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
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. Turkey
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. United States
Trump says US will sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia, first Arab country to acquire jets The deal could rattle Washington's ties with Israel and is not likely to be approved by Congress unless conditioned on Saudi normalization of ties with Israel. Saudi Arabia
Analysis Turkey boosts R&D spending to $20B amid push for defense self-sufficiency By Barin Kayaoglu In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security
Drone sale to Ethiopia could jeopardize Turkey-Egypt dialogue Turkey risks derailing normalization talks with Egypt by selling armed drones to Ethiopia, in addition to coming under international fire should Ethiopia use the drones in the conflict in Tigray. Turkey
Iraq seeks to attach strings to arms purchases from Turkey Talks on the sale of Turkish armed drones and combat helicopters to Iraq have hit snags amid Iraqi efforts to extract concessions on contentious issues in bilateral ties. Turkey
Biden move on Egypt aid slammed by human rights groups The Biden administration is reportedly releasing some of the military aid that Congress had conditioned on Egypt making human rights improvements. Egypt
Why Serbia wants to buy SPIKE missiles from Israel While prospects for actual conflict use are slim, Belgrade hopes that by buying Israeli weapons it can alleviate some of the pressure it may face from Washington over Kosovo and ties with Russia and China. Israel
Erdogan heralds massive military complex to coordinate military, security agencies A planned joint complex to house Turkey’s top military bodies is touted as a move to enhance the army’s coordination and interoperability, but political and economic motivations also lurk behind the project. Turkey
Iran tests defensive missile system The military exercise was the first since President Ebrahim Raisi took office. News Brief
Turkey to host international defense fair Some of the companies that will present weapons at the fair are from countries Turkey has difficult relations with. Turkey
Egypt, Algeria find common ground on Libyan crisis Egypt and Algeria have been at odds over how to deal with the situation in Libya, but that may be changing. Egypt
Russia tries to compete with US in Mideast weapons market Russia's prospects in the Middle East arms market will depend on its ability to master fast production of the latest models of military equipment. Russia
Erdogan tells Biden Turkey won't change position on S-400s Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly told his US counterpart that Ankara won't soften its stance on the Russian S-400 missile systems despite sanctions imposed by Washington over the purchase. Turkey
US, Turkey still far off on deal over Russian S-400 missiles Is any feasible deal on the S-400 deployment in Turkey in the works? Turkey
Turkish drone sets off international buzz over 'killer robots' The appearance of Turkish artificial intelligence-controlled drones in Libyan skies has rekindled questions on how lethal autonomous weapons will affect regional geopolitics and whether they should be banned. Turkey
