US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin wants the Defense Department to do artificial intelligence (AI) “the right way,” even if our main competitor, China, does not. Speaking to the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence Austin said: “… our use of AI must reinforce our democratic values, protect our rights, ensure our safety and defend our privacy.” This is close to the formula assigned to the fictional “Officer Murphy” in the 1987 movie Robocop.

Ukrainian engineers at the Dnipro-based Yuzhnoye Design Office have unveiled the Bliskavka (“lightning”) supersonic missile, which they claim is virtually “impossible to shoot down”, Dnipro Panorama reports. The designers presented the missile at the Weaponry and Security 2019 exhibition. They claim that the missile has a speed of 2,000-2,500 km/h. It will be used by the Su-27 and Su24M aircraft in Ukraine’s Air Force.

The bomb used by the Saudi-led coalition in a devastating attack on a school bus in Yemen was sold as part of a US State Department-sanctioned arms deal with Saudi Arabia, munitions experts told CNN. Working with local Yemeni journalists and munitions experts, CNN has established that the weapon that left dozens of children dead on August 9 was a 500-pound (227 kilogram) laser-guided MK 82 bomb made by Lockheed Martin, one of the top US defense contractors.

China's navy is getting bigger and better and doing it at a speed unmatched by any nation around the globe.

Letterkenny's partnership with The Netherlands foreshadows more foreign military sales at the local installation. Patriot missiles are used in a dozen other countries.

On December 13, in a Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and US Naval Institute co-hosted Maritime Security Dialogue entitled “Ballistic Missile Defense: Evolving Threats and New Priorities,” Rear Admiral Jon Hill (Deputy Director of the Missile Defense Agency) discussed some of the most critical considerations regarding the United States’ ballistic missile defense systems (BMDS). Outlined below are some of the most noteworthy takeaways from the insightful conversation.

The United States has announced sanctions on two North Korean officials behind their country’s ballistic missile program. The steps were the latest in a campaign aimed at forcing North Korea – which has defied years of multilateral and bilateral sanctions – to abandon a weapons program aimed at developing nuclear-tipped missiles capable of hitting the United States.

Ukraine will soon have more lethal American-made weapons to help it fight Russian-backed separatists. U.S. officials said Friday that the Trump administration approved a plan to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine, in a long-awaited move that deepens America's involvement in the military conflict and may further strain relations with Russia.

Polish Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz has signed a contract for delivery of Warmate drones to the Polish army. On 20 November Polish WB Group was awarded a PLN 100 million (USD20 million) contract for the supply of Warmate Micro Combat Unmanned Aircraft System to the Polish Army. According to the agreement signed with the armed forces, 100 sets of short-range combat unmanned aircraft systems will be delivered. Each set consists of 10 drones.

India has for the first time fired a BrahMos missile from a Sukhoi Su-30 plane, with the country’s Defense Ministry claiming the air-launch a success. The missile’s developer said it “can be a game changer for any air force in the world.” “The successful maiden test firing of [a] BrahMos air launched cruise missile (ALCM) from [a] Su-30MKI will significantly bolster the IAF’s air combat operations capability from stand-off ranges,” the Indian Defense Ministry said in a statement. A modified Su-30 fighter jet took off from Kalaikunda Airbase in West Bengal state and hit a decommissioned boat in the Bay of Bengal Wednesday.

The threat of nuclear attack from North Korea is increasing, US Defence Secretary James Mattis said during a visit to South Korea. Mr Mattis warned it would face a "massive military response" if it used nuclear weapons. Separately, North Korea released a South Korean fishing boat which it said had been found in North Korean waters illegally. The crew of 10 were released on Friday evening, South Korean officials said.

The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and its accompanying strike group of destroyers have left the Middle East, where they had launched airstrikes against ISIS, to back up US forces in the Pacific, the US Navy announced on Wednesday. The Navy says the Nimitz is heading to the Pacific on a previously scheduled visit, but it will be the third carrier in the region joining the USS Ronald Reagan, which stays in Japan year-round, and the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which is currently in the Pacific well east of Japan.

The United States on Thursday flew some of its most advanced warplanes over South Korea in a show of force against North Korea, after Pyongyang fired a midrange ballistic missile over Japan earlier this week, South Korea's military said. Two U.S. B-1B bombers and four F-35 fighters participated in training with South Korean F-15 fighter jets, an official from Seoul's Defense Ministry said.

Ukraine denied on Monday that it had ever supplied defense technology to North Korea, responding to an article in the New York Times that said North Korea may have purchased rocket engines from Ukrainian factory Yuzhmash. Concern that North Korea is close to achieving its goal of putting the mainland United States within range of a nuclear weapon has raised global tensions in recent weeks. The United States is a key backer of Ukraine.

North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles, crossing a key threshold on the path to becoming a full-fledged nuclear power, U.S. intelligence officials have concluded in a confidential assessment.

Watch as the Navy puts a high-tech railgun through its paces with a multi-shot salvos from the frightening weapon.

Preparing for North Korea’s growing threat, the Pentagon will try to shoot down an intercontinental-range missile for the first time in a test next week. The goal is to more closely simulate a North Korean ICBM aimed at the US homeland, officials said Friday

The US Navy railgun program is making great technical progress according to the Office of Naval Research program manager Tom Boucher. The Navy is now working towards installing railguns at permanent land-based test sites which would provide more and better data for fewer dollars than an ad hoc installation aboard a repurposed fast transport.

When is it ethical to hand our decisions over to machines? And when is external automation a step too far?

A fleet of F-35 stealth fighter jets has arrived in Europe from the United States as part of a planned NATO exercise aimed at “deterring” Russia. The F-35A Lightning II jets landed at Royal Air Force Base in Lakenheath, England Saturday, having made the journey from Hill Air Force Base, Utah. “The forward presence of F-35s support my priority of having ready and postured forces here in Europe,” said NATO’s supreme allied commander for Europe General Curtis M. Scaparrotti in an official statement.