Canada has agreed to join the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) stealth fighter program, which is currently being led by the United Kingdom and Japan, which represents a major landmark efforts by Ottawa to diversify its defence partnerships and procurements away from the United States. This follows reports in early April Canada had sought to join as an observer, which would allow the Canadian Defence Ministry to access selected classified program information without joining the development phase or sharing a similar burden of development costs.
Author: Michael
The United States is undertaking a major expansion of production for the FIM-92 Stinger man-portable air defence system (MANPADS), seeking to replenish depleted inventories while meeting growing demand from NATO allies and non-NATO strategic partners. The effort reflects a broader reassessment within the Pentagon that recent conflicts have demonstrated the continued importance of short-range air defence weapons against helicopters, low-flying aircraft, cruise missiles, and increasingly against unmanned aerial vehicles.
The U.S. Navy’s first stealth destroyer the USS Zumwalt is being prepared to return to operational service following a lengthy modernisation program that has transformed it into the Navy’s first surface combatant equipped to deploy long-range hypersonic weapons. After years of delays linked to upgrades to its integrated power system and other technical challenges, the ship is expected to rejoin the fleet with the new Intermediate-Range Conventional Prompt Strike (IRCPS) capability, providing the Navy with an entirely new long-range strike option for operations in the Pacific theatre.
Footage and reports from the Gulf region have confirmed that the U.S. Army is relying heavily on ATACMS ballistic missiles to launch precision strikes against targets in Iran, with the older missiles being available in greater numbers and being relied on to compensate for the lack of modern Precision Strike Missile (PrSM). This follows confirmation in mid-April that the Army had exhausted its entire stockpile of PrSM ballistic missiles following the initiation of military operations against Iran on February 28. The assault on Iran represented the first ever combat use of the PrSM missile.
29th Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth Official Portrait (DoD photo by Chad J. McNeeley)Public Domain
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced today that the president has made the following nominations:
Army Lt. Gen. Brian S. Eifler for appointment to the grade of lieutenant general, with assignment as deputy chief of staff, G-3/5/7, U.S. Army, Pentagon, Washington, D.C. Eifler is currently serving as deputy chief of staff, G-1, U.S. Army, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
Army Lt. Gen. James P.
While the renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran may appear to be evidence that diplomacy has failed, the constraints facing both governments seem to point toward yet another agreement in the near future. It’s simply a matter of how much damage the U.S. does to Iran and Tehran does to its regional neighbors before that deal is made.
In short, the dynamics are this: Iran cannot force the United States out of the Middle East, nor can it defeat American forces conventionally.
Is This the “Worst-Case Scenario” For Hormuz? The Strait of Hormuz should, according to U.S. President Donald Trump, be open. With U.S. forces now holding Iran accountable, launching devastating strikes against coastal batteries and infrastructure, making it difficult to disrupt shipping as it has in recent weeks, international shipping companies should, in theory, be taking advantage of those efforts.
Putin’s Approval Rating Sees Big Weekly Fall: Russian President Vladimir Putin is feeling the pressure of Ukraine’s long-range strikes, having seen his steepest weekly decline in public approval since he launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The shock news for the Russian leader comes from polling conducted by two state-linked survey groups, with analysts pointing to the worsening fuel crisis and poor economic conditions as the main drivers behind the drop in support.
The commander of the Navy’s elite Blue Angels demonstration team confirmed Thursday that a flyover of a crowded beach the day before was “unsafe” by the team’s safety standards. Jet blast from the pass on Wednesday over a Pensacola, Florida beach sent chairs and umbrellas tumbling, according to a Navy spokesperson.
The team leader’s comments came the morning after the pass. Later in the day, senior civilian military leaders began circulating social media posts that celebrated the low flyover.
The Navy will no longer host portraits and biography of ship or installation commanders on its websites, citing personnel security concerns.
These official pictures and biographies, hosted on Navy websites and social media pages, create an “elevated risk” for officers and their families, according to a Navy administrative notice, or NAVADMIN. Specifically, the directive regards officers and sailors ranks O-9 or below who specifically serve as commanding officers, executive officers, chiefs of staff, chief staff officers, deputies and command master chiefs.