Defense

The Trump administration has made legally binding commitments to spend almost all of the $400 million Congress approved for military aid to Ukraine late last year, ensuring that the money will not expire on Sept. 30, according to three sources familiar with the plan. As of early this week, $307 million of the $400 million of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funding had been…

NEW DELHI — The U.S. Air Force’s F-35 fighter jets are joining a multinational air exercise hosted by India, bringing a fifth-generation fighter to Indian air drills for the first time and giving the Indian Air Force and other participants direct exposure to operating alongside an advanced stealth aircraft. The drills get underway Saturday at the Jodhpur air base in Rajasthan state, which lies…

VIENNA — The CIA has warned European countries of a suspected Russian plot to launch Gerbera-type drones from aboard commercial vessels in the Mediterranean, a new report says. Major Spanish daily El Mundo published the article, which was based on testimony from an anonymous Lithuanian intelligence source, late Wednesday local time. According to the paper, the CIA had assessed that Spain…

PARIS — Demand for sovereign satellite capabilities is growing in Europe as governments seek greater control over access to relevant infrastructure. The push comes after restrictions by the United States on satellite access in Ukraine and the Middle East over the past two years underscored the risk of dependence, executives and policy makers said at an industry conference here last…