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A full-time national serviceman (NSF) was pronounced dead in hospital after he was found unconscious at the foot of a building in Pulau Tekong on the afternoon of Oct 8.

In a Facebook post, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said the incident occurred at 1.22pm at a building at Basic Military Training Centre School 3 and that he was not involved in training at the time.

He was immediately taken to Pulau Tekong Medical Centre for emergency treatment and later evacuated via helicopter to Singapore General Hospital (SGH).

He arrived at SGH at 2.05pm and was pronounced dead at 2.27pm.

“The Ministry of Defence and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) extend their deepest condolences to the family of the deceased,” the ministry said in its post.

“The SAF is assisting the family in their time of grief.”

Investigations are ongoing.

On September 18, Indonesia’s ambassador to Russia, Jose Tavares, told the state news agency Antara that his embassy had taken dozens of calls from families who believed their relatives had been recruited into Russia’s army by agents on social media promising large salaries. Jakarta has so far dealt with these cases one by one, in line with standard consular procedures.

On September 19, the Indonesian embassy sent a formal diplomatic letter, asking the Russian Foreign Ministry to verify the names, and bring home those who failed Russia’s medical examination. Arrmanatha Nasir, the career diplomat who was sworn in as foreign minister on October 1, has inherited that approach.

However, the current approach is ill-equipped to handle a problem that has arisen alongside President Prabowo Subianto’s efforts to build a close relationship with Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Indonesian institutions have been promoting Russia as a labor destination, including in a special economic zone that assembles attack drones, even as they warn their citizens against the job offers that might lead to the frontlines in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Jakarta counts the personal closeness between Prabowo and Putin as an asset, yet it has made no public use of that closeness to aid the citizens caught in this recruitment trap.

China and Laos inaugurated a joint support and training centre and an aviation academy at Ban Keun Airport in Vientiane Province on 29 September, establishing a new facility for training Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force (LPLAAF) pilots.

China's Ministry of National Defense (MND) said the China-Laos Joint Support and Training Center at Ban Keun Airport and the China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy had formally begun operating. The facilities are intended to help Laos strengthen the training of its air force pilots and will be jointly operated by the two countries, the MND said.

Beijing and Vientiane have not disclosed the number or status of Chinese personnel expected to use the facilities; the aircraft, equipment, or infrastructure assigned to them; their command arrangements; or the terms governing People's Liberation Army (PLA) access to Ban Keun Airport.

A UN expert today urged Malaysian authorities to stop the ongoing repatriation of Myanmar nationals this week, and work with the United Nations system and others to address the situation of Rohingya and other Myanmar refugees in the country in line with its obligations under international law.

“I am gravely concerned the Government of Malaysia has begun to return 5,000 Myanmar nationals, including women and children, under a so-called "voluntary repatriation programme" agreed with the military authorities in Myanmar,” said Kelley E. Currie, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. “Under international law, the Government of Malaysia is obligated to uphold the principle of non-refoulement and prevent the return of individuals to situations where they face a real risk of persecution, torture, or other serious human rights violations. In my assessment, the risk of refoulement in the present circumstances is substantial,” Currie said.

According to available information, Malaysia began repatriating the first group of 1,476 individuals on 29 September 2026.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing armed conflict in Rakhine State, the Special Rapporteur also strongly condemned another horrific airstrike by the Myanmar military on 28 September on the India Market, a crowded marketplace in Pike Thae village, Kyauktaw Township in Rakhine State. More than 50 civilians are reported to have been killed and many more injured.

“With the death toll expected to rise as rescue efforts continue, there is an immediate need to stop normalising and legitimising the relentless and brutal violations of international law by the military using fixed-wing bombers to target civilians. I remind Myanmar military authorities of their obligations to protect civilians under international law applicable in armed conflict,” Currie said.

“The ongoing armed conflict and widespread violence in Rakhine State, including systematic violations against the Rohingya population by all parties, indicate that the conditions necessary for a safe, dignified, sustainable, and genuinely voluntary return of refugees are currently not in place,” the Special Rapporteur said.

She urged the Government of Malaysia to take note of the legal, humanitarian, and practical criteria required for voluntary repatriation and ensure the human rights of all Myanmar refugees in Malaysia are protected.

Currie said that the ongoing civil war endangers the remaining Rohingya population in Myanmar – particularly the violence directed at civilian populations and institutions in Rakhine state – and is driving outflows of new refugees from Myanmar.

