Royal Marines boarded the Russian shadow fleet

This video describes the military situation in

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired a senior member of his administration on Wednesday, August 19, just hours after anti-corruption investigators searched her home as part of a money-laundering investigation involving a series of high-profile legislators, bank executives, and other officials close to the presidency.

Zelenskyy dismissed Iryna Mudra as deputy head of the Office of the President with a one-sentence decree that offered no explanation for her removal.

Zelensky Speaking in UK Ukraine Government Photo

President Donald J.

This past weekend, Disney held its annual D23 celebration, which means there’s major announcements, trailers, and updates from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to catch up on—and some homework for those of you who want to catch up on the essentials before “Avengers: Doomsday” releases this December.
Also Read: We’re still obsessed with hero stories 4,000 years after Gilgamesh
I’ve got the spoiler-free list below and a list with summaries below that… but first, let’s take a quick peek at some of the other fun news that came out of the D23 expo.

More Reserve and National Guard troops who serve long stints on active duty orders may get access to healthcare after a sailor’s class action lawsuit. A new Pentagon policy released Aug. 10 could make tens of thousands of troops eligible for six months of healthcare coverage and pay back out-of-pocket costs incurred by thousands more, advocates told Task & Purpose.

We went on board Nato’s North Atlantic flagsh

Russia’s oil exports are slumping after Ukrainian attacks have compromised operations at its key Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.

Russia’s Western Port Exports Slump

Putin in December of 2023 Creative Commons Image

Putin Speaking in July 2026 Creative Commons Photo

Oil shipments from Russia’s western ports fell to around 2.3 million barrels per day in the first half of August, about 15% below Moscow’s initial loading plan, traders told Reuters on Wednesday.

The Indian Ministry of Defence has unveiled its sixth Positive Indigenisation List (PIL), identifying 405 new items for domestic production as part of ongoing efforts to reduce import dependence.

A Russian Aerospace Forces Su-35S fighter crossed into Ukrainian-controlled airspace over the Sumy region, flying over the town of Uhroidy and launched a Kh-59/69 guided missile towards Sumy City before returning safely to Russian-controlled airspace in Kursk. The reported sortie is unusual because Russian fourth generation fighters have consistently avoided penetrating Ukrainian airspace, instead relying heavily on missiles and glide bombs to engage targets at range weapons.

High diesel prices are becoming a problem for the U.S. economy and Trump: High gas prices have been a reality for Americans throughout 2026, especially since the war in Iran broke out.

But lately, diesel prices have started to soar even more, threatening ripple effects across the U.S. economy. And that’s something that could create a big political problem for President Trump’s party in November’s midterm elections.

A major joint exercise between U.S. and South Korean troops will end a week earlier than originally planned after President Donald Trump directed that it be scaled back, a Pentagon official confirmed.
The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise began on Monday shortly after Trump posted on social media that he had ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” the U.S. military’s involvement in the training event, which he described as “costly.”
The exercise had originally been scheduled to last until Aug.

What do you get when you cross a Russian drone with a cruise missile? Answer: A new hybrid and more difficult-to-shoot-down weapon called the S8000, or more commonly known as the “Banderol.” The weapon not only presents a considerable new challenge to Ukraine’s air defense forces (PPO), but it also has become an additional method for Moscow to terrorize Ukrainian civilians.

Meet the Banderol Cruise Missile 

Lancet Drone. Image Credit: Russian State Media.

Lancet Drone from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

There is nothing as classic in the crime/murder mystery genre as the infamous “killer returning to the scene of the crime.” In a real-world example of how art imitates life, Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have done just that.

For months now, unofficial sources have said Putin has increasingly confined himself to hiding inside underground bunkers or other hardened sites.

This video describes the military situation in

When defending any position, the second-to-last thing a military unit wants to know is that they’re outnumbered. The very last thing the defenders want to know is that they’re massively outnumbered. 
Also Read: One of military history’s most lopsided beatdowns didn’t need to happen
Being outnumbered leads to a losing mindset, which can be a real morale killer, which can only hurt a unit’s ability to fight effectively. Being so outnumbered that defeat feels guaranteed can be a self-fulfilling prophecy—but it doesn’t have to be.

