Russian forces are striving to shape the battlefield to their advantage before a high-stakes summit between President Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin, making a swift advance in eastern Ukraine after months of grinding battle.
U.S. lawmakers from both parties are urging the Trump administration to maintain a three-way security partnership designed to supply Australia with nuclear-powered submarines—a plea that comes as the Pentagon reviews the agreement and considers the questions it has raised about the American industrial infrastructure’s shipbuilding capabilities.
A plan to base Singaporean F-15 fighter jets on Guam for training has been scrapped, Singapore’s defense ministry confirmed in a statement, although some of the proposed infrastructure upgrades to the island’s sprawling Andersen Air Force Base to support the jets will still go ahead.
Deploying military forces is the strongest of political signals, and the most potent of these deployments is to move nuclear weapons or launch platforms near a potential adversary. So when nuclear-capable Chinese bombers joined their Russian counterparts in joint patrols near Alaska in 2024, as well as similar flights deep into the Pacific, Western observers assumed there was a political message.
The Trump administration is evaluating plans that would establish a “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force” composed of hundreds of National Guard troops tasked with rapidly deploying into American cities facing protests or other unrest, according to internal Pentagon documents reviewed by The Washington Post.
Soldiers inside divisions and brigades will not be left without replacements for Gray Eagle and RQ-7B Shadow drones, according to a U.S. Army leader who says new plans to replace both are in the works.
Rocket Lab USA announced Aug. 12 it has completed its $275 million acquisition of Geost, a U.S. supplier of electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) sensor payloads used in military satellites, expanding its role as a defense space systems contractor.
Through a series of exercises over the past month, a handful of U.S. Air Force tankers and airlifters have been experimenting with new communications systems on board to improve the aircraft’s survivability and awareness. But the tech was not the only new thing on board.
Additional versions of the stealthy XQ-58A Valkyrie drone could be on the horizon for two potential new customers, manufacturer Kratos says. This follows announcements that the U.S. Marine Corps is moving to transition its experimental work with the XQ-58 into a full program of record and about a partnership with Airbus to craft a version of the Valkyrie for the German Luftwaffe.
After designating last year the selection of the E-130J designation for the new Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) mission aircraft, the U.S. Navy has now announced that Phoenix II will be its official popular name.
