KIELCE, Poland — As Russia’s military is increasingly relying on jet-powered drones in its war against Ukraine, Ukrainian defense companies are intensifying their efforts to counter the threat while striving to make the interceptors cheaper than the targets they strike.
A number of anti-drone system producers from Ukraine are showcasing their solutions to military and industry representatives…
South Korea supercharges defense budget to record levels
September 10, 2026
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — South Korea will spend more on its military in the year ahead than it ever has before. The country’s defense budget is set to rise 8.2%, after government leaders announced the increased expenditure on Sept. 3.
The boosted defense spending of…
US Air Force seeks air-defense guns to protect overseas bases
September 9, 2026
In the wake of Iranian attacks that devastated U.S. bases in the Middle East, the U.S. Air Force wants portable air-defense guns that can destroy drones and cruise missiles.
The Ground-Based, Medium-Caliber Gun Weapon System project is aiming for a weapon “that fires…
EU abruptly shelves Kallas-led defense panel after pushback from Berlin, Paris, Rome
September 9, 2026
VIENNA — EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas scrapped plans to launch a high-level advisory group on European defense just hours before its scheduled unveiling, after several member states, reportedly including Germany, Italy and France, pushed back against the initiative.
The group, first announced by Kallas at an informal defense ministers’ meeting in Wicklow, Ireland, on Sept. 1, was meant…
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing the Army to explain why it is shuttering a specialized drone battalion less than a year after establishing it, a move that comes as conflicts across the world have become increasingly defined by unmanned aerial systems and…
US Air Force speeds Reaper successor timeline after Iran losses
September 5, 2026
The U.S. Air Force is accelerating its timeline for a cheaper, more expendable successor to the MQ-9A Reaper, officials said Sept. 3, after combat losses left the service unwilling to wait out the rest of the drone’s life.
Lt. Gen. Christopher Niemi, the Air Force’s…
Opposition by US and Russia raises doubts over autonomous weapons talks outcome, diplomats say
September 5, 2026
Opposition from the United States and Russia has raised doubts that countries meeting in Geneva will on Friday agree on a document that could pave the way to international rules on the use of autonomous weapons, three diplomats said.
The 128 states that are party to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), an international framework hosted under the United Nations in Geneva that…
The United States does not have enough engineers, technicians and assemblers to rebuild military space assets destroyed in a war with China or Russia, according to a RAND report published Aug. 31.
The study, “Breaking Glass, Missing Hands,” asks how quickly the country…
The year 2025 was another record setter for global defense companies, so much so that production bottlenecks in Western nations — not the usual industry lamentations about lacking government spending — began creeping up as the key problem many NATO countries are facing…
The U.S. Marine Corps is looking to acquire high-resolution 3D scanners to detect cracked body armor.
The goal is to develop sensors that can “scan individual hard armor plates for cracks and delaminations,” according to a Marine Corps Request For Information, which is due Oct. 2. More specifically, the devices will inspect Enhanced Small Arms Protective Inserts and United States Marine Corps…