A mission to reach a sick man on a remote island in the southern Atlantic Ocean last month prompted a team of British soldiers to pull off one of the rarest, most high-risk parachute jumps that special operations troops have in their bag of tricks.
Flying 7,000 miles from a base in England, a team of six British commandos, known as Pathfinders, jumped from a cargo plane over the island of Tristan da Cunha to reach a local man showing signs of Hauntavirus. Two of the Pathfinders carried a pair of medical specialists as passengers on the jump, one a doctor, the other a critical care nurse.

Representatives for Gurkha rights met the Defen

Ukraine Is Confident – But Will It Change the Outcome of the War?: During the early days of the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spent an enormous amount of time pleading with Western governments for permission to strike targets deep inside Russia. At the time, U.S. President Joe Biden and European leaders were concerned that using long-range weapons that they had supplied to strike targets deep inside Russia could trigger a dangerous escalation and widen the conflict beyond Ukraine’s borders.

As Ukraine has been ramping up its drone operations against Moscow, more and more Ukrainian drones are ending up where they don’t belong. Most recently, a drone was shot down over Latvian airspace by NATO air forces. These reports have emerged following several other instances of drones showing up in other NATO countries. The recent incidents have sparked fears among some Baltic nations that the war may spread beyond Ukraine’s borders and lead to a broader escalation.

Ukrainian Drones in NATO Airspace

Eurofighter Typhoon Test Flight in 2013. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

The Joint Strike Missile (JSM) is a weapon specifically designed to fit inside the F-35 Lightning II’s internal weapons bay while preserving that fifth-generation multirole warplane’s stealth characteristics. The contract, designed by Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace, is worth $240.9 million. The contract covers missile production, containers, test hardware, and support equipment. Work will run through late 2028 on this new system.

What is the JSM?

U.S. Air Force Maj.

Now that the world has awoken to the complete breakdown of the ceasefire between the United States, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Israel, US President Donald Trump is pleading with two medium-sized Mideast powers to return to the deal. The question remains: how can the Americans sustain even a semblance of a ceasefire between these two warring parties?

Whereas before Trump’s disastrous second term in office (made disastrous only because of his pathetic handling of the Iran War), the US was clearly the senior partner in the US-Israeli relationship.

F-15C Fighter on the Tarmac.

Summary and Key Points: Iran has halted its strikes on Israel, and the relief is widely shared: Washington calls it a success, Israel says pressure worked, and the commentary has moved on. It may be moving too fast. There is another reading of why Tehran stopped — one that has nothing to do with losing. Iran may have concluded that it had already accomplished what it had come to do. It never needed to actually close the Strait of Hormuz; the lingering threat alone was enough to rattle shipping firms, insurers, and energy markets, sending crude prices jumping overnight before easing.

Europe’s economy depends on middle distillates – refined petroleum products that are obtained in the middle boiling range during crude oil distillation. Diesel, specifically, fuels much of the continent’s trucking industry and manufacturing and agriculture sectors, while jet fuel keeps its aviation market moving. Yet both of these fuels are now becoming increasingly difficult to secure as the war in Iran continues to disrupt global energy markets.

Europe consumes roughly 1.6 million barrels of jet fuel every day, but domestic refineries produce only about 1.1 million barrels.

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.

As if Russian President Vladimir Putin needed any more embarrassing news about his disastrous war with Ukraine, the latest fiasco is an even deeper blow.

Ukrainian drones struck energy and military sites in St Petersburg on Wednesday, hours before a large international economic forum gathered in the city.

Lancet Drone. Image Credit: Russian State Media.

Lancet Drone from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

As Russia offers large signing bonuses and high salaries to attract new military recruits for its war in Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has stepped in to address the issue and encourage young men to reject the offer. During a visit to Kyiv last week, Rutte said that young Russian men are being sent into a warzone without the necessary training and equipment to keep them safe, adding that they face a high likelihood of being killed or injured.

Rutte’s Message to Russian Families

T-14 Armata Tank Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

T-14 Armata.

A Navy veteran is one of three men recently arrested for allegedly trying to pay more than $2,000 to a person whom they thought was a member of the Islamic State group, or ISIS, to buy rocket-propelled grenades and drones for an attack against U.S. troops overseas, officials said.
Bareen Dzayee, 25, was taken into custody on June 5 along with two other men, a Justice Department news release says. Prosecutors claim Dzayee suggested the drone attack target U.S. Special Forces, according to the Justice Department, according to the Justice Department.

The precarious ceasefire between Iran, Israel, and the United States nearly broke down last night, as Iran launched a ballistic missile attack against Israel in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

Israel replied with its own strikes against an Iranian petrochemical plant at Mahshahr, along with associated military targets. The Houthis joined the fray by launching their own missile strike against Israel.

