A drone that killed three Ukrainian civilians, including a 19-year-old student, was flying with an experimental navigation system that uses artificial intelligence to hone in on targets.
The Russian drone in question was reportedly attempting to target a gas station in an attack in Zaporizhzhia when it struck a wall. It exploded on contact, killing 19-year-old student Tetiana Bubynets and two others.
The drone&#8217;s navigation system was programmed by human operators who key in on a generalized target — a particular building, a military base, or a gas station — and the AI is supposed to fine-tune the target once it&#8217;s in range of the drone, according to a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/24/world/europe/russia-drones-autonomous-ai-kill-ukraine-war.html?unlocked_article_code=1.71A.xQCF.v4_4GUKwBhBg&amp;smid=url-share">report</a> published Sunday by The New York Times. A drone sent by human programming to a specific military base, for example, might then use AI to hone in on propane tanks that it was programmed to &#8220;recognize&#8221; as a target.
Forensic investigators first determined the drone was using AI after they evaluated debris from the deadly Zaporizhzhia strike and several other drone attacks. What they found were onboard minicomputers, made by tech giant Nvidia, which had the capability to use AI to make targeting decisions in real time. That, coupled with the fact that they lacked the antennas necessary for receiving external commands, led them to believe that the final targeting decisions were made using AI.
As the report noted, both Russia and Ukraine have been using AI in drones for some time — but only in a &#8220;last mile&#8221; capacity in which a remote human operator has selected the final target. Rumors had been circulating that Russia was using fully autonomous AI, and according to Kateryna Bondar — senior fellow at the Wadhwani AI Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington — the presence of the Nvidia module in recent drone attacks is clear evidence of that. The deadly strike in Zaporizhzhia marks the first time that a drone using fully autonomous AI targeting resulted in civilian deaths.
The benefits of such a system are obvious: an AI targeting system can be trained to recognize specific things like railroad tracks, tanks, or people — and can track them with greater precision than a human. But the risks are also obvious: AI is far less likely to be able to distinguish between civilians and soldiers — meaning that the use of fully autonomous AI could put a nation on the wrong side of the laws of war — and the inability for a remote human operator to communicate with the drone means that there is no way to override the AI system&#8217;s decisions in real time.
Col. Serhiy Minaiev, the commander of air defenses in Zaporizhzhia, sounded the alarm, arguing that taking such decisions out of the hands of human operators heralded the kind of dystopian scenarios usually only seen in movies: &#8220;This is a risk for the whole world. In a few years, we will be living in a ‘Terminator’ movie. It’s no joke. Machines are making decisions to strike.”

A reconnaissance drone flies over the ocean and is captured in a marked surveillance system.

Drone Guided Fully By AI Kills Three Civilians

Military

Russia

Technology

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

WNBA star Sophie Cunningham climbed onto a bar at a downtown Indianapolis honky-tonk Friday night and belted out Toby Keith&#8217;s &#8220;Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue&#8221; with a roomful of Indiana Fever fans, hours after her team beat the Dallas Wings.
Cunningham had stopped in at Clayton&#8217;s Country Bar after the Fever&#8217;s 98-87 win over the Wings at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Country singer Clayton Anderson spotted her at the end of the bar, grabbed a microphone and introduced her to the crowd — &#8220;Ladies and gentlemen, my friend, America&#8217;s sweetheart, Sophie Cunningham!&#8221; — before the two climbed up onto the bar to sing the post-9/11 anthem&#8217;s closing verse together.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Only Sophie Cunningham could go from playing a Fever game to randomly showing up at a bar and singing “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” with the fans. 🥰🇺🇸
She’s truly the freaking best. ❤️❤️ <a href="https://t.co/FSvsnUOjPZ">pic.twitter.com/FSvsnUOjPZ</a>
— Gina Milan (@ginamilan_) <a href="https://x.com/ginamilan_/status/2088636239431790786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Cunningham took the last verse and the final chorus as the bar sang along loudly enough to drown her out in stretches, pulling up a pant leg and kicking the air on the chorus&#8217;s best-known line.
&#8220;Hey, Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list, and the Statue of Liberty started shaking her fist. And the eagle will fly and it&#8217;s gonna be hell, when you hear Mother Freedom start ringing her bell,&#8221; she continued, nearly drowned out by the other voices in the bar. &#8220;And it will feel like the whole wide world is raining down on you, brought to you courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue.&#8221;
Keith wrote the song in the weeks after the September 11 attacks, scrawling the lyrics around the edges of the back of a fantasy football sheet in about 20 minutes. He has said the song was as much about his father — Hubert &#8220;H.K.&#8221; Covel, an Army veteran who lost his right eye in the service and was killed in a car crash in March 2001 — as it was about the attacks. He did not originally intend to release it as a single, and for a time only played it for military audiences.
He recounted the song&#8217;s turning point in an <a href="https://theboot.com/toby-keith-courtesy-of-the-red-white-and-blue-the-angry-american-lyrics/">interview</a> with country music outlet The Boot:
&#8220;I was at the Pentagon, playing for a bunch of Marines that were shipping out to Afghanistan for the first time … I said, &#8216;I’m going to play this song. The band doesn’t know it, but I’m going to play it on my acoustic &#8230;&#8217; And when I got done, [the commander] said, &#8216;You’ve got to release that as a single &#8230; That’s the most amazing battle song I’ve ever heard in my life,'&#8221; Keith recalled. &#8220;And so I prayed about it and discussed it with everybody for a long time, because I knew it was going to cause a storm. But at the end of the day, I was like, &#8216;If it means that much to those guys, then I don’t care. I’ll do it.&#8217; And that’s when we finally decided we were going to release it.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sophie-cunningham-smacks-down-opponents-white-privilege-comment">Cunningham</a>, for her part, has been the focus of a lot of media attention in recent weeks, primarily because she has repeatedly defended women and girls and their right to have sex-specific spaces — whether those be on sports teams or in locker rooms.
Her comments have drawn rallies outside at least three Fever games, with demonstrators on both sides of the issue turning out — supporters in &#8220;Thank you Sophie&#8221; and XX-XY Athletics shirts alongside activists chanting for transgender inclusion.
Cunningham has been at the center of a national fight since ESPN published a <a href="https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/49306657/sophie-cunningham-finger-point-indiana-fever-wnba">profile</a> on July 21 in which she said she wants &#8220;to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn&#8217;t have to go against biological men.&#8221;
She has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/after-sophie-cunningham-speaks-up-for-girls-the-wnba-speaks-up-for-delusion">repeatedly pushed back</a> on being cast as a political figure, telling ESPN she is &#8220;very much in the middle,&#8221; though <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7464960/2026/07/22/sophie-cunningham-trans-comments-womens-sports/">she has not budged</a> on the underlying position: &#8220;I said what I said. I think it&#8217;s kind of common sense.&#8221;

