The U.S. has conducted military strikes on Iran for the first time in over a month.

Two missile launchers on Larak Island – a small Iranian island close to the Strait of Hormuz – were targeted in the attacks on Sunday, 30th August.

AGM-158 Extreme Range LRASM. Image Credit: Industry Handout.

It marks the first time military action has been taken against Iran since Wednesday, 29th July.

Strikes by the Strait
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed Sunday’s attacks in a statement to Time.
CENTCOM spokesperson Capt.

After several weeks of tension and uncertainty, with no actual military strikes, it appears the shooting has resumed in the war between the United States and Iran.

According to the New York Times, the U.S. said it attacked Iranian troops who were preparing to “launch rockets armed with mines.”

201117-N-NH257-1123 NORTH ARABIAN SEA (Nov. 17, 2020) The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) steams ahead of the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59) while participating in Malabar 2020 in the North Arabian Sea.

Top U.S. military commanders have warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that sustaining the current level of operations against Iran is straining America’s ability to respond to threats elsewhere, according to a classified Pentagon assessment revealed by The Washington Post.

The news of this warning comes after U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged fire over the weekend for the first time in a month, raising the risk that a conflict already six months old could again intensify.

Norfolk Naval Shipyard welcomed USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) for a Planned Incremental Availability Jan. 11.

Warsaw, Poland – Between now and the last time Russian President Vladimir Putin and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping met, developments have not moved in a direction that favors Moscow’s position and national interests.

The question is what the former KGB Lt. Col. will ask for in the way of assistance when the two sit down to speak to one another today in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. The occasion is the annual meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Treaty Organization (SCTO).

China’s Xi Jinping. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Warsaw, Poland – On 30 August, the Russian government extended a ban on the export of diesel fuel oil, marine fuel, and gas oil by producers. This will keep these bans in place past the originally planned end point at the end of August until 30 September. According to reports by Germany’s Deutsche Welle, this extension is designed to stabilize the Russian domestic petrol and other fuels market.

While this extension will add a month to the previous 31 August expiration date for fuel producers, a broader ban on several types of fuel exports will remain in effect until 31 January 2027.

On 28 August, a Ukrainian drone strike reportedly seriously damaged another one of the Russian Aerospace Forces’ (VKS) long-range Tupolev Tu-95MS bomber aircraft. After-action assessments indicate that the damage from the Ukrainian attack, which took off part of one wing of the bomber, is not repairable.

An image of the aircraft published on the Exilenova+ open-source intelligence X page shows the right wing is severed between the inboard and outboard Kuznetsov NK-12 counter-rotating turboprop engines.

Tu-95. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Tu-95 Bear Bomber.

This video describes the military situation in

For a long time, U.S. Army veteran Jose Vasquez endured his dental issues with a soldier’s mentality.
Vasquez experienced tinnitus while serving from 1991 to 1995, but his oral health didn’t begin to decline until after he left the military, he told We Are The Mighty recently. Vasquez managed his pain around his busy schedule. Sometimes, that meant taking an ibuprofen or two. Other times, Vasquez simply tolerated the discomfort.
“I thought I was a tough guy, and this was going to go away,” Vasquez said to WATM.

Iran’s Supreme Leader has called for unity at home and across the Middle East last weekend, as Tehran begins to strengthen its internal security apparatus amid growing concern that, after six months of war and rising inflation, the civilian population could begin new anti-government protests.

In a written message on Sunday, August 30, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei called on Muslim countries, particularly Iran’s Gulf neighbors, to unite against what he described as their “real enemy.

Navy Times
Maintenance delays for U.S.

James Holmes, 1945
The logic of the capital ship is impeccable.

USNI News

Rachel S. Cohen, FNN
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll’s policy update all but abandons the longstanding practice of purchasing software that is custom-built for military needs.

William Schneider Jr. & David A. Deptula, WSJ
The U.S. needs more than new weapons. It needs new ways of enlisting allies to produce weapons.

Russian Strike On Ukrainian Ammo Depot Kills 38 Near Kyiv – A Russian drone strike on a Ukrainian ammunition depot west of Kyiv has killed at least 38 people after stored shells, mines, drones and other explosives detonated. The strike became the deadliest overnight Russian attack so far this year.

The strike took place late on Friday, August 28, in the village of Myla in Kyiv Oblast’s Bucha district. On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that another 20 people were injured, including two children, while four people were still missing.

Kim Jong Un at expanded Russian-North Korean talks, Vladivostok, April 2019. Photo: kremlin.ru / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Kim Jong Un on Sunday overhauled the top levels of the military commands of North Korea, bringing in a new Minister of National Defense and promoting a top general who had stepped back from front-line duty in recent years back to a senior post on the country’s top military commission.

Lt Commander Pete Howell spoke to BFBS Forces N

CENTCOM Confirms U.S. Action Against IRGC Launchers On Larak Island. Earlier today, U.S. forces conducted strikes against two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. This marks the first military action by the U.S. in the region in over a month, reports Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, spokesperson for CENTCOM. “The IRGC had positioned themselves to launch rockets carrying sea mines in the vicinity of international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” said Hawkins.

