Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

At the Port of Beirut, the new scanners did exactly what they were built to do. They saw the lithium batteries. They saw the drone propellers. They saw the fiber optic cable. They matched the scans against the paperwork, found no obvious deception, and cleared the cargo.That was the problem.The threat was not hidden in any single container. It was spread across many of them, arriving over weeks, through different vessels, different companies, and different bills of lading. The AI could identify what each shipment contained, but couldn’t figure out what those shipments, taken together, might be building toward.As a…

Credit: Defense FeedsDefense Feeds – Rome. The Italy Moves to Acquire Retired U.S. Marine Corps AAVs program highlights Rome’s ongoing efforts to enhance amphibious warfare capabilities as European militaries continue adapting to evolving security challenges across the Mediterranean and NATO’s southern flank.Italy is seeking to purchase retired Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAVs) formerly operated by the U.S. Marine Corps through a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) arrangement valued at approximately $30 million. The proposed acquisition would provide the Italian Armed Forces with additional armored amphibious transport capabilities while supporting future expeditionary and maritime operations.The move comes as NATO members increasingly focus on…

Congress rarely moves fast, but Reps. Rob Wittman and Pat Ryan are trying to change that. The two lawmakers founded the bipartisan House Defense Modernization Caucus in 2024 and have driven reforms through two consecutive defense authorization acts, targeting acquisitions and other bottlenecks. Jonathan sits down with both congressmen to discuss their initiatives, how a caucus without markup power actually moves legislation, and whether bipartisan cooperation on defense can last.Image: Sgt. 1st Class Rakeem Carter via DVIDS.

The TWZ Newsletter Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. The exotic planform configuration concept of Boeing’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) classified demonstrator aircraft that led to the F-47 looks indeed to have been hiding in plain sight on an F-47 Systems Management Office patch. The first actual imagery of this aircraft appears to have leaked this week. Interestingly enough, another exotic stealth demonstrator aircraft that was once also highly classified and directly related to the design of the F-47, Boeing’s Bird of Prey, also featured its planform cryptically on a…

Ciryl Gane is leaving no stone unturned for Alex Pereira.This Sunday, Gane and Pereira face off for the interim UFC heavyweight title in the co-main event of UFC White House. And in preparation for the fight, Gane enlisted the help of Pereira’s kickboxing rival, Artem Vakhitov, to help get ready.Vakhitov fought Pereira for the Glory kickboxing light heavyweight title twice, losing a split decision in their first encounter, before winning a majority decision in the rematch. That fight was the last of Pereira’s kickboxing career, and he believes he knows the recipe to make Pereira have a bad night.“Everyone’s scared,…

Ilia Topuria is putting on his mystic cap and sharing a prediction for his UFC White House fight against Justin Gaethje: a 1st round KO.Topuria is extremely confident coming into his Sunday, June 14th fight against “The Highlight.” And why wouldn’t he be, given his impressive knockout wins over Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira? That’s a legendary streak if there ever was one, and Justin Gaethje’s style seems to play right into Topuria’s strengths.“He’s a great guy, a great fighter who’s done a lot of things in this sport,” Topuria said. “I, as a fan, am quite a…

I had a great talk with an agency partner, Marco from Arsnova, at the WordPress.com booth at WordCamp Europe a few days ago. Halfway through the conversation, I realized the feature I reach for almost every day would erase one of the most tedious parts of an agency’s job: chasing down client edits one screenshot at a time. Studio Code is an agentic WordPress expert that lives in your terminal, helping you build sites, plugins, and themes locally on your computer. It’s part of the WordPress Studio suite of tools. Just describe what you want in plain language, and it…

A new bill from the U.S. House of Representatives wants to hear the Navy’s plans for at-sea reloading of vertical launching system (VLS) cells on U.S. Navy warships.  The House Armed Services Committee’s markup of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2027 includes provisions for a briefing on the service’s efforts in implementing and progressing this reloading capability.  “The committee recognizes the operational need for near-term, expeditionary approaches to sustain naval surface-combatant operations in contested maritime environments,” read the bill draft. “The committee notes that uncertainty regarding the availability of future at-sea rearming capabilities underscores the importance of…

PARIS, France, April 20, 2026 – VITEC, a leader in Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) video streaming solutions, will present its latest video streaming technologies during Eurosatory 2026, held at Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre, June 15-19. Hall 5a, Booth D55 will feature a range of tactical video systems, including the PRISM SFF (small form factor), VITEC’s most compact transcoder to date. Also on show will be VITEC’s TOUGH encoder family, and the MGW Diamond H, all designed to meet the most demanding military and defense applications. “PRISM SFF was built for defense and security teams requiring full transcoding capability…

“Help is on its way,” U.S. President Donald Trump promised in January, as Iranians took to the streets and were killed by the thousands by government forces. Six weeks later, the U.S. military offensive against Iran began. Trump offered several rationales, including the claim that the American attack would provide Iranians an opportunity to bring down their regime and replace it with something better. “The hour of your freedom is at hand,” he said to Iranians in a video address the night the war began. “When we are finished, take over your government.”Trump’s implicit assertion was that the Iranian people…