DefenseNews

Baltic nations ponder biggest bang for their bucks in $14 billion arms spending spree

VILNIUS, Lithuania — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are readying to spend around €12.2 billion ($14 billion) from the European Union’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) low-cost loans on new weapons, equipment and ammunition, with first contracts to be signed in the coming weeks. Baltic State officials insist that a large share of production must be located in the three countries, and partial…
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DefenseNews

Austrian jets intercept US military planes two days in a row

VIENNA — Austrian Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets scrambled two days in a row to intercept U.S. military aircraft, the government said. The interceptions took place on May 10 and 11 and were related to modified PC-12 turboprop aircraft that the U.S. military uses…
DefenseNews

Turkey’s Aselsan eyes growth in networked, mass-producible weapons, CEO says

ISTANBUL — Aselsan used the Saha Expo 2026 defense exhibition here to present a vision of future warfare built around autonomous systems, layered air defense and integrated strike networks, as the Turkish defense-electronics giant seeks to expand its role as a domestic systems integrator and growing global exporter. In an interview with Defence News during the show, Aselsan CEO Ahmet Akyol…
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DefenseNews

US Navy open to building ships overseas, new plan says

The U.S. Navy released its fiscal 2027 shipbuilding plan Monday, laying out the possibility of the service turning to allied nations to build its vessels. The confirmation of potential outsourcing comes after President Donald Trump reportedly rejected previous Navy Secretary…
DefenseNews

Epic Fury has Navy rethinking carrier deployment tempo

With the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford en route home from what has become the longest U.S. Navy float since Vietnam, the service is reconsidering how to sustain a wartime fighting force. That’s according to Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Perryman, who addressed service needs and quality of life concerns at a forum hosted by Military Officers Association of America this…
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DefenseNews

The US Marine Corps is looking for a few good robots to build airfields

For Marines who have toiled over assembling airfields in austere environments, relief may be on the way. The Marine Corps wants to develop robots that can do the grunt work of laying down the matting used to quickly construct Expeditionary Airfields, or EAF, in amphibious beachheads and other remote locations. “Currently, assembling EAF matting is a manual process carried out by Marines — a…
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