ROME — Poland is set to utilize almost one-third of a European Union €150 billion ($176 billion) debt fund for defense spending, reflecting the country’s concerns about Russian aggression. Warsaw has been allocated €43.7bn in loans by Brussels for arms purchases under the EU SAFE program, the bloc’s Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said. Set up…
BERLIN — Europe’s defense and autonomy were front and center in Wednesday’s State of the European Union address by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. In a combative speech that was interspersed with applause and some jeers from the far right, she characterized the present time as “Europe’s independence moment” and unveiled a series of…
ROME — Italy’s Leonardo is on a shopping spree to beef up Europe’s cyber-defense capability and is targeting Nordic firms to get the job done, CEO Roberto Cingolani has told Defense News. Cingolani laid out the Italian defense giant’s strategy after announcing a series of new investments during the summer. In July, Leonardo took a…
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Australia, as its interminable wait for nuclear-powered submarines continues, has lodged an order with Anduril Australia for a number of state-of-the-art unmanned submarines to be delivered over the coming five years. The Royal Australian Navy deal — announced on Sep. 10 after it was signed on Aug. 26 — encompasses a…
LONDON — The United Kingdom and Norway joined the Patria-led European program for a six-wheeled armored personnel carrier, bringing the number of participating countries to seven, the Finnish company announced at the DSEI UK defense show here on Tuesday. Patria and British defense firm Babcock International additionally signed an agreement to manufacture the armored carrier…
LONDON — As the U.K. is boosting military spending, the government is allocating additional funds to the local industry along with plans to bring foreign contractors to Britain, according to Luke Pollard, the nation’s recently appointed minister for defense procurement and industry. “We have an extra 5 billion pounds [$6.77 billion] in our defense budget….
LONDON — BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin are teaming up to develop a family of uncrewed autonomous air systems, with an initial focus on electronic warfare, the companies said at the DSEI UK defense show here on Tuesday. Details remained scant as the companies announced their collaboration. The system will be in the 1-tonne range…
LONDON — Germany’s Rheinmetall plans to expand its strike drone business, unveiling a new family of systems at the DSEI trade show that could initially swell to 1,000 units produced this year. Company CEO Armin Papperger told reporters here that unmanned aerial vehicles is one of the portfolios the company aims to push in the…
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland said early Wednesday that it and its NATO allies had shot down Russian drones that violated Polish airspace in what it called an “act of aggression” as Russia launched aerial attacks on Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on social media that “Last night the Polish airspace was violated…
By striking eight targets across Russia, Ukraine could badly damage Russia’s war machine, according to some U.S. experts. The Hudson target list details “eight high-value and militarily plausible targets that Ukraine should pursue to weaken Russia’s warfighting ability and increase the political cost of invading and occupying Ukrainian territory,” wrote Hudson researchers Luke Coffey and…
