Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur confirmed last week that an agreement had been reached with an unnamed manufacturer to construct a large-caliber ammunition plant at the Põhja-Kiviõli defense industry park, with the investor committing at least €300 million ($346 million) to the project. The plant will produce short-, medium- and long-range munitions.

According to Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR, the company is Swedish. That narrows the field significantly: The main company in question would likely be BAE Systems’ subfirm Bofors, a storied Swedish artillery and ammunition producer. Bofors was split around the turn of the century between its artillery branch, which ultimately went to BAE, and the missile section, which went to Saab.

When contacted by ERR, BAE Systems spokesperson Matthew Knowles declined to confirm or deny the company’s involvement, saying only that Estonia is an important partner to the company and directing questions to the government.

Pevkur said the company had been promised confidentiality until contracts are formally signed, which is expected to happen in mid-April. He confirmed the firm is neither South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace nor the U.S. giant Lockheed Martin.

The planned factory at Põhja-Kiviõli is one piece of a broader and rapidly expanding Estonian defense industry effort. The Ermistu defense industry park in Pärnumaa is already set to host four companies − including U.K.-linked Odin Defence and Estonian explosives maker Nitrotol − with production expected to begin as early as 2027. Separately, Tallinn has set up a state-owned company, Hexest AS, to produce RDX explosives, a key component in 155mm shell filling, with that facility expected to be in action by 2028.

The push is a consequence of both Russia’s war in Ukraine and the persistent ammunition shortages that have exposed the risks of over-reliance on a handful of producers. Estonia, which borders Russia and has among the highest defense spending as a share of GDP in NATO, is betting that sovereign production capacity is worth the price tag.

Citing multiple U.S. officials, the Post report suggested ground operations could involve both conventional infantry and special operations elements, but would not yet rise to the level of a full-scale invasion.

Decisions on whether or not to green light operations, which would put U.S. troops at substantially more risk to Iranian threats, now rest with President Donald Trump.

“It’s the job of the Pentagon to make preparations in order to give the commander in chief maximum optionality,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement provided to Military Times. “It does not mean the president has made a decision.”

The Post’s report comes as U.S. military assets continue to flood the region. On Friday, U.S. Marines and sailors assigned to the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group arrived in U.S. Central Command waters.

The group, which is led by the America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli and includes the embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, departed earlier this month from its homeport of Sasebo, Japan.

The Pentagon has also confirmed elements from the 82nd Airborne Division headquarters and a brigade combat team are slated to deploy to the Middle East. Based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the 82nd acts as the Army’s rapid-response force and is often among the first units sent to respond to emerging crises.

The report also comes on the heels of an Iranian missile and drone attack on Friday that injured a dozen U.S. service members at Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia. Two of the 12 injuries are considered to be serious.

The strike also reportedly damaged multiple U.S. aircraft, including an E-3 Sentry AWACS and multiple KC-135 tankers.

Thirteen service members have been killed in action and nearly 300 wounded during Operation Epic Fury, a joint undertaking by U.S. and Israeli militaries against the Islamic Republic that began on Feb. 28.

The majority of the wounded have since returned to duty, according to U.S. Central Command.

Prior to Friday’s attack, 10 U.S. troops remained in serious condition.

The Ministry of Defense had begun transporting upgraded versions of the Type 12 anti-ship guided missiles to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces’ Kengun Camp in central Kyushu Island as early as March 9, with troop deployment set for March 31.

The Type 12 surface-to-ship missiles are an upgraded variant of a shorter-range Type 12, which has been deployed since 2019. The new Type 12 SSMs can reach approximately 1,000 kilometers and have enhanced stealth capabilities.

The missiles form the core of Japan’s air and missile defense strategy. Japan’s standoff capability buildup includes deploying homegrown missiles and acquiring Tomahawk cruise missiles to be launched from modified Aegis destroyers.

Japan’s new ‘ugly duckling’ electronic-warfare aircraft takes to the sky

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the missiles were intended to thwart “and eliminate invading enemy ships and landing forces at an early and far distance.”

Aside from the Type 12s, the ministry has scheduled the deployment of another indigenous missile system on March 31. The defense ministry will begin fielding the new hyper velocity gliding projectile (HVGP) in Camp Fuji, a training facility shared between the Ground Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Marine Corps, some 100 kilometers west of Tokyo.

The HVGP is a mobile, ground-launched supersonic weapon that flies in irregular trajectories, making it difficult to intercept. The defense ministry said the system will be stationed in the camp but will be deployed to different areas for various missions in the future, including deployment to remote islands to counter invading threats.

Koizumi said earlier this week that the live-fire exercises and the troop training at the Higashi Fuji Training Ground, the GSDF’s main training area, “are of great significance for improving the deterrence and resilience of the Japan-U.S. alliance.”

Apart from sending a unit to Camp Fuji, Japan also intends to deploy the HVGPs to Camp Kamifurano in Hokkaido in the country’s north, and Camp Ebino on the southeastern Kyushu Island.

The JGSDF is also deploying ground-to-ship missiles to Minamitorishima Island, an isolated coral atoll in the northwestern Pacific, for live-fire drills and electronic warfare training as early as June. Officials said the island is being prepared ahead of planned exercises this year.

Japan plans to develop a hypersonic version of the HVGP with U.S. support. The U.S. State Department approved the foreign military sale of equipment and services worth $340 million for the HVGP program on March 25, a week after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met with President Donald Trump in Washington.

So, the service is looking for sled- or pallet-mounted weapons that can be hauled by light manned and unmanned vehicles during joint forced entry, or JFE, operations such as airborne assaults, according to an Army Request for Information.

The goal is to provide “air defense capability to support dismounted maneuver, JFE (C-130 transportable, air droppable, and sling load capable) and light mounted maneuver operations that are C-130 transportable and more robust than JFE solutions,” according to the RFI, which has a deadline of April 6.

The RFI for the project, called Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense Increment 4, is broadly similar to one published in 2024. However, the earlier RFI only asked for some kind of system that could be mounted on platforms such as the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.