WNBA: JUN 13 Indiana Fever at Connecticut Sun

Sophie Cunningham Jumps On A Bar And Belts Out Toby Keith After Fever Win

Sophie Cunningham Walks Into A Bar — And Brings The House Down

2026

9/11

Only Sophie Cunningham could go from playing a Fever game to randomly showing up at a bar and singing “Courtesy of the Red

Sophie Cunningham

Toby Keith

White and Blue” with the fans. 🥰🇺🇸She’s truly the freaking best. ❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/FSvsnUOjPZ— Gina Milan (@ginamilan_) August 15

WNBA

The aircraft carrier USS George Washington has begun heading toward the Middle East to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, as reports have circulated of mental health concerns aboard Lincoln.
The carrier switch, according to a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/u-s-sending-fresh-aircraft-carrier-to-middle-east-amid-iran-war-strain-d0d6e98d?eafs_enabled=false">report</a> published Thursday by The Wall Street Journal, is part of a scheduled rotation to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln after more than eight months at sea with limited port calls. The extended deployment — since November 21, 2025 — has reportedly resulted in several sailors aboard Lincoln attempting to jump overboard.
The Navy Times reported on Tuesday that at least two sailors had made such attempts. Annabelle Loma told the outlet that her husband was one of them, and that he was on medical hold.
&#8220;He’s scared. He thinks he’ll get a dishonorable discharge, and just because he was burnt out, his 13-year career is ruined, just like that. That’s not fair, that’s not right. That’s not what he should be worrying about right now,&#8221; she said.
Maria Rodriguez told The Navy Times that her husband had been on watch when another attempt was made, and that he&#8217;d been able to stop the sailor from going overboard.
&#8220;He said he hadn’t felt adrenaline like that in his life, and he was just so thankful he was able to get to [the sailor] in time, to stop them from going overboard,&#8221; she explained.
The Navy has disputed the accounts, telling USNI News on Wednesday that it has &#8220;not identified an increase&#8221; in reported suicidal ideation or suicide attempts aboard Lincoln.
Other reports have mentioned a number of issues, such as broken toilets, moldy showers, and water contamination — in addition to alleged food shortages and complications with the mail service that kept some care packages from reaching their destinations.
Democrats in Congress <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/13/poor-conditions-are-reported-uss-abraham-lincoln-democrats-demand-answers/">quickly blamed</a> President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration for creating the situation.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) fired off a letter to War Secretary Pete Hegseth and acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao, demanding answers to several questions about conditions aboard the Lincoln and expressing concerns about Iran, claiming that the objectives had never been clear.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) posted a link to mental health resources for military service members, but <a href="https://x.com/SenMarkKelly/status/2087732648181366848">jabbed vaguely</a> at the administration as well: &#8220;The reports from the USS Abraham Lincoln about multiple sailors attempting to jump into the sea are disturbing. Long deployments are hard. They are a lot harder when the mission isn’t well defined and there is no end in sight.&#8221;
Over the last week, both Cao and Vice Adm. Joseph Cahill (commander of Naval Surface Forces) met with families either in person or virtually to address their concerns. Cao had said that the USS Theodore Roosevelt Strike Group would be deployed to replace Lincoln — but later reports suggest that it will be Washington instead.
&#8220;We hear you loud and clear [regarding] the impact this has on families, on service members and the long-term ability of us to stand, sustain our forces’ health,&#8221; Cahill said.
<a href="https://news.usni.org/2026/08/13/uss-george-washington-heading-west-lincoln-deployment-nears-9-months">Lincoln</a> has been at sea for 241 consecutive days — more than a month longer than the previous record of 206 days, set by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower during the COVID-19 pandemic. The last port call was December 11, 2025, in Guam. The deployment was supposed to end in May, but has been extended due to the ongoing war with Iran.
Secretary Hegseth said on Thursday that some of the reporting concerning the conditions on Lincoln had been &#8220;completely misrepresented.&#8221;
&#8220;Americans don&#8217;t understand what it&#8217;s like to do that,&#8221; he said. &#8220;As someone who&#8217;s — not been on a ship like that — but been on long deployments, I feel it. I want them home as soon as everybody else. I want folks rotated as quickly as possible &#8230; to that crew and to all those crews, we&#8217;re going to do everything we can for you and we are so grateful for their dedication.&#8221;

