The House on Wednesday passed a major defense policy bill that would authorize $900.6 billion in discretionary spending for the Pentagon in fiscal 2026.
The National Defense Authorization Act will now head to the Senate for final passage, after its 312-112 approval in the House.
The NDAA also aims to pressure Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to release more information on controversial strikes on…
ISTANBUL (AP) — The close relationship between U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has brought the countries closer to resolving issues that led to Turkey being kicked off the F-35 fighter jet program, the United States ambassador to…
US Air Force instructor pilots have first T-7 in training milestone
December 11, 2025
The Air Force’s first T-7 Red Hawk trainer assigned to an operational unit landed at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph in Texas on Dec. 5, opening the door to the service’s new era of pilot training.
A lot more work remains, however, before the T-7 is officially folded…
PARIS — Norway’s Kongsberg and Germany’s Helsing are teaming up to provide Europe with a sovereign satellite constellation for space-based intelligence, surveillance and targeting by the end of the decade, the companies said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
The plan is to deploy a satellite fleet with interconnected communications for defense use by 2029, with Germany’s Hensoldt…
In Estonia, Europe’s last road through Russia has closed for good
December 11, 2025
LUTEPÄÄ, Estonia — Across the snowy and muddy forests of eastern Estonia, NATO and Russia are locked in a staring match. It’s here, the frontier between a country with a population smaller than Vienna’s and the largest nuclear power in the world, that many analysts…
Pentagon taps Google Gemini, launches new site to boost AI use
December 10, 2025
The Defense Department on Tuesday launched a major push to get military personnel, civilian employees and contractors to use generative artificial intelligence capabilities, located on its own website.
Google Cloud’s Gemini for Government is the first AI capability to be…
ROME — Italy has juggled its definition of what constitutes defense spending to beef up its budget by €14 billion ($16.3 billion) this year, but has failed to explain how it did it, one of Italy’s leading economists has complained.
Carlo Cottarelli said that Italy raised its spending, on paper, from around 1.5% of GDP in 2024 to 2% in 2025 “without a clear explanation” of how it did…
ROME — A British government minister has vowed to put an end to the “saga” of dangerous vibrations in the U.K.’s new Ajax armored vehicles, as opposition politicians call for the program to be fixed or scrapped.
Three enquiries are now underway into the noisy…
Proposed defense bill would fund Golden Dome, next-gen fighters
December 9, 2025
Congress’ proposed compromise National Defense Authorization Act would authorize $900.6 billion in discretionary defense spending in fiscal 2026, which would be an $8 billion increase over the Pentagon’s budget request this summer.
The NDAA language, which lawmakers…
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — The Australian Army fired an AS9 Huntsman 155mm self-propelled howitzer on home soil for the first time this month, as crews have begun intensive training on the new artillery system before it rolls into service.
The Huntsman will eventually equip the Australian Army’s 3rd Brigade, a formation undergoing a dramatic transformation as a plethora of new equipment is…
