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German Military Creates Rapid Response Teams to Counter Drone Threats

A sign with a drone ban is displayed outside the airport in Munich, Germany October 6, 2025. REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File
A sign with a drone ban is displayed outside the airport in Munich, Germany October 6, 2025. REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File
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German Military Creates Rapid Response Teams to Counter Drone Threats

A sign with a drone ban is displayed outside the airport in Munich, Germany October 6, 2025. REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File
A sign with a drone ban is displayed outside the airport in Munich, Germany October 6, 2025. REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File

The German military is setting up rapid response teams to counter acute drone threats, a top German military official said, most recently dispatching these experts to assist in Belgium.

"These anti-drone units are being established right now," Lieutenant General Alexander Sollfrank, who heads Germany's joint operations command and oversees the country's defense planning, told Reuters in an interview.

The German defense ministry said late on Thursday it was sending counter-drone experts to Belgium after a request from the country, which has been struggling with an increase in drone sightings near military installations and civilian airports.

DRONE SIGHTINGS CAUSE HEADACHES ACROSS EUROPE

"An advance party of air force personnel have arrived in Belgium to explore the situation and coordinate a temporary mission involving drone detection and counter-drone capabilities with the Belgian forces," the ministry said in a statement.

"The main party will follow shortly."

Sightings of drones over airports and military bases have become a constant problem in Belgium in recent days and have caused major disruptions across Europe in recent months.

They forced the temporary closures of airports in several countries including Sweden on Thursday.

Some officials have blamed the incidents on "hybrid warfare" by Russia. Moscow has denied any connection with the incidents.

Sollfrank declined to go into detail when talking about the new counter-drone units, citing operational security, but said a team sent to Copenhagen last month during an EU summit had been equipped with a mix of sensors and effectors.

"They have various systems to spot and counter drones. We have the option, for example, to assume control over a drone and land it at a specific location," said the general.

The counter-drone experts also have drones at their disposal that can eject nets to catch drones and thus take them down, as well as interceptors that ram hostile drones, he added.

BELGIUM AIRPORTS LATEST TO SPOT DRONES

Belgium's Liege airport resumed flights after a temporary halt due to a drone sighting on Friday, in the second such incident this week.

Drones spotted flying over airports in the capital, Brussels, and in Liege, in the country's east, forced the diversion of many incoming planes and the grounding of some due to depart on Tuesday.

The Belgian government called an emergency meeting of key government ministers and security chiefs on Thursday to address what the defense minister called a coordinated attack.

 

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World

US-Iran Deal Promises End to War but How It Will Work Remains Unclear

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. (Reuters)
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. (Reuters)
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US-Iran Deal Promises End to War but How It Will Work Remains Unclear

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. (Reuters)
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. (Reuters)

Doubts swirled around the US-Iran interim deal to end the war in the Middle East as shippers said it could take weeks for confidence to return after any reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and fundamental questions remained unanswered.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday a preliminary agreement to end the conflict had been signed by the US and Iran, although details have yet to be made public and both countries said a permanent truce was yet to be negotiated.

The interim agreement would extend a tenuous ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively blocked since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February.

Negotiators would address difficult issues like the future of Iran's nuclear program during the next phase of talks to be held during the 60-day window.

Two other issues that Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used to justify the war - ending Iran's support for regional armed proxies and curbing its missile program - are not thought to be on the agenda for those negotiations.

"The deal's all signed," Trump said after he arrived ‌in France for a ‌summit of the G7 group of big economies. He said Vice President JD Vance would attend ‌a formal ⁠signing ceremony in Geneva ⁠on Friday.

Oil prices fell on Monday to their lowest level since March 10, shortly after the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, cut off one-fifth of the world's oil trade.

But on Tuesday the price steadied, reflecting a more cautious stance, with Brent crude futures sliding 0.3% to $82.96 a barrel in Asian trading hours.

To be sure, the deal is the most significant step yet to resolve the conflict, which has killed at least 7,000 people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, and upended global energy markets.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on social media Monday that the interim agreement was an "important step" toward stopping the fighting but noted a final deal for a lasting truce "has yet to take shape."