“The conditions of internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Rakhine State under the effective control of the military authorities have worsened to unimaginable levels of privation and we continue to receive fresh reports of atrocities committed against Rohingya civilians by armed groups on all sides of the conflict,” she said. “Myanmar’s military authorities continue to severely restrict access for independent humanitarian assistance or verification and monitoring of the conditions on the ground, including the conditions for any potentially returned persons.”

China’s first publicly documented deployment of a WZ-7 reconnaissance drone near Scarborough Shoal puts a high-altitude sensor into a maritime confrontation where earlier detection can give coast guard vessels more time to intercept Philippine boats before they reach contested waters.

During exercises on 27 September, the People’s Liberation Army Southern Theater Command combined naval and air forces around the shoal, rehearsing reconnaissance, early warning, rapid manoeuvre and joint search and rescue as Beijing reinforced its claim to the area. 

Footage released through Chinese state media showed the unarmed WZ-7 alongside a KJ-500 airborne early-warning aircraft, fighters and warships, but the public record does not establish how long the drone remained near Scarborough or whether it tracked Philippine vessels.

That distinction matters because a filmed sortie demonstrates the ability to bring a long-range surveillance aircraft into the operation, while sustained coverage would require repeated flights, available crews, reliable communications and ships positioned to act on the information received.

China calls the feature Huangyan Dao, while the Philippines calls it Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal; its location roughly 220 kilometres west of Luzon makes access to its lagoon a persistent test of maritime control. 

An air strike carried out by Myanmar’s military has killed at least 33 people in territory controlled by rebel factions.

The attack near a market in the north of the Rakhine state in the west of the country on Monday also wounded 36 people, rescue and rebel group officials reported. The strikes are the latest in a series of assaults against pro-democracy and ethnic armed groups by the military government, which took power in a coup in 2021, sparking armed opposition.

The Arakan army said a fighter jet dropped two bombs near a local market in the town of Kyauktaw at noon local time (0530 GMT), killing 33 people, including vendors, shoppers, and pedestrians. It said the death toll “may continue to increase”.

Wai Hun Aung, a senior rescue official in Rakhine, confirmed the details to the Associated Press news agency. He said the market was the region’s main wholesale centre, drawing traders and shoppers from across the state.

“This is one of the most severe airstrikes in Rakhine,” he said. Photos and videos posted on social media showed buildings on fire, damaged vehicles and parts of a nearby bridge destroyed.

Myanmar’s military did not immediately comment, but it has previously said it strikes only legitimate military targets and accused resistance groups of “terrorism”.

Smoke billows from fires in a residential area following a Myanmar military air attack on a market and adjacent bridge in Kyauktaw, Rakhine state, September 28, 2026 [AFP]

Myanmar has been gripped by ⁠conflict since the elected ⁠government led by Aung San Suu Kyi was ousted in the 2021 coup. A nationwide resistance movement has since evolved into a civil war between the ‌military government and an array of armed ethnic and pro-democracy groups.

The “provisional understanding” between Beijing and Manila over the Philippine resupply of Second Thomas Shoal appears to have broken down.

Indonesia has taken delivery of its first aircraft carrier, welcoming the former Italian Navy warship ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi (C-551) amid domestic debate over the aging vessel’s cost and strategic value.

The 41-year-old platform was escorted from Europe by two Indonesian Navy Thaon di Revel-class offshore patrol boats before docking for an official induction ceremony.

Rome transferred the retired warship in March 2026 to bolster defense cooperation and secure future sales of submarines and aircraft to the Southeast Asian country.

Jakarta will formally commission the carrier in late September as the KRI Sriwijaya (100).

Upkeep and Operational Concerns

The carrier’s acquisition has drawn sharp criticism from Indonesia’s parliament and defense analysts over sustainment expenses and operational utility.

While Indonesia’s Ministry of Finance approved $450 million in funding for the program, lawmakers warn retrofitting costs could reach $900 million considering its service life.

Experts also cautioned that overhauling the aging warship could redirect critical resources away from higher-priority naval assets like frigates and submarines.

Second in Southeast Asia

Indonesia is the second nation in Southeast Asia to acquire an aircraft carrier, following Thailand in the late 1990s.

Rather than sailing for long-range fighter strike missions, Jakarta plans to employ the 180-meter (591-foot) platform as a sea-based mobile command hub for disaster relief, peatland firefighting, and maritime surveillance.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said the military will apply further revamps to the Sriwijaya to carry up to 14 helicopters and operate unmanned aerial systems.

The government is now preparing a total of 310 personnel to man the carrier.

Thailand has ordered a long-range Lanza 3D radar from Spanish defense company Indra for deployment at Phuket Air Base, located near maritime routes connecting the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Malacca.

