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Life comes at you fast; you better be ready for it. We are coming up on three years from the final wakeup call after October 7th, 2023, that conventionally armed ballistic missiles are the premier threat to critical capabilities ashore and at sea. In the U.S. at least, though production was minimal and inventories allowed to be too small, we at least had the technology to meet the threat from Medium, Intermediate, and Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. At sea, which will be our focus today, we just made it across the finish line in time with the RIM-161 SM-3, which built off the success of the iterative development of the SM-2 for decades. This work has paid off via the exceptional performance of our Arleigh Burke Class destroyers off Israel, and in defending our fleet from the Red Sea to the Arabian Sea against Iran and her proxies. With each engagement, our software gets better…the next update to our missiles gets better, and, more importantly, it has yanked the Lotus off the dinner plate of our defense establishment to expand production and inventories. Bravo Zulu to those people who fought, mostly nameless and unseen, for decades to ensure we did not take our eye off the need to be able to meet the threat from ballistic missiles. Here’s the issue. We’re alone here, and our European allies just don’t seem to get it. Their historical passivity in this area is why a decade and a half ago the U.S.A. deployed inside the NATO framework Aegis Ashore installations—one in Deveselu, Romania and one in Redzikowo, Poland—and the American Arleigh Burke DDG based out of Rota, Spain. Classic NATO: “The Americans will do it. Let increase aid for foreign NGOs instead.” Some minds are turning in the right direction, as there are some moves from The Netherlands and perhaps Germany and Denmark, who are pondering the possibility of getting SM-3 at some point in the future. That is a lot of appreciating the problem, fitting-for-but-not-equipped-with kind of thinking, but the fact remains that at this moment and at any time in the near future, no European NATO navy has a capability even approaching the SM-3. Range and reach. The SM-3’s range is well past 1,000km and more importantly, it can intercept missiles outside the atmosphere—exo-atmospheric. Nothing else at sea in the West can do this. The closest the Europeans have is the French Aster 30 B1NT, which we can expect the French Navy, Italian Navy, Royal Navy, and Swedish Navy to equip their ships with. On paper, it is an exceptional capability, but it is much closer in capability to the SM-6. Both of these can do anti-ballistic missile (ABM) work, but only endo-atmospheric. Here’s a quick comparison of the three I threw together. I think I have things correct here. If not, let me know otherwise in the comments. As wretchardthecat pointed out on X, I believe, correctly, Consider the French Charles de Gaulle. A normal CdG group includes at least one Horizon-class air-defence frigate. It has no SM-3 equivalent. It has no dedicated exo-atmospheric interceptor. British Queen Elizabeth carriers are organically defenseless against an Iranian antiship attack. Everything depends on Type 45 escort which has the same capability as the French Horizons. Either ship might withstand a light attack but probably lack the capability to survive against the volume of fire the USN took. He then, rightfully, points out that there is a navy out there besides the U.S. Navy that does have the capability that the SM-3 has—the Japanese Navy—and they have been at it for almost a decade. The yet-to-be-named cruisers they are building now will be superb ABM platforms. They just need to expand the run past two ships. South Korea plans to get 20 to 30 SM-3s for its next Aegis destroyers, and I would bet that buy will expand as well. So, the U.S. does have allies that are getting ready for today’s and tomorrow’s threat from ballistic missiles…but European NATO? A little thin, and relying on Uncle Sam, who—should he find himself in a fight with the PRC west of the International Date Line—will have higher and better uses for his ABM capabilities than parking them in Europe. Speaking of thin, effectively large portions of the world’s oceans are now off limits for the few aircraft carriers the Europeans have. There is always risk, as you will have leakers in any determined attack—but unless those European strike groups have an SM-3 equipped ships with them, the risk is simply too great. They are already late and behind. Someone needs to light a flame under their sterns. Leave a comment Share This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. View the full article

Yemen’s Houthi movement seized the Red Sea port city of Mocha on Thursday, forcing government-aligned forces to withdraw and pulling the Iran-backed group closer to full control of the Bab al-Mandeb strait. Four Yemeni government military sources told Reuters that Houthi fighters took the city after hours of fighting, while a separate military official told […]View the full article

