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At least 33 people were killed when a Russian bomb struck two buses in the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on Thursday, local officials said, as Moscow’s intensifying attacks grow ever more deadly.

The BBC reported that rescue officials put the toll at 33 killed and 18 wounded, up from the 30 dead first announced by local authorities.

Vladimir Putin In March 2018 Creative Commons Image

Putin at SCO Conference Creative Commons Image

Gruesome photos released by the local prosecutor’s office showed the burning shell of a bus and debris scattered across the road beside it.

A kill chain measured in seconds cannot depend on processes measured in weeks or months. The Pentagon recognizes that drone proliferation and AI-enabled lethal targeting are reducing decision cycles and increasing the premium on speed. The 2025 drone and acquisition reforms and the 2026 Artificial Intelligence Strategy call for faster procurement, fewer integration barriers, open architectures, continuous experimentation, and greater access to emerging technology.

In 79 A.D., Gaius Plinius Secundus, known today as Pliny the Elder, was the supreme commander of the Roman imperial fleet, permanently stationed at Misenum near Naples. He died during the eruption of Vesuvius, after sailing across the bay on a valiant but unsuccessful rescue mission. Amid such heavy responsibilities, Pliny also wrote one of antiquity’s great encyclopedic works. He read and excerpted books of all kinds, and he knew something about Roman monuments.

Soldiers and families gather at a memorial ceremony at Fort Hood, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2010, the first anniversary of the 2009 shooting (file photo). Photo: SPC Alisha Hauk / U.S. Army via Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)

Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter, is scheduled to be executed by firing squad at Fort Hood, Texas on December 3, and the public will be able to watch it, ABC News reports. A Pentagon official told the network that the execution will be live-streamed.
The execution of Nidal Hasan by firing squad at Fort Hood, Texas is scheduled to take place on December 3 at 1 p.m.

The U.S. Air Force is preparing an advanced flight-testing program for its F-47 sixth generation fighter, combining conventional flight tests with digital modelling, simulation and earlier operational evaluations to accelerate the aircraft’s development. The Air Force Test Center (AFTC), based at Edwards Air Force Base in California, is working to ensure it can begin testing the aircraft’s critical capabilities as soon as the first example takes to the air, currently scheduled for 2028.

Pete Hegseth has served as Secretary of Defense—or, as he calls it, “Secretary of War”—since Donald Trump began his second term.

In his first term, however, Trump had much more turnover at the Pentagon.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Richard Turner, 40th Flight Test Squadron commander flies 40 FLTS Senior Enlisted Leader, MSgt Tristan McIntire during a test sortie in the F-15EX Eagle II over the Gulf of Mexico on Jun. 14, 2022. Assigned to the 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., the F-15EX Eagle II is the Air Force’s newest 4th generation fighter being tested at the 40 FLTS.

In September, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz rose sharply after a lull in the U.S.-Iran war.

For a brief period, oil flows through the Strait approached, and at times exceeded, prewar levels, much to Iran’s displeasure.

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The Russian state defence conglomerate Rostec has confirmed that new batches of Su-34 strike fighters are already being manufactured, following confirmation of the delivery of the latest batch. This follows multiple indicators that the Russian defence sector has prioritised efforts to expand production of the aircraft, with output by 2025 reported to have reached double that seen before 2022 at close to 30 fighters per year. “The Su-34 is the undisputed best seller in the world of combat aviation.

The US has announced that it is taking decisive action against Iran’s “shadow fleet” – a group of vessels with offshore stockpiles of crude oil that Tehran is attempting to sell at below-market prices.

Iran Evades US Sanctions Through Ship-to-Ship Transfers

PACIFIC OCEAN (Oct. 1, 2024) The Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Mobile (LCS 26) comes alongside the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) for a fueling-at-sea, Oct. 1, 2024. Theodore Roosevelt, flagship of Carrier Strike Group 9, is underway conducting routine operations in the U.S.

A bipartisan bill proposed in the Senate would require the Pentagon to continuously vet the commercial tech giants from which it buys frontier AI for security vulnerabilities, algorithmic failures and other emerging risks accompanying the models that could compromise U.S. defense and national security. 
Put forward by Sens. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., the 18-page legislation would direct the secretary of defense to create new “reporting requirements and voluntary guidance for large” AI contractors.