The Air Force told lawmakers it needs a fighter fleet of 1,558 manned, combat-coded fighters to carry out and sustain operations at a low risk, nearly 300 more than it has now.
In an August report signed by Air Force Sec. Troy Meink, which was obtained by Defense News, the service said it needs to “grow to minimize risk” over the next decade, as it focuses on modernizing its current…
Netherlands mulls local production of Raytheon’s Amraam missile
November 5, 2025
PARIS — Raytheon will explore the possibility of manufacturing its AIM-120 advanced medium-range, air-to-air missile in the Netherlands, after the United States gave the green light for a feasibility study, the Dutch Ministry of Defence said.
The study next year will…
BERLIN — A Russian cargo plane that recently arrived in Venezuela later made several stops in other Kremlin-aligned Latin American countries, flight records show, after making a similar journey back in August.
The Ilyushin Il-76, operated by the private but…
A new U.S. Army directive orders commanders to act within hours — not days — when a soldier goes missing, giving them three hours to classify a service member as “absent-unknown” and eight hours to notify the soldier’s family once the absence is discovered.
The change, issued by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll last week, compresses what sometimes can be a slow, inconsistent process for…
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments in a case against a military contractor whose employee killed five people and injured 17 at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, in 2016.
The majority of justices seemed skeptical that the case, brought against Fluor Corp., was an…
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has received more American-made Patriot air defense systems to help it counter Russia’s daily barrages, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Russian drones killed a man and injured five of his family members, including two children, in the…
Two drones raised alarms in the South Estonia region of Estonia on Oct. 17 when they appeared near the Reedo military barracks, resulting in one of the drones being shot down, according to an Estonian press report this week.
The base, home to Estonia’s 2nd Infantry Brigade, currently houses U.S. troops of the Army’s 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment.
Defense News requested a comment from…
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — At a secret location in rural Ukraine, columns of attack drones are assembled at night and in near silence to strike deep inside Russia.
Their targets are strategic: oil refineries, fuel depots, and military logistics hubs. Since the summer…
CANJUERS, France — A French Army artillery demonstration in pouring rain in the south-east of the country last week showed the limits of modern warfare: When the weather gets miserable, cannons may still fire, but drones stay grounded.
It’s a lesson already learned in…
Soldiers take new mobile 81mm mortar system for test drive
October 31, 2025
The Army’s latest effort to modernize its formation took shape on the training grounds of Hawaii last week, as soldiers tested a new “shoot and scoot” mobile mortar system designed to make units more agile in combat.
Members of the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment simulated wartime scenarios and trained with the Scorpion Light 81mm mortar system for five days, beginning Oct. 20…
