Breaking Defense

Air Force counter-drone lab requests ideas to track and kill small UAS

EXCLUSIVE: US poised to accept new F-35s without radars, sources say

Rep. Rob Wittman told Breaking Defense that while he expected issues with the new APG-85 radar to eventually be resolved, in the interim the US military will be left with “lots of aircraft out there, but not ones that are ready to go to the fight.”

By Michael Marrow, Valerie Insinna and Diana Stancy

Pentagon

Pentagon comptroller says a ‘generational investment’ is coming, but when?

With a potential $1.5 trillion budget expected soon, Aaron Mehta asks the questions we're all thinking.

By Breaking Defense Video

Air Warfare

US greenlights over $16B in ’emergency’ radar and missile sales to Middle East

The proposed deals include $8 billion-worth of radars for Kuwait and $8.4 billion in various air defense equipment for the United Arab Emirates.

By Lee Ferran

Latest News

Global

Germany marks April deadline to rescue FCAS fighter project from collapse: Reports

Amid an intense row between Airbus and Dassault over New Generation Fighter leadership and workshare, it remains to be seen how a compromise could unfold.

By Tim Martin

Global

Gulf nations ‘trying to reach out’ for Ukrainian counter-drone capability

Kyiv’s forces have unique experience in defending against Iranian-made drones, making Ukrainian industry and expertise a hot commodity.

By Kollen Post

In this episode:

On the flightline with Swedish fighter jets on a NATO mission

Pentagon

Hegseth confirms potential $200 billion request for Iran operations, but figure ‘could move’

“Obviously it takes … money to kill bad guys so we're going back to Congress and folks there to ensure that we're properly funded for what's been done, for what we may have to do in the future,” said US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

By Ashley Roque

Global

Italy’s Leonardo closes on $1.9B Iveco land vehicle acquisition

Leonardo said “available cash resources” will finance the acquisition, which is also planned to leverage “the complementary nature of the two companies’ sales networks."

By Tim Martin

Space

Capacity gap for 9 specialized components gnarls space supply chain: Study

The study by the Aerospace Industries Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers found that in the case of some critical components, only three or fewer qualified domestic suppliers exist.

By Theresa Hitchens

Land Warfare

In new timeline, Army set to take full control of THAAD missile program by 2027

“We're working very closely with MDA right now on that transfer plan and that memorandum of understanding and agreement,” Lt. Gen. Frank Lozano said.

By Carley Welch

Networks & Digital Warfare

Pentagon CTO ‘pretty confident’ about life after Anthropic

“We've already deployed OpenAI in the last few weeks, and we're going to deploy the others here, [starting] with Gemini," Undersecretary for Research and Engineering Emil Michael said.

By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.

Congress

With the Pentagon’s FY27 budget request forthcoming, it’s unclear if it will hit $1.5 trillion

The Trump administration has not disclosed if that figure will be spread between the base budget and supplemental for operations against Iran.

By Ashley Roque and Valerie Insinna

Networks & Digital Warfare

Army’s new, flexible approach to EW could lead to programmatic changes: Official

The Army wants industry to pitch EW capabilities to solve broad-based problems.

By Mark Pomerleau

Congress

Will Congress back an Iran war supplemental? Rep. Rob Wittman thinks so.

Rep. Rob Wittman joins Breaking Defense to talk through congressional support for an Iran war supplemental and the FY27 budget.

By Breaking Defense Video

Global

In tiny Estonia, drones lead booming defense expansion

Estonian defense firms are projected to see $842 million in sales revenue in 2025, according to figures exclusively shared with Breaking Defense, representing a 347 percent growth since 2021.

By Jonas Olsson

Air Warfare

UK defense official: Boeing has been ‘troubled partner’ in much delayed E-7 program

Despite the UK once committing to field Wedgetail in the “early” 2020s, it was revealed last year that a new timeframe of 2026 had been approved.

By Tim Martin

Featured:

Air Force counter-drone lab requests ideas to track and kill small UAS

EXCLUSIVE: US poised to accept new F-35s without radars, sources say

Pentagon comptroller says a ‘generational investment’ is coming, but when?

US greenlights over $16B in ’emergency’ radar and missile sales to Middle East

Latest News

Germany marks April deadline to rescue FCAS fighter project from collapse: Reports

Gulf nations ‘trying to reach out’ for Ukrainian counter-drone capability

Hegseth confirms potential $200 billion request for Iran operations, but figure ‘could move’

Italy’s Leonardo closes on $1.9B Iveco land vehicle acquisition

Artificial Intelligence & Autonomy: A New Era in Defense

Pentagon CTO ‘pretty confident’ about life after Anthropic

Baykar unveils K2 Kamikaze drone with AI, swarming capabilities

Anthropic CEO says Pentagon ban less harsh than Hegseth had threatened

Pentagon’s new chief data officer to push ‘AI capabilities to warfighters’

AI giant Anthropic says it ‘cannot in good conscience’ agree to Pentagon demands

Pentagon CTO says it’s ‘not democratic’ for Anthropic to limit military use of Claude AI

Kodiak AI lands Marine Corps deal to add driverless tech to ROGUE Fires platform

ChatGPT will be available to 3 million military users on GenAI.mil

AI ‘fundamentally changing’ adversary behavior, leading to force generation reforms: Official

DoD expects AI-powered database of patents ready for industry by year’s end

Capacity gap for 9 specialized components gnarls space supply chain: Study

In new timeline, Army set to take full control of THAAD missile program by 2027

Pentagon CTO ‘pretty confident’ about life after Anthropic

With the Pentagon’s FY27 budget request forthcoming, it’s unclear if it will hit $1.5 trillion

Army’s new, flexible approach to EW could lead to programmatic changes: Official

In Focus: Speed at the Tactical Edge

Powering up: Air Force eyes ‘broad reaching’ battery, energy storage research

‘Simple plans, violently executed’: One Army unit’s old-school counter to high-tech chaos

‘California jammin’: Wargames show Army’s electronic weakness — and a human fix

Marines aim to be CJACD2 ‘fast follower’ with Dynamis Series of C2 experiments

Will Congress back an Iran war supplemental? Rep. Rob Wittman thinks so.

In tiny Estonia, drones lead booming defense expansion

UK defense official: Boeing has been ‘troubled partner’ in much delayed E-7 program