- — Air Force awards $766 million for B-52 radar modernization
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at 8/26/26 11:06amWASHINGTON — The US Air Force has awarded a pair of contracts with a combined value of $766 million to upgrade the radar on the aging B-52 Stratofortress bomber, according to a Defense Department notice. One award, an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract with a ceiling of $603 million, was issued to defense giant RTX’s subsidiary Raytheon for production and sustainment of new radars, according to Tuesdays announcement. A second contract with a maximum value of nearly $163 million was issued to B-52 prime contractor Boeing for bomb rack modernization kits, which the DoD announcement says will support the B-52’s Radar Modernization Program (RMP). RTX and Boeing both referred a request for comment to the Air Force. Raytheon makes the AN/APQ-188 radar, which will replace the B-52’s older AN/APQ-166 sensor. The radar overhaul is one out of 13 upgrades meant to keep the Eisenhower-era bomber flying through the middle of the century — efforts that are collectively expected to total about $21 billion. Boeing leads modernization efforts for the B-52, where two key initiatives — RMP, along with a plan to swap out the aircraft’s engines — have faced cost and schedule growth. Those programs are still at risk, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report, which found that the Air Force planned to buy radars directly from RTX to help smooth out depot work. In particular, the radar upgrade’s budget has ballooned 30 percent to over $2.9 billion, which previously triggered what’s known as a Nunn-McCurdy breach. The Air Force anticipates RMP will be operational in the third quarter of fiscal 2030, three-and-a-half years later than originally expected. While the Air Force has implemented some cost control measures, the service also removed unspecified performance requirements to field the radar faster. Regarding the changes, GAO noted that “in this case, after contract award, the Air Force will receive less capability while paying more for the program.” The RMP effort additionally suffered a tragic setback in June when one of two flight test aircraft for the program crashed shortly after takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base in California, killing all eight crew on board. Results from a mishap investigation have not yet been released. A second aircraft is expected to be modified this year to support flight testing for the radar upgrade, and it’s unclear what impact the crash will have on the program’s overall schedule. In a briefing with reporters July 27, Col. Spencer Turner, the B-52 system program manager, said officials are prioritizing the mishap investigation and that officials will “look at our schedule and adjust as necessary.”- — ‘Shifted our whole mentality’: Army long-range EW system to go into production in 2027
- at 8/26/26 9:34amAUGUSTA, Ga. — The Army is planning for its long-range ground jammer, dubbed Terrestrial Layer System-Echelons Above Brigade (TLS-EAB), to go into production in fiscal 2027, according to service officials — years after initially awarding the concept and prototype contract. “This is a program that was started over five years ago, and we went down a path where we were trying to get after very specific requirements and realized that the operational environment is changing rapidly and those requirements were no longer the requirements we needed,” Mark Saxon, deputy project manager for Electromagnetic Warfare & Collection, told attendees at the TechNet Augusta conference last week. “We shifted our whole mentality and went after commercial first. … [And] were going to be shifting to production next year. Army officials around 2020 initially planned TLS-EAB as a combined signals intelligence and electronic warfare capability that would be used for higher echelons such as division and corps, which operate at much longer distances and have different target sets than units at the brigade and lower level. But as early as 2023, the Army altered course, opting for a more tailored approach to the system for theater rather than a one-size-fits-all. Following that decision, it decided to split up the program into a signals intelligence variant and an EW variant. Both variants are slated for procurement next year. Now, TLS-EW fits into a portable box and loaded onto different platforms, rather than being built into specific vehicles, Saxon told Breaking Defense in an interview on the sidelines of the Technet conference. Additional versions of TLS-EW for use in sheltered or vehicle-based platforms such as Humvees or Joint Light Tactical Vehicles are still being prototyped, he added. The evolution of the program towards more commercial and modular options was validated by the success of prototypes at Project Convergence and other events, particularly in the Pacific with 25th Infantry Division, Saxon said. As the terrestrial layer progresses forward, the aerial layer of the Armys wider EW enterprise is also going through changes. The service is hoping to complete an airborne electronic warfare appendix to existing documentation in the next couple of months, also informed by a few assets that participated with 4th ID at Project Convergence. In 2025, the service decided to pivot from its main aerial EW platform, Multi-Function Electronic Warfare Air Large (MFEW-AL), and now is broadening its scope to look at a variety of approaches. “When you talk about airborne EW, are we just talking payloads? So are we just buying payloads and then were slapping them onto a UAS? Well, there is your problem, right? Its the same vehicle problem we talked about before,” Col. John Harrell, director of the EW directorate in Army Futures and Concepts Command, said in an interview at TechNet. “I dont want to be just niche to a UAS. Because were going to have deep sensing. Were going to have — so were looking at high altitude platforms, looking at high altitude balloons and what kind of payloads go on those. And then UAS, so small form factor, medium and large, and what kind of ranges that we can get out of those?” One follow-on to the MFEW is the Long-Range Airborne Electronic Warfare (LRAEW) platform, a commercial solution that is modular and platform agnostic that will provide EW situational awareness as well as non-kinetic capabilities, a spokesperson for Capability Program Executive for Intelligence and Spectrum Warfare said, noting it will be housed on the Gray Eagle in the near term. Saxon said three Army units will receive the LRAEW in the first quarter of 2027. Officials noted that Project Convergence was the first time units had EW capabilities at different echelons of the command and control chain, using the TLS-EAB, TLS-Manpack and other aerial capabilities to collect intelligence, monitor their signature and look for high value targets. There has been a years-long journey to provide EW kit to soldiers following significant divestment after the Cold War, in a highly dynamic environment where adversaries have proven adept at maneuver in the invisible spectrum, geolocating targets based on their emissions and denying its use for communications and precision weapons. The danger with not having a lot of EW gear is the commanders that [EW troops are] supporting dont see EW as an actual key terrain feature that they can actually maneuver through, use, utilize, fight, and win with, Harrell said. “Conceptually, I think that we saw it all finally work physically, other than just a heat map, that gave them the ability to see, and I think that will drive the demand of what it could do further across the entire portfolio, protect, sense, attack on the back end.
- — Spain signs off on $6.3 billion budget for joint MRTT buy with Poland
- at 8/26/26 8:13amBELFAST — Spain’s Council of Ministers has approved a €5.4 billion ($6.3 billion) spending plan to jointly acquire Airbus-made A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft with Poland. The Council authorized the conclusion of a seven-year framework agreement for the lucrative acquisition on Tuesday, according to a list of outcomes from its latest meeting, published on the Spanish government’s website. Madrid’s summary of the tanker approval notes that the purpose of the framework agreement is to both procure the aircraft and cover logistical support required for entry to service. “The Framework Agreement, making use of the ‘Security [Action] for Europe’ (SAFE) instrument, includes an addendum providing for the participation of the Republic of Poland in this aircraft procurement, which is funded under that instrument,” adds the government statement. Despite Madrid not disclosing an aircraft quantity, Poland’s deputy prime minister and minister of national defense, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, said on social media platform X today that “at least” seven aircraft will be purchased. “The next step will be signing the final agreement,” he noted, before explaining that Warsaw will receive four aircraft by 2030, meaning it appears three aircraft will be procured by Spain. A spending plan for Polands part of the deal was not shared. This is also a crucial decision regarding NATO security and Polands security, the Polish minister said. In order for a joint contract to be signed, an Airbus spokesperson told Breaking Defense in a statement today that negotiations will start soon. Warsaw has long held interest in an A330 acquisition and decided to firm up planning by initially teaming up with Spain to move ahead with the joint order in July. Spain’s new commitment follows on from its first order of three MRTT aircraft in 2021. The first of those entered service with the Spanish Air and Space Force’s 45th wing in 2025. According to Airbus, Spain’s fleet is equipped with a hose-and-basket refuelling system, feature endurance in excess of 18 flight hours and a range of 16,000 km (9941 miles).
