Theme: Defense

The toll of the Russian attack on Komyshuvakha has risen to 40 dead, with the search in its third day, Zelensky announced, according to Le Monde. Zelensky arrived in Madrid on his fifth visit to Spain and meets Pedro Sánchez and other leaders on Thursday on the sidelines of an Ibero-American summit, with strengthening air defense as the top priority. He lamented “very few reactions around the world” and urged allies to bolster the country's air defense “right now”. The European Commission praised Ukraine's progress toward membership but urged faster rule-of-law reforms to conclude negotiations by the end of 2028.

Trump raised with aides and in phone calls the possibility of replacing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, without making a decision, according to CBS News, in a report cited by the Times of India. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is seen as a possible replacement. Asked by reporters, Trump publicly denied the move — saying Hegseth is doing “a very good job” — and White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Trump has “full confidence” in him.

The Cheonghae unit, currently in the Gulf of Aden, will have its area of operation extended northeast to waters south of Oman, in the Arabian Sea, officials told The Korea Herald, roughly doubling its radius to about 1,930 kilometers. The expansion adds 75 troops to the unit, bringing its strength to 395. A Defense Ministry official said operations will stay limited to open waters south of Oman and that the P-8A maritime patrol aircraft will be barred from watching Iranian territory or waters or the interior of the Strait of Hormuz. The government plans to send the revised mandate motion to the National Assembly after Cabinet endorsement next week, and South Korean law requires parliamentary consent to expand overseas missions.

In an interview with German television ZDF, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he hoped Democratic gains in the midterm elections would generate more help for Kyiv in its 4-1/2-year-long war with Russia, according to Reuters, in a text published by the Jerusalem Post. Zelensky said he was grateful to Republicans but that Democrats speak “very clearly” about supporting Ukraine and renewing the connection between the United States and Europe. “I am also grateful to the Republicans, but the Democrats speak very clearly about supporting Ukraine and providing assistance to Ukraine,” he said in comments provided in German by ZDF before the interview was broadcast. “They speak about renewing the connection between the United States and Europe... Therefore, there is hope that a balance of power will emerge and that we will receive more support.” He also said that a Congress approving strong financial support or military assistance would have an impact on Putin.

Japan’s Defense Ministry has estimated that its five-year defense plan beginning in fiscal 2027 will require about 80 trillion yen (about $507 billion), nearly twice the amount allocated under the current plan. The figure is preliminary: given funding constraints, the government is expected to review equipment procurement and other expenditures and adjust the total toward the upper end of the 70 trillion yen (about $443.5 billion) range. The new spending is likely to fund purchases such as large numbers of drones, according to a source familiar with the matter. The review is taking shape as a year-end deadline for revisions to three key security documents looms.

North Korea test-fired a newly designed air-defense missile system and staged a cruise missile strike drill on Wednesday, state media KCNA said. The test confirmed the technical specifications and reliability of the new materials and multiple guidance modes used by the missile, as well as the system’s ability to identify and track targets. A sub-unit of the country’s long-range strategic cruise missile unit in the east struck a virtual airport target in the drill. The KCNA report appeared to confirm a South Korean Defense Ministry statement that Pyongyang fired multiple missiles toward the sea from the Sondok area on the east coast, the fourth North Korean weapons launch in a month.

Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday with a delegation including the foreign, defense, finance and industry ministers and the head of the General Intelligence Directorate, on his second visit to the kingdom in weeks, after a trip to Riyadh on October 6. He and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman witnessed the signing of agreements covering military cooperation, energy and infrastructure, and the Syrian Foreign Ministry said the defense agreement was the most notable but gave no details. The package included a cooperation agreement between the two countries’ defense ministries. Syria is in negotiations to join the Makkah defense pact, and Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani said at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain that Damascus considers “security in the Gulf as part of its own.”

US President Donald Trump said he has no intention of firing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and said he is doing “a very good job.” “No, I think he’s doing a very good job”, Trump said in response to a question from reporters alongside construction workers at the site of the White House’s new ballroom. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told CBS News that the president has “full confidence” in Hegseth, after the network reported, citing sources, that Trump was discussing the dismissal with advisers. Asked about the possibility of Hegseth filling the Tennessee Senate seat that Marsha Blackburn will leave to take over the governor’s office, Trump said he would be “very popular” if he did that, but that he “hasn’t heard that at all”.

Turkish defense firm Baykar said two attack drones launched from a Bayraktar TB2 struck their targets during a flight test in northwestern Türkiye. The TB2 took off from the Kesan Flight Training and Test Center in Edirne province carrying 16 first-person-view (FPV) drones developed by Skydagger, released two of them over the test area and served as an airborne communications relay so that operators could guide the smaller drones to their targets. Baykar said it has signed export agreements with 36 countries for the TB2 and 16 for its Akinci combat drone, covering 39 countries across the two programs.

Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Madrid on his fifth visit to Spain, with air defense as his absolute priority, and is due to meet Pedro Sánchez and other leaders on Thursday on the sidelines of an Ibero-American summit. He announced that the death toll from the Russian attack on Komyshuvakha had risen to 40, with searches on the third day, and lamented that there are “very few reactions in the world”. The trip comes ahead of new talks on the war between Ukraine and Russia.

President Donald Trump has been asking advisers, including by phone, whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth should stay in his job following Republicans’ losses on Tuesday night, according to sources familiar with the matter. One of those sources said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is being floated as a possible replacement, arguing DeSantis could go through Senate confirmation in the lame-duck period and take the post when his term as governor expires on January 5. Asked by reporters on Wednesday afternoon whether he was considering replacing Hegseth, Trump said: “No, I think he’s doing a very good job.” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the president “has full confidence in Secretary Hegseth.”

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi on Tuesday again called for discussions on reviewing the country’s Three Non-Nuclear Principles and expressed support for considering the introduction of nuclear-powered submarines, Kyodo News reported. Speaking at a seminar in Tokyo, Koizumi said an environment should be created in which necessary security policies can be discussed openly and frankly without prejudice, and that as Japan revises its three key security documents by the end of the year, society as a whole should develop a shared understanding of nuclear threats. The Three Non-Nuclear Principles stipulate that the country will not possess, produce or permit the introduction of nuclear weapons, and the current National Security Strategy explicitly states that the policy will remain unchanged. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament in October that her government would “deepen concrete and realistic considerations” regarding the potential introduction of nuclear-powered submarines for the Self-Defense Forces.

Some 40,000 students were on strike at 57 schools across Denmark, including 12,000 to 13,000 at the protest in Copenhagen, according to organizers. Under the banner “Enough is Enough,” 11 high school and university student associations marched from Copenhagen’s City Hall Square to parliament over the proposed cuts to free up funds for defense spending. In a draft budget bill, Denmark’s center-left government plans to abolish the student grant (SU) for students who live with their parents and whose parents’ total annual income exceeds 700,000 Danish kroner (US$104,000). According to the Higher Education Ministry, around 14,000 students are expected to lose their grant, and some 8,000 would see it reduced. Student protests that started in France have spread in recent weeks to other European countries.

US President Donald Trump said in a Fox News interview that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reached an agreement to cut off military aid to Israel by December 2026. Avner Golov, former head of US affairs at Israel’s National Security Council, warned that ending the aid by the end of 2026 would signal a retreat from America’s commitment to Israel’s security. Abdul El-Sayed welcomed Trump’s plan to cut the aid and called for an end to arms sales.

According to Reuters, in texts republished by The Straits Times and Al Arabiya, Greenland’s Parliament ratified on Tuesday the security agreement struck earlier this year with US President Donald Trump, by 16 votes in favor, none against and 7 abstentions. The deal expands the US military’s role on the island, paving the way for two new military bases and Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense system, while reaffirming Danish sovereignty and Greenlanders’ right to self-determination. The executive agreement will enter into force once Denmark and Greenland have ratified it; the Danish parliament is due to give it a first reading on November 11 and a final vote on November 19, and it does not require approval from the US Senate. During the debate, the opposition party Naleraq, the most prominent political voice for Greenland’s independence, questioned the deal’s economic value.

Kim Jong-un inspected the Nampho Shipyard and called for a rapid buildup of naval combat power to counter “hostile acts of the enemies,” according to North Korean state media. The inspection was reported on Wednesday. Kim saw a new warship under construction and described it as “incomparably huge and intimidating” compared with the destroyer built last year. Shin Jong-woo, secretary-general of the Korea Defense and Security Forum, said North Korea appeared to have unveiled for the first time the construction site of a new vessel believed to be a 10,000-ton cruiser.

The public inquiry into the $368 billion nuclear submarine agreement called AUKUS the worst, riskiest and most costly defense decision ever made by an Australian government, recommending its immediate termination and the suspension of plans for new bases, and said Australia risks being dragged into military conflict with China, estimating an additional $180 billion to deal with the nuclear waste.

North Korea fired multiple missiles on Wednesday toward the sea off its east coast, marking Pyongyang’s fourth such weapons launch in a month, from the Sondok area, an eastern coastal region. Multiple missiles were launched from Sondok in South Hamgyong Province, with no information on the type or exact launch time, and there will be no customary third update with maximum altitude and range, while South Korean and US authorities analyze the specifications, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed.

Donald Trump told Fox News that he made a deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the $4 billion in annual aid to Israel, aid appropriated by Congress that he cannot end unilaterally, according to the broadcaster’s White House correspondent, saying that it was Netanyahu who proposed ending the aid, under the current agreement of $38 billion in military aid over ten years, through 2028, which surprised Israeli defense sources. Neither Netanyahu’s office nor Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the move, and the US Department of State did not respond to Al Jazeera.

Israel’s Defense Ministry began this month upgrading the “Hourglass” security fence along the Gaza Strip, the Jerusalem Post reported, based on lessons from the October 7 attack and the war against Hezbollah. One of the five work fronts integrates technologies and methods to counter very low-altitude threats, particularly fiber-optic drones used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The 64-kilometer fence had been criticized after being breached at dozens of locations.

Kim Jong-un visited the Nampho shipyard and called for a rapid buildup of naval surface and submarine power to counter “hostile acts of the enemies,” according to state media. He inspected a new warship under construction, which he described as “incomparably larger and more intimidating” than the destroyer built last year, and a KCNA photo suggests the vessel may be in the 10,000-ton class that Kim had mentioned in earlier plans. He also called for automating production and building a second ground dock so ships can be built and repaired at the same time.

Iran has opened a third military training center in Tehran and announced plans to train one million paramilitary volunteers nationwide, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency. Members of the Basij, a paramilitary force affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard, attended the opening, and two other centers opened in Tehran in August and September.

The Chinese embassy said on Tuesday that six officers from the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force took part in a week-long training exercise, without giving dates. According to the embassy, the program familiarized officers with the use of crowd-control vehicles and the different scenarios in which they may be used. Prime Minister Matthew Wale, in office since May, announced in June that the government would review the 2022 security agreement with China and similar agreements with other countries. In September, the country reached an agreement in principle with Australia to sign a new security treaty.

Officials at Israel’s finance ministry were surprised by Trump’s announcement ending US military aid, according to the Times of Israel, in a report carried by Middle East Eye. An official said no formal document from the prime minister’s office was submitted about the move: “The ministry was aware of the intention to end it, but was surprised by the intention to do so immediately.” Defense ministry officials and the military were also surprised by the announcement, according to the same report.

The administration of Donald Trump is negotiating an agreement with Venezuela that would allow a long-term US military presence in the country, according to The New York Times, in a TASS report. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading efforts to conclude the military pact, a status of forces agreement (SOFA), and details on the long-term presence and the locations where troops will be stationed will be left to subsequent agreements. The newspaper does not say whether the United States intends to build and maintain its own bases in the country or to station troops at existing Venezuelan bases. An unnamed State Department official said Washington hopes to expand security cooperation with Venezuela and that no discussions regarding bases are currently taking place.

The presidents Lee Jae Myung and Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed in Seoul to expand cooperation in nuclear energy and defense, signing a memorandum on financing for nuclear power projects to support the participation of South Korean companies. According to Lee, cooperation on Turkey’s Sinop nuclear power plant project “has been progressing smoothly.” On defense, the two countries agreed to expand joint production and technological cooperation and to explore opportunities for companies from both sides to enter third-country markets together. Bilateral trade reached a record $10.7 billion last year.

The US Space Force activated on Monday the Space Forces Special Operations Command, a service component of US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. It is the first new service component in USSOCOM since 2006. According to the release, Guardians in the component are assigned to Special Operations Forces formations in an operational capability called Space Special Warfare Teams.

Israeli opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot said on Tuesday that the phaseout of US aid announced by US President Donald Trump shows that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must be replaced. For him, the fact that Israel’s defense establishment is learning of a shift in the strategic relationship through the media, at the same time as the Israeli public, shows “how dangerous Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct is” and that he “can no longer be trusted”.

The Greenlandic parliament approved on Tuesday the security agreement with Denmark and the United States by 16 votes to none, with seven abstentions. Signed in September by Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, the text paves the way for two new US military bases and for the “Golden Dome” missile defense system, keeping the island under Danish control and reaffirming Greenlanders’ right to self-determination — according to a Reuters report republished by USA Today. The executive agreement enters into force once Denmark and Greenland ratify it and does not require approval from the US Senate; the Danish parliament gives the bill a first reading on November 11, with a vote on November 19. Naleraq opposition party chair Pele Broberg said Greenland is looking for a better agreement for when it becomes an independent state and that no economic benefit has been gained from the agreement.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday that Poland prevented what appeared to be an attempted provocation on its border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad overnight. According to him, “individuals with flashlights” were seen in the area and the border guard told him, just after midnight, of “disturbing movement” on the Polish-Russian border; the guards prevented any incident. Police, the military, border guards and intelligence services reinforced security along the borders with Russia and Belarus, including near Kaliningrad, and counter-terrorism units were sent to the northeast after “more precise” information that acts of sabotage, including a possible incursion by “armed people,” were possible in the first half of November. Tusk said it was not possible to confirm with full certainty that the episode was an attempted provocation and that Russia’s escalation would continue, not limited to that incident. In the Warmian-Masurian region, Polish services intervened near Sępopol, where no one crossed into Polish territory and those observed withdrew into Kaliningrad, according to an RMF24 account carried by United24 Media.

Israel’s finance ministry was unaware of any plans to immediately end US military assistance before President Donald Trump’s announcement on Tuesday, according to Israel’s Channel 12. The $3.8bn in annual aid was expected to provide a significant source of funding for Israel’s defense budget in 2027 and 2028, Channel 12 economics correspondent Yuval Sade reported. In the same interview in which he spoke about the strike on Iran, Trump announced that the US would end $4 billion in funding to Israel after the end of this year.

A spokesman for Benjamin Netanyahu said he did not know about Donald Trump’s statement that American military aid to Israel would end and that he would check for details. The aid follows a memorandum of understanding of $3.8 billion a year that is approaching its expiration in 2028, with conversations under way on how Washington’s assistance to Israel would evolve beyond that date. Trump, who announced on Tuesday the cut of $4 billion a year at the end of this year, said Netanyahu brought the matter up and that the prime minister said it would be appropriate not to receive the aid because he understands that this is one of the points of contention. Yair Golan, head of the left-wing Democrats party, said the end of American aid deals a severe blow to Israel’s security and to the quality of life in the country.

Japan’s defense minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, again called for an open and frank discussion on nuclear weapons in the country, at a symposium in Tokyo, according to the Russian state agency TASS, which cites Kyodo News. “We must create conditions in which the security measures necessary for Japan can be discussed openly and frankly,” he said. The statement comes amid the review of the national security strategy, which also touches on Japan’s three non-nuclear principles: not to possess, produce or introduce nuclear weapons into its territory. Koizumi also once again left the door open to potentially equipping the country’s navy with nuclear submarines.

General Zhang Shengmin, vice-chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, received Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov in Beijing in his first publicly reported meeting with a foreign official since he became a member of the Politburo. At the meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Zhang pledged to deepen military cooperation and strategic coordination with Russia. According to Reuters, in a text republished by Internazionale, Zhang and President Xi Jinping are the only two active members of China’s supreme military command, after five of the seven members appointed in a 2022 reshuffle were purged.

