Author: Defenceline Webdesk

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, taking place on August 31 and September 1, will be another opportunity for China and Russia to try to promote an alternative to Western-led international institutions. But the organization, now in its 25th year, faces internal rivalries and tensions that are becoming ever more difficult to sweep under the rug. The SCO appears to be high on geopolitical symbolism and low on genuine relevance, at least on the political and security front. Despite its Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) and the Peace Mission military exercises between SCO member countries, the organization’s security agenda has been…

JERUSALEM — Israel and Greece signed a $3.4 billion (€3 billion) deal for air defense systems today at the Israel Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv.  Dubbed Achilles’ Shield in Greece, the multi-layered air defense system is expected to expand Israel’s industrial defense cooperation with Greece and shore up supply chains. The deal has been widely expected over the last several months.  In a statement, Greek Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias called Achilles’ Shield “an important link in the reform of the Armed Forces and an imperative response to the geopolitical and technological challenges of our time.” Dendias…

Why are we so angry? The easy, lazy, and entirely wrong explanation is that our technologies are to blame: the internet, smartphones, social media, artificial intelligence, and so on.  That’s the argument behind Australia’s doomed social media ban for young people, which is inspired by the deceptive claims and cherry-picked statistics peddled by pop-psychology influencers like Jonathan Haidt in his roundly debunked book “The Anxious Generation,” and driven by a moral panic that was cynically manufactured by the Murdoch media. So why are we so anxious, and angry? Take the average 20-year-old in Australia: born into the aftermath of the…

SINGAPORE — Japan’s defense ministry is set to continue its trend of record-high defense budgets year-on-year, requesting 8.89 trillion yen ($55.6 billion) in its latest budget proposal. Among the new kinds of weapons Japan is seeking are Northrop Grumman’s AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range (AARGM-ER), marking the first time Japan has said it’s keen on acquiring a dedicated anti-radar missile. The ministry published its annual budget request on Monday for the coming fiscal year, which would start in April. Unlike previous years, the numbers and procurement costs for many of the items listed in the request were not included,…

A few months back, two of Sri Lanka’s largest real estate companies launched two apartment projects in Colombo Port City, reclaimed land in Colombo developed by China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) as a joint venture with Sri Lankan government. One was a residential development project while the other is a luxury twin residential tower in Central Park district in port city. The pitch to buyers was simple and very tempting: invest in an apartment and get a higher return. One company advertising slogan promised that if you invest today, you will double your money in four years, “guaranteed.” It is…

Last week, Australia and Indonesia held their tenth 2+2 defense and foreign ministers meeting in Melbourne. The two countries signed the landmark Jakarta Treaty on Common Security in 2024, and although the Indonesian parliament has yet to ratify the treaty, the 2+2 meeting proceeded with the assumption that this is simply the pace of Indonesia’s legislative processes, and that discussions can turn to how best to operationalize their cooperation.  The headline claim is that the relationship between the two countries is now “at a high point.” The Albanese government has made the relationship with Indonesia one of the central pillars of…

Securing facilities both inside and outside the US is becoming increasingly complex, as new threats such as drones mean the old model of “gates, guards and guns” is no longer sufficient. Protecting against constantly evolving, adaptable threats is driving a need for more and better data, but that creates its own challenge: keeping personnel informed and aware of threats without being overwhelmed by massive amounts of data while being able to identify whether a blip on a radar is a flock of birds, a hobbyist flying a harmless drone or something potentially dangerous. It’s not just drones. AI-driven cyberattacks are…

The Ming Dynasty navigator Zheng He is often closely associated with Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road narrative. But the historical figure has been used as a diplomatic tool for decades, long before Xi launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Zheng He entered the diplomatic storytelling of the People’s Republic of China within a decade of its founding. Under Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao he became part of a broader historical argument about China’s rise, a role that remained prominent during the first years of Xi’s presidency.  Much attention has been paid to why Beijing revived Zheng He. But few…

WASHINGTON — Despite the Space Force’s growing efforts to acquire commercial technology, products and data, the service is struggling to be able to integrate these capabilities into its day-to-day operations, according to service officials. “There’s three barriers, at least, for the Space Force that we continually run into for commercial technology integration. The first one is requirements. … The second one is on classification, and the third one is on operational integration,” Col. Tim Trimailo, head of the Space Systems Command’s Commercial Space Office (COMSO), told the annual Intelligence and National Security Summit in Bethesda, Md., on Wednesday. COMSO is…

WASHINGTON — The US Army last week made it official: nuclear microreactors are coming to US bases, thanks to roughly $2.2 billion spread across five companies.  The goal of the Janus program is to produce 20 prototypes that will be contractor owned and operated at five bases, with the first one up and running by fall of 2028. And the reason for this move, officials said, should be self-evident.  “Unlike in prior conflicts, we now know that our domestic electric grid is potentially at risk in a conflict,” Jeff Waksman — the principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for…