Dassault’s new Rafale line isn’t just about speeding up deliveries. It’s also important for the future F5 upgrade. And to boost France’s position in Europe’s next-gen FCAS fighter drama. 🎥

Dassault has opened a new assembly line critical for boosting Rafale production — but it’ll have to dial up output even more, as it faces a looming Indian order for 114 aircraft on top of the 239 fighters already in its orderbook.

Take a drive around the Boneyard, the largest concentration of military aircraft in the world. All retired, many will be scrapped for parts but some remain ready enough to be recalled.

The British foreign intelligence service, MI6, has launched a new dark-web portal for informants to get in touch with it securely, and a new YouTube channel with instructional videos in eight languages, including badly-translated Hindi.

The British foreign intelligence service, MI6, has launched a new dark-web portal for informants to get in touch with it securely, and a new Youtube channel with instructional videos in eight languages, including poorly-composed Hindi.

The German cabinet cleared a bill for a National Security Council & voluntary military service, incentivized with high salaries, which could turn into conscription, if lacking sufficient volunteers, of whom an initial 15,000 are required, with a target of 80,000.

Thailand has placed an order for three Gripen E and one two-seat Gripen F fighter aircraft, besides associated equipment, support and training, for SEK 5.3 billion (around $550 million), within an existing agreement with Sweden for 12 aircraft.

The apptt of Sergio Gor to the newly-created position of Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs does not need Senate approval, unlike nomination as ambassador, so he can begin dealing with India immediately, at a time when ties are poor.

The suspension of military exports to Israel is a major step for Berlin, which has been one of its strongest supporters since the October 7, 2023 attacks and has repeatedly blocked EU sanctions over the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Thyssenkrupp is to retain a majority stake of 51% in TKMS through a new holding company. The remaining 49% of TKMS shares are to be transferred to Thyssenkrupp shareholders in proportion to their shareholdings, making them direct shareholders of TKMS.

Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall have test fired their launcher for the Global Mobile Artillery Rocket System that can be armed with two ATACMS missiles, 4 Precision Strike Missiles or 12 Standard/Extended Range GMLRS rockets on a wheeled platform.

Rheinmetall received an order worth €770 million from the German armed forces for over 1,300 military logistic vehicles, following on from an agreement last year for 6,500 vehicles with a value of up to €3.5 billion.

Germany’s defence ministry said it is ready to deliver two promised Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine from its inventory of nine systems, with plans to replace them with new orders from the U.S.

18 European Union member states have asked for loans worth €127 billion under the new €150 billion SAFE fund for defence spending with the deadline for formal submission of requests under SAFE to end on 30 November 2025.

Italian heavy and defence motor vehicle company, Iveco, announced its decision to sell its defence vehicles business to Leonardo for €1.7B and its commercial vehicles business to India’s Tata Motors for €3.8B.

Turkey signed separate agreements at the International Defence Industry Fair in Istanbul last week, with plans to purchase 40 Eurofighter aircraft from the United Kingdom and sell 48 of its indigenous Kaan fighter aircraft to Indonesia.

The ULPGM-V3 has three warhead options including anti-armour against RHA/ERA-equipped vehicles, Penetration-cum-Blast warhead with anti-bunker application and pre-fragmentation warhead.

The new military version of the H160 helicopter is intended to equip all three services of the French armed forces, with plans to order 169 H160Ms to replace five types of helicopters that are currently in service or recently retired.

The Main Ground Combat System project is intended to replace the Leopard 2 battle tank with an identical vehicle hull, but adding a modular system with a more powerful main weapon, an unmanned turret and modern protection systems against drones.

Dassault reported a record backlog of €48.3 billion, with a current order book of 75 Falcon and 239 Rafale aircraft that includes 186 export orders after its latest order for 26 fighters from the Indian Navy, signed in April this year.

The British Royal Navy Lockheed Martin F-35B fighter took off from Thiruvananthapuram airport for Darwin, Australia, to join the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group (CSG) on deployment to the Indo-Pacific region, after a forced, 37-day monsoon vacation in Kerala.

The meeting in Istanbul on Friday at the level of deputy foreign ministers will be the first round of negotiations since a ceasefire came into force after Israel’s war against Iran, which mainly targeted Iran’s nuclear and military facilities.

Germany plans to supply Ukraine with two Patriot missile systems, purchased from the United States. But since systems are not yet available, Germany will transfer two of its 09 Patriot systems to Ukraine and later receive replacements from the U.S.

Joining the Eastern Naval Command as a Diving Support Vessel, INS Nistar represents a rare capability for ‘complex deep sea saturation diving and rescue operations,’ according to the Indian Navy, something that very few navies possess.

