The Philippines has signed an agreement with French shipbuilder OCEA to deliver 40 fast patrol boats (FPBs) to its coast guard. Under the deal, the Vendée-based company will base the fleet on its proprietary FPB 110 MK 2 design, with shipments to incorporate integrated logistics support and maintenance services. The platforms will join five other systems that were delivered to Manila between 2017 to 2020 under separate contracts, including the 84-meter (276-foot) BRP Gabriela Silang, the firm’s first large offshore patrol vessel produced for the coast guard. Last November, Paris announced it had funded a patrol project for Manila, with the entire fleet valued at around 25.8 billion Philippine pesos ($465.7 million). In April 2025, the Southeast Asian government contracted OCEA for five-year in-service sustainment support for each vessel previously delivered to the Philippine Coast Guard. The French company continues its operations in the country with a hub built in 2019. The center now employs 20 Filipinos, with their specialities associated with fleet maintenance and logistics tasks.

During the recent China-Egypt joint air drills, Eagles of Civilization 2025, held between April and May at Wadi Abu Rish Air Base, non-official sources reported that the Commander of the Egyptian Air Force, Lieutenant General Mahmoud Fuad Abdel Gawad, expressed a strong interest in China’s J-35 stealth fighter. While this information has not been officially confirmed by either Egyptian or Chinese authorities, it has sparked considerable speculation about a potential shift in Cairo’s military procurement strategy. This reported interest would have emerged during the general’s visit to the bilateral exercise, in which both countries deployed advanced aerial platforms. China brought in its J-10C fighters, the KJ-500 early warning aircraft, YU-20 tankers, and Y-20 strategic airlifters. Egypt fielded its Russian-built MiG-29M/M2 fighters. Although no official statement corroborates the general’s remarks, the setting provided a credible environment for technical exchanges and capability evaluations. The J-35, developed by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, is a fifth-generation fighter derived from the FC-31 demonstrator, designed for both air superiority and strike missions. It features a low-observable twin-engine airframe, diverterless supersonic inlets (DSI), and internal weapons bays. Two main variants exist: the naval J-35, designed for Chinese aircraft carriers with folding wings and a reinforced nose gear for catapult launches, and the J-35A, a lighter land-based version optimized for the Chinese Air Force. The aircraft is equipped with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, an electro-optical targeting system (EOTS) under the nose, infrared search and track (IRST), and a heads-up display integrated with a digital control interface. The cockpit includes a 20-inch multifunction touchscreen and a helmet-mounted sighting system.

On May 26, 2025, the British Army unveiled a radical transformation of its ground warfare doctrine, introducing the 20-40-40 strategy, as reported by The Times. Drawing key lessons from the Ukrainian battlefield, this new doctrine breaks with decades of reliance on heavy armor in favor of a flexible, drone-centric force structure. In an era defined by speed, autonomy, and precision, this shift signals not just a new operational model, but a redefinition of what it means to wage war on land. The relevance is clear: the UK is preparing for the wars of tomorrow by rethinking the tools and methods of today. The 20-40-40 doctrine represents a fundamental departure from the British Army’s previous reliance on massed armored formations and mechanized infantry that defined its Cold War and post-Cold War posture. Under older strategies, conventional assets such as tanks, IFVs, and artillery constituted the backbone of UK land forces, systems designed for attrition warfare and sustained engagements. However, the Ukraine conflict and the rise of autonomous platforms have rendered such structures increasingly vulnerable, slow to adapt, and logistically burdensome. In contrast, the new 20-40-40 model proposes a more agile and survivable force composition: 20% traditional heavy platforms like the Challenger 3 tank and self-propelled artillery systems; 40% single-use loitering munitions and kamikaze drones for rapid, targeted strikes; and 40% reusable, high-end drones for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), and precision strikes. This creates an 80% unmanned, autonomous-capable structure that prioritizes survivability, rapid deployment, and digital dominance.

