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Quantum’s hype obscures a reality with real geopolitical stakes: the technology works and is advancing every day. Cameron Chehreh (IonQ), JD Dulny (Booz Allen), and Ben Gianni (GDIT) join Jonathan to discuss the race to Q-Day. They cover the shift to post-quantum cryptography, competing hardware modalities, emerging use cases, and why talent gaps and fragile supply chains mean the United States could be at risk of falling behind.Image: Jonathan Steffen via DVIDS.
The post The Quantum Stack and the Countdown to Q-Day appeared first on War on the Rocks.

Walk into the Pentagon, climb the escalator, and an Uncle Sam-style poster points at you: “I want YOU to use AI.” It worked. GenAI.mil hit 1.5 million users in six months, and I have heard enough OpenAI-in-disguise pitches to last a lifetime. The adoption really is great, but the poster contains a problem. “Use” is the verb of tools, and the Department of Defense does not win by using tools. It wins by commanding forces.North of the Pentagon, a task force few know about operates in a Maryland basement.

China is rapidly expanding a highly secretive flight-test facility near the Lop Nur nuclear test site, creating a major new centre for the development and evaluation of advanced military aircraft. The expansion is particularly significant because the base has already hosted China’s two known sixth generation fighter types, which have been in flight testing since late 2024, suggesting that the facility is being prepared for a much larger role in China’s next generation air combat programs.

Holding back tears, Veterans & People Minister

The Russian Navy’s nuclear-powered battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov has completed sea trials, and is expected to be brought into active service in the coming weeks. This represents a major milestone for the Russian shipbuilding industry, the Northern Fleet, and the wider Navy, as the cruiser’s refurbishment and modernisation has represented by far the most ambitious program initiated for the post-Soviet surface fleet.

The U.S. military and Iran traded strikes overnight, after American forces hit an island in the Strait of Hormuz. The fighting is the first time the United States has struck Iranian targets since the end of July. 
U.S. forces struck two Iranian launch sites on Larak Island on Sunday, in response to purported preparations to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz. The small island is used by Iranian military forces and ships traveling through the strait on commercial routes pass by the small landmass.

The U.S. Army has confirmed it will delivery its M1E3 Abrams next generation main battle tank prototype to the 1st Cavalry Division for testing. Commenting on the delivery, Deputy Capability Program Executive for Ground Combat Platforms Michelle Link observed: “The M1E3 Abrams represents a bold step forward in modern vehicle design, combining advanced protection, reduced weight, and a smaller logistical footprint to meet the challenges of tomorrow’s battlefield.

The Algerian Air Force’s deployment of Su-30MKA fighter aircraft to Niger following a failed coup attempt has repressed a major landmark in defence ties between Algiers, and Central African states that recent extracted themselves from the European sphere of influence. The Algerian Defence Ministry announced that the deployment of two fighter squadrons had been made at the request of Niger’s military authorities, highlighting the long range of the aircraft and the country’s ability to provide logistical support for unexpected foreign operations.

The Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf region. Photo: SM Mirhosseini / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

US forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, resuming military operations against Iran for the first time in roughly a month after American forces observed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps preparing to deploy sea mines into the critical shipping waterway.
U.S. Central Command spokesperson Navy Captain Tim Hawkins confirmed the strikes. “U.S. forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island today,” Hawkins said.

Russia’s Deadliest Overnight Attack This Year – Russia continues its overnight assaults against Ukrainian infrastructure, with a strike into Saturday morning killing 37 people being described as the deadliest of the year so far. An additional overnight assault into Ukraine on August 30 saw two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 130 drones fired at targets throughout Kyiv, Mykolaiv, and beyond.

The Clock Is Against Trump and His Two Economic Wars – U.S. President Donald Trump is fighting economic wars on two fronts. On the one front, he is attempting to force concessions from one of America’s closest allies. On the other hand, he is trying to economically isolate one of the country’s most ideologically determined adversaries.

In both cases, the methods differ — but they are similar in the sense that, in true Trump style, he is attempting to force concessions by brute force.

U.S. Military Leaders Warn Iran War Is Unsustainable: Even as US President Donald J. Trump ordered new strikes on Iran just a few hours ago, important questions are being raised as to how much longer the Pentagon can carry on the fight.

Senior U.S. military commanders, according to new reports, are warning that the war against Iran is becoming impossible to sustain, with ships and weapons being pulled from other parts of the world just to maintain the massive American military presence in the Middle East necessary to keep the situation from simply getting worse.

Elements of the 82nd Airborne Division currently deployed to the Middle East will remain in the region into next year due to “operational requirements,” the Army announced.
The extended deployment was announced by division commander Maj. Gen. Brandon R. Tegtmeier in a letter to military families, thanking them for their support of the deployed troops. Task & Purpose reviewed the letter, dated Aug. 30 and shared to social media including the Army’s unofficial subreddit. The Army confirmed the authenticity of the letter.