U.S. Conducts Blockade Operations Near Strait Of Hormuz

Two American Sailors Try To Jump Overboard From Ship Plagued By Food Shortages, Water Problems

USS George Washington To Replace USS Abraham Lincoln As Concerns Grow About Mental Health Of Crew

Iran

Pete Hegseth

U.S. Navy

Two U.S. soldiers were killed Wednesday when an Army Apache attack helicopter crashed in a field near Fort Hood, Texas, sparking a wildfire that forced nearby homes to evacuate.  
The Fort Hood-based AH-64 Apache was on a routine training flight when it crashed near Salado, about 50 miles north of Austin, shortly after 1:30 p.m. local time, according to the Bell County Sheriff’s Office.
Emergency responders received multiple 911 calls reporting the crash and a large fire. When deputies arrived, they found the wreckage and what officials initially described as an uncontrolled blaze. 
“You could tell it was a violent crash,” Bell County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Cliff Coleman said during a news conference Wednesday.
The two soldiers aboard the helicopter were pronounced dead at the scene. Their identities are being withheld until their families have been notified.
“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the families, friends, and fellow Troopers of those involved during this incredibly difficult time,” Brigadier General Ethan Diven, acting commanding general of the 1st Cavalry Division, said in a statement.
The crash did not injure anyone on the ground, and no buildings or other structures were damaged, officials said. 
It nevertheless ignited a significant grass fire, which grew to roughly 155 acres and prompted evacuations. By Wednesday evening, the blaze was about 85% contained, <a href="https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/officials-confirm-2-dead-after-violent-crash-of-military-helicopter-in-central-texas-residents-evacuated-due-to-grassfire/287-cd37737d-8fc5-456f-afaa-bf350e7d2ecd">according</a> to local reporting. Emergency crews from multiple fire departments responded to the scene as officials urged residents to avoid the area.
The AH-64E Apache is a two-seat Army attack helicopter used for armed reconnaissance, close combat, mobile strikes and other missions. 
Fort Hood’s Criminal Investigation Division is leading the investigation into the crash. 
“Our immediate priority is securing the site and supporting the initial response efforts,” Diven said. “Our thoughts are with the crew and their families as we await further information.”
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott also offered condolences to the soldiers’ families and the Fort Hood community. 
“Join Cecilia and me in prayer for their families and the entire Fort Hood community,” Abbott wrote on <a href="https://x.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/2087654465134354809">X</a>. “Texas is forever indebted to those who serve our state and nation.”

helicopter crash

Two Soldiers Killed In Apache Helicopter Crash, Wildfire Forces Evacuations

Army

Fire

Military Bases

U.S. Army

U.S. Military

The United States military is reportedly close to a breakthrough in the development of high-energy laser weapons, opening the doors to a future battlefield where targets are destroyed at the speed of light.
Laser weapons would give the United States an obvious advantage with regard to defensive capabilities, especially because they would allow operators to target incoming enemy drones and missiles for almost immediate destruction. In addition, they would not be forced to deploy missile interceptors — such as the Patriot (MIM-104) or the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) — at a much higher cost.
The U.S. Army is close to awarding a contract for a laser weapons system: Enduring High Energy Laser (E-HEL), according to a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/inside-americas-laser-revolution-military-nears-big-battlefield-breakthrough">report</a> from Fox News.
Army acquisition executive Lt. Gen. Frank Lozano said that the service was negotiating a contract with AeroVironment for the E-HEL, saying that it had been tested recently at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, where it had shown &#8220;a lot of recent promise and capability.&#8221;
The initial goal is to implement E-HEL in a defensive posture so that the United States is not forced to put millions of defense dollars into traditional kinetic weapons that will be used to shoot down relatively cheap enemy drones — a move Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OLi34jNSBHk">likened to</a> &#8220;throwing Ferraris at frisbees.&#8221;
Lasers, in contrast, may only cost a few dollars each time they are fired — and they require no additional ammunition, only maintenance — meaning that the operational costs are almost nothing once the system has been installed.
The U.S. military has attempted to add lasers to its arsenal several times in the past, from a 747-mounted &#8220;ray gun&#8221; to a Humvee-mounted laser designed to target roadside bombs — but as WIRED <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/landmark-deal-would-officially-add-laser-weapons-to-us-army-arsenal/">reported</a>, none of those attempts were able to deliver on the promise of low-cost effectiveness.
The Army is not alone in its efforts to develop and implement laser-based weaponry. The U.S. Air Force has already implemented a compact laser weapon system as a defense against enemy drones, and the U.S. Navy has been slowly integrating HELIOS (high-energy laser with integrated optical-dazzler and surveillance) after years of testing.
Outside the United States, China has also put considerable time and money into laser-based counter-drone weapons and other laser weapon systems.
And in the United Kingdom, the <a href="https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/2025/november/20/20251120-dragonfire-trials">Royal Navy</a> has already inked a £316 million (over $426 million) deal to develop a laser weapon after successful trials shooting down high-velocity drones. Until now, the Royal Navy has relied on a combination of kinetic weapons — including Sea Viper missiles and other traditional weapons — and the Phalanx system to defend against aerial attacks.

