DefenseNews

Heavy Russian cargo plane lands in Caracas amid US-Venezuela tensions

BERLIN — A Russian transport aircraft of a type linked to the country’s military and former Wagner mercenary group has landed in the Venezuelan capital over the weekend, signaling heightened Russian interest in the Latin American country. The Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft with the registration RA-78765 arrived in Caracas on Sunday after a two-day journey that took it from Russia via…
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DefenseNews

US to deploy USS Gerald R. Ford to Latin America

The U.S. military is sending an aircraft carrier to the waters off South America, in the latest escalation and buildup of military forces in the region, the Pentagon announced Friday. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group to…
DefenseNews

Drones could replace large US Army units in Europe, expert suggests

Since 1945, the U.S. Army has been designed to defend Europe. Despite detours into counterinsurgency in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, the core of the Army remains a large force of heavy mechanized brigades. But the times are changing. The Obama administration shifted American strategic policy from Europe to Asia. Today, the Trump administration is prioritizing homeland defense, the Western…
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DefenseNews

Singapore launches ‘Battlestar Galactica’-like warship with drones

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — When Singapore’s defense minister, Chan Chun Sing, spoke at the launch ceremony of a novel class of warship for his country’s navy this week, he likened the vessel to the fictitious spaceship Battlestar Galactica. “It isn’t just a ship by itself, but one that’s integrated with artificial intelligence and an evolving brain,” he said of the new 8,000-ton…
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DefenseNews

How the Army could customize tanks for future urban warfare

For steel beasts, the most dangerous habitat is urban. Tall buildings and narrow city streets are unfriendly territory for a 12-foot-wide tank that weighs 70 tons. Yet, as the world becomes increasingly urbanized, and combat in cities and villages has become the norm, armor…
DefenseNews

Airbus, Thales, Leonardo form European space giant amid global contest

ROME — Europe’s three big space operators have announced a merger of their space businesses to take on competitors like Elon Musk’s Starlink. Airbus, Thales and Leonardo will pool their space efforts in a new company employing 25,000 staff with an an annual turnover of about €6.5 billion ($7.5 billion) and a three-year order backlog, the firms said on Thursday. “The combination is…
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