DefPost

🇬🇧 British Armed Forces intercepted a "Russian shadow fleet oil tanker" attempting to pass through the English Channel in the early hours of Sunday morning, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced. According to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), Royal Marine commandos and specially trained law enforcement officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) boarded a sanctioned oil tanker, Smyrtos, during the operation. The six-hour operation is the first UK-led operation of its kind. Smyrtos will be provisionally moved to an anchorage off the south coast of England and will be monitored for any environmental or safety concerns. According to the MoD, the operation was supported by Chinook, Merlin Mk4 and Wildcat helicopters from the Maritime Air Group, a Royal Air Force (RAF) P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, and Royal Navy warships, HMS Sutherland and HMS Ledbury. The MoD statement added that the enforcement action against this vessel in UK territorial waters was carried out in accordance with domestic and international law.

🇺🇸 A U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornet fighter aircraft crashed into a hillside near Rimrock Lake in Yakima County, Washington at around 12:15 pm local time on June 13. According to the Yakima County Sheriff's Office, the pilot ejected from the aircraft sustaining minor injuries and was transported to the hospital. The crash sparked a fire in the area, prompting the evacuation of campers as firefighters from Naches Fire Department on the scene to suppress it. "Our mountain pass deputy made contact with the pilot, who sustained minor injuries and was transported to the hospital. As a result of the crash, a fire started in the area. Local fire personnel are on scene", said the statement. The F/A-18 Hornet was assigned to Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) based at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar in San Diego, California.

🇺🇸 Pyka has unveiled its fully autonomous low-altitude parachute airdrop capability for DropShip heavy-lift autonomous aircraft. DropShip is the company's flagship uncrewed aircraft designed for contested logistics and multi-mission operations. The capability was validated during a recent demonstration flight in which DropShip autonomously delivered multiple 200-pound payloads from an altitude of 300 feet, landing within 50 feet of the intended target location. Pyka will continue expanding the capability's operational envelope through a series of subsequent test flights. Pyka will continue expanding DropShip's flight envelope and mission capabilities as the company prepares for customer evaluations and operational exercises this year with the U.S. Government.

🇦🇺 Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) EDGY program’s Autonomous Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) project has taken a major leap forward, entering field trials at Salt Ash Air Weapons Range, NSW. Developed through the EDGY Air Force grassroots innovation program, the drone capability has rapidly evolved from concept to a demonstration-ready system. Initial trials will validate key performance elements such as fail-safe behaviour and real-time telemetry, leading to a full end-to-end mission demonstration. The results will generate valuable data to sharpen detection models, optimise flight profiles and ensure safe, effective operations – directly shaping future capability. #RAAF #AusAirForce #ISR

🇺🇸 U.S. Navy Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Colorado (SSN 788) completed a scheduled maintenance period at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF), on June 10, 29 days ahead of schedule. Commissioned March 17, 2018, at Naval Submarine Base New London, Colorado is the 15th Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine and fifth Block III submarine of the class. Colorado is assigned to Submarine Squadron 7 and is capable of supporting various missions, including anti-submarine warfare (ASW); anti-surface ship warfare (ASuW); strike warfare; special operations forces (SOF) support; and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). #USNavy #USSColorado #SSN788

🇱🇹 Lithuania took delivery of Bolide missiles earlier this week to be used with the Saab RBS-70 man-portable short-range air defense system. @Saab The RBS-70 system is used by the Lithuanian Air Defence Battalion. #RBS70 comprises a stand, a launcher and a missile. The missiles used by the system are constantly upgraded to enhance their effective range and other technical characteristics. The Bolide missile has an operational range of 9 km and penetrates up to 200 mm of armor. The laser-guided system effectively destroys airborne targets during day and night, resists electronic jamming and is effective against modern air threats. In 2025, Lithuania signed the new contract, worth over EUR320 million, with Saab Dynamics on acquisition of the guided Bolide-type missiles. The delivery of the missiles are expected to be completed by 2032.

🇫🇷 Exail launched a new deployable navigation solution designed to sustain operational continuity for armed forces operating in GNSS-denied environments. @exail_ Housed in a ruggedized, transportable case, the plug-and-play system can be rapidly deployed without dedicated infrastructure, enabling ground and naval forces to maintain accurate positioning and navigation capabilities when satellite signals are jammed, spoofed, or unavailable.

