Crooked Bough News Round-up

— US military begins clearing Strait of Hormuz, Trump says

 

at 4/11/26 9:59am

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday posted on social media that the United States military has started to clear the Strait of Hormuz, and that all of Iran’s minelaying ships have been sunk.“We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, adding that “all 28” of Iran’s “mine dropper boats are also lying at the bottom of the sea.” Minutes before Trump’s post, reports started to emerge about the presence of U.S. Navy ships in the strait.An Axios journalist, citing an unnamed U.S. official, posted that “several” U.S. ships had crossed the strait on Saturday, though Iranian state TV soon after reported a denial from an official with Iran’s military. Trump has repeatedly said that American forces have destroyed Iran’s navy and air force while crippling its ballistic missile and nuclear programs. But fear of Iranian attacks on shipping over the past several weeks has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical conduit for global oil supplies. Throttling the strait has disrupted global energy markets. U.S. gasoline prices have spiked even though most of the oil that flows through the waterway does not go to the United States. Representatives from the U.S. and Iran began talks hosted by Pakistan in Islamabad on Saturday amid a fragile ceasefire in the conflict.

[Category: Pentagon] [Link to media]

— The president who threatened to end a civilization is supposed to guarantee Ukraine’s survival

 

at 4/10/26 5:39pm

KYIV, Ukraine — On Tuesday, the president of the United States sent a message to the world. The man whose military is supposed to guarantee the survival of a 35-nation coalition in Ukraine posted on Truth Social that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his 8 p.m. deadline.He promised to bomb every bridge and power plant in the country. Not as a warning. As an ultimatum, with a countdown, posted for the world to read along with the 93 million people he profanely threatened to annihilate.The next day, civilians in Tehran were standing on the infrastructure he had threatened to destroy. Mothers, students, old men — they linked arms across overpasses, formed human chains around bridges and power plants, shielding them with their bodies, an NBC News video showed.Asked whether he was concerned about war crimes, Trump told reporters he was “not at all.”Retired American military officers said the threats themselves were likely war crimes — and that Trump had handed prosecutors a ready-made record. “He’s essentially self-incriminating,” one retired senior officer told reporters, per The Guardian.Legal experts noted that threatening to systematically destroy civilian power plants and bridges, regardless of whether the strikes occur, can itself constitute evidence of criminal intent under the laws of armed conflict, according to The New York Times.At the same time, White House envoys, billionaire Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were supposed to fly to Ukraine after Orthodox Easter this weekend carrying new security guarantees but were rerouted to Pakistan instead, for talks in Islamabad the same weekend the Kyiv visit was planned.The administration was starting a war with one hand and promising to end one with the other. The same president who threatened to destroy civilian infrastructure in Iran on Tuesday is supposed to guarantee that no one destroys Ukrainian civilian infrastructure ever again.“Is the U.S. going to provide Ukraine something like mutual security assistance? I don’t think so,” Ed Arnold, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and a former British military officer, told Military Times.“And even if they did, do the Ukrainians believe in it? And pretty critically — does Putin believe in it?”Moscow already had an answer.“The Americans have a lot of other things to deal with, if you know what I mean,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Kyiv Independent.“The primary movers in these so-called peace talks — the Americans — are now busy with other things,” a senior European diplomat told Military Times, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security assessments.And they took the interceptors with them. The U.S. military burned through more than 800 Patriot missiles in the Middle East in three days — more than Ukraine has received in the entire war — while the production line makes roughly 600 a year.The White House has since suspended Patriot export sales globally because of supply constraints, according to The Atlantic.Meanwhile, the administration rolled back Russian oil sanctions — the same restrictions that had been slowly strangling Moscow’s ability to finance the war — just as the Iran conflict sent crude past $100 a barrel, opening a window for Russia to sell at wartime prices with no cap and no consequences.“Just this easing by America could provide Russia with around $10 billion for the war,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said alongside French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. “This certainly does not help peace,” according to Al Jazeera.The sanctions rollback did not just weaken Ukraine’s position at the table — it actively financed the war Ukraine was supposed to be negotiating its way out of.“This is throwing a massive lifeline to Putin,” the senior diplomat said.Kyiv has fought harder anyway.Its forces have recaptured more than 480 square kilometers in the southeast since January, pushing the ballistic missile interception rate toward 95%, and sent long-range strikes deeper inside Russia than at any point in the war — and for every short- to medium-range missile Russia fired in, Ukraine was sending more out.Its forces achieved a drone advantage over Russia in what the Institute for the Study of War called a possible first in combat history, striking oil ports from the Baltic to the Black Sea.But the Iran war has made those capabilities impossible to ignore. As Tehran launched waves of drones and missiles across the Middle East, nations scrambling to respond found themselves watching Ukrainian-developed systems do what their own could not — handing Zelenskyy leverage overnight that years of diplomacy never had.Ukraine’s long-range drones have knocked out an estimated 40% of Russia’s oil export capacity, around 2 million barrels per day offline, in one of the most severe oil supply disruptions in the modern history of Russia, according to Reuters.Washington did not celebrate any of it. The administration told Kyiv to stop striking, and the same week, Vice President JD Vance flew to Budapest to campaign for Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orbán — Putin’s closest partner in the EU — while accusing European allies of election interference.Zelenskyy confirmed that allies had sent Ukraine “signals” about scaling back strikes on Russia’s oil sector, per Reuters. The State Department formally warned Kyiv’s ambassador to quit the attacks.“Having severed most support to Ukraine, undermined the trust of its allies and made clear that it will avoid applying any serious pressure on Russia, Washington is rapidly bleeding leverage,” Arnold wrote in a recent RUSI analysis.But the Iran war may have had the opposite effect on Ukraine’s standing, Arnold told Military Times. The country Washington is pressuring to stop fighting has just demonstrated that its technology works and America’s deterrence does not.In the space of weeks, Washington has eased the sanctions squeezing Russia’s war budget, told Kyiv to stop the strikes crippling its oil exports and conditioned security guarantees on surrendering territory Ukrainian soldiers are still holding — a sequence that, to the allies watching it unfold, has looked less like negotiation than an attempt to dismantle Ukraine’s leverage piece by piece.The war in Iran, the peace deal in Ukraine, stability in the Far East — all of it seems to run through one man in the White House, the senior diplomat said, who does not seem to worry about the long-term consequences of his global actions.“You’ve pushed a domino in the dark,” he said.“You have no idea which other dominos are lined up, who’s in the line of fall, what you’re going to face as a consequence — because you looked at this problem in complete isolation.”

[Category: / Europe] [Link to media]

— Pentagon, FAA sign agreement on deploying anti-drone laser system near Mexico

 

at 4/10/26 4:14pm

The Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon said on Friday they had signed an agreement allowing the government’s use of a high-energy laser counter-drone system along the southern U.S. border with Mexico.The agreement came after the FAA conducted testing in New Mexico on the laser system used by the Pentagon and Homeland Security Department and validated that proper safety controls are in place and do not pose undue risks to passenger aircraft.Two earlier incidents posed serious concerns.The U.S. military errantly shot down a government drone with the ​laser-based system on Feb. 25, leading the FAA to expand an area in which flights are ​barred around Fort Hancock, Texas.The incident followed the Feb. 18 decision by the FAA to halt all flights for 10 days at the nearby El Paso airport because of the use of ​the Pentagon laser system by a Homeland Security agency without completion of an FAA safety review. The ​El Paso shutdown order was lifted by the FAA after about eight hours following ‌the ⁠White House’s intervention.“Following a thorough, data-informed Safety Risk Assessment, we determined that these systems do not present an increased risk to the flying public,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said on Friday.The Pentagon has said there are more than 1,000 drone incursions along the U.S.-Mexico border each month. ​U.S. security officials have increasingly ​expressed alarm about ⁠the use of drones by Mexican cartels to drop drug packages or surveil trafficking routes.Several media outlets reported last month drones were seen over Fort McNair in Washington where Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth live.There is no indication the Pentagon plans to deploy the laser at the base, which is close to Reagan Washington National Airport.Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth last month called on federal watchdogs to review the ​decision-making process leading to the use of the systems and the ​FAA’s decision ⁠to close airspace.

