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While in Malaysia - President Trump Oversees Peace Agreement Between Thailand & Cambodia; Next Stop Japan + Russia Tests Nuclear-Powered Skyfall Cruise Missile + Israel Allows Egyptian & Hamas Search Teams Access Beyond the Yellow Line + More Oct 27, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. While in Malaysia - President Trump Oversees Peace Agreement Between Thailand & Cambodia; Next Stop Japan.

2. Israel Allows Egyptian & Hamas Search Teams Access Beyond the Yellow Line.

3. Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, said Friday that Russia, US, & Ukraine are “quite close” to reaching a diplomatic solution to end the war.

4. Russia Tests Nuclear-Powered Skyfall (NATO) Cruise Missile.

A video released by the Kremlin showed Russian President Putin receiving a report from Gen. Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s chief of general staff, who told the Russian leader that the Burevestnik Missile (NATO designation Skyfall) covered 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles) in a key test Tuesday.

5. The Chinese Communist Party has named a veteran (Zhang Shengmin) who has overseen anti-corruption efforts in the military to be the country's second highest ranking general, just days after nine generals were expelled in a major purge.

6. On Friday, South Korea’s unification minister- Chung Dong-young- said he believed there was a “considerable” chance that President Trump will meet with N. Korean Leader Kim Jong Un, during his visit to the peninsula next week.

7. Estonia inked a deal to purchase K239 Chunmoo rocket launchers, made by Hanwha Aerospace of South Korea, for its next tranche of launchers (press release).

The release did not disclose how many Chunmoo systems Estonia will receive, nor how much the deal is worth.

8. An F/A-18F Super Hornet and an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) crashed in the South China Sea on Sunday in two separate incidents in the Pacific.

All crew are safe and in stable condition and the incidents are under investigation.

US Secretary of State Visits Israel + Russia Exercises Nuclear Triad + IDF Strikes Hezbollah Targets in Lebanon + Latest in US Army Self-Propelled Howitzer Modernization Oct 24, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. US Secretary of State Visits Israel.

2. IDF Strikes Hezbollah Targets in Lebanon.

3. Russia Exercises Nuclear Triad.

4. Latest in US Army Self-Propelled Howitzer Modernization.

US Sanctions Russian Oil Companies; President Trump and Putin Meeting in Budapest Cancelled + US Secretary of State Travels to Israel; Far East + IDF Strikes Hezbollah Targets in S. Lebanon + More Oct 22, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. US Secretary of State Travels to Israel; Far East this week.

2. United States Vice President JD Vance projected confidence on Tuesday that the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was going to last as he paid a visit to a new US-Israel ceasefire coordination center in Kiryat Gat, southern Israel.

3. There will be no Turkish troops in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office insisted Wednesday- as part of the planned International Stabilization Force (ISF).

4. IDF Strikes Hezbollah Targets in S. Lebanon.

5. US Sanctions Russian Oil Companies; President Trump and Putin Meeting in Budapest Cancelled.

The US blacklisted Rosneft and Lukoil and issued other sanctions because Russia has failed to commit seriously to the peace process, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

6. Opinion Article in Defense News written by John Moore, a former British Ministry of Defense official: Should the US Army bring back the Pentomic Division?

7. President Trump nominates LTG Christopher LaNeve to replace GEN James Mingus as US Army Vice Chief of Staff.

Vice President Vance Travels to Israel to Shore Ceasefire Agreement + Ceasefire Status Returns After Two IDF Soldiers Killed in Rafah Leads to Israeli Retaliation + More Oct 20, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. Vice President Vance Travels to Israel to Shore Ceasefire Agreement.

2. Ceasefire Status Returns After Two IDF Soldiers Killed in Rafah Leads to Israeli Retaliation.

3. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday told US President Donald Trump to “keep dreaming” if he thinks US airstrikes in June destroyed Iran’s nuclear facilities.

4. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he would honor the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and have him arrested if he traveled to Canada in an interview published on Friday.