This is the third long-range Lanza 3D radar the Royal Thai Air Force has contracted.

The new radar is intended to support surveillance and control of the surrounding airspace.

According to Indra, the Lanza 3D LRR is designed to detect targets ranging from small, slow-moving drones to aircraft, projectiles and missiles.

The contract also includes command-and-control capabilities based on Indra’s AIRDEF system, allowing operators to use the radar’s data in air surveillance and control operations.

Radar Capabilities

Indra’s Lanza 3D LRR has a maximum range of 470 kilometers (255 nautical miles).

Its antenna scans a full 360 degrees every 10 to 12 seconds and is designed to track targets at altitudes from approximately 900 meters (3,000 feet) to 30 kilometers (100,000 feet).

Its stated elevation coverage reaches 20 degrees, rising to 30 degrees in its tactical ballistic missile tracking mode.

The radar uses software-controlled beams and signal processing to distinguish targets from returns caused by terrain and weather.

According to Indra, these features also support the tracking of low-flying targets and help the system operate amid interference.

An integrated identification friend or foe system helps operators identify cooperating aircraft.

AIRDEF Command-and-Control

AIRDEF combines radar data in an interface operators can use to monitor airspace, assess threats and coordinate a response.

According to Indra, the system can support mission planning, assign aircraft or weapons to a threat, and record data for later review.

It can also exchange information with civilian air traffic control when needed.

AIRDEF includes cybersecurity measures and can be configured for fixed or deployable command centers.

Cloud seeding operations will be carried out in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya following worsening haze conditions in Malaysia, according to the National Disaster Management Agency.

The agency said the operations would be scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

“However, the operations are subject to weather conditions and the availability of suitable clouds for the seeding process,” its director general, Meor Ismail Meor Akim, said in a statement on Saturday.

The operations will be carried out by the agency in collaboration with the Malaysian Meteorological Department, Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia and the Air Force.

An Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft will be used as the main asset for the cloud seeding operations.

Malaysia and Singapore are registering unhealthy air conditions caused by Indonesia’s most intense wildfires in 11 years. Indonesian Forestry Minister ‌Raja Juli Antoni has warned that the wildfires could continue until November this year.

On Friday, Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto said ⁠⁠he would receive aid from Malaysia to help contain forest and land fires that have been raging for weeks.

Kuala Lumpur offered three helicopters, an aircraft and 52 personnel to help put out the wildfires, Prabowo said in a statement after meeting Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi at his house on the outskirts of Jakarta.

“Malaysia has offered assistance to help us address the forest fires in Kalimantan. I welcome this with gratitude and pleasure,” Prabowo said.

The ⁠fleet and firefighter teams would arrive in Indonesia soon, he said, without giving further details.

In a meeting with his cabinet, the president said there would be zero tolerance for people or corporations found responsible for starting wildfires.

Indonesia’s navy commissioned its first aircraft carrier Thursday after acquiring the former Italian vessel to strengthen its maritime defenses and disaster response.

The Italian flag on the former ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi was replaced with the Indonesian flag on the carrier renamed the KRI Sriwijaya-100 as part of its official transfer at the ceremony held at Tanjung Priok seaport in North Jakarta.

“The ship, which previously served in the Italian Navy, now bears the name KRI Sriwijaya-100, flying the red-and-white flag as a symbol of sovereignty and service to Indonesia,” navy spokesperson Tunggul, who uses one name, said in a statement.

The carrier, which Italy retired in 2024, arrived at the Indonesian seaport last week after a 25-day journey passing through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

It has the capacity for short takeoff and vertical landing aircraft and helicopters. Unlike major naval powers, Indonesia will use the vessel as a mobile command and support hub for helicopters, drones and maritime operations across the archipelago.

President Prabowo Subianto earlier said the ship would help fight forest and peatland fires that regularly blanket parts of Southeast Asia with hazardous haze.

Italy agreed in March to give the carrier to Indonesia in a move aimed at boosting Italy’s broader defense engagement with the Southeast Asian country. Italy is seeking deals on submarines and aircraft, and gifting the carrier to Indonesia also saves it the cost of decommissioning the ship.

The Philippines is reportedly leaning toward acquiring 40 KF-21 Boramae fighters in a single-type fleet, a potentially transformative choice that would expand Manila’s air-combat mass while deepening South Korea’s strategic and industrial influence across the Indo-Pacific.

The assessment, circulating through Korean reporting and expert commentary, envisages a decision between late 2026 and the second quarter of 2027, although neither the Philippine government nor the Philippine Air Force has confirmed the quantity, aircraft selection, or contracting timetable.