[Category: Pentagon] [Link to media]

— Pentagon, Lockheed Martin agree to $4.7 billion PAC-3 interceptor deal

 

at 4/10/26 1:02pm

The Pentagon has agreed to terms with Lockheed Martin on a $4.7 billion contract for the defense giant to accelerate production of its Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptor. The contract, which follows a framework agreement announced in January, will allow Lockheed to “deliver record numbers of combat-proven interceptors for American and allied forces this year,” the company announced Friday. “Our investments in our facilities, workforce and supply chain ensure we can deliver at scale and with speed,” Tim Cahill, president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said in a release. “With the right tools, proven processes and skilled employees in place, we are positioned to deliver a record number of munitions in support of the warfighter and our allies.”The PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement works by identifying and tracking a range of threats — using Boeing-made PAC-3 seekers — from ballistic missiles and hypersonics to hostile air platforms.Once the seeker identifies the target, the highly maneuverable all-up interceptor round, which uses a two-pulse solid rocket motor, engages and eliminates threats via direct body-to-body contact.Boeing earlier this month announced it had reached a framework agreement with the Defense Department to triple production of its PAC-3 seekers. Lockheed’s framework agreement announced in January included a target of increasing annual PAC-3 interceptor production from approximately 600 to 2,000 over a span of seven years.Recent contract announcements come as the U.S. military’s reliance on costly interceptors against cheap munitions, particularly those deployed by Iran during Operation Epic Fury, has come under increased scrutiny.Contrast the $35,000 average cost of an Iranian Shahed drone with an estimated $4 million price tag of a PAC-3, and the cost exchange, if successfully engaged, is 114-1 in favor of Iran.Despite the lopsided cost exchange, the Pentagon in March also announced a deal with BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin to quadruple production of infrared seekers for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptor.That deal aligns with a contract agreement in January between the Pentagon and Lockheed to quadruple the company’s annual production of THAAD interceptors from 96 to 400.

[Category: / MilTech] [Link to media]

— US Navy ends USS Boise submarine overhaul after price tag soars

 

at 4/10/26 12:25pm

The U.S. Navy announced today that it would begin retiring the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Boise after repairs for the boat became too costly.The submarine, which had been sidelined since 2015, began a $1.2 billion overhaul at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding, Virginia, in 2024.“After a rigorous, data-driven analysis, we’ve made the tough but necessary decision to inactivate the USS Boise,” said Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle. “This strategic move allows us to reallocate America’s highly-skilled workforce to our highest priorities: delivering new Virginia and Columbia-class submarines and improving the readiness of the current fleet.”The U.S. Navy is currently working to deliver the Columbia-class submarine by 2028, according to a 2025 report from Congress.US Navy commissions fast-attack submarine USS MassachusettsThe Navy recently commissioned its newest Virginia-class nuclear attack submarine, the USS Massachusetts, on March 28, making it the 12th Virginia-class submarine in service.Navy Secretary John Phelan said in an interview with Fox News Friday that the submarine had already cost the service $800 million and would require another $1.9 billion to finish repairs.It was time for the Navy to cut its losses, Phelan told the outlet.President Donald Trump recently released his fiscal 2027 defense budget, asking Congress for $65 billion for shipbuilding that would include the production of two new Virginia-class submarines and one new Columbia-class submarine.The Trump administration is requesting 34 ships, including the manufacturing of 18 battle force ships and 16 non-battle force ships, which doubles the amount requested in fiscal 2026.

[Category: Naval] [Link to media]

— Italian government shakes up Leonardo leadership, replacing Cingolani as CEO

 

at 4/10/26 9:03am

ROME — Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani is to be replaced at the helm of the Italian defense company in a surprise move by the Italian government which sources said was related to his decision to shift Leonardo’s focus away from kinetic products as wars rage around the world.At the end of his three year mandate running the Italian state-controlled firm, Cingolani appeared on course for another term after overseeing a slew of new industry team-ups and a major rise in share value.But on Thursday the Italian government said its pick for new CEO was Lorenzo Mariani, currently head of the Italian arm of European missile house MBDA.Mariani is no stranger to Leonardo. When Cingolani was named CEO three years ago, Mariani was appointed co-general manager, effectively Cingolani’s number two.A year ago he was moved over to MBDA, a company he had worked at before his arrival at Leonardo.Previously he had also held down various roles at Leonardo including commercial director and head of electronics, making him very much a company man. Before starting his career he served as an officer in the Italian navy.Leonardo to set up aerostructures joint venture by mid-year“Mariani is a safe choice, a top manager who has been at Leonardo before, knows the industry and military interlocutors,” said Alessandro Marrone, who heads the defense program at Rome think tank IAI.“There will be no learning curve as defense budgets accelerate,” he added.For his part, Cingolani oversaw a four-fold increase in Leonardo’s share price during his three year tenure, as the defense sector flourished thanks to rearmament programs triggered by the Ukraine war.Last month Leonardo predicted it would see annual orders of €32 billion ($37 billion) a year by 2030, up from €23.8 billion last year, and announced a bullish new industrial plan.No explanation has been given by the Italian government led by Giorgia Meloni for the change in management, and the decision drew criticism from opposition politician Carlo Calenda.“It’s absurd to remove Cingolani like this without any explanations in a sensitive sector where he was appreciated by investors and partners. And it’s necessary for the government to clarify whether there are reasons of security or performance,” he posted on X.Leonardo’s share price dropped in early trading on Friday.A trained physicist, Cingolani served as “green transition” minister in a former Italian government in 2021 before Meloni picked him to lead Leonardo in 2023.Meloni chose him despite her defense minister Guido Crosetto pushing at the time for the appointment of Mariani as CEO.Cingolani forged new team-ups with Turkey’s Baykar to build drones in Italy and with Rheinmetall to build tanks in Italy.He also stressed the need for Leonardo to increase its focus on cyber security and digitalization and recently launched Leonardo’s new Michelangelo Dome, a multi-layered air defense system.Two Italian experts who declined to be named said Cingolani’s focus on non-kinetic programs convinced the government to opt instead for Mariani, who is more closely linked to nuts and bolts armaments programs.“Cingolani was keener on the non-kinetic portfolio at Leonardo, but high-end, large-scale conflicts are the name of the game right now,” said one analyst. “Hard core defense is at the top of the agenda for armed forces and companies. You need deep engagement with customers about hard core needs,” he added.A second source who was knowledgeable of the government’s decision said, “Cingolani put the focus on cyber programs when Mariani was at MBDA guaranteeing accelerated extra production of missiles which were perhaps simpler but more essential at this time,” he said.The source noted that Pierroberto Folgiero, the CEO of another state controlled Italian firm, Fincantieri, had also promised the government a reduction in production times for naval vessels.

[Category: / Europe] [Link to media]

— Ukrainian drone makers visit Paris looking for co-production deals

 

