Defense

VIENNA — China’s test this week of a submarine-launched ballistic missile follows a growing trend of nuclear powers hollowing out the integrity of nuclear weapons-free zones such as the South Pacific, analysts say. The People’s Liberation Army Navy launched a ballistic missile from a submarine off its coast on Monday, which subsequently flew southeast over the Pacific for about 7,000…

The news was almost predictable. For yet another year, auditors have found that America’s new weapons aren’t being delivered on time. “DOD plans to invest over $2.4 trillion to develop and acquire its costliest weapon programs,” according to the Government Accountability Office’s 2026 annual report on major defense acquisition programs, or MDAP. “Schedule delays persisted across…

WARSAW, Poland — As the Polish government is advancing plans to purchase multi-role tanker transport aircraft for the country’s Air Force, aiming to buy Airbus A330 MRTT planes, the nation has teamed up with Spain to implement the acquisition. Poland initially planned to procure two aircraft using loans from the European Union, but the agreement with Madrid will allow Warsaw to increase its…

Russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Ukraine’s capital Kyiv in the early hours on Thursday, killing at least 21 people, wounding scores more and damaging around 130 buildings in one of the biggest attacks of the war. Multiple explosions shook central Kyiv and reverberated across the capital throughout the night as thousands of residents rushed to bomb shelters and…