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Key Points and Summary: Sweden’s next-generation A26 Blekinge-class submarine is poised to become the premier conventional hunter-killer of the Baltic Sea, despite a turbulent development history.

The Tech: It features Stirling Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) for 18 days of submerged endurance and “GHOST” stealth technology to minimize acoustic and magnetic signatures.

Blekinge-Class. Image Credit: Saab.

The Innovation: A unique 1.5-meter “Multi-Mission Portal” in the bow allows for the deployment of special forces, divers, and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs).

Key Points and Summary: The America-class Landing Helicopter Assault (LHA) ships are transforming the U.S. Marine Corps from a ground-heavy force into a lethal, sea-based strike arm for the Indo-Pacific.

The Shift: Under Force Design 2030, the Marines have divested tanks to focus on island-hopping campaigns using ships like the USS America (LHA-6) and USS Tripoli (LHA-7).

F-35 test pilot Marine Maj. Paul Gucwa from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Three (VX-23), Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), flies an F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft to the U.K.

Bottom Line Up Front: A direct comparison between the legendary F-14D Tomcat and the modern Dassault Rafale reveals how raw power has given way to sensor fusion and agility.

The Tomcat Advantage: Built for fleet defense, it dominated with Mach 2.34 speed and the massive AIM-54 Phoenix missile (160km+ range).

F-14D Tomcat Onboard USS Intrepid in NYC. Image Taken by National Security Journal on 9/19/2025.

The Rafale Advantage: A 4.5-gen omnirole fighter, it utilizes superior sensor fusion (RBE2 AESA radar), SPECTRA electronic warfare, and high-agility canards.

Key Points and Summary: The Tupolev Tu-95 “Bear,” a Cold War icon and the world’s only frontline turboprop bomber, is facing an existential crisis in Ukraine.

-The Threat: Used as a “missile truck” to launch Kh-101 cruise missiles, the Bear remains a potent weapon, but its bases are now vulnerable to Ukrainian drone strikes.

Tu-95 Bear Bomber. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

-The Losses: Recent attacks have reportedly destroyed or damaged over a dozen Tu-95s—losses the Russian Air Force cannot replace because production lines closed in the 1990s.

Saab has secured a third order from the Lithuanian Defence Materiel Agency for the supply of the MSHORAD system.

Key Points: U.S. Central Command has successfully expanded its Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Israel to include 50 partner nations aimed at stabilizing Gaza.

-The Hub: Located in Kiryat Gat, the CMCC coordinates daily aid convoys and engineering operations without deploying U.S. troops on the ground.

President Donald Trump is joined by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Vice President JD Vance, British Ambassador Peter Mandelson, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, while announcing a trade agreement with the U.K.

Last month, some eagle-eyed Redditors noticed that there was something that seemed a little bit unusual about Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith’s uniform.
In the picture posted to the Marine subreddit, Smith was not wearing the commandant’s official dress cap, which features golden oak leaves on the crown as well as the visor. Instead, Smith appeared to be wearing the dress cover for all other Marine generals, which lacks the gold ornamentation on the crown.

The Swedish Armed Forces have directed the FMV to acquire an additional 94 Patria 6×6 vehicles, designated as Pansarterrängbil 300 in Sweden.

Key Points and Summary: The U.S. Navy plans to salvage the troubled Zumwalt-class destroyers by basing them in Hawaii and arming them with Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) hypersonic missiles by 2030.

The Pivot: After the 155mm Advanced Gun System failed (with ammo costing $800,000 per round), the Navy is refitting the ships to launch Mach 5+ hypersonic glide vehicles.

Zumwalt-class Guided Missile Destroyer USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) transits the Pacific Ocean, June 25, 2022.

U.S. Special Operations Command has been talking a lot about artificial intelligence lately. Vendors are pushing out press releases, contractors are promising battlefield breakthroughs, and industry demos are louder than ever. But behind the buzz, the real question is simple: Which AI-supported targeting tools is SOCOM actually using or testing, and what’s still just a slide deck?
The short answer: progress is real, especially with AI-assisted mapping, ISR, and decision-support tools, but we’re nowhere near the fully autonomous “kill chain” some companies like to pitch.