Polish defense manufacturer WB Group has unveiled Gladius 2, a new loitering munition built for a reduced radar and heat signature and powered by a turbojet engine for a fast run into the target area. The company also refers to the weapon as Warmate 30, tying it to WB Group’s existing Warmate family of strike […]View the full article

Four defense-tech companies integrated an AI-enabled sensor, an unmanned helicopter, Ukrainian-made interceptor drones and tactical radios into a single counter-drone system, then tested it at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, during a Pentagon exercise called Falcon Peak 26.2. DataShapes AI, Evolved Aerospace, General Cherry and Persistent Systems built the combined system in about three […]View the full article

Two Bangladesh Army soldiers were killed and an officer was seriously injured on September 9, 2026, when a tank exploded during a live-fire exercise at the Hathazari Field Firing Range in Chattogram. The Bangladesh Army’s Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate, known as ISPR, confirmed the accident. ISPR said the blast happened while the crew was firing […]View the full article

Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck Russia’s naval base at Novorossiysk overnight on September 8-9, hitting the Kalibr-missile frigate Admiral Essen and starting a fire on its deck superstructure, according to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence agency, known as HUR. HUR said operators from its Active Operations Department carried out the strike as part of a joint deep-strike operation […]View the full article

The U.S. Army has awarded Global Military Products a $12.9 million contract to integrate its Scorpion Light 81mm mobile mortar system onto the Army’s Infantry Squad Vehicle-Utility platforms. The company announced the award on September 3, 2026, under the Department of Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium’s Other Transaction Authority framework. The deal covers pairing the Tampa-based […]View the full article

V2X confirmed on September 8, 2026, that it has been awarded a $19 million contract by the U.S. Marine Corps to deliver Tempest counter-drone vehicles, along with the maintenance, software and training needed to keep them running. The announcement puts a public face on a deal the Pentagon had already disclosed. A contract notice dated […]View the full article

Australia’s Army has declared Final Operational Capability for its National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System, confirming the ground-based air defense system is ready to support Australian Defence Force operations. Defence announced the milestone on September 9, 2026. NASAMS is built to detect, track and destroy cruise missiles, aircraft, helicopters and drones. The system was […]View the full article

Russian aircraft dropped 8,766 glide bombs on Ukrainian front-line positions in August 2026, the highest monthly total recorded since the invasion began, according to Ukrainian General Staff figures compiled by the OSINT monitoring group Oko Gora. The total works out to an average of 283 bombs a day over the 31-day month. Oko Gora put […]View the full article

Two Royal Australian Air Force F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters landed at Ohakea in New Zealand on September 8, the first time the jets have visited the country, the New Zealand Defence Force said. The aircraft, from the RAAF’s No. 3 Squadron, flew training missions through September 10 alongside New Zealand forces, including mock bombing […]View the full article

American Rheinmetall has won a $7.28 million contract to deliver 12 Mission Master SP autonomous ground vehicles and five amphibious kits to the U.S. Marine Corps, the company announced. The Defense Logistics Agency is managing the procurement, with ADS Inc. serving as prime contractor supporting the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory. The vehicles will be used […]View the full article

The Netherlands and Sweden signed a letter of intent for the Dutch government to buy a Saab GlobalEye surveillance aircraft, the Dutch Ministry of Defence announced September 10. The Netherlands does not currently operate an aircraft capable of this kind of long-range surveillance and instead relies partly on NATO’s aging AWACS fleet. The Dutch aircraft […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy has added $38.2 million to a BAE Systems contract to overhaul two Mk 45 Mod 4 naval guns, the main deck gun mounted on the Navy’s destroyers and cruisers. Naval Sea Systems Command issued the cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to an existing contract, funded through fiscal 2024 shipbuilding money that will remain available beyond […]View the full article

The U.S. Army has awarded a $581 million contract to build a new plant to manufacture IMX-104, the explosive used to fill 155 mm artillery shells and mortar rounds, as the service works to close a production gap that has slowed its ammunition buildup. Nitradyn LLC of Tampa, Florida, will design, construct and commission the […]View the full article

