Military Industry

An undated photo shows a Kizilelma unmanned fighter jet taking flight.

Analysis

Turkey's Kizilelma fighter jet redefines capability in air warfare: What to know

The unmanned fighter jet logged the first such strike by a drone against another drone in flight, underscoring Ankara’s ambition for next-generation aircraft.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

The Red Flag limousine carrying Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed passes a military honour guard as he arrives for a welcoming ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on July 22, 2019. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP) (Photo credit should read GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)

China, UAE to hold third air force drills as defense ties warm: What we know

China and the United Arab Emirates are further deepening their defense and military ties with a third round of aerial exercises.

United Arab Emirates

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Turkey defense firms break record with $10B in revenues: SIPRI

Turkey set a new record with five companies in the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's Top 100 for 2024, which included nine Middle Eastern countries for the first time amid conflict-driven arms demand.

Royal Bahraini Air Force F-16s perform air maneuvers during the 2018 Bahrain International Airshow at the Sakhir Airbase on Nov. 14 2018.

US approves $1.4B in military sales to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain: What to know

An estimated $1 billion in foreign military sales will go to Saudi Arabia, and $445 million will go to Bahrain.

Latest News

Trump says US will sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia, first Arab country to acquire jets

This photograph shows a pilot disembarking a Belgium's newly purchased Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jet for the first time, after arriving at the Florennes military airbase, southern Belgium on October 13, 2025. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP) (Photo by JOHN THYS/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey grounds all C-130 military aircraft after Georgia crash kills 20

Wreckage is seen at the crash site of the Turkish C-130 military cargo plane in the Sighnaghi area at the Georgia-Azerbaijan border on November 12, 2025. A Turkish military cargo plane carrying 20 passengers and crew crashed in Georgia on its way home from Azerbaijan, the defence ministry said Tuesday. (Photo by Giorgi ARJEVANIDZE / AFP) (Photo by GIORGI ARJEVANIDZE/AFP via Getty Images)

Recovery underway after Turkey military plane crash kills 20 near Azerbaijan border

A Royal Jordanian Air Force C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft — the model involved in Tuesday's crash — is pictured at King Abdullah II airbase in Zarqa on July 30, 2025.

Analysis

Turkey boosts R&D spending to $20B amid push for defense self-sufficiency

Visitors stand looking at the Bayraktar Kizilelma UCAV at the International Defence and Aerospace exhibition in Istanbul on Oct. 22, 2024.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Ukraine drone

UK launches probe into British colleges accused of helping Iran develop drones

British leader Rishi Sunak confirmed the inquiry into UK universities' cooperation with Iran in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Israel drone

Arab states make up 24% of Israel’s 2022 arms exports including drones

Out of the record-high $12.5 billion in Israeli defense exports in 2022, almost $3 billion were export deals with Arab countries.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi watches combat drones alongside high-ranking officials and commanders during a military parade marking the country's annual army day in Tehran on April 18, 2023. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

UK MPs alarmed by report on British colleges helping Iran develop drones

British lawmakers demand that the government provide answers about whether international sanctions were breached.

The Canadian Military in an armoured personel carrier drive away from a house that is flooding after dropping off people to sandbag because of high water levels on the Red River in Winnipeg, Manitoba 30 April. The water on the Red River continues to rise and over 20,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. AFP PHOTO/Carlo ALLEGRI (Photo credit should read CARLO ALLEGRI/AFP via Getty Images)

Canada’s arms exports boom to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Qatar

Some 92% of Saudi Arabia's purchases were armored combat vehicles with most of the shipments coming from a $15 billion contract reached in 2014 but only approved for export by Canada’s current government.

Photo of Fattah hypersonic missile as it was unveiled on Iran's Press TV on June 6, 2023

Iran unveils first hypersonic missile 'Fattah,' says no system can intercept it

Boastfully adding to its already massive stockpile of long-range projectiles, Tehran appeared headed for a fresh collision course with Israel and its Western adversaries, which remain unnerved by Iran's missile program.

Israeli military vehicles patrol the border with Lebanon near the Israeli Kibbutz of Shtula, July 3, 2022.

Israel, Hezbollah rattle swords, with military drills near border

The military drills of Hezbollah and of the Israel Defense Forces — only a few days apart — reflect growing tensions on Israel’s northern border.

CENTCOM Chief Michael Kurilla meets with IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Tel Aviv, May 30 2023 Credit: IDF spokesperson office.

CENTCOM commander visits Israel, observes multifront war exercise

Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla is on a wider tour of the Middle East as the Pentagon aims to build regional military capabilities to better deter attacks by Iran and its proxies.

H225M helicopter

UAE axes $879m military helicopter deal with Airbus

Muammar Abdulla Abushehab, defense and security industry affairs sector chief for the UAE’s Tawazun Council, stressed that the decision was not a political one.

United Arab Emirates

A Turkish Bayraktar TB2 combat drone is on view during a presentation at the Lithuanian Air Force Base in Siauliai, Lithuania, on July 6, 2022. -

Turkey inks $321 million deal with Romania for Bayraktar military drones

Ukraine has had considerable success using the drone against Russia since Moscow's invasion last year.

Saudi fighter jets are displayed during Saudi Arabias first World Defense Show, north of the capital Riyadh, on March 6, 2022. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia rises to world's 5th largest military spender: SIPRI

The kingdom has risen from eighth to fifth place since 2021, surpassing the United Kingdom, Germany and France.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi watches combat drones alongside high-ranking officials and commanders during a military parade marking the country's annual army day in Tehran on April 18, 2023.

Iran flaunts military hardware on Army Day as it threatens Israel

At a moment of escalating war of words, Iran's president said Israel will face destruction should it strike his country, which the Jewish state has long considered as an existential threat.

The US Central Command Commander General Michael Kurilla speaks at the 18th IISS Manama Dialogue in Bahrain's capital on November 19, 2022. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Breaking | Last Updated: April 12, 2023, 10:12 pm

CENTCOM eyeing artificial intelligence to counter Iran’s drones, says Kurilla

The top commander of US forces in the Middle East expressed concerns over China's inroads the region and told Al-Monitor he wants to turn up the heat at the next Red Sands exercise in Saudi Arabia to simulate more complex drone attacks.

Washington Connection