The 2026 RFI specifies the solution the Army has settled on: a Self-Loading Equipment Dock or pallet fitted with multiple kinetic and nonkinetic defenses. The SLED or pallet will be mounted on a variety of vehicles, including the Infantry Squad Vehicle and the unmanned Robotic Combat Vehicle.

M-SHORAD Increment 4 is the lightweight part of a multitrack Army effort to develop short-range air defense systems mobile enough to accompany maneuver forces, and protect them against drones and aircraft. Increment 1 mounts missiles and a cannon on a Stryker armored vehicle, the now-canceled Increment 2 featured a laser-armed Stryker and Increment 3 will upgrade Increment 1 to include the Next Generation Short Range Interceptor missile and the XM1223 30mm cannon.

Increment 4 will target Groups 1 to 3 drones (small to medium UAVs), as well as fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters providing close air support to enemy troops. Potential kinetic weapons include the Stinger/Next Generation Short Range Interceptor; Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System; XM914 30mm cannon; and .50-caliber and 7.62mm machine guns. These will be joined by electronic warfare gear and active and passive sensors.

The Army envisions an air defense system that can either be operated while mounted on a vehicle, or dismounted. However, the system shouldn’t require full integration into the transport vehicle.

“The SLED may be carried by the vehicle, but it must maintain independent functionality,” the RFI noted. “Vehicles must be returned to complete functionality after removal of the SLED.”

The service acknowledges that this is a lot of payload to mount on a small, light platform. The Army “understands the constrained Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) on these vehicles and intends to explore systems with this RFI which are compatible with multiple/various vehicles,” the RFI said. “Solutions should incorporate modular design for subsystems and leverage Modular Open System Approach (MOSA) in hardware and software to maximize use of highly constrained SWaP resources.”

The Army is aiming for a system that can fielded in the 2027 to 2029 timeframe. To hasten development, the Army will “leverage existing programs of record and other high-TRL [Technology Readiness Level] components for the initial capability with intent to compete future capabilities in this reconfigurable system,” the RFI said.

The reported talks are one of the most dramatic signs yet of a structural shift underway in Germany’s automotive sector, which has struggled to stay competitive in the car industry and has increasingly reoriented itself toward manufacturing military gear.

The Federal Association of the German Security and Defence Industry last year proposed repurposing idle auto capacity for defense output, as Berlin began unlocking hundreds of billions of euros in new military spending under the country’s ambitious rearmament plans and the EU’s ReArm Europe framework.

French carmaker Renault to produce long-range drones for French forces

Several automotive manufacturers have begun to retool factories and retrain workers. Among them, Rheinmetall has already moved to convert two of its own automotive plants in Berlin and Neuss. VW’s reported discussions with Rafael would extend that logic to the civilian carmaker.

The Osnabrück plant employs around 2,300 workers and currently produces the T-Roc Cabriolet, a model being phased out by mid-2027. Oliver Blume, the company’s CEO, had announced a week earlier that VW would no longer produce any of its own cars at the Osnabrück plant starting next year.

Under a prospective deal, the facility would manufacture support components for the Iron Dome − heavy-duty transport trucks, launch units and power generators − rather than interceptor missiles, which Rafael plans to produce at a separate German facility. Regarding the jobs at the plant, an insider told the FT the goal was to “save everybody, maybe even to grow.”

The talks come as Volkswagen contends with its worst financial performance in nearly a decade. The group’s operating profit collapsed 53.5% in 2025 to €8.9 billion ($10.3 billion), and net profit fell 44% to €6.9 billion − the lowest since the “Dieselgate” scandal.

VW announced plans in March to cut 50,000 jobs in Germany by 2030, including at subsidiaries Audi and Porsche. Negotiations to sell the Osnabrück plant to Rheinmetall stalled, and the defense giant ultimately turned down the deal in mid-March.

No agreement about making Iron Dome components there has been finalized. The car maker said it is still examining options for the plant. The works council − which holds significant clout under German labor law − must approve any conversion, and its position is the pivotal variable. Production, if approved, could begin within 12 to 18 months.

The competition, which ran from March 15-19, is an international event designed to test combat readiness among elite, specialized snipers from across the joint force and partner nations.

“This competition represents the pinnacle of the sniper craft,” Army Col. Simon Powelson said in a release. “These competitors are not just here by chance; they are the product of intense and specialized training within their respective units.”

Participants included teams from the Army’s Green Berets and Rangers, Naval Special Warfare Command, Marine Forces Special Operations Command and Coast Guard units, as well as special operations forces from multiple allied nations.

At the end of the week, the Army Special Operations Command team took first place, followed by the Army’s 3rd Special Forces Group team.

Throughout the event, two-person sniper teams engaged targets at distances of up to 1,200 meters, using a variety of weapons, including sniper rifles, carbines and pistols.

Competitors completed both day and night operations, navigating challenging conditions. Rain, wind and cold plagued the event while adding realism to the exercises.

“The weather played a significant role,” Timothy Gozelski, sniper course instructor, mentioned in the release. “Being in sync with your teammate is equal in importance to communication. To be successful, the two have to talk and be on the same page in everything they do.”

Richard Cuza, another course instructor, added that communication in the harsh conditions was “beyond important; it’s crucial.”

The competition, now in its 17th year, was hosted by the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.

Special Forces sniper course instructors and leadership constructed the challenges and acted as scorekeepers.

The seeker deal aligns with a contract agreement in January between the Pentagon and Lockheed to quadruple the company’s annual production of THAAD interceptors from 96 to 400.

“This new multiyear agreement provides a long-term demand signal that gives us the confidence to further invest in expanding our capacity,” Tom Arseneault, president and CEO of BAE Systems, said in a release Wednesday. “We remain focused on rapidly delivering superior technology at scale to help our warfighters maintain a decisive advantage.”

BAE’s THAAD seeker uses advanced sensors to find and lock onto incoming threats, including ballistic missiles traveling up to 17,000 miles per hour, according to company specifications.

Once locked on, the THAAD interceptor can take out threats both inside and beyond the atmosphere using a non-explosive, hit-to-kill impact.

Like Lockheed’s deal, the contract for BAE’s infrared seekers is set for seven years. Lockheed also announced a separate seven-year deal in January to increase annual production of its PAC-3 interceptors from 600 to 2,000 across the next seven years.