The Air Force’s Global Strike Command ordered airmen to stop using a communications test kit at one of its intercontinental ballistic missile bases after a review found potential residue of a carcinogenic chemical in it. 
On Friday, Air Force Global Strike Command, which oversees the service’s ICMBs and nuclear bombers, said that it directed units to stop using AN/PRM-10 test oscillator set after polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs were potentially found in it. The 20th Air Force, which operates F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, is “immediately” stopping use of the tests.

The acting Secretary of the Navy ordered the Marine Corps to help a military spouse get her and her family back to the United States, after she took to social media to express concern that she and her kids might be stuck in Germany as she and her husband divorce.
The military spouse, identified by Task & Purpose’s sister publication We Are the Mighty as Jamie Lenio, said that she was worried she would be stuck in Germany if her divorce and custody proceedings happen while still in Germany. She identified her husband as an active-duty Marine who wishes to remain in Germany as a contractor.

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The Algerian Air Force has made a landmark deployment of fighter aircraft to neighbouring Niger following a failed military coup in the capital, Niamey, marking a significant expansion of Algiers’ direct military involvement in Central African security affairs. The deployment came after Nigerien forces, with assistance from Russia’s Africa Corps, regained control of key military and government facilities targeted by rogue elements of the armed forces.

Big empires need big emperors; and sadly they can’t all be Marcus Aurelius. There’s an old story about Caligula, the Roman emperor between 37 and 41 AD, and its one of the crazier stories about him. It’s sometimes described as a “war against Neptune,” the Roman god of the sea.
But how to you attack the sea god? If you asked Caligula, you attack the sea head on.
Also Read: Roman gladiators fought lions for sport and there’s finally proof
The story goes that Caligula had his men line up and do just that one day, an attack complete with infantry stabbing the ocean.

For those of us who spent decades inside the Special Forces operational community, studying the anatomy of conflict across rugged mountains, isolated valleys, and dense urban sprawl, one foundational rule of unconventional warfare stands absolute. Advanced hardware and precision fires cannot compensate for the absence of an organized, trained, and pre-positioned human resistance.

Putin Is Running Out of Soldiers for the Ukraine War – As Russia grapples with ongoing Ukrainian long-range strikes and diminishing returns on the front lines, its massive military recruitment machine appears to be grinding to a halt. This week, reports described how Russian President Vladimir Putin is struggling to replace soldiers being lost in the war, with Western officials now estimating that his army is losing roughly 6,000 more troops per month than it can recruit. And that’s despite Moscow continuing to bring around 1,000 new personnel into the military every day.

Oil Is Just About Escaping Hormuz – But LNG Isn’t – The United States and its Gulf allies are being forced to find creative new ways to get oil out of the Persian Gulf, but despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s insistence that the Strait of Hormuz is open, shipping remains far below pre-war levels. The series of emergency measures that are keeping crude moving out of the region are extraordinarily expensive, and Iran retains the ability to disrupt traffic again — meaning any victory we see today could end tomorrow.

But for liquefied natural gas, the problem is even more acute.

The Pentagon is set to withdraw nearly 200 U.S. troops from Nigeria, following their deployment to the central African country earlier this year.
The New York Times first reported on the troop drawdown, citing U.S. officials. It’s the second time in two months that the U.S. has pulled some combat forces deployed to the country as part of a surge of American military power. 
Since late winter, more than 100 American troops have been deployed to the country on a training and advisory mission. The U.S.

Do you know how the top military table tennis s

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This video describes the military situation in

This video describes the military situation in

Lt Col Brian Franks fought to keep the Special

The Republic of China Air Force has finally received the first of 66 new F-16 Block 70 fighters ordered in 2019, marking a major milestone in the service’s efforts to modernise its combat aviation fleet. The aircraft represents the latest evolution of the F-16 family, combining the basic airframe design that first flew in 1974 with the AN/APG-83 AESA radar, substantially upgraded avionics and modern electronic-warfare capabilities.

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy appears to be moving closer to integrating the GJ-21 unmanned stealth fighter with its new Type 076 class aircraft carriers, with the aircraft recently filmed flying over Huludao in Liaoning province. Some unconfirmed sources have indicated that it has already entered service in the Navy, while the first Type 076 carrier, the Sichuan, is confirmed to have entered the final phase of its sea trials.

Russia has conducted a successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), launching a test warhead from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Arkhangelsk Region to the Kura training range on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East. The Russian Defence Ministry said the launch was carried out as part of a Strategic Missile Forces exercise designed to test the deployment and operation of a mobile ICBM unit.

Bangladesh has cited the combat performance of the Chinese J-10C fighter against Indian Air Force Rafale jets in May 2025 aircraft as a key reason behind its decision to move forward with a major purchase. Bangladesh’s Prime Minister’s Information and Broadcasting Adviser Zahed Ur Rahman specifically pointed to the J-10’s reported performance during the May 2025 India-Pakistan conflict as a factor behind the decision. “There is a recent real experience in combat situations. When the war was going on in India-Pakistan, India’s Rafale was shot down by the Chinese J-10.

Losing Congress Due to the Iran War Could Cripple Trump’s Final Two Years – President Donald Trump’s failure to bring the Iran war to a close could soon cost the Republicans more than a handful of seats in November. If the party loses control of Congress, Trump could spend the final years of his presidency with much of his legislative agenda effectively frozen and his administration under relentless pressure and scrutiny.