- — US flexes new ship-sinking weapons at summer naval exercises
- at 8/25/26 12:25pmSINGAPORE — A pair of multinational exercises in the Pacific this summer offered a chance for the US military to flex its growing ship-sinking capabilities, including the ability to conduct long-range attacks from stealth bombers and drive unmanned boats into target vessels. The capabilities were on display during the sinking exercise (SINKEX) phases at both Exercise Valiant Shield and Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC). The first SINKEX took place June 27 during Valiant Shield, north of the Mariana Islands, when a US Air Force B-2 bomber launched a stealthy AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) at the decommissioned amphibious transport dock Juneau, according to a news release. The strike appeared to be the first public launch of an LRASM from a B-2, a significant development given its the only in-service stealth aircraft that can carry the LRASM internally. Internal bomb bays maintain the stealth aircrafts low-radar cross-section and enable the US military to conduct stealthy, long-range anti-ship attacks, which could prove crucial in contested airspace across the vast distances of the Pacific Ocean. The B-2s impressive performance underscores the U.S. militarys commitment to adaptability and flexibility in the face of emerging security challenges, US Pacific Air Forces commander Gen. Kevin Schneider said in the news release then. By prioritizing counter-maritime strike operations, we can maintain a decisive edge over adversaries, protect our national interests and ensure the free and open Pacific that underpin our global security, Schneider added. US Pacific Command conducts a live-fire sinking exercise as part of Valiant Shield, June 27, 2026. (US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Anthony Vilardi) Valiant Shield, a separate Navy news release noted, also saw the US train alongside the forces of Japan, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, building “real-world proficiency in sustaining joint forces through detecting, locating, tracking, and engaging units at sea, in the air, in space, on land, and in cyberspace.” Two further ships were sunk during RIMPAC, which took place off Hawaii from June 24 to July 31 and involved ships, submarines and aircraft from 30 nations. On July 17, the exercise saw the decommissioned cruiser Mobile Bay and the helicopter assault ship Peleliu sunk by a combination of submarine-launched torpedoes and missiles, including LRASMs, Spike Non-Line of Sight (NLOS) missiles and Naval Strike Missiles (NSMs). Rear Adm. Suzanne Bailey, deputy commander of the US 3rd Fleet and the commander of the RIMPAC Combined Exercise Control Group, said at a virtual media conference in the lead up to the SINKEX that these are important joint exercises to conduct with allies and partners. “Its the ultimate test of our kill chain, requiring our forces to work together with our allies to detect, track, target, and ultimately strike a vessel with live ordnance, Bailey said at the time. Its a complex, multi-domain effort that provides really the most realistic training possible.” Also used for the first time at RIMPAC were Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) called Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft (GARC), according to an officer involved in the exercise. A video released by the Pentagon showed at least one USV surveying the hulk of the badly damaged Peleliu before slamming into the target. The video caption did not identify the type of USV used, but Lt. Sarah Weinstein, commanding officer of USV Division 32, identified it as a GARC built by Baltimore-based BlackSea Technologies in a social media post following the SINKEX. Honored that USVDIV-32 was given the opportunity to execute the Navy’s first GARC Live Fire during RIMPAC 2026, Weinstein wrote. It was incredible to watch my team execute with precision and we were thrilled to provide a perspective of the former USS Peleliu that often isn’t often captured in a SINKEX. USV Division 32 is one of the Navy’s newest units, being one of three USV divisions established in January and tasked with operating and sustaining USVs. The US Navy has already used USVs in war, with three Saronic Corsairs striking a small Iranian submarine undergoing maintenance at Bandar Abbas on July 13.
- — How a new Pentagon memo ‘resets’ industry requirements, plus highlights from TechNet
- at 8/25/26 10:00amIn this weeks episode of The Break Out, a new Defense Department memo reorients data disclosure guidance for Pentagon contractors, but it also raises several key unanswered questions, as congressional reporter Valerie Insinna tells Deputy Editor Lee Ferran. Then networks reporter Mark Pomerleau unpacks what he learned from top Army officials during the recent TechNet Augusta conference in northern Georgia, including a few artificial intelligence initiatives in the works. hbspt.forms.create({ portalId: '2097098', formId: '572d65c9-320c-4f86-86a9-7b1af51cec00', target: '#hubspot-form-572d65c9-320c-4f86-86a9-7b1af51cec00', });
- — Saudi-Turkish-Pakistani defense pact to boost Turkish industry, entire trilateral ‘ecosystem’
- at 8/25/26 9:20amBEIRUT — The recently signed trilateral defense pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan is expected to boost arms sales from Ankara to Riyadh specifically, but will more broadly bring the defense industries of all three nations into a tighter ecosystem, analysts told Breaking Defense. “The Mecca Pact should not be viewed simply as an arms-export agreement. It is much broader, said Ali Bakir, defense analyst and an assistant professor at Qatar University. It aims to facilitate joint investment in defense industries, major defense projects, technology transfer, local production, research and development, training, and the integration of complementary capabilities. Over time, this could transform the relationship from a buyer-seller model into a genuine defense-industrial partnership. The so-called Mecca pact was signed on Aug. 7 and aims “to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression, and stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all. It further provides for the enhancement of all aspects of defense cooperation among the three states. While the practical consequences of the collective defense portion of the agreement — likened to NATOs Article V — could be shortly tested as Saudi Arabia has been in Irans crosshairs in recent months, analysts said the defense industrial cooperation aspect will have lasting consequences, especially for Riyadh and Ankara. “Saudi Arabia does not simply want to import finished platforms, Serhat Süha Çubukçuoğlu, director of the Turkey program at TRENDS Research & Advisory, said. Rather, it wants to build domestic manufacturing, maintenance, and engineering capacity under Vision 2030. Turkey is particularly well placed to support that goal because it can offer capable, combat-tested systems with fewer political restrictions and more flexible localization arrangements than many traditional Western suppliers (especially the United States). Çubukçuoğlu noted that the Turkish parliament will have to ratify the accord for Turkey to officially join the pact, but that it was unlikely to be blocked. Albert Vidal, a research analyst for the London-based thinktank The International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that for Turkey, the pact could provide a nudge for companies trying to penetrate the Saudi market. Turkish firms have been working on this for several years but with few major successes beyond the Akinci deal. (In 2023, Turkish drone-maker Baykar signed its “largest contract” to export Akinci unmanned combat aerial vehicle to Saudi Arabia’s navy and air force.) Vidal said that Pakistan, meanwhile, brings significant aerospace and manufacturing expertise — a potent ingredient for the scope of potential trilateral projects. Bakir noted that if “Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan combine their respective financial resources, industrial capabilities, technological expertise, military experience, and human capital, they could create a much deeper and more institutionalized defense ecosystem. That would not only increase defense trade but also strengthen their collective strategic autonomy and deterrence.” KAAN-Do Attitude As for specific systems that are more likely to change hands due to the pact, the experts pointed especially to Turkish offerings from air defense systems to the nations indigenous in-development, fifth-generation KAAN fighter jet. “Riyadh is increasingly interested in diversifying its suppliers and building greater redundancy in its air-defense architecture, particularly after years of exposure to missile and drone attacks. Turkish systems could have a role here, especially in the lower and middle layers: HİSAR-O could provide a medium-range option, while systems such as KORKUT and GÜRZ could address short-range and counter-UAV requirements,” gulf defense analyst Leonardo Jacopo Maria Mazzucco said. In February, Turkish Aerospace CEO Mehmet Demiroglu told Breaking Defense that they are in the final stages of reaching an agreement for exporting KAAN to Saudi Arabia, though no further developments have been publicized. Bakir told Breaking Defense that the pact could push a deal for the KAAN closer. In response to questions about any potential exports, Turkish Aerospace said that the firm “will continue to provide solutions to the needs of Türkiye, as well as those of friendly and allied nations, through the advanced technologies and products it develops and manufactures.” Gokhan Tekin, director of international business development for vehicle-producer FNSS, said that his firm expects that the pact will have a positive impact. “Relations between governments and institutions will grow even closer, and joint working groups will be established. Standardizing the systems used in military vehicles will also come onto the agenda. Products that work compatibly with each other under the same standards will need may likely be used. In this sense, the most advanced product and design capability can easily be provided by Turkish companies, FNSS foremost among them. We can expect the formation of joint programs and coproduction of specified systems,” he told Breaking Defense. Several other Turkish defense firms declined to comment for this report or did not respond by press time.