at 4/10/26 8:44am

PARIS — More than two dozen Ukrainian defense companies traveled to Paris this week to meet with French counterparts, laying the groundwork for co-production deals in France and seeking to bolster integration with the European defense-industrial base.French defense firms have been slow to set up joint companies with Ukrainian partners, with just one joint venture created so far, compared to 11 for Germany and five for Spain, said Ihor Fedirko, the chief executive officer of the Ukrainian Council of Defence Industry. He was speaking at a press briefing late Wednesday after a day of meetings organized with French land defense industry group GICAT.Ukraine has developed unmatched expertise in Europe in drone warfare after four years of fighting Russia’s invasion, coming up with new use cases and doctrine as well as scaling up drone production to millions of units per year. Meanwhile, France is home to some of Europe’s biggest defense firms and is the world’s second-biggest arms exporter.“We have to establish a win-win strategy with the defense industry of France, to find our best partners,” Fedirko said. “We want to know as well how you produce your products, your production culture, your standards. That’s what you can bring to our industry.”Ukraine was present with 27 companies, most of them drone makers, while nearly 60 French firms showed up for the day of match making, according to Fedirko. He said some Ukrainian companies would follow up with visits to French manufacturers on Thursday.Co-producing Ukrainian defense products with strategic partners, on their territory, means an additional flow of equipment to send to the front, said Oleksandr Kamyshin, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and former minister of strategic industries. He said allied governments buying co-produced kit to donate to Ukraine “is the fastest and the best way how we can support our front line.”Kamyshin said Ukraine’s industry has historically been integrated “into the East” and now needs to become part of the European defense framework, while Europe’s defense industry will become stronger by integrating capabilities learned and developed in Ukraine.“We come with our lessons learned,” Kamyshin said. “We offer a model which is definitely beneficial for your country, for your industry, for your economy. And we want to do more together.”Fedirko said no other European country has a defense industry like that of France, active in deep tech and completely independent, with the French industry strong in aerospace and “classic weaponry.” With France able produce everything from missiles and radars to night-vision equipment, what Ukraine can bring is knowledge, technologies and innovations in the field of drones, he said.“When we will combine our experience and expertise and your deep technologies, your standards, your production culture, we can establish something pretty new,” Fedirko said.French companies may announce at least one or two drone joint ventures with Ukrainian partners in the coming weeks, said Clément Requier, GICAT’s director of export and European partnerships. He noted France’s defense industry already works with Ukraine’s industry in formats other than joint ventures.Ukraine is offering a level of industrial collaboration that wouldn’t have been available five years ago, and is open to sharing what it learned to produce, in the interest of integrating with European industry, according to Kamyshin. The Ukrainian official said in turn he sees strong interest in cooperation from the French side.Wednesday’s meeting was the fourth between the French and Ukrainian defense industries since July 2023, and the first in France, according to Requier. France often frames cooperation with other countries in terms of delivering stand-alone solutions, and should think more about also being a provider of critical components and equipment, he said.Ukraine has the expertise it needs, with more than 1,000 companies active in defense, most of them producing unmanned systems, said Kamyshin. He said Ukrainian drones have sunk Russian ships and submarines, saying it “looks like Lego drones work well,” an oblique reference to reported comments by Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger widely seen as dismissive of Ukraine’s drone innovation.France has deep knowledge and expertise in artificial intelligence, and “we would be happy do to more in that domain,” according to Kamyshin. Ukraine sees France as a strategic partner, and the focus is on promoting collaboration and co-production in France, rather than sales, the special adviser said.Ukraine in March raised the possibility of sharing battlefield data with partners to train AI models, and Kamyshin said Ukraine would be happy to share datasets with countries with which it starts co-production, and “not only in Ukraine,” with an announcement on partnerships expected on April 13.With regards to what France can bring to the table, Ukraine could benefit from more sharing of strong standard setting in Europe, said Éloi Delort, public affairs director at Alta Ares, a French defense AI firm. He said France’s Directorate General for Armament puts “a lot of stress” on French companies to secure systems and ensure technology is not getting stolen.One of Wednesday’s participants, Ukraine’s MOWA Defense, which provides training and advisory services for defense, sees France as a key market, co-founder Fedir Serdiuk said. Operating in France would require a local partner, which the executive says he hopes to have found, with a possible final agreement or at least a letter of intent in coming months.Ukrainian drone maker eDrone came to Paris looking for new partnerships, chief commercial officer Pavlo Valenchuk said. He cited the example of a French company with radars, a good drone-tracking system and software, “everything to develop a really good system” to protect strategic objects in France, but lacking interceptor drones. “This type of partnership we’re looking for.”French company SBG Systems, which makes low-cost inertial navigation systems in France that are used by Ukraine in strike drones, is looking to qualify partnerships to relocate some production to Ukraine, CEO Thibault Bonnevie said. Some manufacturing may be difficult to move because it relies on machine tools from Switzerland, with export restrictions for countries in conflict, he said.SBG is working to enhance feedback on its products from the front line, a key issue in Ukraine because of the fast-evolving battlefield and Russian electronic-warfare, Bonnevie said. The company’s customers are manufacturers rather than the armed forces directly, which means relying on the drone makers for user feedback, something that was “discussed a lot” on Wednesday, the CEO said.Meeting with Ukrainian companies in Paris was a way to meet potential new partners rather than sign contracts, according to Bonnevie.“The next step is usually to go visit those companies directly in Ukraine, because there is nothing really happening in Ukraine for European companies without stronger links,” Bonnevie said. Even if discussions center around drones and robots, “there is still a story of humans working together and trust that needs to be built between the companies,” he said.

[Category: / Europe] [Link to media]

— UK’s Starmer and Trump discussed military options for Strait of Hormuz

 

at 4/10/26 5:49am

LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday that he discussed military capabilities and the logistics of moving vessels though the Strait of Hormuz when he spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump a day earlier.“We’ve been pulling together a coalition of countries ... working on a political, diplomatic plan, but also looking at military capabilities and ... the logistics of actually moving vessels through the Strait,” Starmer said during his visit to the Gulf.“That was the focus of the discussion last night - reflection on what I’ve been discussing here, but also that focus on a practical plan in relation to navigation through the Strait.”He did not provide further details.Asked if he raised U.S. threats of withdrawing from NATO with Trump, Starmer did not answer directly but said the alliance was in both the U.S. and Europe’s interests.“NATO is a defensive alliance which, for decades, has kept us much safer than we would otherwise have been,” he said.(Reporting by William James; Editing by Muvija M)

[Category: / Europe] [Link to media]

— Trump weighs pulling some US troops from Europe amid NATO strains, official says

 

at 4/9/26 5:00pm

U.S. President Donald Trump, upset at NATO allies’ failure to help secure the Strait of Hormuz and angry that his plans to acquire Greenland have not advanced, has discussed with advisers the option of removing some U.S. troops from Europe, a senior White House official told Reuters on Thursday.No decision has been made, and the White House has not directed the Pentagon to draw up concrete plans for a troop reduction on the continent, said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.But the discussions alone underscore how sharply relations between Washington and its European NATO allies have deteriorated in recent months. They also suggest that a visit to the White House on Wednesday by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte failed to significantly improve transatlantic relations, which are arguably at their lowest point since NATO’s 1949 founding.The White House has publicly said that Trump has considered withdrawing from the alliance altogether. Removing troops from Europe would allow Trump to dramatically lessen Washington’s security commitments on the continent, without formally withdrawing, a move that would test constitutional law.The U.S. currently has more than 80,000 troops in Europe and has played a central role in Europe’s security architecture since World War Two. More than 30,000 of those troops are located in Germany, with sizeable numbers also stationed in Italy, the United Kingdom and Spain.The official did not say which countries could be affected or how many troops might ultimately be withdrawn if Trump decides to move forward with the idea.Asked for comment, a NATO spokesperson referred Reuters to Rutte’s interview with CNN on Wednesday.In that interview, Rutte said that he understood Trump’s frustrations with the alliance, but that the “large majority of European nations” had been helpful to Washington’s war effort in Iran.Following Rutte’s meeting with Trump, the secretary general told European governments that Trump wants concrete commitments to help secure the Strait of Hormuz within days, Reuters reported earlier on Thursday.Alliance in crisisWhile Trump has long had a tumultuous relationship with NATO — for years accusing European capitals of skimping on defense spending — the last three months have been particularly rocky.In January, Trump provoked a transatlantic crisis when he renewed longstanding threats to annex Greenland, an overseas territory of Denmark. Since the war with Iran broke out on Feb. 28, he has expressed deep frustration that NATO allies have not offered to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies that has remained largely closed despite a fragile ceasefire announced this week.NATO diplomats have previously said the U.S. has not made clear if it expects any mission in the Strait of Hormuz to start during or after the conflict, and they have also said the U.S. has not specified what particular capabilities it expects of each NATO country.The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that senior administration officials were discussing moving troops stationed in Europe out of countries whose leaders had been critical of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and into European countries whose leaders had been more supportive.The White House official told Reuters that Trump was specifically discussing bringing troops back to the U.S., rather than moving them to different foreign countries.The official said Trump was particularly irked about what he perceives as Europe’s attempts to brush off his attempts to acquire Greenland.After meeting with Rutte in Switzerland in January, Trump had suggested a deal was in sight to end the dispute over the Danish territory. No such agreement has come to fruition.“He asked NATO specifically to come up with a plan when we were in Davos, and they’re sort of not taking it seriously,” the official said.

