Persian Gulf state Qatar has formally requested to purchase advanced F-35 stealth aircraft from the United States. If permitted, Qatar would become the second Middle Eastern state to use the jets after Israel.

A Zircon hypersonic cruise missile has successfully hit a target in the Barents Sea, the Russian Ministry of Defence stated. The military stressed that the missile flew around 450 kilometres, reaching Mach 8 speeds.

The heavy fighting between forces from Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh continued on Wednesday as the flare-up over the disputed Azeri region entered its 11th day.