America escalated militarily against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

On the sixth day of the return to war, Washington expanded its targeting of key Iranian military facilities.

250429-N-FS097-1154 U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (April 28, 2025) An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 192, launches from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. (Official U.S. Navy photo)

Nimitz-class carrier USS George H.W.

Russia has been at war in Ukraine for four and a half years, and in that time it has been facing major sanctions from the U.S., the European Union, and other entities.

This has led to possible short-term trouble for the Russian economy, including a potential banking crisis, according to a new report.

The 1-148th Field Artillery Regiment is the latest unit in the Idaho Army National Guard to upgrade its combat capability as modernization efforts across the U.S. Army and Army National Guard take shape.

The Strait of Hormuz Is Emptying Again–and the Stakes Have Never Been Higher: Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz (SoH), a critical chokepoint for global energy supplies, has again fallen to near-zero levels since the resumption of hostilities between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Because of those hostilities, the US has both continued its aerial bombardment of the Islamic Republic and imposed its naval counter-blockade of the SoH.

Why Ukraine Is Targeting the Sea of Azov: It is an established fact that Ukraine’s ongoing long-range strikes against Russia are intended to raise the cost of sustaining the war, but recent strikes against cargo ships and Russian-linked vessels suggest that Kyiv is also doing something more. Ukraine, it seems, is turning one of Russia’s safest logistical corridors into an enormous headache, putting pressure on the Russian economy and creating Moscow’s own Strait of Hormuz-style crisis.

Kyiv said on Thursday, July 16, that it had struck at least 11 more Russian-linked vessels.

Is Operation Epic Fury back on?

The Strait of Hormuz handles around one-fifth of global oil trade. Understandably, the Islamic Republic views this chokepoint as an “unbreakable red line”.

In a recent interview on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Vice President JD Vance described two factions in Iran: the “crazies” and the “pragmatists,” With the breakdown of the MoU indicating the “crazies” are currently winning the internal policy battle.

A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor, flown by Capt.

While the United States has intensified its airstrikes against Iran, centering its attacks in the south along the coastal region, and other deep strikes, it also fired Hellfire missiles on an empty tanker that was headed for Kharg Island, after it attempted to run the US Navy’s blockade.

Iran responded on Thursday with several attacks using missiles and drones targeting Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, which host US bases.

B-1B Lancer Bomber in Museum in Dayton, Ohio. Image Credit: Harry J. Kazianis/National Security Journal.

A U.S.

Recently, Ukraine has expanded its long-range drone campaign to the sea. The Sea of Azov, which is a vital trade hub for Russian maritime transport, has come under attack by Ukrainian drones, hoping to disrupt traffic in the waterway.

The Sea was previously out of reach for Kyiv, but recent advances in mid-to-long-range strike capabilities have allowed it to reach the waterway with ease. Over the last couple of weeks, Ukraine has managed to hit 116 targets, the vast majority of which are tankers, some of which Kyiv claims are part of Russia’s ‘shadow fleet.

Spectators left gasping as a Blue Angel passes

U.S. Expands Iran Strikes As Tehran Lashes Out Across Region: The United States once again expanded its military campaign against Iran overnight into Thursday, July 16, striking military sites around the Strait of Hormuz as well as other sites around Tehran. Iran responded to the attacks with missile and drone strikes targeting six American-linked bases throughout Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait.

U.S.

The UK has joined other European allies to comm

An Army chaplain who offered a female soldier £3,000 to withdraw a sexual assault claim used classic victim-blaming attitudes that could deter other women from coming forward, a military justice lawyer has told BFBS Forces News. Lucy Baston, of the Centre for Military Justice, said the case could not be dismissed as a one-off and called for a properly independent body to handle serious complaints of discrimination, harassment and sexual violence. More💻: https://www.forcesnews.com/news/victim-blaming-condemned-after-army-padre-made-ps3k-offer-drop-sex-assault-claim #bfbsforcesnews #forcesnews #news #uk #shorts #military #army #law #soldier

A controversial veterans benefits bill that is estimated to reduce future disability ratings by nearly $60 billion over a decade to pay for expanded compensation hit a speed bump on Thursday.
The House of Representatives postponed a planned vote on the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act, a package of more than 60 legislative proposals. The move came after an effort to send the bill back to the Veterans Affairs Committee failed by just one vote. No information was immediately available on when the bill might come up for a vote again.

The Russian Economy “Is An Illusion” Built On Debt: With the current energy crisis already wreaking havoc on Russia’s economy, a banking crisis may soon erupt as a mountain of debt weighs on consumers and businesses due to bad lending practices.

Fortune magazine wrote that the Kremlin urged banks to approve and even encouraged millions of Russians to take out three or more loans simultaneously.

But lenders are now vulnerable amid soaring indebtedness and deteriorating loan quality, while consumers buckle under high inflation.

Raytheon updated this reporter on the status of its plans to reinforce US naval radars under Project Storm.

