DefenseNews

US Space Force, Japan launch sensor to bolster space surveillance above Indo-Pacific

A U.S. Space Force Space Domain Awareness payload launched successfully Aug. 10 aboard Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite 7, or QZS-7, completing a bilateral effort that places American sensors on Japanese navigation satellites. The U.S. payload rode a Japanese H3 rocket from Tanegashima Space Center. It is the second and final sensor in the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System-Hosted Payload program, the…
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DefenseNews

Pentagon inks deals with Boeing, RTX to boost production of SM-3 components

The Pentagon signed two framework agreements Friday with Boeing and RTX to expand production of critical components for the Standard Missile-3, the Navy’s primary ship-launched interceptor against ballistic missiles. The deals cover avionics and ejector assemblies Boeing supplies to prime contractor Raytheon, an RTX business, for both the SM-3 Block IB and the newer Block IIA. Both variants…
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DefenseNews

US Marines roam far and wide from temporary Darwin base

This year marked the 15th deployment of U.S. Marines to Australia under the Marine Rotation Force-Darwin (MRF-D) initiative, but this year’s rotation looked different from the rest because of its certification as a Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force…
DefenseNews

Flight-tracking data shows continued Russian air bridge to sub-Saharan Africa

VIENNA — Russian state-aligned military forces operating in the Central Sahel relied on at least 75 flights by military and military-linked aircraft between January 2025 and July 2026, according to a new analysis by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies, a Washington-based research organization that tracks illicit networks. The report, published Wednesday, examined Automatic Dependent…
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DefenseNews

Army opens test ranges to private industry

The Army is opening military test ranges to private industry, the service announced this month, including a Michigan site where companies can test drones and counter-drone systems against electronic warfare conditions modeled after those in Ukraine. Companies will be able…
DefenseNews

Trump swaps planes via catering truck after Iranian threats, reports say

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he secretly switched planes in Turkey last month at the direction of the Secret Service, but that the plane he ultimately flew on was still more vulnerable than Air Force One. Following a NATO summit in Ankara, Trump was transferred from Air Force One to a military plane via a catering truck in an extraordinary deception prompted by an Iranian assassination…
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