- — Navy establishes new defense industrial base office: Cao
- at 8/25/26 8:21amWASHINGTON — The Navy is launching a new defense industrial base office, in an attempt to bolster the industrial supply chain and ramp up the adoption of innovative technologies into the fleet. Andrew Magliochetti, who previously served as the director of the Navy’s Office of Small Business Programs, will oversee the Office of the Defense Industrial Base, Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao announced on Monday. Specifically, Magliochetti will function as the principal civilian advisor for the assistant secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition to manage growth and wellbeing of the service’s industrial supply chain, the Navy said. “He will spearhead initiatives to expand the domestic manufacturing ecosystem, mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities, and integrate dual use commercial technologies to enhance the lethality of the Navy-Marine Corps team,” Cao said in a statement Monday. Magliochetti’s appointment follows President Donald Trumps wide-ranging National Security Presidential Memorandum ordering the Pentagon to “restore both capacity and competition to the maritime industrial base as it expands our naval force structure.” “I am deeply honored to serve as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for the Defense Industrial Base,” Magliochetti said in a statement. “An agile, secure industrial base is the cornerstone of our combat readiness. I am committed to accelerating the delivery of resilient supply chains and cutting-edge, dual-use technologies directly into the hands of our warfighters to ensure our Sailors and Marines are ready for any high-end fight.”
- — Hypersonics, rocket startup Ursa Major to go public in $2.3B deal
- at 8/25/26 7:29amWASHINGTON — Ursa Major, a Colorado-based defense startup specializing in hypersonics and solid rocket motors, today announced plans to take the company public next year in a $2.3 billion deal. The agreement involves a merger with the publicly traded Bleichroeder Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company backed by Inflection Point Asset Management, which works to take companies public. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, according to a news release. For eleven years, Ursa Major has invested in the hard work behind that outcome: propulsion, manufacturing, testing, qualification and flight. This transaction will help us turn that foundation into the production capacity our customers need,” Ursa Major CEO Chris Spagnoletti said in a statement. “Becoming a public company aligns with our high standard of transparency and accountability, strengthening our ability to deliver responsibly for the warfighter over the long term. Since its founding in 2015, Ursa Major has raised more than $380 million in private capital while also garnering investment from the Defense Department to develop technology for solid rocket motors, space systems and hypersonics. The company currently employs more than 360 people across six facilities, according to the release. Last month, the company announced a $10 million award from the US Navy to advance its MK 104 solid rocket motor through critical design review and static fire. Ursa Major also conducted its first flight of its Draper liquid rocket engine this year as part of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Affordable Rapid Missile Demonstrator effort. In February, Ursa Major unveiled a new hypersonic missile system named HAVOC that the company plans to mostly manufacture in-house and could be built for around $3 million per unit, Spagnoletti told Breaking Defense then.
- — UK provides Ukraine classified long-range SCALP missile blueprints
- at 8/25/26 7:20amBELFAST — UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has approved plans to give Ukraine classified blueprints of British components used to produce a variant of its Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles called SCALP, saying the UK is 100 percent behind Kyiv in its fight against Moscow. Burnham announced the decision during a trip to Kyiv on Monday, and it comes amid Kyiv and Paris preparing to set up local assembly lines of the munition in Ukraine. Specifically, the UK has agreed that missile-producer MBDA can release classified SCALP information, according to a statement ahead of the announcement from the Prime Minister’s Office. On Ukraine’s 35th anniversary of independence [on Monday], the Ukrainian people should be in no doubt: the UK is behind you today and for as long as it takes, Burnham said in the release. Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve. We will not back down until there is a just and lasting peace. SCALP is the French variant of Britain’s Storm Shadow, which relies on technology from both countries and was first supplied to Ukraine in 2023. Per the statement, the blueprint sharing will also complement Project Brakestop, designed to develop low-cost, long-range strike weapons for Ukraine. Under a 2025 agreement, France and the UK announced a plan to relaunch SCALP/Storm Shadow production, while in parallel partnering on a replacement munition. Designed for deep-strike missions and capable of hitting targets beyond 250 km (155 miles), SCALP can attack high-value fixed or stationary targets, like hardened bunkers, according to MBDA company literature [PDF]. Prior to Burnham’s SCALP blueprint approval, the Russian Embassy in the UK criticized the reported use of British drones by Ukraine to strike inside Russian territory. It warned in a statement posted on Telegram, that “London’s actions will inevitably carry consequences.” Moscow withdrew its UK ambassador, Andrey Kelin, in July and has still to submit another candidate to the Foreign Office as a replacement, according to the Times newspaper. As part of Burnhams visit to Kyiv, he co-chaired a Coalition of the Willing meeting alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Leaders participating in the meeting agreed to increase military support to Ukraine, strengthen its air defense as a matter of urgent priority and ramp up cooperation with its defense industry. They also agreed to share key technologies, including through the Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition, according to a separate UK government statement. Earlier this month, Reuters quoted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as saying that Ukraines allies had supplied one-third as many air defense missiles this year compared with 2025, amid a shortage of US-made Patriot interceptors capable of defeating Russian ballistic missiles.
