Saturday, February 28, 2026

World Defense News 27 Feb 2026

  

The U.S. Navy is advancing a phased modernization of USS Gerald R. Ford to enable full operational integration of the F-35C Lightning II, aligning the carrier’s aviation infrastructure with the demands of fifth-generation combat aviation. While the lead Ford-class carrier is already deployed with a conventional air wing, planned refinements to flight deck systems, maintenance facilities, and sortie generation processes are intended to maximize the F-35C’s sensor fusion, stealth, and long-range strike capabilities. The effort reflects a broader push to optimize the Ford class for sustained, high-tempo operations across contested maritime theaters, reinforcing the nuclear-powered carrier’s central role in U.S. naval strategy against near-peer competitors.

 

 

The United States has moved the USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy’s largest and most advanced aircraft carrier, from a port call near Crete to waters off Israel’s coastline, reinforcing American maritime presence in the Eastern Mediterranean. The nuclear-powered carrier, which departed on February 26, 2026, brings a full air wing of advanced fighter aircraft and strike capabilities within immediate reach of multiple regional flashpoints amid escalating friction between the United States and Iran.
 

Russia is introducing the Sarma 300 mm long-range multiple launch rocket system as part of a broader effort to modernize its deep-strike fire network and enhance the mobility and survivability of heavy rocket artillery formations. Positioned as a next-generation platform, Sarma is designed to complement and, if needed, evolve existing Tornado-S and legacy BM-30 Smerch units by improving rapid deployment and delivering high-volume, precision strikes against targets at operational depth.
 

Slovakia has started receiving U.S. Oshkosh M1278A1 and A2 Heavy Gun Carrier Joint Light Tactical Vehicles as part of a 160-unit acquisition fully financed through U.S. Foreign Military Financing, marking a substantial modernization step for its ground forces.
 

The U.S. Marine Corps has reinforced its long-range expeditionary assault capability in the Indo-Pacific as MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron VMM-163 conducted sustained flight operations from the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer. Operating within the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group – Marine Expeditionary Unit formation, the tiltrotor aircraft enhances rapid vertical maneuver, distributed force insertion, and crisis response across wide maritime spaces.
 

On February 25, 2026, Belgium opened discussions with the United States regarding a potential acquisition of the Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopter during International Military Helicopter 2026. The Seahawk is being assessed to replace the NH90 under Belgium’s 2026–2027 search and rescue (SAR) program.
 

Textron Systems has secured a U.S. Army prototype agreement for the Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program, positioning its Damocles loitering munition as a candidate to deliver beyond-line-of-sight precision attacks against armored and high-value targets in contested environments.
 

ARX Robotics and MBDA Deutschland have integrated the ENFORCER precision-guided missile onto the GEREON unmanned ground vehicle and publicly presented the new configuration at Enforce TAC 2026. The demonstrator featured a GEREON UGV equipped with four ready-to-fire ENFORCER launchers, creating a remotely operated, mobile strike platform capable of engaging armored vehicles and fortified positions.
 

U.S. Marines and Sailors assigned to 2nd Distribution Support Battalion conducted live-fire rifle training at Elvegardsmoen, Norway, as part of preparations for Exercise Cold Response 26, a Norwegian-led winter maneuver under NATO’s enhanced vigilance activity Arctic Sentry. The drills were designed to validate Arctic mobility, sustainment, and survivability in subzero terrain, where frozen ground, limited daylight, and extreme cold strain both equipment and personnel.
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On February 25, 2026, Russian news outlet NEWS.ru published an interview with Russian Military Pilot Major General Vladimir Popov in which he outlined his vision for the future of manned and unmanned combat aviation. In this discussion, he described a concept of close cooperation between fighter aircraft and heavy unmanned aerial vehicles as a “new philosophy” of warfare.
 

U.S. Army units in Hawaii have validated a maritime “shoot-and-scoot” pathway for M142 HIMARS by loading the rocket artillery system onto the new Maneuver Support Vessel Light, a combination designed to push long-range precision fires into austere littoral terrain faster than an adversary can cue, track, and strike back.
 

On February 23, 2026, U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles and F-35A Lightning IIs deployed to RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland, to participate in Exercise Point Blank, a multinational airpower exercise designed to enhance rapid sortie generation and advanced combat interoperability. Announced by RAF Lakenheath, the deployment brings fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft into a high-readiness environment alongside allied forces across northern UK airspace.
 

