IO
I - On Defense Podcast
I - On Defense
Probably the best defense commentary in the world. Top military and defense industry analysis in 45 minutes or less.
- 51 episodes
- a few times a week
- Avg 22 min
- English
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
- IOSaturday · 30 min
Report: US Preparing for Intensive Strikes on Iran + US Army M8 Carbine Fielding Starts in December + US Army Activates 4th Multi-domain Task Force
For review: 1. Two attacks on Riyadh airport killed three Saudi nationals on Thursday, authorities said Friday, as Yemen’s Houthis stepped up missile strikes on the kingdom and tried to shut down its airspace The Iran-backed Yemeni rebels had said Thursday that they struck King Khalid International Airport with two cruise missiles. 2. US President Donald Trump has had the Pentagon draw up new plans for three days of intensive strikes on Iranian military and energy sites, focusing on its missile and drone arsenals, NYT reported on Thursday. 3. US Vice President JD Vance said in an exclusive interview with Reuters that Iran must make a “meaningful” reduction in its nuclear enrichment capacity to satisfy US demands and end the countries’ seven-month war, even as Washington was unsure how Tehran makes decisions in negotiations. 4. Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein Al Sheikh has informed France that a Palestinian legislative election planned for November 28 will be postponed, possibly until September 2027, because of worsening conditions throughout the Palestinian territories, according to a letter seen by Reuters. 5. President Trump decided to make a diesel fuel deal with Russia after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ignored half a dozen U.S. requests to stop attacking Russian oil refineries, a U.S. official with direct knowledge told Axios. 6. Fielding of the M8 carbine, which appears set to replace Sig Sauer’s M7 as the Army’s standard rifle less than three years after the M7’s initial fielding began, will begin in December with some units at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, company executives confirmed to Military Times Monday. 7. The Pentagon inked a five-year contract with Raytheon for the steady production of ballistic missile interceptors that use force to destroy targets, rather than explosives. The $6.3 billion contract, which provides two additional option years, will see Raytheon provide the Defense Department with a continuous supply of Standard Missile-3 Block IB interceptors manufactured primarily in Tucson, Arizona and Huntsville, Alabama. 8. A new U.S. Army multi-domain task force was activated this week with a ceremony at Fort Carson, Colorado. The 4th Multi-Domain Task Force will focus on synchronizing long-range precision fires in the Indo-Pacific region “to deny, disrupt and disaggregate adversary capabilities” and create advantages for other units in the joint force, the Army said in a release.
- IOThursday · 16 min
US Secretary of State: Iran Has Lost Control of the Strait of Hormuz; Iranian Economy in Freefall + Report: Iranian Activity at Undisclosed Minzadehei Nuclear Site
For review: 1. The Saudi-led coalition, pushing to retake strategic territory seized by the Houthis, said it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile north of the Saudi capital Riyadh. The escalation came after Yemeni government forces, with Saudi-led coalition air support, launched a lightning counteroffensive this week to capture the Red Sea coast around the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait shipping route and the city of Mokha. 2. New satellite images show “significant renewed activity” at the underground Minzadehei nuclear facility near Tehran, which the IDF bombed during the war with Iran this year, according to a report published Tuesday by the Institute for Science and International Security. 3. Iran has “lost complete control” of the Strait of Hormuz, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday, adding that Tehran’s economy was “in total and complete freefall.” 4. Lithuania is ready to pay the cost to set up a permanent U.S. military base if Washington should agree to establish one there, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius said on Tuesday. The US has kept an armored battalion of almost 1,000 troops there since 2019, in overlapping rotations, meaning the troops arrive and leave every few months. 5. France test-fired an upgraded version of its M51 strategic ballistic missile from a submarine for the first time on Tuesday, a capability demonstration that President Emmanuel Macron called “very important” for the country’s strategic credibility and which he said would be monitored by allies and adversaries alike. 6. Anduril is establishing a new shipyard to manufacture parts for Virginia-class Submarines in Baltimore County, Md., the company and the White House announced today. The new facility, dubbed Arsenal-2, comes with a $6.6 billion investment, including $3.7 billion in private capital and up to $2.9 billion from the Navy. And notably, today’s announcement marks Anduril’s first entry into the supply chain for a major legacy defense program.