The deals come as the U.S. military’s reliance on costly interceptors against cheap munitions, particularly those used by Iran during Operation Epic Fury, has come under increased scrutiny.

Iran has no shortage of unmanned Shahed drones — reportedly producing 10,000 per month, according to Reuters. Contrast the $35,000 average cost of an Iranian Shahed drone with an estimated $4 million price tag of a PAC-3, and the cost exchange is 114-1 in favor of Iran.

But with deals in place to quadruple THAAD production, it’s clear the Pentagon views the systems as vital pieces in the defense architecture.

“Securing our supply chain is just as critical as our partnership with the prime contractors,” Michael Duffey, under secretary of defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, said Wednesday. “This agreement with BAE Systems sends a clear, stable, long-term demand signal. We are providing the certainty our partners need to invest, expand and hire. This is how we place the industrial base on a wartime footing.”

BAE Systems’ work on the THAAD seeker will be completed at the company’s facilities in Nashua, New Hampshire, and Endicott, New York.

Lt. Gen. Christian Freuding, who became army chief last October after years of overseeing Germany’s arms supplies to Kyiv, shared his insights from visits to Ukrainian command posts where drones and modern sensors have drastically increased the volume of battlefield data.

“The Ukrainians exploit data which they have collected over four years of war. Based on this data, the AI can deduce how the enemy has acted in similar situations in the past - and recommend countermeasures,” he said.

He noted that tasks now requiring hundreds of personnel and days to complete could be sped up significantly through AI, adding that conventional methods alone would never be enough to “break the adversary’s decision-making cycle.”

Freuding suggested utilizing data from Ukraine and from German military exercises when training analytical tools, ensuring alignment with Germany’s operational principles.

Addressing ethical concerns, he emphasized that AI would serve only as an advisory tool to facilitate human decision-making.

“The task of taking analytical and balanced decisions will always remain with the human, with the soldier,” he said, adding that while a specific AI product is yet to be selected, the technology’s deployment is a priority.

Freuding underscored the importance of aligning Germany’s AI systems with NATO’s evolving standards. He did not rule out a European-developed system, but said American solutions might offer practical advantages due to their advanced deployment.

“Personally, I think it’s important that we get something up and running quickly. Of course, issues like data sovereignty and security need to be taken into account,” he added.

The U.S. Army is fielding the AI tool Maven, made by the Silicon Valley company Palantir, to process battlefield data, including imagery and video, to improve situational awareness and speed up decision-making.

The 18-ton vehicle, dubbed the MK1, was developed in less than a year and is envisioned as a multi-role platform incorporating lessons the companies have drawn from the war in Ukraine.

Company officials told Defense News the project took shape after they identified a market gap in the European market: an intermediate segment between light vehicles and heavy-duty vehicles.

“In Finland, we already have two combat vehicle suppliers, Sisu and Patria, whose offers range between 10-15 and 24 tons – we wanted to create something in the middle, to widen the portfolio of vehicles coming from Finland,” Viktor Ekman, the CEO of Scata, told Defense News in March 19 interview.

Ekman said he considers his company to be an “add-on” to those two firms, rather than a competitor.

The new vehicle is designed to perform a variety of missions, including reconnaissance, troop transport for up to 10 soldiers, anti-drone operations and short-range air defense.

In the counter-drone category, the manufacturer is still assessing weaponry options, including interceptor drones that would be launched from the roof or from the inside of the vehicle to intercept incoming unmanned craft, Ekman said.

Enginneers have placed special emphasis on hardening the top side of the Mk1, given how combat vehicles have been significantly damaged in Ukraine by first-person-view drones.

For Ukrainian forces, cheap and short-term solutions to this issue have included metal cages or mesh, which cause an early detonation of explosive charges.

The Finnish-made combat vehicle is slated to be on display at the Eurosatory arms fair in Paris, which runs June 15-19.

Ekman said the company is in discussions with Finland and Sweden as potential launch customers.

The Patriot system is widely used to defend against incoming missiles and drones using radar and interceptor missiles — such as the Patriot Advanced Capability-3, or PAC-3, interceptor — to engage incoming threats.

The system has become a key tool for protecting bases and infrastructure from aerial attacks, but at a high cost. PAC-3 interceptor missiles cost millions of dollars each, making them especially expensive when used against cheaper threats like drones.

The tradeoff has put new focus on how the system is used in practice. Here’s how it works from detection to interception.

Detection

A radar sweeps the sky, scanning for anything out of place. Within a Patriot battery, that radar is designed to track aircraft, missiles and drones across a wide swath of the horizon to build a picture of the airspace in real time.

When an object appears in the airspace, the system locks in and begins calculating its speed, altitude and trajectory as it moves. Using that data, the system works to identify the object and discern if it is a threat.

It computes where the object is heading, and if it seems likely to hit a protected area, like a base or population center. That assessment sets the stage for what comes next: a decision on whether or not to engage.

Launch

Once a battery is ordered to engage, a Patriot launcher fires an interceptor missile toward the predicted intercept point. The PAC-3 speeds up after it is fired, shooting into the air and then turning toward a target based on data from the radar.

As the missile soars, it keeps receiving updates and can adjust its path as it closes in on an object.

Interception

In its final moments, a PAC-3 interceptor missile rams directly into its target.

Instead of exploding nearby, the PAC-3 uses a hit-to-kill method, destroying the incoming threat by colliding with it at a high speed. That makes this particular interceptor missile critical for ballistic missile defense, where precision is crucial.

A layered defense

Patriot systems are one part of a layered air defense. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, systems, also manufactured by Lockheed Martin, are designed to intercept ballistic missiles inside or outside the atmosphere and earlier in flight, while the Patriot operates closer to the ground.

Like the Patriot system, THAAD uses a hit-to-kill method and relies on radar and interceptor missiles. Because THAAD can operate at higher altitudes and over a wider area, one THAAD battery can cover larger regions.

The cost

Each PAC-3 interceptor cost millions of dollars, making it an incredibly expensive tool to use against drones that cost a fraction of that price to manufacture. Though Lockheed Martin, the interceptor’s manufacturer, is poised to ramp up production under a January agreement with the Pentagon, as it stands, the U.S. has a finite number of PAC-3 interceptor missiles and production takes time.

