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NATO’s supreme commander of transformation said the West’s greatest vulnerability may not be a shortage of weapons, but the time it takes to build them — and the speed at which adversaries are learning to fight. The warning comes as Canada and other allies face pressure to accelerate defense procurement and bolster deterrence posture.

Speaking to CBC Politics, the commander — whose title is Supreme Allied Commander Transformation — did not specify exact production timelines or dollar figures, but emphasized that manufacturing speed, rather than raw stockpiles, is the critical constraint. He pointed to the pace of learning by adversaries on the battlefield as a compounding factor.

The remarks align with broader concerns raised by Canada’s outgoing ambassador to Russia, who has returned with advice for crafting a response to Moscow’s “cognitive warfare” campaign against the NATO alliance. The ambassador also argued that keeping sanctions on oil and gas can frustrate Vladimir Putin’s struggle to finance his war machine.

Neither source provided specific quantities, dollar amounts, or dates for weapons production or procurement programs. The transformation commander’s statement did not reference any particular system or contract.

For Canada, the warning underscores a recurring theme in defense policy debates: the gap between announced procurement plans and the delivery of equipment to the Canadian Armed Forces. The government has committed to major purchases, including fighter jets and surface combatants, but timelines for these programs have stretched over years.

The commander’s comments come as NATO allies continue to assess lessons from the war in Ukraine, where industrial output and battlefield adaptation have proven decisive. The alliance has repeatedly called on members to increase defense spending and replenish stocks drawn down by support to Kyiv.

“The West’s greatest vulnerability may not be a shortage of weapons, but the time it takes to build them,” the commander said, according to CBC.

No further details on specific programs or policy changes were provided in the sources. The outgoing ambassador’s advice on sanctions and cognitive warfare was reported separately, without additional figures.

Sources: CBC Politics · CBC Politics

PARIS — China built more than twice the naval tonnage of the United States in the 2024-25 period, according to the World Defense Shipbuilding report published by Euronaval ahead of the 2026 edition of the naval defense show.

The combined tonnage of combat ships built by China in the two years through December 2025 amounted to 636,208 tons, compared to 270,509 tons for the United States, according to data compiled by Flottes de Combat and French maritime industry association Gican.

China accounted for more than a third of the global naval tonnage constructed in 2024-25, based on the Euronaval report. Global naval construction overall reached 1.47 million tons of combat vessels in 2024-25, up from 959,671 tons in the prior two years. The value of global naval construction amounted to $123.9 billion, climbing from $81.8 billion in 2022-23.

The value of Chinese combat-vessel construction was $43.5 billion in the latest two-year period, compared with $26.8 billion for the U.S., the report said.

China reversed roles from 2022-2023, when production of the country’s naval yards amounted to 202,520 tons, compared with 245,703 tons for the U.S., according to the previous edition of the shipbuilding report published in 2024.

The U.S. fleet of combat vessels of more than 200 tons amounted to 3.11 million tons as of Jan. 1, 2026, compared to 1.44 million tons for China’s fleet, the report showed. That compares with 3.22 million tons for the U.S. and 1.3 million tons for China two years earlier.

Russia was in third place in terms of naval construction in 2024-25, with 149,056 tons built, followed by India with 76,430 tons and Italy with 53,700 tons. Turkey, France, Japan, South Korea and Romania rounded out the top 10 of naval builders.

“We are seeing a fairly substantial expansion of naval forces, and consequently of shipbuilding,” said Philippe Missoffe, the general director of Gican, in a press briefing on Tuesday. “We’re seeing an increase in power capabilities, particularly nuclear-powered attack submarines for example.”

U.S. lawmakers and congressional researchers have warned that China’s greater shipbuilding capacity, combined with delays and bottlenecks in U.S. naval shipbuilding, could hurt America’s ability to keep up with Beijing’s expanding fleet.

The four-day Euronaval show, the world’s biggest maritime-defense exhibition, is set to kick off in Paris on Nov. 3. The number of exhibitors will be more than 40% higher than in 2024, according to the organizers.

Sources: Defense News · Navy Times

A U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 31 (VX-31) has been photographed carrying both the AIM-174B and AIM-260 air-to-air missiles on the same aircraft for the first known time. The aircraft was spotted during a flight over Ridgecrest, California, on October 14 by aviation photographer @photosxlyss2, who shared the images with The War Zone.

The Super Hornet also carried an IRST21 infrared search-and-track pod on its centerline station during the flight.