- IO#741October 6 · 22 min
Third US Aircraft Carrier Moving to Middle East + Saudi-backed Offensive Against Houthis Begins + German Army Drone Regiment
For review: 1. The US Air Force has brought home its bombers stationed at a US run military air base in England used to strike Iran following an investigation into a planned terror attack at the RAF Fairford base. 2. The U.S. military is dispatching roughly 9,000 troops aboard a group of ships to the Middle East, a U.S. official said Thursday. It includes the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group. 3. Forces of the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen have recaptured several key areas around Bab el-Mandeb Strait from Iran-backed Houthi rebels, Yemeni officials said Monday. The officials said forces allied with the internationally recognized government have retaken the crucial town of Dhubab just north of the strait. They also captured the towns of Bab and Hadeid. 4. The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen say they struck the international airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh, an Aramco refinery and sites across the kingdom’s south. 5. Britain has warned Israel that it could expel 27 Israeli diplomats from the embassy in London if Israel follows through on its decision to close the British consulate in East Jerusalem, where 27 British diplomats work, according to an unsourced Ynet report on Monday. 6. The United States is pushing for Ukraine and Russia to hold negotiations at the technical level before the end of the month, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 4. 7. German Chancellor Merz has announced a new round of military aid for Ukraine, valued at approximately €1 billion ($1.1 billion), to include turbojet-powered drone interceptors, standoff weapons and space-based technology. 8. Germany plans to stand up its first dedicated drone regiment next year, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced. Pistorius said ground forces will begin forming the regiment in 2027.
- IOOctober 3 · 20 min
President Trump Meets with Senior Advisors at Camp David; Iran War & Saudi Arabia - Houthi Conflict on Agenda + Saudi Arabia Preparing Offensive Against Houthis + US Army Precision Strike Missile Increment 4 Program
For review: 1. The U.S. Coast Guard announced on Friday the seizure of two ships bound for Cuba that were illegally carrying thousands of gallons of diesel fuel amid the ongoing fuel blockade to the country imposed by President Donald Trump. 2. Senior Trump administration officials met at Camp David on Friday to discuss the war with Iran and escalating conflict between the Iran-backed Houthi militia and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government army. 3. Saudi Arabia is planning an offensive against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, with options being considered including a coastal push to secure the Red Sea shipping route or an assault on multiple fronts, regional and Western officials told Reuters. 4. The first batch of Taiwan’s new-build Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 fighter jets have arrived on the island, the country’s military announced today. 5. The U.S. Army on Tuesday signed agreements with Anduril, Castelion, Lockheed Martin, Mach Industries and RTX to create advanced long-range missile prototypes, Redstone Arsenal announced this week.
- IOOctober 2 · 20 min
Latest Iran Proposal Receives Offical US Response; Not Revealed + US Secretary of War Speech to Senior Military Officers at Quantico + Winning Week for Boeing Contracts; Grey Wolf / F/A-XX / F-15EX Eagle II
For review: 1. The United Arab Emirates on Thursday launched investigations into possible “terrorist activity” aboard flydubai FLT FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, which made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after the copilot stabbed the pilot in an apparent attempt to crash the plane full of Israeli passengers. 2. A Russian strategic bomber crashed Tuesday on a training mission in the country's far east, killing six members of its crew, the Defense Ministry said. The ministry said in a statement that the Tu-95 bomber went down in an unpopulated area in the Amur region, adding that one crewmember survived the crash and was hospitalized with injuries. 3. Iranian officials indicated Wednesday that they have received an official US response to Tehran’s latest proposal to end the seven-month war, which US President Donald Trump had publicly rejected just days earlier. The officials did not say what the response contained, nor whether it was a rejection or not. 4. British police have arrested a dual UK-Iranian national on suspicion of plotting a terror attack following a security incident at a US-run military airbase in England that was used to carry out strikes on Iran, police said Thursday. 5. Finland celebrated the recent delivery of its first pair of F-35 fifth generation fighter jets today at a special ceremony hosted by the Finnish air force’s Lapland Air Wing. 6. RTX’s unit won a multiyear contract worth up to $24.4 billion to produce Standard Missile-6 interceptors for the U.S. Navy, the service said on Thursday. 7. The U.S. Air Force has ordered four more MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters, the first under full-rate production, Boeing said Thursday, just weeks after the service declared the aircraft ready for its nuclear missile security mission. 8. Secretary of War Speech to Senior Officers at Quantico
