A Forecast International blog about the arms trade, geopolitics, defense and security, and military spending.
The U.S. Army recently tested the AH-64 attack helicopter’s 30mm cannon against unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) using a new proximity fuze ammunition, which allows the round to detonate near the …
U.S. Army Tests Drone Killing Capability of Apache’s 30mm Gun Read More
Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s combined fourth-quarter reports indicate a banner year for fighter aircraft deliveries, but a deeper look reveals important context and program-specific headwinds from 2025. Overall, the only …
American Fighter Primes in Review: A Breakdown of Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s 2025 Jet Deliveries Read More
Source: Ukraine MoD/21st Mechanized Brigade On February 3rd, the Pentagon announced the 25 vendors invited to participate in Phase I of the Drone Dominance Program (DDP). By injecting $1.1 billion …
Could the Army’s “Gauntlet” for Cheap Combat Drones Rewrite the Defense Acquisition Playbook? Read More
On Tuesday, a U.S. Marine Corps F-35C Lightning II fighter operating from the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) aircraft carrier shot down an Iranian drone in the Arabian Sea. Reports indicate …
U.S. F-35C Downs Iranian Drone Amid Escalation in the Gulf Read More
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has completed another round of awards under its Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) multiple-award indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract, a flexible acquisition vehicle with …
Pentagon Mobilizes Industrial Base for “Golden Dome” Missile Shield with $151B SHIELD Award Read More
In end-of-year contract action, the Pentagon announced on December 29 an $8.58 billion award to Boeing to build 25 new F-15IA aircraft for Israel. The ten-year Foreign Military Sale …
Israeli Order for F-15IAs Underscores Eagle II’s Potential Read More
Lockheed Martin closed 2025 with a record number of 191 F-35 deliveries across all three variants. The figure eclipses the airframer’s previous high mark in 2021 by nearly 50 units. …
Record F-35 Deliveries Bolstered by Catch-Up Read More
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has officially activated Task Force Scorpion Strike (TFSS), the military’s first dedicated one-way kamikaze drone squadron in the Middle East. This milestone was punctuated on December …
LUCAS: Scaling the Drone War Read More
The Announcement On December 19, 2025, the U.S. Navy announced its plan to introduce a new class of small surface combatant ships, the FF(X), as a critical component of the …
New Frigate on the Horizon: U.S. Navy Ditches Constellation-class for National Security Cutter Design Read More
The U.S. Navy has awarded GE Aerospace a new $22.2 million research and development contract to upgrade the F414 turbofan powering the service’s fleet of Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters …
Navy Awards GE Aerospace $22M for F414 Engine Upgrades Read More