US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News that he struck a deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the $4 billion annual military aid to Israel, with the commitment to stop paying the country by the end of this year and to help if needed, according to Reuters, in a text republished by The Jerusalem Post. Trump said Israel no longer needed financial support from Washington and that Democrats and left-wing politicians were using the funding for Israel to criticize Republicans.

China appears to be testing a stealthy new trimaran at sea, according to a photograph circulating on social media, in what could be a further effort to develop unconventional naval platforms, the South China Morning Post said. The image first emerged on Weibo on Sunday and appears to show a vessel featuring an inverted wave-piercing bow, a three-hull design and angular superstructure surfaces that could reduce its radar signature. The newspaper noted that the time and location of the picture have not been independently verified and that details about the boat’s specifications, intended role and operational status remain unclear.

The presidents of South Korea, Lee Jae Myung, and of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, signed in Seoul a memorandum on cooperation in financing nuclear projects to support the participation of South Korean companies in Turkey’s new nuclear power projects. Lee said cooperation on the Sinop plant project, including site assessments and the work of a joint working group, was “progressing smoothly” under the memorandum on nuclear energy cooperation signed in November 2025. The project aims to build Turkey’s second nuclear power plant, on its northern Black Sea coast, with the state-run Korea Electric Power Corporation seeking to participate. The two countries also agreed to deepen defense cooperation by expanding joint production and technological cooperation and jointly exploring opportunities for companies from both countries in third-country markets. The governments also signed an agreement on natural resources and mining and plan an intergovernmental channel to diversify critical mineral supply chains. Bilateral trade reached a record US$ 10.7 billion last year, according to Lee, after surpassing US$ 10 billion for the first time in 2023, a decade after the free trade agreement took effect in 2013.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday that Poland prevented what appeared to be an attempted provocation on its border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad overnight. Tusk gave few details but said that “individuals with flashlights” had been observed in the border area and that Polish guards prevented any incident from happening. According to the prime minister, additional police and other troops, including counterterrorism units, were directed to Poland’s northeastern border regions after authorities received “more precise” information that acts of sabotage, including a potential incursion by “armed people”, were possible in the first half of November. Members of Poland’s GROM special operations unit were deployed to the border with Kaliningrad to take part in a police operation aimed at preventing “planned acts of sabotage”, according to Russian state agency TASS; Tusk announced the deployment ahead of a cabinet meeting. Tusk said it was not possible to confirm with full certainty that the incident was an attempted provocation, and that Russia’s escalation would continue and was unlikely to be limited to that episode.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan drew up a cooperation blueprint in Seoul covering areas from nuclear energy, the defense industry and infrastructure to advanced technologies, biotechnology and energy. “Today, our two countries drew up a blueprint for mutual prosperity across diverse areas,” Lee said. Erdogan called the bilateral relationship a “blood alliance,” recalling Turkey's participation in the 1950-53 Korean War. The two countries mark 70 years of diplomatic relations in 2027.

A People's Liberation Army (PLA) air defence unit intercepted two new types of missile simultaneously during a drill for the first time, including one that made a sudden change of direction in flight, according to Chinese state television. The system used was the HQ-9B, of the Central Theater Command Air Force's “Shenwei Missile Battalion”, according to CCTV; the targets included ballistic missiles and one missile that suddenly changed direction during flight.

North Korea tested a dispersal warhead for a strategic cruise missile, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, in a Yonhap story. Monday’s test was overseen by Kim Jong-sik, a member of the Workers’ Party Central Military Commission. The country’s Warhead Institute said the mid-sized dispersal warhead is capable of “turning into ashes” a target area of 5 to 6 hectares. On Saturday, the country had tested a cluster bomb for tactical ballistic missiles and vowed to field various types of cluster warheads by the end of the year.

Taiwan’s armed forces want to acquire more than 1,400 coastal surveillance and reconnaissance drones, over 200,000 coastal attack drones and 1,320 one-way attack uncrewed surface vessels. Parliament passed on August 27 the law providing NT$ 240 billion over six years, with procurement priority for domestically produced low-cost, high-performance uncrewed systems. US company Maritime Tactical Systems announced that Taiwan’s coast guard will buy 25 of its uncrewed vessels, to be made in the United States and Taiwan, and the country aims to become an Asian hub for drone production free of Chinese components, capitalizing on its lead in artificial intelligence and semiconductors.

The UN General Assembly's First Committee approved on Monday, November 2, by 180 votes in favor, two against and no abstentions, a draft resolution on conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels. India and Israel were the only countries to vote against the text in the 193-member body. An Indian representative argued that “this assumes that the security concerns of States politely stop at their regional borders. They do not”.

Latvia's armed forces briefly warned on Monday of a threat in the airspace over two regions and activated NATO air-policing fighter jets, according to Reuters, in a text republished by Street Insider, and later said the danger had passed, with the object believed to be on the ground in Latvia near the Russian border.

Nearly 3,000 military personnel from 12 European nations are taking part this month in Poland in Exercise Koalicja, running November 9–22, 2026, according to the BBC, a rehearsal, led by the UK and France, of how to move, protect and supply a multinational force in Ukraine if there is a peace deal.

The so-called Coalition of the Willing holds on November 9, 2026 its first large-scale military exercise in Poland, in Nowa Deba in the southeast, with nearly 2,800 soldiers from 10 countries in the region bordering Ukraine. The Koalicja exercise runs until November 22. France and the United Kingdom are the main contributors, alongside Estonia, Lithuania, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Belgium. The alliance, led by France and the UK, has 36 nations and does not include the United States.

Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman said Monday that he spoke by phone with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about bilateral defense cooperation and efforts to de-escalate regional tensions. In the account he posted on X, the minister said the call covered “the continued Houthi terrorist attacks against the Kingdom.”

All forces, including those under the African Union mission, will exit Somalia by the end of 2027 in the phased withdrawal Uganda has begun after nearly two decades of military involvement in the country.

Denmark has reached an agreement with Estonia to recover the money from a military aid package meant to supply artillery ammunition to Ukraine. Estonia paid 9.5 million euros to Datasel as a prepayment but did not receive functional artillery shells in return.

Japan’s government and ruling coalition are weighing defense spending of 70 trillion to 80 trillion yen (US$457 billion to US$508 billion) over the five years from April 2027, about 1.8 times the 43 trillion yen in the current plan, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), which cites sources quoted by Reuters. Some of the money is expected to fund purchases such as large numbers of drones, and a weaker yen has pushed up the cost of procurement, one of the sources said.

Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said on Saturday, during a session on regional security at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain, that Damascus is considering joining the Mecca alliance, a mutual defense pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. Under the agreement, signed on August 7 in Mecca, an attack on one signatory is treated as an attack on all three, an arrangement similar in principle to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which has 32 member states. Samy Akil, an analyst at Syria Report, told Middle East Eye the talks are at an early stage and that Syria is unlikely to become the pact's fourth member in the near term.

Uganda has begun withdrawing its troops from Somalia after nearly two decades of military involvement in the country, according to the BBC. The withdrawal is being carried out in phases and is expected to be completed in August 2027.

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) delivered the first two FA-50 light combat aircraft to Malaysia under a 2023 contract to supply 18 jets to the Southeast Asian country. The two FA-50M aircraft departed KAI's headquarters in Sacheon on Thursday and arrived at Malaysia's Kuantan Air Base on Sunday.

South Korea is seeking to finalize by the end of this year a comprehensive agreement with the US on relocating jointly used air bases across the country, including facilities in the southwestern city of Gwangju, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. South Korea’s Defense Ministry said it is consulting with the US side to include the temporary relocation of US military facilities inside Gwangju Air Base in the agreement on relocations now under negotiation.

The frigate Admiral Golovko, armed with Zircon hypersonic missiles, set out from Severomorsk on a long-distance deployment toward the Atlantic, where over the coming months its crew will carry out flag-showing and naval-presence missions in operationally important areas, the Northern Fleet's press service reported.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry says it launched a new drone headquarters on Monday and plans to acquire more than 20,000 low-cost, expendable combat drones, while accelerating the Korean Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (K-LUCAS) program, according to the Korea Herald.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that his country would stop hitting Russian oil refineries — a key demand of US President Donald Trump — if Washington provides Patriot interceptor missiles. He tied the pause to one month of deliveries: if the systems are provided for a month, Kyiv would halt the attacks on the refineries for the same period, according to the Straits Times. Patriot missiles are among the most important weapons Ukraine has to intercept Russian drones and missiles.

The Russian Defense Ministry said, according to the TASS news agency, that nearly 50 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russian regions during the day.

The Pentagon has put the damage to US military bases from Iranian strikes at a minimum of $5 billion, according to US officials cited by the Wall Street Journal. The Journal’s investigation identified 274 damaged structures at 24 installations with a US military presence during the war’s first six months, drawing on satellite imagery, Iranian military statements and interviews with US officials, according to the Tehran Times. An Associated Press analysis found more than 115 drone and missile strikes claimed by Iran or Iranian-backed militias that damaged or destroyed structures at 26 bases and other sites with US equipment through August, according to the Times of India.

North Korea’s Missile Administration tested on Saturday a cluster-bomb warhead for tactical ballistic missiles, assessing the warhead’s combat adaptability and power, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Research institutes under the administration said the Standard Type 2 cluster-bomb warhead is capable of turning into ashes a target area of 12 to 13 hectares with its highest-density power, according to KCNA. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Sunday that the missile was fired toward the Yellow Sea from an area around the northwestern county of Chongju, and that, under information sharing with the United States, it tracked relevant activities before the launch and maintained a readiness posture.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had received information from the United States, through established partner channels, about preparations for a terrorist attack in Moscow and said it was taking appropriate measures, according to Reuters, in a text republished by US News. In a separate statement, the US Embassy in Moscow said it was “aware of a credible threat of a mass casualty event” on Saturday at the Tsaritsyno Museum Reserve and that the US government was coordinating with Russian authorities.

Iranian Defense Minister Mehrdad Akhlaghi said the country is committed to strengthening combat readiness and to ensuring an immediate, effective and proportionate response to any threat, anywhere, without geographical limits. The secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, warned that any attack on Iran will be met with devastating strikes, using new and modern weapons, and said Tehran remains open to diplomacy if its seven conditions are fulfilled.

Beijing expanded its maritime presence around Taiwan, deploying coast guard patrols from the island’s eastern approaches to waters near Quemoy and remote Dongsha Island, the South China Morning Post reported. Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said late on Saturday that it had deployed the patrol vessel Jian to shadow the Chinese formation, led by the Hushi. Taipei denounced the patrols as an effort to “manufacture a fictional administrative presence” and said Beijing’s actions violate international law and undermine regional peace and stability.

Iran’s foreign ministry announced on Sunday that it had designated the UK’s Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as “terrorist organizations”, according to the Hindustan Times, which cited Iran International. The ministry also classified MI6, Britain’s foreign intelligence service, as a “hostile group”. The statement characterized the move as a reciprocal step to Washington’s designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.

Iran has bought Russian Su-35 fighter jets and expects to receive them after the war ends, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia said, according to Middle East Eye. The aircraft were supposed to arrive before the war began, and the necessary preparations and training have been completed, the spokesperson said.

Hanwha Philly Shipyard secured a US$269 million contract to build a Landing Ship Medium (LSM) for the US Navy and Marine Corps, according to gCaptain. The deal marks a milestone in the South Korean company's push into US naval shipbuilding. Construction is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027, with the program's first vessel scheduled for delivery in 2030.

The Israeli military has completed preparations for a renewed military confrontation with Iran, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, in a report published by the Anadolu Agency. The chief of the United States (US) Central Command, Brad Cooper, presented President Donald Trump with options for resuming the attacks, and the decision to return to war remained with Trump as negotiations between Washington and Tehran continued. This week, ten US military transport aircraft arrived at Israeli Air Force bases as part of an airlift delivering military equipment to the region, according to Ynet.

North Korea’s Missile Administration tested on Oct 31 a cluster-bomb warhead intended for tactical ballistic missiles, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The test assessed the warhead’s adaptation to combat and its power. The agency said the Standard Type 2 warhead can turn a target area of 12 to 13 hectares into ashes with its highest-density power. Analysts quoted by Reuters said the tests could be part of efforts to modernize the military, which gained experience in modern warfare by sending troops to the war in Ukraine alongside Russia, according to Reuters, in a report republished by the Straits Times.

Iran’s retaliatory missile and drone strikes damaged at least 274 structures at 24 US-linked military installations across the Middle East, according to the Tehran Times, citing a Wall Street Journal analysis based on satellite imagery and US officials. Estimated repair costs are as high as 15 billion dollars. The Pentagon has estimated the damage at a minimum of 5 billion dollars, while a separate assessment put the figure as high as 15 billion, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimated that rebuilding the damaged buildings alone would cost more than 4 billion dollars, the Tehran Times reported.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed put cabinet ministers and other senior government officials through military training at the Hurso center, saying armed forces discipline can help build stronger leaders, the BBC reported. Those taking part include the speaker of the House of Federation, Muferiat Kamil, the finance minister, Fitsum Assefa, and the health minister, Mekdes Daba. The training comes as Ethiopia faces multiple security challenges, including continued fighting in parts of the northern Tigray region, conflict in Amhara and insecurity in Oromia.

Finland will create a military space operations center that starts operating on January 1, 2027, within the Air Force headquarters in central Finland, according to Sputnik. According to Defence Blog, the center will take over the three radar-imaging satellites the Finnish Defence Forces bought from ICEYE.

An analysis by the Wall Street Journal identified 274 damaged structures across 24 installations with an American military presence, according to RT. An unnamed US official told the newspaper that the Pentagon estimates the damage to the bases at a minimum of $5 billion. According to the Pentagon’s latest estimate to Congress, the Iran war has cost $47.1 billion through October 16, excluding base damage.

Syria’s Foreign Minister, Asaad al-Shaibani, said on Saturday that Damascus is weighing whether to join the Makkah defense pact, which binds Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, according to Dawn; TRT World also reported his remarks. At the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain, he said: “Discussions are currently underway to evaluate Syria’s entry into the Makkah alliance.” The Makkah Joint Defense Agreement, signed on Aug. 7, empowers the three members to consider an armed attack on one of them an attack on all.

The commander of the United States (US) Army in the Pacific, General Ronald Clark, said that the 2027 window for a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan remains valid as a readiness benchmark. “The question is, is the window still valid? The answer for us at USARPAC is yes,” he told an industry conference in Hawaii on Tuesday, Breaking Defense reported; according to the commander, US Army Pacific is positioning equipment, materiel and personnel on a rotational basis across the first and second island chains west of the International Date Line, with the goal of being ready by April 2, 2027.

The US approved the sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine, a critically needed munition for defense against escalating Russian aerial attacks, after Kyiv said deliveries had been delayed. The purchase, estimated at about $2.1 billion, will be covered with funds from Canada, Germany and Norway and with a loan from the European Union, CNN reported.

Russia's Defense Ministry said it struck a dry cargo ship at sea 18 kilometers south of Odessa that was delivering military cargo for the needs of the Ukrainian army, according to the state news agency TASS.

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, praised the “strong decision by the US State Department” but warned that deliveries of the Patriot missiles may begin “only in a few years”, in a post on X early on Saturday. The 500 PAC-3 missiles in the approved sale, estimated at 2.1 billion dollars, are yet to be manufactured, and delivery is not expected until a couple of years into the 2030s.

Hanwha Defense USA has secured a $269-million-dollar deal to construct a medium landing ship for the US Navy and Marine Corps at its Philly Shipyard, according to the Korea Herald. It is the Hanwha Group's first order to build a new US Navy vessel since it acquired Philly Shipyard in Pennsylvania in 2024.

The US military is conducting nightly missions over the Strait of Hormuz to enforce a blockade on Iranian ports along the waterway and protect commercial vessels, according to the Jerusalem Post. The frequency of flight operations has put a strain on aircraft, crew members and the mechanics responsible for maintaining fighter jets, according to officers cited by the Wall Street Journal. The US has 50,000 troops and 20 ships deployed in the Middle East, at a cost of $2 billion to $3 billion a month on munitions, fuel and supplies.

The United States may resume strikes on Iran the day after the midterm elections for Congress, according to the MS NOW network, cited by the Russian agency TASS. According to the sources cited by the network, the US administration informed several Persian Gulf countries that they should prepare for “a short, intense round of strikes as soon as November 4.”