The U.S. Air Force has added $826 million to its bulk missile contract with Lockheed Martin, pushing the total value of the deal past $10 billion for the first time. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, issued the contract modification for continued production of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff […]View the full article

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded Conti Federal Services a $74.8 million contract to build a new radio frequency and measurements hangar for the B-21 Raider stealth bomber at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. The facility will include space for one B-21 aircraft, along with supporting workshops, material storage, and administrative offices. Three […]View the full article

The U.S. Air Force has awarded four manufacturers a combined $149 million to build metal cases for large bunker-busting bombs, splitting the work across small forging and machining shops rather than a single prime contractor. Superior Forge and Steel of Lima, Ohio; Ellwood National Forge of Irvine, Pennsylvania; Faxon Machining LLC of Cincinnati, Ohio; and […]View the full article

Helicopters have carried flares to dodge heat-seeking missiles since the late 1960s. The U.S. Army just committed nearly $4.84 billion to replace that decades-old defense with a laser that jams the missile itself. The Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, awarded Northrop Grumman the firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract on September 8 for full-rate production of […]View the full article

General Dynamics Land Systems will complete deliveries of Poland’s 250 M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tanks by the end of 2026, the company said, finishing the order in under 24 months. Poland signed the contract for the tanks in April 2022, alongside Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with the deal valued at $4.75 billion. Beyond the 250 […]View the full article

As a long-standing member of Team Philippines, I spent most of the day yesterday with a smile as I watched Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro at Seoul Defense Dialogue 2026. One of the things that I have been so heartened by what I’ve seen over the last half decade or so is the growing closeness and maturity of our relationship with the Philippines. I have my biases as a retired naval officer who worked with Filipinos for decades, and my hometown has a well-established population of Filipinos in the tens of thousands. They are great people with so much talent and so much potential. We had a spotty decade or so post-Cold War, but with a more balanced view of each other from both sides, everything seems to be aligning more and more to the benefit of everyone, especially in the face of aggression by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The video I’ve been enjoying so much is Teodoro answering an audience question, when suddenly, someone from the PRC handed him a note, "stating China's position." Teodoro, without missing a beat, took the note and refuted it point by point in a master class on how you should treat such an action by the PRC. Watch it, then watch it again. As leaders in Canada continue to debase themselves and their nation in their childish flirtation with the PRC, just look at the Philippines go. How could you not be willing to go to war to defend such a people? While we’re on the topic, as an extra added goodie, I’d recommend this short discussion between our friend Ray Powell and Rear Admiral Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard. From Japan, the Philippines, and Australia, and sweeping in Vietnam and even Indonesia if we play our cards right, we have a whole host of nations with which, if we are smart, we can develop an even closer and mutually beneficial front against the aggression of the PRC in the Pacific. It would be nice if Canada and New Zealand could join in, but perhaps they’ll eventually see the light. If not, that’s OK…but we’ll remember…and so will the other nations…and history. Leave a comment Share This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. View the full article

British radar maker Blighter is pushing for more sales in Central and Eastern Europe, showcasing its border and low-altitude air surveillance radars this week at the MSPO defense exhibition in Kielce, Poland. The company builds ground-based radars that use electronic scanning array antennas rather than the mechanically rotating dishes found on older radar systems, letting […]View the full article

AEVEX Corp. has won $20.5 million in new U.S. government contracts to build and develop one-way attack drones, the company announced September 9. AEVEX did not name the government agency behind the awards or specify which of its drone models are covered. The work includes delivering the aircraft themselves along with engineering, development and integration […]View the full article

Elbit Systems has introduced FUSE, a new business line bringing together the Israeli defense contractor’s autonomous drone and ground vehicle systems under one portfolio, the company announced September 9 in Rosh HaAyin, Israel. FUSE centers on software called Dominion-X, which lets a single operator control multiple autonomous aircraft and ground vehicles at once, a setup […]View the full article

Israeli drone maker Aero Sentinel says its G2 unmanned aircraft completed a week of demonstrations with a Romanian defense company during a Romanian Land Forces exercise, flying reconnaissance missions of up to 75 minutes despite heavy electronic jamming. Aero Sentinel did not name the Romanian partner company, the exact exercise, or its location and dates. […]View the full article