Vance told CNN that the signed memorandum ⁠was a "very general document." Details would be released over the next two days, US officials said.

Vance said it ‌included "a very significant sanctions relief package" for Iran. He later told Fox News that Trump ‌may decide to release the agreement before Friday.

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, ‌said Iran would have to satisfy US demands never to build a nuclear weapon and cut off support for armed groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon in order to get benefits.

Iranian officials, who have always denied intending to build a nuclear weapon, say they have given up little by agreeing to resume diplomatic discussions over Iran's uranium enrichment program that were interrupted by the war.

REBUILDING CONFIDENCE

While the latest agreement could lift Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, that only restores the prewar status ‌quo, and shippers say traffic will only restart once they are satisfied they can transit safely.

The chief executive of Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, a shipping giant with a fleet of more than 900 vessels ⁠including tankers, told the Financial Times shipowners ⁠would not sail through the Strait of Hormuz until they were confident the US-Iran deal was "material".

"Given the experiences in the last couple of months, I think it’s reasonable to assume that it may take at least a couple of weeks or if not a month," Tamura told the FT before Trump announced the deal.

The agreement between Washington and Tehran being finalized had not changed Tamura's view, the FT report said.

Iran has suggested it will retain control with Oman over the strait. The US said the strait will be open toll-free for 60 days and it would expect that provision to be part of a final agreement.

Trump said in a Truth Social post that ships loaded with oil were starting to move out of the strait, "going along the Southern 'Highway,' which is totally safe, secure, and pristine".

NETANYAHU 'STOOD FIRM'

The fighting between US ally Israel and the Iran-allied Hezbollah group in Lebanon, which has uprooted 1.2 million people, remains another key sticking point.

Iran has said the deal requires a full cessation of hostilities there, but Netanyahu said Israel would keep its forces in southern Lebanon and would retain the right to respond to Hezbollah attacks.

"Iran wanted us to withdraw from it, but I stood firm," he said on Monday at a news conference. Israel has not directly participated in the peace talks with Iran.

A US official said an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, which it invaded in March after Hezbollah joined the war, was not a condition of the deal.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Israeli attacks must stop immediately.

World

Japan Undecided on Sending Military to Hormuz

Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi stands before greeting Netherlands' Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius during the Japan-Netherlands Defense Ministers' Meeting in Tokyo on June 16, 2026. (AFP)
Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi stands before greeting Netherlands' Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius during the Japan-Netherlands Defense Ministers' Meeting in Tokyo on June 16, 2026. (AFP)
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Japan Undecided on Sending Military to Hormuz

Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi stands before greeting Netherlands' Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius during the Japan-Netherlands Defense Ministers' Meeting in Tokyo on June 16, 2026. (AFP)
Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi stands before greeting Netherlands' Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius during the Japan-Netherlands Defense Ministers' Meeting in Tokyo on June 16, 2026. (AFP)

Japan said Tuesday it has not yet decided whether its military will join efforts to help the resumption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after the US-Iran peace deal.

US President Donald Trump said that the vital artery for oil and gas would be "completely open" from Friday but added there was still "hunting" going on to ensure the waterway was de-mined.

Japan signed onto a joint statement issued Monday by European nations that they were ready for a "defensive and independent mission to reassure commercial shipping and conduct mine clearance operations" in the strait.

The statement added though that this would occur in accordance with "respective constitutional requirements".

Japan's constitution strictly limits the use of force to self-defense.

Trump has pressed global allies including Japan to send warships to the region to help open the strait.

"At this point, no decision has been made regarding the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces," Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Tuesday, using the official name for Japan's armed forces.

"We intend to consult closely with relevant countries, including our ally the United States, carefully assess the situation, and consider necessary measures within the framework of international and domestic law," Koizumi said.

In April, senior members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party suggested that after fighting stops, Japan should consider deploying minesweepers and other vessels to clear any obstacles in the Strait of Hormuz, the Nikkei reported.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, currently at a Group of Seven summit in France, later reportedly said Japan will have various options after a ceasefire agreement.

Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) is considered adept at removing mines, with 16 vessels capable of such operations, the Nikkei said.

The Japanese military was involved in mine-clearance operations in 1991 after a ceasefire in the Gulf War.