[Category: / Europe] [Link to media]

— Trump again chides NATO for failing to back US operations in Iran

 

at 4/9/26 3:15pm

President Donald Trump on Thursday again chided NATO for its reluctance to support U.S. operations in Iran, just a day after a tense private meeting with Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House.Rutte travelled to Washington to mollify the president, who remains incensed at the alliance for refusing to intervene in the de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery that typically carries a quarter of the world’s oil and gas. The strait’s near-closure has prevented roughly ten million barrels of crude oil daily from reaching global markets. But Trump, following the face-to-face talks, was far from conciliatory. He wrote on social media Wednesday that “NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN. REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!”In a subsequent post Thursday, he dismissed the response from the bloc as “very disappointing.” Rutte acknowledged the discord with Trump, yet characterized Europe’s initial reticence to get involved in the war in Iran as a consequence of the president’s decision not to consult allies before the launch of Operation Epic Fury. He said the other member nations were taken by surprise by the joint U.S.-Israeli assault against Iran, and slower to respond as a result.“To maintain the element of surprise for the initial strikes, President Trump opted not to inform allies ahead of time. And I understand that,” Rutte said during his remarks at the Reagan Institute’s Center for Peace Through Strength in Washington on Thursday. “But what I see when I look across Europe today, is allies providing a massive amount of support —basing, logistics, and other measures — to ensure the powerful U.S. military succeeds in denying Iran a nuclear weapon and degrading its capacity to export chaos," Rutte said. The NATO secretary general also underscored international efforts, spearheaded by Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, to find a workable plan for a full reopening of the strait as hostilities wind down.“The United Kingdom is leading a coalition of countries that are aligning the military, the political, and the economic tools that will be required to ensure free passage through the Strait of Hormuz. This is evidence of a mindset shift,” he said. The Trump administration has asserted it will reassess its relationship with NATO once the war with Iran concludes, a review that officials say could include relocating American forces away from allies deemed unhelpful. The president has also weighed the possibility of withdrawing the United States from the alliance altogether. At a White House press conference earlier this week, Trump traced the start of the icy relations back to Greenland. The president, around the start of the year, began talking with increasing seriousness about annexing Greenland, the huge, semiautonomous territory under Danish sovereignty. At the apex of the crisis, Trump refused to rule out using military force. He ultimately backed down but the tremors from the episode are still being felt on both sides of the Atlantic. “It all began with, if you want to know the truth, Greenland,” Trump told reporters on Monday, adding, “We want Greenland. They don’t want to give it to us. And I said, ‘bye, bye.’”

[Category: / Europe] [Link to media]

— UK says it deployed military to deter Russian submarines from attack on undersea cables

 

at 4/9/26 8:55am

LONDON — Britain deployed military vessels to prevent any attacks on cables and pipelines by Russian submarines which spent more than a month in and around British waters earlier this year, its defense minister John Healey said on Thursday.Britain accused Russia of using the distraction of events in the Middle East to try to conduct the covert operation in the High North maritime region, home to key shipping routes and critical infrastructure such as undersea cables.Healey said British forces and allies including Norway tracked and deterred malign activity by the Russian vessels, adding that the submarines had now left the area and there were no signs of damage to underwater infrastructure.Revealing the operation publicly at a press conference, Healey said the intent was to show Russian President Vladimir Putin the activity had been detected.“To President Putin, I say ‘We see you. We see your activity over our cables and our pipelines, and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences,’” he said.“Our armed forces left them in no doubt that they were being monitored, that their movements were not covert, as President Putin planned, and that their attempted secret operation had been exposed.”Russia’s embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Moscow has previously denied allegations of involvement in a serious of incidents in which European countries’ cables were damaged.Healey said the Russian operation involved a Russian Akula-class attack submarine and two specialist submarines from Moscow’s Main Directorate for Deep Sea Research (GUGI).“They are designed to survey underwater infrastructure during peacetime, and sabotage it in conflict,” Healey said.After detecting the Russian vessels passing into international waters, Britain sent a frigate, a support tanker and a maritime patrol aircraft to monitor their movements.Norway’s defense ministry said its armed forces had also deployed a P-8 maritime patrol aircraft and a frigate.Healey said the submarines had not entered Britain’s territorial waters, but had been in the wider band of sea around the country, known as its ‘Exclusive Economic Zone’, and the waters of British allies.Britain’s naval capacity has been under scrutiny in recent weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the British response to war in Iran, describing Britain’s aircraft carriers as “toys.”Healey referenced that criticism in his statement, saying it had not been in Britain’s national interest to deploy all its military assets in that region.“The greatest threats are often unseen and silent. And as demands on defense rise, we must deploy our resources to best effect,” he said.NATO allies have boosted their presence in the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea, after a series of power cable, telecom and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Most have been caused by civilian ships dragging their anchors.(Reporting by Muvija M; Writing by Kate Holton, William James, Philippa Fletcher)

[Category: / Europe] [Link to media]

— Pentagon’s ouster of Anthropic opens doors for small AI rivals

 

at 4/9/26 7:38am

Small defense industry artificial intelligence startups are suddenly fielding calls from generals, combatant commanders and deep-pocketed investors, after the souring relationship between the Pentagon and its once-favored AI vendor, Anthropic, reinforced the need to diversify and increase the number of AI providers for the military.In the weeks since the Department of Defense’s troubled relationship with Anthropic burst into public view and led to the company being kicked out of the U.S. military, new defense-focused AI companies like Smack Technologies and EdgeRunner AI say they have experienced a shift in interest that would have been unimaginable just months ago. They have received a surge of overtures about possible contracts and meeting requests and been approached by investors who previously showed no interest. The Pentagon’s growing animosity toward its top AI provider, Anthropic, has opened up opportunities for smaller rivals, who have long sought a foot in the door to the most lucrative government contractor in the world. A defense contract can lead to more business with other branches of the U.S. government, and is a useful signal of trust and safety for potential commercial clients. “We’ve seen a massive increase in demand from customers and the government to get AI solutions fielded since Anthropic was declared a supply-chain risk,” said Tyler Sweatt, CEO of Second Front, a company that helps technology firms meet the requirements needed to operate on secure Pentagon networks. “Our customers are turning to us as the Pentagon turns to them to deploy quickly in the wake of the Anthropic blowup.”Since the Pentagon deemed Anthropic’s products a “supply-chain risk” in March and the two sides became embroiled in a lawsuit, the military has expressed increasing interest in AI startups like Smack Technologies, saying, “We want more, we want demos, let’s talk about how we can move faster,” said Andrew Markoff, co-founder and chief executive of the 19-person startup based in El Segundo, California. In late March, a judge temporarily blocked the Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic. Tyler Saltsman, co-founder and chief executive of EdgeRunner AI, described a similar experience. His company had been waiting more than a year for a Space Force contract to clear the Pentagon’s procurement machinery. It was signed within weeks of the Anthropic situation breaking into the open. “I can’t prove that the Anthropic drama sped this up,” Saltsman said, “but I have a sneaky suspicion it did.”“The Pentagon will continue to rapidly deploy frontier AI capabilities to the warfighter through strong industry partnerships across all classification levels,” a Pentagon official said. One Pentagon technologist has previously told Reuters that the falling-out with Anthropic, and the realization that the Defense Department was heavily dependent on one AI provider, forced the department to diversify AI providers. Smack’s Marine Corps contract speeds upFor Smack, the clearest example of the post-Anthropic acceleration involves the Marine Corps. The company won a contract with the Marine Corps in March 2025 and delivered a successful prototype by October — software that compresses what is normally a months-long operational planning process into roughly 15 minutes. Despite the successful prototype, momentum stalled. Full production had been budgeted for fiscal year 2027 — meaning October 2027 at the earliest. Through the 2025 holiday period and into early 2026, there was no clear direction. Hegseth wants Pentagon to dump Claude, but military users say it’s not so easyThen the Anthropic uproar occurred. Within weeks, Smack was invited to multiple meetings with the Marine Corps focused on a single question: how fast can this move into production this year? Markoff said there was “very specific guidance and movement and energy” toward getting the prototype ready for combat operations in 2026 — an acceleration of more than a year.The shift extended beyond the Marines. Smack holds contracts with the Navy and Air Force, and Markoff said interest came in nearly immediately from U.S. Special Operations Command, and others.EdgeRunner, which is deploying with the Army Special Forces groups and has received a contract with the Space Force, said the Navy has also dramatically sped up engagement. Meetings that had been biweekly or monthly are now happening multiple times a week.Both EdgeRunner and Smack are now racing to get their systems operating at higher security classification levels — the gateway to the most operationally significant use cases and the largest military contracts.EdgeRunner said the military has told the company it can get to IL-6, a security designation enabling access to secret and top-secret data, within three months — a timeline Saltsman described as remarkable, given that the process normally takes 18 months or longer. The acceleration, he said, is being driven partly by pressure from Pentagon leadership to cut through procurement bureaucracy, and partly by the urgency the Anthropic situation has injected into the department’s AI strategy.

