Breaking Defense · Defense policy, strategy and technology
15 entries · United States ranking
Time machine Daily snapshots · Beijing time
Snapshot: 2026-09-18
Daily snapshot
- 1.France’s 2035 national security plan warns of increased conflict in sea, outer spaceElisabeth Gosselin-Malo · “An increasing share of power — and also vulnerabilities — will be concentrated in these spaces, which are largely invisible to citizens.” the document says.
- 2.‘Totally new’: Nammo pursues rocket motor engine for latest IRIS-T air defenseTim Martin · The push comes as German defense firm Diehl targets a first Safety Integrity Level (SIL) firing test of the surface-launched IRIS-T SLX in 2027.
- 3.NATO is measuring Russian adaptation the wrong wayRoger N. McDermott · For NATO, reproducibility should become a distinct measure of Russian military capability, driving how the alliance plans for the future.
- 4.Army adds $234M in undefinitized contract funding for Black Hawk dealCarley Welch · The news comes as Sikorsky’s 10th multiyear deal, awarded in 2022 by the Army, is set to conclude by the end of next calendar year.
- 5.Northrop eyes munitions supply work, Lockheed eyes funding: CEOsValerie Insinna · “We are taking this opportunity to work with partners we have not worked with before, show them the products we have, and define what our path is to gaining share on those weapons,” CEO Kathy Warden t
- 6.Army has enough small drones for each unit, now it needs to train soldiers to use themCarley Welch · “Where we still have some work to do candidly is getting everybody trained at the appropriate level,” Col. Gregory Merkl, Drone Dominance director for the Army, said.
- 7.US clears $24B F-35 sale for Saudi ArabiaMichael Marrow · The approval comes a year after President Donald Trump announced Riyadh would be permitted to buy the highly advanced stealth fighters, though lawmakers could still block the sale.
- 8.‘They overreached’: Amid industry worry, new Feinberg memo tweaks accounting regimeAaron Mehta · A Sept. 15 memo from Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg walks back some changes from a previous memo, while moving reforms forward, analysts tell Breaking Defense.
- 9.Lockheed reaches deal to boost production of secretive JATM missileValerie Insinna · The announcement did not include information about the scale or timeline for the production ramp up, nor the dollar amount associated with the agreement.
- 10.What the Pentagon is testing along the US-Mexico borderBreaking Defense Video · A brief overview of high-tech plans along the southern border as FY27 funding hangs in the balance.
- 11.Air Force seeks 737 MAX for VIP airliftMichael Marrow · The aircraft would be known as the C-40 when modified for military missions, and would appear to be the first time the 737 MAX would be militarized for a government customer.
- 12.Nammo CEO warns European rupture with US risks 10-year capability gapTim Martin · “This industrial base among our allies is already very interconnected, so we cannot break it up,” said Morten Brandtzæg.
- 13.Closing the Navy’s find, fix, and finish kill chain with remote mine huntingBreaking Defense · [Sponsored] Remote mine hunting combines autonomy, AI, and advanced sonar to clear waterways faster with less danger.
- 14.Chairman Caine talks cislunar ops, plus a window into next-gen airliftBreaking Defense Staff · We discuss top news from the final day of AFA 2026.
- 15.Space Force’s GMTI program gets a name, with Northrop as prime: GeneralMichael Marrow · Separately, the Space Force plans to issue the first operational contracts for space domain awareness to commercial firms “very soon,” according to Space Force Col. Timothy Tremailo.