Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

France’s push to enlist its car industry to produce military drones is moving to industrial implementation, as partnerships between automakers, car-part suppliers and defense firms turn lessons from the war in Ukraine into working assembly lines.Since the start of the year, at least six defense-automotive tie-ups have been announced, as President Emmanuel Macron’s government seeks to combine the scale, automation and cost discipline of France’s car sector with one of the fastest-growing segments of military technology.Ukraine and Russia’s use of drones has reshaped warfare, and that has prompted France and its European allies to prioritise drone production, as pressure from…

Stability is one of the most overlooked parts of fitness. Most people focus on how much they can lift, how fast they can run, or how many calories they burn. Those are all useful measures of performance, but they tell only part of the story. Good stability allows you to control your body during movement. It helps you maintain balance, transfer force efficiently, protect your joints, and perform everyday tasks with confidence. Whether you are walking upstairs, carrying groceries, playing sports, or lifting weights, your body depends on stability to move safely and effectively. Poor stability is linked with a…

The U.S. Department of War (DOW) uses the annual Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process to determine which missions, capabilities, and programs it will fund each year. However, cross-cutting portfolios—those that indirectly support multiple missions—are often underfunded, in part because the PPBE process is not structured to defensibly articulate and prioritize their critical role in mission success. The authors of this report developed an approach to guide the assessment of cross-cutting portfolios, along with a tailorable, prototype Excel workbook that implements this approach. They then tested and iteratively refined the evaluation approach through a pilot assessment of a subset…

TAIPEI – Taiwan began major military drills on Wednesday to test commanders’ ability to fight on the fly when enemy movements defy expectations, while temporarily limiting internet access for the first time, senior Taiwan officials said.The 10-day annual Han Kuang exercise began early in the morning after an underground command center in Taipei issued the drill order, triggering combat-readiness moves that will include fighter-jet dispersals and emergency naval deployments, two senior Taiwan officials briefed on the matter told Reuters.Taiwan will also incorporate for the first time a so-called “backbrief” approach modeled on U.S. military practice, in which junior officers receiving…

Ian Machado Garry is putting his diet front and center before the biggest fight of his career. The Irish welterweight has joined forces with PETA for its new “The Future Is Vegan” campaign ahead of his UFC 330 title challenge against Islam Makhachev on August 15 in Philadelphia. The Irish-born UFC athlete appears in a video spot promoting plant-based eating, with the 28-year-old saying his switch has changed how he trains and recovers. “Before I was plant-based, I was strong. But now, I’m on another level,” he says in the campaign, linking the lifestyle to his endurance, discipline and focus.…

Following the recent announcement that a Saildrone Voyager unmanned surface vehicle directly aided the U.S. Navy during a drug interdiction in the Caribbean that led to the seizure of more than $81 million worth of cocaine, the Navy has awarded the California-based company a $16.3 million task order to extend operations of the Voyager fleet in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, according to a recent release.The extension is in line with the Trump administration’s efforts to curb illicit narcotics flowing into the United States via alleged drug-carrying vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.Since 2023, Saildrone’s USVs have…

Could Israel once again build its own combat aircraft? Growing concerns over the future of U.S. defense policy and the risk of potential arms restrictions are fueling a renewed debate in Jerusalem over greater defense autonomy. While reviving the iconic Lavi fighter is considered unrealistic, defense officials and analysts are increasingly discussing a new generation of indigenous stealth aircraft and autonomous combat drones designed to reduce Israel’s dependence on foreign suppliers. Israel revisits the idea of an indigenous combat aircraft As part of a broader effort to strengthen the independence of its defense industry, Israel is once again debating the…

Army soldiers for generations have guided horse-drawn caissons through Arlington National Cemetery as they escort the country’s fallen to their final resting place. Now, as the service overhauls the animals’ care, soldiers who care for the horses have a career classification of their own. The Army recently established the 08H Army Equestrian military occupational specialty and Staff Sgt. Shawn Tabor and Sgt. Daimien Copeland, both assigned to the Caisson Detachment at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, are among the first soldiers to qualify for the new role after completing an 18-week horsemanship program.“When the 08H opportunity came around, there was no…

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on The War Horse, an award-winning nonprofit news organization educating the public on military service. Subscribe to their newsletter.It was only a month after the roadside bombing. I was still in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, in June 2006, undergoing successive rounds of surgery. Rods protruded from my limbs, keeping the broken bones of my right forearm and left thigh immobile until the doctors could complete a series of bone grafts and insert the titanium screws and bars so that my broken extremities would hold on their own.It was an exhausting and painful process,…

Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and efforts to extract payments for safe passage — plus, more recently, the Houthis’ move to attack Saudi shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — have highlighted the risks of maritime chokepoints to global shipping and raised questions about the future for freedom of navigation. The impacts extend beyond the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, so we asked five experts to consider the implications for several other crucial waterways: the Strait of Malacca, the Taiwan Strait, the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal, and the Turkish Straits.Read more below.Patrick M. CroninAsia-Pacific Security Chair…