As Gabriel Luna sprawls behind a custom sniper rifle on a balcony overlooking a port city, he pulls out a leather-bound notebook and opens it to a simple range card with half-circles across the top.
Two miles away, a team of two snipers hidden amid the city clutter sits behind their own hyper-customized rifles, sighting in on a podium just below Luna. The American president will soon appear to give a speech, and it will be Luna’s job to protect him.

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Built for tough terrain and no-nonsense perform

U.S. Army soldiers prepare a drone for launch during Agile Spirit 25 in Georgia, August 2025 (file photo). Photo: U.S. Army National Guard/Sgt. 1st Class Brittany Conley (public domain)

On October 19, the War Department put out a Pentagon letter on how they plan to build a four-star Autonomous Warfare Command. The letter, on Project Agincourt letterhead and signed twice by officials marked “CEO,” began by referencing the past attempt by the Army to transform itself in 1928.

In September, fighting broke out in Ethiopia’s Tigray region between Ethiopian government forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), effectively collapsing the 2022 peace deal. In October, Ethiopian forces recaptured an airport and towns from the TPLF and started moving closer to the border with Eritrea. The renewed conflict raised concerns about both increased instability within Ethiopia — particularly as the TPLF joined with several other armed groups under a new Alliance for Survival — and the potential for a new war between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Army officials said more soldiers are eating at new college-inspired dining halls. In some cases, the average number of meals served is three to four times higher than at the same time last year, according to data provided by the service.
The numbers are reflective of the Army’s new campus-style dining halls, which were designed to be more like the cafeterias on college campuses.

As anyone who has watched television in the last three months knows, data centers are a major part of political messaging in the current midterm elections, with candidates frequently accusing each other of supporting their construction.

This issue cuts across partisan lines, with the right and left each having distinct reasons to oppose the proliferation of data centers.

In many cases, politicians took pro-data-center positions before the issue became as politically toxic as it is today.

As the war in Ukraine has shown, a cheap $500 drone can defeat the heaviest armored tank with frightening regularity.

The U.S. Army just got a hard lesson in that, courtesy of the people who know it best.

According to a New York Post article this week, Ukrainian drone operators playing the role of the OPFOR (opposing enemy forces) in a recent major exercise in Germany caused roughly 70 percent of an American armored brigade’s casualties in the first three days.

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After Washington denied claims that it deliberately restricted Ukrainian access to the Starlink satellite communications network, a new Wall Street Journal investigation claims that Elon Musk himself ordered a slowdown of a military-grade version of the technology on October 14.

The decision triggered confusion inside the White House and allegations from Ukraine that President Donald Trump was deliberately interfering with Ukraine’s defenses.

The Democratic Party leads the Republican Party by 11 percentage points, according to a new poll released Wednesday, 21st October, by The New York Times and Siena University.

Unlike the congressional generic ballot, a general party-preference metric, the NYT/Siena poll asked likely voters about specific House candidates in their district.

White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia holds first press briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Tuesday, October 13, 2026.

Executions are inherently controversial ways of punishing heinous crimes in the United States. The debate isn’t just over what constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment,” either. Studies estimate that at least 4% of death row inmates are likely innocent of the crime in the first place. Since 1973, at least 203 people wrongly convicted and sentenced to death have been formally exonerated and cleared. This means roughly one person has been freed from death row for every 8.3 executions carried out.

L3Harris Technologies has opened a new solid rocket motor production facility in Camden, Arkansas, designed to double the company’s existing capacity and support the US Army’s Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS).

Lockheed Martin will begin producing and fielding the Extended-Range Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (ER GMLRS) after successfully completing two operational tests led by US Army personnel.

Middle Eastern oil exports have exceeded prewar levels despite Iranian attacks on shipping, thanks in part to U.S. protection, offshore cargo transfers, and pipeline transfers.

Tanker charges, insurance costs, and crew bonuses are driving up Gulf oil prices.

A U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet, assigned to the “Black Knights” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 154, lands on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), July 24, 2025.

With the midterm elections less than two weeks away and early voting already underway, the polling news remains bad for both President Donald Trump and his party.

The latest polling blow comes from a New York Times/Siena University poll, which found the president’s approval rating has sunk to 36 percent, while 59 percent disapprove of his performance as president, a 23-point spread. This marks a new low for Trump in his second presidency. When the survey includes only registered voters, the president’s approval rating drops to 34 percent.

President Donald J.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s super PAC spent $277 million in six weeks from the start of September. But even all the money in the world might not stop what looks like big losses on November 3.

The President and the Republican Party have launched an aggressive campaign to secure GOP control of Congress for Trump’s last two years in office.

President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks at the 450th mile of the new border wall Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, near the Texas Mexico border.

President Donald Trump isn’t just facing opposition and growing frustration from the American people; his own son is, too.

