Russian losses in Ukraine have been staggering. According to some estimates, Russia has lost nearly 1.5 million men killed or wounded on the battlefields in Ukraine — more than in all conflicts Russia or the Soviet Union has fought in combined since the end of the Second World War. The Ukrainian General Staff says that September was the deadliest month of the war this year, with over 46,000 Russians killed or wounded.

Over four and a half years into the war, Ukrainians know what to expect as the region’s bitterly cold winter months approach. Stymied on the battlefield, Russia has bombarded Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, as well as other cities around the country and placed vital civilian infrastructure in its crosshairs, hoping to batter the country’s noncombatants into submission and leverage their misery to affect political change and, if successful, the submission of the Ukrainian state to the will of the Kremlin.

Airman who train to defuse bombs and other explosives will soon wear a rust-colored beret with their uniforms.
Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force David R. Wolfe announced Friday that airmen trained as explosive ordnance disposal technicians, or EOD, will earn a distinctive rust-colored beret. EOD will be the seventh group of airmen in the Air Force authorized to wear a specific colored beret as part of their uniform, including security forces personnel and several special warfare roles.

What’s coming next in the Middle East, and the next stage of the Iran War, is unclear. But indications suggest the U.S. is planning a “possible surge” of personnel to the Middle East, in which case up to three aircraft carrier groups could reach the region by the end of November.

According to the Washington Post, the planned surge doesn’t necessarily mean a ramp-up of the war is imminent, but rather gives the president and his commanders “flexibility” in what to do next.

The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) steams in the Pacific Ocean, Oct. 5, 2024.

The Iran War has been relatively quiet in recent weeks, with a diplomatic process beginning last week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, and Iran reportedly offering, through Qatar, to return to something similar to the June Memorandum of Understanding.

However, President Donald Trump, last weekend rejected that overture and, per CBS News, said Friday that he believes Iran is “ready to fold up,” and that the U.S. will win the war “right after the election,” presumably referring to next month’s midterm elections in the U.S.

Millions of dollars spent on casino-themed parties, expensive hotels and a gold-plated Cybertruck. It sounds like the spending spree of a character from “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Instead, federal prosecutors say the absurd spending was financed by a 64-year-old mental health clinic owner named Kevin Darnell Curry.
Curry, who owned and operated Acuity TMS of Plano, Acuity TMS of Fort Worth and Emerald Coast TMS of Fort Walton Beach, was convicted of submitting roughly $26 million in fraudulent claims to TRICARE, which paid out approximately $17 million.

This video describes the military situation in

Reifsteck, Proceedings
For decades, the Navy’s undersea strategy had been built on a comfortable assumption: Adversary submarines were never as good as those of the United States …

Zachary Kallenborn, Modern War Institute
For a Stronger Defense, Play Offense

C.

Matt Russell & Michael Carvelli, RCD
In August 2008, Gen.

The Strategist (ASPI)
So the first question is: why would the Defense Department do this?

This video describes the military situation in

Public Domain

The Army Reserve is probing whether selected units of military police, medical, engineering and logistics troops could support the U.S. Southern Command as early as late December, CBS News reports, citing an internal Army Reserve message circulated by Army Reserve headquarters last week to aid in its contingency planning.

Ukraine’s F-16 fighter fleet has faced considerable strain and maintenance issues, with more than half of the aircraft now caught in lengthy maintenance cycles in Europe. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged that around half of the country’s F-16s have spent extended periods outside Ukraine for repairs. He discussed the problem in an interview with the Financial Times published on October 2, saying that some Ukrainian F-16s had spent so long undergoing maintenance in Europe that Ukraine had lost valuable time when the aircraft were needed for air-defence operations.

On October 1, President Zelensky announced that Ukraine had passed a major milestone in its domestic defense industry.

In a social media post, he announced that Ukraine, for the first time, used its new FP-7 ballistic missile in combat. “Ukrainian tactical ballistic missile FP-7. First combat use,” he wrote. “Thank you for the result. Next – production.”

MSTA Russian Artillery Creative Commons Image

Artillery from Ukraine War Creative Commons Image

The FP-7 is critical in Ukraine’s efforts to take the war back to Russia.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has called for European allies to develop greater independent power projection capabilities  to conduct large-scale offensive operations in the near abroad without U.S. support. “Europe was not able to take out the nuclear capability of Iran. We couldn’t. We didn’t have the capabilities. In 10 years, we can and we should,” Rutte said. “In the future, the Europeans will be able to take care of their backyard themselves. It should be us doing this, not the Americans,” he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is open to negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, but Russia’s budget plans suggest that Moscow is preparing for the likelihood of continued fighting — or, at least, maintaining a huge wartime military for years to come, regardless of whether the war concludes with a peace deal.

Reuters reported in late September that Russia plans to spend 17.1 trillion rubles, or roughly $203 billion, on defense in 2027, citing government documents the outlet saw.

The war between Russia and Ukraine has continued, and will mark five years next February.

Efforts to secure a ceasefire included two visits last month to Kyiv and Moscow by the Trump Administration’s envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.