- — Navy reveals new long range air-to-air missile, dubbed ‘Malice’
- at 8/24/26 1:13pmWASHINGTON — The Navy is creating a new long-range air-to-air missile dubbed Malice, according to the service, capable of hitting targets at distances exceeding 250 nautical miles (287.7 miles). “The Department of the Navy is developing the AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missile (LRAAM), a next-generation missile intended to strengthen fleet defense and maintain a decisive air-domain overmatch against advanced threats,” the Navy said in a statement posted online over the weekend. “Also known as Malice, the LRAAM directly supports the Department’s contribution to integrated deterrence by increasing range, lethality, and combat effectiveness for Marine and Naval Aviation forces that are defending our fleets, our interests, and our homeland.” Additional details regarding the specific capabilities and deployment timelines were not disclosed and remain classified, due to operational security concerns, the Navy told Breaking Defense today. However, the Navy said that the missile — which is 13.5 feet long with a diameter of 13.5 inches — is designed for 4th, 5th, and 6th generation aircraft platforms, according to the service’s description of the program. The Navy published a photo in April depicting four of the missiles loaded onto an F/A-18E Super Hornet for a “test event.” And then another photo from earlier this month showed one missile secured to the internal weapons bay of an F-35C aircraft. In that post, it was described it as the Navy’s next-generation, long-range air-to-air missile, built to give Marine and Naval aviators the capability they need to defeat advanced threats and defend the force. Despite the public postings, the potentially stealthy missile flew under much of the medias radar until the Navy announced at the Tailhook Symposium this weekend that the missile had undergone testing, according to a report from Aviation Week. LRAAM sustains the Department’s first look, first shot, first kill advantage by providing our aviators greater reach, greater survivability, and greater tactical flexibility in the air-to-air fight, the service said in its Saturday posting. An AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missile (LRAAM) is mounted in the internal weapons bay of an F-35C with an AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) mounted on the weapon bay door. (DVIDS) Raytheon confirmed that it was developing Malice, and said that “strengthening fleet defense and maintaining superiority are essential to address rapidly emerging air-to-air threats.” “Our Advanced Technology’s team approach is at the core of doing just that with the development of the AIM-424,” Phil Jasper, president of Raytheon, said in a statement to Breaking Defense. “With increased range, lethality, and combat effectiveness for Naval forces, the AIM-424 delivers a generational leap in long range air-to-air combat capability that can out range any threat.” The Air Force and Navy generally collaborate on air-to-air missile programs, including the new AIM-260. An Air Force spokesperson told Breaking Defense that the service is closely following the progress of the Navy on the AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missile Program. Michael Marrow contributed to this report.
- — Saab shows off loyal wingman drone it hopes to offer Swedish Air Force
- at 8/24/26 12:25pmMALMEN AIR BASE — Saab is developing three unmanned aircraft — the A1, A2 and A3 — as stepping stones toward a potential new loyal wingman fighter system, the company announced Saturday during an air show for the Swedish Air Force’s centennial. A decision on state funding for the A3 version has yet to be made, but Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson said he likes Saab’s approach. “I think it would be a natural further development of the Gripen system to have a loyal [unmanned] wingman component that can perform deep operations together with the mother platform,” Jonson told Breaking Defense on the sidelines of the air show here outside the city of Linköping. The A1 will be a supersonic demonstrator powered by an artificial intelligence-driven GE F414 engine — the same American engine used in the Gripen E/F. The A2 will feature an internal weapons bay. Both are expected to fly within four years, with the first within 15 months. The A3, which Saab says may become the sales product, could enter service within ten years if the government decides to proceed with the aircraft. A full-scale model of the A3 was on display outside Saab’s hangar at the air show. While the aircraft are similar to the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) being developed by the US Air Force, Saab uses the term Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP) to describe their systems of this type. Brig. Gen. Niclas Magnusson, Swedens deputy air chief, said he envisions “some sort of mix” between manned and unmanned assets in the coming years. “I think we need both. And I think we need them also combined,” Magnusson said. “So I think that is the future, you know, mixed squadrons with both manned and unmanned. But its gonna be a few years ahead.” One A3 is estimated to cost roughly one-third of a Gripen E on a lifecycle basis, and about half the cost initially of the Gripen E, Saab said during a media briefing. In 2024, the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration awarded contracts to both Saab in Linköping and GKN Aerospace in Trollhättan for the “Combat Aircraft Path Selection” (Vägval stridsflyg) program. The work covers studies, technology development and demonstrator preparations to support a decision on securing Sweden’s fighter aircraft capability after 2040, when the Gripen E needs to be replaced or supplemented. Jonson said the Swedish parliament, known as the Riksdag, is expected to decide what to do between 2028 and 2030. “We are working on it continuously,” he noted, pointing to a budget proposal from the Swedish Armed Forces and Defense Materiel Administration due next March, a state inquiry into industrial and defense policy, and input from a parliamentary reference group expected in September 2027. “It is intensive work,” he added. Sweden’s accession to NATO has proved a boon for Saab. The company now holds a backlog of orders worth 318 billion kronor ($33.6 billion), including three A26 submarines for Poland, 16 Gripen E jets for Ukraine, Canada’s and NATO’s selection of up to ten GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft, and equipment for Germany’s new frigates, including combat systems, composite structures and sensors. “I do not think NATO would have selected GlobalEye if we hadn’t been in the alliance. The same goes for a number of other contracts. I don’t think Poland would have chosen our submarines either,” Saab CEO Micael Johansson told reporters Saturday. Additionally, last month Saab received an order for two GlobalEye aircraft from an undisclosed country in the Middle East — “A new country,” Saab said at a press briefing. The order is valued at 10.1 billion kronor ($1 billion) with deliveries scheduled for 2030. The air show and 100th anniversary of the establishment of Sweden’s air force, underlined the changes that NATO membership has brought to Sweden — just a few years ago it would have been hard for many Swedes to imagine F-35s side-by-side with Gripens on a Swedish military tarmac. But with almost two-and-a-half years of NATO membership behind it, Saab can now officially note that the Gripen has been interoperable with NATO since long before Sweden joined. “In 2002, the Gripen C came out — NATO interoperable, fully NATO compliant — more than 20 years before Sweden joined the alliance,” the head of business unit Gripen, Johan Segertoft, said at the brief for the reporters on Friday, a head of the air show this weekend. “So the Swedish Air Force has operated alongside NATO much, much longer than we have been part of the alliance.”
- — Army Cyber created an ‘integrated fire’ cell for Epic Fury
- at 8/24/26 12:17pmAUGUSTA, Ga. — Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER) established a Joint Integrated Fire Cell (JIFC) during Operation Epic Fury, modeled off a similar construct in the run-up to Operation Absolute Resolve in Venezuela, according to the commands top general. Described by Vice Adm. Heidi Berg, commander of the Navys Fleet Cyber Command, as “instrumental” during the raid to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, the JIFC was akin a cyber version of a combined air operations center. It effectively served as a central hub to coordinate cyber effects at the timing and tempo of the commander. Fleet Cyber Command established the JIFC during the Venezuela mission, and ARCYBER —which is responsible for conducting cyber operations on behalf of US Central Command — studied that operation, made some tweaks and replicated the construct for Epic Fury, according to Lt. Gen. Christopher Eubank, who helms ARCYBER. “What I think the JIFC did for me was more seamlessly integrate Joint Force Headquarters [JFHQ] to Army Cyber, so that the Joint Force Headquarters through the JIFC could leverage the capacity of the Army Cyber headquarters to get after things they needed help with,” Eubank said in an interview with Breaking Defense at the annual TechNet Augusta conference last week. “In my joint hat, if my deputy there said, ‘hey, sir, I need intel support,’ we were able to, through the JIFC, surge intel support into the JIFC so that the JFHQ could actually continue to work outside of that mission set.” Each services cyber component commander also heads a Joint Force Headquarters-Cyber, the component under US Cyber Command thats responsible for conducting cyber operations. And each JFHQ-Cyber is assigned to different combatant commands to provide planning, targeting, intelligence, synchronization, and command and control over cyber capabilities. The creation of these JIFCs for two major named operations signifies that they are likely to become a mainstay for future operations. In Venezuela, officials acknowledged the use of cyber and non-kinetic effects, with The New York Times reporting that US cyber operations turned out the lights in Venezuela, interfered with air defense radars and disrupted hand-held radios. Brandon Pugh, principal cyber advisor for the Army, noted that senior military leaders have become far more candid about the role of offensive cyber effects in current operations. Historically weve kind of shied away from that topic, Pugh said in an interview at the conference, adding that the openness comes as cyber capabilities have proven remarkably useful. Were seeing this not just be an isolated and siloed capability that only rests in Georgia or in Maryland, he said. It is one element of how we fight against our adversaries, and I argue a key element. It can not only enable other types of objectives in conflict, but it can bring about its own objectives. For many years, cyber operations were limited due to restrictive US legal authorities. But since 2018, with new authorities from the executive and Congress, cyber forces have been able to operate more. Being able to run real world missions has helped Eubanks command grow too, he said. “Over the past five months, the teams have really been able to hone their skills based on the work theyre doing inside of a live environment and I think were getting better and better every day because of that, Eubank said. ARCYBER Reorganization Eubank said his command is in the midst of a reorganization to operate more like a corps structure, which will help ARCYBER support regular Army units better. “Itll help us in what we present to the combatant commanders and then to our corps and our” Army component commands, Eubank said. The reorganization will also give the command greater capacity, going from 20 to 22 cyber protection teams, for example. More granularly, ARCYBER is moving from what the military refers to as table of distribution allowances (TDA) to a table of organizational equipment (TOE). In practical terms, TOE equates to standardized units with standardized equipment and overall more standardized structures, while TDA units are typically non-deployable and have more flexibility to change their structures based on evolving mission needs. The change to TOE “puts the headquarters in a main command post, contingency command post formation, just like a corps, so we war fight better,” Eubank said. “We have brigades and battalions, and then below that we go to a team-like structure. This change is going to allow us to put in teams, company commanders, battalion commanders, brigade commanders.”
