A Forecast International blog about the arms trade, geopolitics, defense and security, and military spending.
Portions of the federal government that shut down over the weekend reopened on Tuesday with the signing of a multi-bill appropriations package. Most of the government is now fully funded …
Navigating the Post-Shutdown Defense Budget Landscape 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 Pentagon has released a new National Defense Strategy (NDS) that represents a shift in Washington’s strategic posture, placing renewed emphasis on homeland defense, bolstering U.S. influence in the Western …
National Defense Strategy Prioritizes the Western Hemisphere, Shifts Burden-Sharing to Allies Read More
What Is the New Strategy? On January 9th, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) released its Artificial Intelligence Acceleration Strategy. The Strategy promotes a familiar outcome: for the U.S. military …
The U.S. DoD’s AI Acceleration Strategy 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 its Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) requested roughly $1.4 billion to fund new projects that were previously part of its Network-Centric Warfare …
DARPA’s Advanced Technology Development and Commercialization 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
The U.S. invasion of Venezuela raises fundamental questions about how Washington now defines its national security interests and how far the current administration is willing to go to pursue them. …
Venezuela Operation Raises Questions About Washington’s Global Ambitions 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