These are the Top 10 news stories from across the defence desk in 2025, covering developments on land, at sea, and in the air.

The Royal Australian Navy submarine HMAS Sheean, a Collins-class boat, arrives in Hobart, Australia, on April 1, 2021. (Leo Baumgartner/Australian Defence Force via ...

The following is the Dec. 23, 2025, Report to Congress on Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2025. From the report China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has for decades marshaled resources,

Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.

The Pentagon's latest annual report on the People’s Liberation Army described China’s recent buildup as “historic.”

Defense technology and national security companies and contractors are trying to ramp up production after a record-setting government shutdown that lasted over 40 days and limited funding mechanisms. The 43-day shutdown concluded Nov. 12 when enough Senate ...

Washington — Congress is aiming to withhold part of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's travel budget until the Pentagon hands over footage of the strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela. The provision was tucked into a compromise version of ...

U.S. soldiers fire an M777 Howitzer during an operational exercise at Mission Support Site Conaco, Syria, Dec. 4, 2022. (Sgt. Julio Hernandez/Army) The U.S. Army is looking for companies that can manufacture the new XM1208 155mm cluster shell — and a ...

Thailand's M132 A1 self-propelled mortar is seen displayed at the Defense & Security 2025 show in Bangkok. (Janes/Jon Grevatt) The Royal Thai Army (RTA) has integrated its M132 A1 drop-fired mortar onto a 4×4 Tata truck to enhance its ongoing border ...