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It was a war no one in London asked for, to kick off a plan everyone tried to reject, and the first battle was an absolute disaster. But the British Army was sent to Isandlwana anyway, by one British High Commissioner who was going to reorganize southern Africa by any means necessary.
There was just one problem: Britain didn’t actually control all of southern Africa.

Elbit Systems said that its subsidiary, Elbit Systems Sweden, plans to introduce its new Tactical High Mobility Shelter (THMS) at DALO Industry Days 2026 defence exhibition in Denmark.

Hanwha Defense USA (HDUSA) has landed its first major contract with the US Army to provide prototype K9 Mobile Howitzers (K9MH) for the military’s Mobile Tactical Cannon (MTC) programme.

Flesh-eating bacteria warning, Gulf Coast 2026. Photo: The Wellness Company
The last few months the media has been transfixed by the cyclospora “explosive diarrhea” outbreak that has spread across the country – with no relief in sight. Not garnering near the media attention as cyclospora, but deadlier and more dangerous, is a flesh-eating bacteria crisis that has developed along the Gulf Coast.
Writing in his Substack, Dr.

This video describes the military situation in

In a Pacific war, the U.S. military cannot assume uncontested access to its depots and supply lines for munitions, spare parts, food, water, and energy. Jonathan is joined by David Tuttle (Rune Technologies), Paul Lwin (HavocAI), and Tom Garvey (CACI) to discuss sustaining a dispersed force that’s facing enemy fire and lacks stable, secure communications. They debate autonomy versus automation, predictive resupply, where the data comes from, and which lessons from Ukraine transfer across theaters.Image: Sgt. Alora Finigan via DVIDS.

The Iran war is beginning to resemble the Ukraine war in one important way. Operationally, the wars themselves are still very different — Ukraine is a large-scale ground invasion, while the Iran war is not there just yet. But their political logic after a failure to achieve a quick result is starting to look very similar. In both cases, a larger power expected its overwhelming military force to produce a quick political result. And in both cases, that expectation failed.

Following confirmation that the Russian Navy has begun factory sea trials of the first Khabarovsk class nuclear-powered strategic submarine, a growing consensus has emerged that the country’s strategic nuclear deterrent is entering a new phase as unprecedented capabilities begin to be introduced. The warship left the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk on August 17, 2026, marking a major milestone in a programme that has been under development for more than a decade.

In early 1963, a single number characterized the difference in the positions of the United States and the Soviet Union on a comprehensive nuclear test ban. Nikita Khrushchev had proposed three on-site inspections each year. Washington was asking for seven. Other differences remained, including inspection procedures and treaty language. But the difference mattered: Seismology could not always distinguish an underground test from an earthquake, and inspections created both assurance and opportunities for espionage.Neither number had been delivered by a technical expert wielding a seismograph.

NextGenDef.

NDM
Key to maintaining command and control on the battlefield is having robust electronic warfare defense and offense

Dylan Malyasov, Defence Blog
REGENT’s Squire Seaglider drone completed a 13-day electronic warfare exercise called Silent Swarm

AvWeek
Shield AI will receive $50 million from the U.S.

Paul Giarra & Kevin Eyer, RCDefense
The Unused Shield: The Case for Forward-Deployed Aegis Destroyers in Gulf Air and Missile Defense

they are not distracted trying to police the world–they want to dominat it

It is easy to forget how long the China Doves and the China Lobby—wait, I repeat myself—held absolute control of power and influence over the full spectrum of the American political nomenklatura.
Bush-41 and Bush-43 were both supporters of a rising China. The Clinton Administration was LITERALLY the Coffee Klatch Era.

President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to prepare for a major redesign of one of America’s newest aircraft carriers, demanding that the Navy abandon its electromagnetic jet-launching system and return to traditional steam catapults beginning with the USS Doris Miller.

The president is also pushing for a significant change to the Ford-class carriers, which would move the ships’ command tower, known as the “island,” farther forward so the enormous warships more closely resemble older American aircraft carriers.

The world’s largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R.

Ukraine has some of the world’s most advanced air defense systems currently sitting idle because it is running out of the missiles it needs to use them – even as Russia intensified its campaign of ballistic and cruise missile strikes across the country.

On Tuesday, August 18, Ukraine once again saw the damage that Russia can do when two cruise missiles struck Pechenihy in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region.

Russia is upping its attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ahead of the winter.

