What’s the status of the talks between Iran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz? The negotiations were reportedly nearing a deal two weeks ago, but no such agreement has been announced — and last week, President Donald Trump was threatening to bomb Oman, a U.S. ally, if it didn’t cooperate.

Now, Iran has reportedly made a new demand.

Littoral Combat Ship. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

According to the Associated Press, which cited comments from Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Iran is insisting on barring military vessels from traversing the Strait of Hormuz.

The Marine Corps plans to push more air defenses “down to the squad level” as part of a major retooling of how its ground units and infantry troops are trained and equipped for future conflicts.
On Wednesday, the Marines released Ground Combat Element 2040, a blueprint for transforming the land force component of the Marine Air Ground Task Force or MAGTF, the central formation that the Corps organizes around for a battle. A MAGTF moves and fights with its owns ground, aviation, and logistics units under a single commander.

In 2025, Rob Geist Pinfold wrote, “The March Massacres Show That Syria Urgently Needs Solutions, Not Sanctions,” in which he argued that sanctions relief was a major way the West could positively engage with the new Syrian government. A year later, after sanctions relief materialized and the United States removed Syria from its list of terrorism sponsors, we asked him to revisit his arguments and reassess President Ahmed al Sharaa’s leadership, both foreign and domestic.

Find out how submarine chaplains pull their wei

The Marine Corps just released its plan to fight against adversaries on land, and Ryan had the two architects of the plan, Ground Combat Element 2040, on the show to talk about it. They discuss drones, resilience, long-range fires, logistics, and what marines will need to survive and fight on an increasingly transparent battlefield while still preserving the critical human element.Image: Khalil Brown via DVIDS
The post The Marine Corps’ Plan for the Future of Ground Combat appeared first on War on the Rocks.

Iran’s currency has reached a record low, and long lines have formed at gasoline stations in Tehran as Washington tries to up the economic pressure on the Islamic Republic six months into the war.

The Iranian rial plummeted to below 2 million to the U.S. dollar on the free market Wednesday.

The Abraham Lincoln and John C. Stennis carrier strike groups conduct carrier strike force operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet. Together, the strike groups will complete high-end warfighting training, enhancing interoperability with key allies and partners in the European theater. (U.S.

Photo: U.S. Army / Sgt. Samantha Cate (Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Five years ago today, 13 American service members were killed at Abbey Gate in Kabul, Afghanistan. Now, the investigation into what really happened — and who tried to bury the truth — may finally be blowing open.
Sean Parnell, Chairman of the Afghanistan Withdrawal Special Review Panel and Senior Advisor to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, dropped a bombshell on the fifth anniversary of the August 26, 2021 attack.

The Navy is planning to take dozens of Army pilots who were cut in a massive reduction of the land service’s aviation corps. 
But of the hundreds of Army pilots that officials estimate might be looking for a spot, the Navy is likely to only have slots for, at most, about a quarter of them.
A Navy spokesperson told Task & Purpose that the service is looking to take around 75 Army pilots who have completed initial flight training at Fort Rucker, Alabama.

The latest intake of Gurkhas have been going th

Kyiv says that Russia has lost 1.5 million personnel since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

On Wednesday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Moscow’s cumulative personnel losses now stood at 1,480,750, including a further 1,450 casualties over the last 24 hours.

Tu-95 Bear Bomber. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Tu-95 Bomber Russian Air Force. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that his country, along with the US and its European partners, has drafted a new framework for a possible end to the war with Russia.

However willing these parties are to participate in a solution that ends the conflict, it is the Russian set of demands that could still kill the entire proposed agreement.

FP-5 Missile From Ukraine Creative Commons Image

Neptune Missile from Ukraine Creative Commons Image

The plan calls for a series of steps, beginning with a ceasefire.

The filmmakers behind “Ghost Soldier” know exactly what kind of movie they’ve made—and they clearly had fun doing it. 
The trailer reads like a well-executed parody of the expert-brought-back-from-retirement archetype, but instead of feeling trope-y, it feels like an invitation to enjoy the fireworks.

Ukraine spent years lobbying for Western tanks and ultimately succeeded in obtaining them, but with the proliferation of cheap attack drones, many of those tanks are now sitting largely unused behind the front lines.

The dynamics of war have changed in just the last handful of years, largely driven by Ukraine’s burgeoning drone industry and asymmetric tactics that have allowed its military to face down a much greater power.

M1E3 Abrams. National Security Journal Photo.

India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the transfer of technologies (ToT) for all conventional missile systems developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to Indian defence firms for domestic production.

