Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

Closing small boat stations has proven difficult. Leaving them unchanged is operationally inefficient. These units are enduring parts of the Coast Guard’s force structure, yet their full potential is not always realized. This article proposes a model to better align their mission with national priorities.During the recent Senate confirmation hearing for the next commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, senators raised a wide range of global maritime concerns, including Arctic competition, cyber threats targeting ports, migration pressures, and increasingly severe storms. Yet the hearing repeatedly returned to a far more local subject: the Coast Guard units in senators’ backyards.Coast Guard…

VIENNA — NATO’s Support and Procurement Agency has selected Sweden’s Saab and Canada’s Bombardier to replace the alliance’s aging fleet of Boeing E-3A Sentry airborne warning and control system aircraft with the GlobalEye platform, according to French defense publication La Lettre and confirmed independently by the German press agency DPA. The decision, if formally announced, marks the first time since 1982 that a non-Boeing aircraft will serve as NATO’s common airborne surveillance backbone, and caps a procurement saga defined by American industrial dysfunction and growing European appetite for strategic autonomy.The outcome was far from inevitable. As recently as November 2023,…

Credit: Defense FeedsDefense Feeds, Washington — The United States is pushing forward in unmanned aerial development as the US Kratos Firejet drone advances with J85 engine flights following its first successful test runs.The milestone marks a significant step in enhancing high-speed aerial target systems used for training and weapons testing. As military forces place greater emphasis on realistic combat simulation, platforms like the Firejet are becoming increasingly important.Developed by Kratos Defense, the Firejet drone is designed to serve as a high-performance target and test platform. The integration of the J85 turbojet engine, widely known for its use in military aircraft,…

April 12–23, 2026 Welcome back to the WordPress.com changelog!  Over the past two weeks, we opened up the WordPress 7.0 beta for Business and Commerce sites, made it easier for you to fix plugin errors, and made our Support Center more easy to navigate. Releases Try WordPress 7.0 before it ships WordPress 7.0 is on its way, and if you’re on a Business or Commerce plan, you can now test the beta on your live and/or staging site. Visit Sites → Your Site → Settings → Server → WordPress, and pick the beta version from the dropdown. WordPress.com takes an…

Credit: DefenseFeedsDefense Feeds, The Hague — The Netherlands is strengthening its precision strike capability as the Netherlands Hellfire missile deal boosts precision strike capability through a $200 million agreement to acquire 530 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.The purchase reflects a broader effort to enhance operational readiness and maintain interoperability with allied forces. As modern conflicts increasingly demand precision engagement, such systems are becoming essential components of military arsenals.The Hellfire missile is widely used across NATO forces and is known for its accuracy and reliability in combat operations. It can be deployed from various platforms, including helicopters and unmanned aerial systems. This flexibility…

UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev didn’t hold back in response to Ronda Rousey’s recent harsh criticism of the promotion. UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey is weeks away from her highly anticipated return to Mixed Martial Arts after a 10-year absence. Rousey and fellow women’s MMA pioneer Gina Carano headline a stacked card on Netflix next month, featuring the returns of Nate Diaz, Mike Perry, and former UFC heavyweight titleholder Francis Ngannou. Ahead of her return to the cage, Rousey has been especially critical of her former employers, specifically when it comes to discussing UFC fighter pay. Rousey recently labeled…

The Defense Department has completed its $1 billion investment in L3Harris Technologies’ missile-making unit, ahead of a planned initial public offering later this year.DOD’s capital infusion is a convertible preferred security that will convert into common equity if, as planned, the IPO turns the company’s Missile Solutions business into an independent, publicly-traded company. DOD is also receiving warrants to purchase additional shares.L3Harris said Thursday it will retain roughly 80% ownership of the new company.Missile Solutions houses much of the defense portfolio of Aerojet Rocketdyne, which L3Harris acquired in 2023 to enter the solid-rocket-motor and munitions markets. Aerojet was one of the two primary providers of…

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s cybersecurity hub is organizing a new project focused on helping critical infrastructure organizations gain better visibility into their operational technology environments. Cherilyn Pascoe, director of NIST’s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, said the NCCoE is launching the OT cybersecurity project after working on several efforts related to specific critical infrastructure sectors. The center in recent years has worked on a water and wastewater cybersecurity project, and more recently, it released a draft document to help transit agencies implement NIST’s cybersecurity framework, among many other initiatives. “We started to think about, let’s step back.…

Alkmaar-class vessels are equipped with a hull-mounted sonar system to detect underwater objects, including mines. Credit: © Ukraine MoD. Ukraine is set to add the Alkmaar-class minehunter HNLMS Makkum to its naval fleet after receiving the vessel from the Netherlands.   The ship, which will be renamed ‘Henichesk’, honours a previous Ukrainian minehunter lost in combat operations near the Kinburn Spit in 2022.  Discover B2B Marketing That Performs Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms. Find out more Ukrainian service personnel are currently training aboard the vessel as preparations continue for ‘Henichesk’.   The Alkmaar-class minehunters are designed to detect and clear sea…

Iran Press TV Thursday, 23 April 2026 6:30 AM The Iranian ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations has strongly protested to the world body over the United States’ misuse of the airspace and territory of five Persian Gulf Arab countries for illegal strikes on the Islamic Republic during the imposed war. Amir-Saeid Iravani made the remarks in a statement in letters addressed to the UN chief and the Security Council president on Wednesday. He stressed that countries bear international responsibility not to allow others to use their territory for committing acts of aggression and armed attacks against a…