Breaking Defense

Latvian official warns Russia ‘tempted to test’ European readiness, sounds alarm over border issues

Germany changes course on plans to buy MQ-28 drone wingman: Boeing official

Germany has set a target of 2029 to field a CCA, which would make it the first European country to reach such a milestone, but that timeline now looks to be in doubt.

By Tim Martin

Air Warfare

Zone 5 ‘found a spot’ in drone interceptor market with new Eclipse: CEO

CEO Thomas Akers told Breaking Defense that the company’s recent acquisition by Norwegian defense firm Kongsberg offers “an immediate step change” for the startup firm, whose portfolio now spans from a reusable drone interceptor to a low-cost cruise missile.

By Michael Marrow

Land Warfare

Open system architecture will be ‘hyper important’ in downselect of Army’s XM30: Senior official

An open systems architecture allows the Army and its industry partners to plug new and different software and hardware capabilities into the platform.

By Carley Welch

Latest News

Global

Artificial intelligence concept. Brain over a circuit board. HUD future technology digital background

Clock is ticking for human intel analysts to harness AI, but carefully, Australian and US experts say

“Time is of the essence. If the U.S. Intelligence Community and its partners do not begin integrating generative AI tools into their workflow, we will always be vulnerable to our adversaries,” Ylli Bajraktar, SCSP president, said.

By Colin Clark

Global

UK’s move to bar some arms from Israel is symbolic, but that matters: Analysts

“It marks a policy change from the previous government and says a lot about the relations of the new government with the current government of Israel," INSS analyst Tammy Caner told Breaking Defense.

By Seth J. Frantzman

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

Space

KBR finalizes buy of LinQuest, expanding its space support ops

With today's announcement, KBR will begin to integrate the boutique space data analytics firm into its "Government Solutions" segment and "Defense and Intel" business unit.

By Theresa Hitchens

Air Warfare

CEO of major Gulf defense firm, Saudi Arabia Military Industries, steps down

"The Board has also appointed Eng. Omar AlMadhi, Vice Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Board Executive Committee, as interim CEO," SAMI's online post reads.

By Agnes Helou

Air Warfare

Air Force to add back over a dozen MH-139 helos in FY26, averting ‘critical’ cost breach

The service is partially reversing course on a planned cut of 38 aircraft, and plans to add back in 14 Grey Wolf helicopters in its upcoming budget request for a fleet size of “at least” 56.

By Michael Marrow

Air Warfare

Pratt & Whitney pushes ‘low risk’ F100 engine for potential Polish F-15EX order

Integration and certification of the F100 would consist of a “couple of flight tests” and not have any “schedule implications” if Warsaw was to place a F-15EX order, according to Josh Goodman, senior program director at Pratt and Whitney.

By Tim Martin

Networks & Digital Warfare

NGA slates $700M for AI data labeling; launches standard model push

Data labeling is key to enabling the AI model to properly separate friend from foe, explained Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth.

By Theresa Hitchens

All Domain

‘Success begets challenges’: NGA struggles to meet rising demand for Maven AI

“The number of detections are way up [and] the number of models that we have are way up, [but] with the same level of compute that you had in 2017,” said Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth. “It starts to slow down. We are already seeing evidence of that.”

By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.

Air Warfare

Ukraine lessons in many domains: What US military intel officials are learning

"But you know who the best innovators are? The people who have to innovate or they're going to die the next day," a US Army official said.

By Lee Ferran

Air Warfare

MSPO preview: Poland’s air dominance battle could take center stage

In March, Paweł Bejda, secretary of state at Poland's Ministry of National Defence, told lawmakers more than 150 military contracts are due to be signed this year alone, so a spate of orders could be signed off at MSPO to match such ambition.

By Tim Martin

Air Warfare

State Department, RTX reach $200M settlement for export violations

RTX voluntarily disclosed what the State Department says is roughly 750, largely inadvertent, violations of ITAR export rules.

By Ashley Roque

Air Warfare

Kursk incursion a ‘clever’ operation that makes Putin look ‘sort of weak:’ Polish Air Force chief

As the US watches warily, Maj. Gen. Ireneusz Nowak told Breaking Defense that Kyiv's move "spoiled totally the perception of President Putin as a strong leader."

By Michael Marrow

Global

The UN’s peacekeeping mission in Lebanon has been renewed, but amid constant clashes, will it help?

Thousands of peacekeepers are deployed on Lebanon's southern border and though they conduct anti-rocket operations, they're not mandated to forcefully intervene.

By Agnes Helou

Congress

Lockheed Martin COO Frank St. John on the defense budget, potential acquisitions and supply chain

"With regards to the election, we think that deterrence and deterrence capabilities are an enduring theme, regardless of which party is in the executive branch or who's in control of Congress," said Lockheed Martin COO Frank St. John.

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