The AIM-174B, based on the SM-6 missile family, provides the Navy with an extended-range air-to-air weapon. Its size and reach make it particularly relevant to engagements against high-value airborne assets, including aerial refueling tankers and airborne early warning and control aircraft, according to The War Zone. The missile’s range is classified but should be far in excess of that of the AIM-120D AMRAAM, probably in the hundreds of miles.

The AIM-174B has appeared in several major exercises, including RIMPAC 2024 and Northern Edge 2025. Following developmental trials at RIMPAC, the weapon entered Live Fire Test and Evaluation in 2025. Some examples of the missile have since reached forward-deployed Navy squadrons in Japan.

The AIM-260 is being developed to provide a next-generation beyond-visual-range air-to-air capability, intended to address increasingly sophisticated aerial threats and improve upon the capabilities of the AIM-120 AMRAAM family. Its precise specifications remain classified, but it is designed to deliver significantly greater range than the AIM-120 while maintaining a broadly similar form factor, according to The War Zone. The missile is intended for both external carriage and internal carriage aboard aircraft such as the F-22 Raptor and F-35.

The AIM-260 is being developed to counter the growing long-range air-to-air threat posed by China’s PL-15 and other advanced missiles. Although no official range figures have been disclosed, previous reporting has indicated a target range of at least 120 miles, with the potential to reach considerably farther.

It was another F/A-18F from VX-31 on which the AIM-260 was first publicly seen when departing Eglin Air Force Base in Florida in May of this year. The same type of weapon has since also appeared on a Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F.

It is unclear when the first operational AIM-260s may begin entering the U.S. inventory, according to The War Zone.

Sources: DVIDS News · DVIDS News

Four Canadian Armed Forces soldiers were killed and 39 others were injured when a fast-moving grass fire swept through a training area at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, Alta., on Saturday.

The fire broke out at about 4 p.m. during live-fire training exercises, according to Maj.-Gen. Wade Rutland, commander of the 1st Canadian Division. Soldiers were throwing hand grenades on a grenade range while others conducted a section attack nearby. Of the 39 injured soldiers taken to hospital, 19 were in critical condition as of Sunday afternoon.

The four soldiers killed have been identified as Sgt. Morgan Wong of Edmonton, Pte. Shaun Farrell of Prince Albert, Sask., Pte. Aidan Goulding of North Vancouver, and Pte. Hayden Lykkemark of Langley, B.C. Wong was with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment serving with the 3rd Battalion of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI); the other three were from 3 PPCLI.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday that 50 investigators are on the ground as the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, supported by the RCMP, leads a complete investigation. He called the incident “one of the worst tragedies for the Forces on Canadian soil in peacetime” and said Canadian flags would fly at half-mast at federal buildings across the country.

Rutland said heavy wind gusts spread the blaze by a kilometre in less than a minute, calling the conditions “uncommon, rapid, and I certainly hadn’t seen anything like it.” He said range control knew about the fire for several hours, but it was decided that training “could carry on for a certain amount of time,” and that conditions were within standard procedures with wind gusts below 50 km/h for most of the day. Environment and Climate Change Canada had issued a wind warning for large parts of Alberta, predicting gusts up to 90 km/h.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, Rutland said. He said there is no indication it involved oil and gas infrastructure. The Department of National Defence said there were no indications the incident was the result of terrorist activity. He expects a full investigation to take at least a month.

About 350 troops with 3 PPCLI were participating in the exercises at the base, located 200 km southeast of Edmonton. The affected unit was Charlie Company. The wounded are being cared for at four hospitals: the University of Alberta and Royal Alexandra in Edmonton, Foothills in Calgary, and the regional hospital in Red Deer.

In the House of Commons on Monday, Carney remembered each of the four soldiers, describing Goulding as someone who “met every hardship with a joke,” Farrell as a “generous and deeply loyal friend” and a grand master of chess, Wong as someone known for being there for those who needed him, and Lykkemark for his quick wit and dream of a career in law enforcement.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, whose riding includes Wainwright, urged Canadians to remember the wounded and their families as the news cycle moves on. “As the spotlight fades and the news moves on, there will be dark, cold emptiness that follows the loss of a loved one,” he said. NDP MP Gord Johns stressed the need to support survivors, saying “not all wounds are visible.”