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Quantum’s hype obscures a reality with real geopolitical stakes: the technology works and is advancing every day. Cameron Chehreh (IonQ), JD Dulny (Booz Allen), and Ben Gianni (GDIT) join Jonathan to discuss the race to Q-Day. They cover the shift to post-quantum cryptography, competing hardware modalities, emerging use cases, and why talent gaps and fragile supply chains mean the United States could be at risk of falling behind.Image: Jonathan Steffen via DVIDS.
The post The Quantum Stack and the Countdown to Q-Day appeared first on War on the Rocks.

Walk into the Pentagon, climb the escalator, and an Uncle Sam-style poster points at you: “I want YOU to use AI.” It worked. GenAI.mil hit 1.5 million users in six months, and I have heard enough OpenAI-in-disguise pitches to last a lifetime. The adoption really is great, but the poster contains a problem. “Use” is the verb of tools, and the Department of Defense does not win by using tools. It wins by commanding forces.North of the Pentagon, a task force few know about operates in a Maryland basement.

Holding back tears, Veterans & People Minister

The Russian Navy’s nuclear-powered battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov has completed sea trials, and is expected to be brought into active service in the coming weeks. This represents a major milestone for the Russian shipbuilding industry, the Northern Fleet, and the wider Navy, as the cruiser’s refurbishment and modernisation has represented by far the most ambitious program initiated for the post-Soviet surface fleet.

The U.S. military and Iran traded strikes overnight, after American forces hit an island in the Strait of Hormuz. The fighting is the first time the United States has struck Iranian targets since the end of July. 
U.S. forces struck two Iranian launch sites on Larak Island on Sunday, in response to purported preparations to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz. The small island is used by Iranian military forces and ships traveling through the strait on commercial routes pass by the small landmass.

The U.S. Army has confirmed it will delivery its M1E3 Abrams next generation main battle tank prototype to the 1st Cavalry Division for testing. Commenting on the delivery, Deputy Capability Program Executive for Ground Combat Platforms Michelle Link observed: “The M1E3 Abrams represents a bold step forward in modern vehicle design, combining advanced protection, reduced weight, and a smaller logistical footprint to meet the challenges of tomorrow’s battlefield.

The Algerian Air Force’s deployment of Su-30MKA fighter aircraft to Niger following a failed coup attempt has repressed a major landmark in defence ties between Algiers, and Central African states that recent extracted themselves from the European sphere of influence. The Algerian Defence Ministry announced that the deployment of two fighter squadrons had been made at the request of Niger’s military authorities, highlighting the long range of the aircraft and the country’s ability to provide logistical support for unexpected foreign operations.

The Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf region. Photo: SM Mirhosseini / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

US forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, resuming military operations against Iran for the first time in roughly a month after American forces observed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps preparing to deploy sea mines into the critical shipping waterway.
U.S. Central Command spokesperson Navy Captain Tim Hawkins confirmed the strikes. “U.S. forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island today,” Hawkins said.

Russia’s Deadliest Overnight Attack This Year – Russia continues its overnight assaults against Ukrainian infrastructure, with a strike into Saturday morning killing 37 people being described as the deadliest of the year so far. An additional overnight assault into Ukraine on August 30 saw two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 130 drones fired at targets throughout Kyiv, Mykolaiv, and beyond.

The Clock Is Against Trump and His Two Economic Wars – U.S. President Donald Trump is fighting economic wars on two fronts. On the one front, he is attempting to force concessions from one of America’s closest allies. On the other hand, he is trying to economically isolate one of the country’s most ideologically determined adversaries.

In both cases, the methods differ — but they are similar in the sense that, in true Trump style, he is attempting to force concessions by brute force.

U.S. Military Leaders Warn Iran War Is Unsustainable: Even as US President Donald J. Trump ordered new strikes on Iran just a few hours ago, important questions are being raised as to how much longer the Pentagon can carry on the fight.

Senior U.S. military commanders, according to new reports, are warning that the war against Iran is becoming impossible to sustain, with ships and weapons being pulled from other parts of the world just to maintain the massive American military presence in the Middle East necessary to keep the situation from simply getting worse.

Elements of the 82nd Airborne Division currently deployed to the Middle East will remain in the region into next year due to “operational requirements,” the Army announced.
The extended deployment was announced by division commander Maj. Gen. Brandon R. Tegtmeier in a letter to military families, thanking them for their support of the deployed troops. Task & Purpose reviewed the letter, dated Aug. 30 and shared to social media including the Army’s unofficial subreddit. The Army confirmed the authenticity of the letter.

The Air Force’s Global Strike Command ordered airmen to stop using a communications test kit at one of its intercontinental ballistic missile bases after a review found potential residue of a carcinogenic chemical in it. 
On Friday, Air Force Global Strike Command, which oversees the service’s ICMBs and nuclear bombers, said that it directed units to stop using AN/PRM-10 test oscillator set after polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs were potentially found in it. The 20th Air Force, which operates F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, is “immediately” stopping use of the tests.