Red Laser Beam and Reflections

Experimental Weapons Offer Glimpse Of The Battlefield Of The Future

China

Military Weapons

U.S. Air Force

weapons

An Israel Defense Force (IDF) dog with a body camera entered a tunnel in southern Gaza and found dozens of rockets and other munitions inside.
Paratroopers found the terror tunnel while clearing the Israeli-held area of the Gaza Strip marked by the Yellow Line of terrorist infrastructure above and below ground.
Hamas&#8217; tunnel <a href="https://www.idf.il/en/mini-sites/hamas/everything-you-need-to-know-about-hamas-underground-city-of-terror/">network</a> is described by the IDF as “A vast underground city with dozens of access points located throughout Gaza. Hamas uses these tunnels as weapons caches, bunkers, command centers, and a concealed transportation artery for terrorists and weapons, including rocket launchers.”
Engineering units later destroyed the tunnel. Video of the blast shows a large explosion rising from an open field beside a road. The tunnel had remained undiscovered throughout the Israel-Hamas war until this operation. Its removal forms part of sustained work to clear terrorist infrastructure in accordance with the ceasefire framework.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar said in 2021 that the network ran for roughly 310 miles beneath a territory only about twice the size of Washington. Israeli assessments during the war placed the total even higher at hundreds of miles. The IDF has destroyed numerous systems of tunnels in recent months as operations continue.
Troops locate entrances, map the branches, search for explosives and weapons, and then destroy the routes so they cannot be repaired and reused. In one tunnel, soldiers entered a space identified as a Hamas commander’s room.
It contained porcelain sinks, telephone wiring, electricity, and a bed fitted with a mattress supplied as humanitarian aid “from the people of Japan.” It sat underground inside the infrastructure used by the group. Other complexes found during the war have held bathrooms, kitchens, electrical rooms, ventilation systems, and weapon stores. Senior operatives could remain below ground for days or weeks while directing activity.
In Rafah, where Israeli forces had already operated for more than a year, tunnels continued to surface. Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an IDF international spokesman, described the reality directly, <a href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/07/21/israels-campaign-against-hamass-vast-tunnel-network-continues-during-gaza-ceasefire-kan-reports/">saying</a>, “The IDF are world-class experts in dealing with terror tunnels. And still after a year plus in Rafah there are still tunnels.” He noted that dozens of shafts could remain in a single sector and that troops were dismantling only single digits each week.
The IDF recently dismantled eight underground tunnel <a href="https://x.com/IDF/status/2052709542362849443">routes</a> used by Hamas that spanned more than 2.5 kilometers. One of those routes was part of the network in eastern Rafah. Hamas terrorists operating inside it were eliminated during the engineering activity.

