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The Hibiki-class auxiliary ocean surveillance ship JS Bingo was commissioned on 9 March 2026. (JMSDF)Japanese shipyards have marked a busy close to the fiscal year, with a series of support and combat vessels delivered or launched for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in the first half of March.The spike in activity began on 9 March with the commissioning of JS Bingo (pennant number ‘5204’), the fourth Hibiki-class auxiliary ocean surveillance ship. It was inducted into the JMSDF at the Tamano yard of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Maritime Systems.Featuring a small waterplane area twin hull (SWATH) design, the class is…

This article was originally posted to the Authors Substack. Check it out here In an ever changing landscape of MMA organizations, it is rare when a promotion can catch the eye of fans and provide a new take on the traditional format of mixed martial arts. This is exactly what the upstart league called Black Combat have done in South Korea. Black combat was founded in 2022 by Pyungwha Park, also known as “Godfather Black”, with the hopes of providing a new platform for fighters in South Korea and Asia as a whole. Originally, Black Combat was started as a…

Although it was the United States and Israel that instigated attacks on Iran on February 28, leaders in Tehran deserve some of the blame for failing to effectively deter their adversaries. As the deceased commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, once put it, maintaining deterrence is like riding a bicycle: “You have to keep pedaling all the time, or else the bicycle will fall.” Over the past three years, Iran started to lose its balance; now it has tipped over.In recent decades, Tehran developed what it believed was a system of layered deterrence. It…

FORT BRAGG, N.C. – With a final roll in front of family, friends and alumni, the guidon of Fox Company, 91st Civil Affairs Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), was cased on March 6. This marked the formal inactivation of a unit whose work was pivotal to U.S. Army missions across Africa, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific. The ceremony, steeped in military tradition, symbolized the end of the company’s mission as part of a broader transformation within U.S. Army Special Operations. The strategic realignment is designed to maximize adaptability to the complex and evolving security environments across Africa, the…

There is a particular kind of vertigo that comes from watching a diplomatic scenario you spent decades trying to prevent materialize in real time. For more than two decades, I served on the frontlines of the U.S.-Mexican relationship, including as Mexico’s ambassador to the United States. With government colleagues, as well as NGOs and civil society partners, I sat through years of complex negotiations with U.S. officials, from both Republican and Democratic administrations, over counternarcotics cooperation and efforts to build a shared, holistic vision for the United States’ and Mexico’s common security. During that time, U.S. policymakers accepted high levels…

Attorneys for Cathy Harris, the Democratic member of the Merit Systems Protection Board who was fired by President Trump last year, on Wednesday appealed her removal to the Supreme Court, arguing that her case is legally distinct from the Supreme Court’s ongoing examination of Humphrey’s Executor.Harris, along with Senate-confirmed officials at a slew of independent and quasi-judicial agencies, was removed from her post in February 2025, three years in advance of the end of her prescribed term, despite the law establishing the agency that adjudicates federal workers’ appeals of adverse personnel actions stipulating that she can only be fired for…

Milrem Robotics, the world’s leading developer of robotics and autonomous systems, and Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ), Poland’s largest defence industry group, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore potential areas of collaboration and bolster strategic defence relations between Estonia, Poland, and Central & Eastern Europe. Under the agreement, Milrem Robotics and PGZ will work together to accelerate the development of advanced defence technologies by leveraging each other’s expertise, industrial capabilities, and technological resources. One focus area includes payload integration on unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), supporting the rapid adaptation of innovative systems to meet evolving operational requirements. The cooperation…

Franco Tenaglia is a decorated combatant across multiple combat sports and the former BKFC lightweight champion debuts with the Professional Fighters League this week. It all goes down at PFL Madrid, which transpires on March 20th with Yassin Najid standing opposite of Tenaglia inside the Smart Cage. A lot of fighters will express sentiments akin to, “I’m willing to have a fight anywhere”, but the Argentinian fighter embodies that idea. When referencing his showcase on the visceral King of the Streets circuit and how he is about that action, as it were, Tenaglia said [via Bowks Talking Bouts], “Yeah. As…

Sputnik News 20260317 MOSCOW (Sputnik) – US intelligence has not detected any divisions within Iran’s leadership following the launch of the military operation against the country, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Based on US intelligence assessments following the outbreak of war, the Iranian government will remain intact, the report said. There are no clear signs of a split or defections within the Iranian leadership, the report added. US President Donald Trump receives “very sobering briefings” on US intelligence, and even before he gave the go-ahead for the joint conflict with Israel, he was…

3/18/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary | Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University wpDiscuzInsert