Chinese nationals Liren Lai, 40, and Yuance Chen, 39, were sentenced on Friday to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release for acting as agents of China in the United States (US), according to the US Department of Justice. According to the department’s release, the two operated under the direction and control of China’s Ministry of State Security in clandestine intelligence activities that included secret cash “dead-drop” payments in exchange for information related to US national security, gathering information about US military personnel and installations, and assisting efforts to recruit inside the US military. The two admitted trying to recruit US service members to spy for Beijing and pleaded guilty to acting as foreign agents without prior notification to the Attorney General, according to The Hindu, which reported they were arrested in California on Friday.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said it had captured intact a US reconnaissance and decoy drone west of the Strait of Hormuz, after taking control of the drone’s guidance and control systems, according to the Iranian agency IRNA. According to the Guard’s statement, the drone’s mission was to identify Iranian air defense systems along the Persian Gulf coast and around the Strait of Hormuz, and analysis of the recovered data indicated it had taken off from the coast of a southern Persian Gulf country.

North Korean leader Kim visited on Thursday an exhibition of drones, a variety of attack and other types that, according to the state Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), show recent achievements in the field of unmanned aeronautical technology. In a speech at the exhibition, Kim stressed the need to seize “the absolute superiority in the drone technology,” the Associated Press (AP) reported, citing KCNA.

The administration of US President Donald Trump approved a proposed $2.1 billion sale of Patriot air defense interceptors for Ukraine on Friday, after Kyiv accused the Pentagon of delaying delivery of the munition, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The State Department approved the potential sale of 500 Patriot air defense interceptor missiles to Ukraine on Friday, CNN reported.

The Iranian Navy’s deputy coordinator said the navy targeted the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier with a strategic cruise missile during the 40-day Ramadan War, according to the Tehran Times. According to him, the vessel halted flight operations for three days after the strike before moving farther away from Iran’s coastline.

Tens of thousands of people, mostly students and workers, took to the streets across Italy on Friday to demand higher wages and stronger public services, protest against the rising cost of living and oppose increased military spending, according to Reuters, in an article republished by U.S. News. In Genoa, around 15,000 port workers, students and other demonstrators entered the port, joining similar protests in Europe and elsewhere against the use of ports for arms shipments.

The European Commission approved a proposal to provide Ukraine with 45 billion euros in funding for 2027, of which up to 13.3 billion euros would go to budget support and 31.7 billion euros to weapons purchases, according to TASS. The commission also said on Friday it had set up a framework for European countries to approve the remaining 45 billion euros in loans to Ukraine, to be disbursed by the end of 2027, according to Reuters.

Pentagon officials have asked several North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries in recent weeks to tone down their rhetoric regarding the threat posed by Russia, according to Reuters.

The United States Department of State approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine, in a deal estimated at $2.1 billion, according to TRT World. The purchase would be financed through contributions from Canada, Germany and Norway, channeled via the US JUMPSTART program, TRT World reported.

A US-registered North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) reconnaissance aircraft spent more than seven hours flying over the Black Sea on Friday, according to a source in air traffic control services cited by TASS. The aircraft has since returned to its home base in Constanta, Romania, the source said.

Cuba's ambassador to Brazil, Victor Manuel Cairo Palomo, said the Cuban government considers the risk of a US invasion of the island to be real, according to Opera Mundi. The diplomat said the Cuban people are preparing today for a real US invasion and that the Cuban government and the Cuban people cannot ignore US intentions to invade Cuba.

China's Communist Party leadership elected General Zhang Shengmin, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, to the Politburo, according to NPR. Zhang was the commission's only remaining general besides Xi Jinping after Xi purged two of China's top generals, which left the Politburo without any representatives from the People's Liberation Army, according to the same report.

Gulf states will have to reconfigure their trillion-dollar defenses given the damage to their economies and the questionable value of US bases in the face of Iranian attack, according to a study by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) reported by the Guardian. The report cites 4,670 Iranian one-way attack drones and more than 1,400 Iranian ballistic missiles against 12 regional states in the weeks before the April 8 ceasefire, and an estimate cited in the study puts damage to energy infrastructure at as much as US$58 billion.

The head of United States Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooper, briefed President Donald Trump on Thursday on options for renewed attacks on Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported, according to Al Jazeera. The US and Israel have drawn up joint plans to attack Iran after the November 3 midterm elections, The New York Times reported, according to the same Al Jazeera report.

Kim Jong Un put the development of drones and the incorporation of artificial intelligence into weapons systems among the central priorities of North Korea's military modernization, at the Unmanned Aeronautical Technology Development 2026 exhibition, according to TASS. The exhibition, held on October 29, showcased multipurpose drones for strategic and operational-tactical missions, kamikaze strike drones and other combat systems, the Russian state news agency reported.

Bukele called US President Trump on Tuesday to make sure Trump had no problem with a major military escalation in Haiti, to which the Haitian government has agreed, and was told, “Do what you have to do,” according to sources briefed on the call. El Salvador announced Wednesday it was deploying as many as 2,000 troops to Haiti, a number that could double or triple, according to the same sources.

France imposed new restrictions on Israeli defense companies ahead of the Euronaval maritime defense exhibition, set to open near Paris on Tuesday, November 3, continuing the French policy of the past two years — in October 2024 Israeli companies were initially barred from Euronaval, a decision later overturned by a commercial court in Paris, according to Defense & Tech reporting cited by the Jerusalem Post. At next week's show, Israeli companies may display only air defense and missile interception systems, with official Israeli representatives barred, Ynet reported.

China conducted takeoff-and-landing operations of the GJ-21 drone from its first Type 076 warship, the Sichuan, this month, state media said on Friday, as cited by the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

China’s Central Committee endorsed disciplinary penalties against 18 senior civilian and 16 military figures, all full or alternate members of the Committee, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), which also reports that General Zhang Shengmin was promoted to the Politburo.

North Korea tested suicide attack drones, tactical cruise missiles and multiple rocket launchers, vowing to “deter threats”, according to TRT World — tactical suicide attack drones and cruise missiles hit the islet target with 100 percent accuracy, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

An Italian CH-47 Chinook helicopter of the European Union Force (EUFOR) crashed during “routine training” in the Brcko region on Thursday, about 180 km north of Sarajevo, killing four people and leaving 11 injured in stable condition, according to Al Jazeera — everyone on board was Italian, two soldiers and two Red Cross volunteers, according to the Italian defense ministry. EUFOR said it is conducting a full and thorough investigation of the incident and said there was no damage to civilians or civilian infrastructure.

Pentagon officials have in recent weeks asked several North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries to tone down public statements about the threat posed by Russia, according to Reuters, which cites four people familiar with the matter — Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby was one of the officials delivering the message, the people said. Asked for comment, a Pentagon official said that “private conversations among allies are just that” and declined to comment on the allegations.

The leadership of the Communist Party of China elected Gen. Zhang Shengmin, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, to the Politburo, according to AP News. Xi Jinping had earlier purged two of China’s top generals, leaving Zhang as the commission’s only member besides Xi himself, also according to AP News.

A bipartisan group in the United States House introduced legislation that would streamline the transfer to Ukraine of certain US-origin munitions through South Korea and other allies, according to The Korea Herald. The bill covers 155-millimeter artillery shells, Excalibur extended-range artillery shells and High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) munitions, according to The Korea Herald.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on Friday that Russian air defense forces destroyed 16 drones heading toward the capital and that emergency crews are working where debris fell, according to state agency TASS.

Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia admitted to leaking classified information about Ukraine and Iran to two reporters from separate outlets over a one-year period, according to an internal investigation report obtained by Axios, in a text republished by Yahoo News. He failed three polygraph tests about sharing classified material with the press, and the case was referred to the Department of Justice after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired him, according to CBS News.

Israel began requiring airlines to submit crew information 48 hours before departure, among other steps to bolster security. According to the Times of India, the requirements apply to inbound and outbound flights by Israeli and foreign carriers and were ordered by Benjamin Netanyahu after a security review. The change follows the attempted hijacking of a Flydubai flight carrying Israeli passengers from Dubai to Tel Aviv, when Omani copilot Hamam al-Hammami allegedly attacked Indian captain Smit Machchhar and tried to seize control of the aircraft.

Kim Jong-un attended an exhibition of unmanned aerial technology and a weapons demonstration featuring suicide drones, cruise missiles and a 600-millimeter multiple rocket launcher, state agency KCNA reported, according to Yonhap. The launcher, known as “Sniper,” was shown in a firing exercise in public for the first time, and KCNA claimed that air-to-ground missiles fired from suicide drones and multipurpose drones, along with cruise missiles, hit an island target “with 100 percent accuracy” — a claim by the state agency that has no independent verification. In a speech, Kim called for the rapid expansion of the country’s unmanned aerial capabilities and for breakthroughs in unmanned aerial technology and defense artificial intelligence.

The Pentagon is treating as a suspected hack a spate of mysterious freezer malfunctions that spoiled food at military bases across the United States in August, according to four officials familiar with the matter in a Reuters report published by US News. One of the officials said military investigators were in touch with their French counterparts about a similar cyberattack on commercial freezers that disrupted supermarkets in France earlier this month. Hackers are suspected of tampering with freezer temperatures at six military commissaries — the US Army’s tax-free grocery and household goods stores — causing food to spoil, according to the Hindustan Times.

Fifteen people were aboard the Italian CH-47 helicopter of Eufor, the European Union peace force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which crashed Thursday in Brcko, in the country's northeast, during a routine operation, according to Le Monde. Three died at the crash site; twelve injured were taken to Brcko's hospital, and a fourth person died of injuries after being admitted. Eufor said no civilians were hurt and the accident caused no material damage.

President Vladimir Putin said the West failed in its goal of inflicting a strategic defeat on Moscow and is unlikely to succeed by 2030, at a press conference following the Russia-Africa Summit, according to the Russian state agency TASS. Putin said that many are only talking about preparing for war by 2030, that Russia is prepared, but that it does not want any kind of war with Europe.

The crash of a European Union force helicopter in Bosnia killed all four crew members, according to the hospital that treated the victims, in a report by Le Monde.

Prime Minister Mark Carney launched The Plan for a Stronger Canada on Thursday, the country’s first national security strategy in more than two decades, according to the Chinese agency Xinhua. According to the release cited by the agency, the strategy outlines five main priorities, including strengthening economic security and resilience by transforming strategic industries and securing supply chains, advancing a disciplined foreign policy to diversify partnerships, and rebuilding and strengthening the Canadian Armed Forces. The Globe and Mail reported that under the new strategy the government will beef up Canada’s intelligence-gathering capabilities and prepare for all contingencies, up to and including war.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia, a senior planner on the Joint Staff, on Thursday over accusations that he leaked classified information to the public, according to officials cited by Reuters, in a text republished by the Italian outlet Internazionale. Sylvia led the Joint Staff’s Directorate for Strategy, Plans and Policy, known inside the military as J5, a key position that helps advise the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine. Earl Rasmussen, a retired US Army lieutenant colonel, told Sputnik that the ouster may have come from differences between Sylvia’s position on the war with Iran and that of Secretary Pete Hegseth, rather than from the alleged leak.

An Italian CH-47 Chinook helicopter serving with the European Union peacekeeping force in Bosnia (EUFOR) crashed on Thursday in the country’s north, with “a number” of personnel killed or injured, according to the Associated Press. Local officials told Bosnian media that three people died and 12 were injured in the crash near the town of Brcko, and EUFOR confirmed casualties and opened an investigation. Chinese state agency Xinhua reported the same toll of three killed and 12 injured.

A Russian drone strike killed at least 14 people on a crowded platform at the Dnipro station in Ukraine on Thursday, where passengers waited to board a regional train to Zaporizhzhia, Reuters reported in a text republished by SRN News. Ukrainian state railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia said a jet-powered drone struck the platform and that the air force intercepted three drones, but a fourth broke through the defenses. President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack “horrific” and said it demands a response from Kyiv’s allies.

The United States and Japan agreed to build a final assembly and inspection plant for the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) in Japan, NPR reported. The announcement was made by Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi at a news conference on Wednesday night in the central Philippine province of Cebu, where he met US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The missiles to be produced under the joint effort called Operation Supercharge are essential for F-35 fighter jets, Koizumi said.

South Korean Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul met on Thursday with his Singaporean and Vietnamese counterparts to discuss expanding defense cooperation, his ministry said, according to the Korea Herald. The ministers agreed to expand cooperation in personnel exchanges, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.

Russia fired an RSM-56 Bulava ballistic missile on Wednesday, October 28, from the Generalissimo Suvorov nuclear submarine in the Sea of Okhotsk, the Russian Defense Ministry said, according to G1. The missile can carry a multiple-warhead nuclear payload.

Kim Ju-ae, daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is consolidating her status as his designated successor, and Pyongyang is increasingly portraying her as a future military leader, according to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) in a Thursday statement reported by the Korea Herald.

Estonia plans to build around 150 bunkers in its northeastern Ida-Virumaa region bordering Russia to strengthen its defensive readiness, Defense Minister Martin Herem said Wednesday, according to TRT World.

China could launch its fourth aircraft carrier as early as next year, which US researchers believe would be the country’s first with a nuclear-powered system, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

A Reuters investigation identified more than 5,000 agencies with the MOD prefix, for the Ministry of Defense, that form a financial and military machine, in a text republished by Al Arabiya. The secret network of military agencies, with global reach, imported at least $2 billion in hardware, explosives and heavy-duty trucks since January 2025, evading the US naval blockade and Western sanctions, according to the agency.

Australia’s Defense Ministry has approached Washington about cost and delivery timelines for the US Marine Corps’ Medium Range Intercept Capability, which uses the SkyHunter, a US-built version of the Iron Dome’s Tamir interceptor, according to the Jerusalem Post. A tender issued in mid-October wants a “proven” off-the-shelf system selected by the end of next year, followed by a live firing during Exercise Talisman Sabre by 2029.

Ethiopia received 12 Su-35 fighter jets from Russia, as fighting intensified in the northern Tigray region neighboring Eritrea, according to the BBC, and will acquire four S-400 air defense batteries, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has announced, according to Al Jazeera.

European officials allege Russian planes violated Polish, Lithuanian and Estonian airspace, testing reaction times, while suspected Russian drones were downed over Poland, Finland and the Baltic states, according to Al Jazeera. Representatives of five European Union (EU) intelligence agencies told the Financial Times, that Russia was seeking to “kill” European defense bosses and target their supply chains.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it intercepted and destroyed a US MQ-1 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz, the 14th downed, in an announcement carried by IRNA opposite Sirik and under the integrated air defense network.

Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia was removed as head of strategy, plans and policy on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a post known in military circles as the J5, under US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He is the second general ousted from the J5 under Hegseth, according to the Associated Press (AP). The dismissal comes as Donald Trump weighs new strikes on Iran, according to the South China Morning Post.

North Korea launched more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Thursday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The South Korean military said it detected the launches from the Wonsan area at around 12:30 p.m. Japan’s government said the suspected North Korean missile has already fallen, according to Kyodo News.

The Pentagon's watchdog declined a bipartisan request by nine senators to open an investigation into the slowdown of Starshield, SpaceX's military-grade system, in Ukraine, according to a letter obtained by CNN. Inspector General Platte Moring said in a letter dated Tuesday that the senators' questions about the slowdowns and their impacts should be directed to the US Air Force and Space Force. The request, led by Republican Thom Tillis and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, also covered commercial-grade Starlink and asked for an “immediate investigation” into the disruptions to both systems in Ukraine.

Australian SAS officers knew that soldiers under their command were using “throwdowns” — planting weapons on dead Afghan civilians to portray them as combatants — and did nothing to stop the unlawful practice, according to a previously unpublished military report cited by The Guardian. The executive summary of a 2021 investigation into the “cultural context” of the special operations command by the inspector general of the Australian Defence Force, posted online this week, is scathing about the “breakdown of command” and the erosion of military discipline. An earlier Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) report, the Brereton Inquiry, made public in 2020, found credible information that Australian special forces personnel murdered 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners.

Another 15 drones flying toward Moscow, in Russia, have been destroyed, according to the mayor of the Russian capital, Sergey Sobyanin, TASS reported.

The United States warned several Gulf Arab countries to be prepared for a short, intense military offensive against Iran after the November 3 midterm elections, according to The Wall Street Journal, cited by Middle East Eye. US forces have been restocking their munitions in the region, and bomber aircraft and jet fighters are preparing for attacks, officials told the newspaper.