- IOSeptember 30 · 19 min
President Trump Denies Iranian Sanctions Relief for Nuclear Concessions + US Forces Withdraw from Iraq + Boeing Wins US Navy F/A-XX 6th Generation Fighter Competition
For review: 1. U.K.'s counterterrorism police release five suspects on bail during an investigation into a suspected bomb plot at a U.S.-operated air force base in England. Police confirmed Tuesday that no explosives were found in three vans linked to the suspects, and said the decision to grant bail was grounded in “experience and strategy.” 2. Iran threatened on Tuesday to attack infrastructure around the Middle East, intensifying its rhetoric as it awaits a formal response from Washington on a new plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. 3. US President Donald Trump on Monday denied a report that he is prepared to offer Iran sanctions relief and the release of frozen funds in exchange for nuclear concessions by the Islamic Republic. 4. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Monday pushed for the further implementation of a framework agreement with Israel during his meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington. 5. The commander of Hamas’s Northern Gaza Brigade was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City early Tuesday, marking the third top commander in the terror group to be killed in recent weeks. 6. Russian special services were behind the fire at a building used by an Estonian military robotics company last month, the government in Tallinn said on Tuesday. 7. Russia plans to spend $202.6 billion, on defense in 2027, around 27% more than the $159.8 billion, originally budgeted and the highest figure since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022. 8. The Navy has chosen Boeing over Northrop Grumman to build its sixth-generation strike fighter, dubbed F/A-XX, two sources told Breaking Defense ahead of the formal announcement. The selection locks Boeing in as the sole supplier of sixth-generation fighters for the US. 9. The Defense Department has awarded Raytheon a multiyear contract worth up to $20.7 billion to build Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs. The Pentagon said the deal will nearly double AMRAAM production.
- IOSeptember 28 · 24 min
President Trump Expects Indirect Talks With Iran This Week + US SOUTHCOM Queries Army for Combat Support Units + N. Korea Tests Hypersonic Missile
For review: 1. The U.S. Army Reserve is examining whether it can provide the military's Southern Command with police forces, medical personnel and other support units within the next four months, according to an internal Army message reviewed by CBS News. 2. Israel on Sunday gave Dutch diplomats serving in Ramallah seven days to return their Israeli-issued diplomatic credentials, retaliating after a Dutch ban on goods from Israeli businesses in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights went into effect. Their diplomatic privileges granted by Israel will expire at the end of that period, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced on X. 3. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to the UAE today to meet with Emirati President Mohamed Bin Zayed, Channel 12 reports, citing two sources. 4. Iran stood firm Sunday on its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, after US President Donald Trump rejected its proposal. Iran’s plan called for a cessation of all hostilities in the Middle East, including in Lebanon, according to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and fulfilling conditions in the ceasefire deal that fell apart months ago. 5. US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he expects talks with Iran to resume in the coming week, despite his rejection of a truce proposal put forward by Tehran. 6. British police said on Sunday they had arrested five men on suspicion of “preparing a terrorist act” and offenses under the Explosives Act, and the army was examining several vehicles after security was stepped up at a British air base used by US air forces in southwest England. 7. Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya said on Saturday that Hamas agreed last year to a roadmap that ultimately includes the establishment of a Palestinian state. In an interview with Qatar’s Al-Araby channel, Hayya was asked about Israel’s demand that Hamas disarm as part of the Gaza ceasefire, but did not directly say whether the terror group would agree to disarm. 8. North Korea test launched a new weapon over the weekend that appears to be a hypersonic missile, according to photos released Tuesday by state media Korean Central News Agency. 9. The first Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 was handed over to the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) Tuesday. The KF-21 is considered a 4.5-generation fighter jet and will be equipped with a mix of indigenous and Western sensors and weapons in service, including the KGGB precision glide bomb and European MBDA Meteor air-to-air missile.
