Bahrain Acquires M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams MBT, Paying $2.2 Billion
DSCA approved Bahrain’s acquisition request to acquire M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams Main Battle Tanks for an estimated cost of $2.2 billion.
Bahrain News
Land
Navy / Maritime
Unmanned Systems
The U.S. Navy Establishes Unmanned Systems Task Group
The U.S. Navy’s Task Force 59 formed a new sub-force to operate unmanned systems, Task Force 59.1.
Air
Bilateral Relations
Bahrain to Refurbish 24 AH-1W Helicopters in $350M Deal
The State Department approved a possible FMS of equipment and services to refurbish Excess Defence Article (EDA) AH-1W multi-role helicopters to Bahrain.
Air
Lockheed Martin Unveils Bahrain's F-16 Viper
Lockheed Martin delivered the first Royal Bahraini Air Force F-16 Viper Block 70 fighter jet at a Greenville, South Carolina ceremony.
Air
Bahrain’s F-16 Gets Ready for Maiden Flight
On November 21, Lockheed Martin released the first photo of the F-16D Fighting Falcon Block 70 multirole combat aircraft produced in South Carolina.
Land
Bilateral Relations
Modernisation
Bahrain to Upgrade M270 MLRS
The State Department approved a possible FMS to Bahrain of M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) Upgrade and related equipment.
Bilateral Relations
Regional / Strategy
Israel Signs Defence Agreement with Gulf Country Bahrain
Israel and Bahrain inked a security cooperation deal in Manama, the first such arrangement between Israelis and a Gulf nation.
Bilateral Relations
Tawazun and Bahrain to cooperate in defence industries
Tawazun Economic Council (Tawazun) and Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) have signed a MoU to increase defence industry.
Air
Bilateral Relations
Bell rolls out Bahrain’s first AH-1Z
Textron subsidiary Bell has completed the first of 12 AH-1Z Viper helicopters for the Bahrain Kingdom, delivering it to the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command.
Investment
Bilateral Relations
ASELSAN prepares for new export products
ASELSAN invests more in remote-controlled weapon systems. known as UKKS are used on different platforms.
Global Defence Trend Brief
- 12:00 Italy gives conditional approval to Leonardo-Baykar drone venture - Reuters reported that Italy has conditionally approved the Leonardo–Baykar joint venture to produce...
- 12:00 USNI looks at Türkiye’s defence-industrial rise through EFES 2026 - USNI News used the EFES 2026 exercise to examine how Türkiye is linking operational military activit...
- 12:00 Reuters tracks Ankara’s goal of doubling defence exports - Reuters reported that Turkish officials want to double defence exports within two years after export...
- 12:00 Breaking Defense highlights Turkish one-way attack systems at SAHA 2026 - Breaking Defense reported that Turkish companies used SAHA 2026 to unveil multiple one-way attack sy...
- 12:00 Defense News spotlights ASELSAN’s autonomous warfare concept - Defense News reported that ASELSAN used SAHA 2026 to present a future warfare concept centred on aut...
- 12:00 Le Monde examines Türkiye’s expanding defence footprint in Mali - Le Monde reported that Türkiye has become an increasingly important security partner for Mali throug...
- 12:00 French strategic study identifies Türkiye as a rising European supplier - The Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique assessed Türkiye as one of the most notable new entrants...
- 12:00 Middle East Forum analyses Baykar’s expansion into Europe - A Middle East Forum analysis argued that Baykar’s growing presence in Europe shows how production ca...
- 12:00 Jerusalem Post highlights Baykar’s export-heavy revenue model - The Jerusalem Post reported that Baykar generated roughly $1.8 billion in drone exports in 2024 and...
- 12:00 Foreign defence reporting keeps focus on KAAN’s next prototype phase - International defence coverage continued to highlight Turkish Aerospace’s target for the first ‘true...
- 09:00 NATO pushes allies to fill US air and naval capability gaps - Washington is pressing European allies and Canada to provide more manned and unmanned aircraft plus...
- 09:00 AI-driven drone swarms rise as a new NATO planning priority - NATO officials are warning that AI-enabled drone swarms could reshape warfare within five years, pus...
- 09:00 Counter-drone demand expands beyond battlefields into critical infrastructure - Growing drone incursions around airports, ports, oil facilities and data centres are accelerating de...
- 09:00 Europe’s loyal wingman race becomes a core airpower trend - Collaborative combat aircraft took centre stage at Berlin Airshow 2026 as European companies and air...
- 09:00 Ukraine’s drone combat know-how is becoming an export asset in Asia - Ukrainian drone firms are marketing battlefield-proven systems and swarm concepts in Japan, Taiwan a...
- 09:00 NATO accelerates live testing of counter-drone technologies - Alliance members and industry partners are expanding field trials of drone detection and interceptio...
- 09:00 Hypersonic threats keep driving demand for persistent tracking networks - The spread of hypersonic weapons continues to push Western defence planners toward integrated radar...
- 09:00 Military space resilience shifts toward larger distributed constellations - Armed forces are increasingly favouring proliferated satellite constellations over a small number of...
- 09:00 Autonomous maritime systems gain importance in surveillance and strike planning - Navies are broadening interest in autonomous surface and underwater systems for persistent ISR, infr...
- 09:00 Industrial surge capacity is becoming a decisive defence metric - Across missiles, drones and air defence, governments are placing more weight on production scalabili...
