HG S2 (Intel Bot)

The U.S. Army’s next-generation battlefield sensor system, known as Launched Effects, is one step closer to entering service after a live demonstration involving active-duty forces at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in August 2025. Launched Effects is a term the Army uses to describe a class of compact systems—such as the Atlas 600 from AEVEX Aerospace—that […] The post U.S. Forces simulate strike on Russian howitzer during trials first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The Washington Army National Guard’s 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team will be restructured into a Mobile Brigade as part of the U.S. Army’s broader transformation effort, officials confirmed. The shift reflects a major doctrinal update aimed at increasing speed, agility, and operational flexibility across the force. In a statement, Brig. Gen. Paul Sellars, commanding general […] The post Light vehicles to replace Strykers in Washington National Guard first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

U.S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopter crews from the 1st Armored Division conducted deep strike live-fire exercises in Lithuania on September 9, just miles from the Belarusian border where Russia and Belarus have launched a joint military drill known as Zapad 2025. The training involved AH-64 helicopters assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment, 1st […] The post U.S. Army gunships drill near Belarus border first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The Japanese Ministry of Defense is moving forward with plans to deploy upgraded land-based Type 12 anti-ship missiles in Kyushu by 2026, drawing immediate and direct criticism from China’s Ministry of National Defense. According to media reports, the new missile variant will have extended range capabilities, placing parts of China’s coastal areas within striking distance. […] The post China condemns Japan’s extended-range missile program first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A multinational engine consortium developing the next-generation fighter engine for the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) has taken a key step toward integration, aligning more closely with the program’s aircraft developers as preparations advance for first flight. The consortium—comprised of Japan’s IHI, the UK’s Rolls-Royce, and Italy’s Avio Aero—announced a new cooperation agreement with Edge […] The post Japan, UK, Italy tighten engine pact for sixth-gen fighter first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Here’s Subic Bay back in its US Navy heyday. Here she is today. That isn’t the real change. Look at what is happening on the western side of the bay. 19 years ago in 2006, just some undeveloped bayside. Today? Why is it important? Subic Bay, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) northwest of Manila, sits within striking distance of China. It is roughly 1,100 kilometers (684 miles) from Shenzhen and Taipei, 1,800 kilometers (1,120 miles) from Shanghai, and 2,800 kilometers (1,740 miles) from Beijing, putting it well within the range of China’s intermediate-range ballistic missiles. …and the world is a very different place than it was in the Duterte era. Big things are happening. The United States is moving forward with plans to establish what could become the world’s largest weapons manufacturing hub in the Philippines’ Subic Bay, once home to the biggest US naval base in Asia, to counter China’s expanding military presence in the region. The plans got a real push when Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. inaugurated HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Philippines’ new shipyard at the former Hanjin complex, now renamed Agila Subic by American investment firm Cerberus Capital Management. The move signals a shift from rotational training to a permanent US military presence in the Philippines. Backed by US and South Korean investment, the facility is expected to double the Philippines’ shipbuilding capacity to 2.5 million deadweight tons annually and employ more than 4,000 workers by 2030. While Monday’s ceremony highlighted commercial shipping, officials noted the yard could also affect the country’s naval modernization. HD Hyundai has already supplied the Philippine Navy with frigates and offshore patrol vessels and is positioning Subic as a regional hub for warship production. South Korea’s ambassador to Manila described the shipyard as a “tripartite partnership” of Korean technology, US financing, and Philippine labor and geography. “This represents the most significant US defense investment in the Philippines since the Cold War,” the US Naval Research Laboratory said in a report. Yes, there is good news happening in WESTPAC, and this is in the top 5. More. Better. Faster. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Share Leave a comment View the full article