- IO#736September 26 · 26 min
President Trump Rejects Iranian Ceasefire Proposal + Report: China Provided Iran With Dual-Use Components for Missiles & Drones + Report: UAE to Host Tri-lateral Talks Between US - Russia - Ukraine
For review: 1. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit many of his favorite themes in a combative speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday, including the threat Iran poses to the world and the Jewish people’s determination to stand up to antisemitism and attempts to annihilate them. 2. In a pre-recorded address played before the UN General Assembly on Thursday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas knocked US President Donald Trump’s administration for preventing him from attending the forum in person for the second year in a row. In his roughly 22-minute speech, Abbas bitterly criticized Israel for its policies against the Palestinians, insisting that Ramallah has completed the reforms demanded by the international community and recommitted to a two-state solution with a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside Israel. 3. US President Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s proposal for a seven-day ceasefire and told aides he expects to resume bombing Iran after the November midterm elections. 4. An Israeli official has claimed that another round of strikes against Iran is “only a matter of time,” saying Tehran is racing to reactivate and fortify its nuclear program in anticipation of a possible attack, Saudi news channel Al-Hadath reported on Thursday. 5. China has sent around 1,300 air shipments containing dual-use components for drones and missiles to Iran’s Defense Ministry this year through the end of June, The Wall Street Journal reported. 6. Saudi Arabia intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on Thursday that the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said were aimed at Taif in western Saudi Arabia and the Yanbu area on the Red Sea. 7. The United States has proposed that the United Arab Emirates host a trilateral meeting with Ukraine and Russia to discuss efforts to end their four-and-a-half-year war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday. 8. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has lobbied U.S. defense leaders to allow the production of PAC-3 MSE interceptor missiles in Germany, arguing an additional production site would help alleviate a glaring shortfall in the global supply chain for the vital air-defense weapons.
- IOSeptember 23 · 21 min
President Trump at UN: Freedom Coming to Cuba + France Ready to Contribute in Securing Saudi Energy Infrastructure + US Invites Russian President Putin to December G20 Summit in Miami
For review: 1. Argentine President Javier Milei attacks the UN in a speech to the world body’s General Assembly, calling it a “useless organization” filled with “arrogant parasites.” 2. President Donald Trump said Cuba was a failed state and freedom would be coming to the island nation in a UN address on Tuesday that increased tensions with the Communist-run government. 3. Iran and the United States hinted on Tuesday at the prospect of reviving negotiations to end the months-old war, with a senior Iranian official suggesting that the Strait of Hormuz could soon be reopened, as the presidents of both countries were due at the UN General Assembly in New York. 4. Syrian President Ahmed Sharaa held out the possibility of peace with Israel in a speech to the United Nations on Wednesday, while sharply criticizing Israeli military activity in Syria and vowing that Damascus would not relinquish its claim to the Golan Heights. 5. Responding to Syrian President Ahmed Sharaa’s insistence that the Golan Heights are Syrian territory, Defense Minister Israel Katz says that the strategic plateau in the northeast is “an integral, eternal part of Israel,” and that the IDF will not withdraw from a buffer zone it has held in Syria since Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s ouster in 2024. 6. On Monday, the UK and France said they would provide defensive assistance to Saudi Arabia, which the Houthis have repeatedly struck during the renewed conflict. 7. US Invites Russian President Putin to December G20 Summit in Miami.
- IO#734September 22 · 17 min
President Trump to Address UN General Assembly on Tuesday + UK RAF to Provide Air Refueling Support to Saudi Arabia + US Army Contracts Precision Strike Missile Inc 2
For review: 1. President Trump to Address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. 2. Houthi fighters were pushing to seize strategic heights in Yemen on Monday to cut off the Red Sea coast from remaining areas held by Saudi-backed forces, after a report that President Donald Trump had called off US strikes on the group at the last minute. 3. Prime Minister Andy Burnham says Britain has agreed to provide limited military support to Saudi Arabia to repel attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Burnham tells reporters as he flies to the United Nations General Assembly in New York that he has agreed that the Royal Air Force will provide air-to-air refueling of Saudi planes. 4. Iran’s central military command said in a statement on Sunday that it had received information that the United States, with the backing of some regional countries, was preparing to resume military actions against it, state media reported. 5. Russia has effectively "lost control" of its diesel production sector as a result of the war with Ukraine, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sept. 21, urging an end to the fighting. 6. Latvia’s government has approved the acquisition of Morana 155 mm self-propelled wheeled howitzers from Czech manufacturer Excalibur Army, reversing its earlier decision to pursue a deal with Sweden’s BAE Systems Bofors, the producer of the rival Archer artillery system. 7. The US plans to reopen a former Cold War-era military base in southern Greenland and set up a military presence at an east coast base under an agreement to be signed by the US, Denmark and Greenland on Tuesday. 8. A Nevada Air Force Base was picked to house General Atomics’ FQ-42, a week after the U.S. Air Force dubbed the Collaborative Combat Aircraft as Vengeance. On Friday, a new FQ-42 Vengeance aircraft was delivered to Creech Air Force Base. 9. Lockheed Martin was awarded $1.2 billion by the ground branch for work on the early operational capability munitions of PrSM Increment 2, a variant that integrates a new seeker capable of mobile targets.
