India’s Defence Procurement Board recommended the acquisition of 60 Ghatak unmanned combat aerial vehicles for deep strike and suppression of enemy air defences. India’s Defence Procurement Board recommended the acquisition of 60 Ghatak unmanned combat aerial vehicles on March 3, 2026. The proposal now moves to the Defence Acquisition Council, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The stealth flying wing drone is being developed by DRDO as part of long-term force development under the Vision 2047 roadmap, for deep strike missions, air defence suppression, and coordinated operations with fighter jets such as the Tejas. As reported by Business Standard on March 3, 2026, India's Defence Procurement Board recommended the acquisition by the Ministry of Defence of 60 units of the Ghatak unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV). The recommendation now moves to the Defence Acquisition Council, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, for approval before procurement decisions are finalised. Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian armed forces, the Ghatak is intended primarily for the Indian Air Force as part of long-term force planning under the Vision 2047 capability roadmap. This roadmap integrates unmanned combat aircraft into the future combat structure alongside manned fighters to field an indigenous stealth strike drone capable of operating in high-threat environments. The acquisition of 60 units corresponds to a first operational batch of unmanned combat aircraft designed for deep-strike missions and suppression of enemy air defences. The Ghatak drone is a jet-powered unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) built around a flying-wing configuration to reduce radar detection and improve aerodynamic efficiency. The design also eliminates conventional tail surfaces, which lowers radar reflections and allows the drone to penetrate defended airspace protected by radar networks and missile systems. The Ghatak incorporates an internal weapons bay for missiles, bombs, and precision-guided munitions, preserving its low observable characteristics during combat operations. Intended mission sets include deep strike, suppression and destruction of enemy air defences, and attacks on strategic infrastructure such as command centres or radar installations. As the Ghatak can operate autonomously or alongside manned combat aircraft during coordinated missions, the drone may enter contested zones ahead of Indian fighter jets, such as the Tejas and the AMCA, to identify threats and strike priority targets. The Ghatak originates from the earlier Autonomous Unmanned Research Aircraft (AURA) program initiated in 2009 to examine the feasibility of an Indian stealth unmanned combat aircraft.

A newly circulated image appears to show a Serbian Air Force MiG-29SM equipped with Chinese CM-400AKG long-range air-to-surface missiles. If confirmed, the configuration could significantly expand Serbia’s standoff strike reach and alter the regional airpower balance in the Balkans. As of 9 March 2026, a single image circulating on social media has drawn sustained attention to what appears to be a Serbian Air Force MiG-29SM carrying Chinese CM-400AKG long-range air-to-surface missiles, a configuration that, if confirmed, would represent a notable evolution in Belgrade’s combat aviation posture. The relevance of this image lies not only in the possible appearance of a new munition, but in the suggestion that Serbia may be broadening the operational role of its Fulcrum fleet from air-policing and interception toward standoff precision strike. In the European context, such a development would be important because it would associate a high-speed Chinese air-launched strike weapon with a front-line fighter operated in the Balkans. At present, however, no official governmental confirmation has been issued, and the assessment therefore remains based on the available image. What makes the sighting important is less the image itself than what it may indicate about the progress of weapons integration. In military aviation, the visible carriage of a missile under a fighter’s wing or fuselage station does not automatically demonstrate full operational certification, but it can suggest that at least part of the stores-management, pylon compatibility, and carriage-clearance process has advanced. If Serbia has indeed integrated the CM-400AKG onto its MiG-29SM aircraft, the implication would be that the platform is being adapted for a broader mission set that includes standoff attack rather than remaining confined to its traditional role as an air-superiority and quick-reaction-alert aircraft. The missile visible at the center of the image constitutes a central element of the reported development. The CM-400AKG has been described in Chinese export literature as a high-speed, air-launched strike weapon intended for engagement of high-value fixed targets and, in some descriptions, maritime objectives. Open technical references generally indicate a diameter of approximately 0.4 meters and a range between 100 and 240 kilometers, with warhead configurations reportedly including a 150-kilogram blast-fragmentation type and a 200-kilogram penetration variant. These parameters suggest that the missile represents more than a symbolic addition, positioning it instead as a standoff weapon intended to strike defended targets from launch ranges that could reduce the aircraft’s exposure to short-range air-defense systems.” The terminology applied to the CM-400AKG warrants particular precision. In public discourse, the missile is frequently characterized as hypersonic, while some reports also describe it as ballistic. A more rigorous formulation would identify it as a very-high-speed air-launched strike missile featuring a high-altitude release profile and a steep terminal attack trajectory that imparts quasi-ballistic or semi-ballistic characteristics. The available Chinese technical descriptions do support the assessment that its speed and flight profile differ markedly from those of more conventional air-launched cruise missiles. They do not, however, justify treating all reported performance claims as definitively established.