Six months after the U.S.

Russia Preps for Fresh Kyiv Offensive  – Russia’s political leadership has ordered its military to prepare possible scenarios for operations toward Kyiv and Chernihiv, a top Ukrainian official claimed on Saturday, even as Moscow faces slow battlefield gains and escalating economic pressure at home.

Pavlo Palisa, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said the information came from Ukrainian intelligence and had been checked against several sources.

Tu-160 Bomber from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Tu-160M Bomber Air Force. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Six months after President Donald Trump predicted a short war with Iran, Washington is ramping up economic pressure in a bid to push Iran into concessions.

U.S. Continues Sanctions and Blockade

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. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)

Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a campaign rally at Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix, Arizona. Credit: Gage Skidmore.

Russia’s rapidly expanding use of the S8000 Banderol cruise missile is contributing to a dramatic deterioration in the security of Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, with repeated attacks increasingly disrupting commercial shipping and port operations. The Banderol is particularly significant because it combines capabilities normally associated with substantially more expensive cruise missiles with an emphasis on relatively inexpensive mass production.

The U.S. military has cleared Iranian sea mines from the transit routes in the Strait of Hormuz, the head of U.S. Central Command said Friday. In a video address. Adm. Brad Cooper announced that a combination of forces, led by Navy divers and SEALs, has removed mines laid by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the spring.
“The circumstances were challenging and dangerous, to say the least, but we got the job done,” Cooper said.
The Strait of Hormuz is a vital but narrow waterway where ships ferrying oil and other important chemicals pass daily, in normal circumstances.

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If you’ve ever watched DreamWorks’ “Trolls” movies, you know they’re more than a colorful animated movie series with catchy songs that get stuck in your head. Beneath the glitter, scrapbooks, subtle adult humor, and dancing, lies some surprisingly relevant lessons for today’s military-connected community.
It’s a lesson that is applicable for adults and children alike.
Also Read: 6 reasons why the military community loved Dolly Parton
Military life isn’t unlike the world of the Trolls.

The war in Ukraine has become increasingly technological. Take unmanned systems: Kyiv has successfully implemented a drone strategy that combines a drone wall along the immediate front, long-range drones that strike deep inside Russia, AI-enabled mid-range drones that target logistics behind the front, and naval drones that help enforce a blockade at sea. Cheap technology, paired with intelligence operations, is also expanding Ukraine’s global reach.

The media narrative is familiar and seductive. Ukraine has become a battle laboratory for inexpensive, rapidly iterated drones—FPV (first-person-view) strike systems, fiber-optic variants that shrug off jamming, sensor-to-shooter networks, and production tempos measured in the hundreds of thousands per month. American officials praise the innovation, integration, and rapid adaptation. Pentagon programs are already purchasing selected Ukrainian systems or facilitating U.S. production lines. Ukrainian manufacturers have shipped FPV drones to U.S. forces.

Let me be unequivocally clear from the outset: I fully support taking proactive military action against the Islamic Republic of Iran. For over four decades, Tehran has posed a clear and present threat to global stability, continuously destabilizing the Middle East, sponsoring proxy terror, and maintaining a blood-stained record of complicity in the deaths of hundreds of Americans. The necessity of confronting this fanatic regime—particularly as it inched dangerously close to the nuclear threshold—is unassailable.

Marine Corps Compass Points
What is not well known outside the Marine Corps, is for the last seven years, the Marine Corps’ global combined arms, crisis response capabilities have been badly…

A. Hastings, J. Casey & E.

Colton Jones, Defence Blog
XM30 is the Army’s program to replace the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle

Levine & Freeman, National Interest
The Department of Defense is seeking to make the best of productive tension between established contractors and upstart defense tech firms.

Ross Calvin, RealClearWorld Set artificial intelligence (AI) loose on dense documents and winding email threads, and it cuts through clutter like a hot knife through butter.

Top of mind in Kyiv for the leadership and populace is how to prepare for the coming winter, when Russia will surely work at incapacitating Ukraine’s electricity grid. Ukrainian air defense missiles are nearly depleted, and Russia is increasingly using jet-powered strike drones, which are harder to intercept than propeller-driven ones. In effect, things are looking grim for the winter following the most painful one yet last year.

Residents are planning to move to western Ukraine for the winter, where they face less risk of freezing or Russian strikes, closer to the Polish border.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the U.S. is not currently engaged in discussions with Iran over an end to the war.

Trump’s comments come amid an increased economic campaign, with fresh sanctions announced earlier this week affecting countries that continue to trade with the Iranian regime.

Donald Trump Pointing in Speech. Image Credit: White House.

“We don’t want to speak to them. We’re not looking to meet or anything,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is costing a lot of money and now looks like a historic mistake.

Now well into its fifth year, the war – which many believed would be over in days – has seen tremendous Russian losses for incremental gains across Ukraine’s east.

Lancet Drone. Image Credit: Russian State Media.

Lancet Drone from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

There’s no end in sight, either, as Russian forces struggle to break through a 1000km frontline.

The effect on Russia’s economy has long been showing.