Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

In 1990, the idea that deployed commanders could access the latest intelligence from three-letter agencies in the middle of nowhere was radical. But the Army was starting to make this idea real through a program called Trojan Spirit, so they could address a major strategic barrier: There were too many systems and databases for intelligence collection and analysis, some centralized and some forward deployed, and little access to practical insights. During Operation Desert Storm, the early Trojan system transitioned out of development and into operational deployment. Trojan Spirit’s first introduction to warfighters during the Gulf War fundamentally changed the battlefield.…

Ministry of Defence of Ukraine 29 June, 2026, 10:30 AM EEST Ukraine is launching Brave International, the official unified framework for cooperation with international partners to advance defense innovation. The relevant resolution was adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. This decision establishes a unified framework and clear rules for existing and future international initiatives, including UNITE Brave NATO, Brave Norway, Brave France, Brave Germany, and Brave Lithuania. The Government’s decision gives the green light to the rapid launch of joint grant competitions under these programs. Importantly, participation will be open not only to Ukrainian companies, but also to…

The Treasury and Health and Human Services departments are breaking federal rules by largely ignoring reasonable accommodation requests from employees with disabilities, the National Treasury Employees Union alleged in a lawsuit filed on Monday. “The defendants are failing to administer even basic threshold steps required by law, regulations and their own internal procedures, such as acknowledging receipt of requests, routing requests to a designated reasonable accommodation coordinator, communicating with employees throughout the request process, resolving requests promptly or considering interim accommodations while requests are under review,” the plaintiff attorneys wrote. As a result, NTEU said that its members have been forced to…

WASHINGTON—The counterdrone industry is booming. So to keep up with—and anticipate—demands, radar-maker Echodyne wants to make 30,000 units a year by early 2027. The company, which is headquartered in Washington state, began building out a new facility near Seattle earlier this year and plans to have it up and running in July. The $40 million plant is expected to ultimately produce at least 30,000 radars a year—an approximate five-fold increase. “Our orders are far exceeding our production capacity, which is why we’ve launched into this new manufacturing facility,” said Eben Frankeburg, the company’s CEO. “The whole counterdrone problem today is that you…

Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on Laser Wars, a newsletter about military laser weapons and other futuristic defense technology. Subscribe here.The U.S. military is closing in on its high-energy laser weapon of choice for counter-drone missions. Now it needs the vehicles to support it.With the demise of its Stryker-based Directed Energy-Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (DE-MSHORAD) program, the U.S. Army has focused its ground-based laser weapon efforts on light tactical vehicles. AeroVironment’s 20 kW LOCUST Laser Weapon System has already been operationally tested aboard both the Infantry Squad Vehicle and the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle through the Army Multi-Purpose…

The Office of Personnel Management this week finalized new regulations granting the agency the power to remove federal workers across government over issues of suitability or misconduct, as the Trump administration launches a new phase in its quest to sidestep decades-old civil service protections.For decades, OPM has had the authority to rule out federal job applicants over conduct that may make them unsuitable for public service. But once someone has been hired—and completed a one-year probationary period—individual agencies have been responsible for addressing misconduct using the same procedures as they employ to remove poor performers, known as Chapter 75 procedures,…

Sputnik News 20260629 TEHRAN (Sputnik) – The first meeting of the Iran-Oman joint committee on the Strait of Hormuz took place in Muscat, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Monday. Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on June 23 that Iran and Oman were creating a joint committee for dialogue on the Strait of Hormuz. “During my trip to Muscat, the first meeting of the joint committee on the Strait of Hormuz was held … During discussions on current issues concerning the strait, we exchanged views on the future management of the strait within the framework…

KNL, a subsidiary of Telenor Group, has been appointed as a supplier under the United Kingdom’s Tactical Communication Systems Framework (RM6393). KNL has been admitted to both Lot 2 – Systems and Lot 3 – Components. The estimated value of the framework is £4.7 billion for Lot 2 – Systems and £727 million for Lot 3 – Components. The framework agreement has an estimated total value of approximately £8 billion and a planned duration of eight years. Admission to both the Systems and Components lots reflects KNL’s capability to deliver both complete communications solutions and specialised technologies for mission-critical defence…

Contracts U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND L3Harris Technologies Inc., Clifton, New Jersey, is being awarded a $613,974,867 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (H9224126DE001) comprising a mix of firm-fixed-price and cost-reimbursement contract line items for contractor logistics support of the Suite of Integrated Radio Frequency Countermeasures system in support of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026 procurement; and fiscal 2026 operations and maintenance, funds in the amount of $40,743,234 are obligated at time of award. This award is a non-competitive contract in accordance with Federal Acquisitions Regulation 6.302-1. USSOCOM, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE AAR…

Last fall, the U.S. Marine Corps had virtually no first-person view attack drones. That’s changed quickly. This episode is about how a team of marines at Weapons Training Battalion at Quantico went from a cold start to building a Marine Corps-wide first-person view drone training system. Ryan was pleased to welcome some great marines onto the show: Col. Scott Cuomo, CWO5 Steve Pearsoll, CWO3 (Gunner) Troy Hotaling, GySgt Jude Stewart, GySgt Justin Creasman, and Sgt Timothy Brockup.Since we recorded this episode, Cuomo has changed command and is off to his next assignment.This episode was brought to you by Onebrief. Learn…