The U.S. Army is deploying the Merops counter-drone system to the Middle East to intercept Iranian Shahed-type attack drones threatening U.S. forces and regional infrastructure. The move introduces a lower-cost air-defense layer designed to defeat mass drone raids without expending high-value Patriot and THAAD interceptors. The U.S. Army is sending the Merops counter-drone system into the Middle East because it offers a missing lower-tier air-defense layer against Iran’s Shahed threat, one that can kill cheap one-way attack drones without burning through Patriot and THAAD interceptors or fighter sorties. U.S. officials told AP the system, already combat-proven against Russian-operated Shahed derivatives in Ukraine, will be deployed at multiple sites, including locations where American troops are not based. The move reflects a hard lesson from the current war: the United States remains stronger against missiles than against mass, low-cost drone raids. Washington’s urgency is tied directly to the conflict unleashed after Operation Epic Fury began on February 28. Reuters reported that the opening U.S. campaign struck Iran’s command-and-control, naval, and missile infrastructure, while AP reporting shows Iranian retaliation has relied heavily on waves of drones and missiles aimed at Israel, Gulf states, ports, airports, oil facilities, and regional U.S. positions. Dubai officials alone said air defenses dealt with more than 540 Iranian drones over two days, alongside ballistic and cruise missiles. In that environment, Merops is being moved because CENTCOM needs a scalable, mobile way to thicken force protection before another saturation salvo arrives. Merops is a compact counter-UAS package built around a fast fixed-wing interceptor known as Surveyor, a launch rail, ground-control equipment, and offboard sensor links. NATO says the system can be launched from the bed of a pickup truck and can prosecute targets autonomously using radio-frequency cues, radar guidance, or thermal signatures, which matters in an electronic-warfare environment where GPS and communications may be degraded. During NATO demonstrations in Poland, the system was linked to the Italian RPS-42 radar, and officials stressed that it can ingest tracks from multiple radar types. That lets Merops plug into a layered air-defense network rather than operate as a stand-alone gadget. The armament reflects the economics of modern drone war. Each Surveyor interceptor costs roughly $14,500 to $15,000, can exceed 175 mph, and can either score a direct collision or carry a small warhead for a near-target kill; if no engagement occurs, it can descend by parachute for recovery and reuse. Against Shahed-class drones estimated at $20,000 to $50,000 each, that is a far more sustainable cost-exchange ratio than firing high-end surface-to-air missiles. AP’s earlier NATO reporting also noted that Merops can hand off target data to other shooters, giving commanders time to decide whether to engage with the interceptor itself or cue a different effector.

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias confirmed that negotiations with Italy for the acquisition of two Italian FREMM Bergamini-class frigates with a 2+2 option are expected to conclude with a contract by April 2026. Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias confirmed that negotiations with Italy for the acquisition of two Italian FREMM Bergamini-class frigates, with an option for two additional ships, are expected to conclude with a 2+2 FREMM contract by April 2026. The ships would complement the Kimon-class frigates under construction, and the upgraded MEKO 200HN fleet as Greece modernizes its navy under the Agenda 2030 defense modernization program, while replacing the Cold War–era Elli-class vessels. On March 8, 2026, Greek Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias confirmed in an interview with Tovima that negotiations with Italy for the acquisition of two Italian FREMM Bergamini-class frigates with an option for two additional ships are expected to conclude with a contract signature by April 2026, as part of Greece’s ongoing naval modernization effort. Greece and Italy have already signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on naval collaboration and a Declaration of Intent covering the 2+2 acquisition framework in September 2025. The initial transfer would involve two vessels entering service with the Hellenic Navy, while the option for two additional ships would allow further fleet expansion later in the decade. The specific vessels considered are reported to be the ITS Carlo Bergamini and ITS Virginio Fasan, two Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) variants of the Bergamini class, while Greek naval delegations have also inspected other units of the class during evaluation visits in Italy, including the ITS Carlo Margottini. The potential purchase forms part of the Agenda 2030 defense modernization program, which includes major investments in naval combatants, missile defense systems, aircraft, and command-and-control infrastructure. The decision is driven by the gradual retirement of the Elli-class frigates introduced during the late Cold War and the need to maintain a modern fleet capable of sustained operations in the Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean.

