Bloomberg
• Laura Alviz
The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) contract for AI-based military training to a Raytheon-led consortium that includes European defense prime Rheinmetall. The award underscores the UK Army’s push to accelerate training capability using AI-enabled instruction and simulation.
Breaking Defense
• Breaking Defense
By Breaking Defense: Simulations consistently point to the vulnerability of larger refuelers concentrated at a handful of airfields.
AeroTime
• Clement Charpentreau
By AeroTime: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he will ‘fix’ the suspension of eight SCNG Apache pilots who flew low across crowded beaches on July 4, 2026.
Bloomberg
• Firat Kozok, Selcan Hacaoglu
By Bloomberg: Turkey is seeking Russia’s consent to transfer air defense systems it bought from Moscow to a third country, an effort aimed at clearing the way for the purchase of US-made F-35 fighter jets.
AeroTime
• Clement Charpentreau
By AeroTime: The US Department of War awarded nLIGHT and Lockheed Martin Aculight $86 million to develop containerized laser weapons against drones and cruise missiles.
defence-blog.com
defenseadvancement.com
Air Data News
• Ricardo Meier
By Air Data News: The US Air Force (USAF) has confirmed that the B-21 Raider will operate with a two-pilot crew, a configuration made possible by the aircraft's advanced automation that has prompted the service to find a new role for officers who traditionally filled other cockpit positions in legacy bombers.
Payload
• Douglas Gorman
By Payload: Eight NATO allies announced plans this week to combine their national defense satellites into a single network.
New York Times
• Adam Goldman, Eric Lipton, Eric Schmitt, Julian E. Barnes, Tyler Pager
By New York Times: Experts said the lack of such capabilities poses a potential risk when the president travels overseas. The White House defended the aircraft’s safety.
Bloomberg
• Catherine Lucey, Hadriana Lowenkron
AeroTime
• Jean Carmela Lim
The Hill
• Filip Timotija, Laura Kelly