Ukraine Wins the Lottery with New France Arms Sale: The name of the game in the war in Ukraine is drone attacks against Russia, and lots of them. The Kremlin also commanded its generals to use loitering kamikaze munitions against Ukraine as well. Lost in the shuffle is the need to promote air supremacy with fighter jets that can help shoot down the bevy of ballistic missiles and drones that are sent in massive flights by each side.

What a Shot in the Arm
Volodymyr Zelensky is excited about the latest news involving a group of fighters that will be heading his way soon.

A video report I made about British soldiers on

Is it time to tax oil windfalls?: The year’s numerous oil price spikes, mostly related to the stop-and-start war in Iran, have put a lot of money in oil companies’ pockets.

And according to a new NPR report, there are growing calls for a tax on windfall oil profits. As noted by the Guardian, the 100 largest oil companies in the world “banked more than $30m every hour in unearned profit in the first month of the US-Israeli war in Iran.”

Generic Oil Tanker Image. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

The war in Ukraine has taken a toll on Russia. The country has suffered nearly a million and a half casualties. Attacks on its gas and oil infrastructure have caused widespread gas shortages in 56 of Russia’s 83 regions. The banking industry is in the midst of a crisis.

The economy is teetering on the edge, but not according to the Kremlin.

T-90M from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said ‌on Thursday that Russia’s economy is stable.

“The difficulties our economy is going through are well known to everyone.

RTX’s Raytheon has announced the successful demonstration of its Next Generation Short Range Interceptor (NGSRI), a new missile system intended to replace the Stinger surface-to-air missile for the US Army.

Nearly every day brings new headlines about successful drone strikes by Ukraine against Russia. Now, Ukraine has reportedly carried out a strike on the Russian capital of Moscow.

According to ABC News, which cited Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, at least 200 drones were launched towards Moscow overnight.

Lancet Drone from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

“More than 200 drones were flying towards the Moscow region. Most of them were neutralized by air defense systems at a distance,” the mayor said in a Telegram post cited by ABC.

Japan’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) has selected Terra Drone’s locally developed interceptor drone as a “test article” for its Interceptor Drone Rapid Acquisition Programme.

Veterans who served from the mid-1980s up to today will likely be familiar with the iconic 9mm Beretta M9. Despite the formal adoption of the SIG Sauer M17/M18 handgun as the official U.S. military sidearm in 2017, the M9 remains in some active duty arms rooms and, as of 2026, service members are still qualifying with the weapon.
Also Read: America’s last combat revolver served from World War I to Vietnam
Although the M9 has proven itself to be extremely robust and reliable, the platform has its drawbacks.

Iran calls the Strait of Hormuz a “red line”: The United States and Iran have continued to trade shots in their resumed conflict. And on Thursday, the Iranian side made a threat about the Strait of Hormuz, on which the U.S. has imposed a blockade.

According to NPR, the U.S. and Iran have now once again been firing at each other for six days, essentially putting an end to the ceasefire that was agreed to in the “memorandum of understanding” in mid-June.

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Marydith Stidham, a 125th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, marshals Capt.

Iran Says The Strait Of Hormuz Is “An Unbreakable Red Line”: The Iranian IRGC warned that the Strait of Hormuz was an “unbreakable red line” after the US escalated air strikes against it.

The IRGC added that it would destroy “all infrastructure throughout the region” if President Trump acted on this threat to attack Iranian bridges and civilian infrastructure.

Beijing Is Preparing for Putin’s Death, Engaging with His Potential Successors: The PRC was once highly dependent on Russia for most of what made it a world power. But in 2026, not only does the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping feel no need to ingratiate himself with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he and the other top leaders in Beijing are openly planning for what they will be demanding from Moscow once former KGB Lt. Col. Putin is dead or is deposed – or both.

This video describes the military situation in

In 1941, the United States Embassy gave Mildred Gillars a way out. She didn’t take it.
Gillars worked for Third Reich Radio in Germany, and as her broadcasts became more anti-American and anti-Semitic, the Americans took notice. Embassy officials wanted Gillars, a native of Portland, Maine, to quit her job and go home to the U.S.
After she refused, they took her passport.
Also Read: A new AI database helps viewers search for Nazi families“She’s sort of caught in this murky twilight zone,” history professor Michael Flamm told the “History This Week” podcast in 2023.

Earlier this week, the American President Donald Trump appeared confident in America’s position vis-à-vis the war in Iran, and sure that the United States would be able to leverage its position over Tehran to ensure that shipping transiting the Strait of Hormuz could do so safely.

“The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving,” the president wrote on Truth Social.

Independent polling in Russia is notoriously difficult. And while the Russian president’s position is hardly insecure given his iron grip on the reins of power in the Kremlin, he is facing multiple mounting crises both at home and abroad in Ukraine. The war, which he began with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022, is no longer limited to Ukraine but has spread widely into Russia itself.

