Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Australia touts first GMLRS artillery rocket assembled Down Under

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — The Australian army has test-fired its first-ever locally assembled Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, or GMLRS, a key step toward eventually producing long-range strike weapons locally rather than importing them.The milestone occurred at the Woomera Test Range in South Australia, with the rocket fired from an M142 HIMARS launcher.It was the…

Lebanon and Israel talks set to begin in Washington

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon are set to begin today in Washington, marking a rare diplomatic engagement between two parties technically at war since 1948.The U.S.-brokered talks will be conducted through their respective ambassadors in the United States, attempting to halt the Israeli bombardment in Lebanon through a diplomatic…

Italy suspends defense agreement with Israel

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has announced the suspension of Italy’s defense treaty with Israel on the same day she was harshly criticized by President Donald Trump for not assisting the U.S. in its military campaign against Iran.The two announcements marked a change for Italy, which has been a loyal ally to Israel for years…

DHS intelligence revamp would keep it answerable to nation’s top spy

A White House plan to fold the Department of Homeland Security’s primary intelligence unit into DHS headquarters for the coming fiscal year would not affect its oversight by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, an administration official told Nextgov/FCW. The new reporting structure, unveiled last week in the president’s FY27 budget request, would…

4 ways the war in Iran has weakened the US in the great power game

“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake”—Napoleon Bonaparte’s maxim—may well have been in the minds of policymakers in Moscow and Beijing these past weeks, as the U.S. war in Iran dragged on. And now that a 14-day ceasefire between Tehran and Washington is in effect, with both sides claiming “victory,” Russian and Chinese leaders…

HASC chair: Trillion-dollar defense budgets are the ‘new normal.’ Reconciliation is less certain.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—A $1 trillion baseline defense budget is the standard for future funding, but additional multi-billion spending measures to cushion 2027’s request are less certain, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee chairman said Sunday. The $1.5 trillion defense budget request unveiled this month would mark the highest level of military funding in a single…