The United States is moving a Patriot air and missile defense system from Texas to the Middle East as Washington and Israel prepare for a possible new round of heavy combat operations against Iran after the November 3 midterm elections, according to The Wall Street Journal, cited by The Jerusalem Post. The Wall Street Journal also reported that Washington had warned several Gulf Arab countries to prepare for a short, intense military campaign against Iran after the midterms, according to people briefed on the conversations.

Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that Japan plans to boost “denial defense”, according to Kyodo News. In the meeting, the two discussed munitions production and the strategy the two governments call “deterrence through denial”, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) defense chiefs' summit in the Philippines, according to the Japan Times.

British prosecutors said they had charged two British nationals under the National Security Act over an incident last month at the RAF Fairford airbase, and police say the two are suspected of assisting Iran, according to CNN. The base had been used by US B-1 bombers to carry out strikes on Iran, and the aircraft were withdrawn on security grounds shortly after five men were arrested outside the base in the early hours of September 27.

The United States has told several Gulf Arab countries to be prepared for a short, intense military campaign after the midterm elections, according to people briefed on the conversations, the Hindustan Times reported. The newspaper also cited new signs that the American and Israeli militaries are preparing a potential wave of strikes to muscle Tehran to the negotiating table.

The European Union (EU) is discussing strengthening its own capabilities and reducing dependence on the US after the Starlink slowdown in Ukraine, a topic at the Oct. 15–16 summit, according to the Russian agency TASS, citing sources — and according to those sources, cited by Bloomberg via TASS, such changes would take years and the realistic way out would be to strengthen Europe's role within structures such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

A private geospatial-intelligence firm examined 40 missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia by Houthis and Iraqi militias between July 1 and Oct. 19, according to the Associated Press (AP), which points to a match with Russian spy-satellite activity. The Saudi deputy minister for public diplomacy told the AP that Iran and the Houthis receive intelligence from elements in Russia and China.

The 2027 US defence bill, covering more than US$1 trillion in proposed defence spending, will be one of the most closely watched pieces of legislation when Congress returns after the midterm elections, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP). The House of Representatives passed its version, the National Defense Authorisation Act (NDAA), in July. The bill faces a tougher path in the Senate, where a July procedural vote to begin consideration failed after Democrats objected to US President Donald Trump’s military actions involving Iran.

Two men have been charged with national security offences after an investigation into a suspected terror plot near RAF Fairford in the UK, according to the Guardian. One of them, a 24-year-old man, was charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service, the BBC reported. The charges were brought under the National Security Act, according to the BBC.

Jordan’s air force struck targets in southern Syria it describes as terrorist hideouts, tied to the attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, according to Arab News. Damascus says civilians were killed. In Jordan, seven people were killed in an attack on a funeral, according to the BBC.

The Saudi-led coalition said its air defences destroyed four Houthi drones targeting the kingdom’s southern region, according to Middle East Eye. The coalition also said it intercepted and destroyed 10 ballistic missiles launched towards the same region, according to The National.

The Kadena air base in Okinawa has banned BYD vehicles, including privately owned cars, taxis and delivery vehicles, according to The Guardian. A spokesperson for US forces in Japan said the vehicles present “an unacceptable and unmitigable risk to our personnel and our mission”. In June the Pentagon added BYD to a list of 188 Chinese firms it believes have ties to the military, drawing a protest from Beijing.

Israel votes on Tuesday (October 27) with 7,331,981 eligible voters and 34 parties running for the Knesset. Polls project 20 to 23 of the 120 seats for Yashar, ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud, with no easy majority for any bloc to form a coalition. At his final rally, candidate Eisenkot pledged to heal divisions in Israeli society after Netanyahu's government and spoke of a commitment to security and the economy. Netanyahu said “90 percent of the work” had been done and “10 percent remains”, and that Eisenkot and the Muslim Brotherhood “will not destroy Iran's nuclear programme”: “Who is going to do it? Only I can.” Israeli media reported that officials discussed actions in preparation for a strike on Iran at Netanyahu's request, according to Middle East Eye.

Algeria is to send troops to Niger, its first foreign deployment since sending forces to Egypt during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, the BBC reported. Algeria's upper house of parliament approved the move at an emergency session on Sunday, with 148 of 174 senators in favour, and the lower house backed it later, according to AFP. The troops are expected to protect energy facilities in northern Niger, near the Libyan border, including a planned pipeline that would carry Nigerian gas to Algeria. The timing and number of soldiers have not been announced.

The Saudi-led coalition said on Monday that three drones were intercepted and destroyed over the Riyadh region and southern regions, according to Middle East Eye. The coalition also said it intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Houthis, after the group claimed a new attack on Riyadh airport, The Hindu reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv has been waiting nearly a month for US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to sign off on missiles for Patriot and NASAMS air defence systems. He said he ordered his team to raise the matter with Washington again.

Egypt’s Parliament authorized the military on Monday to provide support to help defend Saudi Arabia, if requested, according to Reuters, citing parliamentarians and local media. The decision responds to intensified attacks by Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthis on the Gulf kingdom. Parliament gave President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi the green light to take the steps necessary to defend Saudi Arabia, according to Bloomberg.

Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan's army chief, and Turkey's intelligence chief arrived in Tehran for talks with Iranian officials, according to Mehr News. Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said officials from the countries that signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement will hold regional security talks in Tehran on Monday, according to Sputnik. In an interview with state broadcaster IRIB, he said Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin will take part in the joint meeting.

The US Air Force combat wing at Kadena Air Base in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture has banned vehicles made by China’s automaker BYD from the facility over security concerns, Kyodo News reported Monday. “These vehicles present an unacceptable and unmitigable risk to our personnel and our mission,” Kadena Air Base spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Alli Stormer told Reuters, in text republished by eletric-vehicles.com.

US forces are prepared to launch a major attack against Iran within 96 hours of receiving the order from President Donald Trump, two US officials told CNN on Sunday, according to The Jerusalem Post; Israel has been preparing for possibly striking Iran, as well as lobbying the US to participate in the strikes, a source briefed on the matter told CNN, also according to The Jerusalem Post.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir have been locked in recent days in an unprecedented confrontation surrounding an instruction by the prime minister for unspecified military action that defense officials believe could lead to a swift confrontation with Iran shortly before the election, according to a report by an Israeli broadcaster cited by The Times of Israel; Zamir had been resisting carrying out the action and sought further deliberations, as well as signed documentation regarding legal authorization; Netanyahu denied the report late on Sunday night, saying “there is no confrontation”.

France is working with allies on a forward deterrence plan involving the creation of new infrastructure, communications, early warning, intelligence sharing and deployments of nuclear-capable Rafale jets, which the UK, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark have joined to varying degrees since March, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Iran remains fully united and on the highest level of alert amid continuing threats from the United States and Israel, Saeed Khatibzadeh, head of the Foreign Ministryʼs Center for Political and International Studies, has said, according to the Tehran Times.

On January 1, new Pentagon procurement rules take effect that will restrict the use of Chinese-origin rare earth materials in American weapons systems — a date now less than 75 days away, according to OilPrice.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff Eyal Zamir requested an in-depth discussion and formal authorization before carrying out a directive from the political echelon for an action related to Iran, according to the Jerusalem Post, citing Channel 12. Security officials told N12 the action could “trigger a rapid escalation into a confrontation with Iran”. Benjamin Netanyahu denied the report of an “unprecedented confrontation” with Zamir over the political leadership’s effort to order some kind of military action related to Iran just before Tuesday’s election, according to the Times of Israel.

China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier strike group sailed beyond the first island chain to reach the southernmost waters of the Philippines before heading northeast on Friday, a move that suggests an intent to position itself closer to joint US-Japan exercises, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP). Philippine news channel BNC, cited by the paper, reported that the group reached about 25 nautical miles (46km) east-southeast of Balut Island, the southernmost point of the country. The group has four ships, including the Type 055 large guided-missile destroyers Wuxi and Anshan and the Type 052D destroyer Huainan. According to the SCMP, the USS Theodore Roosevelt is taking part in the Keen Sword exercise in the Philippine Sea alongside warships from Japan, Australia, Canada and France.

UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said Britain must be ready for war in 1,000 days, as the government tells Britons to stock up with tinned food and bottles of water, according to The Independent. “That gives us a little over 1,000 days to complete our mission: to be ready with our allies to fight and win,” he said.

Russia's Defence Ministry said on Sunday that its drones struck a cargo vessel bound for the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk in an overnight attack and another cargo vessel en route to the port of Odesa during the day, according to Reuters, in a text republished by MarketScreener. Russian forces also hit a logistics centre, a distribution centre and a logistics terminal in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv overnight, according to the ministry. Reuters could not independently verify the ministry's information.

Turkey, the host of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the UN climate convention, is encouraging wealthy countries to spend more on climate support than on defence, according to OilPrice. The host of the next UN summit told The Guardian that wealthy countries should spend far more than the 5% of GDP NATO members have promised for defence, because “the climate issue is the security issue”. Asked whether as much should be spent on climate as on defence, he said: “Much more.”

Algeria's Council of the Nation, the upper house of parliament, approved on Sunday a proposal to deploy troops to neighbouring Niger to protect energy facilities, TRT World reported. A senator who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity said 148 of the 174 seats voted in favour, and the lower house was expected to vote on the proposal later on Sunday. Al Jazeera reported the approval was unanimous. According to TRT World, any deployment abroad would be Algeria's first such military operation since it sent troops to support Egypt during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. The proposal is linked to the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP), which would carry natural gas from Nigeria through Niger and Algeria to European markets.

Japan is considering including in its revised three key security-related documents plans to study and research the possibility of introducing a nuclear-powered submarine, according to The Japan Times. The Japanese government is considering starting an investigation into whether to acquire nuclear-powered submarines as part of the upcoming regular update to its defense strategy, according to Nikkei Asia.

Iran's army air defense hit and destroyed a US Lucas drone over Bandar Abbas on Sunday morning, the army's public relations office said, according to Mehr News.

The Saudi-led coalition said on Sunday it had intercepted 10 ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis towards the country's southern region. The coalition said two drones and a ballistic missile were launched towards Riyadh, and a cruise missile towards the southern city of Khamis Mushait. Late on Saturday, Riyadh's airport said Terminal 1 would be designated for domestic flights and Terminal 2 for international flights operated by national carriers starting Sunday.

Israel and Greece held a joint naval exercise in the Mediterranean this week, practicing the identification and neutralization of maritime threats, sailing as a combined force and sinking a hostile vessel with missile fire, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The United States Department of Defense designated Confucius Institutes, Chinese-funded cultural centers at universities, as a threat to national security, according to Al Jazeera. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said 80 new “propaganda cells” had appeared across 30 universities under different names and charters with “the same mission: to steal intellectual property and to infiltrate the minds of American students,” and that the Pentagon had systematically dismantled every one of these organizations over the past two months.

Ten days after its use of the satellite communications system was suddenly restricted, Ukraine’s government said the military has a stable connection to Starlink. The restrictions capped the terminals at 160km/h and led to the failure of several Ukrainian combat missions earlier this month.

Iraq's prime minister said on Friday that no US troops are left in the country, including in advisory roles, according to Anadolu, as Baghdad moves to bring all weapons under state control by next June. He said that by June 30, 2027, there will be no weapons outside the framework of the state, and stressed that the government's decision to restrict weapons to state institutions is final and irreversible.

Four pilots of the Philippine Air Force were killed after two SF-260 training aircraft were involved in an accident during a training flight at Fernando Air Base on Friday, the air force said in a statement on Saturday, according to the Hindustan Times. All remaining SF-260 aircraft have been temporarily grounded and an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence said on Saturday that its monitoring systems are recording a return of Starlink and Starshield to normal speed, above 400 kph, with a stable connection. The return came after over a week of service restrictions that slowed connections and disrupted military operations, according to Reuters.

Russia's Defense Ministry said Russian forces damaged at sea a cargo vessel carrying supplies for Ukraine's armed forces to the port of Odessa, according to a statement cited by Sputnik. Overnight, the ministry added, Russian forces also struck a workshop producing uncrewed boats at the port of Chernomorsk.

Iran's armed forces chief of staff and commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, General Abdollahi, said the country will not allow “under any circumstances” rusting US warships to re-enter the Persian Gulf, according to the Middle East Eye. In remarks carried by Press TV, Abdollahi said Iran's armed forces had rendered the US Navy ineffective, to the point that it is no longer capable of approaching the waters around the Persian Gulf or Iran's territorial waters.

Kim Jong-un urged the North Korean military to train to become the strongest armed forces in the world at a two-day meeting of company commanders in Pyongyang, state media said, in a South China Morning Post report.

At a campaign rally in Florida, US President Donald Trump said the country “may do another little Epic Fury, or they’ll agree”, the Times of India reported on Friday. Trump warned Iran of another potential military strike if Tehran fails to reach a diplomatic agreement with Washington.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged that the end of US military aid to Israel is “only a matter of time”, Press TV reported. Speaking to Israel’s Channel 10 on Friday, he warned that Israel must prepare for the possibility that Washington will stop providing military assistance: “This is over, and it will end. It is only a matter of time.”

US President Donald Trump said the country would “take care of Cuba” on its way back from Iran, with a small stopover: one US ship could stop “about 50 yards off the coast” before Secretary of State Marco Rubio is sent in to “finish up the deal”, Sputnik reported. At a rally, Trump said the ships returning from the Middle East would pass Cuba and that he would send Rubio “to finish up the job”, the Times of India reported.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the United States has spent 11 billion in taxpayer money on missile defense for Israel over the past three years, Mehr News reported. In a post on his X account late on Friday, the top diplomat wrote: “The US has, over the past three years, spent 11 BILLION in taxpayer money on missile defense for Israel.”

The US Defense Department designated Chinese-funded cultural centers on university campuses known as Confucius Institutes as a threat to US national security, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday. According to him, “80 new propaganda cells across 30 universities had popped up using different names and different charters, but with the same mission: to steal intellectual property and to infiltrate the minds of American students”. Hegseth said the department had “systematically dismantled every single one of these organizations” over the past two months, according to the Guardian.

Pakistan has completed the ratification processes for the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan told a news conference, according to TRT World. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have already completed their ratification processes, while Türkiye is undertaking the requisite procedures “in accordance with its domestic legal framework,” he said.

France and the United Arab Emirates have revived plans to jointly develop an upgraded Rafale fighter jet after talks stumbled earlier this year, officials said, according to the Hindustan Times. The project, for which France’s 2027 draft budget earmarks €3 billion ($3.36 billion), has returned to the top of the agenda after the joint plan by France and Germany for a next-generation fighter aircraft collapsed, according to Reuters, in a text republished by Euronext. The UAE is France’s biggest customer of the Rafale warplane, built by Dassault Aviation.

The government of the United Kingdom has told the public to keep three days' worth of food and water at home to get through a national emergency, according to the BBC. The Be Ready campaign lists bottled water for three days, 3 litres per person per day for drinking, plus non-perishable food, an FM radio, a torch, a power bank, cash and medication.

Estonia is overhauling its military strategy, moving troops closer to the border and investing in long-range arms, amid what the newspaper describes as Russian grey-zone tactics on NATO’s eastern flank, according to The Hindu. The country’s defence spending is set to rise 42% in 2026, to €2.4 billion, or around 5.4% of gross domestic product (GDP).

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth prohibited department personnel from using nonpublic information to bet on military outcomes, including through prediction markets such as Polymarket and Kalshi, according to Sputnik. Violations may result in administrative, disciplinary or criminal action under military or federal law.

The Starshield military communications system is back in Ukraine, President Donald Trump said on October 22, after The Wall Street Journal reported that he asked businessman Elon Musk to restore the service, which is vital to Kyiv’s forces. Trump refused to say whether he personally called Musk. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Starlink speed in Ukraine had still not been fully restored, according to Reuters, in a text republished by the Hindustan Times.

The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin announced a 10-year agreement for the production of 850 F-35 warplanes, according to TRT World. Under the deal, still subject to congressional approval and funding, Lockheed Martin will fund US$7 billion in projects supporting the F-35s in exchange for the decade-long commitment.

