Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

The United States is preparing for cyber conflict with a military structure that still treats cyberspace as a secondary supporting function.We have soldiers for land, sailors for sea, airmen for air, and guardians for space. But in cyberspace, a borderless domain where American forces are engaged with adversaries every day, we still do not have a military service whose central purpose is to build a quality, expert force, equipped with the most cutting-edge capabilities, for war-fighting in the cyber domain.For more than a decade, Washington has tried to patch this problem instead of fixing it. Congress has granted U.S. Cyber…

Many disabled veterans serve in agencies. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2024 about one-fifth of employed veterans with a service-connected disability worked for the federal government. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Veterans Affairs Department is one of the most common agencies where veterans work. It employs more than 105,000 vets, according to federal workforce data from the Office of Personnel Management, which is nearly a quarter of the department’s workforce. Several disabled veterans who work at the VA told Government Executive, however, that they feel the department is pushing them out of their jobs. At the start of his second…

Joint statementWednesday 8 July 2026 The Hon Anthony Albanese MPPrime Minister of Australia The Hon James MarapePrime Minister of Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Prime Minister James Marape held the sixth Australia-Papua New Guinea Annual Leaders’ Dialogue on 8 July 2026 in Brisbane.The Prime Ministers acknowledged the Turrbal and Jagera peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which they met and recognised other people or families with connection to the lands of the Brisbane region. They acknowledged and respected their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of the city and region.The…

The Pentagon is exploring cheap, long-range drone options that may eventually replace the MQ-9 Reaper. The search comes after dozens of MQ-9s were swatted out of the sky during the Iran war, according to a May 13 Congressional Research Service report. With the Air Force currently possessing about 135 Reapers — which cost approximately $30 million apiece — such a loss rate is not sustainable, especially against a force like Iran, whose air defenses are less sophisticated than those of China or Russia. “The Joint Force’s reliance on low-density, high-value ‘exquisite’ (>$30 million) manned and unmanned aircraft is unsustainable against…

Ankara, Türkiye – 07 July 2026 – At the NATO Summit Defence Forum, the governments of Belgium, Croatia, France, Poland, Spain, Türkiye and the United Kingdom, launched a High Visibility Project for the Airbus A400M. This multinational initiative builds on the success of the Multinational MRTT Fleet (MMF). It is designed to address strategic airlift capability gaps among European allies, with the eventual establishment of a Multinational Fleet centred on the Airbus A400M military aircraft. Built upon a ‘pooling and sharing’ strategy, this initiative envisions different stages of cooperation among participating  nations, ranging from a multinationally owned and operated A400M…

The United Kingdom’s much-awaited Defence Investment Plan is finally published, detailing the Ministry of Defence’s spending commitments for the coming years. On 30th June, the British government published the United Kingdom’s Defence Investment Plan (DIP). The DIP has been the subject of controversy: Its initial publication date of 2025 slipped to early 2026 and thence to the summer. The document finally saw the light of day at the end of June. Delays were blamed on wranglings between the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Treasury, the UK’s economic and financial ministry. Specifically, the Treasury and MOD were at loggerheads…

Every five years, amid the red banners, choreographed pageantry, and lofty speeches of its party congress, the Communist Party of Vietnam releases two staid policy documents: a political report and a socioeconomic development plan. Although infused with party rhetoric, these texts are more than ideological pronouncements. They define the governing agenda for the next five-year political cycle. In a system in which formal politics is opaque, these documents provide the clearest sense of what the leadership wants to do.The latest documents, released at the party congress in January, reveal that Vietnam is headed in a new direction. The party is…

ANKARA, July 8, 2026 – As NATO Allies step up efforts to strengthen defence industrial capacity and resilience amid rising security challenges, Hanwha Aerospace has reaffirmed its long-term commitment to supporting Europe’s defence industrial transformation. Speaking at the NATO Defence Industry Forum panel session in Ankara, held as part of the Allies in Ankara programme on the sidelines of the NATO Summit, Jacek Cyrek, President and CEO of Hanwha Aerospace Europe, highlighted the company’s continued efforts to help strengthen Europe’s defence industrial base through long-term industrial partnerships, local production and technology cooperation. “The security environment is evolving at an unprecedented…

Mario Bautista doesn’t exactly live on social media but he had to take a look when he saw the UFC tagged him in a post recently ahead of his rematch against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 329.The first fight between the bantamweights took place over six years ago when Bautista made his octagon debut on a week’s notice but ultimately suffered an armbar submission loss to Sandhagen in the opening round. With a chance to avenge the first loss of his career now just days away, Bautista admitted he was surprised to see the context of the post from the UFC.“Looking…

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org Since U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich became NATO’s top military officer in July 2025, the alliance has contended with Russian drone incursions and hybrid warfare against its members and Moscow’s continued aggression in Ukraine. Now the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, a career fighter pilot, is trying to guide a major transformation of the forces under his command. The “NATO Force Model” is being adapted as the Trump administration…