DefenseNews

France nears rocket artillery decision, plans ballistic missile by 2035

PARIS — France is moving closer to a decision on its future rocket artillery system, with the country testing domestically developed weapons this month that will allow for a comparison with foreign systems in a few weeks’ time, the head of the country’s armaments agency said. The first tests of a French-developed rocket artillery system “went well” on Tuesday, with more testing planned…
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DefenseNews

Iran war exposes weakened state of Britain’s armed forces

LONDON — The Iran war has left Britain’s armed forces exposed, heaping pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to act on his promises to invest in defense, after years of warnings from military bosses about the U.K.’s shrinking capabilities. When a British military base in Cyprus was hit by a drone early on in the Iran conflict in March, Britain, whose navy was the largest in the world at…
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DefenseNews

Rattled by Trump, US allies eye Japan’s biggest arms opening since WWII

Japan’s imminent easing of arms export rules has sparked strong interest from Warsaw to Manila, Reuters reporting found, as President Donald Trump wavers on security commitments to allies and the wars in Iran and Ukraine strain U.S. weapons supplies. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling party approved the changes this week as she tries to invigorate the pacifist country’s military…
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DefenseNews

Lebanon and Israel talks set to begin in Washington

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon are set to begin today in Washington, marking a rare diplomatic engagement between two parties technically at war since 1948. The U.S.-brokered talks will be conducted through their respective ambassadors…
DefenseNews

Swedish, Polish firms invest in TNT plants to quench Europe’s ammo thirst

WARSAW, Poland — Swedish company Swebal is building the first trinitrotoluene (TNT) factory to be opened in Sweden since the end of the Cold War, aiming to expand the European-made supply of a key explosive input used to make ammunition. Meanwhile, the continent’s only major TNT plant in Poland is investing to boost its production capacity. With Russia’s manufacturing capabilities dwarfing…
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