Four B-1B Lancers assigned to the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, deployed from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, arrive Feb. 6, 2017, at Andersen AFB, Guam. The 9th EBS is taking over U.

The King attended a parade to celebrate the cre

Iran has halted its direct missile and drone attacks against Israel—but Israel has made clear that it does not intend to halt military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Accordingly, the war’s center of gravity is shifting, with concerns over a direct Israel-Iran escalation fading; now the biggest question is whether the Israel-Lebanon conflict will prompt Iran to re-engage.

Tenuous Ceasefire

Merkava Tank Israel. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

The US-brokered ceasefire was built around Israel and the Lebanese government, but excluded Hezbollah.

A recent report from the UK Public Accounts Committee has criticised the UK Government’s handling of its defence investment strategy.

Last night, Iran carried out its first ballistic missile attacks against Israel for the first time since the ceasefire was enacted in April earlier this year. Israel did respond and counterattack. Interestingly, the IRGC has stated that it intends to cease additional attacks against Israel as long as Israel does not launch any further attacks against Lebanon. Now, the U.S. is once again rushing in order to broker a lasting peace in the region.

The burden is now on Israel and Hezbollah to come to an agreement to stop the fighting from escalating even further.

This video describes the military situation in

The Android-based “Mortars App,” as it is named

Army investigators are looking into the theft of tens of thousands of dollars worth of gear from a soldier’s rental vehicle in Portland, Oregon. The missing Army gear includes flight helmets, supplies and survival radios.
Three soldiers checked into a Portland hotel while on an assignment to return a helicopter to Oregon. They locked $33,000 worth of gear in their rental vehicle that was parked in the hotel’s lot, according to reporting from KGW, an Oregon-based news outlet.

Codenamed Operation Neptune, the combined naval

The Iran-Israel Strikes May Have Just Ended – What Now?: Late on June 7 and into the early hours of June 8, Iran launched nearly 30 ballistic missiles towards Israel. It was the first direct exchange of fire between the two countries since the April 8 ceasefire agreement, and according to the Israeli military, the missiles targeted several military facilities. Among them were air bases in central and northern Israel.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard took credit for the strikes and stated that they were a retaliation for recent Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Iran’s Strategic Victory: The Week the War’s Outcome Became Clear – With the resumption of hostilities in the War for the Greater Middle East, it’s time to understand what’s happening, because it’s quite an incredible story. Indeed, if you’ll forgive the phrasing, future historians will write astounding histories of how the War for the Greater Middle East ended in an Iranian strategic victory, with its turning point occurring this week.

They’ll also write about how a superpower went to die in the geopolitical quicksand of the Middle East.

The U.S.

Airbus Helicopters has revealed plans to introduce the U145, an uncrewed version of its existing H145 helicopter.

Iran’s top military command, Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters, has declared an end to its military operations against Israel, after the two sides exchanged a wave of attacks that threatened to bring the conflict back into all-out war. Israel has not responded to Tehran’s announcement.

President Trump told Iran and Israel to stop “shooting” and said the two countries were “looking to do an immediate ceasefire.

The Strait of Hormuz Standoff Is A Game of Economic Chicken. Neither Iran Nor The West Can Win: Iran held its fire on Monday, declining to answer Israel’s overnight strikes with another missile barrage, and the immediate relief is real. But the missile-by-missile drama has been obscuring the more important contest, the one that will actually decide how and when this ends. It is an economic staring match over the Strait of Hormuz, and the longer it runs, the more both sides lose.

Manila, Philippines – On the occasion of his visit to Pyongyang, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping has received one of the most effusive and colorful welcomes the city has ever seen. This is also the penultimate Chinese leader’s first visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in seven years.

After touching down in an Air China Boeing 747-8 (registration number B-2479) at Pyongyang/Sunan International Airport (FNJ), Xi was feted to a red carpet welcome by DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju.

AI, cybersecurity, hypersonic weapons and the space economy present compelling investment opportunities in defense.

The Netherlands’ defence acquisition budget, which amounted to nearly half of spending on personnel in 2022, will even out by 2029.

Over the weekend, the already tenuous ceasefire between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran broke down after Israel defied the Iranian stipulations of the ceasefire and attacked Beirut.

Tehran has insisted that the Israelis, as a co-belligerent with the United States against Iran, are bound by the ceasefire.

Iran’s missile capabilities. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

The Israeli government, however, disagreed. Iran’s partner, the Shiite Lebanese militia of Hezbollah, is the target of Israeli ire in Lebanon.