As interceptors are consumed in the Middle East, experts warn supply may not keep up with high — and expensive — demand.

The facility, which will be located at Blue Grass Army Depot, Kentucky, will be a “comprehensive, modern, and efficient ‘Center of Excellence’ (CoE) for scale-up and production of current and emerging explosives,” according to the Army’s Sources Sought notice, which has a deadline of April 15.

The Army wants this facility quickly. The notice calls for “rapid acceleration of this capability with completion prior to 2031.” The center doesn’t even need to be in one location. “The Government’s preference is for a single, integrated campus model, but will consider distributed or networked concepts,” the Army noted.

The Army aims to establish a site that will “serve as a focal point within the organic industrial base using traditional or non-traditional production processes for Research Department Explosive (RDX) and High Melting Explosive (HMX).” In addition, the Army is also considering a pilot facility to research and produce next-generation emerging explosives.

Contractors are asked to provide a variety of information, such as their design for a facility that could include “[research and development] labs, pilot-scale production, full-rate production lines, analytical testing, packaging, waste treatment, and administrative/support functions.”

Also desired is an estimated “price per pound for RDX and HMX components and current RDX- and HMX-based formulations the CoE could produce, assuming five and ten years of fixed prices and no government direct funding during operations.”

Companies should also describe how they plan to fund themselves for the project, and how much money they are willing to invest. They should also consider whether private- or government-funded projects — either at DOD or non-DOD sites — can be moved to Blue Grass Army Depot to “optimize the operational viability of the CoE.”

The Army also seems concerned about providing explosives to U.S. allies. “Due to the urgency of this requirement, the Government intends to release a follow-on Sources Sought notice to award a non-competitive, sole-source, Undefinitized Contract Action (UCA)” for contracts related to Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel, according to the notice.

With conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East devouring munitions at a ferocious rate, and many nations beefing up their armed forces, there are already shortages and production bottlenecks of everything from howitzer shells to air defense missiles.

The global shortage of explosives will only exacerbate that problem, especially because factories that make explosives are not popular with the local citizenry. Environmental concerns led to the closure in the 1980s of the last domestic plant in the U.S. for producing TNT. Shortages have become so acute that even commercial miners lack blasting charges.

In addition, nations are hoarding explosives. Major exporters of TNT include Russia and China, which have halted sales to America. Poland — the biggest TNT manufacturer in NATO — has been a major supplier to the Pentagon. However, Polish explosives output has been diverted to Ukraine, or retained for the Polish military. Polish manufacturer Nitro-Chem recently announced it is expanding production.

Deep in Norwegian woods, some 400 kilometers away from the Russian border, an officer of the Norwegian Long Range Reconnaissance Squadron is hidden in a snow-made shelter, with only his light-grey firearm peeking out.

The officer, nicknamed Poster Boy, is part of the country’s elite Arctic task force, designed to operate far behind enemy lines to conduct surveillance missions. The snow cave serving as his concealment is known as a quinzhee, 1.5m high and 2m wide, built by piling snow together and allowing it to sinter, or harden, a task force specialty.

Nations withdraw some equipment from NATO Arctic exercise amid Iran fallout

“It’s a constant evolution of what works and what doesn’t for us – what worked four years ago might not work today due to all the technology developments of equipment designed to catch us, some years ago a tent and camouflage could’ve been sufficient but not anymore,” the officer, who spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity around the unit, told Defense News.

Training here alongside the Norwegian soldiers were several other nations’ elite unit, including U.K. Royal Marines and soldiers of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. Royal Marines told Defense News that, given the speed of modern combat, units that want to stay invisible often have to move every 15 minutes to avoid detection.

Besides hiding from enemy drones, the Norwegian reconnaissance soldiers carry their own unmanned craft to spy on adversaries.

The unit is experimenting with different types of winterized surveillance drones, including the American-made Skydio and first-person-view models, to provide eyes in the sky and enable operations from greater distances on the battlefield.

Poster Boy said those systems will be increasingly relevant, especially in the event of a potential conflict with Russia, where the battle space would consist of vast stretches of icy land.

The Norwegian Army chief, Maj. Gen. Lars Lervik, told Defense News that drones were playing an important role in NATO’s largest Arctic exercise, Cold Response 2026, organized across Norway from March 9-19. He noted that aside from surveillance-type ones, forces are also testing attack drones and several unmanned ground robots in ground-to-ground and air-to-ground roles.

The name of the game for the quinzhee connaisseurs is silence and invisibility, two objectives that are increasingly hard to achieve, as seen in the war in Ukraine, where troops and equipment remain perpetually vulnerable to being located.

One way to mitigate these risks is to focus on tracking avoidance in snow, which relies on minimizing a soldier’s visual, thermal or electronic signatures. The Norwegian Defense Materiel Agency announced last month that recent trials in Denmark confirmed the effectiveness of the Swedish-made Mobile Camouflage System. Developed by Saab, the cloak is intended to greatly reduce detectability by limiting visual, thermal and radar signatures, including in Arctic conditions.

However, amid new technologies, the Norwegian top-tier Arctic unit continues to return to proven basics: using natural camouflage, such as snow, as its best bet for staying hidden.

“Using snow is our absolute best concealment – we move in darkness, foggy conditions, snow falls, where our tracks can be rapidly filled and hard to follow, and in good weather we stay static and concealed,” the officer explained.

Thus, the U.S. Marine Corps is looking for camouflage cloaks that shield wearers from prying eyes and infrared cameras, according to a Marine Corps Systems Command Sources Sought notice.

The Multispectral Camouflage Overgarment, or MCO, “is intended to provide individual signature management for Marines by mitigating detection across the visual (VIS), near infrared (NIR), and short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectrums as well as suppress thermal signatures in the mid-wave infrared (MWIR) and long wave infrared (LWIR) to reduce the likelihood of detection by thermal sensors,” the notice notes. The deadline is April 22.

The Marines want 13,000 cloaks by 2027, and 61,000 by 2030.

“MCO will serve as the individual signature management solution for all Marines in training and on deployment,” according to the notice. “The system is not intended for routine garrison wear.”