American farmers are on track for another potentially disastrous year, and Congress is considering spending $12 billion to help them weather the storm.

But the scale of the projected agricultural losses suggests that even an enormous bailout may provide only temporary relief.

President Donald J. Trump signs Executive Orders in the Oval Office, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)

President Donald J. Trump meets with his cabinet at Camp David, Maryland on Friday, July 31, 2026.

Defence and aerospace company Ursa Major has agreed to become a publicly traded company through a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Bleichroeder Acquisition Corp. III. (Bleichroeder).

Mara has raised a $7m pre-seed round to build Spike, a C-UAS system that uses stationary targeting sensors alongside small interceptors.

Six months of war with Iran have demonstrated perhaps why other leaders before U.S. President Donald Trump were so hesitant to get tough with the Islamic regime, with the world having witnessed the largest oil supply disruption on record.

Yet the global energy system has so far avoided the kind of total breakdown analysts initially predicted.

Donald Trump Back in 2016. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

But that resilience is getting harder to maintain, and may not last much longer.

Digital forensics firm Cellebrite unveiled a new portable field kit that can fit in a backpack and is purpose-built for military and intelligence officials who aim to mine data directly from mobile phones, SIM cards, drones, tablets and other devices in real time, at the point of capture.
The company billed the launch of its new Cellebrite Tactical Extraction Kit (C-TEK) on Wednesday as “the first public step” in a broader push to reach defense and intel customers worldwide.

The Band of the Coldstream Guards honoured Amer

Welcome to The Ukraine Compass, a weekly digest of Ukrainian commentary and analysis from across the political spectrum, only for War on the Rocks members. Each Monday, we bring you a curated selection of articles from Ukrainian media offering insight into how Ukrainians themselves debate the issues shaping their country.American coverage often narrows the view to the battlefield — these pieces widen it, revealing the texture of daily life, politics, and public argument in a nation at war.

Jimmie Sutton always wanted to become an engineer, specifically a naval engineer.
Sutton received an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, but he left in 1904. His next stop was the Marine Corps School of Application, a precursor to Officer Candidates School and The Basic School. Sutton became a second lieutenant, which was his rank on the early morning of October 13, 1907—the night he died on the academy’s grounds after brawling with other aspiring officers.

For nearly six months now, U.S. President Donald Trump has been trying to force Iran to capitulate through sheer military power – but now, with Tehran refusing Washington’s terms and threatening to prevent any oil from leaving the Persian Gulf, the White House is betting that economic pressure can achieve what thousands of strikes so far have not.

Washington this week announced its plans to make the economic cost of continuing the war unbearable for Tehran while also threatening countries that keep the Iranian economy alive.

U.S.

On Monday, as part of the commemoration of Ukraine’s Independence Day, new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham appeared with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in what marked the first foreign visit of Burnham’s premiership.

“This is the moment to keep up the pressure on Russia, the moment to squeeze their ability to fund this illegal war,” Burnham said in remarks on Monday. “Ukraine has been Europe’s protector — not a drain on our security, but the front line in keeping Europe safe.

Mike Yeo, Breaking Defense
A pair of multinational exercises in the Pacific this summer offered a chance for the U.S.

Jon Harper, DefenseScoop
The U.S.

Bruce Allen Lubbering, RCDefense
Deep within the Silent Service, a subtle but monumental shift is occurring beneath the waves, reshaping the future of American maritime strike capability

Warrior Maven
The yet-to-be-fully-seen F-47 will operate an unprecedented number of drones from the cockpit

Global Defense
The combination gives light artillery units a way to shoot and relocate before enemy surveillance drones and counter-battery systems can complete their targeting cycle

With Russia reportedly preparing to launch what looks like a major winter offensive in its war against Ukraine, the Russian government has reportedly been engaging in aggressive tactics in order to get people to sign up to fight.

According to an Al Jazeera report this week, there have been recent reports about “press-ganging” in the town of Penza, Southeast of Moscow.

This video describes the military situation in

This video describes the military situation in

Every crisis in the Middle East returns the world’s attention to the same stretch of water. When tankers are seized, or missiles fly near the Persian Gulf, oil prices move, insurers reprice risk, shipping reroutes, and the United States repositions naval and airpower to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. The reflex is sound, because the strait carries volumes nothing else can. Alongside the maritime map, a second geography of energy security is taking shape: the pipelines, railways, power lines, and transit corridors linking the Caspian Basin and the South Caucasus to Europe.