- — Polish firm MESKO signs $2B deal to arm 4 NATO nations with MANPADS
- at 8/24/26 12:06pmWARSAW — Polish defense technology company MESKO and Poland’s MND Armaments Agency have signed a framework agreement to supply thousands of Piorun missiles and launch systems for the international EDIRPA consortium. EDIRPA, comprised of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Norway, is an EU program aimed at incentivizing cooperation in defense procurement between member states to jointly coordinate and acquire the most urgent and critical defense product needs, especially amid Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. “This contract is worth PLN 8 billion [over $2.16 billion], the largest contract in history for the purchase of Piorun MANPADS, both launch systems and missiles, which will be used by the Polish Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, and the Kingdom of Norway,” said Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz during a ceremony announcing the deal. “This is the first agreement of this type where the consortium is formed not by a company, but by a state. Under the agreement, the four countries in EDIRPA will acquire Piorun MANPADS, along with simulators and training and logistics packages as part of the EU SAFE program. While the number of missiles and launchers has not been disclosed, the Polish Army will receive 80 percent of the equipment. Deliveries will continue through 2030. “Theres probably no country in the European Union where, during discussions about the SAFE mechanism, I havent been asked about the possibility of purchasing Piorun missiles. The Piorun is our export hit. I can say that openly today, […] because this product is also used by the US Army, said Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, Secretary of State at the Poland’s MND today. The Piorun is designed to destroy low-flying aircraft, airplanes, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. The Polish Armed Forces use it in the lowest tier of the VSHORAD air defense system used by EDIRPA countries. The Piorun is an upgraded version of the Grom (also in service with the Polish Army), produced in Poland and based on the Soviet 9K38 Igla. The modernization includes a modified launch mechanism, a new, more sensitive homing head, and an optoelectronic sight mounted on a special rail. This has improved target acquisition capabilities, jamming resistance, and effective range, according to MESKO, which is part of the Polish Armaments Group (Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa). The changes also include the introduction of a proximity fuse (in addition to the existing impact fuse) and a directional warhead, which increases the effectiveness of engaging small targets such as unmanned aerial vehicles. Additionally, a user authorization system and night-time firing capability were introduced. Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland in 2022 supplied Ukraine with Piorun MANPADS. During the war, the Armed Forces of Ukraine claimed that a number of Russian aircraft (Su-34, Su-25) and helicopters (Mi-24, Ka-52) were shot down with Piorun missiles Current users of Piorun MANPADS include Belgium, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Ukraine and the US. France has also expressed interest in purchasing the Piorun air defense systems. During the Eurosatory exposition over the summer in Paris, Naval Group, Mesko and another Polish company Telesystem signed an agreement to demonstrate Piorun missile capacity onto Naval Group’s Rampart system during future naval exercises.
- — Australia identifies future defense precinct site for AUKUS sub sustainment
- at 8/24/26 11:05amSINGAPORE — Australia today announced the official location for its future defense precinct, which is expected to be home to maintenance for future submarines acquired under the AUKUS agreement. The site, located at Henderson in the state of Western Australia and seven miles across the water from the Royal Australian Navy base where its submarine fleet is based, “includes the preferred location for the Government’s naval shipbuilding and sustainment activities, and for the sustainment of Australia’s future conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines, according to the announcement. “The Defence Precinct at Henderson is where critical maritime capabilities for the Australian Defence Force will be built, including Navy’s future general purpose frigates and Armys Landing Craft,” the release said. The site will deliver “continuous naval shipbuilding and sustainment in Western Australia for generations to come.”“The selection of the site for the Henderson Defence Precinct is a major step towards establishing a world-class sovereign shipbuilding and sustainment hub in Western Australia,” said Australian defense minister Richard Marles. “This decision allows the next phase of planning and development of the precinct to progress at pace, so we can deliver the infrastructure needed to support continuous naval shipbuilding and sustainment in the West, and develop the capability to own, operate and sustain conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines,” he added. According to an official outline showing the borders of the future defense precinct overlaid onto an aerial photo of the existing industrial area in Henderson, the area set aside is located immediately south of Austal’s existing shipyard and takes in areas currently occupied by BAE Systems Australia, as well as civilian boat yards. It will be surrounded by non-defense related industrial areas, which has been labeled as “fabrication, support and other facilities.” The release added that it is expected that the precinct will support up to 10,000 jobs over the next 20 years, and will be underpinned by “billions of dollars” worth of investments, including 12 billion Australian dollars ($8.59 million) announced last September. The development of the precinct will now go into the conceptual design phase, with Australia’s federal government and defense department to engage with the state government, local industry and other stakeholders. Monday also saw the keel laying ceremony for the first of Australia’s six Hunter-class frigates at BAE Systems Australia’s shipyard in Osborne, South Australia. Based on the Type 26 frigate design, Australia’s ships will be fitted with the indigenous CEA Technologies’ CEAFAR phased array radar suite, as well as the capability to launch SM-2, SM-6 air and missile-defense missiles and Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles. “The Hunter class will provide Navy with an advanced anti-submarine warfare capability, one of the most important capabilities for Australia’s maritime security, and strengthen our ability to operate alongside allies and partners,” said the Australian defense department in a separate news release.
- — Turkish FNSS unveils unmanned amphibious assault vehicle
- at 8/24/26 10:42amBEIRUT — Turkish vehicle manufacturer FNSS unveiled a new unmanned multi-purpose amphibious vehicle (U-MAV) at the Turkish defense conference Teknofest this week. The four-wheeled İ-ZAHA is designed to take the crew out of the first wave which is the highest-risk phase of any amphibious assault and to operate as part of a manned-unmanned team (MUM-T) with the Marine Assault Vehicles (MAV) already in service with the Turkish Naval Forces Command,” FNSS said in a statement. The eight-ton vehicle has the capability of transiting from sea to shore and a naval speed of 7 knots and land speed of 70 kmh (42.5 mph). The company said the i-ZAHA is equipped with a machine gun for fire support, mine clearance equipment, electronic warfare platforms and counter drone systems. The vehicle also integrates GNSS/INS navigation system, and IFF identification module and has artificial intelligence image processing capabilities. “One of U-MAVs most significant features is the interchangeability of mission payload modules on a common base platform, tailored to different operational profiles. The module swap can be completed in approximately 40 minutes in the field,” the company statement said. FNSS is a private-owned Turkish defense firm that is fully owned by Nurol Holding. FNSS continues to grow its work and its R&D investment in unmanned and autonomous vehicle technologies. U-MAV brings together our engineering capability, the field success of the Marine Assault Vehicle (MAV) and our continuing R&D effort in a new-generation, heavy-class unmanned amphibious vehicle,” said FNSS CEO Selim Baybaş in a statement.
