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03 Jul 25. US: Weapons review underscores defence policy risks, potential shifts in military posture. On 2 July, the Department of Defense stated that it is conducting a global review of all countries to which the US is sending weapons. As part of this review, the Trump administration paused the delivery of some air defence interceptors and precision-guided munitions to Ukraine. The Pentagon chief spokesman stated that the US ‘can’t give weapons to everybody’ and underscored the importance of defending domestic soil. In the short term, sustained concern over the US’ depleting munitions stockpile will increase defence policy risks. Furthermore, any conflict escalation in the Middle East will increase the likelihood that weapons shipments to Ukraine remain paused, especially should the ceasefire between Iran and Israel break down. In the near term, we assess that the administration’s strategic focus on the Middle East and Indo-Pacific regions will raise tensions between Washington DC and Kyiv. The weapons review and President Donald Trump’s continued pressure on the EU to increase its own defence spending highlight a realistic possibility that the US will shift its military posture in Europe in the coming years. (Source: Sibylline)
01 Jul 25. Senate passes Trump’s major policy bill with $150bn for the DOD. The Senate passed a massive party-line spending package Tuesday, including a one-time surge in defense spending the Pentagon is counting on for its upcoming fiscal year 2026 budget. By a vote of 51-50 — with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie — the chamber advanced the vast tax, healthcare and border security bill President Donald Trump has championed as key to his legislative agenda. That 940-page “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” also features $150 bn in funding for the military, which would go toward shipbuilding, the Golden Dome homeland missile defense project, munitions and other key priorities. The bill next goes back to the House for final consideration. Trump has set a deadline of July 4 to pass the spending package out of that chamber, though some lawmakers in the House have already said they’re unlikely to approve the bill before the end of the week. The Pentagon has argued this package should be counted as part of the DOD’s overall defense budget plan for the coming year, and defense officials moved spending priorities usually reserved for its base spending plan into the one-time package. In its delayed spending request last week, the Defense Department issued an $848 m base budget request, which is a cut when accounting for inflation. That said, the Pentagon is counting on $113 bn in immediate funding from the supplemental spending bill in Congress, bringing the total for military spending closer to $960bn. Still, many top Republicans and Democrats in Congress have argued that the unusual arrangement will cause unnecessary confusion for the Pentagon and the defense industry responsible for major weapons programs. In a briefing to describe the funding request, senior defense and military officials countered this argument, saying the immediate surge in funding may reassure some of these companies, which are accustomed to Congress starting the fiscal year on temporary spending plans known as continuing resolutions. One official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the administration would likely keep military funding close to $1trn for next year as well, though it hasn’t yet decided on an appropriate baseline. If not, the Defense Department will face extremely difficult choices when deciding how to factor the priorities included in the one-time spending package back into its yearly budget. (Source: Defense News)
02 Jul 25. DOD ‘Capability Review’ to Analyze Where Military Aid Goes, Ensure America Is First. Ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the U.S. has provided Ukraine with nearly $66 bn in security assistance. Much of that assistance involved American military hardware and munitions pulled from U.S. inventory as part of presidential drawdown authority. Now, some assistance provided to Ukraine — as well as assistance to other nations — is on pause as the Defense Department reviews its own capabilities to ensure when it opts to provide aid to other nations, it never shortchanges itself in the process, said Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell during a briefing today at the Pentagon.
“This capability review … is being conducted to ensure U.S. military aid aligns with our defense priorities,” he said. “We see this as a common-sense, pragmatic step towards having a framework to evaluate what munitions are sent and where.”
The evaluation, Parnell said, will better help the president and defense secretary make decisions about how and when military aid is provided.
“What we’ve done here at the Department of Defense is create a framework to analyze what munitions we’re sending where,” Parnell explained. “Ultimately, our job here at the Department of Defense is to pursue the president’s ‘America First’ agenda and make sure that we achieve peace through strength throughout the world.”
While Parnell said the department will not provide updates regarding quantities or types of munitions provided to Ukraine, or timelines associated with that materiel, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continues to make recommendations to President Donald J. Trump on military assistance to Ukraine. During the capability review, Parnell said, the U.S. military retains its ability to defend the nation.
“We want to be very clear about this last point,” he said. “Let it be known that our military has everything that it needs to conduct any mission, anywhere, anytime, all around the world. We have the most lethal fighting force in the world.”
Proof of that, Parnell said, was last month’s Operation Midnight Hammer, during which the U.S. used massive ordnance penetrators to destroy multiple Iranian nuclear facilities.
“Iran is much further away today from a nuclear weapon than they were before the president took bold action to fulfill his promise to the American people, and that promise was Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
During the operation, June 21, 2025, at 6:45 p.m., which was June 22, at 2:15 a.m. in Iran, U.S. B-2 Spirit bombers out of Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, dropped 14 GBU-57 bombs onto three locations in Iran, including at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
“Our assessment of the battle damage … remains unchanged,” Parnell said. “We believe, and certainly all of the intelligence that we’ve seen have led us to believe that … those facilities especially, have been completely obliterated.”
Parnell noted that intelligence assessments from allies around the world also reflect the U.S. assessment.
