Breaking Defense

EXCLUSIVE: SOUTHCOM chief seeks unmanned river solution as he embraces autonomy

Is the Pentagon’s demand signal for drones working? It depends on who you ask.

“There's a lot of positive signaling, but we need to see the whites of the eyes: We need to see sustained, normalized demand,” said James Slider, CEO of Performance Drone Works.

By Ashley Roque

Global

Unmanned systems take center stage at Turkish Ateş Serbest military demonstration

The highlight of the exercise may have been the Turkish military showing off a new drone for the first time: Turkish Aerospace Industries’ Ayaz, a turbojet-powered one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicle.

By Agnes Helou

Space

Space Force reveals first 6 ‘operational’ contracts for civil reserve support in space monitoring

Space Systems Command officials said the contracts are an initial step for the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve (CASR) initiative, and don't address the thornier issues of US rights to deny other customers service or reimbursement for satellites lost in a conflict.

By Theresa Hitchens

Latest News

Land Warfare

Army to establish new autonomy command, acquisition executive

The service’s new command will be called Army Futures and Autonomous Systems Command, or FASCOM, according to a memo signed by Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle.

By Carley Welch

Networks & Digital Warfare

GDIT replaces longtime president Gilliland

Paul Nedzbala, who joined GDIT in 2018, has been appointed acting president.

By Aaron Mehta

In this episode:

Boeing’s victory caps a significant turnaround for its defense business
A report from western Ukraine on technology and life in wartime

Global

Long-range radar deal puts Ireland on course to shrink capability gap

Dublin said last year that a “record” €1.5 billion defense budget would allow “significant progress” to be made on the radar project.

By Tim Martin

Air Warfare

After yearslong delay, Taiwan receives first pair of new F-16s

The two jets landed at an airbase in eastern Taiwan on Friday.

By Mike Yeo

Pentagon

Pentagon partners with CIA’s In-Q-Tel for ‘technology scouting’

The CIA-funded investment firm, which has helped finance startups from Anduril to Palantir, is now formally coordinating with the Pentagon’s Critical Technologies office.

By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.

Space

Berkowitz out at DoD Space Policy office

Gancio has a background in intelligence, most recently serving as an advisor to Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

By Theresa Hitchens

Pentagon, Opinion

The NIH-Pentagon deal isn’t a cash grab. It’s a rescue.

As global threats move faster than ever, uniting defense capability with scientific innovation is not a luxury, it’s an imperative, argues former Pentagon official David Lasseter.

By David F. Lasseter

Naval Warfare

Navy, Raytheon ink $24.4B deal for SM-6 ‘acceleration’

The deal covers at least five-years of production for an undisclosed number of missiles.

By Ashley Roque

Land Warfare, Global

In Ukraine, data centers ‘facing increased attacks’ in recent weeks: Ex-official

"Naturally, you cannot move everything underground. … So an important aspect is boosting Ukrainian anti-ballistic and anti-drone capabilities, which are already in critically short supply," Kateryna Chernohorenko, Ukraine's former deputy minister of defense for digital transformation, told Breaking Defense.

By Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo

Pentagon

DoD obligates $142B from reconciliation bill before deadline, leaving billions subject to cuts

Any funding from last year's reconciliation bill left unspent by the Pentagon suffers an 8.3 percent cut known as sequestration as fiscal 2027 starts.

By Valerie Insinna and Ashley Roque

Pentagon

Can’t start, won’t start: Over 150 new military programs face delay under a CR

The Defense Department will be operating under a continuing resolution until lawmakers successfully pass a fiscal 2027 budget.

By Michael Marrow, Ashley Roque, Diana Stancy, Carley Welch, Theresa Hitchens and Valerie Insinna

Pentagon

How Hegseth envisions a new Autonomous Warfare Command

The Pentagon wants to combine drone procurement and operations under a new command, but Congress will have a say.

By Breaking Defense Video

Air Warfare

Over the Finnish line: Helsinki welcomes home first two F-35 jets

In 2021, Helsinki ordered 64 of the stealth aircraft in a deal valued at $9.4 billion as a replacement for aging US-made F/A-18 Hornet fourth-generation fighters.

By Tim Martin

Air Warfare

Drone-maker Powerus, backed by Trump brothers, goes public

“Completing this transaction puts Powerus in a position to build at the scale our customers are asking for,” Powerus CEO Andrew Fox said.

By Valerie Insinna

Breaking Defense

Latest News

Boeing’s victory caps a significant turnaround for its defense business

A report from western Ukraine on technology and life in wartime

Artificial Intelligence & Autonomy: A New Era in Defense

Pentagon Buzz News Video