Author: Defenceline Webdesk

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is most known outside Thailand for two things: his 2026 center-right electoral victory and his advocacy for the legalization of marijuana in Thailand. Those two things will always be related, as recently he warned he might shut down the booming industry due to a rise in cannabis trafficking out of Thailand. “We need to figure out what we should do to prevent other countries from blaming Thailand as being the weak link in this problem,” Anutin warned. Critical European partners have seen a rise in cannabis smuggling, as Germany recently reported two seizures of 1.2…

Harrison Schramm, RealClearDefense China has its’ own Straits Problem Source link

FARNBOROUGH — Lockheed Martin today unveiled the PAC-3 Adapted Capability Effector (ACE), an air defense system designed to defeat cruise missiles and short-range ballistic missiles at half the price of the existing PAC-3 MSE per unit. It was one of two notable low-cost interceptor designs revealed during day one of the Farnborough Airshow, as European firm MBDA also announced a new interceptor for cruise missiles, helicopters and drones. Lockheed’s PAC-3 ACE system appears to be a direct response to the global desire for Patriot, but at a price point that is more affordable — which in turn would make it,…

Large-scale infrastructure projects around the world mark the success of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The strategy, launched in 2013, has been instrumental in transforming global trade and connectivity. Yet while it has brought benefits, it has also come with unexpected costs and consequences for recipient countries. Infrastructure development has come tied to Chinese technology, now heavily embedded in electrical grids, telecommunications networks, and government utilities. Countries in the EU and North America have noted risks to national security and sovereignty caused by subversive Chinese technology, yet blacklisted companies such as Huawei and Dahua Technologies remain actively involved…

Somerville, WSJ The agency is using a surging budget to avoid choosing between defense-tech startups and old-school contractors Source link

Breaking Defense Editor-in-Chief Aaron Mehta and Senior Reporter Valerie Insinna discuss the White House’s evolving plans for the president’s Qatari-donated Air Force One before turning to the growing, trans-Atlantic competition to build a drone wingman for human pilots. Then they look to day two, with the expected news of Ottawa joining the international Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) as an observer. Check out photos and daily wrap-up videos from the show, and be sure to follow Breaking Defense’s coverage on the ground throughout the week. Source link

On 17 June 2026, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) signed its first production contracts for more than 150 ‘loyal wingman’ unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) – the aircraft it designates collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) – divided across the Anduril Industries FQ-44A Fury and General Atomics FQ-42A Dark Merlin, at a target unit cost of USD $30 million. Though lower in cost than the F-35A stealth fighter, the pricing of these first production-ready loyal wingman drones is significantly higher than what was originally imagined for this category of uncrewed combat aircraft – i.e., less than $2 million. When reviewing the loyal…

You probably have heard of the South China Sea disputes – a major flashpoint involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, and others. But the South China Sea isn’t the only maritime dispute in Asia.  Today, we’re going to talk about four other maritime flashpoints in East Asia – and how they are reshaping the geopolitical landscape today. Everyone knows about Taiwan, and the South China Sea; we’re looking at other disputes that haven’t appeared in headlines lately.  Stay tuned, because we’re ranking them in order: from the least likely to spark an actual shooting war, to the highest risk of conflict.…

James Holmes, The National Interest Ukraine’s recent strikes against Russian tankers in the Sea of Azov are instructive on how a weak power can stand up to a stronger one—for good or… Source link

LONDON—The trio of Saab GlobalEye radar planes ordered by the Swedish Air Force are separate from—but a vital complement to—NATO’s own order of 10, the service’s top officer said Monday.Maj. Gen. Jonas Wikman, the head of the Swedish Air Force, told reporters in London that his country’s order of  the Swedish-built airborne early warning and control aircraft  is “on top” of the alliance deal announced at the NATO summit in Turkey earlier this month. “My view is that NATO will have the fleet, like AWACS today,” Wikman said. “We will have our fleet, a national fleet, in cooperation with other nations,…