Canada plans to invest more than 900 million Canadian dollars ($663 million) to expand drone and airborne defense research, including the creation of a new testing and research facility, CBC has reported. The funding will be managed by the National Research Council (NRC), Ottawa’s main public research organization responsible for scientific and technological development across sectors, including aerospace, defense, and advanced manufacturing. According to officials, the new research facility will study drone technologies for both military and civilian applications, including surveillance, disaster response, and infrastructure monitoring. Moreover, as part of the initiative, the NRC will acquire a Canadian-built Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft to support flight testing and defense-related research. The Bombardier Global 6500 research aircraft will be assembled at Bombardier’s facility near Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, with final interior work carried out in Dorval, Quebec. More than 65 Canadian suppliers are expected to contribute components to the platform. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said the program is intended to strengthen Canada’s ability to develop critical technologies domestically, while supporting national companies involved in aerospace, unmanned systems, quantum technologies, and biomedical innovation.  

The military magazine highlighted the Fury armored vehicles, designed and assembled by the state-owned Dominican Military Industry The Armed Forces of the Dominican Republic displayed part of their units, weapons systems, aircraft and other equipment, in the military parade held on February 27 to celebrate the 182nd anniversary of its independence. The event, in which members of the National Police and other State security forces also participated, which took place on the Malecón in Santo Domingo, was led by President Luis Abinader Corona, accompanied by the Minister of Defense, Lieutenant General (Army) Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre, and other members of the Military High Command and civilian authorities. The opening of the parade corresponded to the First Regiment of the Presidential Guard, while the rest of the Army representation was made up of other units of different specialties. The armored material on display included 4x4 Cadillac Gage V100 Comando and URO Vamtac ST5 vehicles, as well as M41 Walker Bulldog light tanks. In the same line, 105/26mm Reinosa towed howitzers, tactical vehicles of various models, and URO TT anti-riot trucks of the Military Police passed in front of the presidential tribune.Army Aviation flew over with Bell OH-58A/C Kiowa and TH-67A Creek helicopters. The novelty in ground means was two 4x4 armored vehicles of the Fury series, designed and assembled by the state-owned company Industria Militar Dominicana (IMD). In that order, two models were presented, the VBD-1, whose first units were recently delivered to the Special Counterterrorism Command Unit of the Ministry of Defense, and the larger VBD-3. 4x4 IMD VBD-3 armored vehicle. Signature: Ministry of Defense of the Dominican Republic Finally, the Air Force ground contingent was made up of schools, Special Forces and security units, as well as anti-aircraft pieces on tactical vehicles and a mobile Command and Control center. As for the air, there was the passage of Embraer EMB-314 / A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft; Flying Legend TP-75 Dulus training/surveillance facilities, assembled in FARD workshops; training Enaer T-35 Pillán, and transport EADS Casa C212-400 Aviocar, Piper PA-31 Navajo and Cessna 182 Skylane, and Leonardo AW169, Airbus H155 and Bell UH-1H Huey II, 206 Jet Ranger and OH-58 Kiowa helicopters.    

The Spanish government gave the green light last year to the sale to Algeria of eight C295 military transport aircraft, assembled in Seville by Airbus. The operation has been carried out with absolute discretion, both by the Spanish and Algerian authorities, according to information collected by Servimedia, which has also been echoed by newspapers such as the Moroccan newspaper Hespress. Airbus does not comment on this matter, as is generally the case with the sales operations they carry out until they have been executed. So we cannot yet speak of a completed transaction. The source details that the operation was authorised in January 2025, and cites the data contained in the report on export statistics of dual-use defence material, from the Spanish Secretary of State for Trade, which reflects a total amount of 385.2 million euros. This document is officially presented tomorrow, Wednesday, by the Secretary of State for Trade, Amparo López Senovilla, in the Defence Committee of the Congress of Deputies. This operation shows a rapprochement in relations between Spain and Algeria after they cooled down in 2022 due to the Spanish government's change of position on the dispute in Western Sahara in favour of the theses of Morocco, the North African country's main adversary in the area. Algeria, which is a key energy supplier to Spain, even blocked Spanish imports for more than two years.

The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a 21.82-billion-rupee ($237-million) contract to procure the Russian-built Shtil vertical-launch ship-based surface-to-air missile system for the Indian Navy. The agreement was concluded with Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state agency for defense exports. According to the MoD, the acquisition is intended to significantly enhance the air defense capabilities of frontline warships against a broad spectrum of aerial threats. “The system will reinforce the layered air defense architecture onboard the platforms of the Indian Navy by providing rapid-reaction, all-weather engagement capability and improved survivability in contested maritime environments,” the ministry stated. “The contract further underscores the longstanding and time-tested defense partnership between India and Russia, founded on mutual trust and strategic alignment.” Shtil Ship-Based Air Defense System Developed by Almaz-Antey Air and Space Defence Corporation, the system is designed to engage multiple targets simultaneously at ranges of up to 45 kilometers (28 miles). A derivative of the Buk-M1 air defense system, the Shtil 1 can launch up to 12 9M317 and 9M317M missile interceptors to counter supersonic threats — including aircraft and anti-ship missiles — flying at speeds of up to Mach 2.5 (3,087 kilometers/1,918 miles per hour). It was first deployed aboard an Indian naval vessel, the INS Talwar frigate, in 2003.

