EU allocates 1 billion euros to boost collaborative European defense research, development

The European Commission announced on Wednesday that it will invest 1 billion euros (1.17 billion U.S. dollars) in joint defense research and development under the 2026 European Defense Fund Work Program, to reinforce Europe's collective approach to defense innovation and capability building.

With this new round of investments, the European Commission's flagship for defense research and development will address 31 collaborative defense research and development topics, in critical and urgent areas in line with the commonly agreed capability development priorities.

The distribution of topics is striking a balance between funding research and development on the traditional backbone of defense, on future capability areas and on defense innovation and ensuring support for small and medium enterprises and mid-caps, according to the Commission.

Speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict has sounded the alarm for them, and Europe must be responsible for its own security.

"This is no longer an option. This is a must," she said, adding that the world pattern has undergone profound changes, and Europe must focus on its own strategy.

EU allocates 1 billion euros to boost collaborative European defense research, development

China's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the country's northwest on Sunday, sending three astronauts to its orbiting space station.

The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, lifted off from the launch site at 23:08 Beijing Time (15:08 GMT).

The crew members consist of mission commander Zhu Yangzhu, and fellow astronauts Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, who is also the first astronaut from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

In another notable first, one of the crew members is set to undertake a year-long stay aboard the space station, double the usual duration of previous Shenzhou missions.

After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-23 spaceship will perform a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the radial port of the space station core module Tianhe, forming a combination of three modules and three spacecraft.

Shenzhou-23 marks the 40th flight of China's manned spaceflight program and the seventh manned flight mission since the Tiangong space station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.

China launches Shenzhou-23 manned spaceship