No agreement has been signed, making the 40-aircraft narrative an indicator of negotiating momentum rather than established procurement policy, while KF-21, F-16V, Gripen, Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon formally remain associated with Manila’s multi-role fighter evaluation.

The distinction matters because the 40 figure previously described the Philippines’ broader multi-role fighter force objective, whereas negotiations reported through mid-2026 generally involved an initial 12-to-20-aircraft KF-21 package supported by financing discussions and possible deliveries during 2027–2029.

If Manila converts its total requirement into an all-KF-21 force, it would abandon the previously conceivable division between Korean fighters and American F-16Vs, concentrating training, maintenance, weapons integration and operational doctrine around one emerging combat-aircraft ecosystem.

The Royal Thai Air Force’s FY2026 procurement plan lists 20 Israeli Rampage missiles for its F-16 fleet, signalling an effort to strike high-value targets beyond the release range of the guided bombs used during Thailand’s 2025 border fighting with Cambodia.

The same listing includes 100 MPR-500 bombs, 100 associated fuzes and 50 Lizard III laser-guidance kits, creating a two-tier strike inventory built around longer-range attacks and closer strikes against hardened positions.

The proposed package is valued at approximately US$33 million, although the listed weapons remain planned procurements rather than publicly confirmed contracts, leaving delivery dates, final configuration and the number of operational rounds uncertain.

Its immediate military context is Cambodia’s Chinese-made PHL-03 rocket artillery, whose reported 70–130 km reach allows launchers positioned behind the frontier to threaten Thai locations without approaching the line of contact.

Rampage would give Thai F-16s a means to attack known coordinates from farther away, while MPR-500 would improve their ability to penetrate concrete structures once crews can approach a suitable release point.

The armed forces have established a nucleus team to spearhead the formation of a Cyber Force, which is targeted to become operational by 2030.

Armed Forces chief General Tan Sri Malek Razak Sulaiman said the fourth service was necessary as cyberspace and electromagnetic warfare had become critical domains in modern security and military operations, with regional neighbours and other countries already developing similar capabilities.

"Last year, we established the nucleus team as part of our future force planning. The team will plan and assess the steps needed to turn the Cyber Force operational.

"The Defence Ministry has agreed to our guidelines. The aim is to have an operational Cyber Force by 2030 to carry out its duties in this domain," he said in an exclusive interview with the New Straits Times for the 93rd Armed Forces Day.

He said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin was expected to launch the nucleus team during the Armed Forces Day celebrations at the Lumut Naval Base on Saturday.

He said capability development in cyber and electromagnetic activities (CEMA) was underway, covering cyber operations, electronic warfare and spectrum management.

"These capabilities have been applied during Exercise Camar Kilat Series 2/26 to generate operational effects within the CEMA framework.

"The armed forces are also building a pool of CEMA specialists, with 60 air force officers and 17 from other ranks having attended related courses up to July."

In July, Khaled told the Dewan Negara that work was underway to establish the Cyber Force as the fourth service branch of the armed forces to counter threats from modern and cognitive warfare.

He said warfare had shifted from traditional physical combat to dominance in cyberspace and shaping public perception.

Procuring BrahMos-A missile (or any other variants) for Malaysia’s 18 Royal Malaysian Air Force Su-30MKM fighters would transform how the RMAF generates, deploys, sustains, and signals combat power without requiring Kuala Lumpur to purchase an entirely new heavy combat-aircraft fleet.

The proposal progressed from Malaysian interest during 2024 through technical requests in 2025 to political acknowledgement in September 2026, when Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim confirmed exploratory discussions while leaving operational, technical, and financial judgement to the RMAF.

No procurement contract has been signed, making BrahMos-A a politically acknowledged option rather than an approved RMAF capability, while integration expense, aircraft downtime, export configuration, stockpile depth, targeting support, and competing force priorities remain decisive acquisition gates.

BrahMos-A would substantially exceed Malaysia’s existing Kh-31A, Kh-29, Kh-59MK, and Kh-59ME weapons in its powerful combination of standoff range, 200-to-300-kilogram warhead, and sustained Mach 2.8-to-3 speed, fundamentally altering maritime-strike geometry across critical Malaysian approaches.

An export-standard range near 290 kilometres, combined with the Su-30MKM’s approximately 1,300-kilometre unrefuelled combat radius and available A400M aerial refuelling, could let Malaysian crews threaten naval targets while remaining beyond many shipborne surface-to-air missile envelopes.