The acting Secretary of the Navy ordered the Marine Corps to help a military spouse get her and her family back to the United States, after she took to social media to express concern that she and her kids might be stuck in Germany as she and her husband divorce.
The military spouse, identified by Task & Purpose’s sister publication We Are the Mighty as Jamie Lenio, said that she was worried she would be stuck in Germany if her divorce and custody proceedings happen while still in Germany. She identified her husband as an active-duty Marine who wishes to remain in Germany as a contractor.

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The Algerian Air Force has made a landmark deployment of fighter aircraft to neighbouring Niger following a failed military coup in the capital, Niamey, marking a significant expansion of Algiers’ direct military involvement in Central African security affairs. The deployment came after Nigerien forces, with assistance from Russia’s Africa Corps, regained control of key military and government facilities targeted by rogue elements of the armed forces.

Big empires need big emperors; and sadly they can’t all be Marcus Aurelius. There’s an old story about Caligula, the Roman emperor between 37 and 41 AD, and its one of the crazier stories about him. It’s sometimes described as a “war against Neptune,” the Roman god of the sea.
But how to you attack the sea god? If you asked Caligula, you attack the sea head on.
Also Read: Roman gladiators fought lions for sport and there’s finally proof
The story goes that Caligula had his men line up and do just that one day, an attack complete with infantry stabbing the ocean.

For those of us who spent decades inside the Special Forces operational community, studying the anatomy of conflict across rugged mountains, isolated valleys, and dense urban sprawl, one foundational rule of unconventional warfare stands absolute. Advanced hardware and precision fires cannot compensate for the absence of an organized, trained, and pre-positioned human resistance.

Putin Is Running Out of Soldiers for the Ukraine War – As Russia grapples with ongoing Ukrainian long-range strikes and diminishing returns on the front lines, its massive military recruitment machine appears to be grinding to a halt. This week, reports described how Russian President Vladimir Putin is struggling to replace soldiers being lost in the war, with Western officials now estimating that his army is losing roughly 6,000 more troops per month than it can recruit. And that’s despite Moscow continuing to bring around 1,000 new personnel into the military every day.

Oil Is Just About Escaping Hormuz – But LNG Isn’t – The United States and its Gulf allies are being forced to find creative new ways to get oil out of the Persian Gulf, but despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s insistence that the Strait of Hormuz is open, shipping remains far below pre-war levels. The series of emergency measures that are keeping crude moving out of the region are extraordinarily expensive, and Iran retains the ability to disrupt traffic again — meaning any victory we see today could end tomorrow.

But for liquefied natural gas, the problem is even more acute.

The Pentagon is set to withdraw nearly 200 U.S. troops from Nigeria, following their deployment to the central African country earlier this year.
The New York Times first reported on the troop drawdown, citing U.S. officials. It’s the second time in two months that the U.S. has pulled some combat forces deployed to the country as part of a surge of American military power. 
Since late winter, more than 100 American troops have been deployed to the country on a training and advisory mission. The U.S.

Do you know how the top military table tennis s

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This video describes the military situation in

This video describes the military situation in

Lt Col Brian Franks fought to keep the Special

The Republic of China Air Force has finally received the first of 66 new F-16 Block 70 fighters ordered in 2019, marking a major milestone in the service’s efforts to modernise its combat aviation fleet. The aircraft represents the latest evolution of the F-16 family, combining the basic airframe design that first flew in 1974 with the AN/APG-83 AESA radar, substantially upgraded avionics and modern electronic-warfare capabilities.

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy appears to be moving closer to integrating the GJ-21 unmanned stealth fighter with its new Type 076 class aircraft carriers, with the aircraft recently filmed flying over Huludao in Liaoning province. Some unconfirmed sources have indicated that it has already entered service in the Navy, while the first Type 076 carrier, the Sichuan, is confirmed to have entered the final phase of its sea trials.

Russia has conducted a successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), launching a test warhead from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Arkhangelsk Region to the Kura training range on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East. The Russian Defence Ministry said the launch was carried out as part of a Strategic Missile Forces exercise designed to test the deployment and operation of a mobile ICBM unit.

Bangladesh has cited the combat performance of the Chinese J-10C fighter against Indian Air Force Rafale jets in May 2025 aircraft as a key reason behind its decision to move forward with a major purchase. Bangladesh’s Prime Minister’s Information and Broadcasting Adviser Zahed Ur Rahman specifically pointed to the J-10’s reported performance during the May 2025 India-Pakistan conflict as a factor behind the decision. “There is a recent real experience in combat situations. When the war was going on in India-Pakistan, India’s Rafale was shot down by the Chinese J-10.

Losing Congress Due to the Iran War Could Cripple Trump’s Final Two Years – President Donald Trump’s failure to bring the Iran war to a close could soon cost the Republicans more than a handful of seats in November. If the party loses control of Congress, Trump could spend the final years of his presidency with much of his legislative agenda effectively frozen and his administration under relentless pressure and scrutiny.

Six months after the U.S.