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Update: It appears that Street Fighter 6 may have actually broken its player record after all, and you can find the details on that added to the story below. Street Fighter 6 is approaching its third anniversary in a few months, and the game may be bigger than its ever been (and it was already the top dog). Following the end of Capcom Cup 12, Capcom released a long-awaited major update for Street Fighter 6 containing…

The Modern War Institute, in partnership with the Irregular Warfare Initiative and the Association of the US Army, presents Five Years Later: Remembering the Lessons of Afghanistan, a USMA Class of 1992 War Council. The event will take place on 6-7 May 2026 at the AUSA Conference Center in Arlington, Virginia.This War Council is intended to complement the work of the Afghanistan War Commission by focusing on lessons for the US Army. Attendees are encouraged to contribute to the summer 2026 edition of the Modern War Journal, which will capture the lessons of Afghanistan for future generations of military leaders.Dress…

When leaders fire their top generals, they may be clearing the path to war or quietly sabotaging their own military.On Jan. 24, 2026, China’s defense ministry announced that the nation’s highest-ranking general, Zhang Youxia, a vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, was under investigation for unspecified violations of laws and political discipline. Since 2022, General Secretary Xi Jinping has removed five of the six generals serving on the Central Military Commission, including Zhang. In less than three years, dozens of other senior military officials have also been removed. Many of these officers were promoted by Xi after he assumed power…

Terry Gerton GAO has a new report out, talking about the government’s inventory of federal programs. It has been impossible to evaluate government program performance because the government can’t actually inventory all of its programs. What makes it so hard to make a comprehensive list here? Dawn Locke We don’t know what’s making this so difficult or what’s slowing down OMB. They have not responded to our questions, nor did they provide comments on our draft report. We really acknowledge that this is incredibly complex, especially given the size and scope of the government. We also know there are various…

On 12 March, following a tender procedure, the Ministry of Defence of the Netherlands and Damen Shipyards Group signed a contract for the delivery of three Damen Stan Patrol (SPa) 5009 vessels for the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard. The new vessels will replace three Damen SPa 4100 vessels that have been in operation for over 25 years.  The Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard is a joint effort comprising the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the region. The coast guard will operate the SPa 5009 vessels, which are expected to be delivered in early 2029, for maritime surveillance,…

People’s Daily Online (Xinhua) 08:57, March 18, 2026 JERUSALEM, March 17 (Xinhua) — The Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday that it carried out precision airstrikes in Tehran, killing Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Basij volunteer force, and Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. Larijani is considered a key decision-maker in Iran following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28. Citing security sources, Israeli state-owned Kan TV News and other media reported that the strikes also targeted Akram al-Ajouri, head of the military wing of the Islamic Jihad group, who is believed to have…

Commissaries will soon start charging shoppers for paper and plastic single-use bags. Starting April 6, customers will pay 5 cents each for plastic bags and 10 cents for paper bags. The move will save the commissary system money, officials stated in their announcement about the change. It “will allow the Defense Commissary Agency to continue to offer its eligible patrons significant savings while strengthening its fiscal stewardship and reducing operating expenses,” officials stated. According to a DOD Comptroller document, the move will save the commissary system at least $17 million in fiscal 2026. But information wasn’t available about whether that…

The Pentagon should audit its labs and their projects to make sure scientists aren’t developing technology that can be bought off-the-shelf or spun up by startups, according to a recommendation from the Ronald Reagan Institute’s latest National Security Innovation Base report card. “The review would specifically be focused on, given all the emphasis on commercial first, ensuring that those organizations and that funding is properly aligned and not duplicative of, or in some cases, competitive of what commercial industry is doing,” Eric Snelgrove, a subject matter expert who contributed to the report, told Defense One. “If you look at why the…

Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on Laser Wars, a newsletter about military laser weapons and other futuristic defense technology. Subscribe here.For decades, the U.S. military’s dream of high-energy laser weapons has been perpetually “five years away.” Now, the Pentagon says it wants to finally make them an operational reality within the next three.Speaking on a panel at the National Defense Industrial Association’s annual Pacific Operational Science and Technology conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, on March 9, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies Michael Dodd stated that the Defense Department plans on fielding directed energy weapons such as lasers and…

Costello van Steenis knew the moment he wrapped up a buzzer-beating rear-naked choke to put Johnny Eblen to sleep and become PFL middleweight champion that his first title defense was going to end up as a rematch.Undefeated prior to that stunning submission loss, Eblen seemed like a frontrunner to get another shot at van Steenis, especially given the attention their first fight received. The highlight reel finish was MMA Fighting’s Submission of the Year and even van Steenis has learned to embrace that moment after seemingly seeing it hundreds of times now.“I’ve seen it everywhere,” van Steenis said about the…