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 nuclear program.
The USS Gerald R. Ford’s planned deployment to the Mideast comes after Trump only days earlier suggested…
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…
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 program.
Earlier this week, the Philippine ambassador to the U.S., Jose Manuel Romualdez, said the Philippines is “not…
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…
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 strategy — that they can be easily modified and upgraded using a modular open systems architecture — can work, and improve how…
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…
SINGAPORE — Beyond China’s ostentatious display of its J-35A fighter jet at the Singapore Airshow was a lower-profile piece of equipment, the new Wing-Loong X combat drone, which experts say is far more likely to find international success.
Beijing banked on Asia’s…
PARIS — NATO kicked off operation Arctic Sentry to bolster the alliance’s posture in the high north, after weeks of deliberations by allies how to address claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that security threats in the region require the United States to take control of Greenland.
The operation will tie together various allied activities in the region, including Denmark’s Arctic Endurance…