“They share our sentiments about the degradation of Iran’s nuclear program,” he said, adding that the U.S. believes Iran’s nuclear program has been set back by about two years as a result of the operation.
“What we’ve seen … universally among our allies was them congratulating the United States, the president and secretary of defense on that bold operation, and the idea that American action in Iran has set the conditions for global stability,” Parnell said. “Iran has been a major exporter of terror all around the world, and … nations the world over have been subject to their terror. I think that nations all around the world … they know that when America is strong and speaks clearly, the world is a better and more stable place.” (Source: U.S. DoD)
02 Jul 25. Argentina Increases Military Ties to the United States. Argentina and the United States will continue to build on their more than 200-year relationship, said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who hosted an enhanced honor cordon and meeting today, welcoming Argentine Defense Minister Luis Petri to the Pentagon. Hegseth said China poses a threat to the U.S., Argentina and the region, adding that, “Regional peace demands the utmost will and tenacity, and I think we can face these shared security challenges together, and I know we will.” The defense secretary applauded Argentina’s efforts to bolster its defense relationship with the United States, noting its decision to acquire U.S. F-16 Fighting Falcon, as well as Stryker fighting vehicles. The two leaders traded some military history events between the nations. In 1811, during the Argentine War of Independence from Spanish colonial rule, rebel government representatives in the United States purchased 1,000 muskets and bayonets to support their cause, Hegseth said, and during the Gulf War, Argentina supplied two warships to coalition forces. Petri stated that during the 1879 Conquest of the Desert campaign to expand its territory into Patagonia, Argentina purchased 10,000 rifles from the United States, which significantly aided its war effort. Referencing the June 21, 2025, U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear sites, Petri said it increased world peace, adding, “We are very much committed to the fight that the United States has taken on against international terrorism.” The defense minister said that the bonds between Argentina and the United States will become stronger. “Our relationship is at its best point, and our partnership will continue to grow in all areas of government, but fundamentally in defense,” Petri said. (Source: U.S. DoD)
27 Jun 25. Army Works to Deter Chinese Threats While Supporting Joint Force, Allies, Partners. China is developing military technologies, capabilities and procedures at a pace and scale never before seen, said Army Gen. Ronald P. Clark, commander of U.S. Army Pacific, who spoke today during a strategic landpower forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies headquarters in Washington. It’s also learning lessons from ongoing conflicts and are rapidly improving their ability to operate in a joint capacity, Clark said, adding that China’s focus has been on anti-access and area denial in the air and maritime domains against the U.S. and its allies. Anti-access prevents an advancing military force from entering an area, and area denial limits a force’s freedom of action within an area.
“What they have not accounted for is our ability to provide access through multidomain operations from the land,” Clark said, referring to the Army’s multidomain task force deterrence concept that prizes operating in space, cyberspace, electronic warfare, information operations and employing long-range fires.
China has increased its aggression, belligerence and coercive tactics against allies and partners in the region, Clark said, noting, “Our ability to be present, to give them an alternative, specifically in the security arena, is very, very important. So, presence matters.” The general cited the large number of exercises occurring throughout the region, in which the U.S. and other nations participate. He said the Army is increasing prepositioned stocks in the region, known as joint theater distribution centers, to reduce reliance on and risk associated with moving supplies from afar by air and sea.
“Our ability to be able to gain positional advantage is all tied to our efforts to campaign inside the first and second island chains, to build positional advantage through our engagements, through our operations, through our activities and investments in the region,” Clark said.
The first island chain comprises islands and land from Japan to Southeast Asia, much of which lies adjacent to waters illegally claimed by China. The second island chain consists of islands to the east of the first island chain, such as Japan’s Bonin Islands, Guam, and those located south to Western New Guinea. Besides munitions and platforms, Clark said the Army is training its soldiers to meet the demands of the modern battlefield.
“We’ve doubled down on holistic health and fitness to ensure soldiers and their families are resilient for whatever lies ahead.”
Clark said the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command is ready to assist in natural disasters, many of which occur in the region, and soldiers are helping to experiment and develop effective capabilities.
“We’re putting into the hands of soldiers on the ground who, as you well know, will take it, break it, tell us what we can do to fix it, to ensure that we’re getting the best capability into the hands of our teammates, who are forward in our theater, in real time,” Clark said. (Source: U.S. DoD)
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Founded in 1987, Exensor Technology is a world leading supplier of Networked Unattended Ground Sensor (UGS) Systems providing tailored sensor solutions to customers all over the world. From our Headquarters in Lund Sweden, our centre of expertise in Network Communications at Communications Research Lab in Kalmar Sweden and our Production site outside of Basingstoke UK, we design, develop and produce latest state of the art rugged UGS solutions at the highest quality to meet the most stringent demands of our customers. Our systems are in operation and used in a wide number of Military as well as Homeland Security applications worldwide. The modular nature of the system ensures any external sensor can be integrated, providing the user with a fully meshed “silent” network capable of self-healing. Exensor Technology will continue to lead the field in UGS technology, provide our customers with excellent customer service and a bespoke package able to meet every need.
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