Sources: CBC Politics · CBC Politics

Prime Minister Mark Carney departs for Turkey on Wednesday for a three-day visit, the first dedicated bilateral trip to the country by a Canadian prime minister, according to CBC News.

The trip includes meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara and business leaders in Istanbul. Carney is accompanied by Foreign Minister Anita Anand and Energy Minister Tim Hodgeson.

Canada and Turkey do about $4.3 billion in trade annually. Carney and Erdoğan formally announced the launch of free trade negotiations during the NATO summit in Ankara on July 7.

The visit follows a period of strained relations after Canada froze and then cancelled military export permits in 2021 over allegations that Ankara redirected Canadian-manufactured drone parts to Azerbaijani forces during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. That policy has since been eased.

Three issues are likely to dominate the agenda: negotiating a free trade agreement, expanding co-operation in energy and strategic industries, and developing a closer defence-industrial relationship.

On the energy side, Canada is pitching its Candu nuclear reactor technology. In June, Canadian and Turkish trade ministers explicitly identified potential co-operation involving Candu reactors. Federal officials said they were “not in a position to say anything about any specific outcomes at this point.”

On defence, Canada’s Secretary of State for Defence Procurement, Stephen Fuhr, visited Turkey in May 2026 and described the country as a trusted partner. In a recent interview with Defense News, Fuhr identified ammunition production, drones and counter-drone systems as key areas for potential co-operation. He suggested future collaboration could involve co-development programmes rather than off-the-shelf purchases, particularly in sectors where Canada seeks faster capability growth.

“Individually we’re just not big enough, but collectively we are,” Fuhr said.

The visit comes a month after Turkish authorities launched a nationwide crackdown on dissent and civil society, including the systematic dismantling of LGBTQ+ and HIV-advocacy organizations. Senior federal officials, speaking on background, said the trip reflects the prime minister’s foreign policy approach.

“Canada is meeting this moment with values based realism. We are pursuing an approach that is both principled and pragmatic,” one official said at a technical briefing.

Officials said Canada continues to apply its export-control framework, reviewing each potential export on a case-by-case basis for risks of contributing to violations of international humanitarian law or unauthorized transfers.

Sources: CBC Politics

Canada’s top military commander has committed to publicly releasing findings from the investigation into the Oct. 17 fire at CFB Wainwright in Alberta that killed four soldiers and injured 39 others, including 19 critically.

Gen. Jennie Carignan, chief of the defence staff, said Monday that the military will hold a board of inquiry (BOI), a technical investigation, and a civilian coroner’s investigation by Alberta. She was speaking on CBC’s Power & Politics in her first interview since the fire swept through a training area at the base.

“I want to make sure that we also make the findings public once the board of inquiry is completed,” Carignan said. She said she was drafting the terms of reference for the BOI but could not say when it will convene.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said 50 investigators are on the ground as the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, with support from the RCMP, leads a “complete investigation.” The RCMP have also been asked to assist Alberta’s medical examiner.

The fire broke out at about 4 p.m. Saturday while soldiers were training. Maj.-Gen. Wade Rutland, commander of the 1st Canadian Division, said a fire broke out during a high-intensity combat training exercise using live munitions. Soldiers were throwing hand grenades on a grenade range and conducting a “section attack” involving 10 soldiers at a separate range.

Rutland said heavy wind gusts spread the blaze by a kilometre in less than a minute. He said conditions for most of the day were “within standard procedures to conduct training exercises” with wind gusts below 50 km/h. Environment and Climate Change Canada had issued a wind warning for large parts of Alberta predicting gusts up to 90 km/h.

The four soldiers killed were identified as: Sgt. Morgan Wong of Edmonton; Pte. Shaun Farrell of Prince Albert, Sask.; Pte. Aidan Goulding of North Vancouver; and Pte. Hayden Lykkemark of Langley, B.C. Wong was from the Loyal Edmonton Regiment serving with the 3rd Battalion of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI); the others were from the 3rd Battalion of PPCLI.

There were tributes in the House of Commons to soldiers from C Company, 3rd Battalion PPCLI who were using the Wainwright training range to prepare for deployment to Latvia. The military said the brush fire was already burning when a sudden change in the wind drove it toward roughly 84 troops who were practising hand grenade throwing and small group attacks at one portion of the exercise field. Carignan said it is normal to continue training with a brush fire nearby because it adds realism, but safety is paramount.

“The folks on the ground make a determination on how this could affect training, and mitigation measures are put in place,” she said. “To address this, we also have firefighting equipment or support on site to respond to potential fires.”

