Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

02 February , 2026 – BIRD Aerosystems Ltd., a global provider of innovative airborne defense solutions, announced today that it has secured a tens-of-millions-of-dollars contract to supply its advanced SPREOS DIRCM (Directed Infrared Countermeasure) systems for the Helicopter Upgrade Program in the Asia Pacific Region. The contract was awarded as part of an international tender to protect the helicopter platform. Under the agreement, BIRD Aerosystems will cooperate strategically with a leading  local defense company, including a comprehensive transfer of knowledge and local production of a localized DIRCM configuration. As part of the program, dozens of SPREOS DIRCM systems will be…

A Dec. 8 memo from Office of Personnel Management Director Kupor listing the “Management Opportunities Going Forward” states  “Creating a high-performance culture across government” is the agency’s leading challenge.The memo was a response to the report from OPM’s Office of the Inspector General, “Top Management Challenges for Fiscal Year 2026.” The report caps the reports over decades critiquing OPM and the practices included in “Strategic Human Resource Management.” The Government Accountability Office stated in its 2025 High Risk report that “Heightened Attention [to workforce management] Could Save Billions More and Improve Government Efficiency and Effectiveness.” (italics added)The “challenges” focused on the internal problems OPM needs…

Singapore, Singapore./2 February 2026 – SD Government, (SDG) the division of Gogo (NASDAQ: GOGO) providing satellite communications to global governments, has received US Air Force Air Mobility Command (AMC) T-1 certification for the Roll-on/Roll-off (RO/RO) Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) Tactical Removeable Airborne Satellite Communications (TRASC) capability for C-130 aircraft. The T-1 certification will provide multiple satcom options, beginning with a Gogo Plane Simple Ku-band terminal, and subsequently expanding to offer a Gogo Plane Simple Ka-band terminal, and other network compatibilities to C-130 operators. The TRASC hatch is designed to match the outer mold line of the original Lockheed L-382…

Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovksi logged a dominating performance in his UFC 325 title fight rematch with Diego Lopes on Saturday. With the win, “The Great” tied former two-time featherweight titleholder Jose Aldo for the most title fight wins in UFC featherweight division history. When arguing who’s the greatest featherweight of all time, it always comes down to Volkanovski or Aldo. Max Holloway gets mentions but Volkanovski holds three wins over the Hawaiian. Former two-division champion and UFC commentator Daniel Cormier believes Volkanovski has surpassed Aldo in featherweight greatness. Strengthening that assertion is Volkanovski holding a one-sided decision win over “Junior.”…

Singapore / Haifa, Israel – Rafael Advanced Defense Systems will participate in the Singapore Airshow 2026, presenting a broad portfolio of combat-proven solutions spanning air superiority, multilayered air defense, advanced intelligence, and tactical and strategic precision-strike capabilities. RAFAEL’s presence at the show reflects the growing operational need to connect sensing, decision-making and precision effects into a coherent operational framework. The systems on display demonstrate how forces can build reliable situational awareness across multiple domains and translate it into decisive action in complex and contested environments. Yoav Tourgeman, CEO & President of RAFAEL, said: “Modern operations increasingly depend on the ability…

Singapore will buy four P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft plus eight MK 54 torpedoes from Boeing in the USA. (Gordon Arthur)On 20 January, the USA announced it had approved the sale of four Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, plus associated MK 54 lightweight torpedoes, to Singapore.A notification from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) listed an estimated price tag of US$2.316 billion for four P-8s and eight MK 54 MOD 0 torpedoes destined for the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF).This deal had already been announced, following a meeting between Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing and US Secretary of…

Recall the image etched in memory: a bulldozer driven by fighters of the self-proclaimed Islamic State smashing through the earthen berm on the Iraq-Syria border, militants cheering atop the machine. That moment was not just a border violation. It was a bullet fired at the history of the modernizing Middle East. Western analysts lamented that the end of artificial states had arrived, while militants celebrated the end of history. They were all wrong. Today, that berm is back, standing in place as if exacting revenge. The line was not erased. On the contrary, it transformed into the region’s life raft.…

KWU SENSHI Chile invites all practitioners to take part in a Karate Seminar led by Sensei Nicolás Valdivia, to be held in a unique setting that combines martial training with direct contact with nature. The seminar will take place at Playa Mehuín, San José de la Mariquina, a privileged seaside location, and is designed to strengthen technical, physical, and mental aspects of Kyokushin Karate, reinforcing the discipline and martial spirit that define our organization. Event Information Date: Saturday, February 7 Time: 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM Location: Playa Mehuín, San José de la Mariquina, Chile Organization The event is organized…

Baltic Defence Ministers sign a letter of intent to send capabilities across borders for mutual defence. Credit: Estonian Defence Forces. Defence ministers for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania met in Tallinn to pursue the creation of a Military Mobility Area on Nato’s Eastern Flank This model will allow the flow of military assets across borders, unrestircted by bureaucratic niceities But there is a loftier goal in mind: to expand the Area to the rest of Europe, which will prove challenging as military mobility remains deficient despite EU and Nato ambitions Baltic defence leaders gathered in Tallinn at the end of January…

HONG KONG — The United States and Taiwan are expected to roll out their latest hardware and use elite Taiwanese troops under a joint project to prepare for asymmetric warfare in case the island government’s long-time political rival China attacks, according to military experts.That effort, the Joint Firepower Cooperation Center, as first reported by Taiwan’s United Daily News late last month, would help coordinate a Taiwanese defense against the People’s Liberation Army forces ahead of 2027, when some American think tanks believe China will have sufficient attack capability.The United States would likely offer military equipment made by some of its…