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Pompano Beach, Florida – Russian President Vladimir Putin’s paranoia is once again on full display. As rumors continue to mount about plans being hatched to remove him from power and as plots to assassinate him gain more credibility, the former KGB Lt. Col. is making, as they say, “the appropriate adjustments.”

When Putin makes one of his heavily scripted, fully controlled public appearances in locked-down locations, the organization charged with safeguarding him is the Federal Protective Service (FPS).

The U.S. Air Force has demonstrated a significant advance in human-machine teaming by showcasing its newest fighter type’s ability to operate alongside and control autonomous unmanned aircraft during Exercise Valiant Shield 2026 over the Philippine Sea. This followed the deployment of F-15EX fighters to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa for testing and training purposes, and highlighted the growing role of manned fighters as airborne command nodes for future unmanned formations. The demonstration reflects a broader shift in U.S.

During a recent conference on the People’s Liberation Army, I heard the same question posed to attendees and paper writers: “How would China react to U.S. force posture change X, Y, or Z?” or “How would the Chinese military respond to U.S. strikes in certain locations?” Having participated in dozens of unclassified wargames at the RAND Corporation and elsewhere, I hear a similar refrain when playing the “red team.”This is a reasonable and legitimate question.

Huntington Ingalls Industries has officially begun the fabrication of the thirteen Flight III Arleigh Burke class destroyer, the future USS John F. Lehman, which is a heavily enhanced variant of a late Cold War era design that currently comprises almost the entire U.S. Navy ocean-going surface combat fleet. The Flight III is the latest and most capable evolution of the Arleigh Burke class design, and incorporates substantial improvements in air and missile defence while retaining the proven hull and propulsion system of earlier ships.

Following the return of the Russian Navy’s most capable surface combat ship to its home port in Severomorsk in late June, the Kirov class nuclear powered cruiserAdmiral Nakhimov has been confirmed to have integrated a new air wing comprised with modern Ka-27M anti-submarine warfare helicopters. This is particularly significant not only due to the considerable requirements for anti-submarine capabilities under the Navy’s Northern Fleet, but also because Kirov class cruisers were built to accommodate he largest embarked aviation component of any non-carrier surface combatant.

Photo of Ellis Zacharias speaking on his radio show (1948-49). Wikipedia.
If you haven’t read Secret Missions: The Story of an intelligence officer (1946) by former Captain Ellis Zacharias (and later Rear Admiral), consider putting it on your summer reading list. It’s a great, informative window into 1920s-40s US Naval Intelligence.
Captain Zach, in southern California, was an early monitor of German and US Nazi activity, with earlier work in Japan that continued throughout his career.
After WWII, Ellis became a kind of post-WWII intelligence celebrity.

The Russian Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant has complete the production of 20 Su-35 fighter aircraft ordered by the Iranian Air Force, with the Iranian Defence Ministry currently paying for their sustainment in Russia before they are transferred to facilities in the country. This follows leaked Russian military industrial correspondence in late 2025 revealing that 16 Su-35s were at the time in production to meet Iranian orders.

New footage has shown the Russian Su-57 fifth generation fighter in a new air-to-air combat configuration, the purpose of which remains uncertain. The fighter is the sole type of its generation to have been produced outside the U.S. and China, and has been more intensively combat tested than its foreign rivals due to its important role in the Russian-Ukrainian War. The fighter was seen with two R-73/74 short-range infrared-guided air-to-air missiles mounted beneath its wings, together with what appears to be a previously unseen targeting pod beneath the left engine nacelle.

The Republic of China Air Force has achieved a significant milestone in modernising the anti-ship capabilities of its F-CK Ching Kuo fighters with the first test launch of the Hsiung Chia anti-ship missile. The test was conducted over the Jiupeng weapons test range on Taiwan Island’s southeastern coast. Although the Republic of China Ministry of National Defense has not publicly disclosed detailed performance figures, the test suggests the missile has moved from captive-carry and integration trials into live weapon evaluation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned the US to “muzzle its pets in Tel Aviv” after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared Iran’s supreme leader was effectively “marked for death.” The exchange comes the same day that indirect US-Iran talks began in Doha, illustrating that diplomatic negotiations and military deterrence are continuing side by side. Of course, the spat raises questions about how durable the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) actually is.