Workforce modernization is often framed around talent gaps, hiring speed or operational efficiency within the federal government. After nearly two decades in federal service, including leading cybersecurity initiatives as a CISO, I believe agencies must view workforce transformation through an equally urgent lens: security. In the current threat landscape, identity is the new perimeter. However, that perimeter is only as strong as the data model supporting it.
Amanda Day is CISO for Workday Government.

The US Department of State has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Kuwait for counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS) platforms.

Donald Trump Wanted To End The Iran War. Overnight, Israel Showed Him He Isn’t In Control: By this morning, June 8, 2026, the President of the United States was reduced to posting on Truth Social, looking as if he had lost control of a war he helped start. Overnight, Israel had struck Iran, with blasts reported across Tehran and beyond and a petrochemical site among the targets, in retaliation for the waves of missiles Iran had fired at Israel the day before.

This video describes the military situation in

Manila, Philippines  – There are phrases associated with the Ukraine war that those of us covering it, now in its 5th year, have grown more than weary of.

Rather tellingly, these phrases are discontinued once proven to be completely erroneous in their assumptions.

One of the more famous of these dates back to the beginning of the war: “the Ukrainians cannot win.”

CINCU, Romania – U.S. Army Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, setup their M1 Abram Tanks during Getica Saber 17, July 10, 2017.

The San Antonio Spurs struggled early during the 1996-97 NBA season.
As their best player, David Robinson, rehabilitated his lower back, the injury-ravaged Spurs lost 15 of their first 18 games. With Robinson set to return to the lineup, the team’s general manager made a coaching change. He fired Bob Hill and named himself as Hill’s replacement.
Also Read: Why the service academies deserve their own spot in March Madness
At the time, Gregg Popovich had no NBA head coaching experience. He bet on himself and won big.

The Army officially has a new standardized mobile app for firing mortars. This spring, the Army gave the final clearance for a new system, called simply the Mortars App, that soldiers can use on smartphones and tablets to get accurate mortar fire on targets. 
The new app got the final approval in March, although the Army announced the rollout at the start of June.

The Franco-German Future Combat Air System (FCAS) next generation fighter program has officially collapsed, after French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reached a shared conclusion that common ground to resolve longstanding disputes could not be found. The program had been launched in July 2017 to provide a successor to the Eurofighter in German service, and the Rafale in French service, from around 2040.

Trump Could Get a Ukraine Deal—But Not the One Washington Wants: U.S. President Donald Trump may be able to secure a deal with Ukraine. The catch is that it probably will not look much like the deal Washington has spent the last several years imagining.

Too much of the debate assumes that a successful negotiation must settle the war. Borders agreed. Security guarantees nailed down. Russia and the West are arriving at some new understanding about European security. That would be nice. History suggests it is also asking a great deal.

Manila, Philippines – The Ukrainian Defense Forces (ZSU) and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) have commemorated the 82nd anniversary of the historic World War II Allied 6 June 1944 D-Day invasion of occupied France by striking a Russian Navy (VMF) arsenal in the settlement of Velyka Izhora in the Leningrad Region. This location is roughly 31 miles southwest of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg.

The successful attack was first reported by the Dossye Shpiona (the Spy’s Dossier) Telegram channel, not long after it occurred.

Laura Heckmann, National Defense
one of the service’s top priorities is its Organic Precision Fires concept

Nick Ulmer & Harrison Schramm, RealClearDefense
For the uninitiated, a token is a small piece of information, in text roughly three-quarters of a word, that a large language model processes…

NGN
HELIOS is a 60-kilowatt-class directed-energy laser with a range of up to 5 miles, offering layered defense against drones, fast attack craft, and incoming missiles.

Global Defense News
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace a $240.

Atharva Gosavi, IntEngineering
The Rydberg atom-based sensor could help soldiers detect complex electromagnetic signals across the battlefield.

China’s nuclear submarine industrial base has undergone one of the world’s most significant expansions over the past two decades, with a major landmark reached in early June when it was confirmed that the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai had launched its first nuclear powered submarine.

This video describes the military situation in

By Bob Morris, VMI grad
A new lawsuit accuses the governing board of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) — one of the nation’s last state military colleges and a primary commissioning source for the armed forces — of conducting the public’s business in the shadows.
The verified petition, filed June 1, 2026 in York County Circuit Court (Morris v. Virginia Military Institute, No.

Industry 4.

Congress rarely moves fast, but Reps. Rob Wittman and Pat Ryan are trying to change that. The two lawmakers founded the bipartisan House Defense Modernization Caucus in 2024 and have driven reforms through two consecutive defense authorization acts, targeting acquisitions and other bottlenecks. Jonathan sits down with both congressmen to discuss their initiatives, how a caucus without markup power actually moves legislation, and whether bipartisan cooperation on defense can last.Image: Sgt. 1st Class Rakeem Carter via DVIDS.