The notice includes a table that lists various nondetection thresholds depending on the wearer’s distance from the sensor, the type of sensor and whether the sensor is on the ground or in the air. For example, the cloak should preclude daytime visual detection from a ground-based sensor at a minimum of 600 meters, and ideally at 50 meters. For an aerial sensor, such as on a drone, the minimum is 1,000 meters, with an eventual goal of 10 meters.

For mid-wave infrared sensors, the cloak should mask wearers at a minimum of 2,000 meters, and ideally at 600 meters. Against aerial MWIR sensors, the MCO should provide camouflage at a minimum of 5,000 meters — more than 3 miles — and ideally at 2,000 meters.

The notice describes the MCO as “a single-piece, generously-sized draped design constructed to provide full-body coverage, including individual gear and equipment. It shall be donned and doffed over existing uniforms and gear within 15 seconds.”

The garment should be sturdy enough to last 90 days to one year of use, and withstand laundering up to 50 times. It should weigh no more than 3.5 pounds, and preferably less than 2 pounds.

Britain’s Royal Marines are already using the Barracuda cloak from Swedish manufacturer Saab. Meanwhile, Russian troops have frequently used thermal cloaks to camouflage themselves against omnipresent Ukrainian drones equipped with heat sensors.

However, the Russian experience also illustrates the danger of using cheap, poorly designed cloaks. In some cases, the garments have actually made the wearers more conspicuous, by contrasting them as cold spots against a warmer background.

President Lee Jae Myung said during a cabinet meeting that U.S forces may dispatch some air defense systems abroad, depending on how the Middle East conflict unfolds, despite opposition voiced by Seoul. Lee acknowledged that it cannot bar the U.S. from relocating its own assets, but said that the country’s own defenses were sufficient for deterrence against North Korea.

‘Race of attrition’: US military’s finite interceptor stockpile is being tested

The Washington Post on Monday reported that the U.S. Army was moving parts of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, THAAD, system from South Korea to the Middle East and local news in Korea reported the departure of military transport aircraft to and from the region.

The Pentagon said on Thursday that “for operational security reasons we do not comment on the movement of specific military capabilities or assets.”

“United States Forces Korea remains focused on maintaining a combat-credible force posture on the Korean Peninsula,” the statement added.

THAAD, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, is designed to intercept short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The system includes interceptor, radar, launcher and fire control system parts. It is not immediately clear which components may be relocating.

Satellite imagery analyzed by CNN last week suggests Iranian strikes may have targeted radar sites tied to U.S. missile defense systems in the Middle East, including radars associated with THAAD batteries.

THAAD saw its first known operational use in 2022, when a THAAD battery in the United Arab Emirates shot down a ballistic missile fired by Iranian-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen.

The system was originally deployed to South Korea in 2017 to defend against missile threats from North Korea, making it a cornerstone of the peninsula’s missile defense network.

The U.S. Army operates only a small number of THAAD batteries across the world, meaning that a deployment is a significant movement that can affect multiple theaters. When the U.S. sent a THAAD battery to Israel in 2024, Army leaders warned the move would strain the service and possibly complicate efforts to modernize missile defense systems.

The growing use of ballistic missiles and drones has made missile defense interceptors like THAAD essential in modern warfare, Wes Rumbaugh, an expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote in a brief last December. The significant number of missile interceptors expended during the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran in June highlighted the “scarcity and importance” of the systems, he argued.

The war with Iran is already testing U.S. missile defense capabilities. Analysts say recent operations have consumed a significant portion of the country’s THAAD inventory, raising concerns about America’s long-term defense capabilities if the timeline of Operation Epic Fury continues to consume weapons that cannot be replenished quickly enough to sustain wartime demand.

The problem is that “the Army lacks the ability to sense, locate, attack, and protect” across the electromagnetic spectrum, according to a January memo on the new EMSO concept of operations signed by Gen. David Hodne, commander of Transformation and Training Command.

This is partly the result of an acquisition system for electromagnetic spectrum operations, or EMSO, that is too fragmented.

“Currently, EMSO capabilities are spread across different warfighting functions and not fully designed as cohesive technologies that are modular, scalable, and adaptable enough to mitigate modern threats,” the memo notes.

“This prevents the Army from truly leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) for quick decision making to exploit opportunities across the competition continuum.”

Thus, the Army is seeking feedback from industry on both the Army’s new concept of EMSO and a potential Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract for procurement of EW and SIGINT equipment.

The Program Manager Electronic Warfare & Cyber “is exploring an acquisition strategy to provide commercially sourced, worldwide, end-to-end lifecycle management products for the Army’s portfolio of Electromagnetic Warfare (EW) and Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) systems,” according to the Army’s Request for Information. Responses are due by March 13.

Among the questions is whether industry is willing to invest money in order to deliver solutions more quickly.

“If the Government were to leverage multi-year procurement contracts, would vendors pay facilitation costs to increase production quantities or significantly improve production schedules for EW/SIGINT Equipment?” the RFI asked.

The Army also wants systems that are tailored for different types of users.

“Fielding a common basis of issue (BOI) across varied formations (e.g., heavy, light, airborne) has proven to be neither cost-effective nor optimal for ensuring battlefield lethality against modern, technologically advanced adversaries,” the RFI noted.

The Army is soliciting feedback on the EMSO concept of operations itself, including the desire for “industry partnerships” cited in the January memo.

“What partnership models would be most effective for the rapid development and fielding of EMSO capabilities?” the RFI asked.

Hodne’s memo envisions speeding up the fielding of new systems by having T2COM program managers work closely with Command and Control/Counter C2 Portfolio Acquisition Executive.

“This approach enables continuous integration and delivery of EMSO capabilities for operations in austere and DDIL [denied, disrupted, intermittent and limited-bandwidth] environments,” the memo said.

The memo also called for a variety of offensive and defensive electromagnetic capabilities, including protocol-based effects that target specific communications protocols, simultaneously identifying and locating multiple enemy emitters, and obscuring friendly electromagnetic signatures from enemy detection. EMSO systems should also have an open architecture that can be integrated with the Next-Generation Command-and-Control framework.