This video describes the military situation in

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force has demonstrated one of the most important advantages of its fighter aircraft with the deployment of J-16s to Egypt for the Eagles of Civilisation exercises, as the aircraft traveled more than 6,000 kilometres in a single intercontinental range flight supported by YY-20A aerial tankers. The deployment provides a striking demonstration of the ability of China’s large fighters to operate over distances far exceeding those of Western aircraft.

Western-supplied tanks that Ukraine once regarded as among its most important battlefield assets are increasingly being kept out of direct combat due to their very limited survivability. A New York Times report on Ukraine’s 33rd Separate Mechanised Brigade found that German-built Leopard tanks are spending much of their time concealed beneath camouflage netting in forest positions in the Kharkiv region. Instead of spearheading assaults, some are now primarily used to recover damaged vehicles.

Chinese state media has revealed that its YY-20A aerial tanker performed an airborne command role during the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s deployment of J-16 fighters to Egypt for the Eagles of Civilisation 2026 exercise. Described as operating as an “airborne command node,” its ability to contribute to command and coordination in addition to providing aerial refuelling could make it significantly more valuable for operations than previously thought.

Why the secret trip to Russia? According to multiple news outlets, the American CIA Director John Ratcliffe arrived in Moscow on Tuesday, 25 August, for previously unannounced meetings with senior Kremlin officials. Sources who spoke to CBS News also confirmed that the US Central Intelligence chief was in the Russian capital.

Reports of the CIA Director’s trip began not long after a US Air Force (USAF) Boeing C-17A Globemaster III (call sign RCH4555, tail number 07-7181) cargo lifter aircraft was seen landing at the VIP terminal of Moscow’s Vnukovo airport.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Before Operation Epic Fury, the Army’s Network Enterprise Technology Command transferred digital services across theaters for the first time, according to the unit’s top officer, so the Army’s Middle East hub could have network support in the event Iran targeted its critical communication infrastructure.
Maj. Gen.

Russia’s ‘grey zone’ activity

The Air Force announced Tuesday that VivSoft Technologies will develop and field a new platform intended to consolidate the service’s fragmented aircrew scheduling, training and readiness-management capabilities.
The company received a $100 million Other Transaction Authority production agreement for the Aerospace Readiness Enterprise System (ARES) program, which will consolidate multiple Air Force scheduling software tools into a single enterprise environment enabled by artificial intelligence. The service plans to begin rolling out ARES across major commands in 2027.

What changes when Royal Engineers leave the UK

All sailors and Marines will soon have to take a new yearly gas “mask fit” test after the two services amended their gas mask rules to meet the Pentagon’s recent overhaul of grooming standards.
The new annual Chemical, Biological Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) mask test requirements were recently published in official Marine Corps and Navy administrative notices, or ADMINs. The Marine Corps policy incorporates new pass-fail training compliance statuses while the Navy rules speed up the timeline for sailors to comply with the mask fit training and certification tests.

Is the Army making a mistake ending it’s

The end of World War II was over 80 years ago, and the number of Americans who served during the war is starting to number fewer and fewer. August 23, 2026, was a milestone for that dwindling number of veterans, as Roy Drinkard, World War II veteran and oldest living Marine passed away at the age of 106.
Also Read: TSA is adding dedicated security lines for military, veterans, and their families
Born on July 12, 1920 in Falkville, Ala., Drinkard’s father was a businessman who also served as the town’s mayor for 20 years. Young Roy attended St. Bernard Preparatory School in Cullman, Ala.

“Next decade is probably the most remarkable pe

President Donald Trump is approaching the November midterms with approval ratings holding at a record low, with voters evidently concerned that the war with Iran is unlikely to end any time soon.

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll found that just 31% of Americans support U.S. military action against Iran, down from 34% earlier in August and 37% in March, shortly after the conflict began.

The U.S. Navy is looking to add a new “standoff” anti-submarine warfare weapon system to its arsenal and is reaching out to industry to see what capabilities companies have to offer.
The market research effort, which kicked off Tuesday with the release of an RFI, is in support of the service’s Silent Anvil Air-Launched Torpedo (SAA-LT) program.
SAA-LT is billed as a next-generation delivery system being developed to counter emerging threats in undersea warfare and “expand the range” of drones and manned aircraft that can conduct anti-submarine operations.

Air Force 2nd Lt. Leah R. Borsich was one of eight people killed when a plane carrying her team crashed while trying to land in foggy conditions at a remote radar site in western Alaska, service officials announced.
Borsich, 23, was a project programmer with the 611th Civil Engineer Squadron, an Air Force news release says. She was assigned to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.

What if your mid-air tanker didn’t need a