Victor covers European air forces and defense procurement for GlobalMilitary.net, with a particular focus on Nordic and Baltic security. He tracks fleet modernization programs, fighter acquisitions and the shifting air-power balance across NATO's northern flank.
His reporting follows the full life of a procurement decision — from budget debates and export approvals to contract signature, first flight and squadron service. Every delivery he covers is checked against GlobalMilitary.net's air force inventory database, which tracks fleet numbers for each operator of the types involved.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force fired its first Tomahawk cruise missile from the Aegis destroyer JS Chokai in the Pacific on July 29, 2026, making Japan the third country outside the United States to launch the weapon from a surface warship.
The US Navy awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat and HII's Newport News Shipbuilding a combined $76.6 billion on July 29, 2026 for nine Block VI Virginia-class attack submarines and five Build II Columbia-class ballistic missile boats.
Bell-Boeing handed over the 359th and last MV-22B to the US Marine Corps at Amarillo, Texas, on July 28, 2026, ending two decades of production for the service. The Osprey will now be modernized rather than replaced, with the fleet expected to fly into the 2050s.
An uncrewed Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft detonated against the hull of the decommissioned amphibious assault ship ex-USS Peleliu on 17 July, the first live-fire use of a US Navy attack drone boat against a large warship, during the RIMPAC 2026 sinking exercise north of Kauai.
Greece's KYSEA national security council cleared the purchase of three C-390 Millennium transports on July 23, in a government-to-government deal with Portugal that hands the Hellenic Air Force Lisbon's Embraer production slots.
Berlin confirmed on 23 July that the minehunter Fulda and the tender Mosel are leaving Djibouti for the eastern Mediterranean, with no prospect of a European mine-clearing mission in the Strait of Hormuz.
Greece's top security council approved contracts on July 23 for a multi-layer Israeli air defense network combining David's Sling, Barak MX and Spyder systems, due to be fully operational within 35 months.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine told the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 21, 2026 that a Ukrainian F-16 had shot down a Russian fighter, the first air-to-air kill for the type in Ukrainian service.
Portugal signed an agreement with Italy in Rome on July 20 to acquire three Fincantieri-built FREMM EVO multi-role frigates for about €3.9 billion under the EU's SAFE instrument, with deliveries planned between 2029 and 2030.
A Ukrainian Navy Sargan-3000 naval drone sank the Russian FSB patrol ship Izumrud pier-side at Gelendzhik on July 14, 2026, less than 15 miles from a Black Sea compound reputed to be linked to Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine's Security Service says its long-range drones flew some 800 km to strike Engels-2 air base in Saratov Oblast overnight on July 16, severing the tail of a Tu-95MS bomber used to launch cruise missiles at Ukraine.
Three Saronic Corsair one-way attack drones destroyed a docked Ghadir-class midget submarine at Bandar Abbas Naval Base over the weekend of July 12-13, in what CENTCOM called the first combat employment of armed sea drones by US forces.
Two Mirage 2000B trainers carrying Ukrainian student pilots led a 130-aircraft flypast over Paris on July 14, 2026, as France's Bastille Day parade showcased European unity behind Kyiv.
The Danish Ministry of Defence confirmed on July 7 a decision to acquire two Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to expand surveillance of the Arctic and North Atlantic, including Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
Tuareg-led FLA fighters shot down a Russian Africa Corps Su-24 bomber on July 4 and claimed an Mi-24P helicopter the next day near Gao, as a coordinated rebel offensive struck towns across Mali.
The Kremlin confirmed on July 10, 2026 that Moscow and Ankara are discussing the fate of Turkey's S-400 air defense systems, which Turkish media report could be transferred to a Gulf state to unlock Ankara's return to the F-35 program.
Eleven NATO allies announced on July 7, 2026, the joint procurement of up to 10 Saab GlobalEye aircraft to succeed the alliance's Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS fleet, months after Boeing's E-7 Wedgetail was dropped as NATO's presumptive successor.
JS Nagara joined the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force on June 29, 2026, the tenth of a stealth frigate class built to operate with a third of a destroyer's crew.
Naval Group handed over the nuclear-powered attack submarine De Grasse to the French defense procurement agency and the French Navy at Cherbourg on June 24, 2026, the fourth of six Suffren-class boats built under the Barracuda program to replace the Rubis class.
Fifty years after the first operational F-15A arrived at Langley Air Force Base on January 9, 1976, the Eagle remains in frontline service with six air forces and in production as the F-15EX Eagle II.