A new investigation published by The Atlantic on Tuesday, October 20, reveals that Donald Trump Jr., who spent much of the 2024 presidential campaign promising voters his father would keep the United States out of another foreign war, has repeatedly expressed frustration with the conflict in multiple private conversations.

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Ukraine’s medium- to long-range drone attacks against Moscow have ramped up significantly since 2026.

For most of the war, Russia has held a clear advantage in long-range capabilities.

FP-5 Flamingo Cruise Missile. Image Credit: Ukraine Government

Ukraine DART Weapon Image Credit Ukraine Military

While it is too early to say that Ukraine has surpassed, or even matched, Russia’s strike capabilities, the once-wide chasm between Moscow and Kyiv has been closing in 2026.

Third Poll in Three Days Produces a Record Low for Donald Trump – U.S. President Donald Trump’s approval rating has once again reached a record low.

For the third time in as many days, a poll has shown the President’s popularity at its lowest in any comparable survey by the same organization.

Donald Trump In New York City White House Photo

The national poll solidifies any doubt about a double anomaly less than a fortnight before the midterm elections.

There hasn’t been much lately in terms of talks between the U.S. and Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz or bringing about a negotiated end to the Iran War. The situation seems to be in a holding pattern until after the midterm elections next month, with President Donald Trump promising not to attack Iran before the elections.

Iran has reportedly made clear what it will require to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and it’s similar to what it’s been offering throughout the fall.

Is The Sea Mine Threat Returning to the Strait of Hormuz? – The Iranian use of sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz has been well documented. They are effective as a strategic deterrent: cheap, relatively easy to deploy, and capable of slowing maritime traffic in the area.

The Iranians have claimed that three tankers that were set on fire in the Strait were the victims of sea mines.

(August 15, 2008) With SH-60 helicopters moving pallets of supplies both USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and USNS Bridge (T-AOE 10) work together during a replenishment at sea or RAS.

Explore defense industry AI hiring as research scientist postings rise and software developer demand falls.

Well, Putin never saw this coming: Moscow is becoming increasingly confident that Western support for Ukraine is on the verge of collapse amid waning U.S. support for Kyiv.

Russia’s full-scale invasion, which is now well over halfway through its fifth year, has been a strategic stalemate on the battlefield for much of the conflict.

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

President of Russia Vladimir Putin at the at the BRICS+ meeting (via videoconference). Image Credit: Creative Commons.

The Army plans to test up to 15 new drone defense systems in Morocco next spring, with the goal of getting the top performers into soldiers’ hands within six months afterwards, Army officials told Task & Purpose.
The tests will focus on protecting temporary command posts and remote military positions from enemy drones, including small aircraft that can be difficult to detect when not transmitting radio signals.

This video describes the military situation in

The Ukraine War Is Impacting NATO Member States: Over the weekend, Poland scrambled fighter jets on two occasions in response to Russian air attacks on Ukraine’s western regions bordering Poland. Authorities issued separate alerts, first for Poland’s Lublin region, then for residents of the Subcarpathian region.

“ATTENTION!” Polish authorities from the country’s Government Security Center wrote. “Russian air attack on Ukrainian territory. The situation is being monitored. Polish aviation is operating in the airspace of the Republic of Poland. Await further communications.

Democrats are deeply confident about their prospects in the November 3 midterm elections—a confidence recent polling supports. Indeed, national polls suggest Democrats have advantages that could translate into capturing Congress.

However, not everyone is convinced.

Republican pollster Patrick Ruffini, founding partner of Echelon Insights, is cautioning against predictions of a Blue Wave.

In an October 19 interview with POLITICO, Ruffini argued that polling may be exaggerating Democratic advantages in traditionally Republican states.

Dr. Giles McCoy served in the Marine Corps during World War II and was on the USS Indianapolis when a Japanese submarine sank it July 30, 1945. He was one of 316 men who survived four days in shark-infested waters. Nearly 900 members of the Indianapolis’ crew died. McCoy, who died in 2009 at the age of 83, spoke to the Library of Congress in 2002 for its Veterans History Collection. In the lead-up to Veterans Day on November 11, 2026, here is a transcript of that interview. It was edited for brevity and clarity.

Global Defense News The U.S.

Naval News A U.S. Army unit assigned to U.S.

Ceder, Simkins, Navy T. The U.S. Navy is ramping up its investment in artificial intelligence technology to streamline ship repairs and resolve maintenance logjams.

Thomas Newdick, The WarZone Ghost Shark will deploy aerial drones, lay mines, and execute seabed resupply missions as part of Australia’s new undersea arsenal.

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Militaries have spent more than a century operating with fuel and ammunition as limits of combat endurance. They are only beginning to treat batteries with the same operational seriousness, as small unmanned systems move from niche equipment to mass-consumption weapons. Recent bipartisan supply diversification efforts by Congress, the administration, and the Department of Defense provide initial momentum to ensure supply chain independence and resilience for drone batteries.