Putin Speaking to Large Crowd in 2019 Russian Federation Photo

Putin Back in 2019 Russia Federation Photo

Among the proposals bandied about in those talks and afterward was a limited ceasefire that would apply to long-range strikes on energy infrastructure in the two countries.

Army Special Forces graduated the first batch of a new military occupational specialty meant to help units, soon across the Army, employ an ever-evolving suite of military technology.
Ten warrant officers graduated from the Robotics Technician Integrator (390A) course in a ceremony at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on Friday, marking the official start of the new job skill and culmination of an initial pilot program the rest of the Army is eyeing, military officials told DefenseScoop. 
The U.S.

Military members will get a day to register to vote or to submit ballots in the coming two weeks after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed a department-wide one-day stand-down so service members can advance the voting process.
Commanders will need to complete the stand-down no later than Oct. 15.
“Now, we’re not telling you who to vote for, but we will give you every opportunity to do so,” Hegseth said on a social media video. 
Voting patterns among the military generally mirror that of the general public.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memorandum that was publicly released on Friday with updated policies to expedite counter-drone technology deployments across U.S. military bases, critical infrastructure, and other domestic assets, as unmanned systems continue to disrupt national security and transform global warfare.
The five-page directive, dated Sept.

Taking sports to the next level 👾📈
🎮HA

The Space Force is on the cusp of launching its next batch of satellites into low-Earth orbit as officials are laying the groundwork to connect future “enclaves” of platforms that are expected to pass critical data to warfighters.
The Space Development Agency over the past year has been building out a so-called Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) that will consist of multiple layers of data transport and missile tracking satellites manufactured by multiple vendors. SDA is planning to add to it next week with the launch of 21 Northrop Grumman-made birds.

Owen West is taking a “leave of absence” from his post leading the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to serve as the new chief executive officer for the Pentagon’s nascent Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems (DRPM-UxS), a source familiar with the move told DefenseScoop on Friday.
West’s deputy, Travis Metz — the former, longtime venture capital investor who has also spearheaded the Defense Department’s billion-dollar Drone Dominance Program — was elevated to serve as acting DIU director in the near term.

The first return to Faroe Islands since WW2 see

An Oklahoma National Guardsman deployed to Washington, D.C. was pulled over for an expired car registration, where police then found a pistol that wasn’t registered in the district. The guardsman was arrested this week and charged with a felony.
Jakob Noonan, 22, was charged Tuesday with carrying a 9mm Canik pistol without a license, according to court records. Noonan told police he was deployed to D.C. with his National Guard unit. 
“He stated that Oklahoma is an open-carry state and that the firearm was registered to him in Oklahoma.

The T-72 was the Soviet Union’s armored champion. Although the Gulf War somewhat tarnished its reputation, the tank remained the USSR’s MBT of choice and, later, the Russian Federation’s. Despite its faults, the T-72 is a rugged, reliable tank that is easy to produce and maintain at a much lower cost than other modern tanks.

Unfortunately, the war in Ukraine has not been kind to the old Soviet-era icon.

Russian T-72 Tank Ukraine War. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

T-72 Tank from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

The Pentagon appears to be preparing for another round of military strikes against Iran, concentrating as many as three aircraft carrier strike groups and two amphibious groups in the Middle East.

This follows President Donald Trump’s telling TIME that he believes a new round of strikes could occur soon after the November midterm elections.

A U.S. Navy F-35C Lightning II static display from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 102, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 inside of Hangar 5300 during Friendship Day at MCAS Iwakuni, May 3, 2026.

President Donald Trump has reiterated his belief that the war could finally end sometime around the November midterm elections, stating that Iran is now “ready to fold up.” The comments come even as the United States sends thousands more troops to the Middle East, and as Tehran prepares for another possible round of American strikes, per the president’s own comments to journalists in recent weeks.

The Royal Navy’s 12-metre uncrewed submar

The former Florida sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed an Air Force special operations flyer in 2024 was acquitted of manslaughter charges in the airman’s death by a Florida jury this week.
Senior Airman Roger Fortson, 23, served as a crewmember on AC-130J gunships with the 4th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Florida. He was shot and killed at his apartment in 2024 by Former Okaloosa County Sheriff’s deputy Eddie Duran after answering his door to Duran while holding a pistol.
Duran had knocked on Fortson’s door in response to a noise complaint.

The Pentagon is sending the US Navy Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group toward the Middle East and Iran.

This will bring about 9,000 more sailors and Marines to the region where two American carriers are currently operating.

Norfolk Naval Shipyard welcomed USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) for a Planned Incremental Availability Jan. 11. In addition to equipment maintenance, this availability will improve ship safety along with communications and combat system upgrades.

The Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R.

More than 100 senior Chinese military officers

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claims that, based on intelligence gathered by Kyiv, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered last month that limits on its air campaign be lifted.

The FT reported Zelenskyy’s accusations, which follow Russian attacks on Kyiv’s transportation, energy, and civilian infrastructure ahead of winter.

Putin with a Rifle. Image Credit: Russian State Media.

