Defense Intelligence
for Decision Makers

Turkey's STM defense contractor launched the first of three Littoral Mission Ship Batch-2 corvettes for the Royal Malaysian Navy on May 24, 2026, at Istanbul Shipyard, marking a significant milestone in bilateral defense cooperation. The vessel, "Tunku Laksamana Abdul Jalil," is the first product of a 2024 government-to-government agreement between Turkey and Malaysia for defense procurement....

The Royal Navy must transform into a hybrid force combining crewed, uncrewed, and autonomous platforms to achieve the lethality and mass needed for North Atlantic operations, First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins declared May 19 at the Combined Naval Event in Farnborough. Jenkins told conference attendees that legacy force design cannot meet the challenge from Russian surface and subsurface forces....

U.S....

Navantia UK publicly unveiled its LASV75 large autonomous surface vessel concept at the Navy Leaders Combined Naval Event held in Farnborough from May 19-21, 2026. The design represents the company vision for supporting the UK Royal Navy emerging hybrid navy construct combining crewed, uncrewed, and autonomous platforms....

The U.S....

An all-female, bipartisan delegation of eight US senators departed May 22 for a multi-nation Arctic tour to examine allied security capabilities and infrastructure amid growing competition from Russia and China. Led by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), the group will visit Canada, Greenland, Norway, and Iceland....