Terrorist Tunnels

Military Dog’s Incredible Find Leaves Troops Stunned

Hamas

Islamic Jihad

Israel

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

Terror Tunnels

Signal-jamming devices have been a real game-changer in gaining control of the skies for tactical purposes, but the impact they can have on civilian GPS can be deadly.
That is exactly <a href="https://archive.is/UboHA#selection-1259.70-1259.114">what happened</a> to a civilian medevac plane that took off from Roswell, New Mexico, this past May — and flew directly into a military training operation that disabled its navigation capabilities. While they were able to eventually get their GPS back online, it was too late — and the plane crashed into the Capitan Mountains. All four on board — two medevac pilots and two nurses — were killed instantly.
The flight should have been an easy one — 60 miles from Roswell to Ruidoso to pick up a patient — and the pilots, though relatively new, were well-qualified. Captain Keelan Clark, aged 30, had gotten his commercial pilot&#8217;s license a year and a half earlier, and first officer Ali Kawsara, 23, had previously worked cargo flights.
But medevac flights are often inherently riskier than most civilian flight operations, largely because they are often planned at a moment&#8217;s notice — and because, since lives are at stake, pilots often fly in weather that might be ill-advised under other circumstances.
The weather was not a factor on May 14, but the flight was arranged at the last minute — and it was only once they were airborne that they realized visibility was a problem. There was no moon, and almost no visible light on the ground as they traveled over rural areas, so they contacted Albuquerque Air Route Traffic Control Center and asked for permission to fly into Ruidoso &#8220;instruments only,&#8221; meaning they would not have to rely on visual cues from outside. Their request was granted.
About 100 miles west of their location, however, a training exercise known as NAVFEST was in progress at White Sands Missile Range, conducted by the U.S. Air Force&#8217;s 746th Test Squadron of the 704th Test Group. Before that weeklong exercise, the FAA had put out a warning stating that navigation systems as far as 400 miles away could be impacted by the GPS-disrupting technology being tested between May 12 and May 18.
Clark and Kawsara <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2026-08-03/business-aircraft-accident-reports-augsut-2026">quickly realized</a> that their GPS was disabled and asked the air traffic controller for a magnetic heading instead. They were told to fly west, and then north a minute later. Air Traffic Control in Albuquerque promised to give them vectors to assist with landing, but additional calls from other planes that had also lost their navigation capabilities kept ATC tied up for several minutes — at which point the medevac flight had already overshot the mark.
By then, the pilots were close enough to Ruidoso to see the lights at the airport — so they called in a request to &#8220;go visual&#8221; and approach the runway by sight. The request was granted, and they turned toward the airport — but they could not see the Capitan Mountains directly in their path.
The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-mexico-plane-crash-medevac-ntsb-gps-d95ba57711f926082d7f11d2c20f0f0d">crash</a> sparked a wildfire that burned for several weeks in the Capitan Mountains and destroyed more than 30,000 acres.
Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) <a href="https://www.organmountainnews.com/gabe-vasquez-ntsb-ruidoso-plane-crash-military-jamming-2026/">spoke</a> with National Transportation Safety Board officials about the crash, pushing for a full investigation: &#8220;This week, I communicated with NTSB officials that a thorough investigation must be concluded to fully understand the cause of this tragic and fatal crash, and prevent future accidents.&#8221;
GPS-disrupting devices have already changed the face of battle, as missile systems and unmanned drones often rely on GPS to reach their intended targets — but the tradeoff has always been the risk that friendly communication and navigation systems could also be disrupted at the same time.
In an effort to mitigate that risk, the United States Army recently tested a GPS-disrupting system known colloquially as the &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-armys-new-hammer-of-the-gods-could-change-modern-warfare">Hammer of the Gods</a>&#8221; — which can disable the navigation systems of enemy missiles and drones while allowing open communications between friendly operators.

Aircraft cockpit instrument panel with navigation display and flight systems during cruise

Military Cyberwarfare Exercise Linked To Plane Crash That Killed Everyone On Board

Airplane crash

Cyberattack

The United States Army has reportedly been testing a new electronic warfare system that could potentially change the face of modern warfare.
The Hammer of the Gods, as it is known, works by scrambling the navigation systems of targeted weapons — and doing so without detection — so that they cannot strike their intended targets from a distance without revealing themselves. As Fox News Digital <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/army-conducts-first-overseas-test-hammer-gods-weapon-disrupting-system">reported</a> on Wednesday, similar systems have been tested on land in recent months.
The most recent test, which occurred during the <a href="https://www.army.mil/article/294121/project_convergence_capstone_6_experiments_with_hammer_of_the_gods">Project Convergence Capstone 6</a> (PC-C6) experiment in mid-July, marked the first time such a system had been tested at sea.
&#8220;Joint experimentation is how we prepare for future fights,&#8221; Lt. Col. Darrin Hall, chief of Modeling, Simulation, and Integration (S7/8), U.S. Space Forces Pacific, said of the experiment. &#8220;By integrating space, cyber, and conventional forces into realistic scenarios, we strengthen our ability to operate as one joint team in contested environments.&#8221;
The system uses a portable signal disruptor that emits radio signals capable of jamming multiple Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) signals. Those signal disruptions cause weapons systems that rely on that information to miss their intended targets — and cause critical mission delays.
The downside of such systems has always been that, because they jam radio signals used by enemy forces, they could also jam friendly signals and leave allies blind. But according to Fox, the Hammer of the Gods circumvents that problem by simultaneously establishing a communications system that allows continued contact between friendly forces even after the disruptor has been deployed.
&#8220;This experiment proved that counter-PNT capabilities can be deployed, controlled, and recovered in real-world maritime operations while extending operational reach through resilient mesh networking. It demonstrates the value of joint collaboration in advancing operational readiness,&#8221; Hall added. &#8220;Positioning, Navigation, and Timing is the foundation of modern military operations. Understanding how to protect and operate through PNT disruption ensures our forces can continue to shoot, move and communicate effectively.&#8221;
Experiments undertaken during operations such as PC-C6 allow the military to field-test equipment in settings that better reflect typical operational conditions.

Defence Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz Leads Land Forces Day Celebrations In Krakow