German defense firm Diehl Defence has unveiled a compact unmanned ground combat vehicle integrating the lightweight tracked Ziesel UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) with a two-round Spike LR2 anti-tank guided missile launcher, presenting at Enforce Tac 2026 in Germany.
 

U.S. Central Command has moved Task Force Scorpion Strike into an operational posture, giving deployed forces a low-cost one-way attack drone capability designed to multiply strike capacity, absorb attrition, and overwhelm defenses through massed, distributed effects.
 

During the International Military Helicopter 2026 conference, Belgium has opened discussions with U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky regarding the CH-53K King Stallion heavy lift helicopter, according to Gareth Jennings. The talks are part of Belgium’s planned objective to acquire close to 11 heavy transport helicopters under a €1.3 billion heavy transport program.
 

SWARM Biotactics is pushing biohybrid insect swarms into the reconnaissance problem set in ways that could give NATO forces a new option for penetrating rooms, tunnels, rubble, and other spaces where micro-drones and ground robots routinely stall.
 

On February 23, 2026, Canada’s Department of National Defence, through its Western Sentinel regional newspaper, detailed how Operation NANOOK-NUNALIVUT 2026 is projecting forces across the Arctic archipelago to reinforce national sovereignty. Against this backdrop, recent imagery from Canadian Armed Forces Combat Camera shows heavy-lift CH-147F Chinook helicopters shuttling troops and equipment around Cambridge Bay in Nunavut’s frozen landscape.
 

The U.S. Army has issued a $186 million delivery order to AeroVironment for upgraded Switchblade loitering munitions that extend small-unit precision strike reach and improve anti-armor lethality under heavy electronic warfare pressure.
 

On February 27, 2026, Italy reportedly approved the delivery of SIDAM-25 self-propelled air defense systems to Ukraine, likely following the refurbishment of reserve units. The transfer includes enough vehicles to equip at least three short-range air defense batteries to reinforce low-altitude drone defense within Ukraine’s layered air defense network. The SIDAM-25 is based on the U.S. M113A1 APC, armed with four 25 mm Oerlikon guns and designed for short-range engagements up to 2.5 km.
 

At Enforce Tac 2026, Germany’s Heckler & Koch displayed the HK421, a lightweight 7.62x51mm NATO belt-fed machine gun which was first unveiled in 2023. The HK421, developed to be lighter than the MG5 while maintaining sustained fire capability, is designed primarily for rapid, dismounted infantry operations.
 

On 25 February 2026, Israel Aerospace Industries and thyssenkrupp Marine Systems delivered the BlueWhale large autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to the German Navy at Eckernförde, marking a milestone in Berlin’s effort to expand uncrewed maritime capabilities.
 

The U.S. Navy has placed a $30.807 million order with Honeywell for Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile Extended Range inertial measurement units, reinforcing the guidance backbone that makes the AGM-88G AARGM-ER a credible anti-radar weapon in jammed, deception-heavy air defense battles. In a Feb.
 

On Thursday, February 26, 2026, Romanian and allied fighter jets were scrambled twice within a few hours after Russian drones operating against Ukrainian Danube ports approached and briefly violated Romanian airspace, the Romanian Ministry of National Defence (MApN) said, as reported AGERPRES.
 

The United States has moved the USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy’s largest and most advanced aircraft carrier, from a port call near Crete to waters off Israel’s coastline, reinforcing American maritime presence in the Eastern Mediterranean. The nuclear-powered carrier, which departed on February 26, 2026, brings a full air wing of advanced fighter aircraft and strike capabilities within immediate reach of multiple regional flashpoints amid escalating friction between the United States and Iran.
 

On February 26, 2026, the South Korean Army conducted the first live operational training of the unmanned Korean Combat Engineering Vehicle (K-CEV) at Yangpyeong Training Ground. The K-CEV performed reconnaissance, suppression, mine detection, and obstacle breaching in a live-fire scenario, which tested AI-enabled manned-unmanned teaming under the TIGER+ operational framework. Read full defense news at this link...

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France’s aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle entered Swedish waters to sharpen NATO’s northern warfighting posture, but the deployment’s most telling moment came when Swedish forces electronically neutralized a suspected Russian drone closing on the carrier while it was alongside in Malmö, highlighting both the vulnerability of major naval assets to persistent reconnaissance and the growing importance of host-nation electronic warfare and airspace control in the Baltic’s tight chokepoints, where

 

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