Defense

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is casting new doubt on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s relevance to the United States after key allies recoiled from backing Washington’s “Operation Epic Fury.” Rubio, speaking to reporters following a meeting with foreign ministers in Sweden on Friday, contended that the raison d’etre of NATO was undermined when allies refused to allow the U.S.

ROME — Italy is considering backing out of a second EU-supported boost to defense spending, taking to about €27 billion ($31 billion) the amount of rearmament cash it could forego as it focuses on tackling soaring energy costs. Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has told EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen that Italy may pass on the offer of €14.9 billion in cheap, so-called SAFE…

ROME — The mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is set to expire at the end of 2026, despite renewed violence in the country that has already claimed the lives of six peacekeepers. After years of U.S. pressure, the decision was taken by the UN Security Council in August last year through the adoption of Resolution 2790. The decision also tasks the Secretary-General…

The Pentagon awarded Perennial Autonomy, a California-based startup making headlines for its counter-drone technology, a $500 million contract to accelerate its procurement of the defensive systems. According to Monday’s press release, the decision to award the contract was made by the Joint Interagency Task Force 401, or JIATF-401, a Defense Department organization charged with researching…