Defense news on this page means the business and policy side of U.S. national security: Pentagon contracts, the defense budget, weapons programs, the defense industry and arms sales to allies. Our reports cite official records from the Department of Defense, the military services and Congress first. For operations, deployments and branch-by-branch coverage, see our military news page. Last updated: November 1, 2026. The latest-stories list below refreshes automatically when new reports publish.
Latest defense news
Our newest reports on aircraft, munitions, warships and other weapons programs, newest first.
- North Korea’s Cluster Warhead Test: What 12 Hectares Means
- Poland to Host Europe’s PAC-3 Patriot Repair Hub: What It Changes
- Japan to Assemble AMRAAM Missiles in US Deal, Share SM-3 Know-How
- AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom: Navy Funds $114.7M Power Upgrade
- Ukraine’s 500 Patriot Missiles: $2.1B Sale, Deliveries Years Away
- Future Interceptor: Army Picks Lockheed PAC-3 Edge in $1.08B Deal
- Neptune Strikes on Su-34 Bases: Marinovka and Borisoglebsk
- GJ-21 Stealth Drone Lands on China’s Type 076 Ship Sichuan
Pentagon contracts and weapons programs
Major contract awards and program milestones we have covered, grouped by domain.
Air and space
- F-15EX Eagle II: $2.38B deal for 22 more jets
- F/A-XX: Boeing wins the Navy’s next carrier fighter
- F-47 fighter: Air Force plans a $1.06B Nellis test campus
- Collaborative Combat Aircraft and FY27 funding
- AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom power upgrade
- UH-60M Black Hawk production deal
- GPS IIIF: Space Force pays $95M for a skipped satellite buy
- WGS satellites: planned $946M Boeing deal
Missiles and munitions
- Future Interceptor: Army picks Lockheed PAC-3 Edge
- ARRW hypersonic missile enters production
- SM-3 Block IB: $6.3B interceptor restock
- APKWS laser-guided rockets: 25,000 a year
- SLCM-N nuclear cruise missile prototypes
- Sentinel ICBM gets new silos
Ships and ground systems
- Virginia-class submarine production push
- Last Zumwalt destroyer heads toward sea trials
- MUSV: Navy orders 30 drone ships
- XM30 Bradley replacement prototypes
- CAML autonomous launcher with Australia
Defense budget, industry and policy
- U.S. defense budget 2027 — our reference page on the request
- Largest military budgets by country
- FORTRESS America: private money to harden U.S. bases
- Pentagon audit of university research ties
- Pentagon’s $350M quantum push
- Wolfspeed’s $1.5B conditional chip loan
- Autonomous Warfare Command and Project Agincourt
- Defense industry careers for veterans
Arms sales and allied defense deals
- Japan to assemble AMRAAM missiles and share SM-3 know-how
- Poland to host Europe’s PAC-3 repair hub
- Ukraine’s 500 Patriot missiles and the delivery gap
- U.S.–Greece $4B arms sales
- U.S.–Guyana defense pact
- UK, Canada and the defence bank
Missile defense and weapons explainers
Background guides that explain the systems behind the headlines.
- THAAD missile defense
- IFPC second interceptor race
- Lasers vs. drones at U.S. bases
- Aegis Combat System
- S-400 vs Patriot
- HIMARS rocket launcher
- Military technology 2026
- All reference guides
How U.S. defense money moves: authorization and appropriations
Most defense news traces back to two annual laws. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorizes appropriations and sets defense policy, but it does not itself provide budget authority, according to the Congressional Research Service. The House and Senate Armed Services Committees write it, and FY2025 was the 64th consecutive fiscal year with an enacted defense authorization.1
The money itself comes through appropriations. CRS notes that the Defense Subcommittees of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees fund the Army, the Navy (including the Marine Corps), the Air Force (including the Space Force), the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the defense agencies. If those bills are not finished by October 1, Congress can pass a continuing resolution to keep programs running at a set rate.2 That is why contract stories often mention a continuing resolution or a “new start” that has to wait for a full-year bill.
Defense news: frequently asked questions
What is the difference between defense news and military news?
On Peter’s World, defense news covers contracts, budgets, weapons programs and the defense industry. Military news covers the armed forces themselves: operations, deployments, the six branches and service members.
Where does the Pentagon’s money come from?
Congress provides it through annual defense appropriations bills. The NDAA authorizes programs and sets policy, but it does not provide budget authority on its own, according to the Congressional Research Service.
What happens if the defense budget is late?
Congress can pass a continuing resolution, which lets agencies keep spending at a set rate for a fixed period until full-year appropriations are enacted.
How often is this page updated?
The latest defense news list updates automatically each time we publish a weapons, aircraft, naval or munitions report. The curated sections are reviewed when major programs change.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service: Defense Primer: The NDAA Process (IF10515), updated Dec. 4, 2025
- Congressional Research Service: Defense Primer: Defense Appropriations Process (IF10514), updated Feb. 11, 2026
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