President Donald J. Trump participates in a bilateral meeting with the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin during the G20 Japan Summit Friday, June 28, 2019, in Osaka, Japan.

Russia plans to raise defense spending to levels not seen since the Soviet Union’s collapse, according to its 2027 draft budget.

Revealed on Thursday, 1st October, Russia is set to allocate 17.1 trillion Rubles ($205.2 billion) to fund its ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Tu-160 Up Close. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Tu-160 bomber Creative Commons Image

This new allocation is a 26% increase over what was previously earmarked for 2027.

HMS Dauntless is now back in Portsmouth⚓️
T

The U.S. is sending the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and thousands of additional sailors and Marines to the Middle East, potentially placing three American aircraft carriers in the region and fueling ongoing indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

9,000 Personnel

A Sailor directs an F/A-18E Super Hornet from the “Kestrels” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 137 on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in the South China Sea, May 12, 2025. Nimitz is underway in the U.S.

Ukraine says it has uncovered Moscow’s alleged plans to sabotage its energy grid ahead of the winter period.

Ukraine’s energy minister warned that Moscow would target Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa in an attempt to cut off heat, water, and electricity.

KEKAHA, Hawaii — U.S. Army 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force fires the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), which can fire traditional rocket artillery rounds or long-range missiles with various payloads, on Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands, during Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024, July 11.

Seafaring has always been a risky business.

For centuries, vessels have been targeted by pirates, making way for attacks by crime groups operating off the coast of East Africa.

250923-N-FY193-1405 ATLANTIC OCEAN (Sept. 23, 2025) The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) conducts carrier qualifications in the Atlantic Ocean. Truman is currently underway carrying out routine operations that support the Navy’s commitment to readiness, innovation, and future fleet lethality. (U.S.

The war in Ukraine has revealed many deficiencies in the Russian Army. Using poor tactics, the Russians have suffered heavy casualties against a much smaller opponent. This fact is apparent in the losses suffered by the Russian tank fleet.

At the start of the war, the Russians were unprepared for the level of resistance Ukraine would offer. Consequently, its tank losses have been particularly high.

T-72 Tank. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

T-72 Like Those Fighting in Ukraine.

According to some open-source estimates, Russia has lost upwards of 4,000 tanks.

Running out of fresh food, deodorant and other basic supplies is unpleasant for anyone. They’re particularly difficult to go without while spending months aboard an aircraft carrier at sea.
As the USS Theodore Roosevelt makes its way toward the Middle East this week as the latest aircraft carrier to deploy to the Iran war, the Navy says it has applied lessons from previous carriers in the region that struggled with supplies during extended combat operations.

Russia is planning to increase its military spending in the coming years, according to budget documents obtained by several media outlets, which indicate that the Kremlin is likely planning to remain at war with Ukraine for the foreseeable future.

Bloomberg News reported that Putin plans “record war spending,” including reversing earlier plans to “pull back” on military spending. This is all despite well-publicized strains in Russia’s economy.

T-14 Armata Tank from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

T-14 Armata Tank Russian Army. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Four of the seven teams downselected for the British Army’s Light Mobility Vehicle programme announced their success on social media.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier is headed to the Middle East. So is the amphibious landing ship USS Makin Island.

These large warships will arreks in the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility ( within the next few weeksAOR). Many speculate this will raise the president’s optionality on whether he wants to escalate.

Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) arrives at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, to participate in Exercise Rim of the Pacific 2026, June 23, 2026.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to hit Iran “very hard” if it turns out that Tehran played a role in the attempted crash of a Flydubai passenger jet that was carrying more than 170 people to Israel.

Investigators in the United Arab Emirates are examining the incident as a potential terrorist attack.

U.S. Air Force Capt. Nick “Laz” Le Tourneau, pilot and commander of the F-22 Raptor Aerial Demonstration Team, performs an aerial demonstration during the 52nd Annual SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo in Lakeland, Florida, April 15, 2026. Capt.

A new Pentagon policy on stricter fitness tests includes instructions that unit leaders be “held accountable” for their troops’ performances. To monitor the new standards, three military services said Inspector General offices are assessing or will soon assess how the new standards are put into practice as part of regular readiness reviews.
Since taking the helm of the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has pushed for stricter fitness standards and admonished the presence of “fat troops” or “fat generals.

President Trump thinks Iran is about to cave. Speaking in Denton, Texas, on Thursday, where he campaigned for Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton, the president told the crowd the US is in a conflict “with a country that will never have a nuclear weapon and is ready to fold up,” according to Breitbart.

“We’ll win very easily right now,” he added. “Their currency is valueless. They have no money.”

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), back, steams alongside the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) in the Mediterranean Sea, April 24, 2019. The John C.

U.S. President Donald Trump has conceded that the Iran war could cost his party control of Congress at next month’s midterm elections.

The Republican Party is heavily behind in most polls, with voters citing frustration over the cost of living and Trump’s foreign policy.

President Donald Trump participates in the swearing-in ceremony for Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz, Friday, April 18, 2025, in the Oval Office.

This video describes the military situation in