Kyiv’s state-owned Naftogaz Group said on Monday that its facilities had endured 13 strikes from drones and missiles in just one week.

U.S. Army soldiers assigned to Bravo ‘Bad Bet’ Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, conduct Table V exercises with the M1A2 Abrams Tank at Bemowo Piskie Training Area, Poland, July 12, 2024. The purpose of the training is to ensure the Abrams were fully functional and fit to fight.

Russia and North Korea’s military partnership is expanding. On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow and Pyongyang were working on a “new and righteous world order.” The comments came amid news that North Korea could be poised to send tens of thousands more troops to aid Russia’s war effort.

RAF Vulcans faced a US Air Force’s Tri-Ba

Northrop Grumman successfully completed a critical design review (CDR) for upgrades to the Navy’s fleet of airborne early warning planes, putting the company on track to deliver the modernized aircraft before the end of the decade.
The Navy announced Monday that the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Block II program cleared CDR in May, officially moving the effort out of its design phase. With the new upgrades finalized, Northrop now has the green light to begin retrofitting the aircraft with new capabilities in preparation for flight tests slated for fiscal 2029, according to the sea service.

When first responders rushed to the scene after a Marine Corps F/A-18 crashed in Washington State in June, they were greeted by the pilot. The Marine walked towards them, holding up a phone and calling 911, with blood smeared across his face. 
On Friday, the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office released body camera footage of the moment responders found the aviator on June 13. Shortly beforehand, around noon, the F/A-18 Hornet was flying near Rimrock Lake, near Mount Rainier, approximately 55 miles south of Seattle.

SC Smart Start: Your Free Transition Assistant

How well do you know your jackspeak ?

In 2025, James Cameron wrote, “Eurodeterrent: A Vision for an Anglo-French Nuclear Force,” where he argued the United Kingdom and France should cooperate to develop a nuclear deterrent umbrella for Europe, independent of Washington. A year later, after French President Emmanuel Macron’s landmark nuclear speech, we asked him to revisit his argument. Image: SAC Rob Bourne/MODIn your 2025 article, you argued that, given Europe’s perceived uncertainty about the U.S.

The U.S., after months of war with Iran, is running low on missile interceptors.

The Trump Administration’s response has been a combination of denials, threats of reprisals to leakers, and the president reportedly demanding answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about the status of the missile stockpile.

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

This video describes the military situation in

U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday, August 18, that the Strait of Hormuz is open and operational, and even went as far as to share a map that labeled the waterway as “NEW U.S. Territory.”

But the ships aren’t moving, and Trump’s narrative appears to be based on the fact that a limited number of ships continue to move through the Strait.

Oil Platform. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Generic Oil Tanker Image. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

UAS Test Specialist Marc Cook believes British

On Monday, the 60-day period from the June Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Iran expired, seemingly rendering that agreement even more dead than it previously appeared.

This leaves the conflict between the U.S. and Iran in a sort of limbo, as the sides have not been attacking each other in recent weeks, but have also not made peace.

Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) transits the South China Sea, June 4, 2026. Boxer, flagship of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, is underway with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations.

U.S. Special Operations Command’s program executive office for SOF digital applications is planning to test and evaluate new mission autonomy software that could boost drone operations.
The command is pursuing the effort in partnership with the SOFWERX innovation hub to support the Unmanned Systems Autonomy and Interoperability (UxSAI) program.
SOCOM will hold multiple events to assess industry capabilities in the coming months, according to a special notice released Monday.

Ukraine again launched hundreds of drones toward Moscow overnight into Tuesday, August 18.

It is the second massive assault on the Russian capital in just three days, with Kyiv accelerating its long-range campaign designed to disrupt logistics and infrastructure and raise the cost of sustaining the war in Ukraine.

Putin Back in 2010 Creative Commons Image

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said that at least 620 Ukrainian drones were launched toward Moscow and surrounding areas through early Tuesday, with Russian air defenses destroying 180 over the Moscow region.

A 41-year-old Kentucky woman charged with vandalizing Washington D.C.’s World War II Memorial walked free Monday after a federal magistrate judge ordered her release — over the strenuous objections of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. Melissa Farris faces two federal felony counts, each carrying up to ten years in prison. A judge decided that was not enough to keep her behind bars while she awaits trial.
The vandalism happened on August 13.

The Balaklava Company hosted His Royal Highness