A new U.S. air defense base in northern Poland, designed to detect and intercept ballistic missile attacks as part of a broader NATO missile shield, is mission ready, the western military alliance announced on Wednesday.

The United States’ decision to dramatically increase its long-range fire capabilities in Europe starting in 2026 appears set to trigger a response from Russia, as a new missile race gathers pace in Europe. Announced yesterday, the U.S. plan calls for “episodic deployments” followed by “longer-term stationing” of various types of long-range missiles suggesting that, eventually, at least some of these weapons will be permanently deployed in Germany, in a throwback to the Cold War era.

The United States will deploy to Germany a range of advanced ground-launched weapons, including the SM-6 multi-purpose missile and Tomahawk cruise missile as well as “developmental hypersonic weapons” — a reference to the yet-to-be-fielded Dark Eagle and potentially others, like the Operational Fires (OpFires) ground-launched hypersonic missile system and the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) short-range ballistic missile, both of which are also now in development.

Latvia will deliver the next package of drones to Ukraine as part of the drone coalition. The package includes more than 2,500 combat drones worth EUR 4 million.

Poland's defence ministry has signed a contract for 58 Rosomak (Wolverine) armoured personnel carriers equipped with advanced, remotely-operated turrets, News.Az reports citing TVP World.

The new Rosomaks will join some 800 vehicles of this type already in the service of the Polish army.

The deal, valued at approximately 2.6 billion złoty (€610 million), was sealed in Warsaw on Monday by the country’s Armament Agency and a consortium of Polish companies: Huta Stalowa Wola, PGZ, Rosomak, and WB Electronics.

RTX's (RTX.N), opens new tab Raytheon Technologies said on Thursday that it has been awarded a $1.2 billion contract to supply Germany with additional Patriot air and missile defense systems.

The new order marks the second Patriot order for Germany this year.