- — Pentagon counter-drone task force preps ‘shoot-off’ for directed energy prototypes
- at 8/24/26 7:06amWASHINGTON — A pilot program run by the Pentagon’s counter-drone task force is planning to live fire directed energy weapons later this year, which could be bought on the spot if they perform well, according to the task force’s director. “We’re going to run a directed energy shoot-off in December,” Army Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, director of the Joint Interagency Task Force 401, said Friday during a roundtable with reporters at a summit hosted by JIATF-401 in Alexandria, Va. If officials identify “systems that perform effectively or successfully,” Ross said the event will be structured such that “it immediately results in a purchase order that allows us to start building the production lines to get these systems into the field.” The pilot program, announced by JIATF-401 in May, selected five different military facilities to test out directed energy systems for counter-drone missions. Officials are interested in directed energy weapons, particularly lasers and high-powered microwaves, for their ability to cheaply and effectively defeat unmanned systems that have buzzed domestic military facilities and attacked US installations abroad. The Pentagon established JIATF-401 last year to serve as the lead entity coordinating federal efforts to rapidly field counter-drone tech across all domains. The summit on Friday brought together a wide range of interagency partners to assess progress and establish new goals. Officials are still exploring how they can effectively use relatively nascent directed energy technology, including for more challenging scenarios like homeland defense that come with greater guardrails. An apparent miscommunication over a laser test earlier this year prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to briefly close air space over El Paso, Texas; military officials in the time since have emphasized close coordination with the FAA, culminating in a joint agreement for a laser system to protect the southern border. Ross also noted that installation commanders must understand how directed energy technology can impact their own operations, which events like the pilot program can help determine. “We need to develop the tactics, techniques, and procedures to be able to use them on a base in a way that doesnt impede the critical functions of that base,” he said. “I dont want to shut down the airspace as I use those systems.” Moreover, the general said through events like the pilot program, officials are trying to establish exactly how affordable weapons directed energy weapons may be, which typically have a low cost-per-shot compared to alternatives, but can still be expensive to buy and operate. “If I procure that system and it costs me $6 million, and I take one shot a year, you cant tell me that shot only costs eight cents,” Ross said, using notional examples of a system price tag and cost-per-effect. “So we have to take a more holistic look at it.” The counter-drone mission doesn’t end at US military installations. The recent World Cup tournament in the US, where the FAA says over 700 drones were seized, was just one example of a large-scale event that requires tight interagency coordination to protect. But, Steven Willoughby, executive director of the program executive office for UAS and counter-UAS systems at the Department of Homeland Security, noted that given the vast amount of critical infrastructure in the United States, local authorities will be primarily tasked with defending it. “We dont want to treat this as something thats unique, or so specialized that only the FBI or DHS can do it,” Willoughby said during the media roundtable. The federal government is underway with counter-drone training for law enforcement as part of a newly minted program, and Willoughby stressed federal officials can offer support to local governments where needed. Still, “This has to be normalized to the point where state and local [officials] are enabled, resourced, and then empowered to be able to protect their jurisdictions, their constituents, their critical infrastructure from drone threats,” he said.
- — Space war 2040: SPACECOM preps for attacks on ground segments, eyes cislunar ops
- at 8/21/26 12:31pmWASHINGTON — Warfighting in space circa 2040 will be vastly more complex and dangerous than today, therefore the US joint force needs to begin now to develop both the capabilities and concepts of operation to succeed in that environment, according to a foundational assessment by US Space Command (SPACECOM). The paper, titled Space Warfighting Environment 2040, is a first-of-its-kind USSPACECOM document, a SPACECOM official told Breaking Defense — the first of three that, when put together, are expected to offer a fulsome glimpse into how the only full military command dedicated to the stars sees the basics of the future extraterrestrial security landscape. The document is intended to establish a common understanding of the future space warfighting environment and provide the foundation for follow-on concept development, force development, experimentation, and planning, the SPACECOM official, a member of the commands Joint Forces Development and Training team, told Breaking Defense in an Aug. 11 email. It identifies four key emerging challenges that will shape future space warfighting, according to a SPACECOM fact sheet: the vulnerability of fixed terrestrial space-enabling infrastructure; proliferated dual-use [commercial/military] spacecraft that absorb and regenerate under attack; in-space servicing and maneuver that turn orbit into a dynamic network; and quantum developments that reshape trust, timing, and secure communication. The SPACECOM official, who spoke to Breaking Defense on the condition of anonymity, emphasized that the Space Warfighting Environment 2040s focus on joint operations makes it unique for other sorts of futures documents previously released by the Pentagon and the Space Force. The Joint Forces Development and Training team was responsible for helping craft the 37-page document, which was signed out by outgoing SPACECOM commander Gen. Stephen Whiting on July 27. The official said the document is not meant to be predictive, but was prompted by the reality that the space environment is changing faster than current US strategy and warfighting approaches can account for. At the same time, it was also an effort to help inform senior leaders across the Joint Force — many of whom are not space professionals, the official said. Those leaders have been looking to SPACECOM to clearly articulate what future space warfighting may look like and assumptions should underpin future plans, concepts, capabilities, and force development, the SPACECOM official. Ultimately for SPACECOM, the goal of the document is to provide an enduring framework that defines the future space warfighting environment from the perspective of the joint warfighter, the official said. The document sets out to characterize the battlefield conditions SPACECOM forces will face in 2040, including adversary threats, new technologies and evolving capabilities. By 2040, space will be more crowded, contested, and central to military operations. Innovation cycles that once took decades now occur within a single operational cycle, driven by commercial actors, allies, partners, and competitors, the document says. Advantage will belong to forces that can adapt, maneuver, and sustain trusted effects under pressure. Technology will evolve, but the warfighter’s needs will not: to see, connect, decide, and act with trust and tempo. In addition to the four emerging challenges, SPACECOM identifies nine forces that will define the warfighter’s reality by 2040 and beyond, presenting both risks and opportunities: Quantum developments that reshape trust, timing, and secure communication. Proliferated dual-use spacecraft that absorb and regenerate under attack. Advanced materials technology that will redefine stealth and deception. Direct-to-device connectivity that keeps the tactical edge connected. Optical and laser links that move data quietly and securely. Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled networks that reroute and self-heal faster than adversaries can disrupt. Distributed, mobile, coalition-ready ground nodes that remove single points of failure. In-space servicing and maneuver that turn orbit into a dynamic network. Stewardship challenges—debris, traffic management, and norms that shape freedom of action. Focus On Future Joint Warfighting, Not Kit In his forward to the document, Whiting explained that The Space Warfighting Environment 2040 is the first in a trilogy of planned SPACECOM documents designed to frame the future of space operations for the Joint Force. The second document, called The Space Futures Series, will provide issue-driven analysis of emerging challenges and problem sets. The final document, The Space Warfighting Concept, will guide how the joint force and SPACECOM fight and win in space. Thus, Space Warfighting Environment 2040 is the foundation that the other two documents in the trilogy will build on to fill a gap in current thinking about space war by concentrating on the how, rather than the what. Much of the existing work across the Department of War is focused on technical capabilities, systems, acquisition, or Service-specific requirements. The Space Warfighting Environment 2040 was deliberately written to be warfighter-first, not technology-first, the SPACECOM official said. That distinction is important, the official stressed. Jessica West, long-time space policy analyst at Canadas Project Ploughshares concurred that the