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— Researchers propose ‘rewilding’ Europe’s borderlands to repel enemies

 

at 4/9/26 6:26am

PARIS — Restoring wild forests, peat bogs and wetlands on Europe’s borders would establish defensive barriers that are hard to cross for enemy armored units, at a fraction of the cost of concrete anti-tank ditches while bringing environmental benefits, researchers said. For tropical coasts, re-establishing mangrove forests could play a similar role.“Defensive rewilding” combines national security and climate resilience by strategically locating rewilding projects to create natural barriers that impede, delay or channel invading forces, researchers Sam Jelliman, Brian Schmidt and Alan Chandler wrote in an article for the RUSI Journal published on April 7. At the same time, rewilding allows for carbon storage and more biodiversity, they said.Whereas tactical obstacles such as mine fields or field fortifications are local and temporary, defensive rewilding creates long-lasting “landscape-scale barriers that dictate the geometry of the battlefield before the first shot is fired,” the researchers said. They cited nearly a dozen historical examples of how terrain hinders offense, including during World War II as well as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.The concept of defensive rewilding is gaining traction among environmentalists but still needs a “military stamp of approval,” Jelliman, a researcher at the Sustainability Research Institute of the University of East London, told Defense News by phone. “The nearer you are to Russia, the more they think it’s a good idea.”The researcher said he’s had a number of discussions, including with the U.K. Ministry of Defence, “to sell the idea to people in the military that it’s a viable, useful approach which can have military benefit and environmental benefits simultaneously.”Defensive rewilding physically changes the geography of potential conflict zones, creating terrain impassible to mechanized forces or channeling them into kill zones, thereby raising the cost of aggression, the researchers said. Meanwhile, a restored peat land or dense forest won’t be seen as threatening and is a way to build up defense without escalating a regional arms race.To establish a defensive strip of wetland would cost £90,000 to £540,000 ($120,000-$724,000) per kilometer, depending on width, compared to between £1 million and £3 million for a kilometer of concrete anti-tank ditch, according to the report.Restoring wetlands creates soft ground with low bearing capacity that may not be able to support a main battle tank, while restored water depths would bog down logistics, the researchers said. The bearing capacity of restored wet peat lands is even lower, making them impassible even to light armored vehicles, they said.The Pripet Marshes in Belarus and Ukraine were a major historical obstacle for German forces in 1941, and “the re-establishment of natural hydrology in peat lands along the Belarus-Ukraine border could be considered a permanent, self-repairing alternative to concrete anti-tank ditches,” the report said.Eastern Europe in that past had a lot more wetland, much of which has been drained for agriculture, including by the Soviet Union in Ukraine, Jelliman said. That means areas in the north of Ukraine are now drier than they would have naturally been, and easier to move on.Dried peat bogs would be “quite easy” to re-wet by removing existing drainage channels, whereas then draining them again would only be possible by occupying the hard-to-access terrain, according to Jelliman. Within a year of blocking drainage channels, the water table in peat lands would rise and the ground would become much softer again, the researcher said.Peat lands “are probably the most challenging to cross, and they’re also probably the most useful from a carbon-sequestration perspective,” Jelliman said. “They’re the primary focus, I would say.”Rewilded forest creates obstacles that can impede tanks, natural forest clutter is effective against loitering munitions, while dense tree cover can make kinetic projectiles less effective and disrupt line-of-sight for anti-tank missiles. Those effects could “significantly” increase the survivability of defensive positions compared to open terrain, the researchers said.The researchers cited the Battle of Hürtgen Forest in 1944 as a classic example of dense forest terrain negating the technological and numerical superiority of the U.S. Army.For coastline defense in the Pacific region, restoring mangrove forests would be “really effective,” as landing craft would get stuck and not have anywhere to land, while the habitat also has high biodiversity value and protects coasts against tropical storms, Jelliman said.Artificial reefs would be another element of coastal defense, with historical examples in the Pacific Theater during World War II where shallow reefs created obstacles for landing forces, according to Jelliman. Creating reefs would have value for biodiversity, carbon sequestration and storm protection, “and also making it really hard for landing.”Rewilding rivers by restoring natural paths and softening banks can make them “significantly harder” to bridge with engineering assets, according to the researchers, who cited Ukrainian forces in 2022 using the meanders and forested banks of the Siverskyi Donets River to trap and destroy multiple Russian crossing attempts. Benefits include natural flood control and restoring habitat, they said.The next step would be for research to demonstrate that defensive rewilding can be effective and practical, and countries such as Finland, Estonia and Poland “are a bit more advanced in looking at that,” said Jelliman.Defense ministries tasked with contributing to national carbon-reduction objectives are expected to find value in rewilding besides the tactical military benefits, according to Jelliman.“One of the best ways to do carbon offsetting is to restore peat lands, because they’re quite a good, stable, long-term way of locking carbon away,” Jelliman said. “If they could restore peat lands in locations that are useful defensively, so in large areas of Finland, Estonia, Poland, they could both be a defensive asset whilst contributing to net zero targets and achieving net zero goals.”With plans for “huge defense budgets” over the next ten years, defensive rewilding allows for simultaneous spending on defense and the environment, according to the researcher. NATO defense spending targets include 1.5% of GDP for resilience, and while what counts as resilience is still being discussed, defensive rewilding might fit the bill, Jelliman said.‘If there’s any way to make this a cheap way of making borders stronger and more resilient, then that would be good,” Jelliman said.

[Category: / Europe] [Link to media]

— France mulls fallback tank for delayed MGCS program in defense update

 

at 4/9/26 3:32am

PARIS — France is in talks with manufacturers about an intermediary solution to replace the country’s aging Leclerc main battle tank, as a project with Germany to develop a next-generation tank is delayed, Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin told lawmakers on Wednesday.The French-German project for the future Main Combat Ground System, which was supposed to produce the Leclerc’s successor, is about a decade behind schedule, Vautrin told lawmakers in a hearing on Wednesday. The minister presented government plans to spend an additional €36 billion ($42 billion) on defense in the 2026-2030 period.The delay for the MGCS project is due to Germany deciding to start a program for new Leopard 3 tanks, according to Vautrin. That has left France having to bridge the gap between the Leclerc reaching the end of its service life in 2038, and the arrival of the MGCS, which in any case had not been expected before the early 2040s.“Regarding this intermediate capability, what we want is for it to be the first building block of the MGCS, not the last tank of the old generation,” Vautrin said. The tank would be “the first tank of a new generation of system of systems” with a particular focus on connectivity, according to the minister.The stopgap tank could be based on a KNDS Germany platform with a KNDS France turret, according to the minister. She said the turret will be French “in any case. Discussions are currently ongoing between France’s Directorate General for Armament and various manufacturers, and are “just getting started,” Vautrin said.The increased spending is part of an update of France’s military planning law, which had originally budgeted €400 billion for the 2024-2030 period.With regards to another troubled project, the French-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System, Vautrin said mediation is underway between the two companies developing the next-generation fighter jet at the heart of the program. Work on the fighter jet has ground to a halt amid bickering between Dassault Aviation and Airbus over leadership and work share.Two “qualified, external individuals” are leading negotiations to address intellectual property, work share and airworthiness certificates, with talks to conclude by the end of April, “which will allow us to see clearly,” the minister said.Talks with Airbus were to try and reach an agreement that would allow the project to continue, Dassault Aviation Chief Executive Officer Éric Trappier said at an industry conference on April 1, adding that he is “not a man of co-management.”While FCAS started out as a French-German project, the addition of Spain gave Airbus a bigger share in the pillar working on the next-generation fighter, with Trappier claiming Airbus has been unwilling to accept Dassault Aviation’s originally agreed lead.Members of parliament noted the Eurodrone project, a long-delayed program led by Airbus to develop a medium-altitude long-endurance drone, is no longer included in the updated budget, with Vautrin responding that “as of now, the project is not progressing satisfactorily.” The government also scrapped plans to buy Safran’s Patroller MALE drone.France intends to accelerate orders for the SAMP/T NG long-range air-defense system, with the aim of having ten systems in 2030 rather than the originally planned eight, though the goal remains for 12 systems in 2035, according to Vautrin.The government is sticking to a plan for 225 Rafale fighter jets in 2035, divided between the Air Force and the Navy. Rather than buying additional Rafale jets configured to the F4 standard, the preference is to focus on the purchase of the future F5 standard, which will be able to carry the ASN4G hypersonic nuclear missile under development, according to Vautrin.The budget includes €3.5 billion to overhaul the combat aviation framework through an approach that combines long-range missiles, escort drones and connectivity, which Vautrin said required to keep the Rafale competitive in export markets. The F5 standard is “truly a mid-life upgrade” that will allow the aircraft to maintain its competitive edge, according to the minister.The updated military spending plan foresees 30 multiple launch rocket systems in 2030, compared to a previous plan for 16 such long-range strike systems, Vautrin said.France will test two domestically developed rocket-artillery systems this month, which will allow to decide end-April whether a “sovereign” solution can be considered, or whether the Armed Forces Ministry should look for an off-the-shelf system, according to Vautrin.Safran together with MBDA as well as Thales in combination with ArianeGroup are each working on their own French-made rocket artillery systems.The updated budget adds €1 billion to start work on a conventional ballistic long-range strike capability.The Armed Forces Ministry will order 10,000 combat drones, 43 Proteus anti-drone cannons and four SAMP/T NG air-defense systems this year, as well as €4 billion worth of air-defense systems to counter drones, according to Vautrin. Deliveries in 2026 will include 5,000 combat drones, three anti-drone lasers and two Airbus A400M transport aircraft.Vautrin noted progress for French arms manufacturers trying to step up production, with the minister saying the firms should “continue the effort.” She said MBDA is increasing production of Mistral 3 short-range air-defense missiles fourfold to reach 800 a year in 2028, while the company aims to increase production of the Scalp cruise missile to 360 in 2027 from 240 in 2025.