The Army’s New ‘Hammer Of The Gods’ Could Change Modern Warfare

The Army's New 'Hammer Of The Gods' Could Change Modern Warfare

Consider scenario one: American assets overseas are under attack and must quickly mobilize a response, but the necessary aircraft carriers cannot deploy until crew members obtain key parts needed for the mission. A mission that should have begun immediately is delayed indefinitely.
Now consider scenario two: immediately following an initial attack, the American response is launched. Aircraft carriers deploy on a moment’s notice because they have the capability to build new parts on the way to their destination.
General George S. Patton always said, “A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.” Even when his men were figuring things out as they went — and things occasionally got a bit messy — there was always a clear advantage to moving forward quickly.
Solving the above problem was recently a key subject at RIMPAC, the largest international military maritime training exercise in the world. A biennial naval exercise, RIMPAC sees some 30 ships and 30,000 service members — in coordination with more than two dozen countries — stress test new technology in the context it would operate under in the real world.
One of those technologies is 3-D printers. They aren&#8217;t new to the world, but ones capable of manufacturing everything from water filtration systems to helicopter parts are new to aircraft carriers.
Morgan Bower, hub director for FLEETWERX, the &#8220;innovation hub&#8221; working to bring this new tech to the U.S. military, said it&#8217;s all about connecting small business innovators with an often slow-moving Pentagon bureaucracy.
“We try to make it a little easier for technology and money to flow in both directions, to help small businesses and government work together to make development work for everyone,&#8221; Bower told The Daily Wire.
“FLEETWERX,” according to its website, “Is an innovation hub established in 2023 through a Partnership Intermediary Agreement between DEFENSEWERX (DWX) 501(c)(3) and the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). FLEETWERX cultivates a dynamic environment designed to create purposeful collisions between innovators through ecosystem building and neutral facilitation. By uniting Government, Industry, and Academia, we bring together people to advance solutions for critical issues facing the operator.”
<div id="attachment_1145595" style="width: 932px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1145595" class="wp-image-1145595 size-large" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Hybrid-x-Print-in-progress-922x576.jpg" alt="Civilian contractor Rogelio Jacobo Martinez operates the ADDITEC Hyper X 3D printer in the hangar bay of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in the Pacific Ocean enroute to participate in Exercise Rim of the Pacific 2026, June 17, 2026. Thirty nations, over 30 surface ships, five submarines, 15 national land forces, more than 206 aircraft and 30,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC in and around the Hawaiian Islands, June 24 to July 31. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2026 is the 30th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Tyler Harstad)" width="922" height="576" srcset="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Hybrid-x-Print-in-progress-922x576.jpg 922w, https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Hybrid-x-Print-in-progress-300x188.jpg 300w, https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Hybrid-x-Print-in-progress-768x480.jpg 768w, https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Hybrid-x-Print-in-progress-1536x960.jpg 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 922px) 100vw, 922px" />Photo courtesy of FLEETWERX</div>
“When you engage in these exercises, you’re always learning things — taking things out of the lab and putting them in the field,” Bower explained. “We are always looking for what goes right, obviously, but sometimes things go wrong, and the things that go wrong can be the bigger lesson and more important than what goes right. It’s great to identify that problem when it’s a matter of tens of thousands of dollars rather than millions — and early in the process.”
He cited an example from RIMPAC in which planes landing on the deck of the aircraft carrier created vibrations that caused lasers in the metal printers to misalign just slightly — something that never could have been tested in the lab — and the designers were able to recalculate and adjust for the additional vibrations.
And in one case in which something went right, a part from the carrier’s water filtration system broke — and the onboard 3-D printers were able to manufacture a new one without waiting for a traditional resupply.
Another area that was tested at RIMPAC was the use of unmanned surface vessels for supply runs.
<div id="attachment_1145599" style="width: 864px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1145599" class="wp-image-1145599 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Typhoon-bringing-parts-to-CVN-854x576.jpg" alt="A digitally crewed surface vessel heads out to sea from Sand Island near Honolulu, Hawaii, to deliver parts for a 3D printer aboard Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD-2) during Exercise Rim of the Pacific 2026, July 7, 2026. Unmanned and remotely operated vessels extend the capability of interconnected manned platform sensors to enhance capacity across the multinational force. Thirty nations, over 30 surface ships, five submarines, 15 national land forces, more than 206 aircraft and 30,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC in and around the Hawaiian Islands, June 24 to July 31. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2026 is the 30th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 3rd Class Charles Harbour)" width="854" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Typhoon-bringing-parts-to-CVN-854x576.jpg 854w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Typhoon-bringing-parts-to-CVN-300x202.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Typhoon-bringing-parts-to-CVN-768x518.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Typhoon-bringing-parts-to-CVN-1536x1036.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Typhoon-bringing-parts-to-CVN-2048x1381.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 854px) 100vw, 854px" />Photo courtesy of FLEETWERX</div>
Using unmanned vessels — particularly in rough maritime conditions or through dangerous areas — limits the number of personnel at risk when undertaking any given mission. The success of test runs like these could ultimately lead to unmanned vessels taking on the role of “escort” vehicles in particularly dangerous areas such as the Strait of Hormuz.
The main goal is to streamline the development process so that the maritime military services have access to the best possible technology — and while the Naval Postgraduate School is broadly considered to be the “research” wing of the joint forces, they don’t always have a good bead on where the best innovators are and what they might be building. FLEETWERX is making that connection.

