Tuesday, 27 October 2026 · Taipei
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■South Korea's military admits its system for fusing spy satellite imagery falls short■US Air Force puts ARRW, its first hypersonic missile, into production with a $694 million order■US suspends visa-free visits by Chinese nationals to the Northern Marianas, citing spying risk near bases■Japanese lawmakers back higher base pay for every SDF rank as recruiting stays short■Taiwan says about 4% of its troops still get no extra pay after the new combat allowance■South Korea's defence minister heads to Cebu for a first meeting with Hegseth after 36 days without a call■South Korea's military admits its system for fusing spy satellite imagery falls short■US Air Force puts ARRW, its first hypersonic missile, into production with a $694 million order■US suspends visa-free visits by Chinese nationals to the Northern Marianas, citing spying risk near bases■Japanese lawmakers back higher base pay for every SDF rank as recruiting stays short■Taiwan says about 4% of its troops still get no extra pay after the new combat allowance■South Korea's defence minister heads to Cebu for a first meeting with Hegseth after 36 days without a call
A group of South Korean officials in grey jackets and military officers in dress uniforms stand in rows on steps outside a building with palm trees behind them
Indo-Pacific

South Korea's military admits its system for fusing spy satellite imagery falls short

A lawmaker says the fusion system has slipped since 2022 and its full version is due only in 2033, when today's satellites may already be worn out.

TaiwanDefence · 49m ago · 3 min read

Top Stories

Airmen in flight suits and camouflage uniforms stand beneath a B-52 bomber wing as an instructor points to a long white missile mounted on a pylon
Industry

US Air Force puts ARRW, its first hypersonic missile, into production with a $694 million order

TaiwanDefence · 1h ago · 3 min read

An F-22 stealth fighter taxis on an island airfield lined with trees as a US airman in a flight suit watches in the foreground
Indo-Pacific

US suspends visa-free visits by Chinese nationals to the Northern Marianas, citing spying risk near bases

TaiwanDefence · 2h ago · 3 min read

A Japanese soldier in camouflage uniform and helmet kneels and aims a machine gun on a bipod across a grassy field
Indo-Pacific

Japanese lawmakers back higher base pay for every SDF rank as recruiting stays short

TaiwanDefence · 3h ago · 3 min read

Rows of Taiwanese soldiers in camouflage uniforms stand on risers facing President Lai Ching-te, seen from behind in a dark suit
Cross-Strait

Taiwan says about 4% of its troops still get no extra pay after the new combat allowance

TaiwanDefence · 4h ago · 3 min read

Pete Hegseth and South Korea's then defence minister Ahn Gyu-back meet at the Pentagon with US and South Korean flags behind them
Indo-Pacific

South Korea's defence minister heads to Cebu for a first meeting with Hegseth after 36 days without a call

TaiwanDefence · 5h ago · 3 min read

Cross-Strait

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Rows of Taiwanese soldiers in camouflage uniforms stand on risers facing President Lai Ching-te, seen from behind in a dark suit
Cross-Strait

Taiwan says about 4% of its troops still get no extra pay after the new combat allowance

Defence Minister Wellington Koo says most of those left out are staff officers at corps-level and higher commands, a posting he calls essential to their careers.

TaiwanDefence · 4h ago · 3 min read

Uniformed Chinese military officers in a receiving line shake hands with a grey-haired man in a dark suit outside a large pale building
Cross-Strait

China opens a party plenum as a think tank finds 42 of 44 PLA Central Committee members purged or missing

Xi Jinping opened the four-day meeting with the military commission cut to two members, and observers are watching whether he refills China's high command.

TaiwanDefence · 1d ago · 3 min read

Cross-Strait

PLA Daily tells Chinese troops to be ready for a major Taiwan independence incident

2d ago

Cross-Strait

China's Eastern Theater Command marks Taiwan Retrocession Day as state TV airs satellite views of Taipei

2d ago

Navy

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A black Virginia-class submarine moored pierside, its sail and hull visible above the water
Navy

USS Colorado will be the first US attack submarine to rotate through Western Australia under AUKUS

The US, Australia and Britain named the Virginia-class boat as the first for Submarine Rotational Force-West at HMAS Stirling, starting in late 2027.