[Category: / Europe] [Link to media]

— As US claims victory, Iran emerges bruised but with leverage over Hormuz

 

at 4/8/26 1:05pm

Nearly six weeks of war in Iran have ended, for now, with President Donald Trump claiming victory, but the U.S.-Iran ceasefire locks in a harsh reality: an entrenched, radical government with control over the Strait of Hormuz and a powerful lever over global energy markets and Gulf rivals, analysts say.The shockwaves have rippled outward, contributing to global economic strains and bringing conflict to Gulf neighbors whose economies depend on stability.“This war will be remembered as Trump’s grave strategic miscalculation. One whose consequences reshaped the region in unintended ways,” Middle East scholar Fawaz Gerges told Reuters.Before the war, the Strait, a narrow passage carrying around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas, was formally treated as an international waterway. Iran monitored it, harassed shipping and intermittently intercepted vessels, but it stopped short of asserting outright control.In the new reality, Tehran has moved from shadowing tankers to effectively dictating terms. It currently functions as the de facto gatekeeper of the shipping route, selectively deciding on passage and on what terms. Iran wants to charge ships for safe passage.Additionally, Iran has demonstrated resilience under sustained attack and retained the capacity to escalate further, projecting influence across multiple fronts and strategic choke points. Its reach extends through Lebanon and Iraq via Hezbollah and Shi’ite militias, and into the Bab el-Mandeb in the Red Sea, leveraging the sphere of influence of its Houthi allies.At home, Iran’s leadership remains firmly in control - even though the country’s economy is in tatters and great swathes of infrastructure in ruins from American and Israeli bombs.“What did the U.S.–Israeli war actually achieve?” asked Gerges. “Regime change in Tehran? No. The surrender of the Islamic Republic? No. Containment of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium? No. An end to Tehran’s support for its regional allies? No.”Iran has absorbed the blows while retaining — and in some cases strengthening — its core instruments of power, said four analysts and three Gulf government sources who spoke to Reuters for this story.As well as Iran’s control of Hormuz, the political picture now, they noted, is of a more brutal, empowered establishment, unaccounted nuclear material, continued missile and drone production, and ongoing support for regional militias.Echoing Trump, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday said Washington had won a decisive military victory, and that Iran’s missile program had been functionally destroyed. The State Department and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The United States, Israel and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire and U.S. and Iranian officials are expected to hold talks from Friday to discuss a long-term settlement.While the ceasefire may halt the fighting, the Gulf officials said its durability hinges on addressing the deeper conflicts shaping the region’s security and energy landscape.Any deal that falls short of a comprehensive settlement risks entrenching Iranian leverage rather than constraining it, they add.Ebtesam Al‑Ketbi, president of the Emirates Policy Center described the truce as a fragile pause, one likely to institutionalize new forms of instability unless it expands well beyond a narrow cessation of hostilities.“This ceasefire is not a solution; it is a test of intentions,” Ketbi told Reuters. “If it does not evolve into a broader agreement redefining the rules of engagement - in Hormuz and across proxy theaters — it will amount to little more than a tactical pause before a more dangerous and complex escalation.”“If Trump reaches a deal with Iran without addressing core issues - ballistic missiles, drones, proxies, nuclear concerns, and the rules governing Hormuz - then the conflict is effectively left unresolved and the region exposed,” said Ketbi.HORMUZ IS RED LINE FOR GULF COUNTRIESIran, for its part, has put forward to Washington terms that include sanctions relief, recognition of enrichment rights, compensation for war damage and continued control over the Strait, underscoring just how far apart the sides remain.Trump acknowledged receiving the Iranian plan and called it “a workable basis to negotiate.”For Gulf countries who rely on Hormuz to export their oil, the Strait remains a non-negotiable red line, added Saudi analyst Ali Shihabi. “Any outcome that leaves the waterway effectively in Iranian hands would be a defeat for President Trump,” with the potential repercussions of high energy prices extending into the midterm elections, he said.What the war may nonetheless open up for Tehran, Shihabi added, is the prospect of a negotiated settlement — potentially including sanctions relief.From a Gulf perspective, the picture is deeply unsettling. Mistrust of Iran is running high following Tehran’s strikes on energy facilities and commercial hubs across the region. More troubling still, the war has transformed Hormuz into an explicit instrument of leverage and coercion, analysts say.The economic stakes are equally stark. Iran wants to charge fees for ships passing through the Hormuz shipping lanes as part of any permanent peace deal, a move that would reverberate far beyond the Gulf, hitting global energy markets and the economic lifelines of states along the opposite shore.“If Iran can extract millions per ship, the implications are enormous — not just for the Gulf, but for the global economy,” Ketbi said. “In that sense, the outcome is not just a regional setback, but a systemic shift with worldwide consequences.”More broadly, the analysts warned, it would signal a fundamental change in the regional order, from a strait governed by international norms to one effectively policed by a hostile state emboldened, not weakened, by war.GULF DEMANDSThe ceasefire, brokered by Pakistan, followed a war launched on February 28 by Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said they aimed to curb Iran’s regional power, dismantle its nuclear program and create conditions for Iranians to topple their rulers.Both sides declared victory. Trump called the ceasefire a “total and complete victory,” saying U.S. forces had achieved their objectives, while Iran’s Supreme National Security Council claimed Trump had accepted its conditions.But the war has yet to deprive Iran of its stockpile of near‑weapons‑grade enriched uranium or its ability to strike neighbors with missiles and drones. The leadership, which faced a mass uprising months ago, withstood the superpower onslaught with no sign of collapse.A Gulf source said restoring trust with Tehran would require stringent, written commitments — not informal assurances — covering non‑interference, freedom of navigation, and the security of key maritime corridors, including Hormuz, as well as the national security requirements of the Gulf states.Those conditions, the Gulf source said, were conveyed to Pakistani mediators to be included as part of a comprehensive settlement.An Israeli official said senior Trump administration officials had assured Israel that they would insist on previous conditions, such as the removal of Iran’s nuclear material, a halt to enrichment and the elimination of ballistic missiles.Pakistan’s prime minister said Iranian and U.S. delegations were expected to meet in Islamabad on Friday for what would be the first official peace talks since the war began.

[Category: / Mideast Africa] [Link to media]

— US forces will be ‘hanging around’ Middle East after Iran ceasefire, Hegseth says

