The U.K. Ministry of Defence has created a new national armaments director role as part of reforms designed to keep pace with increasing global threats and to ensure the readiness of its defense personnel and capabilities to respond to potential conflict. The armaments director will provide warfighters with commercial equipment needed to operate in the...
Author: Kristen Smith (Kristen Smith)
Lithuania Conducts Cyber Exercise Focused on Responding to Ransomware, Other Cyberthreats
Lithuania’s National Cyber Security Centre, or NCSC, recently held the Cyber Shield OpEx cybersecurity exercise involving 75 critical service providers in the country. During the event, the participants were trained on responding to ransomware and distributed denial-of-service attacks and website hacks, defacement and data leaks, Lithuania’s Ministry of National Defence said Friday. The cyber exercise...
Leonardo, Thales Build Defense Laser System for British Royal Air Force
A new air defense laser built by Team Pellonia, comprising Leonardo UK, Thales UK and the British defense ministry’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, will be installed on the Royal Air Force’s intelligence-gathering aircraft Shadow R2 and A400M transporter, among other units. According to the British government, the team conducted successful live trials at the...
HENSOLDT-Raytheon Repair Facility to Enhance Support for NATO EO/IR Systems
HENSOLDT and Raytheon have agreed to build a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility for electro-optical/infrared systems in Germany. The effort is part of a new partnership phase that aims to ensure NATO forces have reliable access to the sensor technology. The MRO facility, set to be operational by early 2025, will initially focus on supporting...
UK to Send More Troops to Defend Estonia’s Border With Russia
The British Army’s 4th Brigade Combat Team will be ready for deployment to Estonia beginning July 2025 under a new defense road map signed Thursday at a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Belgium. Thousands of troops will be held at high readiness to send them to Estonia at short notice and support the British...
US, UAE Hold Iron Defender Maritime Exercise to Enhance Interoperability
Troops from the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard are participating in the ongoing Iron Defender 24 maritime exercise in the United Arab Emirates and its territorial and coastal waters. During the two-week bilateral exercise, which concludes on Thursday, the U.S. military and the UAE naval defense force jointly performed visit, board, search and...
US, Allies Warn Against Iranian Cyber Actors Targeting Critical Infrastructure Networks
Iranian cyber actors have been using brute force attacks such as password spraying since October 2023 to access critical infrastructure networks, according to a joint cybersecurity advisory from U.S., Canadian and Australian government agencies. The advisory authors, including the U.S. National Security Agency, Communications Security Establishment Canada and the Australian Federal Police, warned that the...
Canada Commits to $14M Investment in Kepler’s Aether Constellation
Kepler Communications will receive a $14 million investment from the Canadian government to support the development of its $203 million high-speed data relay constellation, Aether. The satellite network will use optical intersatellite link laser technology to reduce the time needed to transmit data between space assets and ground stations. According to François-Philippe Champagne, minister of...
Netherlands Set to Procure Kongsberg NASAMS, NOMADS Air Defense Systems
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace anticipates a $1.01 billion order from the Netherlands for the company’s air defense systems. The Dutch government is currently awaiting parliamentary approval to procure the NOMADS and NASAMS, shorf for National Manoeuvre Air Defence System and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, respectively, under the Citadel integrated air and missile defense program....
USAF Official Promotes Interoperability Among Indo-Pacific Partners
U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said interoperability with allies is key to addressing the logistics and connectivity challenges that hinder efforts to maintain stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region. Speaking on a panel during the Indo-Pacific Air Chiefs Conference in Japan on Tuesday, Allvin highlighted the need to strengthen alliances...