- IOSeptember 20 · 16 min
President Trump Announces Security Agreement with Greenland & Denmark + Houthis Target Riyadh Airport with Missiles and Drones + Germany Receives First F-35 Fighter; Pilot Training Begins in Fall; First Warplanes to Arrive in Germany in late-2027
For review: 1. Yemen’s Houthis said on Saturday that they launched strikes targeting “sensitive sites” in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh and oil facilities in the kingdom’s port city of Yanbu. 2. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not among the world leaders scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York next week, and it is unlikely the pair will have time in their itineraries to squeeze in a sit-down, a US official told The Times of Israel on Friday. 3. Two IDF soldiers were lightly injured by a Hezbollah explosive device in southern Lebanon on Saturday morning, prompting Israeli strikes on the terror group’s sites, the military said. According to the IDF, an engineering vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb planted by Hezbollah inside the military’s southern Lebanon buffer zone. 4. Denmark on Saturday hailed a “binding” deal announced by US President Donald Trump to give Washington “permanent control” over Greenland’s security and bar Russian and Chinese bases from the Arctic territory. Denmark and Greenland — an autonomous Danish territory — both hailed the agreement and said they would sign it on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York next week. 5. German and US officials celebrated the rollout of Berlin’s first F-35 in a ceremony today, with both sides praising the moment as a sign of the close defense alignment between the two partners. 6. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says that Ankara and Washington were working on “creative ideas” to lift US sanctions imposed on Turkey over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems.
- IOSeptember 18 · 26 min
President Trump Weighs Decision on Further Iran Attacks + Report: Iranian Reconstruction on Parchin Complex; Activity at the Taleghan 2 Facility + US Representatives Meet With Houthis in Muscat
For review: 1. US officials met representatives of Yemen’s Houthis in Oman over the weekend, five sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday, days after the Iran-backed militia seized a strategic stretch of the Red Sea coast in a sweeping offensive that routed Saudi-backed forces. 2. China has privately asked Tehran to help rein in Yemen’s Houthis after an appeal to Beijing by Saudi Arabia following the Iran-backed group’s military blitz in the past week, according to three Iranian sources familiar with the matter. 3. Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors and has turned to regional and Western allies for assistance as its standoff with Houthi rebels in Yemen drags on, two regional officials said Wednesday. The regional officials said the Saudis have asked France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt to deploy air-defense support to the region to help defend against missiles and drones fired by Houthis and other Iran-backed groups. 4. Democratic and Republican US senators asked President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday to declassify and release all information about a proposed agreement with Saudi Arabia on civil nuclear energy, including two classified “side letters” reached with Riyadh. 5. The US State Department has cleared the potential sale of F-35s to Saudi Arabia, fulfilling a commitment of President Donald Trump despite security concerns over transferring the highly advanced stealth jet to the Gulf kingdom. 6. Iran is rapidly advancing the reconstruction of a nuclear facility that was previously bombed by Israel, according to satellite images cited in a report Thursday by the Institute for Science and International Security. 7. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he was approaching a major decision on whether to resume large-scale attacks on Iran, as Washington weighs how to bring the months-long war to an end. 8. Fourteen Russian spy satellites flew above a US military base in Saudi Arabia in March, just days before a major Iranian strike during the US-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic, according to CNN. 9. The US has approved visas for an Iranian delegation headed by its President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi to attend next week’s UN General Assembly in New York, an official familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on Thursday. 10. The Board of Peace will hold a briefing for representatives from dozens of countries on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly next week to update them on efforts to implement US President Donald Trump’s plan for rebuilding the Gaza Strip. 11. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy says a Togo-flagged oil tanker was struck while attempting to make an “illegal passage” through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media says.