🇩🇪 CAE has been awarded a contract to update the visual system of the NH90 NTH Sea Lion full-mission simulator suites for the German Navy. @CAE_Defence @CAE_Inc The contract, awarded by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), will see CAE updating the visual system with CAE Prodigy, CAE’s Image Generator (IG). @NSPA_NATO #CAEProdigy marks a major step forward in synthetic environment generation, delivering exceptional visual realism and responsiveness. Built to support seamless transitions between live and synthetic training, it allows aircrews to move naturally between real-world and training environments, strengthening mission readiness. On the two full-mission simulators (FMS) updated with CAE Prodigy, #CAE is introducing major advances in visual immersion for complex rear-crew mission environments. The system extends immersion beyond the cockpit with synchronized, high-resolution exterior and Mixed Reality (MR) environments tailored to rear-crew roles. By combining advanced display configurations with next-generation image generation, these true-to-life visuals support immersive simulation for demanding multi-role NH90 missions, including hoisting, door gunnery, and cargo operations.

🇩🇪🇪🇸 Diehl Defence and Spain's Sistemas de Misiles de España (SMS) have signed a strategic framework agreement to cooperate in the development of advanced hypersonic defense systems. @DiehlDefence Following their successful cooperation as coordinators of the EDF-funded HYDEF (European Hypersonic Defence Interceptor) program, which is now approaching completion, Diehl Defence and SMS are expanding their collaboration into its next phases. This renewed cooperation provides a framework for close collaboration in the preparation and submission of a joint proposal (HYDEF2) for the upcoming EDF High-End Endo-Atmospheric Interception initiative. Based on the agreement, Diehl Defence and SMS will lead the formation of a new consortium for HYDEF2, bringing together leading defence and space companies, particularly in the field of Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD).

🇭🇷 Croatia's Orqa announced the launch of its MRM2-10AI next-generation tactical drone purpose-built for contested battlefield environments. @OrqaFPV At the heart of the platform is a hybrid communications architecture combining Orqa's IRONghost radio control system with native fiber-optic integration and automatic communications failover. This enables the MRM2-10AI to use either communication method without platform reconfiguration and instantly transition to the radio-frequency link if the fiber-optic connection is broken. MRM2-10AI features a new Auto Pilot Board that has autonomous capabilities, including vision-based terminal guidance for GNSS-denied operations, advanced computer vision applications, battlefield analytics, and collaborative multi-drone operations. MRM2-10AI will be officially launched at Eurosatory 2026.

🇳🇱 Netherlands Ministry of Defence signed a contract with Saab, on June 10, to procure hundreds of mobile camouflage systems. @Saab The contract will see Saab delivering its Barracuda Mobile Camouflage System (MCS) for the Royal Netherlands Army Fennek light reconnaissance vehicles, PzH 2000NL self-propelled howitzers (SPH), and CV90 infantry fighting vehicles (IFV). Saab’s MCS reduces the signature of military vehicles across the electro-magnetic spectrum using a combination of advanced materials enabling increased operational capabilities, including survivability and force protection.

🇺🇸🇺🇦 Textron Systems has restarted production of its Mobile Strike Force Vehicle (MSFV) at its Slidell, Louisiana facility. @TXTSystems The production was restarted to deliver 65 MSFVs to Ukraine in support of its defensive ground forces, providing advanced protection and agility on the battlefield. #TextronSystems received a $163.4 million contract through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) via the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) mechanism from the U.S. Army Contracting Command Detroit Arsenal (ACC-DTA) to provide the vehicles, including one year of spare parts. #MSFV is part of Textron Systems' COMMANDO Select vehicle family and is known for its mobility, survivability and reliability in challenging environments. @Textron @TextronDefense

🇪🇸 Spanish defense and security company, EM&E Group will present its new ODIN 6x6 anti-drone system at Eurosatory 2026. @emegroup_ ODIN 6x6 is a comprehensive counter-uncrewed aerial system (C-UAS) solution that is integrated onto the FEROX 6x6 armoured vehicle. This integration combines all the detection, identification, and soft-kill and hard-kill capabilities needed to neutralize drones within a 6x6 armored vehicle, providing the system with exceptional tactical mobility and ballistic protection. Pic: FEROX 6x6 armoured vehicle/EM&E Group

🇸🇪🇳🇴 Saab to divest its Public Safety Solutions operations to Norwegian Omda AS. @Saab "Completion of the divestment is subject to certain conditions that are expected to be fulfilled in Q4 2026", Saab said in a statement. Based in Hull, United Kingdom, and Gothenburg, Sweden, Saab Public Safety Solutions is a leading provider of situational awareness for mission critical organisations including police, fire, airport and transport, to enable faster, more informed decision-making and support a more coordinated response. The divestment is in line with Saab’s strategy to increase its focus on core areas of its business.

