Global Military Expenditure Increases, Turkiye’s Decreases
SIPRI estimates an increase of 3.7 per cent in global military expenditure in real terms in 2022, reaching $2240 billion. Türkiye’s decreased 26 per cent.
USA News
Country
Navy / Maritime
Unmanned Systems
U.S. Navy Sails First USV Through Strait of Hormuz
The U.S. Navy said that an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) from the U.S. 5th Fleet transited the Strait of Hormuz with two U.S. Coast Guard cutters on April 19.
Air
Bilateral Relations
Slovakia has Delivered 13 of Its Mig-29 Fighters to Ukraine
The Slovak Defence Ministry stated that 13 promised state-owned MiG-29 fighter jets were delivered to Ukraine and reached the territory of Ukraine.
Air
Modernisation
Bilateral Relations
US Approves Turkish F-16 Modernisation
The State Department approved a possible FMS to Türkiye to upgrade its current F-16 fleet and related equipment for an estimated cost of $259 million.
Ammunition
E/W
Leaked Documents Totters JDAM's Reputation
The leaked top-secret Pentagon documents highlight the failure of US-made JDAM bomb kits against high-value Russian military targets.
Space
Lockheed to Provide MILSATCOM to Australia
Lockheed Martin will provide Military Satellite Communications (MILSATCOM) to Australia to control the Indo-Pacific region.
Weapon / Missile
Ammunition
Morocco to Buy JSOW and HIMARS
The State Department approved possible FMS to Morocco of Joint Stand-Off Weapons (JSOW) and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).
Weapon / Missile
US Struggles with Hypersonic Missiles
The US Air Force (USAF) has decided not to purchase the AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response (ARRW) hypersonic weapon after a failed test of this missile.
Ammunition
Ukraine Admits Using US-supplied JDAM-ER Bombs
The Ukrainian Air Force has confirmed that it is now starting to use the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM-ER) bomb supplied by the United States.
Air
Logistics
U.S. Approves CAD/PAD sale of Kuwait’s F/A-18 and KC-130J
The State Department has approved a possible FMS to Kuwait of additional Cartridge Actuated Device/Propellant Actuated Devices (CAD/PAD) and support.
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
Bilateral Relations
Boeing to Build 185 AH-64E for US Army, Australia and Egypt
The United States Army announced that it had awarded Boeing to purchase up to 184 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters for Australia and Egypt through the FMS.
Investment
Biden Summons Defence Production Act
Biden, who visited Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, introduced the Defence Production Act on Monday to spend $50 million.
Air
Navy / Maritime
The Winner Aircraft of INS Vikrant to be Announced
There are rumours that the Rafale M will be selected as the winner as the new fighter for India's most recent and indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
Global Defence Trend Brief
- 15:00 NATO pushes higher air and missile defence capacity targets - NATO members are under growing pressure to expand air and missile defence inventories, command netwo...
- 15:00 US Army deepens integrated air defence networking efforts - The US Army continues integrating radars, launchers and command systems into common battle networks...
- 15:00 Europe expands ammunition and missile production capacity - European governments are increasingly funding new ammunition and missile production lines to rebuild...
- 15:00 China strengthens multi-domain reconnaissance architecture - China is continuing to link satellites, drones, maritime patrol assets and ground-based sensors into...
- 15:00 Japan accelerates hardening and dispersal of military infrastructure - Japan is investing in hardened facilities, dispersed ammunition storage and rapid reinforcement logi...
- 15:00 Counter-drone procurement shifts toward affordable layered defence - Military organisations are increasingly prioritising combinations of jamming, interceptor drones, gu...
- 15:00 Autonomous underwater vehicles gain prominence in seabed security - Navies are expanding the use of autonomous underwater vehicles for surveillance, mine countermeasure...
- 15:00 Hypersonic defence drives demand for persistent tracking networks - Defence agencies are accelerating work on layered radar and satellite tracking architectures designe...
- 15:00 Military space resilience shifts toward proliferated constellations - Armed forces are increasingly favouring larger constellations of smaller satellites rather than a fe...
- 15:00 Industrial surge capacity becomes a core defence benchmark - Governments are placing greater emphasis on production scalability, secure supply chains and the abi...
- 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 analyses Türkiye’s growing defence-industrial ambition - The U.S. Naval Institute’s USNI News published a field report and analysis on Türkiye’s expanding de...
- 12:00 Reuters tracks Türkiye’s push to double defence exports - Reuters reported that Turkish officials want to double defence exports within two years after total...
- 12:00 Breaking Defense spotlights 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 highlights ASELSAN’s autonomous warfare concept - Defense News reported that ASELSAN used SAHA 2026 to present a future warfare vision centred on auto...
- 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 coverage keeps focus on KAAN prototype timeline - International defence reporting circulated this month continued to highlight Turkish Aerospace’s tar...
- 09:00 NATO pushes higher air and missile defence capacity targets - NATO members are under growing pressure to expand air and missile defence inventories, command netwo...
- 09:00 US Army deepens integrated air defence networking efforts - The US Army continues integrating radars, launchers and command systems into common battle networks...
- 09:00 Europe expands ammunition and missile production capacity - European governments are increasingly funding new ammunition and missile production lines to rebuild...
- 09:00 China strengthens multi-domain reconnaissance architecture - China is continuing to link satellites, drones, maritime patrol assets and ground-based sensors into...
- 09:00 Japan accelerates hardening and dispersal of military infrastructure - Japan is investing in hardened facilities, dispersed ammunition storage and rapid reinforcement logi...
- 09:00 Counter-drone procurement shifts toward affordable layered defence - Military organisations are increasingly prioritising combinations of jamming, interceptor drones, gu...
- 09:00 Autonomous underwater vehicles gain prominence in seabed security - Navies are expanding the use of autonomous underwater vehicles for surveillance, mine countermeasure...
- 09:00 Hypersonic defence drives demand for persistent tracking networks - Defence agencies are accelerating work on layered radar and satellite tracking architectures designe...
- 09:00 Military space resilience shifts toward proliferated constellations - Armed forces are increasingly favouring larger constellations of smaller satellites rather than a fe...
- 09:00 Industrial surge capacity becomes a core defence benchmark - Governments are placing greater emphasis on production scalability, secure supply chains and the abi...
