DefenseNews

UN peacekeeping forces prepare to leave Lebanon, but what comes next?

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…
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DefenseNews

Pentagon inks $500 million deal with Perennial Autonomy for counter-drone tech

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…
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DefenseNews

Ukraine declares its first homegrown guided aerial bomb combat-ready

KYIV, Ukraine — A Ukrainian company has produced the country’s first guided aerial bombs capable of striking targets “dozens of kilometers” behind enemy lines with 250-kilogram warheads, giving Kyiv a homegrown equivalent to Russia’s cheap, devastating glide bombs, the Ministry of Defense announced Monday. The aerial bomb is a winged but engineless weapon that drops from an aircraft at…
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DefenseNews

US Marines practice seizing remote islands in Philippine exercise

LAOAG, Philippines — At one point during Exercise Balikatan 2026 in the Philippines, one regiment of the U.S. Marine Corps had personnel strewn across 17 locations in the archipelago, giving forces a chance to flex their muscle in dispersed, expeditionary operations. Held from Apr. 20 to May 8, Balikatan was a good testing ground for the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, or 3rd MLR. This agile…
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