🇨🇿 Embraer unveiled the new livery of the Czech Air Force C-390 Millennium military transport aircraft. @embraer The scheme features a three-tone gray camouflage, designed by academic painter Pavel Holý from the Military History Institute in Prague. The aircraft is now undergoing preparations for delivery to the Czech Air Force, which is expected later this year. Czech Republic is acquiring two C-390s which will enhance and modernize Czech Air Force's operational capabilities by fulfilling its aerial refueling and fixed-wing medium-lift transport requirements.

🇸🇪🇷🇺 Swedish Air Force scrambled two pairs of JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets to intercept Russian Su-24 "Fencer" and Su-34 "Fullback" aircraft flying near Swedish airspace over the Baltic Sea, on June 12. Swedish Armed Forces said in a statement that the Swedish airspace was not violated by the Russian jets during the incidents.

🇫🇷 French Army and Thales Defence have successfully completed the demonstration and evaluation campaign of the 120MC (120mm mortar carrier) system at Camp Canjuers. @ThalesDefence @thalesgroup During the trials, the system fired 50 rounds, demonstrating its accuracy, safety, and rapid deployment. 120MC, also called Viper, is jointly developed by Thales; Dutch specialist vehicle developer, Defenture B.V.; and Spanish defense and security company, Escribano Mechanical and Engineering (EM&E) Group. The Viper 120 system features Escribano's EMOC mortar system, equipped with Thales 120mm rifled mortar barrel, integrated onto a Defenture GRF Vector 4x4 light tactical vehicle. @emegroup_ The system uses the same barrel as the French Army's MO-120 RT (rayé tracté, rifled towed) heavy mortar and offers equivalent performance, while also providing greater mobility and responsiveness through its integration onto a 4x4 light vehicle. This intermediate solution complements Thales' 120mm towed mortar system and the 2R2M/MEPAC system based on the larger VBMR Griffon 6x6 vehicle. This new system will strengthen the French Army's mobile and reactive fire support capabilities in high-intensity environments. Video credit: @ThalesDefence Image credit: Defenture B.V.

🇮🇳 Five Indian Air Force service members were killed in the An-32 crash at IAF's Jorhat Air Force Station in the state of Assam in northeastern India on June 13. The victims were identified as Squadron Leader Prashant Singh, Flight Lieutenant Shubham Kumar, Sergeant Jitendra Sharma, Agniveervayu Khemaram Kumawat and Agniveervayu Danish Alam. Agniveervayu is a young recruit serving a four-year term in the IAF under the Indian Government's Agnipath Scheme. Only the co-pilot of the aircraft survived the incident and is currently receiving medical treatment. According to the IAF, a court of inquiry is being constituted to ascertain the cause of the accident. #IndianAirForce #An32 #JorhatAFS

🇺🇸 Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $2.3 billion contract for F-35 sustainment activities and services. @LockheedMartin The services under the contract include site activation, interim contractor support, fleet management, and reliability and maintainability improvement plan in support of establishing new operational sites, and one-time setup of both land-based and at-sea fleet support operations including initial engineering and technical sustainment services. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Navy's Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and the target customers are the U.S. Air Force (USAF), the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), the U.S. Navy (USN), Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers, and F-35 Cooperative Program Partners.

🇮🇳 India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted the maiden flight-test of its Naval Anti-Ship Missile-Medium Range (NASM-MR) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Odisha earlier this week. The anti-ship missile was launched from a truck-based transporter erector launcher (TEL). NASM–MR is an all-weather, over-the-horizon anti-ship missile (AShM) being developed by the DRDO for the Indian Navy for engaging small to medium sized warships. The missile is comparable to U.S. Harpoon missile. Multiple variants of the missile are being developed that can be launched from aircraft, ships, submarines and shore-based coastal defense batteries. The missile will have an operational range of 100–350 km (62–217 mi) depending on the variant. #DRDO #NASMMR