Editor’s note: This report has been updated.

The multi-national drill was part of the U.S.-led exercise Dynamic Front, organized from Jan. 26 to Feb. 13, across five countries and nine training areas.

The event, which involved 23 nations, focused on validating artillery interoperability — how quickly participants could plug different systems together and share the targeting data needed to coordinate long-range strikes across borders.

Allied crews were thrown into the fire by simulating the magnitude and complexity of threats faced by troops in Ukraine. They were expected to conduct 1,500 strikes and intercept between 600 and 1,200 aerial threats daily in a major European conflict scenario, according to U.S. Army officials.

In a press briefing, as quoted by Star and Stripes, Brig. Gen. Steven Carpenter, leader of the 56th Multi-Domain Command Europe, said the massed artillery fires are meant to create a deterrence effect, with strikes “so unrelenting” that no adversary would dare to attack.

Participating units successfully set up the command systems necessary to coordinate strikes in one-sixth of the time it took in prior editions of the exercise, according to Stars and Stripes.

One of the core systems facilitating connectivity is the encrypted software suite ASCA, or Artillery Systems Cooperation Activities, NATO’s digital language for placing “warheads on foreheads,” as the U.S. military maxim goes.

Aside from digitally connecting different national artillery and command-and-control systems, it also provides live targeting data to troops stationed in other countries.

U.S. officers previously told Defense News that artillerists continuously refine ASCA based on exercise feedback. Over a dozen NATO nations have incorporated the system into their command-and-control suites.

The live fire test saw Apache pilots engage drones flying on ranges at Yuma Proving Ground using the 30x113mm XM1225 Aviation Proximity Explosive, called APEX.

The APEX rounds have proximity fuzes that cause them to detonate when they close in on a target, releasing a wide radius of blast fragments.

The 30mm rounds are designed to be fired at targets requiring precision to hit, such as small boats, drones and enemy combatants, without requiring changes to the Apache’s existing weapon system.

The fragments excelled at destroying drones in flight, the service has stated, in addition to being effective against ground targets.

“The XM1225’s proximity fuze has the potential to increase soft-skinned ground and aerial target vulnerability, providing the Attack [Division] community an additional capability so long as those targets are susceptible to detection, classification, and tracking,” Maj. Vincent Franchino, test pilot and Attack Division chief at Redstone Test Center in Huntsville, Alabama, said in a statement.

The APEX technology was developed in-house by the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Armaments Center, with support from Picatinny Arsenal and Northrop Grumman.

Proximity fuzes have a long history within the U.S. military. The first were developed by the United States during World War II and were used against aircraft and Germany’s V-1 flying bombs.

The move to upgrade helicopter weapons capabilities for drone warfare is part of the Army’s drive to modernize combat units to address and incorporate unmanned systems.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George announced last month that the service will begin fielding the Bell MV-75 tiltrotor aircraft by the end of this year and that larger unmanned aerial systems classed in Groups 3, 4 and 5 are being integrated into Army combat aviation brigades.

The Autonomous Decontamination System, or ADS, would scrub vehicles, critical infrastructure and key terrain.

Equally important, it would allow troops in the field to protect themselves and thus ease the strain on Army chemical warfare units that might not be available when needed.

“The goal of the ADS is to allow squad-sized elements to provide a platoon-sized decontamination capability for critical mission equipment,” according to an Army Request for Information, which is due Feb. 20.

“Contamination mitigation operations are extremely resource-intensive in terms of time, logistics, and personnel,” the document continues. “The ADS will reduce manpower and optimize resources required for decontamination operations while mitigating the risk of exposure of warfighters to chemical and biological warfare agents through robotic means.”

The Joint Project Manager for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Protection, or JPM CBRN Protection, is aiming for mobile systems — including both tethered and untethered robots — that can be transported by light or medium tactical vehicles.

Decontamination bots must perform four functions. These include pre-washing contaminated vehicles or equipment with water, and mapping contamination footprints.

In addition, they must apply decontamination agents while “ideally leveraging the contamination footprint data to apply decontaminants precisely to areas,” the RFI said.

Finally, they must perform a “post-wash with water and a post-decontamination assessment using existing/fielded detector technology.”

The Army is asking contractors to describe the technical capabilities of their systems, such as whether they use GPS, Real-Time Kinematic, Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping, or other navigational aids. The level of autonomy should also be specified, including fully autonomous, operator in the loop or manual remote control.

Also important are details on decontamination components, such as the type of nozzle, flow rate and pressure.

ADS robots should be compatible “with various decontaminants, including solids, liquids, and foams (e.g. High Test Hypochlorite (HTH), M333 Joint General-Purpose Decontaminant for Hardened Military Equipment (JGPD-HME),” according to the request.

The U.S. already faces a variety of threats from weapons of mass destruction, ranging from rogue nuclear states such as North Korea — and possibly Iran — to terrorist groups utilizing AI to develop biological weapons. Thus, the Army is looking to modernize its CBRN defense capabilities.

In addition to the Automated Decontamination System project, the Army is upgrading the CBRN version of the Stryker armored vehicle.

The Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle Sensor Suite Upgrade, or NBCRV SSU, includes equipping the Stryker with onboard drones that can scout ahead for contaminants without exposing the crew.

“The upgrades will improve maintainability, reliability, and remote maneuverability from threats by including unmanned aerial vehicles, modular mission payload (a system where different equipment components can be easily swapped or added to a platform), a data processing unit, and more,” the Army announced in January 2025.

Yet curiously, the Army recently made CBRN training optional. The updated Army Regulation 350-1 specifies that training modules will be available as needed, but commanders can decide whether to include them in unit readiness.

The memorandum sets out the core principles for acquiring 96.77% of Automecanica’s shares, a Romanian defense company with established production infrastructure and licenses. The targeted closing date for the share purchase agreement is by the end of April 2026, subject to standard closing conditions such as due diligence and regulatory approvals in Romania.

Otokar has won a major contract for the supply of Cobra II 4x4 armored vehicles — an agreement valued at approximately €857 million ($1 billion) for 1,059 vehicles, with a local manufacturing component executed in partnership with Automecanica under a joint venture formed in 2025.

