Author: Defenceline Webdesk

Jorge Rivero, RealClearDefense How Marine Battalions Should Integrate Unmanned Systems in the Attack Source link

Sam LaGrone, USNI News Robot boat builder Saronic Technologies has tapped a site in Brownsville, Texas, for its ambitious Port Alpha $3.2 billion shipyard Source link

An Australian AH-64E Apache from the 1st Aviation Regiment conducted gunnery drills during Exercise Possum Guns in Townsville. Credit: CPL Michael Rogers. The Australian Army has carried out its first live-fire training exercise using AH-64E Apache helicopters on Australian soil.   The activity took place during Exercise Possum Guns in Townsville, with aircrews engaging simulated targets using multiple weapon systems.  Discover B2B Marketing That Performs Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms. Find out more During the exercise, the AH-64E Apache’s 30mm cannon, rockets, and Hellfire missiles were fired at simulated targets under…

Scotsman Nathan Paul Southern is the Operations Director of the Eyewitness Project and an investigative reporter specializing in global conflict, transnational crime, and corruption, primarily in Southeast Asia. Based in Cambodia, he investigates the intersection of war and criminality, uncovering the networks and power structures that drive conflict and illicit activity around the world. Southern spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about the Cambodian government’s crackdown on organized crime and those who were trafficked or duped into the country and then forced to work in scam compounds. He says the government is still struggling with its crackdown given the sheer…

F-35B jets from 617 Squadron land on HMS Prince of Wales in 2024. Credit: UK MoD/Crown copyright UK cites an “expanded” F-35 fleet, but simultaneously says no new F-35A/B buys this parliament With no jets in Lots 18–22, deliveries likely slip to 2029+ and into the 2030s UK has 47 F-35Bs but looks set to shift future orders toward the F-35A Confusion surrounds UK Government messaging regarding the country’s F-35 stealth fighter fleet, which is transitioning from the naval-capable F-35B to include the conventional multirole F-35A variant. Delivering a keynote speech at the Global Air and Space Chiefs’ Conference on…

More than 500 people are feared dead following reports of two large shipwrecks off the coast of Myanmar since late last month, the United Nations said yesterday. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that based on “preliminary information,” the two vessels departed from Myanmar’s Rakhine State in late June. They were carrying mostly Rohingya passengers, “reportedly including some who had travelled from refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.” One boat, believed to have been carrying around 250 people, “lost contact shortly after departure,” while a second vessel reportedly carrying some 280 people, “is believed to…

The Philippines has issued a formal protest to the Chinese government over an AI-generated video created by a Chinese state media outlet that portrays the nation as a monkey, describing the depiction as “racist.” The bizarre 58-second video, which was posted online by the state-controlled China Daily on July 10, shows a monkey in Filipino traditional dress being forced by the United States and Japan to parrot the arbitral award that was handed down by a tribunal in The Hague in 2016. The award ruled that China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea were invalid under international maritime…

Many Southeast Asian countries have stepped up military modernization efforts in recent years. This is a function of sharpening geopolitical tensions and increased risk, especially for countries like Indonesia and the Philippines that are embroiled in territorial disputes with China. The erosion of the U.S. security umbrella, and unpredictable American policy more generally, is incentivizing regional governments to increase defense spending. There is a greater sense of urgency to acquire warships, aircraft, and missile systems than there was a decade ago. This has been an ongoing process, but several key developments in recent months are worth mentioning, as they underscore…

A new unmanned surface vessel (USV) design from ARES Shipyard has surfaced on Türk Patent’s database for design submissions. The filing points to a larger, more modular addition to the Turkish builder’s uncrewed fleet, well beyond the compact armed boats it is known for. A catamaran hull built around a 40 ft container The design features a catamaran hull large enough to accommodate a single 40 ft shipping container. At 22.5 metres in length, the vessel is considerably larger than ARES’s existing monohull ULAQ series, which measures 11 metres. The catamaran configuration leaves a generous amount of free space on…

The Pentagon signed new multiyear production framework agreements with Anduril Industries, CoAspire, and Zone 5 Technologies on 15 July 2026. The agreements cover low-cost cruise missiles produced under the US Air Force’s Family of Affordable Mass Missiles (FAMM) program. Each deal is structured as a multi-year arrangement of up to seven years, subject to congressional appropriations, and uses firm-fixed-price terms with minimum quantity floors. The frameworks still require individual contracts with the Department of War, but give Anduril, CoAspire, and Zone 5 a basis to plan longer production runs with their suppliers. “The Arsenal of Freedom of the 21st Century…