China’s development of specialized naval auxiliaries designed to transport, launch and recover submarine-sized uncrewed vessels signals an assertive push to project autonomous undersea power beyond the First Island Chain and systematically challenge US submarine dominance in the Western Pacific. This month, multiple media outlets reported visual evidence showing that China has constructed a second dedicated […]

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A recent breakthrough in airborne drone control has offered a tangible glimpse into the future of US air combat, signaling the US Air Force’s accelerating push to integrate autonomous wingmen alongside frontline fighters. This month, The War Zone (TWZ) reported that a US Air Force F-22 Raptor pilot successfully controlled an uncrewed YFQ-44A Fury fighter […]

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North Korea’s recent underwater launch of strategic cruise missiles underscores its accelerating drive to field a survivable, sea-based nuclear deterrent, even as significant engineering hurdles and platform limitations continue to constrain its naval ambitions. North Korea test-fired two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles into the Sea of Japan, marking its first public underwater cruise […]

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The US Navy’s bunker-busting Tomahawk push reflects growing recognition from the Iran war that striking deeply buried missile sites protected by robust air defenses requires long-range standoff weapons. But the missile faces serious operational, logistical and escalation challenges against China. The US Navy plans to award Raytheon an exclusive, sole-source contract for low-rate initial production […]

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As the US Navy lays the groundwork for its next-generation SSN(X) attack submarine to replace its aging fleet, the US’s longstanding undersea supremacy faces an intensifying test against China’s rapid naval buildup, advancing acoustic stealth and superior shipyard capacity. The US Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) issued a sources-sought notice to survey domestic shipyard […]

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While the US is arming its long-serving B-52 with potent ship-killing missiles to take on China’s expanding navy, severe munition constraints and operational vulnerabilities could undermine its strategic impact. This month, multiple media outlets reported that the US Navy plans to award a sole-source contract to Lockheed Martin to integrate the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile […]

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The Russia-Ukraine War has become a real-time laboratory for the Chinese military, spurring rapid defensive modernization while exposing deep friction between its centralized command hierarchy and the decentralized demands of modern combat. This month, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a report detailing how China is aggressively leveraging the Russia-Ukraine war as […]

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A multibillion-dollar private initiative to overhaul US submarine manufacturing marks an urgent push to revitalize naval industrial capacity at a pivotal moment in the Indo-Pacific balance of power. This month, multiple media outlets reported that defense technology firm Anduril Industries will invest US$3.7 billion of its own capital to build a 2-million-square-foot “software-defined shipyard” at […]

The post Anduril’s plan to save US sub edge from China’s undersea surge appeared first on Asia Times.

South Korea’s maiden flight test of a domestic hypersonic glide vehicle highlights an accelerating bid to field counterstrike assets capable of bolstering autonomous deterrence against North Korea’s expanding nuclear threat. This month, multiple media outlets reported that South Korean President Lee Jae-myung oversaw the country’s first test launch of a domestically developed hypersonic glide vehicle, […]

The post South Korea’s hypersonic leap runs into North Korea’s nuclear wall appeared first on Asia Times.

A flurry of landmark arms deals is reshaping Central Asia’s strategic landscape, as regional states leverage alternative defense suppliers to assert their sovereignty amid Russia’s waning dominance and an intensifying Sino-Indian rivalry. Indian Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh confirmed the export of India’s domestically developed Akash surface-to-air missile system to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, multiple media […]

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The inaugural flight-test release of a US air-launched hypersonic weapon over an Australian weapons range demonstrates both nations’ push for standoff hypersonic strike, yet the weapon’s true combat value hinges on whether allied airbases and kill chains can survive China’s long-range fires. This month, multiple media outlets reported that the US Air Force, in partnership […]

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Taiwan’s new American-made F-16V Block 70 jets deliver much-needed breathing room against daily Chinese gray-zone coercion, yet surging Chinese stealth numbers and cratered runway risks mean their wartime utility would be sharply contested. Taiwan received its first two new-build Lockheed Martin F-16V Block 70 fighter jets, touching down on October 2 at Taitung’s Chihhang Air […]

The post New F-16s buy Taiwan time and space against China’s air coercion appeared first on Asia Times.

Faced with rising great-power suspicions and the challenge of verifying clandestine, cavity-muffled detonations, the US is turning to high-precision subterranean blast experiments in the Nevada desert to strip covert nuclear testing of its technical cover. Last month, the US Department of Energy (DOE) reported that the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) conducted an underground, non-nuclear […]

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Recent disclosures about China’s purported in-orbit servicing operations have intensified a quiet revolution in space, where the mechanics of satellite sustainment are swiftly becoming the frontline of great-power counterspace rivalry. This month, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Chinese researchers claim the country carried out a pioneering in-orbit refueling operation on a high-altitude […]

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A contentious civilian nuclear agreement between the US and Saudi Arabia has ignited a sharp debate over Middle Eastern security, laying bare the escalating friction between American nonproliferation objectives and the kingdom’s strategic ambitions. This month, The Washington Post reported that a classified US intelligence assessment shared with Congress found that Saudi Arabia has not […]

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A mounting standoff over allegations of covert Chinese nuclear testing and rapid arsenal expansion has collided with an intensifying domestic debate within the US over whether it must abandon its decades-long test moratorium. US officials are pressing China in confidential diplomatic talks over suspected low-yield nuclear testing and a rapid strategic expansion across at least […]

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North Korea’s recent hypersonic test signals an evasive theater nuclear strike capability aimed directly at Japan—a proxy warning backed by Russia and China as Japan rethinks its nuclear taboos. This month, multiple media outlets reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test launch of an upgraded hypersonic missile system from the country’s […]

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