US President Donald Trump determined this Thursday that petroleum production, refining and related activities are essential to national defence, a move that could open up US funding for fossil fuel projects. In a presidential memo, he also invoked part of the Cold War-era Defence Production Act, allowing him to provide financial incentives for oil-related activities, pipelines and storage of liquid fuels. Prices for crude oil and diesel have surged since the joint US and Israeli attack on Iran at the end of February.

Donald Trump said Elon Musk has restored Ukraine’s internet access. The US president also said Ukraine’s access to Starshield, a military-grade satellite service, has been restored, according to TASS. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said connectivity, which is provided by Musk’s Starlink satellite system, had yet to be fully restored.

Russia said on Thursday its air defences intercepted 808 drones fired by Ukraine at Moscow and other cities, as it bombarded Kyiv with ballistic missiles in an hourslong nighttime barrage, according to The Hindu. The attacks hit 12 regions of Ukraine overnight, killing at least two people and wounding 34 others, including five children, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media.

Israel's military and the US armed forces have drawn up plans to renew joint strikes on Iran in the coming weeks, according to two Israeli sources familiar with the plans, ABC News reported. The White House said on Thursday that the US will not resume attacks on Iran before the November 3 midterm elections.

Germany's federal prosecutors confirmed on Thursday the arrest of a Ukrainian man identified as Vadym Y. in the state of Brandenburg, 85 km west of Berlin, on suspicion of spying for Russia. According to DW World, the suspect allegedly used his connections to European defense firms to gather information, which he passed on to a Russian intelligence agency.

UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said Britain should prepare for the threat of “state-sponsored terrorism” by hostile powers targeting everyday infrastructure, as part of a national conversation about resilience in the face of emergencies, according to the Guardian. He said on Thursday the public should consider how to respond to hybrid warfare risks, such as cyber-attacks that could knock out payment systems used by businesses or cause supply chains to collapse.

Middle Eastern media outlets published this week the text of the Mecca Defense Pact signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan on August 7, 2026, according to The Jerusalem Post. The agreement establishes a trilateral defense concept under which an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all three. It provides for a permanent secretariat, rotating leadership, regular ministerial meetings and the admission of new members, which, in the newspaper’s assessment, suggests something more ambitious than a typical defense-cooperation memorandum.

Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov said in Minsk on Thursday that NATO’s military buildup will require a timely response from the armies of Russia and Belarus, according to TASS. He spoke at a joint meeting of the boards of the two countries’ defense ministries.

Qatar, Türkiye, Pakistan and Indonesia signed in Doha on Wednesday a memorandum to deepen defence industry cooperation, with joint production, technology transfers and more closely integrated supply chains — and the Qatari Defence Ministry says the “Badr” memorandum targets defence manufacturing, capabilities, technical training and research and development, according to Al Jazeera.

Ireland’s lower house of parliament approved by 79 votes to 71 a bill that scraps the requirement for UN approval before Irish troops can be deployed abroad, France 24 reported. Currently, three steps — dubbed a “triple lock” — must be taken before more than 12 members of the Irish defence forces can be sent on any mission: approval from the government, from parliament and from the UN, the last of which is now set to be scrapped. The legislation also raises from 12 to 50 the number of soldiers that could be deployed without parliamentary approval. Opposition parties warned that the move threatens the country’s longstanding military neutrality.

Dozens of Israeli Air Force fighter jets conducted a sortie on Monday, flying as far as the Iranian border, according to Israeli and US officials cited by Axios. Israel notified Washington in advance and described the operation as a training exercise intended for “power projection”, aimed at deterring Iran from attacking ahead of next week’s election, Axios reported. The Times of Israel reported the same advance notice, described as a military exercise and a show of force.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that his directive to the Israel Defense Forces, the Mossad and the defense establishment is to overthrow the regime in Iran. At an officer cadet graduation ceremony, he said the Iranian regime “has still not learned its lesson” and accused new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei of following “in his father's footsteps” in developing “the bombs of death”, according to the Middle East Eye. Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened: “If Iran attacks Israel, Iran will burn!”

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Egypt’s military support for Saudi Arabia would be limited to defending the kingdom’s territory and borders and would not include an attack on Yemen, the presidency said on Wednesday, according to the Jerusalem Post. His comments came as Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and intelligence chief Hassan Rashad met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia signed in Doha on Wednesday a memorandum of understanding for the joint production of military hardware and expanded cooperation in military training, research and development, according to Middle East Eye. Turkey’s defence ministry said the agreement will be known as the “Badr deal”, a reference to the Battle of Badr in 624, and that it holds significant military and economic importance. Reuters, citing the Turkish ministry, described an agreement to boost defence cooperation and strengthen the four countries’ defensive capabilities.

The European Union (EU) called on SpaceX to urgently restore Kyiv's full access to Starlink, Le Monde reported. Ukraine said SpaceX imposed speed limits of 100mph (160km/h) on Tuesday night, and any weapons travelling faster than that lost connectivity, according to the BBC. US senators called for an investigation into restrictions that reportedly degraded Ukraine's ability to conduct defensive operations against Russian drone and missile attacks on civilian infrastructure.

Turkey will submit to parliament a mandate allowing military personnel to be deployed to Saudi Arabia under its joint defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, an agreement signed in August in Mecca and submitted to parliament for ratification on Tuesday, according to the Jerusalem Post. According to the newspaper, no Turkish troops deployed to other countries under the pact would take part in offensive operations, and technical personnel and experts would be sent initially to help with air defenses.

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said on Wednesday that North Korea had moved new units into “firing positions” at the border, according to AFP, in an article republished by the Kuwait Times. She also said Kim Jong Un had “issued an order to fortify the border with an enemy state to be eternally impregnable”. Jin Yong-sung, chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, ordered the military to “respond with firm resolve” if the North used Seoul’s actions as a pretext for aggression.

The Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted and destroyed drones targeting the kingdom, in Medina and the Eastern Province, according to TRT World.

A Mirage 2000D fighter jet crashed in north-eastern France during a training flight, killing at least one crew member, and an air force spokesman said at least one crew member was apparently unable to eject, with a young trainee pilot and a very experienced weapons officer on board, according to Le Monde.

China’s Southern Theatre Command said the US warship USS Charleston illegally entered waters off Sabina Shoal without Chinese approval in the early hours of Tuesday, according to Kyodo News. China says it dispatched forces to track and monitor the ship, while the US 7th Fleet said the Charleston conducted routine operations in international waters consistent with international law.

Taiwan’s defence ministry confirmed for the first time funding for the US Indo-Pacific Command to send a retired general and observers to the Han Kuang war games, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP). NT$82.4 million (US$2.5 million) was allocated for the 2026–2027 program, with NT$41.219 million this year.

Britain will deploy Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets to Saudi Arabia to help defend the kingdom against attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the UK government announced on Tuesday, according to DW. The British Ministry of Defence said the aircraft will protect Saudi cities and critical infrastructure from drones and missiles and will not carry out offensive strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. In Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, Houthi rebels struck a residential area on Tuesday, killing two teenage girls, according to the Times of Israel, which highlighted the UN warning that the siege leaves civilians at grave risk.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed ways to strengthen economic, investment and defence cooperation at Lusail Palace in Doha, according to TRT World. The French tour of the Gulf from October 19 to 21 aims, according to the French presidency, to consolidate strategic and economic partnerships with Gulf states and to support multilateral initiatives to restore regional stability and safeguard freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirmed on Tuesday that he visited US troops in Israel and spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the Middle East Eye. Hegseth told reporters he would not discuss the nature of the private conversation and said they had been good partners and that he appreciated that.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said only a small number of items remain to close the bilateral trade agreement between India and the US, according to The Hindu, and expressed hope it will be sealed shortly. Rubio urged India to scale up energy trade with the US and increase purchases of American technologies and systems, according to the paper. Both sides welcomed progress in the negotiations and reaffirmed their commitment to working toward an early conclusion, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) cited in the report.

Elon Musk last week ordered the slowdown of a military-grade version of Starlink used by Ukraine, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), in an account published by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) citing US officials and people familiar with the matter. The restriction hampered Ukrainian attack and air-defence drone missions against Russia, according to the account. Musk and US President Donald Trump discussed the decision in a call soon after the slowdown became public, while the president was campaigning last week.

NATO will send maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems and drones to the Black Sea, after a series of deadly drone attacks on shipping in the region apparently linked to Russia's war in Ukraine, according to Reuters, in a text republished by US News. A US P-8 Poseidon has begun patrolling the Black Sea to conduct reconnaissance missions and detect any activity that could pose a risk, Radev said, according to Arab News. Last week, seven sailors were reported missing after drones struck two chemical tankers near Romania's Black Sea coast, setting them ablaze.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung reiterated Monday that Seoul should retake wartime operational control (OPCON) at an early date, Yonhap reported. The Pentagon told the outlet that the transition “remains a conditions-based process mutually agreed upon by the United States and the Republic of Korea”. US Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson said that “conditions have changed”, citing North Korea's recent missile launches, and indicated that the change called for new standards for the transfer.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney travels to Ankara and Istanbul from October 21 to 24, the first bilateral visit to Türkiye by a Canadian prime minister, according to the prime minister's office. During the visit, Canada and Turkey are expected to sign a joint declaration to deepen bilateral cooperation in four areas, including defence and energy, Reuters reported.

British police rearrested two men on suspicion of assisting Iran’s intelligence service in the suspected plot at a US-run air base in England, police said on Tuesday. Counter Terrorism Policing said the men, a 24-year-old British national and a 25-year-old dual UK-Iranian national, were arrested under the National Security Act. Police are investigating a suspected terror plot on Sept. 27 against the US-run base at RAF Fairford in western England, which has been used to bomb Iran during this year’s war.

The Turkish government submitted the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement to parliament on October 20, binding Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to mutual defense indefinitely, according to The Cradle. The text treats aggression from abroad against one member as aggression against all and obliges the others to immediately assist the attacked party, with the scale of support still to be defined, including military means.

The Pentagon is sending the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit to the Middle East, according to two US officials cited by Fox News, in a report carried by The Jerusalem Post. According to the report, the carrier group is due to arrive in the region by the end of November.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will send additional assets to the Black Sea, including support for surveillance, reconnaissance and forensics, according to The Guardian. According to TRT World, the deployment includes more maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems and drones, following a series of deadly attacks on shipping. Russia's military said it struck three cargo vessels at Ukraine's port of Reni and two others en route to Odesa on Tuesday.

Egypt’s Parliament postponed to October 26 a vote on authorising the armed forces to support Saudi Arabia, the House of Representatives said on Monday, according to Al Jazeera. Parliament has been tasked with authorising President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to approve any request from Saudi Arabia for defence assistance.

The European Union (EU) presented on Tuesday a new Arctic strategy with monitoring and protection of undersea cables, a direct link between the bloc and Greenland and the expansion of an icebreaker fleet dwarfed by Russia’s, according to the Associated Press, in a text republished by the Los Angeles Times. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that when sovereignty, territorial integrity and the rules that have underpinned stability in the region can no longer be taken for granted, “we have to act and change our strategic posture”. Officials estimate Europe has around 10 icebreakers, most of them in Finland, against around 40 for Russia.

Russia launched another missile and drone blitz of civilian areas in Ukraine, killing at least seven people, officials said Tuesday, as President Volodymyr Zelensky scrambled to ensure more American and European help during his visit to Norway. In the Kyiv region, four people were killed and 27 others wounded, including children, in Russian missile and drone attacks over the past day, regional police said. In Oslo, US envoy Steve Witkoff, who along with Jared Kushner has tried without success to steer Russia and Ukraine toward a settlement, was also in the city, and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb were also due to meet with Zelensky.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly held a secret meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, according to the Axios news outlet, cited by The Times of Israel, which spoke to two sources with knowledge of the meeting. The meeting took place at the Ovda airbase in southern Israel, where US fighter jets and refuelers are stationed, the sources said.

Ukraine did not receive a warning from the US about an impending Russian missile attack on Sunday evening, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, reviving concerns that Washington is withholding intelligence to bully Kyiv into capitulating to Moscow, The Guardian reported. Yuri Ihnat, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian air force, said on television that Ukraine had not received a warning before a Russian missile barrage hit power plants in Kyiv. Speaking in the early hours of Monday on a trip to Samarkand, Uzbekistan, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “If it happened last night, I don't know exactly. I know a few nights ago there was a software problem involving their early warning system.”

The UK will provide additional defensive military support to Saudi Arabia given escalating Houthi attacks in the region, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fighter jets will fly defensive counter air missions to support the protection of Saudi cities and critical national infrastructure against aerial attack, and the ministry says the warplanes will operate in a defensive role and will not be used to attack the Yemeni group, according to Al Jazeera.

Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed ballistic missile interceptors, early warning and the situation with Starlink and Starshield with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to the Kyiv Independent — Ukraine has recently suffered disruptions to early warning, which relies on US intelligence, and to Starlink and Starshield services, which have hampered drone operations, including interceptor drones, according to the same outlet.

Russian air defenses downed 136 Ukrainian drones overnight, according to the Russian military command, via TASS.

China's Southern Theater Command Navy accused a US littoral combat ship of illegally entering waters near Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands without Beijing's approval — dispatched forces to track and monitor the USS Charleston and said the move violates Chinese sovereignty and harms regional peace, in an area contested by China and the Philippines, according to Reuters, in text republished by WTVBAM.

South Korea's top military officer ordered troops on Tuesday to sternly respond to any enemy provocations, a day after North Korea threatened to deploy more weapons along the inter-Korean border, according to Yonhap.

The US administration has not approved the transfer of Patriot interceptor missiles to Ukraine, according to Xinhua, which cites a Washington Post report published on Monday. The report places the decision amid tensions between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it intercepted and destroyed a US MQ-9 drone over the Strait of Hormuz early on Tuesday, according to the Middle East Eye.

The Ukrainian military released footage of what it says is the world’s first drone airlift of a wounded soldier from the front line, according to the BBC. The 92nd Assault Brigade said a ground rescue mission was not possible because the wounded serviceman was surrounded by landmines and there was high Russian drone activity in the area; according to the brigade, a “heavy” hexacopter, piloted by a remote operator, maintained stability during the “very difficult” operation. BBC Verify confirmed the identity of the army personnel involved in the video and found no signs of AI generation or manipulation.

The international airport in Rzeszow, Poland, near the border with Ukraine, was closed to arriving and departing flights at the military’s request, a source in the air traffic control service of the Warsaw Flight Information Region told TASS. The source said the closure was “due to unscheduled military aviation operations aimed at ensuring the country’s security”, and gave no further details.

Saudi Arabia’s newly appointed envoy to Pakistan, Rajeh Tami Albugamy, met Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir on Monday in Rawalpindi to discuss matters of mutual interest and regional security dynamics, the army said. Both sides expressed satisfaction over progress under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement and underscored the importance of strengthening defense collaboration. Munir will travel to Tehran on Tuesday for consultations with Iranian officials, according to Mehr News.

EU countries do not know where to find an additional 70 billion euros ($78.4 billion) to aid Ukraine in 2027, after Volodymyr Zelensky requested the amount at the bloc’s most recent summit, according to La Repubblica, cited by Sputnik. The EU has already agreed to a 90-billion-euro loan for 2026-2027, with 60 billion euros earmarked for military spending and 30 billion for budget support.

An adviser in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office told the BBC that Ukrainians had died because there was no time to warn citizens about ballistic missile strikes. “It’s dangerous… People already died,” Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov said. Zelensky said frontline units had reported that Starshield equipment stops functioning at speeds of 130-160 kilometres per hour, slowing down the response. The White House said there had been no changes to intelligence sharing with Ukraine, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio attributed a recent episode to a “software problem” in the alert system.

A Pakistan Army general said the country is providing “whatever support is needed” to protect Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and holy sites, amid escalating attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on the Gulf country. Lieutenant General Chaudhry told the digital newspaper Independent Arabia in an interview published on Sunday (18) that such support “is being provided and will be provided”, without disclosing the nature or extent of the assistance.

Egypt’s parliament postponed to October 26 a vote on authorizing potential military support to help defend Saudi Arabia, as regional security tensions rise, according to TRT World. The one-week postponement leaves the decision pending as lawmakers prepare to resume deliberations later this month.

The United States has sent hundreds of soldiers to Panama for training, an activity it will repeat later in Honduras and Colombia, according to The New York Times, cited by El País. The military detachment is preparing to take part in special operations against drug trafficking cartels, according to sources at the newspaper cited by El País.

