RTX has agreed to pay nearly $1 billion in fines for defrauding the US Department of Defense and bribing a Qatari official, adding to a recent $200 million penalty for unauthorised defence exports.

Jeffrey Cook and John Mason have been acquitted in a case accusing them of bribing Saudi officials for defence contracts, after evidence suggested the UK and Saudi governments had sanctioned the payments.

This article discusses how endemic corruption within the Russian military, from high-ranking officials to conscripts, has hampered Russia’s ability to achieve its military objectives in Ukraine, leading to inefficiencies, inadequate equipment, and logistical problems.