Ukrainian and Swedish officials discussed upgrading Ukraine’s Soviet-era aircraft fleet with modern avionics recently. The upgrades would include integration of advanced radars, defensive equipment, and electronic warfare countermeasure systems on the Ukrainian aircraft. The upgrades were part of a broader discussion to enhance Ukraine’s aviation capabilities, including a potential collaboration between the Ukrainian and Swedish defense industries. Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Defense for Aviation Development, Oleksandr Kozenko, represented his country in the talks while the Swedish delegation was led by Director for Ukraine Affairs at Saab, Thomas Lindén.

India's defense minister has approved a framework for building the country's most advanced stealth fighter jet, the Defence ministry said on Tuesday, amid a new arms race with Pakistan weeks after a military conflict between the neighbors. Indian state-run Aeronautical Development Agency, which is executing the programme, will shortly invite initial interest from defense firms for developing a prototype of the warplane, envisaged as a twin-engine 5th generation fighter, the ministry said. The project is crucial for the Indian Air Force, whose squadrons of mainly Russian and ex-Soviet aircraft have fallen to 31 from an approved strength of 42 at a time when rival China is expanding its air force rapidly. Pakistan has one of China's most advanced warplanes, the J-10, in its arsenal. Militaries of nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan faced-off in four days of fighting this month, which saw use of fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery by both sides before a ceasefire was announced by U.S. President Donald Trump. India will partner with a domestic firm for the stealth fighter programme, and companies can bid independently or as a joint venture, the Defence ministry said in a statement, adding that the bids would be open for both private and state-owned firms. In March, an Indian defense committee had recommended including the private sector in military aircraft manufacturing to shore up the capabilities of the Indian Air Force and reduce the burden on state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd which makes most of India's military aircraft.

On May 20, 2025, the U.S. Department of State approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Bosnia and Herzegovina for Leonardo AW119Kx helicopters and associated equipment and services, with an estimated total value of $100 million. While the exact number of helicopters requested is not specified in the official notification, the acquisition request includes a complete support and training package and aims to enhance the operational capacity of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AFBiH). The principal contractor is Leonardo Helicopters U.S., specifically through AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation in Pennsylvania. No offset agreement has been proposed to date, but any future offset arrangements would be subject to direct negotiation between the buyer and the contractor. The request covers multiple categories of equipment and services. In addition to the AW119Kx helicopters, the package includes qualification and transition training for pilots and maintainers, in-country contractor field service representative support, program management reviews, technical assistance, aviation ground support equipment, platform-specific ground support systems, hardware, special tools, test equipment, and basic issue items. It also includes quality assurance inspections, inventory processes, ground run and flight test validation and verification testing, air freight transportation for delivery, initial spares and consumable parts, operator maintenance resources, and technical manuals. The U.S. government and contractor engineering, logistics, and technical support services are included in the implementation phase. The deployment of up to five U.S. government personnel and up to seven contractor representatives to Bosnia and Herzegovina is planned for up to five years to provide operational and training support.  

The State Military-Industrial Committee of the Republic of Belarus confirmed that the Volat V2 armored personnel carrier (APC), designated MZKT-690003-021, was adopted into service with the Belarusian Armed Forces after completing state trials. This four-axle, 8x8 wheeled vehicle, developed by the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant (MZKT), is the first fully domestically produced APC of its category in Belarus. It will be publicly presented at the MILEX-2025 military exhibition in Minsk, scheduled from May 21 to 24. The Volat V2 was designed to perform functions such as troop transportation, fire support, amphibious operations, and special mission deployment. Its adoption is part of Belarus’s strategy to replace legacy Soviet-era vehicles, including the BTR-70, BTR-80, BMP-1, and BMP-2, with a vehicle that integrates contemporary standards in protection, mobility, and firepower. The development of the Volat V2 is linked to the earlier "Umka" program, initiated between 2008 and 2010 in collaboration with Russian entities. This project was halted due to insufficient funding and a lack of formal contractual agreements. MZKT resumed the project independently in 2016, and a prototype was first publicly displayed at MILEX-2021. The V2 follows a layout with a front-mounted engine and transmission, a central crew section, and a rear troop compartment accessed via a powered ramp. The welded armored hull provides frontal protection rated to Br5 and side armor to Br4 under GOST 34282-2017. Anti-mine protection meets STANAG 4569 level 2a/2b standards, with resistance to blasts from 6 kg of TNT under the wheels and 1 kg under the hull.