More than 53 people were killed and more than 200 injured in a Houthi attack on a training center for Yemen’s security forces in the country’s southern province of Shabwa, according to TRT World. The strike hit the facility while new internal security recruits were undergoing training, the broadcaster said. A Yemeni government training camp was the target of the attack, according to the South China Morning Post.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir placed the military on its “highest state of alert” ahead of next week’s election and canceled soldiers’ leave, the Times of Israel reported. Zamir said the IDF’s mission is to enable the democratic elections to take place on schedule and safely.

Ukrainian air defences did not intercept a single Russian ballistic missile overnight, according to data published by the Ukrainian Air Force on its Telegram channel, cited by TASS. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the strikes hit military-industrial facilities, storage sites for cruise missiles and drones, and a data center in Kyiv and the Kyiv region.

A fire swept through the Canadian military base at Wainwright, in Alberta, on Saturday, killing at least four service members and leaving 19 people in critical condition, the BBC reported. The fire broke out at around 16:00 local time (22:00 GMT) on a training range; uncommonly strong winds caused it to spread rapidly and shift direction towards soldiers taking part in exercises, Major-General Wade Rutland, Commander of 1st Canadian Division, said. Alongside the dead, a further 39 people are in hospital, 19 of them in critical condition. The deceased were identified as Sgt Morgan Wong and Ptes Shaun Farrell, Aidan Goulding and Hayden Lykkemark.

South Korea launched on Monday the annual Hoguk exercise, with joint drills with US forces in the country, including joint operations of ground, naval and air forces, as well as opposing-forces operations and simulated combat training, according to Sputnik, citing South Korean television.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published on the government’s official website, nine days before the October 27 parliamentary election, a three-page document setting out 10 principles to overhaul military strategy. The Israeli opposition ridiculed it as a collection of empty slogans, TRT World reported. On Sunday, Netanyahu warned that a future US president could be hostile towards Israel and called for new alliances with India and countries in Latin America, The Hindu reported. US President Donald Trump endorsed his ally Netanyahu on Sunday ahead of the election, the Korea Herald reported.

The United States issued security alerts dated October 18 covering 12 locations in the Middle East, among them Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, Oman, Iran, Qatar, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and Israel/Jerusalem, urging Americans in the region to exercise heightened vigilance, monitor airline operations and prepare for flight cancellations, airspace closures and sudden changes to travel plans. The notices cite the potential for hostilities to escalate beyond their immediate area and warn that Iran and groups supportive of Tehran may target US interests overseas. The US Embassy in the United Arab Emirates urged citizens in the Middle East to exercise heightened vigilance amid escalations in the region, Middle East Eye reported. The alerts do not by themselves confirm that airports have closed or that flights have been canceled.

Two Saudi Air Force officers died when an AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter crashed in southwestern Najran province, according to the Saudi-led coalition’s spokesman, Major General Turki al-Maliki, cited by RT. Yemen’s Houthis claim they shot the aircraft down. According to the Saudi authorities, the helicopter crashed because of a technical malfunction, and Riyadh did not comment on the group’s claims.

Pakistani security forces on Saturday (October 17, 2026) killed several Afghan Taliban personnel in retaliatory action after alleged unprovoked firing along the border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to Pakistani security officials cited by The Hindu. The same outlet reported that in the Upper Kurram sector Pakistani forces targeted the Afghan Taliban’s Topsar post and Shipola base camp, and that the Shipola base camp was completely destroyed in the retaliatory action.

Iran’s new Defence Minister, Mehrdad Akhlaghi, threatened to inflict “enormous damage” on the United States and its allies in West Asia if Washington resumes its military campaign against the country, on Sunday, October 18. Akhlaghi was elected to the post with 237 votes out of 277 cast, according to the government website.

A suspected drone exploded over Lithuania on Sunday morning after triggering an alert that forced residents in northern and central areas to seek shelter for an hour, the president and other defense officials said, according to the South China Morning Post. Lithuania is treating an attempted arson attack at a SpaceX Starlink base station on Sunday as a Russia-linked act of sabotage aimed at undermining Ukraine’s military capacity, according to the Straits Times.

The Kingdom Centre tower in Riyadh ordered mandatory remote work for all office employees, “effective immediately and until further notice”, the building’s management said. The Saudi-led coalition said two pilots died when an AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter crashed in Najran Region due to a technical malfunction, coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said — a version the Houthis dispute: spokesman Yahya Saree said late on Saturday that the group had downed an Apache helicopter in the same area.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the United States has resumed sharing intelligence with Ukraine after suspending it for “some period of time”, in an interview on Meet the Press reported by Bloomberg. The temporary suspension of intelligence flows occurred amid sharp disagreements between Washington and Kyiv over battlefield targeting rules, according to the Kyiv Post.

The Israeli government approved on Sunday the allocation of 2.5 billion shekels for “urgent defense procurement”, to be funded through across-the-board cuts of 4.9% to government ministries’ budgets, less than two weeks before the October 27 elections, according to the Jerusalem Post. The cuts affect key ministries such as education, health and welfare, and a legal opinion attached to the proposal warned of the implications of the cuts, noting the need for the government to exercise restraint in making decisions during the election period. The legal opinion also raised concerns that approving the funds so close to the elections could create an irreversible situation for the incoming government and risk prioritizing party interests over the public interest.

The Canadian military base where a fire left people dead and injured is Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Wainwright, in Alberta, according to CBC. Defence Minister David McGuinty said that people were killed and injured in an incident at the base that caused a major fire, and said, in an Associated Press (AP) text republished by KCRA (https://www.kcra.com/article/fire-deadly-incident-at-canada-military-base/74168948): “I’m saddened to share that there have been both fatalities and injuries as a result of an incident on the base”.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Ukraine does not have access to Starshield and that Kyiv’s request to conduct deep strikes inside Russia is under discussion, according to Al Jazeera. Rubio distinguished commercial Starlink from military Starshield, in comments released by the Department of State.

Iran’s parliament approved Mehrdad Akhlachi Ketabchi as defense minister on Sunday, ending months of interim leadership at the ministry. Akhlachi replaces Majid Ebn al-Reza, who took over in an interim capacity after then Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh was killed by US-Israeli strikes in February. The name appears as Mehrdad Akhlaghi in a Times of Israel text, which says the predecessor was killed on the first day of the war.

Houthi armed forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said Saudi warplanes carried out 53 air raids across Yemen in 24 hours, targeting civilian sites in the capital, Sanaa, and the governorates of Taiz, Ibb, Lahj, Saada and Amran, according to Xinhua. Saree said the cumulative number of Saudi airstrikes and missile attacks since the escalation began had reached 2,542, according to the Palestine Chronicle.

The Pentagon will send hundreds of troops to Latin America, according to The New York Times, in a report published Wednesday (14) and cited by G1. The first members of a battalion of about 600 soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division have begun moving to a jungle training center in Panama. The expansion also includes transferring MQ-9 Reaper surveillance drones from Africa to Colombia and Ecuador and creating a new command structure for Western Hemisphere operations based in Miami.

A Russian military satellite, Cosmos-2612, changed its orbit repeatedly to approach ICEYE-X36, a commercial radar-imaging satellite registered in the US and whose operator currently supplies radar data to Ukraine, according to The Hindu. Astronomer Marco Langbroek, a lecturer at Delft University of Technology, estimated that the two were only 1-2 km apart — considered a very small distance in earth orbit. There is no indication that ICEYE-X36’s operators invited the approach.

A Saudi AH-6i helicopter crashed in the Najran region of Saudi Arabia due to a technical malfunction, killing its two crew members, Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said. Yemen’s armed forces said they downed an armed Karayel reconnaissance drone over Hajjah province, the fourth of its kind in recent tensions, spokesman Yahya Saree said.

Ukrainian forces launched a massive drone attack on St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, and Russian air defense forces downed 126 of them over the region, Governor Alexander Drozdenko said. Pulkovo Airport suspended all arrivals and departures, according to the Russian agency Rosaviatsia, and drones hit the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal and civilian infrastructure in four city districts, causing no casualties, Governor Alexander Beglov said. VK confirmed a drone attack on its data center in the Leningrad Region and said its services remain available to users as usual.

A large fire killed and injured people at a Canadian military base in Alberta, according to the defense minister, who did not confirm the number of casualties. Prime Minister Mark Carney said a “serious incident” caused the fire at the base, and Defence Minister David McGuinty confirmed deaths and injuries late on Saturday.

Ukraine hit a refinery in the Ryazan region, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) southeast of Moscow, with a drone and started a fire, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry and Governor Pavel Malkov, as reported by The Hindu. Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Financial Times his patience had run out and that Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries would resume, and told Piers Morgan he felt betrayed by Trump’s deal with Putin, the energy ceasefire announcement and the Starlink limits that restricted Ukrainian drone use. Ukraine has run out of missiles for the US-made Patriot air defense system, according to a source cited by CNN in a report by the Jerusalem Post.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi called for an emergency parliamentary session on Saturday to approve any Saudi requests for defense assistance if Egypt receives one from Riyadh, according to Ahram Online. Sisi said his country is prepared to take any measures requested by Saudi Arabia to defend the kingdom’s security and sovereignty, according to state-run Nile TV.

Taiwan will acquire a NT$46.55 million (US$1.45 million) artificial intelligence (AI) system that analyzes satellite imagery covering 100 sq km (38.6 square miles) within minutes and identifies People’s Liberation Army ships, aircraft and missile launchers, according to the South China Morning Post, which cites the island’s defense ministry. The contract took effect on September 25, and the system is expected to be completed by the end of April.

Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and the United States military will hold the large-scale joint exercise Keen Sword 27 in various locations across Japan from October 19 to 29, deploying about 45,000 and 12,000 personnel respectively, with Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the Philippines also taking part, according to Xinhua.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said his country is prepared to take any measures requested by Saudi Arabia to defend the kingdom’s security and sovereignty, according to the state-run Nile TV, in a Xinhua report. Sisi said the measure requires parliamentary approval and called on parliament to convene an emergency session to authorize action should it be asked to intervene: “I am not talking about waging war against anyone; I am speaking strictly in terms of defense”.

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said on Saturday that Taiwan seeks to deter war by increasing its defense spending. In his National Day speech, he said that the aim of increasing investment in national defense is to deter war, not provoke it, according to the Japan Times.

At least 600 US troops will take part in training and exercises with local forces in Panama, Colombia and Honduras, the New York Times reported, as cited by G1. US drones were redirected from Africa to Ecuador and Colombia and are to be used in operations against drug trafficking, according to G1.

Chinese-made cars filmed sensitive information during a Norwegian military exercise, including access codes at secure sites and officials’ comings and goings, raising concerns about the risks posed by connected vehicles, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP). The recordings came from rental cars, at least two of them Deepal brand cars made by Chinese state-controlled carmaker Changan and supplied to the army by Hertz Norge, according to the newspaper.

The two-day European Union (EU) summit concluded in Brussels on Friday without a breakthrough on the bloc’s long-term budget, as rising security commitments and soaring energy costs exposed a growing gap between Europe’s ambitions and its ability to deliver, according to CGTN. Leaders ended more than five hours of debate on October 15 without narrowing their differences, according to the Brussels Signal.

Two Latvian men living in the United Kingdom, aged 32 and 26, were arrested at about 2 a.m. Thursday after being found inside RAF Molesworth, in Cambridgeshire, which hosts the Intelligence Fusion Centre of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the US Joint Intelligence Operations Center, Europe, according to The Guardian. The investigation began four hours earlier, when military police found an abandoned vehicle near the facility, and police later found a small hole in the perimeter fence, according to The Hindu. The men were initially arrested on suspicion of trespass on a prohibited site and causing criminal damage, then on suspicion of an offence under section 4 of the National Security Act 2023, namely entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK, and were later released on bail, with strict conditions, while the investigation continues.

The EU plans to launch an Arctic surveillance program in 2027 to improve regional ties and counter growing US and Russian ambitions, according to the bloc’s new Arctic strategy cited by Bloomberg and reported by TASS. The document is set for release next week, and the program is expected to use the Copernicus and Galileo satellite systems to detect Arctic threats across land and sea.

US President Donald Trump denied limiting Ukraine’s access to Starshield, Starlink’s sister internet network, after it restricted drone speed, according to the BBC. The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said Europe cannot replace Starlink in the short term. The EU wants to fully include Ukraine in GOVSATCOM, the bloc’s programme for pooling satellite communications capacity; Europe’s own network, IRIS2, has launches planned for 2029 and full operations targeted for 2030, according to TRT World.

According to Ukrainian commanders, robots and drones led the offensive in eastern Ukraine and 250 Russians surrendered in a year-long campaign that has freed 16 settlements from Russian occupation. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Starlink access for Ukraine's military has still not been fully restored.

Japan is increasingly turning to foreign companies to accelerate its military modernization, drawing on overseas technology, expertise and production capacity to plug defense gaps that could prove critical in a potential regional conflict involving China, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP). Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi confirmed last Friday that Japan had signed a contract to acquire interceptor drones from Ukrainian start-up SkyFall, according to the SCMP.

Iranian Army spokesperson Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia said on Friday that the country has new operational plans underway that will force US naval forces to withdraw farther from Iran’s coastline in the coming days, according to West Asia News Agency (WANA).

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its Citadel anti-aircraft artillery system uses minimal shells to take out drones, uncrewed boats and lightly armored vehicles, according to TASS. The Citadel’s 30-mm automatic cannon uses shrapnel shells with programmable detonation timing to destroy enemy drones.

Latvia ordered 84 combat vehicles from Spain’s GDELS-Santa Bárbara Sistemas for about €800 million, with all of them due to be delivered by 2029, according to Middle East Eye. The Mednieks infantry fighting vehicles carry UT30 MK2 unmanned turrets produced by Israel’s Elbit Systems, despite the arms embargo Spain declared on Israel last year.

Gen. Randy George, Chief of Staff of the United States (US) Army, warned that his service was critically short on missile defense munitions and that the shortage would last another five years, according to US officials heard by CBS News — the warning pointed to shortages of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors and Patriot missiles, with stockpiles at strategically low levels through 2030, and George was ousted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in April, as the war against Iran was underway.

Okinawa Governor Genta Koja said Friday he accepts the deployment of the American MV-22 Osprey aircraft at Futenma air station, reversing the province historic opposition, according to Kyodo News. Previous prefectural governments had opposed the deployment since before the aircraft were first stationed at the base in 2012 over safety concerns, and Koja took office late last month.

North Korea says it test-fired on October 14 two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles in the East Sea, according to SBS News. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), via SBS, stated the test inspected the mobilization readiness of underwater combat systems and the Navy strategic mission execution capabilities, while state media published photos of what it said were the Wednesday test, according to DW.

The order to limit Starlink, the satellite system Ukraine uses for battlefield communications and drone operations, came from inside the White House, according to two US officials and one Western official cited by Reuters, in a text republished by G1. A person at Ukraine’s defense ministry said on Thursday that the receivers resumed working while moving, but only at speeds of up to 160 km/h. The Guardian reported that the change to Starlink happened without warning at about 1 a.m., when Ukrainian soldiers reported that terminals on drones stopped working at speeds above 100 mph, rendering communications inoperable. The British defense minister acknowledged “the challenges of recent days,” a reference to the US government’s sudden decision on Monday to limit Ukraine’s military use of Starlink.

US Space Command chief General Stephen Whiting said an international conflict in space is possible and that the country therefore needs to expand its arsenals, according to TASS, in a text published by Axios. Whiting pointed to key gaps in the arsenal, citing as an example the self-protection of high-value assets on orbit.

The Yemeni Armed Forces said on 15 October they intercepted a Saudi Typhoon fighter jet over the governorate of Saada, in the country’s northwest. According to the statement, the jet took off from Taif Air Base and was targeted.

Houthi attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on October 8, 10, and 11 killed at least 16 people, according to The Jerusalem Post, citing Media Line. The deadliest strike, on October 10, killed 12 people and injured 309 others. On October 13, another attack damaged an administrative building at Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran.

Ukraine’s in-motion Starshield functionality has been restored, a source said, The Jerusalem Post reported. Ukraine’s defense ministry said it would continue to seek clarification on the reasons for Wednesday’s disruption of the military-grade version of SpaceX’s internet service.