In what appears to be a desperate move by Moscow, satellite imagery reveals that vital military installations in Russia’s far northern Arctic regions have been stripped of their air defense batteries. These anti-air assets are being moved to the interior of Russia, as the Kremlin seeks to find some response to an increasingly successful Ukrainian 40-day  drone campaign.

This video describes the military situation in

The campaign of drone warfare being carried out by Ukraine against Russian oil tankers, merchant ships, and naval vessels in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea has entered a new, decisive phase. If the effectiveness and level of success achieved so far are maintained, it will have ripple effects that reach all the way back to Moscow.

For that reason, the campaign has been nicknamed МоЛоЧКа (MoLoChKa), an acronym for the Russian phrase meaning “Moscow Will Fall Through Crimea.

Tectonic
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Mishra, Interesting Engineering
Kratos claims that it’s the only company delivering both propulsion and flyer systems.

Dylan Malyasov, Defence Blog
The U.S.

Ryan Finnerty, Flight Global
The test event over the Mojave Desert involved an externally carried Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM radar-guided missile.

JV Venable, RealClearDefense
Air Superiority over Battlefields Demands Both Standoff and Penetrating Airpower

A Washington inmate used jail phones to call VA medical centers and convince staff members to hand over personal information of seriously ill veterans receiving care at the hospitals.
With a second call, the inmate then tried to scam their close relatives out of money.
Repeating the same scam over 60 times, Darryl Lamont Young, 41, took family members of sick veterans for $8,900 between late 2021 and early 2023, a federal jury in Seattle found Monday. The jury convicted Young of 14 counts of aggravated identity theft and wire fraud in the scam after a four-day trial.

This video describes the military situation in

The relationship between Congress and the Pentagon over the past year has been marked by public disagreements and frustrations over lawmakers’ concerns about the Iran War, and by what some lawmakers view as politically motivated firings of top military leaders. In many ways, the House and Senate versions of the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act reflect lawmakers’ efforts to check the Pentagon’s policy power.Innovation efforts are generally a bright spot in these political battles.

Nothing reveals truths more effectively than patterns. If you can identify a pattern, you can see what actions conceal, what statements leave unsaid, and what agreements postpone. Peace treaties and the negotiations surrounding them are rarely analyzed in this way, even though they may exhibit patterns that recur across different circumstances.

Editor’s note: This is the tenth article in an 11-part series examining how the United States should organize, lead, and integrate economic statecraft into strategy, defense practice, and the broader national security ecosystem. The special series is brought to you by the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies and War on the Rocks. Prior installments can be found at the War by Other Ledgers page.The United States is fighting a new kind of global competition — over supply chains, chips, and sanctions. It barely has anyone trained to fight it.

Watch the 2026 Lawson Cup final live from Alder

Newly released footage of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s first Type 076 amphibious assault ship, Sichuan, has provided the clearest look at its design features developed around the requirement for operating fixed-wing unmanned aircraft. The footage has reinforced assessments made over the past five years that China is pioneering an entirely new type of warship – the world’s first drone carrier. This follows the warship’s first deployment to the South China Sea in April, and the appearance of unmanned flying wing stealth fighters on its deck in February.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth via the Pentagon released a statement announcing the requirement for testosterone tests to optimize warfighter performance.

Statement by Chief Pentagon Spokesman, Sean Parnell, on Enhanced Screening Protocol to Optimize Warfighter Performance and Enhance Force Readiness
The Department of War is committed to building and maintaining a ready, lethal fighting force prepared to dominate the battlefield and achieve peace through strength.

The Royal Saudi Air Force launched a failed cruise missile strike on Sana’a International Airport in Yemen, with its apparent objective of disabling the airport’s runway having not been achieved as multiple British-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles missed their target. Approximately ten Storm Shadow missiles were launched from long ranges by Saudi Eurofighters in an attempt to render the runway unusable, but the attack reportedly failed to inflict decisive damage sufficient to shut down operations.

The Republic of China Army has deployed the world’s largest NATO standard self-propelled howitzer, the M110 203mm artillery system, as part of its Joint Defense Exercise on July 15. The operational scenario progressed to the critical “key area fire destruction” phase, during which artillery units rehearsed delivering concentrated firepower against simulated enemy forces that had established beachheads following an amphibious landing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is in an increasingly unenviable situation. There are multiple forces not trending in his favor, but the central dilemma comes down to this: The number of allegedly rational arguments used to justify the Ukraine war at the outset that are still defensible today is zero.

At the same time, the number of complications arising from the Russian military’s progressive underperformance and former KGB Lt. Col. Putin’s overpromising is multiplying.

According to recent reports, the Kremlin is repositioning air defense installations from remote regions of Moscow to better protect valuable positions from Ukrainian drone attacks. The information comes as Ukraine has been ramping up its strikes against oil refineries and other critical infrastructure across the country, causing the Kremlin to rethink its defense strategy. The war in Ukraine has exposed many critical shortcomings in Russia’s air defense structure.