Author: Defenceline Webdesk

Australia’s role in the frontier world of artificial intelligence was the focus in Canberra last month, with two events bringing together hundreds of defense, diplomacy, development, and industry experts. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) gathered the national security and defense community for an AI Masterclass on September 14. The next day, the Development Intelligence Lab’s Situation 2026 explored how AI can solve Indo-Pacific development challenges. The events revealed a country grappling with what it means to be a middle power in the age of AI. As ClearAI founder Jisoo Kim put it, at a time when AI is developing…

In this episode of The Pentagon Buzz, Breaking Defense’s Ashley Roque breaks down Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s recent speech to the troops, including a plan to create a new Autonomous Warfare Command aimed at getting drones and other robotic systems into servicemembers’ hands faster. The Pentagon is also turning its autonomy portfolio office into Project Agincourt as an interim step toward standing up the new command, which is expected to require congressional approval. Subscribe to our Pentagon newsletter to get the latest information from the building delivered directly to you. Source link

On September 28, 2026, Fujigaki Yuko was selected as the next president of the University of Tokyo. Following formal appointment by the minister of education, culture, sports, science, and technology, she will take office on April 1, 2027, for a six-year term. As the university marks its 150th anniversary, Fujigaki will become the first woman to lead it. Yet at the institution she is about to head, only about one in five undergraduates is a woman. Fujigaki is not Japan’s first female university president. In 1997, Niwa Masako became president of Nara Women’s University, the first woman to head a…

WASHINGTON — The federal government rang in a new fiscal year on Thursday, and, as has been the norm for years, the government will now be operating under a continuing resolution (CR). And if there’s one thing military leaders like to remind everyone about, at every opportunity, it’s that a CR means the Pentagon cannot begin funding new programs, also known as “new starts,” at a time when the department is pursuing novel technologies. Breaking Defense reached out to the Pentagon and the services to ask for details on new starts that will be impacted by the CR, but a…

What did observers in China think about the Russian State Duma election on September 20? While retaining a veneer of democratic procedure, Vladimir Putin has steadily eliminated potential rivals and term limits, much like Xi Jinping has done. In past Russian election cycles, Chinese officials and experts by large have emphasized the importance of outcomes reinforcing political stability in Russia.  In terms of the latest election, most Western commentary criticized the unfair process preventing Putin’s primary opposing party, Yabloko, from running. Yabloko – which means apple in Russian but actually is an acronym for the last names of its three…

WASHINGTON — Powerus, a US-based drone company linked to the Trump brothers, became a publicly traded company today. Powerus announced this morning that it had completed its merger with a subsidiary of Aureus Greenway Holdings Inc., a publicly-traded holding company backed by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump through their stake in American Ventures. Powerus will continue as the “surviving entity,” with AGH adopting the former’s name, AGH stated in a news release on Wednesday. “Completing this transaction puts Powerus in a position to build at the scale our customers are asking for,” Powerus CEO Andrew Fox said a news…

Shield AI’s X-BAT is an AI-piloted vertical take-off and landing strike fighter. Credit: Shield AI via LinkedIn. Shield AI, a venture-backed defence technology company developing autonomous aircraft systems, has named Kansas and Washington state as the flight test and production homes for its X-BAT fighter jet. X-BAT is being developed as a long-range, AI-piloted strike fighter capable of vertical take-off and landing, allowing it to operate from ships, islands or austere locations that lack conventional runways. Discover B2B Marketing That Performs Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms. Find out more The…

BELFAST — Finland celebrated the recent delivery of its first pair of F-35 fifth generation fighter jets today at a special ceremony hosted by the Finnish air force’s Lapland Air Wing. “A new era began” for the Finnish defense forces when the new aircraft arrived at Rovaniemi Air Base on Sept. 18, said the Finnish air force in a statement today, adding that the combat jet fleet “will form an integral part of Finland’s air defence well into the 2060s.” In 2021, Helsinki ordered 64 of the stealth aircraft in a deal valued at $9.4 billion as a replacement for…

US Army signs novel Black Hawk helicopter contract with Sikorsky. Credit: CPL. MHECAELA WATTS. Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky has signed a novel production agreement with the US Army for Black Hawk helicopters, starting with 16 aircraft and structured to scale rapidly as demand grows. The contract is designed to let the Army incorporate additional orders as requirements develop, a capability seen as particularly important for allied nations whose Foreign Military Sales (FMS) cases are still maturing. Over the coming years, the agreement is expected to expand by more than 100 aircraft. Discover B2B Marketing That Performs Combine business intelligence and…

A Royal Air Force A400M taking off from the Island of Jan Mayen in 2026. Credit: UK MoD/Crown copyright UK A400M availability appears to be about 45% (around 10 of 22 aircraft daily) £190m Airbus deal aims to raise this to 13 aircraft/day by 2027 Even then, it remains below the ~70% availability seen in 2022 The UK Government appears to have revealed its A400M transport fleet has been operating at a 45% availability rate, following the award of a contract to manufacturer Airbus to increase the number of aircraft available daily from 10 to 13 by the end of…