The military is under no obligation to release BOI findings. A board normally reports to the defence chief and minister. Retired colonel Rory Fowler, a former military lawyer, said BOIs are not designed to assign fault.

“BOIs are not supposed to investigate wrongdoing,” Fowler said. He noted the regulation was amended over 10 years ago to remove a directive that a BOI identify fault.

Rutland said he expects the full investigation to take at least a month. Carney said the military will receive “all the resources they need” and will get answers “as expeditiously and transparently as necessary.”

Sources: Canada DND Newsroom · CBC Politics

The U.S. Air Force plans to grow its fighter force to 1,509 combat-coded jets by 2035, making the F-35 its most numerous fighter and the new F-47 the replacement for the F-22, under a revised force structure plan the service sent to Congress on Oct. 16.

Lt. Gen. David Tabor, deputy chief of staff for plans and programs, laid out the numbers at a Pentagon roundtable on Oct. 20, describing a fleet in which F-35s make up about 40 percent of the force, F-22s and F-47s about 20 percent, and F-15s and F-16s share the remaining 40 percent roughly evenly.

That mix would reshape a fleet that today, not counting the A-10 attack jet, is about 45 percent F-16s, 30 percent F-35s, 15 percent F-15s, and 10 percent F-22s. The F-16, which has dominated Air Force flight lines for four decades, would give up its top spot to the F-35 within nine years.

Hitting 1,509 jets means adding well over 200 fighters to the roughly 1,271 combat-coded aircraft projected for 2026, and it goes 140 jets beyond the 1,369 the service had set as its 2030 goal in last year’s report. The new target is slightly below the 1,558 crewed fighters by 2035 called for in the previous long-term fighter plan. Because it counts all combat-coded aircraft, including backup and attrition reserve jets, it is a broader measure than the 1,145 primary mission aircraft that federal law sets as the Air Force’s minimum—a floor the service told Congress in May it had slipped below with 1,098 jets.

Tabor said the growth would come from a combination of F-35A, F-15EX, and F-47 purchases, and that the service redid its analysis because the data behind the previous force structure report was “pretty old.” He made clear that reaching the 2035 target depends on industry delivering the jets on schedule.

The F-15EX is the fastest way to add new airframes. The Air Force ordered 22 more of the jets for $2.38 billion on Sept. 30, and Boeing is already building them in numbers. The service has said it could buy up to 104 of the fighters to replace its aging F-15C/D fleet. The F-35A remains the backbone of the plan, with the Air Force previously saying it could buy about 100 a year by 2030 if funding and production capacity allow.

The F-47, the sixth-generation fighter Boeing is developing under the Next Generation Air Dominance program, is due to make its first flight in 2028 and is meant to replace the F-22 roughly one for one. The Air Force built 186 operational F-22s, and Tabor said the service still expects to field about the same number of F-47s as the Raptor fleet it will succeed.

Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the uncrewed jets designed to fly alongside crewed fighters, sit outside the 1,509 count, even though the Air Force is aiming to field 500 of them by 2032. Tabor said the drones are not yet changing how many crewed fighters the service needs but could reduce that number in the future.

Sources: USNI News · USNI News

The U.S. Navy has conducted a first documented dual-loadout of its two newest air-to-air missiles on a Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, according to a photograph published Oct. 21, 2026, by Shephard Media.

Details of the Loadout

Context

The test comes as the Navy continues to integrate new weapons on its carrier-based fighters. In related news, Boeing has outlined upcoming precision-landing and carrier-airspace trials for the MQ-25A Stingray, with initial Lot 1 deliveries expected in 2029.

Sources: Air & Space Forces Magazine · Naval News

L3Harris Technologies opened a new solid rocket motor plant in Camden, Arkansas, on Oct. 20, a facility built to double its production of motors for the U.S. Army’s Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), the company said in a statement. GMLRS is the precision rocket fired from HIMARS and M270 launchers.

The new site, which L3Harris calls an “Arsenal of Freedom” facility, brings motor production for the weapon under one roof with room to expand further. The company told Defense Daily the plant can produce one rocket motor every nine minutes and will cut manufacturing lead time in half. L3Harris says it has already more than doubled GMLRS motor output in recent years, driven by demand since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and by a growing list of HIMARS buyers.