North Korean analyst Pak Ju Won wrote to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) that the US is abetting Japan’s drive toward nuclear armament by supporting Tokyo’s intention to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, with the ultimate goal of creating the conditions to acquire nuclear weapons, according to TASS.

The nuclear-powered submarine Novosibirsk, of the Pacific Fleet, fired Oniks and Kalibr cruise missiles at maritime and coastal targets off Kamchatka, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry. The missiles struck a target 1,200km away, according to Moscow.

Elon Musk said US President Donald Trump is “ultimately” responsible for any curbs on Ukraine’s Starshield systems, according to CNBC. The same report records a thank-you to Musk early Thursday morning for the restoration of Starlink connectivity at speeds of up to 160 kilometers an hour.

Electromagnetic weapons of the United States (US) Space Force played a crucial role in military operations in Venezuela and Iran and include Meadowlands, an offensive system that can jam enemy satellites and disrupt their communications, according to The Wall Street Journal, cited by The Jerusalem Post.

The Houthis claimed to have struck a Saudi Eurofighter Typhoon in the airspace over the Saada governorate, in Yemen. The group’s spokesman, Yahya Saree, said on Telegram that the aircraft had taken off from the Taif base, was hit by a surface-to-air missile and “may crash”, according to TASS. Middle East Eye reports the same claim, with an air-to-air missile.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called a nearly US$1.5 trillion defence budget request absolutely critical, warning that whoever falls behind in autonomy, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) will fall even further behind amid China’s rapid military modernisation. Speaking at a panel during the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition on Wednesday, Hegseth said Project Agincourt, the Pentagon’s initiative to accelerate drone and autonomous warfare capabilities, is the end point of what the administration has been focusing on since day one.

SpaceX owner Elon Musk said any disruptions reported by Ukraine in using the Starshield satellite communications system would be the responsibility of the US government, according to AFP, in a text republished by the South China Morning Post. Musk said the Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government and that any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and, ultimately, by the president. He was responding to a social media post by Ukraine’s former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who said Starlink connectivity at speeds of up to 160km/h is being restored.

North Korea said it test-fired submarine-launched cruise missiles on Wednesday, according to Kyodo News.

The US Army established the 4th Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF) at Fort Carson, Colorado, on October 8, the latest in a series of specialised formations developed for operations in the western Pacific, according to the South China Morning Post. Such formations were earlier activated in Washington state, Germany and Hawaii.

Yemen’s Houthis are developing their own version of Iran’s Kheibar Shekan precision-guided missile using parts imported from Chinese companies, according to the Wall Street Journal with data from Conflict Armament Research, in a text republished by the Jerusalem Post. The missile would have a maximum range of approximately 1,200 miles, putting all of Saudi Arabia and Israel in range, and the report drew on two shipments interdicted in 2025, the outlet said.

London announced £45 million in surface-to-air missiles, including £10 million to be accelerated for Ukraine’s urgent winter needs, according to the Kyiv Post — the addition to Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Downing Street this Wednesday (October 14, 2026), where British Prime Minister Andy Burnham hosts him. The deliveries form part of the existing £1.6 billion commitment to supply more than 5,000 LMMs over four years, the outlet said.

Presidential adviser Serhii Beskrestnov confirmed that SpaceX imposed overnight on October 13–14 a speed restriction on Starlink terminals in motion in Ukraine, capped at 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour) and hitting the StarShield military package without prior warning, according to the Kyiv Independent. The restriction severely disrupted several Ukrainian military missions, the same adviser said.

Israeli defense officials assess that the Houthi threat has intensified amid fighting with Saudi Arabia and are preparing for a possible surprise attack against Israel by land or sea, according to The Jerusalem Post. The preparations include reserve and rapid-response troops in the Eilat area, with training exercises, weapons systems and coordination among ground, naval and air units.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet British Prime Minister Andy Burnham in London on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, as Britain looks to reaffirm its support for Ukraine, including with the promise of a new package of surface-to-air missiles, according to Reuters, in a text published by The Hindu. The announced package is £45 million (US$59.60 million) of surface-to-air missiles used to target jet-powered Russian drones, with £10 million of that package fast-tracked to meet an urgent need in Ukraine. Britain has said it does not support the US-Russia diesel deal and called on allies to keep up the economic pressure on Moscow.

More than 100 British soldiers and local reservists trained for six days in the Falkland Islands in early October, in an exercise that included an approximately 32-kilometer night march and an amphibious assault operation, with troops landing from the sea, according to the British newspaper The Times, in a text published by G1. Argentine President Javier Milei again said the territory is under “illegal foreign occupation” and threatened to take measures to advance the dispute.

The head of Britain’s domestic intelligence service MI5, Ken McCallum, said Iran has broadened its targeting in Britain to military sites and that the suspected plot at US-run RAF Fairford was not an isolated incident, according to the Los Angeles Times. McCallum also said British authorities have made more than 50 arrests in “Iran-linked operations” in the past 12 months, according to The Hill.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that the country received no early warning from its partners about the Russian strike with five ballistic missiles that hit civilian infrastructure in Kyiv. He also said Ukrainian forces did not strike Russian oil refineries or energy facilities in the two days following Donald Trump’s announcement on Sunday, according to The Guardian.

The head of Britain’s domestic intelligence service MI5, Ken McCallum, said Russia remained “aggressor number one” and that the agency’s terrorism and state-threats operational missions are now of pretty much equal scale, according to BBC News. He said MI5 had made over 50 arrests in the last year over Iran-linked activities. McCallum also said Iran is trying to hit military sites in the UK and that the suspected plot to attack a US-run military air base in September is “not unique”, according to ABC News, in a story distributed by The Associated Press (AP).

The Ukrainian-owned ship “Chelsea 3,” sailing under the Maltese flag, was hit by three drones and sank about 18 nautical miles off the Bulgarian coast around 1:30 a.m., with its crew of seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis rescued, in the second such incident in a week, according to The Hindu, citing Reuters; five crew members received medical care, with no one seriously injured, and Prime Minister Rumen Radev said he will speak with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had thwarted an attempt by Ukraine's security service to attack the Baltimor military airfield in Voronezh with drones, involving nine drones to be controlled via the internet from Ukraine in the final phase, according to Sputnik.

Ukraine's Air Force said that radars detected ballistic targets only during the attack on Kyiv, with no timely launch data, while Ukraine's counter-disinformation center assesses that intelligence sharing may have been halted, according to TASS, citing the Air Force's Telegram channel and the center.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the diesel deal struck by Trump with Putin a “weak decision” and “a gift to Putin” and approved further drone strikes on Russian refineries, according to Politico Europe; according to TASS, citing Politico Europe, Trump could cut Kyiv's access to US intelligence or press Elon Musk to disable Starlink, on which Ukraine's military relies.

The Maltese-flagged merchant vessel Chelsea 3 was attacked by three unidentified drones roughly 14 nautical miles off the Bulgarian coast, in the exclusive economic zone, with two sailors injured, according to TASS, which cites the maritime.bg site. The crew sent a distress signal on Monday night and was evacuated to Varna, with the vessel kept afloat, according to TASS, which cites the maritime.bg site.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham told Parliament that the British assessment is that the episode at the Royal Air Force (RAF) base at Fairford was [“highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran [and] almost certainly directed” by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and that the United Kingdom would bring further sanctions against Tehran and the Guard as a result](https://theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/oct/12/iran-revolutionary-guards-irgc-raf-fairford-threats), according to The Guardian. Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the British allegations, calling them a false-flag plot to advance an anti-Iran campaign, according to Mehr News.

Kim Jong Un visited a defense industry museum displaying an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States, as reported by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), according to the KCNA, in a text cited by the Jerusalem Post. The report came a day after Trump said he might meet Kim on a planned trip to Asia, with an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in China in mid-November, and North Korea said it test-fired a tactical ballistic missile on Monday to confirm the upgrade of an unspecified key component, according to the KCNA, in a text cited by the Jerusalem Post.

Air defenses intercepted 13 drones heading toward Moscow, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said, according to TASS, which reports 23 drones destroyed since the start of the day.

Four airstrikes on sites in Hodeidah and Amran, in Yemen, were reported by the Houthi-run Al Masirah TV, with no immediate report of casualties, according to Middle East Eye. The Saudi-led coalition intercepted and destroyed two Houthi ballistic missiles aimed at Khamis Mushait, while Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said he had struck Riyadh international airport with a ballistic missile, according to TASS.

Saudi Arabia stopped issuing public warnings of imminent military attacks in the days before the deadly strikes on Riyadh airport, which killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 300, according to Reuters. The last alert before the attacks went out on September 29, for Najran province, according to the agency, which says officials from an allied Western government asked Saudi authorities why the alerts had stopped.

North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles towards the sea off its east coast on Monday, its fourth launch in a month, and one of the types flew more than 900 km after being launched at around 9:20 a.m. local time from near Pyongyang, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, cited by the Hindustan Times.

NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Alexus Grynkewich, said at the Warsaw Security Forum that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would destroy “anything and everything” if someone was “foolish enough” to attack the alliance, that it would block the initial attack, blunt a persistent offensive and, if required, break the enemy’s forces and war-fighting system, without mentioning Russia by name, according to Al Jazeera.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said a suspected plot against Royal Air Force (RAF) base Fairford was almost certainly directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to Al Jazeera. The British government summoned the ambassador and announced sanctions against two individuals, according to DW.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham told Parliament it is highly likely the threats against RAF Fairford were coordinated in Iran and almost certainly directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Burnham said the UK would bring further sanctions against Tehran and the IRGC as a result, with more information to follow in an update from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood. Five men from London drove to Whelford, a village next to a base used by the US air force, in three white vans shortly after midnight on 27 September. They were released on police bail a day later after no bombs or explosives were found. A week later, the US withdrew 12 B-1 bombers from the base, amid reports of concern about a possible drone attack on a base used to attack Iran during the Middle East war in the spring and summer.

The EU approved the 22nd package of anti-Russian sanctions and blacklisted about 1,600 companies and individuals linked to the defense sector, according to the bloc’s diplomacy chief, Kaja Kallas, in a post on X. The designations list expanded from 3,100 to 4,700 entries, with sanctions on 826 companies and 743 individuals, according to the Council resolution published in the Official Journal of the EU. EU foreign ministers formally adopted the bloc’s largest-ever expansion of its Russia sanctions blacklist, targeting nearly 1,600 people and companies linked to the country’s military-industrial complex, according to The Moscow Times.

The US Navy aims to field a relatively low-cost hypersonic missile on its carrier-based fighters, a weapon that could pose a new challenge to the air defences protecting Chinese warships and coastal military installations, according to experts quoted by the South China Morning Post. The Navy awarded US$ 200 million this week for the production of low-cost Blackbeard hypersonic missiles that will be fielded from carrier-based fighters. According to the service, in a statement cited by USNI News, Blackbeard is an air-launched hypersonic strike weapon that provides carrier-based strike fighters with a responsive, long-range, high-speed strike option against maritime and land targets.

Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Alexus Grynkewich said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is deliberately ambiguous about what would trigger Article 5, in an interview with Poland’s TVP World, according to TASS. According to him, the alliance could also invoke “other articles” if needed, including Article 4, which calls for consultations within the NATO Council if a member state believes its security is under threat.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pledged to support Saudi Arabia “in every possible way” after Houthi attacks on the airports in Riyadh and Abha; the Riyadh attack killed at least 12 people and injured 309, according to Media Line, in a text republished by the Jerusalem Post. Sharif invoked the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, under which an attack against one country is considered an attack against all, and said Pakistan “will not tolerate any kind of aggression.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised that the European Union (EU) will provide additional funding this week for Ukraine to purchase drones and missiles, following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to The New Voice of Ukraine, which reports that Ukraine received an additional €1.24 billion on October 7 under the Ukraine Support Loan program, dedicated to Ukrainian-made drones and missiles. Von der Leyen said that Ukraine will be front and center at this week’s European Council, with discussion of next year’s funding needs, according to TASS.

The diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Anwar Gargash, said on Monday that targeting Saudi Arabia undermines the security of the UAE and all Gulf states, amid repeated attacks on Saudi Arabia during the past week, according to the Khaleej Times. Gargash called for revitalising joint Gulf action, particularly in its security and defence dimensions, and said Gulf security is indivisible and that all are targets.

North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles from the Pyongyang area toward the East Sea, according to South Koreaʼs Joint Chiefs of Staff, cited by France24, and Japanʼs Defence Ministry separately confirmed the launch of at least one suspected ballistic missile. The South Korean body did not immediately say whether the weapon was ballistic or how far it flew, according to The Hindu.

The Supreme Allied Commander Europe, US General Alexus Grynkewich, will elaborate his theory of victory over any potential attack at a security conference in Warsaw, according to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officials, cited by AFP, in a text republished by France24. The intervention is intended to send a signal to Moscow and reassure members, without divulging many new details on the allianceʼs strategy.

The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a ballistic missile launched by Yemenʼs Houthis towards Khamis Mushait, according to the Middle East Eye. Emergency alerts were issued early on Monday in Abha, in Saudi Arabiaʼs south, but the danger has since passed, according to the Saudi Civil Defense, cited by the same outlet.

The US administration threatened to block the weapons procurement program for Ukraine and intelligence sharing over Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, according to the Financial Times, cited by TASS. US officials made a series of phone calls to European capitals and Kyiv on October 10 and 11 threatening to cut off intelligence sharing and the PURL program.

Russia's Defense Ministry said its Center battlegroup liberated Novotroitskoye and Petrovskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic over the past 24 hours, according to TASS. The ministry said troops continued to mop up the western neighborhoods of Dobropolye and the Donbropolskaya mine area.

Taiwan’s overall military personnel fill rate fell from 88.6 per cent in 2020 to 78.6 per cent in 2024, then dropped further to 75.6 per cent by June, according to the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center, cited by the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

The United States will gain a base for anti-submarine operations near the GIUK gap, between Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom, under the September 22 agreement with Denmark and Greenland, Troy Bouffard, director of the Center for Arctic Security and Resilience, told Sputnik. The agreement includes Narsarsuaq as an air bridge and a base on the western edge of the gap and a smaller installation at Mestersvig, for radar and communications.

The Pentagon updated its official count of US service members killed in the war against Iran, Operation Epic Fury, according to the Jerusalem Post. The report cites the Washington Post, which reported in September that the previous count of 18 may have been inaccurate and that at least four service members were potentially excluded from the official tally.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are investigating a possible ground or air intrusion into northern Israel, Army Radio reported, according to The Jerusalem Post, with the Northern Command deploying checkpoints in the area. The earlier hostile aircraft infiltration alert occurred in the area of Arab al-Aramshe, triggered by a suspected drone launch from Lebanon.

A Congressional Research Service report released this week says the United States military had 81 aircraft destroyed or damaged in the war with Iran, according to CNN. The number includes airplanes, helicopters and drones, with MQ-9 Reaper drones accounting for more than half of the losses; the list includes an F-35A and an E-3 Sentry. The total cost of the aircraft lost is between $1.9 billion and $3.3 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) cited in the report.

Commercial satellite imagery taken on September 30 showed eight K-8/JL-8 trainer aircraft at Ban Keun Airport in Laos, according to Reuters, in a text published by the South China Morning Post. That is twice as many as the Laotian air force is assessed to possess. The China-Laos Joint Support and Training Centre and the China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy began operations at the airport a day earlier.

NATO’s military command has drawn up a new defense plan for the alliance’s eastern flank, focusing on drones and artificial intelligence, to be presented on October 12 to NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich, according to TASS. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of the NATO Military Committee, said the plan, dubbed “Theory of Victory”, is meant to ensure that war never begins, because those who threaten the alliance are convinced not to start it, and is not directed against Russia, according to TASS, citing an interview with La Repubblica.

The commander of the Iranian Army Ground Forces, Brigadier General Ali Jahanshahi, said that more than 50 combat and support units have been deployed along the country's borders to ensure security, according to the Mehr News Agency.

Iran has retained the ability to manufacture ballistic missiles and drones despite eight months of US and Israeli airstrikes, allowing Tehran to replenish its weapons stockpiles, according to the Jerusalem Post, citing Bloomberg. Western officials speaking on condition of anonymity said Iran had preserved parts of its weapons manufacturing infrastructure despite extensive strikes on its military-industrial capabilities.

