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Defence

Defence
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Defence. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
A policeman walks past a poster of a Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mark 1A ahead of its maiden flight in India last October. Photo: Reuters
An Indian Air Force HAL Tejas fighter jet seen at an Air Force Station in Jodhpur on September 20. Photo: AFP
India’s Chief of the Air Staff A.P. Singh during a bilateral air exercise with Japan’s Air Self-Defence Force in Jodhpur on September 20. Photo: AFP
India

India needs more fighter jets. It cannot build them fast enough

Delayed engines and assembly bottlenecks leave India’s domestic output falling behind the pace of fleet retirements.

European Union

Lithuanians take shelter, Nato jets scramble as suspected drone explodes

Canada

4 dead after high winds turn grass fire deadly at Canadian military base: report

US-China relations

How land power could help US forces counter China in the Indo-Pacific

US commanders say the army’s long-range missiles, air defences and ground operations are vital to deterring China and protecting its forces.

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US soldiers stand beside an air defence system during joint military exercises in Zambales province, the Philippines, in April. Photo: Reuters
North Korea

North Korea says it tested new torpedo with AI tech

Artificial intelligence was used for target detection and guidance in the new high-speed precision-guided weapon, state media says.

Japan

Okinawa drops opposition to hosting crash-prone US Osprey aircraft

Governor Genta Koja, who took office last month, reversed the prefecture’s long-standing opposition to the deployment.

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North Korea

North Korea’s dual undersea missile launches test regional defence

Analysts say North Korea’s ‘unprecedented’ submarine-launched cruise missile tests could overwhelm adversaries’ defence networks.

An underwater-launched missile test in North Korea’s eastern waters on Wednesday. Photo: Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP
A combination picture shows what North Korea’s state media KCNA said were two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missile being tested on Wednesday. Photo: KCNA via Reuters
Australia

Australia navy probes hidden camera found in women’s showers on ship

Senator Jacqui Lambie says footage of female sailors may have been uploaded online before the devices were discovered.

US-China relations

Hegseth calls US$1.5 trillion defence budget ‘critical’ to counter China

Pentagon chief warns US risks falling behind China in drones, robotics and AI without major investment in military capabilities.

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Ukraine war

‘Time for Zelensky to go’: Musk escalates satellite slowdown row

SpaceX boss deflects blame to the Trump administration as Kyiv warns Starshield limits cripple drone defence and battlefield strikes.

Elon Musk and Donald Trump in Washington on October 8. Musk said limits on Starshield in Ukraine rest with the US government and the president. Photo: AP
Taiwan

Taiwan turns to US drone boats to track rising mainland Chinese sea activity

High-speed Devil Ray T24 autonomous vessels to join coastguard fleet in major expansion of island’s maritime reconnaissance tools.

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Taiwan’s coastguard says the American Devil Ray T24 uncrewed vessels, along with aerial drones, will be used mainly for “long-range search and reconnaissance, investigation and remote rescue”. Photo: Martac
China’s military drills

China’s Liaoning carrier heads to Pacific as US, Japan prepare for drills

Timing of PLA naval training in western Pacific could overlap with expanded Keen Sword exercise near Taiwan involving 57,000 troops.

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South China Sea

Will South China Sea’s code of conduct remain elusive as deadline looms?

The proposed code can only succeed if it sets clear rules to prevent clashes at sea rather than to resolve territorial claims, analysts say.

Taiwan

Is this the best time for US strategists to push to abandon ambiguity on Taiwan?

Trump’s quiet approach to Taiwan opens door for debate on ending decades-old US policy of strategic ambiguity.

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Analysts say the US strategic ambiguity policy on Taiwan was formed when the US military was much stronger that the PLA. Photo: EPA
The Philippines

No ‘new model’: Philippines stands firm on cutting maritime hotlines with China

Manila says the channels failed to improve trust and were used by Beijing as a ‘smokescreen’ to mask ‘aggressive actions’ at sea.

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A screengrab shows a Chinese coastguard ship firing its water cannon next to a Philippine coastguard ship during a medical evacuation of a Philippine Navy personnel near Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on October 8. Photo: Philippines Coast Guard / AFP
Science

China is working on a submarine tank that can operate underwater for 2 hours

Scientists’ concept includes module operating 50 metres (164 feet) under water for amphibious landing operations.

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US military

Systems to counter missiles and drones take centre stage at US defence expo

Emphasis on air and missile defence at AUSA exhibition reflects concern over aerial threats as conflicts in Ukraine and Middle East drag on.

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Nato

Nato ‘ready to fight tonight’ if attacked, top commander says

General Alexus Grynkewich outlines ‘theory of victory’ in Warsaw amid European warnings of escalating Russian sabotage.

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The Combined Operations and Intelligence Centre in Wiesbaden, Germany, during the Nato exercise 'Avenger Triad 26'. Photo: AFP
Taiwan

Taiwan aims to raise pilot retirement age to 58 as new F-16V jets arrive

Addressing fatigue concerns, chief of staff says the island’s air force has moved away from scrambling fighters to shadowing PLA aircraft.

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China-India relations

Opinion | Despite a China-India thaw, military relations are stuck in 2020

Xi and Modi have shaken hands, border trade has reopened and direct flights have restarted – but their armies are still not talking to each other.

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Poland

Poland detains suspect in alleged plot to attack PM and defence minister

Online activity leads security forces to arrest man in his 60s amid a heightened nationwide security alert.

Poland's Defence Minister Wladyslaw ‌Kosiniak-Kamysz and Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Photo: AFP
Ukraine war

Russian attacks kill 20 in Ukraine after Trump-Putin diesel deal

The diesel deal contrasted a sweeping Russia sanctions law Trump signed last month to clamp down on Russia’s oil and gas revenues.

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A police officer with a dog searching for people under the rubble of a five-storey residential building following a Russian attack that killed seven people, including three children, in Zaporizhzhia, on Saturday. Photo: AFP
Yemen

Saudi Arabia says 3 killed at Riyadh airport as Yemen war expands

Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government forces it backs have struggled to contain the Houthis’ advance.

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US-China relations

Opinion | US-Japan-Poland strategic triangle can encourage a ‘peaceful war’

The catalyst for this new architecture of deterrence in an age of fragmented interdependence lies less in China than in Russia.

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South China Sea

Beijing and Manila trade blame over South China Sea medical mission

The Philippines also reports seeing 101 Chinese vessels near contested features in September, nearly double August’s total.

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Philippine Navy personnel transfer a colleague to a Philippine Coast Guard rigid boat while Chinese Coast Guard personnel aboard their rigid boat watch on, during a medical evacuation near Second Thomas Shoal. Photo: Philippine Coast Guard/AFP
US, Israel war on Iran

USS Abraham Lincoln returns to US after 265 days at sea in Iran war mission

Return to San Diego follows a historic deployment marked by reported suicide attempts and food shortages.

The USS Abraham Lincoln's combat mission tally marks. Photo: Reuters
Britain

UK counterterror police arrest 2 inside airbase used by US

Latvian nationals held under the National Security Act after security breach at RAF Molesworth.

US-China relations

US’ transactional Taiwan policy puts Indo-Pacific at risk, ex-officials warn

The United States has ‘not been in a weaker position in the western Pacific’ than now, former American commander says.

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