Defense

The U.S. Air Force hopes to conduct more than 6,000 aircraft operations annually at four airfields on three American islands in the northwest Pacific Ocean, including a major WWII-era airfield that is being refurbished, according to an announcement from the Department of the Air Force.  The department published a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement that will assess…

Shield AI agreed to acquire Echodyne in a $5.3 billion transaction announced Thursday — a major financial transaction that expands the prime defense contractors’ drone-warfare capabilities. Echodyne produces next-generation, solid-state radar systems patented as Metamaterials Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) technology. Its highly advanced systems are flexible and can be easily incorporated…

PARIS — U.S.-based naval drone maker Saildrone has picked Norwegian naval builder Umoe Mandal to produce the Surveyor multipurpose surveillance craft locally, with an eye on new sales in Northern Europe, company executives said. The Norwegian shipbuilder, headquartered on the country’s southern tip reaching into the North Sea, specializes in composite structures for the naval sector, including…

When Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO in May 2022, it was hailed as the Baltic Sea’s transformation into “a NATO lake.” Since then, however, the sea has been less than placid, as confrontations with Russia and interference with undersea infrastructure have raised tensions to new heights. Sweden, Finland, and their allies now face a challenge in countering Russian behavior without…