Digitally crewed surface vessel returns to Sand Island during RIMPAC 2026

3-D Printed Helicopters And Self-Repairing Carriers? America’s Navy Tests Wild New Technology

Pentagon

Satellite imagery obtained by Israeli and Western officials <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/satellite-images-show-iran-is-rebuilding-fast-199978f7?mod=middle-east_news_article_pos1">shows</a> that Iran has quickly repaired and rebuilt infrastructure damaged by the joint U.S. and Israeli air campaign. The work covers missile bases inside mountains, bridges, ports, and production facilities.
Near Kangavar in Western Iran, Planet Labs satellite images from March showed two tunnel entrances and an access road damaged by airstrikes meant to block access to a missile base. Within weeks, Airbus imagery showed a paved road leading to freshly excavated entrances.
North of Kermanshah, Planet Labs images from the start of the war documented heavy damage to another missile base. By the first week of June, Airbus images showed crews repairing roads as trucks cleared dirt and reopened collapsed tunnel entrances.
A missile base in Dezful was struck by Israel in June of 2025 and again in early March, burying its entrances. Three months later, Airbus images showed Iran digging out multiple tunnel entrances. One Israeli military official said Iran repaired a bridge — which Israel had hit with three bombs — within days.
Planet Labs imagery from early July showed partial reconstruction at a shipyard in Bandar Anzali on the Caspian Sea, linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Israel said it hit dozens of targets there in March, including warships, the port, a command center, and the shipyard used to repair and maintain vessels.
Near Tehran, Planet Labs images show partial reconstruction in recent weeks at Raja Shimi Industries, a plant assessed to be involved in missile component production. Several new structures appear to have been rebuilt.
Ran Kochav, former commander of Israel’s air and missile defense forces, said the recovery matches Iran’s record after the 12 day Israel-Iran war last June. “They refilled their stockpiles,” he said. “They have very impressive industrialization and reconstruction capabilities.”
Israeli military officials said strikes often collapsed entry points to mountain bases rather than destroying them. Weapons inside remained intact, meaning that Iran has only to dig them out. One official said: “Iran is rebuilding everything.” A second said Iran retains the know-how to rebuild almost everything, including missile and weapons systems.
Jim Lamson, a visiting research fellow at King’s College London and former CIA analyst, said facilities for advanced components such as carbon fiber could take months or years to restore. Iran may have stockpiled those components at underground sites, however, meaning that they could still potentially assemble dozens or hundreds of new missiles and drones in the short term.
Israeli intelligence services assess that Iran may have transferred thousands of centrifuges into tunnels inside <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-is-pickaxe-mountain-and-why-is-trump-talking-about-it">Pickaxe Mountain</a>.
The early U.S. and Israeli campaign involved more than 20,000 strikes. President Trump said last month that Iran’s military is “a complete and total mess” and that much of its navy and air force “doesn’t even exist anymore.” Netanyahu said Iran’s missile production machine was smashed and that the arsenal was emptying without new production — but that appears to have changed.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the operation destroyed Iran’s missile arsenal and production, sank its navy, weakened its militia allies, and ensured it will not possess a nuclear weapon. “This operation was a resounding victory by any objective measure,” she said.
Iran has continued to target ships and U.S. regional allies with missile and drone attacks — including Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan, where an Iranian attack killed three U.S. soldiers over the weekend.
Tal Inbar, senior analyst at the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, said: “It turns out that the rumors about the end or the significant dwindling of the missiles were wrong.”
Iran’s leaders have not signaled any halt. “It is a matter of will, time, and money,” Inbar said.