document is centrally concerned with space warfare, rather than making a broader assessment of future national security challenges and opportunities as is typical for such assessments. This is a warfighting concept dressed as a futures document. It tells us less about what space will look like in 2040 than about how U.S. Space Command sees the world today: as an increasingly integrated battlespace encompassing commercial services, civilian infrastructure and cislunar space, she told Breaking Defense in an email. The document is clear about how the United States might operate and prevail in a degraded and contested space environment, she said. However, she fretted, it is not so clear about how the country might use its military space power to deter conflict or shape tomorrows environment to the betterment of civilians, industry or the wider global community who all depend on space. It is a vision of power with remarkably little account of the purpose that power is meant to serve, West said. Diverging (A Bit) With Space Forces Vision Of The Future The documents focus on battlefield operations also accounts for SPACECOMs slightly different take on future threats and needs articulated by the Space Force in a similar 2040-focused document, called Future Operating Environment, released by recently retired Chief of Space Operations Chance Saltzman in April. (SPACECOM is a US unified combatant command in charge of joint force operations above 100 km (62 miles) in altitude, comprising warfighters from all the military services. The Space Force is a military service responsible for organizing, training and equipping Guardians to serve under SPACECOM and the other 10 combatant commands.) For example, the SPACECOM futures document highlights ground segment vulnerabilities as a key issue, something hardly mentioned by the Space Force version. In addition, SPACECOM puts a spotlight on cislunar space as a domain of emerging military space competition, whereas the Space Force hasnt voiced a strong interest beyond citing a need to monitor adversary activity in the vast volume of space between the Earth and the moon. Different foci aside, the two futures documents are complementary and look at the future environment from different but mutually supporting perspectives, the SPACECOM official said. The Space Force’s Future Operating Environment 2040 examines the changing character of warfare and what it may demand of the Service, while U.S. Space Command’s Space Warfighting Environment 2040 approaches that future from the perspective of the combatant command and the joint warfighter. One similarity between both the SPACECOM and Space Force futures documents that is they assert the ascendency of artificial intelligence (AI) that will increase the speed of any conflicts action-reaction cycle. Both SPACECOM and the Space Force documents also attest to a need for maneuverability and agility for satellites on orbit in order to avoid attack and pursue adversary spacecraft, but also in how space operations are conducted. John Patsy Klein, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, said that SPACECOMs version is particularly interesting for its novel contribution by discussing AI as part of mesh networks (kill-webs) and the need for sustained maneuver capability to improve resilience. Victoria Samson, chief director for space security and stability at the Secure World Foundation, said that the documents broad focus on maneuverability, not just in space but also on the ground and in the electromagnetic spectrum, was particularly noteworthy. What really struck me was the focus on maneuverability/agility, and not just in regards to [on-orbit rendezvous and proximity operations], but across the board in future SPACECOM operations, she said. Further, the SPACECOM official said, the two documents at the strategic level are strongly aligned on the need to prepare now to ensure US success in the space warfighting domain. To that end, Whitings staff deliberately coordinated Space Warfighting Environment 2040 with Space Force officials via the services component command to SPACECOM, as well as the component commands of all the other military services. The intent is therefore not to create competing visions of 2040, but to ensure that the Service’s future force development and the combatant command’s future warfighting requirements remain connected, the SPACECOM official added. Vulnerable Ground Infrastructure Whiting told reporters at the annual Army Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala. on Aug. 12 that the SPACECOM futures document talks to a lot of important facets and trends, making it difficult to say what is the most important. However, he said one of the most important is the need to address the vulnerabilities of US satellite ground infrastructure that is is based on fixed-site receivers and processing centers — whether linked to traditional small networks comprising a few large satellites or the new mega-constellations in low Earth orbit, also known as proliferated LEO (pLEO) constellations. [N]ot only are our satellites at risk, but our critical ground infrastructure is at risk, as we have seen now in the Middle East, Whiting said. And so anywhere we are reliant on fixed, centralized nodes, we need to really think through how are we making that as resilient as a pLEO constellation is resilient compared to the traditional constellations we have. Smoke rises from an area in the direction of Al Udeid Air Base, which houses the Qatar Emiri Air Force and foreign forces including the US, in Doha on February 28, 2026, following a reported Iranian strike. (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS / AFP via Getty Images) The 2040 environment document elaborates: Static ground nodes, once the norm, will become liabilities. They represent single points of failure that adversaries can attack through cyber intrusion, directed energy, precision fires, or sabotage. In a future where space effects must persist through the first strike, fixed infrastructure will be targeted early and often. SPACECOMs concerns got a bit of a boost from the White House on Thursday, with a new executive order on space transportation signed by President Donald Trump. Citing the need to protect US launch facilities, the executive order charges the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security to come up with a plan within the next 180 days to to secure US infrastructure at federal launch sites like Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. At the same time, Whiting stressed during his Aug. 12 presentation that the US needs to develop weapon systems designed to take out adversary pLEO constellations in a conflict to ensure space superiority — a requirement that he placed as second on his Integrated Priorities List for fiscal 2029-2033. And attacking adversary ground systems is one way to do that. Klein applauded SPACECOMs recognition of the importance of the ground and link segments of space systems, as many strategy discussions tend to focus solely on the in-space segment. He also complemented the futures documents stress on countering adversary gray-zone operations. Cislunar: Challenging Assumptions, Expanding Views The SPACECOM official said that one of the critical aspects driving the Space Warfighting Environment 2040 is that it is not designed to provide all of the answers or prescribe exactly how the Joint Force will operate in every aspect of the 2040 environment. Instead, intention is to challenge assumptions, expand how we think about the future fight, and surface problems that the Joint Force may not yet have fully considered. The discussion of cislunar operations was one of those areas, the official said. The emphasis on cislunar should not necessarily be read as an indication that every associated operational concept has already been solved. Rather, it is an acknowledgment that the future warfighting environment is expanding, and that we need to begin thinking deliberately about the implications now rather than waiting until the problem is fully upon us. The futures document reiterates DoDs long-stated concerns about the potential conflicts stemming from Chinas plans for exploring and exploiting the moon. However, it suggests that the current interest for the US military in cislunar space is not prepping for a war on and around the moon, but instead the possible advantages of operating there. What makes cislunar relevant now is not speculation about future conflict, but the terrain itself. The space between Earth, the Moon, and the Lagrange points contains areas of gravitational stability, maneuver corridors, and vantage points where presence confers positional advantage, the document asserts. It also suggests that the US will gain first-mover advantage from beating other nations to occupy and control use of the cislunar domain. The SPACECOM official stressed that the cislunar region is increasingly important in understanding the challenges the military services and the command will have to address in understanding how wars in space will be fought. While every aspect of how the Joint Force will operate in that environment by 2040 may not yet be fully realized, U.S. Space Command is thinking about those problems now, the official said. And that thinking ahead process is exactly the behavior Space Warfighting Environment 2040 is intended to generate within the joint force, US allies and partners, industry and academia as well, the SPACECOM official added. It provides a common framework from which to begin asking harder questions, challenging existing assumptions, and exploring what future warfighting requirements may emerge and the Joint warfighter must need to succeed.
