Aaron Mehta

"We're a long way down that path and really, that's the thing that we need to [figure out] first," Richard Marles, Australia's deputy prime minister and defense minister, told Breaking Defense.

Poland's defense minister teased further deals, saying "The Polish army needs hundreds of thousands of drones, primarily reconnaissance, which will cooperate with Apache helicopters. We are working on this together with the American government.”

Brig. Gen. Michael B. Lalor, head of the Army Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command (TACOM), told Breaking Defense this week the service plans to break ground in FY25 on the Long Range Precision Fires Facility at Watervliet Arsenal, NY.

In addition, the State Department announced three other Foreign Military Sales approvals, for the Netherlands, Finland and Australia.

“I have been sort of bludgeoned into being desensitized to [CRs] that go all the way to December in situations like this,” Pentagon Comptroller Mike McCord said. “I would love to see it only go… ‘til right after the election. But I think that would surprise me if it didn't go straight to December.”

Saab called it a "positive" step but cautioned that the government will have the final procurement say.

President Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia was quoted by travelling press saying that his country will received nine single-seat Rafales and three two-seaters, delivered by 2029, with a price tag of €2.7 billion ($2.99 billion).

In a new video series, the Breaking Defense staff fill you in on the basics you need to know about the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.

In the second video from this series, the Breaking Defense team looks at how the Air Force actually wants to use CCAs, and what some of the challenges will be to make that happen.

Aaron Mehta and Michael Marrow preview the upcoming Air and Space Forces Association conference and break down what you need to know.