Author: Defenceline Webdesk

Eglin test squadron releases GBU-72 for first time, 7 October 2021. Credit: DVIDS. The US Air Force (USAF) has employed a 5,000-pound bunker buster, seemingly for the first time in its air campaign against Iran. It is the first time US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the use of these air-to-ground “deep penetration” munitions against what it described as “hardened” Iranian missile sites along the coastline of the Strait of Hormuz. Discover B2B Marketing That Performs Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms. Find out more CENTCOM specified that these sites utilised anti-ship…

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A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker flying the Indian flag has successfully navigated the perilous Strait of Hormuz under the direct guidance of the Iranian Navy. This incident, reported by Bloomberg and corroborated by The Federal, highlights the fragile security dynamics in one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints amid the intensifying West Asia conflict.The tanker was one of two Indian-flagged vessels granted pre-approved passage last week through a designated route. An officer aboard the ship confirmed that throughout the transit, the crew maintained continuous radio contact with Iranian naval forces. These communications involved sharing precise details about the…

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MELBOURNE — India has expressed an interest in joining one of the two ongoing European sixth-generation fighter programs, according to local media reports. The reports, which cite a document submitted to the Indian parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence, say the country’s Ministry of Defence told lawmakers that it would “try to join forces with one of (two) consortia and begin considering a sixth-generation fighter right away with a view to ensure they do not lag behind in achieving the target for advanced aircraft.” The two consortia are the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) by Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom,…

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For the first time in nearly a decade, foreign threats to U.S. elections are omitted from the intelligence community’s annual threat assessment, suggesting that the Trump administration is shifting focus away from a risk long treated as central to national security.The assessment was delivered on the heels of a major global threats hearing in the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, where Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe testified about the ongoing Iran war and other top-of-mind matters.The hearing highlighted growing tensions between intelligence assessments and the administration’s framing of the conflict with Tehran. It also came a…

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The UK E-7 Wedgetail programme is facing a catalogue of delays amid obsolescence issues. Credit: UK MoD UK’s E-7 Wedgetail AEW programme is facing “very significant delays,” with in-service entry potentially slipping beyond the revised 2026 timeline MoD says it wrongly assumed the UK aircraft would be essentially the proven Australian version, but the time gap has driven obsolescence plus extra component updates and certification Boeing is described as a “troubled partner,” and the programme remains complicated, with possible knock-on effects for planned US E-7 conversions in the UK The UK National Armaments Director has admitted that the UK military…

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Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) maintains a robust order book for the Indian armed forces, underpinned by major contracts for advanced aircraft and helicopters.Recent disclosures to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence reveal a comfortable position, with key programs including 180 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) TEJAS MK-1A, 34 Dhruv helicopters, and 156 Prachand attack gunships.The company’s Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) informed the committee that HAL is executing projects worth ₹2,22,182 crore, with deliveries scheduled up to March 2034. These encompass the TEJAS MK-1A, Hindustan Turbo Trainer (HTT-40), and Dornier (Do-228) aircraft, reflecting HAL’s pivotal role in India’s indigenous defence manufacturing.Progress…

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Pentagon officials report that the ground-launched Precision Strike Missile—PrSM for short—made a successful combat debut in the opening hours of the war on Iran. The new, now-proven ground-launched missile offers long-range strike capacity needed in the Middle East, to counter further Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, and to deter Chinese action in the Pacific. Washington should move quickly to replace expended PrSMs and expand the U.S. capacity to produce them.Like the older Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, the Precision Strike Missile is a short-range ballistic missile fired from the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) or the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket…

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