The plant is the latest piece of a $216 million Defense Production Act Title III cooperative agreement that L3Harris signed with the Department of War in 2023 to raise output of tactical missile motors for Javelin, Stinger and GMLRS. The agreement also funds new buildings at the company’s Orange County, Virginia, site and equipment and digital upgrades in Huntsville, Alabama.

Work for the Camden line is already lined up. On Oct. 12, L3Harris won a $250 million follow-on contract from Lockheed Martin for standard-range GMLRS motors, which the company called the largest quantity ordered in the program’s history. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor and assembles the rockets in Camden, while L3Harris supplies the motor, the electronic safe-and-arm device and the proximity sensor.

“Rocket propulsion is a vital national security capability. This state-of-the-art facility enhances L3Harris’ capabilities and represents a critical leap forward in solid rocket motor production capacity, ensuring the joint forces and our allies maintain a resilient, responsive, and secure supply chain for precision munitions to support our warfighters,” said Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael P. Duffey.

“The opening of this state-of-the-art facility marks a major step forward in strengthening the solid rocket motor industrial base our nation and its allies urgently need,” said Ken Bedingfield, president of L3Harris Missile Solutions.

L3Harris became one of the main U.S. solid rocket motor suppliers when it bought Aerojet Rocketdyne in 2023, and Camden is now its largest construction site. Besides the GMLRS plant, the company is building the Arkansas Advanced Propulsion Facilities campus and two new facilities for PAC-3 interceptor propulsion there. Across Arkansas, California, Virginia and Alabama, L3Harris says it is investing billions to build about 60 new facilities, with the aim of doubling, tripling and in some programs quadrupling propulsion output.

Demand for the rocket keeps climbing: in August, the U.S. Army issued a Sources Sought notice for 133,014 GMLRS rockets by 2034, or about 19,000 a year from 2028, Defense News reported, while Lockheed Martin is ramping up toward 14,000 rockets a year. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who attended the ribbon-cutting, said L3Harris will soon begin producing motors at the new facility.

Sources: Defence Blog · The Aviationist

The U.S. Navy has selected Radiant to install its 1-megawatt Kaleidos nuclear microreactor at Naval Weapons Station Crane in Indiana, a commercial deployment intended to keep the base running independently of the regional power grid, with the Department of War aiming for operations by September 2028.

Radiant announced the selection on Oct. 20, about six weeks after the Department of War named Crane as the site for the Navy’s first shore-based microreactor without identifying a vendor. The reactor will be installed under the U.S. Army’s Janus Program, the Pentagon effort to place commercially owned and operated microreactors on military installations to sustain critical facilities during grid outages.

Kaleidos is a factory-built reactor producing 1 megawatt of electricity, designed to be transported by truck, ship or aircraft and set up without cooling water, major excavation, or extensive construction, according to Radiant. Each unit can run up to five years before refueling, with a planned service life of 20 years. At Crane, the reactor is meant to supply power independent of the regional grid for an installation where the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, works on microelectronics, high-voltage systems and weapons.

Crane is the second military base Radiant has lined up under Janus this year. In August, the U.S. Army awarded contracts worth up to $2.2 billion to five reactor makers, with Radiant receiving the largest share, up to $750 million to deploy 15 Kaleidos units by 2030, starting with three reactors at Fort Benning, Georgia, that will back up Lawson Army Airfield and other critical facilities.

Before the Crane reactor can be deployed, the project must go through design refinement, prototype testing, environmental review, site preparation and coordination with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, with technical support from the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. Radiant has not yet proven the design at full scale; the reactor is undergoing a year-long test campaign at the Idaho National Laboratory’s DOME facility, where the Department of Energy granted the company exclusive access after a competitive selection.

“The Janus Program was built from day one to deliver real, reliable hardware and systems to solve energy resilience challenges across all of the Services,” said Dr. Jeff Waksman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment. “We are excited to partner with the Navy to place a Janus reactor at NWS Crane, and by doing so to deliver the state of Indiana its first advanced microreactor.”

“Our installations are foundational warfighting platforms and ensuring their resilience is essential to supporting the Fleet,” said Vice Adm. Brad Collins, Commander, Navy Installations Command. “By investing in advanced capabilities like this microreactor at Crane, we are providing our Shore infrastructure with the resources needed to sustain the mission and empower our warfighters.”

The Navy’s nuclear experience spans more than 7,500 reactor-years of operation and over 171 million miles under nuclear power without a reactor accident, according to the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, founded in 1948.

Sources: DVIDS News · DVIDS News