The Tehran that the world knew is gone. It died in the fires with former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war in February. His son and new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei — wherever he is and in whatever physical condition — witnessed his father, wife, and other close family members die in the same airstrike that wounded him.

Iranian Air Force F-14 and F-5 fighter aircraft have reportedly been conducting patrols near the country’s border with Iraq and in areas close to Kuwait, amid heightened regional tensions and reports of increased American and Israeli aerial activity. The reported activity comes as Iranian forces face the possibility of further confrontation with the United States and Israel following earlier military operations against Iranian targets from February 28, 2026.

This video describes the military situation in

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has deployed reconnaissance drones and naval vessels for operations around Japan, as U.S. and Japanese forces begin large-scale Keen Sword 27 joint military exercises. Japan’s Ministry of Defence reported that three Chinese aircraft, including two drones and a reconnaissance aircraft, flew through international airspace between Japanese islands and into the Pacific Ocean before returning towards mainland China. The activity prompted Japan to scramble fighter aircraft to monitor the movements.

With midterm elections rapidly approaching in the United States, Iran is hoping to delay any peace talks in an effort to inflict as much political damage on Trump as possible.

The war against Iran has caused much political strife in the U.S., as gas prices have increased and the global oil market has been thrown into chaos.

B-52 Bomber Bombs. Image Credit: National Security Journal.

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Ukrainian officials claim that Washington is withholding critical intelligence on incoming Russian ballistic missile strikes, with a new investigation revealing that at least six civilians were killed in strikes that reportedly occurred without the normal warnings that Kyiv receives from American satellite systems.

The allegations come as the relationship between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues to deteriorate and Washington prepares more potential financial incentives for Moscow to end the war.

Tu-22M3 Bomber from Russia.

At a time when the Ukrainians are in an increasingly desperate situation, Kyiv continues to figure out ways to strike at Russia.

Its critical stockpiles of defensive weapons are dwindling.

T-90M Russian Army. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

T-90 Tank from Ukraine War. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

The Americans are pulling back from Ukraine.

The Europeans cannot sustain the war on their own.
So, Ukraine is scrambling to keep itself combat-effective, even as the Russian Army slowly encircles those Fortress Cities in the contested Donbas region.

Helium is becoming a national security problem.

Most Americans think of it as the stuff in birthday balloons and the party trick that makes your voice squeak.

B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber on Runway. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber Flying. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

However, as a recent 60 Minutes report on CBS News made painfully clear, it is one of the most critical, yet overlooked, materials in the modern economy.

No helium means no smartphones, no MRI machines, no rocket launches, and no air defense missiles, which are already in short supply.

The Army is piloting an AI-backed maintenance program the service hopes will make fixing equipment faster and easier for soldiers.
Developed by Army Communications-Electronics Command, the idea is to digitize thousands of cumbersome, physical maintenance publications into a central ecosystem known as the Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Maintenance (AIAM) program.

President Donald Trump never wanted the Iran war to last as long as it did. Still, Tehran knew that delaying negotiations as long as possible would force the president into the November midterms in the middle of a war, and those tactics have worked.

President Trump’s approval ratings have reached historic lows, and the Republican Party is widely expected to lose control of Congress in November. And with just two weeks to go, Iran is still taunting President Trump and seeking to exploit his political vulnerability.

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Space Force leaders are aiming to scale up the number of guardians supporting combatant commands in the coming years as part of a plan to enhance the provision of space capabilities for joint force operations.
In a notice to troops published last week, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Douglas Schiess stated that the service must boost its arsenal and capacity.
“As members of our nation’s Armed Forces, we must continue to arm and grow our service to defend the Joint Force from space-enabled attack while simultaneously providing space capabilities to enable Joint Force combat power.

The Marine Corps has instructed organizations across all of its echelons to provide authorized personnel with their own Maven Smart System accounts on the applicable networks that they are permitted to access.
This significant expansion of enterprise licensing for Palantir’s AI-powered software platform went into effect Oct. 1, according to an administrative message posted online Tuesday.
“Other guidance such as an updated MSS Implementation Plan will be published separately,” officials wrote.

Could humanoid robots have a role on the battle

The details behind the death of an Air Force special operations instructor killed during a rappelling demonstration Saturday will likely not be known for weeks or even months.
But rappelling demonstrations by military members at large public events, particularly involving highly trained special ops units, are not new.
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Ian Patterson, a Tactical Air Control Party instructor assigned to a training unit at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, was killed when he fell from the rafters of that city’s Alamodome football stadium prior to a college football game.

It was a sad end for a ship that has provided s

Republican candidates and their campaigns are distancing themselves from President Donald Trump ahead of the rapidly approaching November 3 midterm elections, and new advertising data shows the president has virtually disappeared from the party’s television campaigns.

A new New York Times investigation found that less than 1% of Republican advertising spending on congressional races over the last five weeks went toward commercials that mention President Donald Trump by name.

President Donald J.