Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

As the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency rebuilds its workforce after last year’s DOGE cuts, job applicants need to bring some AI proficiency, the agency’s associate operations director said Tuesday.“We’re hiring now, and every single new person we hire has to prove some capability of AI and data management,” Navy Rear Adm. Michael Baker said at the Defense One Tech Summit. “Every single new hire has to go through AI and data management training.”It’s not just the new employees, Baker said: “Every single old hire has to go through AI training and data management so that all of us are operating inside…

Bittium has received purchase orders from the Finnish Defence Forces for system support of the Bittium Tough SDR Handheld and Vehicular radios, designed for tactical communication, as well as for the Bittium Tactical Wireless IP Network™ (TAC WIN) software‑defined radio system. The purchase orders apply to the year 2026 and include technical support for the systems, software and security updates and system support management. The value of the purchase orders is approximately EUR 5 million. Bittium has also received a purchase order from the Finnish Defence Forces for TAC WIN system and Bittium Tough VoIP™ communication system devices. The purchase…

Australia’s latest National Defence Strategy (NDS) has underlined the country’s need to secure critical undersea infrastructure (CUI). To meet this seabed warfare mission quickly, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is looking to the commercial underwater industry to provide the required capability. Discussing how foreign interference is posing intensified threats to Australian security and sovereignty, the NDS said “Critical seabed infrastructure, the backbone of Australia’s digital communications, remains vulnerable to sabotage by hostile nations.” Indeed, the NDS listed ‘supporting critical infrastructure’ as the third (of six) capability effects priorities for the Australian Defence Force (ADF). Highlighting Australia’s growing focus on the…

Air Force leaders have given initial production contracts to Anduril and General Atomics, which will both build collaborative combat aircraft based on their respective prototypes. Northrop Grumman’s self-financed offering was not selected.Several companies also received money to develop software that will compete to pilot the service’s future fleet of drone wingmen.The Increment 1 CCA contracts are for three lots of the drone wingmen, Air Force Col. Timothy Helfrich, the portfolio acquisition executive for fighters and advanced aircraft, told reporters during a briefing on Wednesday. He declined to say how many CCAs would be in each lot, nor how much each…

The Japan-Turkey Defence Industry Cooperation Day, a matchmaking event held on the sidelines of the SAHA 2026 defense expo in Istanbul, May 6, 2026. (Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency)On May 8, Japan’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) announced that it had signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Turkey’s Secretariat of Defence Industries (SSB) with a view to establishing a working-level group to deepen joint collaboration on defense equipment.The agreement was forged on May 6 during the first edition of the Japan-Turkey Defence Industry Cooperation Day, a matchmaking event attended by both officials and industry representatives held on the…

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 With key members of Congress wavering on the possibility of a $350 billion defense reconciliation bill, defense experts told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the Pentagon is likely drawing up budget backup plans—but such plans would face hard choices between high-end weapons and low-cost drones and other programs in U.S. military’s autonomous arsenal. The Defense Department’s $1.5 trillion budget request for 2027 is split in an unusual way, with $1.15…

Rizin and ONE Championship have had instances of engaging in a quasi-turf war over the years, with the former intimating recently that the latter is reaching out to raid their talent roster. This was discussed during a recent press conference involving Rizin Fighting Federation figurehead Nobuyuki Sakakibara, who called out Chatri Sityodtong’s organization for reportedly questionable practices but yet, Sakakibara is still indicating an interest in collaborating with ONE Championship someday. ONE Championship has made more of a focused effort to expand into Rizin’s domestic market of Japan, with the Singapore-based promotion ramping up their schedule in the land of…

Alex Pereira and Sean O’Malley had fairly different outcomes in their respective UFC Freedom 250 bouts, with the latter offering up an intriguing behind-the-scenes quip regarding the former from the pre-fight build. While Pereira fell short against Ciryl Gane in a bid to become the UFC’s first-ever three-division champion, the loss was not without controversy, as is seemingly customary these days with the newly minted two-time UFC interim heavyweight champ Gane. Sean O’Malley secured a highlight reel finish over Aiemann Zahabi in his June 14th bout and also took time to cover the illegal strikes that were landed to the…

People’s Daily Online (Xinhua) 09:07, June 17, 2026 Experts point out that based on the details released so far, the agreement does not fundamentally resolve the long-standing differences between the United States and Iran over issues such as the nuclear program, nor does it reduce the mutual distrust between the two sides. TEHRAN/WASHINGTON, June 16 (Xinhua) — The United States and Iran both claimed victory after digitally signing on Monday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at ending the three-month conflict, yet both sides continue to offer conflicting accounts of its contents as the text remains unpublished. Iran called the…

07:41 17.6.2026 US Vice President JD Vance said on June 16 that the US government has not yet released the text of its memorandum of understanding with Iran because of ongoing diplomatic sensitivities involving both Tehran and regional mediators. Speaking on The Megyn Kelly Show, Vance said there were “some sensitive diplomatic issues going on” and that Iran, along with mediators including Pakistan and Qatar, had asked Washington to proceed carefully with the process. “There are sensitivities in the Arab and Muslim world that we try to be responsive and considerate of,” Vance said, explaining the delay in publishing the…