Trump orders return of steam catapults on carriers, fifth public shipyard
The memo also called for the establishment of a new component repair center in an attempt to reduce submarine repair delays.
Category: Defense
Priorities for Army fires top off SMD Day 3
Top news from the final day of the 2026 Space and Missile Defense Symposium.
Army fires community tackling four ‘capability gaps,’ including magazine depth
Brig. Gen. Robert Mikesh, charged with offensive fires, detailed a quadruple challenge — energetics and propulsion, targeting and seekers, the industrial base and “munitions breadth and depth.”
Army gears up to ‘engage’ enemy surveillance satellites
The Army’s space superiority efforts are focused on countering adversary ISR satellites, as well as conducting “stratospheric warfare,” Col. Joe Mroszcyck told Breaking Defense.
Day 3 of the 2026 Space and Missile Defense Symposium
A final round of photos from around the show floor in Huntsville, Ala.
Flight-tracking data shows continued Russian air bridge to sub-Saharan Africa
VIENNA — Russian state-aligned military forces operating in the Central Sahel relied on at least 75 flights by military and military-linked aircraft between January 2025 and July 2026, according to a new analysis by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies, a Washington-based research organization that tracks illicit networks.The report, published Wednesday, examined Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast…
US Marines roam far and wide from temporary Darwin base
This year marked the 15th deployment of U.S. Marines to Australia under the Marine Rotation Force-Darwin (MRF-D) initiative, but this year’s rotation looked different from the rest because of its certification as a Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force (SPMAGTF).“This is the first rotation in the 15-year history of the program to be certified as…
New Marine commander takes the helm in the Pacific
MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII—The Marine Corps’ “future lies in the Pacific,” Commandant Gen. Eric Smith said Tuesday as Lt. Gen. James Glynn transferred command of roughly two-thirds of the service to Lt. Gen. Roger Turner. Glynn is a “once-in-a-generation” talent whose “efforts under a constrained budget, doing things across the expanse of the Indo-Pacific” have…
Defense Business Brief: VR welding; News from SMD; L3Harris opens maritime factory
PASCAGOULA, Miss.—Thick puffs of clouds didn’t stop the sun from beating down on the shipyard. And only a strong morning breeze could cut that Gulf Coast heat. But prospective welders for HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding need not immediately contend with the elements to get a taste of the trade—thanks to the yard’s air-conditioned virtual-reality welding lab. …
Five things Space Command says it needs to win tomorrow’s wars
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Space weapons and refuelable satellites are among the items needed to preserve the U.S. military’s orbital edge over China, the head of U.S. Space Command said. America’s adversaries are targeting U.S. space assets and rapidly developing their own, Gen. Stephen Whiting told attendees at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium on Wednesday.…