- IOSeptember 16 · 25 min
President Trump Voices Support for Irish Unification + US CENTCOM Commander Hosts Middle East Military Chiefs in Germany; Discussed Opportunities for Security Cooperation + IDF Kills Rafah Brigade Commander in Gaza Strike
For review: 1. The leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland called Monday for the British government to "prepare for, plan and facilitate" constitutional change that could lead to the breakup of the United Kingdom, with the remarks coming days after President Trump said he would "love to see" Irish reunification. 2. Apparent Houthi attacks early Tuesday morning triggered warnings in six Saudi cities, including Yanbu, the kingdom’s main Red Sea oil port, and Riyadh warned it would react “firmly” to the Iran-backed rebels’ ongoing missile and drone attacks. 3. The military chiefs of Israel, the US, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt held a meeting in Germany last week about the war with Iran and regional tensions, two Israeli officials told the Axios news site. The private meeting at a secluded ski resort, organized by US CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper and confirmed by CENTCOM to Axios, was the first such gathering since the US and Israel launched their joint campaign against Iran in February, according to the report. 4. US President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to sell to Israel a munitions package worth $2.8 billion, which will include tens of thousands of highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs, according to a US official familiar with the sale. 5. The IDF and Shin Bet confirm killing the commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade in an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip this evening. 6. Israeli firm Rafael Advanced Defense Systems announced today that for the first time it is “integrating its SPICE 1000 air-to-surface munition on the F-35 fighter aircraft,” a move it sees as a “significant step” in allowing other F-35 users to use the munition. SPICE stands for Smart, Precise Impact and Cost-Effective and refers to a line of munitions meant to provide a stand-off strike capability of more than 75 miles (120km). 7. According to a CBO report, combat operations in Iran have cost the Defense Department around $38 billion as of August 1.
- IOSeptember 13 · 14 min
Report: Chinese Assets Assisted Iran With Target Information for Strike on US Base in Jordan + Report: US - Cuba Energy Deal Collapsed After Negotiations + Poland to Develop Starlink-Type Military Satellite System
For review: 1. Report: The Trump administration secretly explored an energy deal with Cuba earlier this year that would have provided US oil and investment to the island in exchange for major economic and political changes, according to media reports. Miami Herald: "The deal with Cuba, while much smaller in its scale would have sent shockwaves throughout the Cuban government establishment, as it was also tied to a demand that the country's handpicked president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, seen as an incompetent figurehead by Trump administration officials, leave power." 2. Houthi fighters on Sunday said they used drones and missiles to attack a military base in southern Saudi Arabia. The attack at the southern Sharurah base targeted “weapons depots and command and control centers that are managing the aggression against our nation and people,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree wrote on X. The date of the operation was not specified. 3. Chinese entities supplied Iran with high-quality satellite imagery of a US Air Force base in Jordan both before and after Tehran launched a deadly ballistic missile attack on the facility on July 17, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing US officials familiar with the matter. 4. Moscow is now striking targets indiscriminately across Ukraine in response to Kyiv's intensified attacks on Russian territory, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Sept. 13. Peskov claimed Russia had previously avoided indiscriminate strikes but changed its approach after Ukraine began targeting Russian economic and strategic infrastructure. 5. Canada and Ukraine have signed a long-term defense agreement to jointly produce uncrewed technologies, counter-drone systems, and munitions. During a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Calgary, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Thursday a series of deals to support the war-torn country as part of a “100-year partnership.” 6. Finnish space company ICEYE and Poland’s state-run defense giant PGZ have signed a letter of intent to jointly develop a military satellite communications system. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the project will pave the way for the launch of a Starlink-like system for the nation. In a statement, PGZ said that the program is to be implemented from 2026 to 2030.