- — Taiwan proposes record $35 billion defense budget
- at 8/21/26 11:06amSINGAPORE — Taiwans budget agency has announced a proposed 18 percent increase in its defense budget for 2027 as the self-governing island continues efforts to deter a potential invasion from China. The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) of Taiwan’s cabinet released its budget statement for the coming fiscal year on Thursday, with 1.123 trillion Taiwan dollars (about $35.3 billion) set to go to defense. This figure is the highest amount Taiwan and spent on defense and equates to 3.01 percent of the island’s projected Gross Domestic Product for the 2026 fiscal year, which runs from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31. Taiwan’s defense ministry could get $691.9 billion NT of the approved defense budget for its ongoing operations and upkeep while a further $218.2 billion NT will be allocated for a special budgets for the acquisition of weapons. Earlier this week Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said the expected jump in defense spending demonstrates Taiwans determination to strengthen its self-defence capabilities. Investing in defence is investing in peace; we will continue to build a more solid defence force to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the region, Lai said, according to Reuters. Still, the increase is unlikely to satisfy some US officials, who have long pushed for the island to spend more. US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby has previously said that Taiwan should spend 10 percent of its GDP on defense. The approval of next year’s budget comes after Taiwan’s parliament passed a long-delayed NT$780 billion special defense budget from last year in May, albeit only after Taiwan’s opposition had succeeded in slashing the allocated amount from the NT1.25 trillion originally requested. The new budget proposal will also have to be approved by the opposition-controlled legislature, according to The Associated Press.
- — Army cyber defenses need ‘dedicated funding’ for AI, top official says
- at 8/21/26 9:10amAUGUSTA, Ga. — Artificial intelligence will be a budget priority for the Armys cyber capabilities over at least the next fiscal year and likely beyond, according to the service’s principal cyber advisor. “Were at the stage now where we need to have dedicated funding to it and it might not only be Army funds, these are a lot of oftentimes joint solutions,” Brandon Pugh told Breaking Defense on Thursday in an interview at the TechNet Augusta conference. Dedicated funding is key, according to Pugh, who advises the secretary of the Army and certifies the cyber budget, because Army Cyber Command cannot fund AI work strictly from their operational budget. AI for cyber, and particularly for defensive cyber, has been one of the four top priorities of Pugh’s office over the past year. Almost since the dawn of hacking, attackers have had the advantage in cyberspace. With the birth of AI, there might be a natural advantage for defenders. “Theres still difference of opinion on where AI stands, like in terms of, is it more advantageous for enemies or more advantageous for defenders? I think it has to be more advantageous for defenders,” Pugh said. “I think youre at a huge disadvantage if youre not looking at how AI is helping on cyber defense, really on all aspects, whether it just be helping with mundane tasks that a cyber defender is doing or its automating a lot of their tasks.” Following a table top exercise in April with top industry executives, service leaders started the Armys Rapid Defense Cyber Systems initiative (Project ARDCS) to address lessons learned from the event. While there were 17 to 20 different capabilities or efforts identified from that event as deserving the Armys attention, Pugh said they’re focusing on three initial lines of effort right now. The first is Project Griffin, which is an effort that aims to harness AI to identify threats on Army networks and take action, as opposed to passively monitoring. It examines how to automate cyber detection agents and then autonomously respond to them. The Army released a commercial solutions opening Thursday focused on Project Griffin. The second effort seeks to deploy agentic deception agents. Pugh didnt elaborate on what kinds of AI deceptions the Army had in mind, but cybersecurity firms like Acalvio have used the term to refer to AI systems that can trick attackers with false information. The final effort examines how the Army audits the security posture of vendors, as well as its own network, using agentic AI. “Every month we want updates on where each line of effort is. Where are we? Where are the roadblocks? And then having all the decision makers that can actually solve the roadblocks in the one place together,” Pugh said. “I think thats whats going to make this successful versus another task that might get overridden by a new priority.” Updated 8/21/2026 at 5:11 pm ET: This story has been updated to clarify that the dedicated AI funding being sought by the Armys principal cyber advisor, Brandon Pugh, is for cyber capabilities across the service and not solely for Army Cyber Command.
- — ‘Hot competition’: NSA deputy sounds alarm on China threat, AI race
- at 8/21/26 6:58amWASHINGTON — The number two official at Americas premier technical spying agency offered a dire warning about the threat posed by China in every domain, including alleging that Chinese companies helped Iranian forces target US installations in the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict. China has its hands in most every national security priority we are dealing with today, and its a hot competition, National Security Agency Deputy Director Tim Kosiba said in an address at the TechNet Augusta conference on Thursday. From Greenland to the Korean Peninsula to the Western Hemisphere, Kosiba said Beijing is playing spoiler and disruptor, attempting to help [Americas] enemies in most every sphere across domains and environments. For example, its no secret that Chinese companies provided GEOINT [geospatial intelligence] to the Iranians to help hit our bases and our allies, he said. In April, The Washington Post reported that Chinese firms, some with links to the Chinese military, had been using artificial intelligence to analyze information from open-source data markets to track US forces. While the Post said US officials were divided on how much of a threat the companies information posed, Australian outlet ABC reported that at least one defense source believed it was endangering lives. Chinas foreign ministry told ABC at the time that the imagery was obtained from open-source channels and is a routine market practice. Kosiba also accused China of providing intelligence, drone technology and training to Russia in its unprovoked war against the Ukraine, in what they call a partnership without limits. Citing European intelligence, Reuters reported in May that China had trained scores of Russian soldiers. Our troops and our cyber and SIGINT [signals intelligence] resources have been tasked to track and counter these activities and many more, Kosiba said, and they are the priority for this administration. To help, Kosiba said the NSA is working more closely with partners at home and abroad and attempting to clear bureaucratic hurdles for working more closely with industry. Thats especially key, he said, for another top priority: AI. We must use our advances to our advantage, and AI is a massively important enabler that changes the character of warfare, both on the offensive and defensive sides, he said. We live in a world of agentic AI, he added, referring to more autonomous AI models that take multi-step actions rather than react to specific user prompts, and I mean right now — not in a year or a decade, but today, in the engagements we are in today. The breakneck speed of AI development directly intersects with the Chinese threat, he said. Our adversaries are investing resources in AI capabilities designed to penetrate our networks and outpace us. Whomever successfully integrates AI into their workflows and leverages it to full[y] harness the power of their data will have an immense advantage. We cant fall behind, not even for a moment, he said.
- — How the Army balances Patriot priorities and approaches Golden Dome
- at 8/21/26 6:00amIn this episode of The Pentagon Buzz filmed on the sidelines of the recent Space and Missile Defense Symposium, Pentagon reporter Ashley Roque sat down with Lt. Gen. John Rafferty, head of the U.S. Armys Space and Missile Defense Command. Rafferty discussed how the Army is expanding its Patriot air-defense force as demand around the world grows, and he shed some light on how the service is flexing to meet demands from the developing Golden Dome missile-defense system. Subscribe to our Pentagon newsletter to get the latest information from the building delivered directly to you. hbspt.forms.create({ portalId: '2097098', formId: '2cf0ca25-5e60-4bbc-aed9-51e6f64c883a', target: '#hubspot-form-2cf0ca25-5e60-4bbc-aed9-51e6f64c883a', });
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