Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on Laser Wars, a newsletter about military laser weapons and other futuristic defense technology. Subscribe here.
The U.S. Navy spent at least six months resurrecting a high-energy laser weapon that previously graced the bow of a warship for a new military exercise last year, the service recently revealed.
The Navy’s Directed Energy Systems…
The Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division last month revealed the service’s new “Drone Killer Cartridge,” or DKC, a small-arms ammunition specifically designed to destroy small quadcopter drones.
In the announcement, Brian Hoffman, chief engineer of NSWC…
MANILA, Philippines — The Japanese destroyer JS Chokai is now capable of launching U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles, making it the first Japanese warship that can strike targets beyond 1,000 kilometers.
This development marks a key shift in the country’s defense strategy.
PARIS — The war in Ukraine is driving a shift toward fast-changing, mass warfare that Western militaries are unprepared for, while Russia is adapting rapidly, according to Adm. Pierre Vandier, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation.
The gap between what Europe should be doing for defense and its actual capabilities undermines deterrence, risking Russian aggression if Moscow concludes…
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Ukraine-style warfare came to Lebanon this week as Hezbollah started posting video taken from its suicide drones colliding with Israeli tanks rolling into the south of the country.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, for his part, promised to bring…
MANILA, Philippines — Japan has deployed advanced missiles across various strategic locations amid what the government considers a volatile and complex security environment.
The Ministry of Defense had begun transporting upgraded versions of the Type 12 anti-ship guided…
BERLIN — Three Baltic states recorded drone incursions within roughly 48 hours this week, as Ukrainian strike drones targeting Russian Baltic port infrastructure were apparently diverted into NATO territory by Russian electronic warfare.
The most serious incident occurred at 3:43 a.m. on March 25, when a drone crossing Estonian airspace from Russia struck the chimney of the Auvere power station…
BERLIN — Volkswagen is in discussions with Israeli defense company Rafael Advanced Defence Systems to convert its factory in Osnabrück, Germany, into a production site for components of the Iron Dome air defense system, the Financial Times reported this week, citing…
PARIS — France plans to spend an additional €8.5 billion (U.S.$9.8 billion) to buy munitions through to 2030, with the return of high-intensity warfare in the Middle East and Ukraine showing a need for more mass, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu told parliament on…
PARIS — Europe can’t rely on the United States to supply the continent with sufficient quantities of air-defense missiles, and needs to step up local production of interceptors, European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius said at the Paris Defense and Strategy Forum on Tuesday.
Kubilius is on a “missile tour” of Europe to discuss with manufacturers how the European…