The treaty underscores the countries’ mutual defence obligations as NATO allies, which is made especially significant given the UK’s status as a nuclear power. The goal is to boost European deterrence and defence over the next decade.

A 14-second video posted online by the Israeli company, now deleted from the company’s social media channels, showed a Rafael Spike Firefly drone hovering behind a person before it chases him and explodes after he runs into a building.

Germany’s top court on Tuesday rejected a constitutional complaint over the government’s legal responsibility for U.S. drone attacks carried out in Yemen with the assistance of facilities at a U.S. air base in Ramstein.

The look of the flying demonstrator of the future next generation Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) fighter aircraft was published on Thursday, with the demonstrator expected to be ready for flight by the end of 2027.

Berlin’s hospitals have been presented with a plan for maintaining essential services and supply chains against the backdrop of Russia’s war on Ukraine and NATO fears of a further advance towards western Europe.

The Akash Prime Weapon System has been developed by Army Air Defence and the Defence Research and development Organisation (DRDO) ‘in conjunction with Defence PSUs (Public Sector Units) such as Bharat Dynamics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited.’

The delivery of the Patriot systems is to be financed by Germany but the final technical, logistical and financial details still need to be clarified, according to German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.

The U.S. State Department said ‘TRF, a Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) front and proxy, claimed responsibility for the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam attack which killed 26 civilians.’

Three seconds after liftoff, both Fuel Control Switches 'cutoff' & one of the pilots asked the other why did he cutoff. 'The other pilot responded that he did not do so,’ according to the report on the Air India Boeing 787-8 crash at Ahmedabad, last month.

Timeline and Notes from the Preliminary Report of Accident of Air India AI171 (REG: VT-ANB) Boeing 787-8 at Ahmedabad.

A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit prepares for Operation Midnight Hammer at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., June 21, 2025 | Photo: U.S. Department of Defense

As the German Bundeswehr grapples with a shortage of 60,000 soldiers, Chancellor Freidrich Merz said, “We will probably … not be able to manage with the current voluntary system alone, but will need additional elements of compulsory military service.”

The poll, conducted by the Forsa polling institute for the magazine Internationale Politik, found that 64 percent of German respondents were in favour of establishing a European nuclear shield as a deterrent, while only 29 percent were opposed.

Some 45% of German respondents favour spending 5% of GDP on defence compared to 37% who oppose it, with 18% saying they don’t know, according to a poll from YouGov conducted for the Munich-based newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.

A European Council on Foreign Relations poll found that support for increased defence spending is highest in Poland and Denmark (70 percent), followed by Britain (57 percent), Estonia (56 percent) and Portugal (54 percent).

Over 56 % of German respondents polled said private investments in the arms industry were justifiable, in a significant change from 2022, when 53 percent of respondents still had reservations about investing in defence companies.

Italy’s Leonardo, British BAE Systems and the Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co. Ltd. have set up Edgewing for the design and development of their next generation combat aircraft under the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP).

Airbus Helicopters and Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency will pair a H225M medium lift helicopter with the Flexrotor UAS via its crewed-uncrewed teaming system called HTeaming, integrated on board the helicopter, to allow its crew to take full control of the drone.

Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force have successfully demonstrated Manned Unmanned Teaming of two MQ-28 Ghost Bat drones with an E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft, with plans for future teaming with the F/A-18 and F-35 fighters.

Thales plans to install its AirMaster S radar on the Skydweller solar-powered, carbon-fibre, autonomous, Medium-Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (MAPS) aircraft that has a payload capacity of 400 kilograms and endurance that could extend to months.

Italy’s Leonardo and Turkey’s Baykar are equal partners in LBA Systems, with Baykar to focus on design and development of advanced unmanned platforms and Leonardo to provide electronic systems, payloads, and implement Manned-Unmanned Teaming and swarming capabilities.

Sweden’s Saab has partnered with General Atomics to build a new Airborne Early Warning drone based on Saab’s AEW solutions, integrated on the General Atomics MQ-9B UCAV, intended to operate from naval warships in a manned-unmanned teaming configuration.

With plans to order three aircraft, Lithuania will become Embraer’s tenth customer for the C-390 airlifter and the seventh NATO country to select the aircraft.

France’s Thales has launched a lightweight, remotely controlled electronic warfare payload for deployment by small drones to detect and locate radio signals, capable of being operated without any specialised training.

Although no order has been placed yet, France has decided to purchase two Saab GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft with an option for two additional aircraft, while Saab has ordered two Bombardier 6500 aircraft platforms for the GlobalEye.

It turns out the U.S. Army was right. The M10 Booker was definitely not a light tank, being too heavy to be operated in many of the typical service conditions where it was expected. Plans for buying 96 M10 Booker vehicles at a cost of $1.14 billion are now scrapped.