PARIS — Western navies are betting on modularity to keep their fleets relevant in the face of fast-changing technology, according to naval commanders gathered in Paris last week, with an ability to switch out equipment that the Dutch navy chief likened to clipping Lego bricks onto vessels.
New naval designs increasingly incorporate containerized payloads, and the commanders of the United States…
SINGAPORE — Singapore is slated join the F-35 operator club once the first of its Lockheed Martin F-35B fighters enter service later this year, becoming the fourth Asia-Pacific nation to fly the fifth-generation fighter.
Steve Sheehy, Lockheed Martin’s Vice President of…
PARIS — The French Navy is toughening crew drills to better prepare sailors for the stress of coming under fire, following deployments to the Red Sea where Houthi rebels targeted Western warships and commercial traffic with drones and ballistic missiles.
The navy is…
First US warship visit to Chinese-built port in Cambodia cements new drift for Phnom Penh
February 9, 2026
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — After a U.S. warship visited the Chinese-built Ream Naval Base on the south coast of Cambodia last week, analysts warn the government here should brace for a response from Beijing.
The port call by the USS Cincinnati came amid a warming of relations with Washington after a decade of sour ties that took an unwanted toll on Southeast Asia, as Phnom Penh eschewed the West and…
ST Engineering exhibited an array of new tech at Singapore Airshow 2026, held Feb. 3-8, including a family of assault rifles and a loitering munition that is nearing full development.
The new tactical loitering munition from Singapore’s best-known defense company —…
SINGAPORE — Swedish aerospace manufacturer Saab has proposed that a hypothetical Gripen production line in Canada would be large enough to also serve export customers besides making planes for the Canadian Air Force.
The statement is the latest effort by Saab in sweetening…
F-15 progresses in Asia, but without Indonesia
February 6, 2026
SINGAPORE — Official updates on Indonesia’s adoption of Boeing’s F-15EX fighter jet have been scant, since Jakarta announced a memorandum of understanding for up to 24 aircraft back in August 2023. Boeing officials have now admitted the prospective sale is dead in the water.
“In terms of our partnership with Indonesia, it’s no longer an active campaign for us,” a Boeing executive said…
Singapore inks deal for ST Engineering’s Titan 8x8 vehicle
February 5, 2026
SINGAPORE — Hot on the heels of a significant contract from the Singapore Army, ST Engineering was highlighting its sophisticated Terrex s5 8×8 armored vehicle at Singapore Airshow 2026, held Feb. 3-8.
The contract, worth an undisclosed amount and announced on Jan.
Russian arms makers vanish from Asia’s largest airshow
February 5, 2026
SINGAPORE — Russian defense companies have vanished from major airshows in Asia, which experts say reflects the country’s shrinking and increasingly concentrated arms-export industry.
For the second consecutive year, Russian manufacturers were absent from the roster of…
India and US maintain momentum in defense ties
February 5, 2026
NEW DELHI — Amid deepening security ties between India and the U.S., New Delhi has significantly increased procurement of military equipment from Washington even as supplies from Russia, for long India’s biggest source of weapons, decline significantly.
Analysts however say that in the coming years, one of the world’s biggest arms importers is turning to countries that will give it access to…