Newly declassified US military footage shows an Iranian Arash suicide drone striking a base in Kuwait, according to Mehr News.

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te said on National Day that the aim of increasing defense spending is to deter war, not to provoke. Lai's government has earmarked a record NT$1.1 trillion (US$34.5 billion) in defense spending for 2027, more than 3% of GDP. Lai said China continues to press with military and grey-zone activities in an attempt to alter the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.

The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed 136 military targets in areas controlled by the Houthis in a large-scale operation, according to Le Monde. Saudi Arabia said Houthi attacks on Riyadh’s international airport earlier this week killed three people, according to Le Monde. Yemen’s government said 1,400 Houthis were killed in 2,750 strikes, according to the Middle East Eye.

Employees of a French cargo company refused to load an Elbit Systems security shipment onto an El Al aircraft scheduled to fly from Paris to Israel on Saturday evening, according to N12 News. Israeli security officials intervened in an attempt to resolve the issue, according to N12.

Pakistan says it has a substantial contingent of forces and resources in Saudi Arabia in a defensive capacity, amid Houthi attacks. The Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson said those troops would not cross the border to attack the Houthis and would act in defence of Saudi territory. The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed on August 7, 2026 by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, commits the three countries to treat an armed attack against one member as an attack against all.

NATO will host its annual nuclear deterrence exercise Steadfast Noon beginning on Tuesday 13 October 2026, in Italy, with 17 nations and no live weapons, according to the alliance itself. The drills run from October 13 to 23, with 17 member states, according to RT.

The United Kingdom has chosen Audere Group as its partner to set up a dedicated business centre in Kyiv, giving British businesses a permanent base, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. The centre will give direct access to battlefield data and targets defence industrial partnerships, under the 100-Year Partnership. It builds on more than 40 major UK-Ukraine industrial partnerships already established.

China and Laos inaugurated a joint support and training centre at Ban Keun airport, about 50 kilometres northwest of the Lao capital Vientiane, according to VOA News. Satellite imagery from September 30 showed eight aircraft and more than 20 military vehicles at the site, according to a Reuters report cited by VOA News. China’s Defence Ministry says the centre is intended to help Laos strengthen the training of air force pilots.

The first Tamir interceptors for the Iron Dome air defense system manufactured in the United States (US) were delivered at a ceremony in East Camden, Arkansas, on Wednesday, after being built at the new Raytheon-Rafael (R2S) joint-venture plant in Camden, opened in November 2025, according to The Jerusalem Post. R2S was awarded a 1.25-billion-dollar contract to supply Israel with Tamir surface-to-air missiles, with production in East Camden, according to RTX.

The Pentagon developed a plan for a three-day campaign against Iran, according to The Jerusalem Post. Zamir warned, in the same outlet, that a return to war within the next three weeks could postpone the Israeli election scheduled for October 27. US President Donald Trump said he will not resume military strikes on Iran before the November 3 midterm elections, according to the Associated Press, in a text republished by The Hindu.

At least 81 US military aircraft, including fighter jets and drones, were lost or damaged in Operation Epic Fury against Iran, according to a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report released on Monday and reported by Al Jazeera. The CBO estimated the cost of the aircraft losses as of August 1 at between $1.9bn and $3.3bn. The aircraft include 12 F-15E fighter jets, one F-35A and seven KC-135 tanker aircraft; 45 of the 81 are MQ-9 Reaper drones. In a separate report in September, the CBO estimated the total cost of the war with Iran as of August 1 at about $38bn.

The Israeli military announced on Thursday the death of Capt. Eliav Haim Tzapalamus, 21, from Haifa, a combat engineering officer in the 603rd Battalion, 7th Brigade, in southern Lebanon, according to the Jerusalem Post. According to the military, he was killed when a Humvee flipped during operational activity in the Litani sector. Three other soldiers were lightly injured, were evacuated to a hospital and their families were notified.

France and Saudi Arabia are studying options involving French military assets to protect the Yanbu oil terminal, France’s Armed Forces Chief of Staff, General Fabien Mandon, said in a parliamentary hearing, according to Middle East Eye. France has already deployed around 2,000 troops to the region to protect Gulf allies, including Qatar and Kuwait, Mandon added.

Two Latvian men, aged 32 and 36, who live in the UK, were arrested at 2am inside RAF Molesworth in an investigation that began four hours earlier. The suspects were further arrested on suspicion of an offence under section 4 of the National Security Act 2023 — entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK. The base is home to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)’s Intelligence Fusion Centre and the US Joint Intelligence Operations Center, Europe, according to The Guardian.

Germany has announced a new round of military aid for Ukraine valued at approximately €1 billion, to include turbojet-powered drone interceptors, standoff weapons and space-based technology, according to Breaking Defense. The package includes several tens of thousands of Quantum Systems interceptor drones, to be produced in Ukraine and deployed against Russia's intensifying drone campaign. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed Germany's new aid package is worth more than €1.3 billion, including funding for interceptors against turbojet Shaheds, according to UkraineToday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Turkey will not send troops to Yemen to fight Houthi forces, despite its defence agreement with Saudi Arabia, according to Firstpost. Fidan said the deal is defensive and does not authorise attacks on another country's territory. The Mecca Agreement, signed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in August, commits the three to mutual defence, with an armed attack on one member treated as an attack on all three.

Japan and the United States will rehearse moving anti-ship missiles, air defences and communications networks onto islands near Taiwan this month in an expanded military exercise, the South China Morning Post reported.

Iranian intelligence services are targeting US military bases in Germany, including Ramstein and Spangdahlem, according to German weekly WirtschaftsWoche, cited by The Jerusalem Post. Israel reportedly warned US and German partners three weeks ago of a potential threat, with concern focused on bases supporting operations linked to the conflict with Iran.

British police charged a member of the Royal Navy on Thursday with offences under the National Security Act for allegedly obtaining protected information and preparing to disclose it to benefit a foreign power, according to Reuters, in a text republished by Global Banking & Finance. The accused is Teddy Young, 24, who faces two offences and is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court later on Thursday. Police did not name the foreign power. Police said the charges were not connected to the recent investigation into an incident at the RAF Fairford airbase, which US officials have said involved a potential Iranian drone attack.

The US State Department notified Congress last week that it approved the sale of more than $2bn in US weapons systems to Egypt, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, according to Middle East Eye. Egypt will buy more than 2,000 FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missiles and up to 200 launchers, for about $832m. The priciest purchase in the package is the UAE’s, for up to 10,000 APKWS-II laser-guided kits, at about $1.04bn; Kuwait will buy services and parts for Patriot batteries for $400m.

Yemen's armed forces announced they had downed over Taiz a Turkish-made, Saudi-owned Bayraktar Akinci armed reconnaissance drone, hit with an appropriate weapon, according to Mehr News.

A Russian overnight missile and drone attack hit Ukrainian cities on October 7 and killed at least 26 people, according to the Kyiv Independent. In Pryluky, in the Chernihiv region, a Russian cruise missile hit a residential building, killing at least 20 people, including five children, and wounding at least 55, according to the Kyiv Independent. The Kyiv Post later reported a toll of 18 dead in Pryluky and 24 overall, citing updated figures from the Ukrainian emergency service, as rescue operations continued in the rubble of a five-story building.

Russia has begun sabotage operations against Danish companies supplying Ukraine after concluding that broader disruption efforts failed, according to Reuters, in a text republished by The Straits Times. Analyst Josefine Christensen of Denmark’s PET intelligence service said at a conference in Copenhagen that Russia is now trying to hit targets with a direct impact on the front line, namely weapons production, according to Reuters, in a text republished by SRN News.

The US State Department approved the sale of more than $2bn in weapons systems to Egypt, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), notifying Congress last week, according to Middle East Eye. The priciest purchase among the tranche was for the UAE: up to 10,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System-II (APKWS-II) kits, which turn unguided rockets into precision munitions, for about $1.04bn. Egypt was cleared to buy more than 2,000 FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missiles and up to 200 Javelin launch units, for about $832m.

Lithuania’s Interior Ministry plans to deploy army units to reinforce security along the border with Russia’s Kaliningrad Region, according to Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas, in a Facebook post cited by TASS. Katelynas said he had asked Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas to deploy the armed forces to help border guards, and described the move as preventive, with the situation at the border calm. Lithuania’s public broadcaster LRT reports that the country will deploy troops to help guard the border with Kaliningrad.

Ali Fadavi, head of the advisory group to the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), claimed on Sunday evening, October 4, that for the first time no American naval vessels are present in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz or the Gulf of Oman, according to IranWire.

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) denied Iranian state media reports that a US Navy MH-60R helicopter had crashed in the Red Sea after declaring an emergency, calling them false, according to Türkiye Today via CENTCOM. According to the command, all US military aircraft and personnel across the Middle East are safe. The semi-official Fars agency claimed the helicopter sent an emergency signal near Yanbu and that radar data showed its altitude at zero.

The attack on Aden airport gains detail: a missile landed near the runway minutes before a flight from Cairo was to land, according to Al Jazeera via Yemen’s government. Yemen’s government says the Houthis targeted the runway and passenger terminal with at least two ballistic missiles and drones; the Houthis say they targeted Saudi military supplies at the Badr camp, and the Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted a ballistic missile north of Riyadh.

The toll from the Russian overnight attack from October 6 to 7 rose from 2 to at least 11 killed and more than 34 injured in Pryluky, Dnipro, Kremenchuk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kyiv, according to The Guardian. Ukraine’s Air Force says, according to Reuters, in a text republished by G1, that Russia launched 130 drones and 48 cruise and ballistic missiles and that 161 targets were shot down; Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed a “massive attack” on the military-industrial complex. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian ballistic missiles remain the greatest challenge and that air defense packages are a vital necessity.

Sweden will deploy Patriot missile defence systems to eastern Poland to help protect the NATO logistics hub that supplies weapons to Ukraine, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

Trump announced in Baltimore the opening of a $6.6bn shipbuilding factory, partly funded by the US government and owned by Anduril Industries, with $2.9bn from the Navy and $3.7bn in private funding, according to The Guardian. He presented the project as the largest US shipyard since World War II, according to TASS.

France test-fired its new M51.3 nuclear-capable ballistic missile for the first time on Tuesday, a variant of the M51, launched from the Le Vigilant nuclear submarine off Brittany, according to the French defence ministry. The missile carried no warhead and impacted in the North Atlantic, hundreds of kilometres from any coastline. President Emmanuel Macron made an unexpected appearance at the launch, according to Le Monde.

Germany received 12,102 applications for conscientious objection to military service between January and the end of August 2026, more than triple the 3,879 applications filed throughout 2025, according to the Funke and RND media groups. In July and August alone, more than 6,200 applications arrived, above the 5,862 filed in the first half of the year, the Berliner Morgenpost reported.

Ecuador received two MQ-9A Reaper drones in the last week of September, which arrived in Guayaquil aboard a C-5M Super Galaxy, according to Infodefensa. The two aircraft are already deployed at Taura Air Base, in Guayas province, for persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions against drug trafficking and organized crime. Colombia agreed with the United States to receive three MQ-9A Reaper drones on loan, according to Colombia One, for surveillance and intelligence against drug trafficking and armed groups.

Two US officials told Reuters that fear of an Iranian drone attack plot on RAF Fairford led the country to remove its B-1 bombers from the British base, in a text published by the Middle East Eye. Iran denied any involvement in the alleged plot at Fairford, the preferred European base for US bombers, according to the Middle East Eye.

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) denied reports of a downed US Navy helicopter in the Red Sea, after news that an MH-60R Seahawk disappeared from radar with a distress signal off the Saudi coast, according to TASS. The command said all US military aircraft and personnel across the Middle East are safe and accounted for.

The spokesman for Iran's Defense Ministry, Brig. Gen. Reza Talaei-Nik, said the country's weapons production capacity has reached 2.5 times the level of the period before its conflict with the United States, according to the Tasnim news agency, in a text published by TASS. According to the spokesman, production of separate types of weapons, which involves the private sector, more than tripled in the reported period. Talaei-Nik threatened that if the enemy makes a wrong calculation, it will face more advanced weapons and a heavy response from the Armed Forces.

Turkey plans to step up its military support for Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks by deploying additional personnel and defence equipment amid escalating Houthi attacks on the kingdom, several Turkish officials told Middle East Eye on Tuesday, October 6. In a joint statement on Monday, Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia said they had decided to immediately implement their collective defence commitments under the Makkah Alliance for Defence. Two Turkish officials said the country had maintained technical teams, air defence systems and electronic warfare equipment in the kingdom since last year to protect critical infrastructure, including energy facilities.

Germany's federal prosecutor's office said that former BND president August Hanning was arrested on Tuesday on espionage allegations, according to The Guardian. Hanning served as president of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) from December 1998 to November 2005. A former aide, identified only as Manfred D., was also arrested the same day. According to Deutsche Welle, current findings suggest that Manfred D. provided Hanning with approximately 2,000 documents, many of them containing classified information.

In a claimed detailed account of the three operations, the Houthis say they launched three missile and drone operations against targets in Saudi Arabia on Monday night, according to Xinhua. According to the Houthis, the claimed targets were King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, an Aramco refinery in Rabigh and Abha airport, King Khalid Air Base, Aqifa camp and other sites in Najran and Jazan. There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities and the reported damage could not be independently verified. The Saudi-led coalition says, in turn, that it foiled a plot targeting southern Red Sea waterways in an operation in Hodeidah.

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye decided on Monday, October 5, to move immediately to implement their collective defence commitments and ensure the rapid deployment of the agreed forces to Saudi territory, according to Reuters in a text republished by The Hindu, a move Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry describes as providing the agreed military forces and capabilities and ensuring their rapid deployment to the kingdom, according to Al Jazeera. Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman said the activation responds to the attacks and all those responsible for them, according to Al Jazeera.

Turkey said the Strategic Political and Defense Committee of the Mecca defence pact, which includes Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, will meet in Riyadh on Monday, according to Middle East Eye. The meeting will address recent developments in the region and the stage reached in the Alliance's institutionalisation efforts, the Turkish ministry statement said. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will travel to Riyadh with the defence minister and the chief of staff for the committee meeting of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, an alliance founded in August with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, according to the Anadolu Agency.

Russia's Defense Ministry said it will intensify strikes on military and defense industry facilities in Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions. The decision was presented as a response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's statement that Ukraine will double down on attacks on Russian refineries, according to Reuters, in an article republished by the Hindustan Times.

Ukraine’s 2027 military spending is set at $108.3 billion, compared with $71.7 billion in its own revenues, and the draft leaves the country needing an additional $25.4 billion from Western sponsors to cover military spending alone, according to the Russian state agency TASS.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said Islamabad will use “whatever means are available” to defend Saudi Arabia against the Houthis, according to Arab News. Speaking in Rome, he declined to say whether Pakistani forces had already taken part in airstrikes, according to Arab News. The pledge is presented as an obligation under the new mutual defence pact, under which Islamabad would make “whatever means” available to Riyadh if it faces a Houthi threat, according to Al Jazeera.

The chiefs of the defence forces and general staffs of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye met in Riyadh on Friday, September 25, according to a statement by the army, and discussed expanding intelligence sharing, military coordination and capability integration within the Mecca defence pact. Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said at the United Nations (UN) that further attacks on the holy city of Mecca would be a “red line” for Islamabad. The air defence of the Saudi-led coalition intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis toward Khamis Mushait, according to the coalition’s official spokesperson, Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki.

Turkey’s and Pakistan’s top military chiefs are travelling to Riyadh after Saudi Arabia called an urgent meeting on implementing their mutual defence pact, Al Jazeera reports. Turkey’s Defence Ministry confirmed that the chief of general staff, General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, will travel to Saudi Arabia, according to Al Jazeera. The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, signed on August 7, 2026, treats an armed attack on any of the three countries as an attack on all three — Al Jazeera frames the move as Ankara and Islamabad edging closer to Saudi Arabia’s war against the Houthis in Yemen, Al Jazeera reports.

Turkey’s parliament speaker said he expects the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia defence pact, extended to Turkey in August and renamed the Mecca joint defence agreement, to be submitted for parliamentary approval next month, according to Middle East Eye. The pact states that an armed attack on any one of the three countries is treated as an attack on all, but parliamentary ratification remains pending, The Guardian reports.