Riyadh gets closer to F-35s, Damascus presses sovereignty and an expert take on Iran
Middle East Bureau Chief Agnes Helou reviews top news from the region before speaking with defense analyst Ryan Bohl.
The US needs an information-warfare strategy for Iran — and beyond
In the face of authoritarian oppression, a US-made information warfare tool set could enhance the lives of those living in restrictive countries.
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Building the stand-off and stand-in weapons needed for the fight
Threats have changed the range, seeking and attack capabilities necessary to ensure effectiveness.
Iran war costs: $38B, plus $2-3B per month going forward, CBO says
The Congressional Budget Office reported it would take "at least five years" to rebuild American munitions inventories.
‘Hundreds’ of buildings, ‘dozens’ of aircraft destroyed or damaged during Iran ops: DoD IG
Operation Epic Fury has "resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls" of key munitions, Pentagon officials told investigators.
Now is the wrong time for the Pentagon to pull back from Europe
The Hudson Institute's Daniel Kochis argues in this op-ed that Russia must remain convinced that America’s presence, combined with European NATO members’ firepower, is enough not to risk a direct confrontation.
Pentagon’s $1.5B reprogramming would shift money to AI center, MV-75 tiltrotor
The request would also reroute money destined for an international counter-ISIS training program.
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Three exercises that proved a new approach to C-UAS
Architecture that linked sensors, C2, RF effects, and lasers into a distributed c-UAS kill chain.
After ‘concerning’ losses, Air Force pushes to replace Reaper faster
“There's no doubt if we try and pursue the exact same approach that we had with things like the MQ-9, we're going to get something that costs about the same as an MQ-9,” said Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Niemi.
The Mecca pact explained, tankers for Qatar, and CENTCOM’s new drone force
Middle East Bureau Chief Agnes Helou recaps leading developments from the region before speaking with Dubai-based analyst Riad Kahwaji.
The big defense spending priorities awaiting Congress in September
There is a lot of business awaiting the House and Senate when they return to Washington.
Air Force seeks more portable C2, comms approach after studying Epic Fury
“We have to be more agile and mobile and we need a case that is carriable by one person and can be run by one or two people," Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Phillips told Breaking Defense.
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Biodefense is force protection: Ready today, prepared for tomorrow
A decorated combat aviator and biotech CEO advocates preparing for novel viral threats before the next crisis.
Army Cyber created an ‘integrated fire’ cell for Epic Fury
“Over the past five months, the teams have really been able to hone their skills based on the work they're doing inside of a live environment and I think we're getting better and better every day because of that," the ARCYBER commander said.
What China’s PLA says it is learning from the Iran war
From AI integration to the economics of air and missile defense, Chinese military commentators are paying especially close attention to the US-Israel war in Iran.
Command overseeing Air Force operations in Middle East gets new boss amid Iran war
In what was a scheduled change-of-command, Lt. Gen. Daniel Lasica will now lead US Air Forces Central at a consequential time for American forces in the Middle East.
Farnborough last looks, plus how the Iran war is affecting arms sales
We review a few final insights and observations from this year's Farnborough International Airshow.