Under this contract 800 of the vehicles will be constructed in Romania. To this end Otokar has established its wholly owned subsidiary Otokar Land Systems SRL.

This subsidiary will take on the acquisition process, with an initial payment of €5 million upon signing of the MoU and the remainder payable at closing. The total enterprise valuation basis used for the share-purchase calculation is approximately €87.8 million, which implies roughly €85 million for the 96.77% stake being targeted.

Automecanica currently holds the facilities and necessary approvals in Romania that are intended to support Otokar’s planned industrial activities—especially related to its ongoing Romanian armored vehicle program.

According to KAP, transferring the shares directly to Otokar is expected to enable activities previously envisaged through a joint venture for the Romania 4x4 tactical wheeled light armored vehicle project to be carried out directly through Automecanica, streamlining execution and strengthening local control.

This week’s announcement follows Otokar’s previous disclosure on Jan. 16, when the company confirmed that Romtehnica has submitted compensation claims totaling approximately 191.85 million Romanian lei (around $45 million at current exchange rates), alleging that the Turkish company failed to meet interim preparation milestones for local production of Cobra II 4x4 tactical armored vehicles in Romania.

Otokar said it has filed a lawsuit to annul the compensation claim but also indicated that it will pay the amount when due while reserving its legal rights.

Otokar had not responded to Defense News’ request for comment on whether the litigation is linked to the Automecanica takeover.

The four tracked vehicles were unveiled at the army’s Montelibretti test range outside Rome in front of an audience including Italy’s defense chief and defense minister as well as managers from Rheinmetall and Italy’s Leonardo, which is teaming with the German firm on the program.

“This is a strategic signal,” said Björn Bernhard, Rheinmetall’s European vehicles head.

“Europe remains fragmented with too many systems, too many supply chains, too little industrial depth. It is unsustainable, it is simply dangerous,” he said in a speech.

The Lynx program “is delivering what Europe urgently needs. Industrial integration instead of national stand alone approaches,” he added, claiming, “Europe is becoming more resilient.”

The delivery of the vehicles follows the signing last week of a defense cooperation deal between Italy and Germany through which the two countries will aim to “reduce fragmentation, foster standardization and interchangeability, increase interoperability between their forces and strengthen the European defense industry.”

The first four vehicles will soon be joined by a fifth, all with a Rheinmetall-supplied turret, while a subsequent 16 Lynx’s, to be delivered between October and the start of 2027, will have a Leonardo-built Hitfist 30mm turret.

The integration of the Italians turrets with Rheinmetall Lynx chassis’ will “most probably” happen at Leonardo’s facility at La Spezia in Italy, or at Iveco Defence Vehicles, the Italian firm Leonardo purchased last year, said Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani.

The first five vehicles will meanwhile also be retrofitted with the Hitfist turret.

Luca Perazzo, Leonardo’s deputy managing director of defense systems, said the Italian Army has an option to acquire another 30 vehicles in the same configuration, which it is expected to exercise in the first half of this year.

The Lynx deal follows the creation in 2024 of joint venture Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles.

Perazzo said that a full, final contract would follow covering five further variants of the Lynx which would carry out 16 different roles. Prototypes of those variants would delivered between 2027 and 2028 before serial production got underway.

“For the first time all the capabilities of an armored brigade will be brought together on one technological backbone,” said Rheinmetall’s Bernhard.

The Italian army also envisages Rheinmetall and Leonardo producing 272 variants of Rheinmetall’s Panther tanks, taking the entire deal to 23 billion euros ($27.5 billion).

Cingolani said the first Panther prototypes were due to be delivered between the end of 2029 and the start of 2030.

Both the Lynx and Panther programs are now qualified for inclusion in the European Union’s SAFE plan, meaning that countries applying for SAFE defense spending loans from the EU can spend the money on the two vehicles, Perazzo told Defense News.

The multi-nation contract will be carried out by Germany-based EuroTrophy GmbH, a joint venture of General Dynamics European Land Systems, Leopard maker KNDS and the Israeli developer. EuroTrophy markets the system to countries in Europe.

The first time the Israeli Trophy was successfully tested and integrated onto a German Leopard 2 tank was in October 2021. It has also been integrated on several other Western armored platforms, including he American M1 Abrams and the Israeli Merkava main battle tanks.

According to Rafael, the list of upcoming vehicle integrations also includes K2 Black Panther tanks, as well as lighter variants on armored vehicles like the Boxer, Patria AMV and Namer.

Rafael markets Trophy as a combat-proven active protection system, designed to detect, track, and neutralize anti-tank threats in real time. The system consists of several sensors, a search radar, a firing computer and an interceptor launcher mounted on the tank.

The system has the ability to engage with a variety of threats and multiple attacks simultaneously and can operate while on the move and in all weather conditions.

According to the Israeli military, during the Iron Swords war Trophy systems intercepted thousands of Kornet missiles and RPG rockets at an estimated rate of 85%.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Association of the United States Army on Tuesday, Gen. Randy George touted the M1E3, which last week made its debut as a pre-prototype at the Detroit Auto Show.

“Obviously, not as fast as the Chevy ZR1,” George said, referring to the flashy Corvette also on display at the show. “But this is a tank that can also hit a target. So it won’t meet that quarter-mile speed, but I know it can hit a target in a tenth of a second at a quarter mile.

The M1E3 is reaching prototype stage six years early, George said, adding that new features are also coming to light.

The “Formula One cockpit” contains a driver interface that “looks like an X-Box controller,” George said, referring to the control device made by Fanatec – a company that designs F1 simulator controls and many popular video game cockpits.

“It’s modular, so it can be updated,” George added.

He also touted the engine made by Caterpillar, transmission made by Michigan-based company SAPA and software through “a bunch of tech companies” enlisted to increase the tank’s awareness and effectiveness.

In a release published from the show, Army officials revealed that the M1E3 would feature GenAI among “a suite of AI-powered digital engineering tools” to help integrate other technologies more quickly and keep it up to date in a perpetually changing modern battlefield.

Unlike the current Abrams, which has a four-person crew including a loader, the M1E3 will have a crew of three and an autoloader, which will help the notoriously heavy Abrams get 25% lighter.