Japan’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) has announced the successful completion of offshore firing trials using an electromagnetic railgun. The announcement was made via ATLA’s official X account on September 10. According to the statement, the tests were conducted from June through early July aboard the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s test vessel Asuka. ATLA confirmed […] The post Japan successfully tests ship-based railgun first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The Royal Australian Navy has awarded Anduril Australia a A$1.7 billion (US$1.12 billion) contract to deliver a fleet of Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous submarines. The Royal Australian Navy opted to bypass conventional procurement processes and instead partnered directly with Anduril on development. The Ghost Shark program was co-developed and co-funded, enabling rapid prototyping, testing, and […] The post Australian Navy buys Ghost Shark autonomous submarines first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

South Korea is pushing forward with sweeping enhancements to its KF-21 Boramae fighter program, aiming to transform the domestically built aircraft into a full fifth-generation stealth platform. The plan includes internal weapons bays, advanced radar-evading materials, and a next-generation engine developed entirely in-country. According to South Korea’s 2026 defense budget proposal, the government is allocating […] The post South Korea to turn KF-21 into 5th-gen stealth jet first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Korean Air is developing KUS-FX collaborative combat aircraft, a compact unmanned system that effectively functions as a lightweight cruise missile. Designed for both air- and ground-based launch, the KUS-FX is intended to strike high-value targets at distances up to 600 kilometers, while also supporting reconnaissance and deception missions in contested airspace. The KUS-FX combines features […] The post Korean Air develops KUS-FX drone for deep strike first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

For the first time, South Korea’s most secretive military intelligence unit, the Korea Defense Intelligence Command (KDIC), has gone public with a call for new recruits. On August 25, 2025, the Korea Forces Network (KFN), South Korea’s official defense media outlet, released a recruitment video announcing that KDIC is accepting applications for non-commissioned officers. The […] The post South Korea’s secretive spy force goes public first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Austrian defense manufacturer Schiebel has introduced two new unmanned air systems — the CAMCOPTER S-101 and S-301 — purpose-built for armed operations. The announcement highlights the company’s push into the tactical strike drone market with dedicated aerial assault platforms designed for modern battlefield demands. In a statement, Schiebel said the new vertical take-off and landing […] The post Schiebel rolls out strike-capable VTOL drones first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Swedish defense startup Nordic Air Defence and military vehicle manufacturer Volvo Defense have announced a joint effort to develop a new mobile counter-unmanned aircraft system (CUAS), aimed at protecting military vehicles against the growing threat of cheap, weaponized drones. According to the two companies, the system—called VIPRO—will integrate Nordic’s Kreuger 100XR drone interceptor into Volvo’s […] The post Volvo, Nordic Air Defence team up on new anti-drone pod first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

At this year’s International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO) in Kielce, Polish defense company P.H.U. Lechmar and French firm H2X-Defense introduced a next-generation unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) known as Hermione. The platform, powered by a hydrogen propulsion system, was presented as a technology demonstrator aimed at meeting the evolving logistical and operational needs of modern armed […] The post Polish-French team unveils hydrogen-powered robot first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Turkish defense giant ASELSAN unveiled its newest mobile short-range air defense system, the KORKUT 100/25 SB, at the DSEI 2025 defense exhibition in London. According to ASELSAN, the KORKUT 100/25 SB is engineered to neutralize the growing challenge posed by mini and micro unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including drone swarms. The system is armed with […] The post ASELSAN rolls out anti-drone vehicle at DSEI first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Poland has formally requested consultations under Article 4 of the NATO treaty following a night-time incursion by 19 Russian drones into its airspace, Prime Minister Donald Tusk told lawmakers on Wednesday. The drones, part of a wider Russian strike campaign against Ukraine, entered Polish airspace from the east, with several reportedly crossing directly from Belarus. […] The post Poland presses NATO for response to Russian drone breach first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

