United States

US defence policy, procurement and military posture at home and abroad.

How US Missile Deployments Near Taiwan Are Becoming a Fixture in the Philippines

How US Missile Deployments Near Taiwan Are Becoming a Fixture in the Philippines

A chain of Philippine islands stretching south from Taiwan is becoming a recurring operating ground for American and allied missile forces, as temporary exercises evolve into longer rotations designed to defend strategic waters from China. The Hawaii-based 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment spent roughly three months in the Philippines this year, moving anti-ship launchers and air-defence systems through the country during the Balikatan and KAMANDAG exercises. In the northernmost Batanes and Babuyan
Analysis United States
MGG Geopolitics

MGG Geopolitics
US Deepens Guam Submarine Support Amid China Missile Threat

US Deepens Guam Submarine Support Amid China Missile Threat

The US Navy is building Guam into a more capable submarine hub, able to keep its boats ready closer to potential flashpoints in Asia. The arrival of USS Tucson this month—an outwardly routine exchange of one vessel for another—highlights the supporting network behind that effort. USS Tucson, a Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine commissioned in 1995, reached its new home port at Naval Base Guam in July. Navy photographs and captions show the boat arriving on 10 July, although the
Analysis Naval
MGG Geopolitics

MGG Geopolitics
Lockheed Tests Guam Missile-Defence Battle Manager at Valiant Shield

Lockheed Tests Guam Missile-Defence Battle Manager at Valiant Shield

Lockheed Martin tested a new command-and-control system for Guam’s missile defence during Valiant Shield 2026, demonstrating software designed to link sensors, interceptors and battle-management systems across one of the most important US military hubs in the Western Pacific. The company said the demonstration connected live and simulated data from several air and missile-defence systems taking part in the exercise, including Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications, known as C2BM
News Technology
MGG Geopolitics

MGG Geopolitics
US Navy Tests UUVs and Harpoon Missile Strikes at RIMPAC 2026

US Navy Tests UUVs and Harpoon Missile Strikes at RIMPAC 2026

The US Navy is using RIMPAC 2026 to test how unmanned underwater drones can support submarine targeting and long-range anti-ship fires, a pairing it says is central to holding its edge under the Pacific as China’s own submarine fleet keeps growing. Commander, Submarine Force, US Pacific Fleet, known as COMSUBPAC, said this year’s exercise highlights two capabilities: unmanned undersea vehicles that simulate autonomous operations in contested waters and provide targeting data, and submarines sch
News United States
MGG Geopolitics

MGG Geopolitics
What CARAT Thailand Reveals About Indo-Pacific Alliances: A Web of Diverging Interests

What CARAT Thailand Reveals About Indo-Pacific Alliances: A Web of Diverging Interests

Thai and American forces opened the 32nd iteration of Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training, known as CARAT, at Sattahip on 6 July. This year's version included two firsts: the debut of US Coast Guard fast response cutters in the exercise, and the integration of a Royal Canadian Navy boarding team alongside American and Thai sailors. The opening ceremony produced the expected images of allied unity, with a Thai admiral and an American admiral shaking hands at Laem Tian Pier. Look past the h
Analysis United States
MGG Geopolitics

MGG Geopolitics
Why the US Marines Are Betting on Israel's Iron Dome to Survive a Pacific War

Why the US Marines Are Betting on Israel's Iron Dome to Survive a Pacific War

The US Marine Corps has moved an Iron Dome-derived air-defence system into the Western Pacific, closing a gap in its own Pacific war plan that had left forward Marines without medium-range protection for the first time in a generation. The service announced late last month that III Marine Expeditionary Force, its only permanently forward-deployed MEF, had integrated the Medium-Range Intercept Capability, known as MRIC. Marines exercised the system on Guam during Valiant Shield 2026, the multina
Analysis Indo-Pacific
MGG Geopolitics

MGG Geopolitics
US Builds Up Australia as Forward Base to Counter China

US Builds Up Australia as Forward Base to Counter China

The US military is expanding its footprint across Australia at a pace not seen in decades, building the country into a forward base for a possible conflict with China. US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth set out the scope at annual AUSMIN talks with Australian ministers in Washington in December. He pointed to upgraded airbases in Queensland and the Northern Territory for more American bomber rotations, and to expanded logistics in Darwin so more Marines could rotate through and keep their MV-22 O
Analysis Indo-Pacific
MGG Geopolitics

MGG Geopolitics
US Weapons Take More Than 12 Years to Field Despite Pentagon Speed Push

US Weapons Take More Than 12 Years to Field Despite Pentagon Speed Push

The Pentagon is taking longer than ever to put its most expensive weapons into service, with the average time to field a new capability now exceeding 12 years, according to a congressional watchdog report that casts doubt on repeated pledges to speed up delivery. The US Government Accountability Office, in its 24th annual assessment of major weapons programmes published on 2 July, examined 104 of the Department of War's costliest efforts, a portfolio the department plans to spend more than $2.4
News United States
MGG Geopolitics

MGG Geopolitics