Defense

• TNI AD dan Tentara AD Singapura mempererat kerja sama strategis di bidang pertahanan pada 5 Mei 2026. • Fokus utama pada penguatan sinergi militer regional untuk menjaga stabilitas ASEAN. • Kerja sama ini bagian dari komitmen bilateral dalam menghadapi ancaman keamanan bersama.

• SkyfireAI raised $11 million in funding to advance AI-driven autonomy in public safety and defense drones, announced this week amid booming AI investments. • The funding supports development of autonomous drone technologies tailored for critical missions, positioning the startup in high-stakes defense applications. • This reflects surging investor confidence in AI hardware integrations, following Big Tech earnings boosted by AI spending from Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta.

• The Senate Armed Services Committee has advanced a draft version of the National Defense Authorization Act that includes language to block automatic military pay reductions triggered by certain budget gimmicks tied to the sequester framework. • The provision comes after Pentagon officials warned that artificial pay cuts could drive recruitment and retention problems and after several advocacy groups lobbied lawmakers to permanently repeal the sequester caps. • Senator Adam Smith and other committee members argued that service members should not be collateral damage in political budget fights.

• 88-year-old DC congressional delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton responded defiantly to the most serious federal threat to the city's government in 30 years from Trump. • Norton, supported by Muriel Bowser allies, views Trump's actions as a political win for local control. • The standoff underscores ongoing power struggles between federal and DC governance.

• Sevii announced the launch of its Autonomous Cyber Swarm Defense (CSD) capability on April 28, 2026, to counter high-volume AI-driven cyber attacks at machine speed and scale. • The ADR platform deploys Agentic AI Cyber Warrior agents that detect, contain, and remediate threats in under 15 minutes, reducing analyst workloads by 95% with a fixed per-asset pricing model eliminating AI token costs. • CSD Mode features Myrmidon Defense Technology (MDT) for efficient micro-orchestration, enabling predictable budgeting without additional hires or outsourcing, as noted by Synergem Technologies CEO Frank Holt.

• Google and the U.S. Department of Defense have finalized an agreement allowing the Pentagon to use Google's AI models for classified military and defense purposes, amending an existing contract between the two entities. • The deal grants the DOD access to Google's artificial intelligence capabilities for what the company describes as "any lawful government purpose," expanding the scope of prior defense collaborations. • The partnership marks a significant expansion of Big Tech's involvement in U.S. defense operations, continuing a trend of major tech companies providing AI infrastructure to government agencies.

• The US and Japan signed an upgraded defense agreement Friday expanding joint military operations, technology sharing, and coordinated response protocols to counter Chinese military activities in the Indo-Pacific region. • The agreement authorizes increased US military presence in Japan, including enhanced surveillance capabilities and expedited weapons deployments, representing the most significant defense treaty expansion since 2015. • Chinese Foreign Ministry condemned the alliance upgrade as destabilizing and counterproductive to regional peace, while Taiwan and South Korea welcomed the commitment to deterring further territorial aggression.