“We’re very excited to get that out — and again, that’s the way of the future here. Nothing should take us five to seven years to produce,” George said. “And when we get an upgrade just like we have with the [infantry fighting vehicles], it should come naturally. We’ve had upgraded engines and upgraded transmissions, and we should expect that. And I know our soldiers expect that with the equipment that’s coming to them.”

While many details are still unknown, officials have also cited advanced protection that accounts for contemporary threats including enemy drones and long-range weapons.

Michigan-based news site MLive reported that the turret on display in Detroit was remote, and featured a 120mm smoothbore main cannon — like the current M1A2 — as well as a Mk. 19 40mm grenade launcher and Javelin missile launcher.

“The crew compartment … it’s going to look a lot like a race car,” Brig. Gen. Troy Denomy, program executive officer for PEO Soldier, told the outlet.

Another new feature for the next-gen tank is a hybrid-electric drivetrain that will reportedly make the vehicle 50% more fuel efficient.

“The M1E3 Abrams represents a bold step forward in modern vehicle design, combining advanced protection, reduced weight and a smaller logistical footprint to meet the challenges of tomorrow’s battlefield,” Michelle Link, the deputy capability program executive, Ground-Combat Platforms, said in a statement.

While the M1E3 was originally slated to reach initial operational capability in 2030, officials said late last year that the first prototypes would be inside active Army formations sometime in 2026.

For George, the new tank program represents a new way of doing business in acquisition that evaluates tradeoffs and doesn’t get bogged down in developing a perfect solution. He described efforts to put more acquisition and contracting functions under a single individual, citing Maj. Gen. Frank Lozano, program executive officer for Missiles and Space, as an example.

“I think trades are critically important,” George said. “We may say, hey, it needs to go 100 miles an hour. It needs to do a certain number of things. … Frank can come back to us and basically say, ‘Hey, for 30% less cost, it can go 90 miles an hour, and you can have it in six months, or you can wait to do those things.’ And I think these are important things that were trades that we have not considered and that we need to, moving forward.”

Latvia and Sweden are advancing efforts to engage in long-term cooperation which will include joint training and the deployment of Sweden’s Archers in Latvia starting in 2026. The two countries will establish a joint Archer unit, enabling their militaries to conduct joint exercises, the Latvian Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

“The purchase of the artillery system is an important step in strengthening the capacity of the National Armed Forces,” Latvian Defence Minister Andris Sprūds said. “It will not only expand our indirect fire capabilities, but also promote closer cooperation with Sweden, ensuring joint training and exchange of experience.”

The purchase agreement covers 18 Archers. Officials did not specify the deal’s worth. The Latvian government’s approval for the program follows the signing of a letter of intent between Riga and Stockholm last June.

Other Archer users include the Ukrainian military and the British Army, which acquired the weapon to replace AS90 donated to Ukraine.

The howitzer buy comes shortly after Latvia’s parliament approved the country’s record-high 2026 defense budget, which foresees spending 4.91% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), or €2.16 billion ($2.51 billion), on the military.

As part of the spending hike, ramping up Latvian indirect fire support capabilities has been identified as one of the “key capability development projects,” according to the nation’s defense ministry.

Latvia has accelerated its self-propelled howitzer acquisition plans following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, similar to its two Baltic State neighbors, Estonia and Lithuania.

The deal, valued in the mid double-digit million euro range, marks Ukraine’s entry into what Rheinmetall describes as a larger-scale procurement program for the next-generation infantry fighting vehicle. The vehicles will be equipped with a two-person Lance turret and configured specifically for Ukrainian Armed Forces requirements.

The decision to procure the Lynx followed extensive testing by Ukrainian forces, according to the German arms giant. The company delivered a single Lynx KF41 to Ukraine in late 2024 for evaluation purposes. Ukraine becomes only the second country to operate the platform, after Hungary, which received its first vehicles from a newly opened Rheinmetall facility in Szeged in December 2025.

Leonardo, Rheinmetall book first Lynx combat vehicle order for Italy

“We are grateful for the trust that Ukraine has placed in us,” Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said in the company’s announcement. He also thanked the German government for its support in paying for the initial batch.

Future procurement phases are expected to include manufacturing directly in Ukraine. In November 2025, the company’s CEO proposed establishing Ukrainian production lines for the Lynx, as well as the Fuchs and Panther vehicles, similar to a model it implemented in Algeria.

The Lynx KF41 is Rheinmetall’s product for the infantry fighting vehicle segment, designed to compete with platforms such as the American Bradley and Swedish CV90. The vehicle features enhanced protection, mobility, and firepower compared to older IFV designs.

Germany has been one of Ukraine’s largest military supporters since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and is second only to the United States’ assistance from before Donald Trump took over at president. Berlin had provided nearly €20 billion ($23.3 billion) in military aid to Ukraine as of Oct. 31, 2025, the most recent data available, with a further €5 billion ($5.8 billion) given in financial and humanitarian assistance.

Third Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment was activated under the 56th Theater Multi-Domain Command on Oct. 17, a move that signaled “a significant step in the Army’s ongoing modernization and the expansion of long-range fires capability in the European Theater,” according to the command’s Monday announcement.

Though administratively tied to the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum in New York, the new unit falls under the operational control of the 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force, part of the 56th Multi-Domain Command-Europe.

The activation “reintroduces a modern long-range precision fires battalion,” the press release said, adding that, for the European theater, “it means greater range, more flexible options and additional tools to deter or respond in a rapidly changing security environment.”

The battalion comprises over 500 soldiers and includes High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS, per the Army. HIMARS is a truck-mounted multiple-rocket launcher that can fire precisely guided rockets up to around 186 miles, depending on the munition, according to the system’s manufacturer, Lockheed Martin.

The unit is also equipped with Mid-Range Capability, or MRC, systems, which are designed to strike even farther away.

Col. Jeffrey Pickler, the task force commander, said in the release that the activation symbolized “commitment to readiness, innovation, and to our allies and partners abroad.”

It remains unknown, however, if — or when — soldiers and equipment will be deployed overseas.

Officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The unit’s activation is part of the Army Transformation Initiative, an effort to reshape the force structure.