Defense
Canada to plug surveillance gaps with Aussie over-the-horizon radar
Canada has signed four agreements worth $1.75 billion to acquire the Arctic Over-The-Horizon Radar (A-OTHR) system from Australia, aiming to fill gaps in NORAD's airspace radar cov…
Europe’s Hydis project settles on concept for hypersonic interceptor
The Hydis project to develop a European interceptor against hypersonic threats has settled on a concept based on a solid-propellant rocket motor, with the program's steering commit…
Air Force pushing contractors to purge Anthropic by Sept. 1: Memo
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is pushing its contractors to remove all Anthropic products from their systems by September 1, a month ahead of the Department of Defense-w…
Ukraine can soon build its own Patriots – but it could take years
U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge to give Ukraine a license to build its own Patriot interceptors would grant a manufacturing right the United States currently extends to only a…
Zelenskyy taps European allies to build Freya, a cheaper Patriot-alternative to Russia’s ballistic missiles
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine will hold its first coalition meeting on a homegrown ballistic missile defense system called Freya in France in the c…
DIU, Navy launch containerized payload competition
The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Navy are launching a competition called the Spectacular MIST Challenge to accelerate the development of containerized payloads for manned …
The state of play with the defense budget’s various moving parts
As lawmakers prepare to return to Washington, Breaking Defense's Valerie Insinna provides an update on the status of the annual defense policy bill, appropriations bills from eithe…
US Marines successfully test-fire new medium-range air defense system
U.S. Marines on Guam have successfully test-fired the new Medium-Range Intercept Capability (MRIC) system during Exercise Valiant Shield, intercepting an aerial target on June 30, …
Pentagon picks Lockheed, nLIGHT for laser defense project
The Pentagon has selected Lockheed Martin and nLIGHT Defense to lead the development of high-energy lasers for the Joint Laser Weapon System (JLWS) program, aimed at defending agai…
The autonomous CCA wingmen of 2030 may look nothing like today’s assumptions
The autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) of 2030 is expected to be far more versatile than the common perception of a jet-powered drone acting as a "missile truck." Accor…
Six takeaways from the 2026 NATO Summit
The 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, saw relative lack of drama despite pre-summit uncertainties over US engagement, defense spending, Ukraine's membership, and Europe's approac…
New drone czar’s success hinges on personalities, Pentagon politics: Experts
Experts say the success of the Pentagon's newly created "drone czar" position, which will centralize most service-run drone programs under one manager, will hinge more on the perso…