On June 2025, the Chinese private firm Jiutian is scheduled to begin flight tests of its SS-UAV, a new category-defining high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) aerial mothership drone,. The project’s accelerated timeline reflects China’s broader push to rapidly field next-generation unmanned systems, alongside its ongoing sixth-generation fighter jet program. The drone's  early flight testing signals a critical phase in China’s ambition to lead in HALE drone-based command and control operations and asymmetric power projection across the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. The Jiutian SS-UAV is a fifth-generation high-altitude strike drone developed by the private Chinese aerospace company Jiutian. Presented during the 2024 Zhuhai Airshow, the drone is tailored for missions at altitudes up to 15,000 meters, with an operational range of approximately 7,000 kilometers. It is designed to carry a payload of up to 1,000 kilograms, capable of deploying over 100 micro-drones or an array of precision-guided munitions. This will be a 15-ton mother drone with a 25-meter wingspan that will be capable of carrying 100 suicide drones. This unmanned aerial system is envisioned not merely as a sensor platform or bomber, but as an aerial command node, orchestrating complex swarm operations across vast distances. The drone’s architecture reflects China’s leap toward autonomous aerial warfare, offering satellite-linked coordination and onboard processing for real-time targeting, surveillance, and jamming missions.

The U.S. Air Force has officially begun ground testing of the YFQ-44A, a next-generation unmanned fighter aircraft developed by defense technology company Anduril Industries. This testing phase, taking place in a state-of-the-art chamber in Costa Mesa, California, represents a pivotal step in advancing the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, an ambitious initiative to redefine the future of air combat by integrating autonomous platforms with traditional crewed aircraft. The Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program is a cornerstone of the Air Force’s future force design, focused on developing unmanned aerial platforms that can operate seamlessly alongside manned fighter jets. The CCA concept envisions a family of autonomous aircraft that can perform a range of combat and support roles, including electronic warfare, reconnaissance, strike missions, and acting as decoys or loyal wingmen. These aircraft are not just drones but sophisticated systems designed with artificial intelligence and advanced networking capabilities to enable manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T). The primary goals of the CCA initiative are to increase combat mass affordably, reduce the risk to human pilots in high-threat environments, and provide greater operational flexibility. As the global air threat landscape evolves, CCA platforms are expected to be a key enabler of air superiority, allowing the U.S. Air Force to project power and maintain a technological edge in contested and denied environments. The YFQ-44A, internally known by the project name "Fury," is one of two production-representative test vehicles selected for rigorous evaluation in the CCA program’s Increment 1 phase. These unmanned platforms are expected to significantly enhance operational capabilities by engaging in high-risk missions alongside fifth-generation fighters such as the F-35 Lightning II and the next-generation air dominance fighter, currently referred to as the F-47. The concept revolves around manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T), in which autonomous drones act as force multipliers, scouting, jamming, striking, or absorbing enemy fire, while extending the reach and survivability of manned aircraft. The YFQ-44A’s design embodies a distinct shift in defense acquisition philosophy, focusing on cost-effective scalability without compromising capability. Anduril has pursued a modular and pragmatic engineering approach, incorporating commercial-off-the-shelf components such as a widely used business jet engine, simplified landing gear systems, and a streamlined airframe. This strategy significantly reduces production and maintenance costs while ensuring quicker delivery timelines, a key objective in the Air Force's push for affordable mass to sustain combat operations over extended periods in contested environments.

Chile's Undersecretary of Defense, Ricardo Montero, and Colombia's Deputy Minister of Defense and Security Policies, Juliana Coronado, chaired the IX Defense Dialogue in Bogotá, a strategic instance to give continuity to the review of the Binational Work Plan 2024-2026 that both countries have developed. According to Chile's Undersecretary of Defense, the IX Defense Dialogue reviewed progress on the issues prioritized by both delegations: cyber defense, defense industry, special operations, and maritime security. The representatives of Chile and Colombia also shared experiences on energy transition in military installations, women's participation in the sector and risk management in the face of climate change. Within the framework of the work agenda of this bilateral meeting, the delegation of the Chilean Undersecretary of Defense visited the Tolemaida Military Fort where the Colombian National Training Center is located.