Summary and Key Points: The closure of the Strait of Hormuz from the Iran War is now triggering second-order economic effects far beyond gas prices. Shortages of naphtha — what the New York Times calls the ‘flour of industry’ — are threatening plastics, paints, and pharmaceuticals. Helium shortages from Qatar are slowing semiconductor production and could pop the U.S. AI bubble. And nitrogen-fertilizer disruptions risk an 80 percent jump in urea prices, a food crisis, and another wave of global migration.
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Summary and Key Points: Congress is putting the brakes on the U.S. Navy’s proposed Trump-class BBG(X) battleship, demanding proof that the program’s key technologies — railguns, directed-energy weapons, and hypersonic missiles — are viable before construction proceeds. The first hull is projected at $15–17 billion, with $43 billion budgeted for the first three ships, more than an aircraft carrier per unit. CSIS analyst Mark Cancian recently concluded the program ‘will never sail’ as currently designed.
The Trump-Class Battleship Hits Stormy Seas
Trump-Class Battleship.
Summary and Key Points: Russia launched one of its heaviest aerial assaults on Kyiv in months, firing hundreds of drones and missiles, including Iskanders and a rare Oreshnik.
-Security Council deputy chair Dmitry Medvedev threatened EU diplomats remaining in Kyiv, and Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned of more ‘retaliatory strikes.’
Tu-160 bomber. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
-Yet Russia’s May offensive was its slowest since early 2025, with most advances measured in hundreds of meters as Ukrainian drones complicate Russian operations.
Summary and Key Points: Volodymyr Zelensky and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced today, May 28, 2026, that Ukraine will receive up to 36 JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets — 16 donated Gripen C/D aircraft from the existing Swedish Air Force inventory, plus 20 newer Gripen E/F variants that Ukraine will purchase using €2.5 billion from the EU’s Ukraine Support Loan.
-The deal is the largest single Western fighter aircraft commitment to Ukraine since the war began.
JAS 39 Gripen E Fighters. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Russia’s economy has held together not just because of oil revenue, but because the Kremlin is quietly forcing state banks to finance the war through a ‘two-track’ system. The first track is the official $126–133 billion defense budget. The second is off-budget: state banks issuing subsidized loans to defense factories, with analysts estimating $210–250 billion in wartime corporate borrowing. The hidden financing delays a fiscal crisis but is piling bad debt inside Russia’s banking system.
The Ukraine War Has a Giant Secret
Su-27 Flanker Fighter.
The U.S. Navy is preparing to use retired F/A-18E/F Super Hornets as adversary aircraft, replacing the 1960s-era Northrop F-5 Tigers that have served as aggressor jets for decades. The upgrade gives Navy pilots a far more realistic stand-in for China’s Chengdu J-20 stealth fighters and the long-range PL-15 air-to-air missile, which devastated Indian forces during last year’s Indo-Pakistani War. It’s a pragmatic move as Beijing’s air power continues to close the gap.
The Super Hornet Will Have a New Role in Retirement: J-20 Pretender
250429-N-FS097-1154 U.S.
A National Guard soldier wanted as an “international fugitive” for multi-million dollar financial crimes was arrested while in basic training at a Missouri Army base, officials said.
Marcin Pióro, 45, a Polish citizen, was arrested after Interpol issued a “red notice,” according to U.S. Marshals Service officials. Deputies arrested Pióro May 19 while he “was participating in a military training exercise.” An Army official confirmed Pióro was in basic combat training at the base, but had not graduated.
“Pióro joined the U.S.
Tucked into the Pentagon’s budget materials for fiscal 2027 is a request for more than $2 billion to purchase command-and-control technology licenses and engineering support for the U.S. combatant commands, Joint Staff and National Guard Bureau.
That total includes more than $1.5 billion to expand defense users’ access to Palantir’s Maven Smart System in support of the Defense Department’s “Joint Force AI-Enabled Headquarters initiative” and $60 million for the “Virtual Joint Operations Center (VJOC) initiative.
Summary and Key Points: Ukrainian long-range drones have struck 24 of Russia’s 33 major oil refineries since 2022, knocking out roughly a quarter of national fuel production and a third of gasoline output.
-Total damage to Russian oil infrastructure now exceeds $13 billion.
Ukraine Switchblade Drone. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
-Ukraine has also destroyed up to 300 Russian air defense units a month, opening the way for deeper strikes — including a 600-drone assault on Moscow in mid-May and a first-time airport closure in Kaliningrad.
Summary and Key Points: The U.S. Navy’s first Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, USS District of Columbia (SSBN-826), is now projected for delivery by late 2028 after years of production delays. General Dynamics says supplier performance is steadying and all major modules are in place.
-The Columbia-class will replace the 1980s-era Ohio-class boats on a one-for-one basis.
(March 31, 2006) – The guided missile submarine USS Florida (SSGN 728) conducts sea trials off the coast of Virginia.