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February 13, 2026 By C. Todd Lopez, Pentagon News The War Department is asking industry experts to help the department better work with the defense industrial base, eliminate bureaucratic bloat in the acquisition process and more quickly field weapons to warfighters. “For far too long, the Pentagon’s acquisition process valued paperwork over outcomes and performance,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in a video released to social media today. “This created a bureaucratic maze that stifled production and delayed critical deliveries to our warfighters when they needed them most. Well, I’m here today to tell you that era of managed…

13 February 2026 – Rheinmetall is further expanding its role as a leading manufacturer of 120mm tank ammunition. The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) has called off its first batch of ammunition, worth around €200 million, under a 2025 framework agreement for 120mm ammunition, a contract of substantial scope and value. The end customers are various NATO countries. The ‘Basic Contractual Instrument’ (BCI) signed with NSPA in July 2025 defines the terms and conditions as well as all technical specifications for various types of 120mm tank ammunition. NATO and NATO-equivalent members can use the framework agreement to simplify the…

Introduction Hispanic Americans are disproportionately affected by alcohol use disorders (AUD) yet many are reluctant to seek alcohol treatment. Faith-based communities could serve as an effective setting for raising awareness and supporting linkage to treatment given the strong role of faith within many Hispanic communities. Limited research, however, has focused on experiences of AUD and help-seeking among Hispanic Americans within congregational settings. Methods Using data from a California community-based longitudinal study of Hispanic church attendees with a probable AUD at baseline (n = 169), we examine the rates of help-seeking from health care providers and clergy at 1-year follow-up, and…

By Alex Raufoglu February 14, 2026 MUNICH — In a hall packed with political and military leaders from across Europe and beyond, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a speech that managed to do two things at once: reassure anxious allies and issue a stark call for change. After months of uncertainty over Washington’s course under President Donald Trump — and lingering memories of last year’s more confrontational tone from JD Vance — many in the room appeared visibly relieved. “You could almost hear the exhale,” one senior European diplomat told RFE/RL afterward. “The substance is tough. But the…

WEST 2026 — The Navy’s upcoming budget request will include a focused pot of money to increase cybersecurity aboard the fleet, the department’s principal cyber adviser told Breaking Defense. “With the secretary’s focus on shipbuilding and the announcement of Golden Fleet, we spent some time this year talking about cybersecurity risk to the fleet,” Anne Marie Schumann said during a Tuesday interview at the annual WEST conference. “That’s an area where I think you’re going to see a lot of progress in the next year, especially given a number of the reform initiatives that are going on, acquisition reform, we…

By RFE/RL February 14, 2026 In a speech at the Munich Security Conference, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the United States and Europe “belong together.” “America is chartering the path for a new century of prosperity and we want to do it together with you our cherished allies and oldest friends,” Rubio said in his February 14 keynote address at Munich’s luxury Bayerischer Hof hotel. Acting together with Europe, he said, “will help restore a sane foreign policy.” Rubio’s speech has been widely anticipated amid a frayed transatlantic alliance and after last year’s speech by US…

Will a sweeping victory translate into sweeping change? On Thursday, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won a two-thirds parliamentary majority in the first national elections in Bangladesh since a student-led movement ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024. Bangladesh also held a referendum on constitutional changes, including changes to the legislature and term limits for prime ministers, which passed by an overwhelming margin. Our experts share their answers below to the most important questions about these results. 1. Why did BNP win? Kugelman: Of all the participating parties, the BNP has the largest base and pot of resources.…

BMF champion Max Holloway and former UFC lightweight king Charles Oliveira will meet again inside the octagon more than a decade after their first encounter, a main event clash at UFC Saskatoon, and there are still unanswered questions from that night in Canada.Two featherweight young prospects headlining a Fight Night show in Canada, “Do Bronx” and Blessed were battling it out on the feet until Oliveira shot for a takedown. Holloway defended it and wasted no time on Oliveira’s guard, getting back to his feet. When Oliveira stood up, he immediately put his right hand over his left shoulder and…

In the early American military, specifically the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, food, logistics, medicine and morale were inseparable. Chocolate and cocoa fit that world neatly. They were calorie-dense, easy to transport and more shelf-stable than most comforts soldiers could count on.By the middle years of the Revolutionary War, chocolate was part of the ecosystem of soldiering, consumed as a hot beverage and valued for energy when supply lines snapped, or pay fell behind. The Smithsonian Institution notes that Americans have been consuming chocolate since colonial times and points to the Continental Army’s use of it during the Revolution,…

The UK’s Project Siren initiative focused on using cloud computing to integrate and fuse air and maritime radar pictures to improve situational awareness, and command and control. (Thomas Withington) A project has concluded in the United Kingdom (UK) evaluating methods by which the networking of radars can help improve air and maritime situational awareness, and command and control. Project SIREN (System for Integrated Radar Early Response Networking), as the initiative was dubbed, commenced in April 2024 and concluded in 2025, according to a spokesperson from the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL). DSTL was one of the participants in…