World

Documents: US Military to Build War-ready Stockpile in Australia

A swimmer stands at the water’s edge at Coogee Beach in the days following a shark attack on Saturday, in Sydney, Australia, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams.
A swimmer stands at the water’s edge at Coogee Beach in the days following a shark attack on Saturday, in Sydney, Australia, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams.
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Documents: US Military to Build War-ready Stockpile in Australia

A swimmer stands at the water’s edge at Coogee Beach in the days following a shark attack on Saturday, in Sydney, Australia, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams.
A swimmer stands at the water’s edge at Coogee Beach in the days following a shark attack on Saturday, in Sydney, Australia, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams.

The US military is planning a permanent war-ready weapons stockpile for its Marine Corps on Australia's southeast coast beyond the range of most Chinese missiles, tender documents show and officials confirmed to AFP.

The development of the stockpile, a first for the Marine Corps in Australia, comes as the United States is keen to leverage the continent's strategic location in the South Pacific to counter China's rapid military build-up, analysts said.

The US Marines Corps began global prepositioning of military supplies during the Cold War -- using floating stores on ships and caves in Norway where weapons, ammunition and vehicles to sustain thousands of troops are kept.

The first land stockpile in the Asia-Pacific is expected to open this year in the Philippines, close to potential flashpoints in the South China Sea.

Documents published by the US Navy this month show advanced planning for an even larger Australian stockpile, with $30 million allocated to build warehouses and offices in southeastern Victoria state for "critical forward provisioning.”

The Australian stockpile, expected to reach full capacity by 2028, will be kept in Melbourne before being moved to US warehouses to be constructed next year at an Australian military base at Bandiana in rural Victoria, tender documents show.

Australia does not permit foreign military bases on its soil, a sensitive issue in a country that has a security alliance with the United States and is hosting an increasing variety of US forces on rotation at Australian defense bases.

The US Navy is engaging a global defense contractor to employ around 110 engineers, mechanics, material and safety specialists to manage the Australian stockpile, which includes "crew-served weapons", the documents show.

"Marine Corps activities in Australia support integrated global sustainment by maintaining ready-for-issue equipment and supplies for operations and exercises across the Indo-Pacific," a US Marine Corps Forces Pacific spokesperson told AFP.

The spokesperson declined to comment on contract details or force planning assumptions but said Marines equipment is kept at "high readiness.”

Contracting arrangements and the operation of the facility would be made in close coordination with Australia's Department of Defense.

"These activities improve responsiveness, strengthen interoperability with allies and partners, and support a range of missions across the Indo-Pacific," the spokesperson said, using an alternative description for the Asia-Pacific region.

US Army trucks were left at the Bandiana base in 2023 after an Australian war game involving US troops held every two years. The Marines stockpile at Bandiana, approved last July, is separate.

"Marine Corps and Army equipment programs are designed to support their respective service requirements and are managed under separate authorities and processes," the Marines spokesperson said.

Australia's Department of Defense did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

- Beyond China's missiles? -

The Pentagon has asked Congress for $500 million next year to improve prepositioning of equipment and fuel across the Asia-Pacific to deter China.

Around 2,000 US Marines conduct exercises for six months of the year on the opposite coast of Australia in the northern city of Darwin.

A report from the Lowy Institute think tank this week warned that China has the capability to strike northern Australia with ballistic missiles deployed from its South China Sea outposts.

Its director of international security, Sam Roggeveen, told AFP that was likely a "relevant consideration" in placing a stockpile in Australia's southeast.

"Once these facilities are operational, they would be obvious targets for China," he said.

The growth of US forces and equipment in Australia is "a major change to Australian policy that ties Australia much more closely to America's strategic objectives in the region", Roggeveen said.

Australian National University professor of international security John Blaxland said the country's location is being seen with "a growing sense of significance" given concerns over the vulnerability of the US military base on Guam.

"With competition for influence in the Indo-Pacific having reached the highest level in over a generation, it is not surprising that the US Marines might look to Australia to enable such storage," he said.

"Barring a massive increase in Australian defense expenditure, for which there is little political appetite, facilitating greater US investment in Australian real estate is widely considered to be the most prudent approach to take."