 

at 4/8/26 9:51am

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday emphasized that American forces would be “hanging around” in the Middle East for the duration of the armistice between the United States, Israel and Iran — even as Washington edges toward an offramp from its 38-day campaign.The remarks came one day after President Donald Trump declared a two-week ceasefire with Iran, stepping back from earlier threats to level Iranian civilization. The president said he hopes the pause will pave the way for negotiations toward a longer-term agreement.Hegseth noted that the United States had carried out more than 800 strikes against targets in the hours leading up to the pause in hostilities. He added that if Tehran had refused to agree, attacks would have expanded to include “power plants, the bridges and oil and energy infrastructure.” The defense secretary went on to hail Operation Epic Fury as a “historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield,” painting a picture of an Iranian military in ruins. “Central Command, using less than 10% of America’s total combat power, dismantled one of the world’s largest militaries, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism,” Hegseth said during a news conference at the Pentagon. “Their mission program is functionally destroyed. Launchers, production facilities and existing stockpiles, depleted, and decimated.” Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, enumerated the claimed results of the U.S. offensive in Iran: 80% of Iran’s air-defense systems destroyed, 800 one-way attack drone storage facilities and 450 ballistic missile storage facilities hit, and 150 ships sunk. “Epic Fury decimated Iran’s military and rendered it combat ineffective for years to come,” Hegseth asserted. “Iran’s Navy is at the bottom of the sea...Iran’s Air Force has been wiped out.”But despite the devastation, Tehran has remained defiant. The Islamic Republic, using a decentralized command structure built to survive decapitation, orchestrated an average of 120 drone and missile attacks per day across the region throughout the conflict’s duration. Crucially, it also maintained effective control over the Strait of Hormuz — a strategic leverage that sent oil prices soaring. Since the start of the war on Feb. 28, 13 American service members had been killed in action and more than 365 had been wounded, according to the Pentagon.Caine, for his part, struck a note of more guarded pragmatism. “We welcome the ongoing ceasefire,” he said. “Let us be clear: a ceasefire is a pause, and the joint force remains ready if ordered or called upon to resume combat operations with the same speed and precision as we’ve demonstrated over the last 38 days. And we hope that that is not the case.”Asked by reporters about Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, Hegseth expressed hope that Tehran would hand it over to Washington “voluntarily.” If not, he warned, America might still try to seize the material by force.“It’s buried, and we’re watching it, we know exactly what they have,” Hegseth said. “They’ll give it to us voluntarily,” he continued. “Or if we have to do something else ourselves — like we did in Midnight Hammer or something like that — we reserve that opportunity."

[Category: Pentagon] [Link to media]

— Polish firm teams with Northrop, ST Engineering to tap Poland’s massive ammo spending

 

at 4/8/26 8:12am

WARSAW, Poland — Privately-owned Niewiadów Polish Military Group has teamed up with Northrop Grumman and Singapore’s ST Engineering to launch 155-millimeter and 40-millimeter ammunition production in Poland, catering to the country’s plans to spend PLN 23.8 billion ($6.5 billion) on ammo and rockets from the European Union’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) loans.Adam Januszko, the chief executive of Niewiadów Polish Military Group, told Defense News the group’s strategy is focused on developing domestic ammunition production capacities that are to “ensure the sovereignty of deliveries for Poland and NATO allies.”“The key element of this strategy is the construction of a robotized 155mm ammunition factory with a target production capacity of 180,000 rounds per year. At the same time, in cooperation with a partner from Singapore, we are developing production of 40mm ammunition with a planned output capacity of up to 480,000 rounds per year,” Januszko said.The development comes as Niewiadów is readying to debut on the main market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange in late April 2026. The group is following in the footsteps of another ammunition producer from the region, Czechoslovak Group (CSG), whose recent stock market listing reinforced its status as central-eastern Europe’s largest defense industry player.CSG is the main industry actor in the Czech Republic and Slovakia where it runs numerous factories that make weapons, ammunition and military gear. The business is also a major supplier of artillery shells to the Ukrainian military.Similar to many other countries across the region, Poland is advancing efforts to accommodate new ammunition factories that would provide a domestic supply for its military, with a particular focus on artillery rounds.In September 2025, the country’s state-run defense group PGZ selected the U.K.’s BAE Systems as its technology partner for the planned ramp-up in ammo production. The British company said in a statement the designed munitions factory “will use BAE Systems’ manufacturing technology and feature the same automated technology that will deliver a sixteen-fold increase in production capacity of 155mm artillery shells at its facilities in the U.K.”In the long term, Poland’s Army is to operate a fleet of some 1,000 self-propelled howitzers. This necessitates a boost in domestic manufacturing capacities for 155mm rounds that not only PGZ but also privately-owned companies such as Niewiadów are seeking to accommodate.With numerous allies across the region looking to boost their ammo stockpiles, Niewiadów acknowledges that the company has eyes on future exports. Its cooperation with foreign partners is designed to accelerate the roll out of the first rounds from production lines.“The group is gaining access to proven solutions from global leaders which significantly strengthens its technological advantage and shortens the time required to bring products to the market,” Januszko said, referring to the partnership with Northrop Grumman and ST Engineering. “The ultimate goal of these efforts is the gradual localization of production in Poland while maintaining the highest global standards of quality and firepower performance.”Along NATO’s eastern flank, Germany’s Rheinmetall is also making headway with its campaign to develop local artillery ammunition production capacities. In Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania, the firm has established joint ventures with state-owned companies to build 155mm factories. In the Romanian market, local offshoot Rheinmetall Munitions Romania will produce medium-caliber ammunition for infantry fighting vehicles and air-defense systems, while the explosive powder plant in Victoria will make propellants, with Rheinmetall supplying the know-how and technology.Other countries from the region that are currently negotiating with foreign ammunition producers include Estonia whose defense minister, Hanno Pevkur, recently said an agreement with a yet-undisclosed supplier of 155mm shells is to be signed this month. Estonian state-run broadcaster ERR has reported the chosen company is “a Swedish defense industry firm” that is to open a €300 million ($351 million) ammunition plant in the country’s Põhja-Kiviõli defense industry park.Niewiadów is currently listed on the NewConnect market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange. In addition to its ammunition business, other areas of the group’s activities include drones, mines, personal weapons and military logistics operations, according to data from the company.

[Category: / Europe] [Link to media]

— New Zealand defense minister to help shepherd military-integration push with Australia

 

at 4/8/26 8:09am

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Chris Penk this week became New Zealand’s 44th minister of defense, replacing Judith Collins who is retiring from politics.Penk will also take over Collins’ Space, Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) and New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) portfolios.Penk is the first defense minister to have previously served with both New Zealand and Australian forces. He joined the Royal New Zealand Navy in 2000, serving as an officer of the watch on the Anzac-class frigate HMNZS Te Kaha.He joined the National Party and was elected to Parliament in September 2017.The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) is currently experiencing a significant increase in integration with the Australian Defence Force (ADF), aiming for an increasingly integrated, interchangeable force by 2035. This initiative, formalized earlier this year, involves embedding personnel in each other’s units, shared capability development, and synchronized training to operate as a “joint force” in response to a deteriorating security environment. For example, Royal NZ Air Force units have been operating under ADF call signs, while embedded within Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) units.The two nations aim to operate seamlessly together by 2035, serving as force multipliers for one another while maintaining sovereign independence. Australian and New Zealand officers are serving in senior positions in each other’s command structures.The NZDF’s operational expansion is not limited to neighboring Australia. An Air Commodore has this year been appointed to New Delhi to serve as New Zealand’s Defence Advisor to India. Previous officers in that role have been resident elsewhere.The India-New Zealand Memorandum of Understanding for Defence Cooperation was signed just over a year ago.Closer to home is the state of New Zealand’s relationships with South Pacific states, including the Cook Islands and the Solomons, which rely upon Wellington for their security and foreign affairs. China has been encouraging Pacific islands to accept contentious ties with Beijing.In December 2025, Chief of Defence Air Marshal Tony Davies told Parliament that the country needs to be able to increase its armed forces “significantly and quickly.”Davies said the NZDF, which has over 15,000 personnel, had cut the average time it took to recruit personnel from 300 days to under 200 and are aiming for just 90 days.Defence spending, recently around 1% of GDP, is budgeted to reach 2% over the next seven years. In April 2025 the coalition government’s prime minister, Chris Luxon, said current defense spending is too low. However, he has since declared an election in November and politicians will be wary of upsetting voters.

