DEFENSE

U.S. Marines will test one of the service’s newest counter-drone defense systems during this year’s Balikatan military exercise in collaboration with the Philippine military, according to the Marine Corps. Marines with the 3rd Littoral Anti-Air Battalion’s Ground-Based Air Defense Battery will conduct live-fire training with the ground-based Marine Air Defense Integrated System, or MADIS, a […]

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday lashed out at Ukraine’s president, saying Volodymyr Zelenskyy is prolonging the “killing field” after pushing back on ceding Crimea to Russia as part of a potential peace plan. Zelenskyy on Tuesday ruled out ceding territory to Russia in any deal before talks set for Wednesday in

MUSCAT, Oman — In a search for new economic and military partners, Russia has turned its focus to Gulf countries, as Moscow carries on its three-year war against Ukraine. On April 17, the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. During his visit, the two

PARIS — The Netherlands plans to buy a torpedo-killing torpedo as early as 2029, replace the armed forces’ standard assault rifle starting this decade and equip its heavy infantry brigade with tracked armored general-purpose vehicles, as part of 17 equipment projects for the coming years. Total spending on the planned projects will be at least

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Taiwanese authorities this month charged the Chinese captain of the cargo vessel Hong Tai 58 for damaging an underwater communications cable connecting Taiwan to the Penghu Islands near the Chinese coast. The legal move is a reminder that sabotage of vital seabed cables, which is notoriously difficult to prove, has firmly

WARSAW, Poland — Seeking higher domestic ammunition production capacities, the Estonian government has approved a project to build a plant that will make RDX-type explosives. The investment is considered as key for the country’s plans to boost its 155mm artillery ammunition production capabilities, but also for exporting explosives to other countries facing shortages across the

MILAN — Drone tactics emerging from the war in Ukraine have inspired other European countries to intensify their military-experimentation campaigns, with a new crop of testing facilities designed to test the small aircraft in war-like conditions. Estonia inaugurated its first drone training center, located in the western part of the Baltic country, last week. The

MILAN — India and France have signed a major deal for the purchase of 26 Rafale fighter jets to equip the Indian Navy, which will become the first international user of the naval variant, underscoring the strategic relationship between the two countries. The agreement follows India’s initial selection of the Rafale Marine in July 2023

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Global military spending surged to an unprecedented $2.72 trillion in 2024, jumping 9.4% from the previous year and marking the steepest annual increase since the end of the Cold War. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported the stark increase in its highly anticipated annual report, which was released on Monday.

PARIS — France detonated a naval explosive drone against a decommissioned cargo vessel at sea, the latest in a string of live-fire experiments as the French Navy seeks to prepare its ships and crews for high-intensity combat in what the government here calls an increasingly unstable international context. The test explosion on April 26 will