Defense Intelligence
for Decision Makers

The United States and Iran engaged in renewed hostilities on May 5 as President Donald Trump launched "Project Freedom," an operation to escort stranded merchant ships through the Strait of Hormuz. The strait has been effectively closed to most commercial traffic since US-Israeli attacks on Iran began in February, killing thousands across the region....

Germany's plans to acquire long-range strike capabilities face disruption following the Trump administration's decision to withdraw approximately 5,000 US troops from Germany and cancel deployment of Typhon missile launchers promised under the Biden administration. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters in Munster on May 4 that the decision "tears this capability gap open again....

The US Army Pacific's 1st Multi-Domain Task Force and Philippine Army Artillery Regiment conducted a live-fire test of a Tomahawk cruise missile from the Typhon ground-launched system on May 5 during Exercise Balikatan in the central Philippines. Colonel Dennis Hernandez of the Philippine Marines confirmed the missile launched at 12:10 AM local time from Tacloban and struck a target at Fort Magsaysay in Laur, Nueva Ecija, approximately 600 kilometers away, roughly one hour later....

China's military forces conducted extensive combat operations during the 2026 Balikatan exercise, deploying naval assets and anti-ship bombers in what Beijing described as countermeasures to US-Philippine military activities in the South China Sea. The People's Liberation Army's Southern Theater Command conducted combat readiness patrols at Scarborough Shoal featuring H-6 bombers armed with YJ-12 supersonic missiles, Type 054A frigates Bayanner and Tongliao, Type 056A corvette Hanzhoug, and J-16 fighters carrying YJ-91 cruise missiles....

Dutch defense technology startup Intelic launched BASE, a European military drone marketplace designed to expedite procurement by connecting drone manufacturers from nine European countries through interoperable systems, the company announced May 4, 2026. The platform allows defense ministries to evaluate unmanned aerial vehicles from multiple vendors that integrate with Intelic's Nexus command-and-control software, according to CEO Maurits Korthals Altes....

Israel's government approved procurement of additional Lockheed Martin F-35I fighters and Boeing F-15IA aircraft, marking the first phase of a ten-year modernization program with a total budget of ₪350 billion ($118 billion), the Israeli Defense Ministry announced May 4, 2026. The ministerial committee for acquisitions authorized purchase of a fourth F-35I squadron and a second F-15IA squadron, with combined costs estimated in the tens of billions of shekels....