[Category: / Asia Pacific] [Link to media]

— Trump says he has agreed to two-week ceasefire with Iran

 

at 4/7/26 5:35pm

DUBAI/WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, less than two hours before his deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face widespread attacks on its civilian infrastructure.Iranian state TV flashed an announcement claiming that Trump had accepted Iran’s terms for ending the war, describing it as a “humiliating retreat” by the U.S. president.Iran said talks between the U.S. and Iran would begin on Friday in Islamabad, Pakistan.Trump’s announcement on social media represented an abrupt turnaround from earlier in the day, when Trump issued an extraordinary warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if his demands were not met.Trump said the last-minute deal, negotiated with Pakistan serving as a mediator, was subject to Iran’s agreement to pause its blockade of oil and gas supplies through the strait, which typically handles about one-fifth of global oil shipments.“This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East.”Two White House officials confirmed that Israel has also agreed to the two-week ceasefire and to suspend its bombing campaign on Iran. A few minutes after Trump’s announcement, the Israeli military said that it identified missiles launched from Iran towards Israel.Trump, who has issued a series of threats in recent weeks only to back away, claimed progress between the two sides. He said Iran had presented a 10-point proposal that was a “workable basis” for negotiations and that he expected an agreement to be “finalized and consummated” during the two-week ceasefire.Abrupt turnaroundThe abrupt turnaround capped a whirlwind day that was dominated by Trump’s threat to destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran unless Tehran reopened the strait, which unnerved world leaders, rattled global financial and energy markets and drew widespread condemnation, including criticism from the head of the United Nations and Pope Leo.As the clock ticked down to Trump’s 8 p.m. EDT deadline, U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran intensified, hitting railway and road bridges, an airport and a petrochemical plant. U.S. forces attacked targets on Kharg Island, home to Iran’s main oil export terminal.In response, Iran declared it would no longer hold back from hitting its Gulf neighbors’ infrastructure and said it had carried out fresh strikes on a ship in the Gulf and a huge Saudi petrochemical complex. Booms were heard in Doha late on Tuesday night, according to a Reuters witness in the Qatari capital.The war, now in its sixth week, has claimed more than 5,000 lives in nearly a dozen countries, including more than 1,600 civilians in Iran, according to tallies from government sources and human rights groups.The closure of the strait, through which almost a fifth of the world’s oil supply typically travels, has sharply increased oil prices, escalating the chances of a global economic downturn or even recession.With the U.S. midterm election campaign ramping up, Trump’s approval ratings have hit their lowest level ever, leaving his Republican Party at risk of losing its grip on Congress. Polls show sizable majorities of Americans opposed to the war and frustrated by the rising cost of gasoline.

[Category: / Mideast Africa] [Link to media]

— Russia supplies Iran with cyber support, spy imagery to hone attacks, Ukraine says

 

at 4/7/26 3:12pm

LONDON/PARIS — Russian satellites have made dozens of detailed imagery surveys of military facilities and critical sites across the Middle East to help Iran strike U.S. forces and other targets, according to a Ukrainian intelligence assessment.The conclusions, reviewed by Reuters, also found that Russian and Iranian hackers were collaborating in the cyber domain. They represent the most detailed account yet of how Russia has provided secret support to Iran since Israel and the U.S. launched their assault on Feb. 28.Russian satellites, the undated assessment said, made at least 24 surveys of areas in 11 Middle Eastern countries from March 21 to 31, covering 46 “objects”, including U.S. and other military bases and sites including airports and oil fields.Within days of being surveyed, military bases and headquarters were targeted by Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, the assessment said, in what it described as a clear pattern.A Western military source and a separate regional security source told Reuters that their intelligence also indicated intense Russian satellite activity in the region and said that imagery had been shared with Iran.Nine surveys covered parts of Saudi Arabia, including five over the King Khalid Military City near Hafar Al-Batin, in what appeared to be an effort to locate elements of the U.S.-made THAAD air defence system, the Ukrainian assessment said.Areas of Turkey, Jordan, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates also came under satellite surveillance twice, while places in Israel, Qatar, Iraq, Bahrain and Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia did once, it said.In an emerging trend, the assessment added, Russian satellites were actively surveying the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for a fifth of global oil and LNG flows where Iran has imposed a de facto blockade to all but “non-hostile vessels”.Permanent communications channelU.S. space-tracking firm Kayhan Space said analysis of the orbital data it gathers indicated Russian satellites were repeatedly overhead of parts of the Gulf region during the period March 21 to March 31, including some that were capable of Earth observation, reconnaissance, imaging or surveillance.The company said its analysis suggested Russian satellite activity over the region during the late-March period may have been more extensive than that detailed by the Ukraine assessment, while overhead activity does not confirm that imagery was collected.White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said that no external support for Iran from any country was affecting the operational success of the United States. The Iranian foreign ministry had no immediate comment. The defense ministry in Russia, which invaded Ukraine four years ago, did not respond to a request for comment.European leaders pressed U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the issue at a G7 meeting last month. Two diplomats said Rubio had not responded to the accusations, although he has publicly dismissed Russian aid to Iran as insignificant.The Ukrainian assessment said that the exchange of satellite imagery was being organized through a permanent communications channel used by Russia and Iran and could also be facilitated by Russian military spies stationed in Tehran. The regional security source confirmed a specific incident detailed in the Ukrainian assessment that was disclosed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week.In that incident, a Russian satellite took imagery of Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia days before Iran struck the facility on March 27, hitting a sophisticated U.S. E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, the assessment said. A Russian satellite passed over the same site on March 28 to assess the strike’s impact, the assessment said. ‘Comprehensive strategic partnership’ Russia and Iran have deepened military ties since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.In particular, Ukraine and the West say Iran provided long-range Shahed attack drones to Russia, which in turn used them to bomb Ukraine, while also developing its own, more sophisticated variants. Iran denies supplying weapons used against Ukraine.Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian then signed a Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in January last year. Article Four of the Treaty states that “in order to strengthen national security and counter common threats, the intelligence and security services of the Contracting Parties exchange information and experience.”Cyber operations The Ukrainian intelligence assessment and regional security source said Russia appeared to be providing assistance to Iran in the cyber domain. Hacking groups controlled by Iran have stepped up operations since late February, targeting mainly critical infrastructure and telecommunications companies in the Gulf, they said. The Ukrainian assessment said Russian and Iranian hacker groups were interacting via Telegram and noted collaboration between the Russian groups “Z-Pentest Alliance”, “NoName057(16)” and “DDoSia Project” and Iran’s “Handala Hack”.For example last month, it said groups including Handala Hack published a warning on Telegram about attacks on the information and communication systems of Israeli energy companies.The Russian groups simultaneously published access credentials to control systems at critical infrastructure facilities in Israel, it said. Iranian hacker groups have also used some techniques in operations that indicated they had obtained them from Russian military intelligence hackers, it said. For instance, it said, Iranian hacker groups “Homeland Justice” (UAC-0074) and “Karmabelow80” used ProfitServer, a Russian VPS provider from Chelyabinsk, to register domains.

[Category: / Mideast Africa] [Link to media]

— US Navy seeks 1,200% increase in Tomahawk missile procurement for 2027

 

at 4/7/26 1:38pm

The U.S. Navy is requesting $3 billion to replenish its stockpile of Tomahawk missiles that have been depleted over the course of the Iran war, according to the Defense Department’s fiscal 2027 budget request.As part of the $1.5 trillion budget request released Friday, the Navy has asked for a 1,200% increase in the number of the long-range land attack missile.In fiscal 2026, Congress granted the service $257 million for the purchase of 58 Tomahawk missiles.The Navy is now asking lawmakers to subsidize the production of 785 Tomahawk missiles for a little over $3 billion, including roughly $1.5 billion for Tomahawk missile modifications.The 2027 budget also requested 494 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles for approximately $800 million, up from the 106 AMRAAMs for roughly $69 million it asked for in fiscal 2026.The Navy requested over $22 billion for overall weapons procurement, up from the approximately $10 billion requested for the same category in 2026.The Washington Post reported on March 27 that the Pentagon was burning through Tomahawk missiles at an alarming rate, launching at least 850 Tomahawks since the Iran war began on Feb. 28.US uses hundreds of Tomahawk missiles on Iran, alarming some at PentagonThe Center for Strategic International Studies released a report that said the U.S. likely still has close to 3,000 Tomahawk missiles in its arsenal, but the report stated the 850 missiles fired were the most ever for a single military campaign.The next closest was 802 Tomahawks used during Operation Iraqi Freedom.The 2027 budget request, if passed, would largely replenish the bulk of the missiles used during Operation Epic Fury, notwithstanding the timeline it would take for them to be delivered.Mark Cancian, one of the authors of the CSIS report, told Military Times in an interview that it would take two to three years to replace the 850 Tomahawks already expended.The Navy is expecting to receive 110 Tomahawks in fiscal 2026, according to the CSIS report.Tomahawks are ship-launched ground attack missiles that possess long-range accuracy and contain 1,000-pound warheads.The clip at which Tomahawks are being launched is reportedly affecting Pentagon business agreements.Japan’s order for roughly 400 Tomahawk missiles from the United States is facing potential setbacks as a result of the heavy use of the specific ammunition during the Iran war, Bloomberg News first reported.That order was originally set to be completed by March 2028.RTX produced 100 new missiles in 2025, Bloomberg reported.The defense contractor also signed an agreement with the Defense Department on Feb. 4, 2026, to increase annual production of Tomahawk missiles up to 1,000 over a potential seven-year span.

[Category: Naval] [Link to media]

As of 4/12/26 6:49am. Last new 4/11/26 10:33am.