Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

Andrei Arlovski is a true-born fighter who deserves all of the plaudits coming his way after his successful stint in bare-knuckle boxing.It almost seemed like the entire combat sports community rallied behind Arlovski’s Oscar-worthy life story, which has now added another chapter with his latest BKFC title win. At his age, most fighters are retired, out of shape, and enjoying life away from competition, but not ‘The Pitbull’.Not only did the Belarusian capture BKFC gold, overthrowing a man unbeaten in the promotion, all while recently celebrating his 47th birthday, but he also did so after beating cancer three times. Being…

Shaw Concepts – ARC Helmet Cover Coming soon from Shaw Concepts is their ARC Helmet Cover. The team went over it with me during SHOT Show and it will fit both the USMC issue ECH as well as USSOCOM’s FAST SF from Gentex. They’ve designed it so that it will fit different sized helmets as well. The ARC Cover will be available in The cover will be available in various camouflage patterns, including MARPAT Woodland, MARPAT Desert, MultiCam, Woodland, MultiCam Tropic, and MultiCam Arid. As you can see from the photos, it’s well laid out for cable routing and accessory…

The Central Intelligence Agency is overhauling its acquisition process to get new tech faster, officials said Monday. A new framework introduces a vendor-vetting system, streamlines IT authorization, and “provides clear pathways for CIA to leverage its unique authorities to acquire essential capabilities, rapidly onboard breakthrough technology prototypes, and modernize its core systems to meet urgent mission needs,” according to a Feb. 9 statement.The effort is led by Efstathia Fragogiannis, an alum of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency who joined the agency as its procurement chief in November, according to a CIA official who spoke with Nextgov/FCW ahead of release.The official said the framework is a…

BERLIN — A new video snapped by a potato farmer appears to confirm that Algeria is the first country to have received the fifth-generation Su-57 stealth fighter jet from Russia.The online video shows the distinctive silhouette of Russia’s most modern fighter jet against a blue sky over a landscape with spread-out hills consistent with northern Algeria. It appears to have originated from the Arabic-language TikTok user doz.kbran, whose public profile also features Algerian soccer clips and cityscapes. The video was reportedly recorded near Oum El Bouaghi Air Base, located by the town of Ain Beida. The landscape and terrain surrounding…

This interview is part of a series of interviews with academics and practitioners at an early stage of their career. The interviews discuss current research and projects, as well as advice for other early career scholars. Constanza Jorquera is an International Relations Specialist and Foreign Affairs Analyst whose work focuses on East Asian geopolitics, Chinese and Korean foreign policy, gender and international relations, and feminist foreign policy. She holds a PhD in American Studies and both a BA and MA in International Studies from the University of Santiago, Chile. She currently serves as a professor of international relations at the…

Lifting heavy weights overhead—and keeping it overhead—is challenging. That’s where lockout issues happen. Elbows drift forward, ribs flare, and eventually the press turns into a standing incline bench. The weight still goes up, but the position is gone, along with your power, shoulder health, and much of any long-term progress. Lifters often place the blame on either weak triceps or the load itself. But usually the issue is poor overhead positioning. A strong lockout requires shoulder flexion, upward rotation, and thoracic extension to work together. If you can’t get there without compensation, it puts stress where it doesn’t belong. Improving…

British soldiers are to get an array of AI-ready kit that should mean they don’t have to wait to see the “whites of their eyes” before pulling the trigger. The £86 million contract covers the Dismounted Data System (DDS). According to an MoD statement, “the AI-capable equipment includes radios, headsets, display tablets, cables, batteries, pouches, and antennas.” This will deliver both voice and visual data, thereby “maximizing effectiveness across all battlefield situations.” The MoD said this digital panoply means troops will receive “precise information on surroundings and intelligence, meaning increased clarity on who are enemies and who are comrades.” The kit was already trialed in…

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has completed its initial review of defense contractors it believes are falling short of the department’s expectations, but needs more time to assess before finalizing a so-called naughty list that could halt stock buybacks or investor dividends, according to the department’s top spokesman. “Defense contractors have been notified and made aware that today marks the start of an extended review period in which we will make noncompliance determinations,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell wrote in a statement Monday. “We are engaged in detailed negotiations with many companies and going into great depth to analyze their performance.”…

WORLD DEFENSE SHOW 2026 — Saudi company Intra Defense Technologies unveiled Nathir X, what it calls a mobile electronic support measure (ESM), to better help unmanned aerial vehicles avoid electronic warfare danger zones. “We developed Nathir X … and it is there to protect our aircraft from entering any GNSS [satellite] denied in jamming areas,” Asim Qurashi, Intra’s vice president for engineering and innovations, told Breaking Defense. Speaking at Intra’s booth at the World Defense Show in Saudi Arabia where a Nathir X was on display, Qurashi said the first prototype was developed four months ago and is being field-tested…

This Spend Matters Vendor Analysis provides an overview of Kloopify, a costing and cost management solution that delivers deep, granular insights with minimal data input.  In a volatile business environment where suppliers often hold more information than buyers, procurement’s ability to understand why prices move has become a defining capability. Many organizations can track what they spend, but few can explain what drives those costs. And when buyers cannot challenge supplier narratives with data, they risk sliding into ‘silent slopes’ or leaving money on the table.  Tools like Kloopify help procurement reverse that dynamic. The platform transforms standard spend and item data into SKU-level cost visibility, enabling sourcing teams to see beyond unit prices and engage suppliers with factual, data-backed insights. Rather…