Satellite imagery of Iran

Satellite Images Show Iran Rapidly Rebuilding Missile Bases And Infrastructure

Global Politics

Infrastructure

Iran war

A senior official in the Office of the Secretary of the Navy has been placed on administrative leave after<a href="https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/2080012196784808193"> James O’Keefe released a video</a> showing him criticizing President Donald Trump and stating his intention to reverse administration policies once the opportunity arose.
The footage, recorded with a hidden camera, captures Brandon Newsom speaking during what O’Keefe described as a “gay” date. In the video, Newsom <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/senior-pentagon-official-suspended-bashing-trump-on-hidden-camera-brandon-newsom-12232247">said</a> he wanted to “stay and stick it out” at the Pentagon “so that way, when the time comes, I can undo whatever’s been done.” He referenced “a lot of times” when working at the Pentagon “challenges my morals,” specifically mentioning that he would not have “one specific prayer service” and would undo an employee “schedule policy.”
Newsom also called Trump “a textbook narcissist” and described the Iran war as “completely stupid” and “driven by one man’s ego.” O’Keefe’s accompanying post included additional lines from the conversation: “I’ve seen some things. In true D.C. nature, you don’t always reveal everything in D.C.” and “I have the influence &#8230; I can undo whatever’s been done.” Newsom further remarked, “I mean, you could be a news reporter.”
Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao responded the same day. “<a href="https://x.com/SECNAV/status/2080080031947084190">The Department of the Navy</a> takes the conduct shown in this video extremely seriously,” Cao wrote. “Such statements and apparent intent to leverage a position to undermine the policies and direction set by our elected leaders are inappropriate and incompatible with the standards expected of Department personnel. Effective immediately, this individual has been placed on administrative leave while we determine next steps to ensure accountability and protect the integrity of our mission.”
The Daily Wire asked O’Keefe for comment on the implications of the footage and whether or not resistance inside the Pentagon would create real risk to the coherence of U.S. strategy and any potential deals with Iran and its proxies.
O’Keefe&#8217;s reply was simple: “Any official who spills internal government secrets or shows dissent toward the current administration they work for can possibly cause problems for the government entity they work for. It’s not a good idea to spill information to a stranger 15 minutes into the first date who so happens to be James O’Keefe.”
O’Keefe said Newsom did not directly connect his plans to reverse Pentagon policies with the Iran campaign. Instead, he said, Newsom “just gave his opinion on the war and called the war ‘stupid’ and blamed Trump for being a ‘narcissist.’”
As to the deeper question — what it reveals when a senior official says on camera that he intends to undo the administration’s work and whether officials like this pose a bigger threat to national security — O’Keefe answered: “Yes, officials like Brandon Newsom can pose a threat to national security. Based on one date with myself, James O’Keefe, Newsom spilled a lot of information. Newsom was lucky it wasn’t an Iranian spy he was watching the World Cup with. Can you imagine if Newsom went on three dates with a gay Iranian spy?&#8221;
O&#8217;Keefe also argued that the footage reflects a broader pattern he has seen in previous national security investigations.
&#8220;The deep state is real, per one of our other subjects, Byron Cohen, who worked in the early days of the Trump White House,&#8221; O&#8217;Keefe said. &#8220;America is at war with Iran, and the officials inside the Pentagon need to be very careful because our Newsom piece shows a glimpse of how careless these officials can be. Again, Newsom was lucky he wasn&#8217;t talking to an Iranian spy or a Chinese spy.&#8221;
Newsom&#8217;s suspension comes against a backdrop of personnel changes at the Pentagon since Trump’s return to the White House and the start of the Iran war in late February. Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, was fired in August 2025 after his agency produced an initial assessment finding that U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities were less effective than Trump had claimed. In April, three Pentagon officials — Dan Caldwell, a senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; Darin Selnick, the Pentagon’s deputy chief of staff; and Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg — were put on administrative leave pursuant to leak investigations.
In a joint statement, they wrote they were “incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service at the Department of Defense ended” and that “unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door.” They said they were never told what the leak investigations were about.
Before those cases, the Department of Defense fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top admiral in the Navy, the head of U.S. Cyber Command, and the top U.S. military lawyers. These moves have been framed as part of a wider reshuffle under Hegseth, who has sought to refocus the department on warfighting.
Hegseth has also introduced monthly voluntary Christian worship services at the Pentagon, all of them presided over by evangelicals. Newsom referred to these in the video as the “prayer service” he would eliminate.
Newsom remains on administrative leave while the Department of the Navy determines its next steps.

Donald Trump

Senior Pentagon Official Placed On Leave After Saying He Would ‘Undo’ Trump Policies

Politics

President Donald Trump may be looking at potential strikes on another growing Islamic terrorist hotbed in the coming weeks — this time in the West African nation of Mali.
The Trump administration has reportedly been considering strikes against Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an Al Qaeda-linked militant group operating in the Sahel region that has attacked both local militias and international forces and has endeavored to enforce strict Islamic law throughout its areas of control.
The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/07/22/trump-administration-weighs-military-options-mali-officials-say/">reported</a> on Wednesday that the Trump administration is divided on military action — and said that one of those in favor of such is the current National Security Council’s senior director for counterterrorism, Sebastian Gorka.
One official did tell the outlet that, despite that division, the United States had been encouraging other nations in the region &#8220;to purchase U.S. equipment and services to support their war efforts against the terrorists.&#8221;
The entire region has been in a state of upheaval in recent years as a series of Russia-backed coups upended democratically elected governments in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger — and the three nations have increasingly rejected ties with Western nations, instead joining together as The Alliance of Sahel States.
As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/they-kicked-america-out-now-theyre-being-hunted-by-jihadists">previously reported</a>, Niger overtly rejected the United States when President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration delivered an ultimatum just as the West African nation was inking a deal to provide Iran with Uranium. The Biden administration demanded that Niger cut ties with Russia and Iran, but the military junta running things at the time was disinclined to acquiesce. Instead, in addition to refusing Biden&#8217;s ultimatum, Niger ousted all remaining American military assets from the country — including a drone base that was used to target terrorists in the region.
Zineb Riboua, a research fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, told The Daily Wire that the Biden administration&#8217;s presentation may have been the crux of the problem: &#8220;Instead of presenting it as an ultimatum, they could have presented an alternative. Instead of doing a uranium deal with Iran, why don’t you do one with the United States, and you get a school program or something in Niger, something they don’t have.&#8221;
But once the United States was gone, it was soon quickly apparent that the Russian security forces with whom they&#8217;d cast their lots were more of a liability than an asset. As previously reported, &#8220;The Russians were killing untold numbers of civilians and still somehow managing to cede ground to the jihadists. In fact, in Burkina Faso and Mali, the Russians and government forces actually killed more civilians last year than the jihadists.&#8221;
The situation has only deteriorated in the years since, leading to the current consideration of possible military action.
&#8220;We urge regional partners and NATO allies to support the Alliance of Sahel States in their war against JNIM and ISIS,&#8221; the Trump administration official told The Washington Post, noting that partnership with Russia had clearly only allowed the terrorist factions to fester and grow. &#8220;We hope that other African nations take note of Russia’s terrible performance in combating terrorism.&#8221;
When asked, Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not say whether he supported military action. Instead, the State Department said that the United States &#8220;unequivocally condemns the terrorist activity in Mali.&#8221;

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