On Sunday’s Midrats Podcast, our guest Liz Buchanan mentioned an article out of Australia by Laura Tingle, China's parade of military might raises big questions about the AUKUS muddle. I gave it a read and thought it would be a good move to start the week with it. Yes, it is Tuesday and not Monday, but I’m having “a moment.” Bear with me for the next 10 days or so. Tingle covers a lot of ground here, and she suffers a bit of a foreigner’s incomplete understanding of Trump World, but I’d like to put that to the side and focus on a welcome Australian view of the present state of play WRT AUKUS. For an island nation roughly the size of the continental USA with a population between Texas and Florida, I can think of fewer force multipliers that fit her requirements better than SSN, but she can’t get there on her own with a GDP just a bit more than Florida. For the new readers and to refresh things for the regulars, let’s go back almost exactly four years ago (a period of time longer than the USA’s participation in WWII) when this kicked off. Here is what I had to say back in September of 2021, and my opinion has not changed. One thing I hope so much for is that we make this as affordable as possible for Australia. I would hope we give it to them at cost. No reason to try to get any of the development cost whichever direction the build goes. Helping build the infrastructure to support nuclear submarines will benefit everyone, and especially Australia - a nation that is a natural to go nuclear power for both green energy and other reasons - something this military effort could help kickstart. As I outlined at the time, with my math, the floor was four boats with a HMAS stamp on them, and a ceiling of eight. I’ve also stated repeatedly that the serious people at The Pentagon need to tell the people in the submarine community to shut up and color. There are more important things on the line than the number of operational Commander Command slots in play. For a whole host of reasons, sooner more than later we simply need to take out non-FIVE EYES equipment from an “USS” and spot-weld “HMAS” on the damn thing. Should everything go pear-shaped in the Pacific, a HMAS SSN will be 90% as useful to the USA as an USS SSN. The greater utility, however, is the peacetime messaging of partnership with our closest allies by remembering something our fathers—well at least my father—taught us all, “Your word is your bond, especially with your friends.” Our friends, fairly, are not that confident. Peter Briggs is a former submariner and commander of the Royal Australian Submarine Squadron. He also believes Australia should have nuclear-powered submarines, so is not against the idea in principle. But he has been increasingly critical of the whole AUKUS submarine proposal. In a devastating analysis this week, he says the AUKUS plan "is now a threat to both the US and Australia's submarine capabilities". He says the US Navy's attack submarine force "is shrinking faster than anticipated" and notes that the US has other priorities in its submarine building program than the Virginia Class subs we are supposed to be getting. Building 12 new Columbia class submarines is the US's top priority, he says, and plans to build larger versions of the Virginia will only slow things down further. He’s not wrong. That dozen number is problematic. Here’s what I wrote on that fifteen and a half (yes, 15.5) years ago, I'll call it now, we will be lucky if we get 10 SSBN(X). Make that a planning assumption. If you need more SSN than your resources can deliver, then take the risk with your number of SSBN. There are not that many other options. To get to the number 10, I didn’t even weigh in on the developing critical issues with our shipbuilding and repair capabilities for our submarine industry, a problem appreciated for a long time without adequate action…and here we are. The target of building "a Columbia each year and two of the larger Virginias would require at least a threefold increase in submarine construction tonnage compared with annual average build of 1.14 smaller versions of the Virginia actually achieved over the last 21 years", he says. Everyone I talk to will ID the problem, but we have yet to see movement to solve it anytime soon. The target of building "a Columbia each year and two of the larger Virginias would require at least a threefold increase in submarine construction tonnage compared with annual average build of 1.14 smaller versions of the Virginia actually achieved over the last 21 years", he says. "Compared to the US Navy's target of delivering two Virginias each year over this period, that is a cumulative shortfall of 18 [nuclear powered submarines]." Add in Australia's demands and it gets even worse. Instead of its target of having 66 attack submarines, the US "has 47 or less now and is heading towards 41 or less in my estimate", Briggs says. "With luck, the current Pentagon [Colby] review of AUKUS will reach this obvious conclusion and withdraw from this plan. Failing that we will continue until reality hits, when the next president declares the US national interest outweighs the 'best endeavours' we are now relying on." This is where the narrowly blinkered submarine community’s priorities not to share its toys, that have too many ears taking in their points unchallenged, are merging—or appearing to merge—with a foundational undercurrent in the Trump Administration. It would be a strategic mistake of profound proportions for the USA to not follow through with AUKUS’s SSNs. If we did make that mind-numbing error, the Australians don’t really have the mother country to fall back on. Her problems sound familiar. Briggs is almost more pessimistic about the UK submarines we are supposed to eventually get ever leaving the design board. Plan B, he says, should be just one class of submarine, a mature design which will have to be built in Australia simply because neither the UK nor US has the capacity to build them. If the UK isn’t a valid “Plan-B”—then what is? Of course. "There are two obvious options," he says, "a Virginia derivative or [wait for it] the French Suffren." Of course, the French sub would be able to come as it is already configured — as a nuclear-powered vessel — not having to go through all the contortions of turning it into a diesel powered one as had been originally suggested. Briggs dismisses the idea that changing at this late stage would inject further delay: "It will mostly likely be quicker." Nobody wants that. The French would be insufferable. Tingle does not end on a happy note. I hope a concerted effort is made to make her wrong. Whatever the actual strategic vulnerabilities, and money wasted, White says the failure of process involved in the AUKUS muddle is likely to have scholars shaking their heads for years in terms of how this could have been allowed to happen. A failure, he says, which makes Robodebt — and government ministers' failure to take corrective steps — look like leadership in action by comparison. Instead, Australia plods along, trying to convince itself that all will be well. And without one leader prepared to say that we now have little choice but to take our own independent strategic path. Let’s give Laura Tingle a pleasant surprise, and the People’s Republic of China a headache, and make AUKUS happen, sooner rather than later. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. 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Israel-based defense company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems introduced the IRON BEAM 450 high-energy laser weapon system Tuesday at the opening of the DSEI defense exhibition in London. The system is designed to intercept and destroy a wide range of aerial threats with precision, near-zero per-interception cost, and minimal collateral impact. According to Rafael, the new […] The post Rafael unveils next-gen laser weapon at DSEI first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A top-secret US government body called the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has launched a new initiative aimed at transforming battlefield trauma care through the use of autonomous robotic systems. The Medics Autonomously Stopping Hemorrhage (MASH) program seeks to address one of the most lethal and complex medical challenges on the battlefield: non-compressible torso […] The post DARPA aims to build robotic combat surgeons first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

