Three years of war, 100,000 targets struck: IDF releases new conflict data
That figure, which includes strikes in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran, shows the breadth of conflict Israel has waged since the Hamas terrorist attacks upended the region
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.
From directed energy to AI and hardening, JIATF-401 is widening counter-UAS options
There is no single answer to the drone threat, pushing the Pentagon toward a broader mix of defenses.
Syria looks to end foreign military presence, have sovereignty over all bases: President
Damascus “very soon will not have the necessity to have any military or foreign military presence, and I believe we can go through the relations, diplomatic relations, and respect with all the countries in the neighborhoods and the friends of Syria," President Ahmad al-Sharaa said.
Syria joins Turkey’s Efes 2026, one of nine nations participating for first time
Bulgaria, The Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, Egypt, Poland, Vietnam, Portugal and Syria were first-time participants.
Before Trump’s Abraham Accords optimism, a more subdued view at Middle East conference
At the IISS Manama Dialogue, senior US officials pushed for more countries to join the historic agreement, but at least Lebanese and Syrian officials suggested it won't be that easy.
US had ‘no indications’ of surprise Israeli strike on Qatar: Official
Lt. Gen. Derek France said that the US was caught off guard by an Israeli strike on Qatar in part because sensing capabilities were focused on other targets like Iran, adding the Israeli attack “wasn’t something that we expected.”
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A leap in drone range and payloads come from a battery with different chemistry
Lithium-metal batteries are one way to break the weight and endurance limits of today’s unmanned systems.
With Assad gone and Iran hobbled, the time is ripe for a stable Middle East
Yossi Kuperwasser, a retired Israeli brigadier general and current head of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, charts what he says is a path forward in the region.
Amid Syria troop reduction, will Trump repeat Middle East withdrawal mistakes?
Cameron McMillan and Bradley Bowman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies argue in this op ed that getting out of Syria too quickly could leave the US vulnerable.
Lebanon and Syria’s plan to formalize borders a ‘positive’ step, needs follow-through: Experts
"The alternative is more instability and cross-border risk in a frontier where Lebanese and Syrian maps diverge in key ways,” analyst Aram Nerguizian told Breaking Defense.
From rebuilding the armed forces to selling drones, how Turkey can enhance Syria’s defense
"It is highly probable that the new Syrian administration will look to import Turkish defense equipment and technology, potentially even aspiring to adopt the Turkish model for building an indigenous defense industry," one expert told Breaking Defense.
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Power at the sprocket: it’s the transmission that gives tracked vehicles their control
Army vehicles like Bradley need greater power at the sprocket for speed, braking, and manueverability.
Tehran’s proxies are on the back foot. An Iran-Russia defense pact could revive them.
In this op-ed, Delaney Soliday and Shivane Anand of the Middle East Security Program at CNAS lay out what an Iran-Russia defense agreement could mean for Iran's proxies.
Middle East was defined by regional conflicts and increased indigenous production: 2024 in review
This year was dominated by the fallout of Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza, which expanded into Lebanon, but elsewhere the defense industry kept chugging along.
Cutting losses? Assad, Syria, and Russia’s strategic flexibility
Russia’s failure to intervene as Bashar al-Assad’s regime fell may signal less about the Kremlin’s weakness than its cold strategic calculus.
Russian bases and Hezbollah weapons: Key questions follow fall of Syrian regime
Experts told Breaking Defense their eyes were on key flashpoints that could affect the balance of power in the region for years to come, from the fate of Russian military bases in Syria to the potential collapse of an Iranian weapons pipeline to the Lebanese group Hezbollah.