TaiwanDefence · 12h ago · 3 min read

A grey Black Hawk helicopter hovers low over the flight deck of a navy ship at sea
Navy

South Korean navy flight instructor becomes the service's first pilot to log 10,000 accident-free hours

Park Ki-hyun, a former navy helicopter pilot who now trains new aviators at Mokpo, reached the mark on a training flight on 23 October, the navy said.

TaiwanDefence · 1d ago · 3 min read

Navy

Philippine Navy reports track the Liaoning carrier group turning northeast past Mindanao

1d ago

Navy

India's home-built submarine AIP system enters its next phase of tests at Hazira

2d ago

Analysis & Commentary

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TaiwanDefence

India's nod for 335 more K9 Vajra guns could make a desert-bought howitzer its mainstay facing China

India's October 2026 approval of 335 more K9 Vajra-T guns builds on lessons from Ladakh, but a long road from approval to contract still lies ahead.

TaiwanDefence

Taiwan's admission that it pays for US war-game observers puts a price on quiet military ties

A 21 October 2026 report on Taiwan's NT$82.4m plan for US observers at its Han Kuang drills shows Taipei funds much of its quiet military link to Washington.

TaiwanDefence

Taiwan's plan to keep senior pilots flying to 58 may miss why most of them leave

As the plan awaits Cabinet approval, a 21 October 2026 report says workload and leave go unaddressed, while lawmakers' data point to mid-career exits to airlines.

Army

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A grey four-engine Taiwanese air force C-130H transport aircraft taxiing on an airfield
Army

Taiwan air force C-130s fly stranded travellers home from Kinmen and Matsu after Typhoon Champi

Military transports joined airline extra flights on Sunday to clear standby queues of more than 1,000 people left on the outlying islands by the storm.

TaiwanDefence · 1d ago · 2 min read

Army

Taiwan army drops score sheets in base training and adds battlefield stress first aid

2d ago

Army

Taiwan troops clear Champi storm damage as aviation officials ask for military flights

2d ago

Army

Taiwan removes Taipei military police commander accused of hiding troop injuries

4d ago

Air Force

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Helmeted reservists in camouflage kneel with rifles behind barbed wire on grass while officials and officers watch from under a tent
Air Force

Taiwan air force keeps a reservist call-up on election day, telling 311 to vote before reporting

A venue clash left an Air Force guard battalion's reserve training starting on 28 November, Taiwan's local election day, so reservists may report until 8 pm.

TaiwanDefence · 17 Oct 2026 · 2 min read

Air Force

Cabinet warns Songshan airport move would leave a critical gap in capital defence

16 Oct 2026

Air Force

Taiwan's Brave Eagle trainers logged 212 engine blade repairs, mostly blamed on runway dust

15 Oct 2026

Air Force

Taiwan's air force delays radar guard platoons to 2029 as China-free vehicle bid stalls

15 Oct 2026

Industry

More →
Airmen in flight suits and camouflage uniforms stand beneath a B-52 bomber wing as an instructor points to a long white missile mounted on a pylon
Industry

US Air Force puts ARRW, its first hypersonic missile, into production with a $694 million order

Lockheed Martin will build the B-52-launched boost-glide weapon, tested from Guam in 2024, three years after the service said it would buy none.

TaiwanDefence · 1h ago · 3 min read

Industry

Australia picks former Rio Tinto boss Kellie Parker to run its new defence delivery agency

16h ago

Industry

Japan and Finland sign a pact to transfer defence equipment and develop weapons together

19h ago

Industry

Australia opens a towed array sonar factory in Western Sydney for Hunter frigates and Collins submarines

23h ago

Indo-Pacific

More →
A group of South Korean officials in grey jackets and military officers in dress uniforms stand in rows on steps outside a building with palm trees behind them
Indo-Pacific

South Korea's military admits its system for fusing spy satellite imagery falls short

A lawmaker says the fusion system has slipped since 2022 and its full version is due only in 2033, when today's satellites may already be worn out.

TaiwanDefence · 49m ago · 3 min read

Indo-Pacific

US suspends visa-free visits by Chinese nationals to the Northern Marianas, citing spying risk near bases

2h ago

Indo-Pacific

Japanese lawmakers back higher base pay for every SDF rank as recruiting stays short

3h ago

Indo-Pacific

South Korea's defence minister heads to Cebu for a first meeting with Hegseth after 36 days without a call

5h ago