U.S. Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 (VMFA-232), known as the “Red Devils,” arrived at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, Japan, on September 8, 2025, as part of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Unit Deployment Program (UDP). The F/A-18 Hornet squadron, based out of MCAS Miramar, California, is now assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st […] The post U.S. Marine Corps deploys Red Devils squadron to Japan first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The U.S. Army has awarded a new $26 million Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement to Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems and its consortium of non-traditional technology partners to accelerate development of its Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) initiative. The project will deliver a data integration prototype for the 25th Infantry Division, currently operating […] The post U.S. Army taps Lockheed for next-gen command tech first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

More than 100 M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles are heading to Poland as the U.S. Army ramps up its latest rotational deployment in support of European allies. The 1st Cavalry Division is providing troops from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team’s 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment for the mission, while logistics units across Europe have prepared the […] The post U.S. Army strengthens NATO frontier with Bradleys first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

At the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition, Swedish fiber optics manufacturer Micropol introduced a new field-deployable solution designed to accelerate and simplify the testing of tactical fiber networks. The product, called OptiScan, is engineered specifically for rugged military and defense environments where communication uptime is critical. According to the company, OptiScan enables “fast […] The post Micropol debuts OptiScan for fast fiber testing first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

U.S. Marines with I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) have completed a 12-day testing period for commercial small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS), working in close partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and private industry. The evaluations, part of Phase 2 of the DIU’s G.I. Challenge, were held from August 18 to 29 and are […] The post U.S. Marines field-test new combat drones first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger confirmed plans to deliver mobile drone defense systems to Ukraine before the end of 2025. In an exclusive interview with Germany’s ZDF-Magazin WISO, Papperger said the deal—valued in the “three-digit million” euro range—will be signed on Wednesday at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) show in London. The systems in […] The post Rheinmetall to supply Skyrangers to Ukraine first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article