarm over the installation in the northern Philippines of a U.S. mid-range missile system called…
SINGAPORE — Australia is one of the pioneers exploring collaborative combat aircraft, or CCAs, as it throws its full weight behind Boeing Defence Australia’s MQ-28A Ghost Bat platform.
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) already has eight Block 1 aircraft in testing.
The United States will send the world’s largest aircraft carrier to the Middle East to back up another already there, a person familiar with the plans said Friday, putting more American firepower behind President Donald Trump’s efforts to coerce Iran into a deal over its…
MUNICH (AP) — An annual gathering of top international security figures that last year set the tone for a growing rift between the United States and Europe opens Friday, bringing together many top European officials with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others.
The Munich Security Conference opens with a speech by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, one of 15 heads of state or government…
PARIS — The United States has changed its attitude on European allies funneling defense funds to local arms industries, and will be “pragmatic” about governments choosing to buy military equipment domestically, according to a senior U.S. defense official.
If countries…
MANILA, Philippines — Negotiations between Lockheed Martin and the Philippine government over the potential purchase of F-16s continue, but the deal remains in limbo while officials here seek ways to break the fiscal deadlock that has hounded the fighter jet acquisition…
India clears the way for landmark deal to acquire French Rafale jets
February 16, 2026
NEW DELHI — India has cleared a proposal to buy 114 Rafale multirole fighter jets from France to bolster its air force in its largest-ever military hardware procurement.
The push to acquire the jets comes amid a critical shortfall in the combat capability of the Indian Air Force at a time when the country has witnessed heightened tensions with Pakistan and China.
The Rafales were the biggest and…
ROME — Italian shipyard Fincantieri will boost revenue by 40%, hit profits of €500 million ($593 million) and double its defense production in Italy by 2030 as global defense spending booms, the firm has said.
In a new business plan covering 2026-2030, the Italian…
The U.S. Air Force said Thursday that government-owned autonomous software programs have been successfully integrated into both of its prototype collaborative combat aircraft, in a major milestone.
In a statement, the service said this shows a central pillar of its CCA…
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian government forces have taken control of a base in the east of the country that was run for years by U.S. troops as part of the war against the Islamic State group, the Defense Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
The al-Tanf base sits on a strategic location close to the borders with Jordan and Iraq. In a terse statement, the Syrian Defense Ministry said the handover…