Germany’s Bundeswehr is preparing a framework agreement for up to 500 MARS 3, also known as EuroPULS, long-range rocket artillery systems, with parliamentary review expected in 2026. If funded at scale, the program would sharply expand NATO’s land-based deep strike capacity and reshape Germany’s role in deterring Russia along the Alliance’s eastern flank. Germany’s Bundeswehr is preparing to contract for up to 500 MARS 3 rocket artillery launchers, also known as EuroPULS. This move would expand NATO-aligned deep precision strike from a scarce, specialist asset into a force-wide tool for disrupting massed fires, maneuver formations, and command networks across the Alliance’s eastern approaches. By pairing high mobility with modular, precision munitions, the concept is designed to generate scalable effects from suppression and interdiction to time-sensitive strikes on high-value targets, while keeping launch units survivable through rapid displacement. If executed as described, the program would not simply replace legacy launchers or patch a single capability gap. It would recast German land forces around dispersed, rapidly deployable long-range fires able to shape the battlespace, deny operational freedom, and impose costs well before close combat begins. The plan centers on a framework agreement for roughly 500 MARS 3 systems, also known as EuroPULS, with parliamentary consideration expected in the second half of 2026. About half of the framework quantity is understood to be reserved for Germany. At the same time, the remainder would be available for allied procurement under the same contractual conditions, effectively using Germany’s buying power to create a multinational rocket-artillery umbrella contract. That structure matters because it aligns with a wider European rush to standardize long-range fires after Ukraine exposed how quickly stockpiles and launcher fleets can be exhausted in high-intensity war. MARS 3 is a wheeled, two-pod launcher designed around an open, modular fire-control architecture rather than a single proprietary rocket family. KNDS describes the system as fully autonomous for key firing functions, incorporating automatic target acquisition and emphasizing shoot-and-scoot tactics to survive counter-battery fires and drone-enabled targeting. In the Iveco Trakker 8×8 configuration shown publicly, it is a sub-40-ton system with a 2 to 3 soldier crew, road speed around 90 km/h, and a stated rate of fire example of 12 rockets in about 60 seconds. For operational commanders, the mobility and small crew translate into higher tempo and more dispersed firing units, which is essential when adversaries can cue fires within minutes using persistent ISR.

Qatar’s navy used its new generation of air defense warships to help intercept Iranian drones during a coordinated missile and drone attack targeting the Gulf state. The engagement highlights how sea-based missile defense platforms are expanding regional air defense coverage around critical U.S. military facilities and energy infrastructure. Qatar’s Emiri Navy has brought its new generation of air-defense surface combatants into combat conditions, helping intercept Iranian drones during a complex, multi-axis strike and effectively pushing Doha’s defensive perimeter outward over some of the Gulf’s most sensitive military and energy infrastructure. In its official account of the engagement, Qatar’s Ministry of Defense said the incoming raid combined two Iranian Su-24 aircraft with a salvo of seven ballistic missiles and five drones, all met immediately under a preplanned national air-defense posture. The ministry added that Qatari naval units and the air force jointly engaged and destroyed the drones, while land-based air-defense elements focused on defeating the ballistic missiles before they could reach critical targets. While the Qatari statement did not identify which naval units fired, the engagement is significant because Qatar is one of the few Gulf states whose navy fields an organic, NATO-standard area air-defense system rather than relying purely on shore-based batteries. The fleet’s modern air-defense core is well defined: the amphibious flagship QENS Al Fulk and the four Al Zubarah-class (Doha-class) corvettes, all built by Fincantieri and fitted with Aster-family missiles integrated through the SAAM air-defense architecture. Operational context matters: the intercept occurred amid widening regional escalation following U.S. and Israeli strikes and subsequent Iranian retaliation against Gulf states hosting U.S. assets, a pattern that has repeatedly placed Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base and surrounding civilian infrastructure under missile and drone threat. At the same time, Iran’s pressure on maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has increased the strategic value of any Gulf state able to contribute sensor coverage and intercept capacity from the sea, where radar horizon and engagement geometry can add crucial seconds to the kill chain.