- IO#729September 12 · 21 min
IDF Destroys Subterranean Complex Beneath Ali Taher Ridge + Houthis Seize Key Islands in Bab el-Mandeb Strait + IAEA Reports Construction Activity at Iran's Pickaxe Mountain
For review: 1. Using 1,100 tons of explosives, the Israeli military said on Thursday that it had demolished a “strategic” underground facility belonging to the Hezbollah terror group beneath a mountainous ridge in southern Lebanon. 2. An airstrike late Thursday in the southern Gaza Strip killed the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, the Israeli military and the terror group said on Friday morning. 3. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis seized several strategic Red Sea islands on Friday after capturing territory along the coast, sealing their takeover of a vital shipping corridor linking Europe and Asia. 4. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly called US President Trump twice Thursday and urged him to launch strikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, the Axios outlet reported, citing two US officials. 5. The Saudi Foreign Ministry offers additional details on what led it to temporarily halt operations of its East-West oil pipeline, saying it was attacked by drones that originated from Iraq. 6. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed regional developments and recent attacks targeting Saudi Arabia in a call with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, a Turkish diplomatic source says. Last month, NATO member Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a joint defense agreement that includes a mutual defense clause similar to NATO’s Article 5. 7. The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said Thursday that the agency has observed construction activity at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, which Western intelligence has flagged as a site likely used to store nuclear material. 8. US Vice President JD Vance reportedly sought direct insight from American generals on the war against Iran, seeking to bypass the Pentagon amid his skepticism of the extended military conflict.
- IOSeptember 10 · 20 min
US Destroys Five More Iranian Tankers + Iran Claims Capture of US Navy Underwater Drone + IDF to Create Fourth Branch: Unmanned Systems & Artificial Intelligence Branch
For review: 1. A group of eight Muslim-majority countries, including Israel’s ally the United Arab Emirates, praised the United Kingdom on Wednesday for announcing that it will impose sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and called on other countries to do the same. 2. Iran’s Guards said on Wednesday that a new “prohibited zone” outside the Strait of Hormuz would cover parts of the Gulf of Oman and beyond, adding that they would announce the exact coordinates later. 3. Iran Claims Capture of US Navy Underwater Drone. 4. The US military on Tuesday said it destroyed five oil tankers in Iran’s so-called shadow fleet following a pair of attempted Iranian ballistic missile attacks targeting an American warship the previous day. 5. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir announced on Tuesday that the military would soon inaugurate a new “unmanned systems and artificial intelligence” branch. Currently, the Israel Defense Forces has three branches — the Ground Forces, Air Force, and Navy. The existing branches are each headed by a major general. A new fourth branch would be an unprecedented move for the military. 6. Presidnet Trump told Russian President Putin that a swift resolution to the Ukraine war could pave the way for the countries to fully restore trade and economic ties, according to a Kremlin readout of a call between the two leaders.
- IOSeptember 8 · 23 min
US Envoys Witkoff / Kushner Travel to Moscow & Kyiv + Iran to Announce a "Prohibited Zone" Outside the Strait of Hormuz + Sweden to Procure US-Made M142 HIMARS; Croatia to Procure S. Korean-made K239 Chunmoo Systems
For review: 1, The new head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on Sunday said Tehran plans to announce a “prohibited zone” outside the Strait of Hormuz aimed at vessels it believes are attempting to transit the waterway. 2. The Israel Defense Forces struck Hezbollah terror group targets in Lebanon overnight Sunday-Monday, reportedly killing eleven people, after the Iranian proxy fired two explosive drones at troops, the army said. The IDF said that no injuries were caused to troops in the Hezbollah attack, the third such incident in a week. 3. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on Monday accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out airstrikes around the country, including the deadly bombardment of a prison, as the rebels pressed an offensive to seize territory near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. 4. A top official within the US-backed Board of Peace said on Monday that a failure to move forward in Gaza paired with rising violence in the West Bank are making a two-state solution “impossible.” 5. The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Qatar, Egypt, Indonesia and Pakistan on Sunday issued a joint condemnation of remarks by Defense Minister Israel Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling for plans to facilitate the emigration of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. 6. Britain is set to announce wide-ranging economic restrictions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank on Tuesday, including a ban on trade in goods produced in the settlements, reports said Monday, in what would mark a significant escalation in London’s pressure on Israel and possibly prompt similar measures by other countries. 7. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he expects the war with Russia to continue into the winter, following talks with Donald Trump's top envoys in Kyiv. The discussions finished without an announcement of a major breakthrough, after Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travelled to Ukraine for the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion. The previous day, the pair had held talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. 8. Sweden to Procure US-Made M142 HIMARS; Croatia to Procure S. Korean-made K239 Chunmoo Systems.
