Author: Defenceline Webdesk

The Turkmen government backtracked during the 2025 cotton harvest on small steps taken in the previous two years to lesson the usage of forced labor, the Cotton Campaign coalition said in a new report. Progress on eliminating forced labor is not necessarily linear, and positive developments in one harvest can be unwound the following year without sustained political will and market pressure.  The report – “Turkmenistan Cotton: State-Imposed Forced Labor in the Annual Cotton Harvest, High Risk in Global Supply Chains” – presents the findings of independent civil society monitoring of the 2025 cotton harvest in Turkmenistan by Turkmen.News and…

L&T Technology Services Ltd, Bangalore has been formally selected by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) as the single vendor for the design and development of Mission Data Preparation Software (Phase‑1) for the TEJAS MK-2 and its future variants, marking a significant milestone in India’s indigenous fighter jet program.This decision strengthens the software backbone of the aircraft and ensures continuity for future upgrades.The Mission Data Preparation Software is a critical element in modern combat aircraft operations. It enables the generation, validation, and integration of mission‑specific data packages that feed into avionics, sensors, and weapon systems.For the TEJAS MK-2, which is designed…

The Aviationist Pratt & Whitney and General Electric completed the Assembly Readiness Reviews of XA103 and XA102 engines, activating their supply chains to prepare for the assembly of the… Source link

WASHINGTON — The aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford will return home on Saturday — wrapping up more than 320 days at sea, according to the service’s top officer.  The Ford departed Naval Station Norfolk on June 24, 2025, and has been underway for 324 days at sea as of today — breaking the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln’s previous record of 294 days at sea in 2019 and 2020 for the longest deployment since the Vietnam War era. “We’re going to give our heroes a welcome back on Saturday,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle told lawmakers on the House…

The HQ-9 (红旗-9, ‘Red Flag-9’) is a Chinese long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC). Pakistan operates two variants: the Pakistan Army’s HQ-9/P and the Pakistan Air Force’s HQ-9BE — making the HQ-9 family Pakistan’s only strategic-tier ground-based air defence system. The HQ-9/P entered service on 14 October 2021 and was combat-proven during the May 2025 India-Pakistan conflict — the first confirmed operational use of any HQ-9 variant. Export variants marketed by CASIC include the FD-2000 (baseline export) and FD-2000B (enhanced export, 250 km range). The HQ-9 sits at the top of…

Within a month, the Uzbek football team will make its debut at the FIFA World Cup as the only representative from Central Asia and the Caucasus. This is an important achievement that underscores the positive momentum of Uzbek football across both the men’s and women’s national squads. Uzbekistan is in a tough group, with three difficult opponents: Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Portugal. The good news for fans of Uzbekistan is that the squad is composed of players already in top-level leagues. The best example is Abdukodir Khusanov, currently playing for Manchester City; in fact, Khusanov is…

Pakistan has claimed that it has conducted a fresh training launch of its Fatah‑4 ground‑launched cruise missile, organised by the Army Rocket Force Command. The missile, equipped with modern avionics and navigational systems, demonstrated long‑range precision targeting and validated multiple technical parameters, defence experts believe that the missile has Chinese origins.The Pakistan Army confirmed that the Fatah‑4 cruise missile was test‑fired on Thursday under the supervision of the Rocket Force Command. According to the statement issued by the Inter‑Services Public Relations (ISPR), the missile is fitted with advanced avionics and state‑of‑the‑art navigational aids, enabling it to engage long‑range targets with…

Marine Corps Compass Points If the US Navy is serious about rapidly getting more ships on more seas, the Navy should take a hard look, not only at the ESBs, but also the EPFs, the fleet of… Source link

The momentum to fundamentally transform America’s defense acquisition system has never been stronger. Galvanized by growing threats from peer adversaries and the rapidly changing nature of modern warfare, House and Senate lawmakers spearheaded acquisition reform efforts in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed last December. The NDAA codified many bold and necessary changes proposed by Republican and Democratic leaders on the armed services committees and by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in his Acquisition Transformation Strategy. The effort to implement these vital reforms has now entered a pivotal stage. To maintain the momentum built last year…

The LY-80 is the export designation of the Chinese HQ-16 medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). Derived from earlier versions of the Russian Buk missile system, the HQ-16/LY-80 fills the low-to-medium altitude air defence layer — sitting between short-range point-defence systems and long-range platforms like the HQ-9. Pakistan is the largest export operator of the HQ-16 family. The Pakistan Army inducted nine LY-80 batteries in a US$600 million programme beginning in 2013–2014, the Pakistan Navy operates the LY-80N aboard its Type 054A/P frigates,…