- IOSeptember 6 · 20 min
US CENTCOM Forces Attack 3 x Iranian Crude Carriers + US Developing Post-Iran War Middle East Strategy; Expands Abraham Accords; Alignment of Allies Against Iran + Israeli PM Netanyahu: Toppling Iran Regime "Within Reach"
For review: 1. The US military said Saturday it had struck and destroyed three oil tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after the Iranian military organization fired on American warships. 2. The navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it targeted three oil tankers that were traveling through unauthorized routes in the Strait of Hormuz as well as three additional US vessels in other areas, according to a statement. There is no immediate confirmation from the US. 3. US President Donald Trump’s administration is crafting a post-Iran war strategy to build a regional alignment of US allies to contain Iran, while also expanding the Abraham Accords. 4. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel’s “central mission” is to topple the Iranian regime, asserting that the goal was “within reach.” “The regime is now faltering. It is weaker than ever. It is fighting for its survival,” PM Netanyahu said. 4. The US State Department today greenlit several potential arms deals for key Middle East partners Saudi Arabia, Oman and Iraq, totaling about $6.1 billion-worth of equipment. 5. The European Union is reviewing Kyiv’s request to spend billions of euros on PAC-3 interceptor missiles for its Patriot batteries — the first time Ukraine has formally asked to tap a 90 billion Euro support loan approved earlier this year to buy the U.S.-made systems, European officials announced this week. 6. Following steep losses of the General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper in recent combat operations against Iran, Air Force officials are accelerating efforts to replace the venerable drone with a new unmanned aircraft at a price of $10 million each.
- IO#725September 4 · 23 min
Israel: IDF Controls Strategic Ali Taher Ridge in S. Lebanon; Underground Site Cleared; Working to Demolish + Russian President Putin: Chance of Settlement to End Conflict + New US Sanctions on Cuba
For review: 1. The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday night that it had finished clearing a “strategic” underground facility belonging to the Hezbollah terror group beneath a mountainous ridge in southern Lebanon in recent weeks. The Ali Taher Ridge is located within Israel’s southern Lebanon buffer zone, near Nabatieh. According to the IDF, Hezbollah built tunnel systems beneath the hill, which served as the “nerve center” of the terror group’s Badr regional division — a unit tasked with the area of southern Lebanon that is north of the Litani River. 2. Iran has warned the United States that it would respond forcefully to any Israeli offensive on a mountainous ridge in southern Lebanon where Iranian military personnel are holed up alongside Hezbollah fighters, three officials briefed on the message told Reuters. 3. US Vice President JD Vance says Washington will only return to negotiations with Iran if Tehran stops targeting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. 4. South Korea is preparing to deploy military assets to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and aims to dispatch them before the end of the year, local media reports, citing government and military sources. 5. Russia has been helping Iran develop supersonic cruise missiles, an advanced weapon that is harder to defend against than subsonic variants, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. 6. The German Navy said on Wednesday that it had successfully tested an Israeli ballistic missile system the previous night and would now begin to advance plans to procure the projectiles. The Long-Range Artillery Weapon System, known by the acronym LORA, has a range of 400 kilometers and is accurate to within 10 meters, according to its manufacturer, Israel Aerospace Industries. It is classified as a short-range ballistic missile. 7. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday there was a chance of reaching an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said U.S. negotiators trying to broker a deal would soon visit both Moscow and Kyiv. Putin, speaking at an economic forum in Russia's far east, said a number of countries including the U.S. and China were ready to support a peace settlement. 8. The U.S. government on Thursday slapped new sanctions on Cuba in a fresh push to strangle the island’s economy and deepen its multiple crises. 9. American Rheinmetall delivered the first Lynx XM30 prototype to the Army this week, the company said in a Tuesday statement, the latest move in the service’s effort to replace the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The vehicle is slated to start testing, while seven additional prototypes are scheduled for delivery later this year.