5. Ukrainian general Mykhailo Drapatyi has been named the commander of the Armed Forces' new Joint Forces Task Force, a new command structure responsible for the front line in and around Kharkiv Oblast, the force announced on Oct. 20.

6. Germany and the Netherlands are set to receive hundreds of Jackal infantry fighting vehicles under a €3.4 billion ($4 billion) contract.

The procurement is based on a split between 150 Jackal units for German armed forces and 72 for the Dutch military. A “call off” of up to an additional 248 units is also included.

7. Poland's Defense officials have sent requests for information to six countries for submarine designs for the Polish Orka (Orca) submarine program.

8. Azerbaijan and South Korea have held defense talks in Baku to expand cooperation on military development and regional security.

9. President Donald Trump threw his support behind the trilateral AUKUS agreement today, even suggesting the US is moving more quickly to provide nuclear-powered subs to Australia.

President Trump to Ukraine: No Tomahawks - At least For Now + Pakistan & Afghanistan Agree to Ceasefire + US Army Considers CCA Capability + More Oct 19, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. Pakistan & Afghanistan Agree to Ceasefire.

Security issues are at the heart of the tensions, with Pakistan accusing Afghanistan of harboring militant groups led by the Pakistani Taliban on its soil- a claim Kabul denies.

2. Hamas terror group transferred to Israel two caskets Saturday night which it said contained the remains of two dead hostages held in Gaza. If the bodies are confirmed to belong to hostages, it would mean that the number of bodies of dead captives still held in the Strip would go down to 16, after 28 were there at the start of the current ceasefire.

3. Hamas intends to maintain security control in Gaza during an interim period, a senior Hamas official told Reuters, adding he could not commit to the terrorist group disarming.

4. The White House is considering sending US Vice President JD Vance to Israel on Monday to hold meetings with top Israeli officials on implementing the next phases of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

5. A multinational team meant to help secure the Gaza Strip following the end of Israel’s war with Hamas will likely be headed up by Egypt, according to a report Saturday. Citing unnamed diplomats, The Guardian reported that Egypt would likely lead the stabilization force, although Cairo has not issued any statements on the matter.

6. President Trump to Ukraine: No Tomahawks - At least For Now.

7. Over the past three months, an Australian E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft has been employed as part of NATO operations to monitor Russian activities near Ukraine.

8. The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (CSG) transited the Singapore Strait on Friday and is now operating in the South China Sea following a three-month stint in the Middle East.

9. The Army plans to expand its autonomous air capability portfolio with a CCA-like option.

President Trump and Russian President to Meet in Budapest within Two Weeks + US-Led Gaza Coordination Center Operational in Days + First US Army Hypersonic Battery Fully Equipped in December + More Oct 16, 2025

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For review:

1. The military commander of the Houthi rebels in Yemen, Muhammad al-Ghamari, has died, the Iran-backed group announced Thursday afternoon.

The Israel Defense Forces later confirmed that al-Ghamari had been killed during a 28 Aug airstrike in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.

2. US-Led Gaza Coordination Center Operational in Days.

The command center will be led by a US three-star general, at least initially, who has not been identified publicly. The commander will have a foreign deputy, who would be the equivalent of a two-star officer, the officials said.

3. US denies Hamas violating ceasefire deal, vows no hostage will be ‘left behind’ in Gaza.

4. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told The Associated Press that 15 Palestinian technocrats have been selected to administer postwar Gaza.

5. Russia' postponed Arab summit. May be held in November instead.

6. President Trump and Russian President to Meet in Budapest within Two Weeks.

The Trump-Putin meeting is expected to follow talks next week between teams led by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, at a location to be determined.

7. United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warned Moscow on Wednesday that if its war on Ukraine does not come to an end, the US and NATO allies would “impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression.”

8. The US and the Netherlands signed a pact today for the European nation to participate in the development of the US Air Force’s CCA program.

CCA = Collaborative Combat Aircraft

9. First US Army Hypersonic Battery Fully Equipped in December.

10. The Army plans to "field" its next-generation M1E3 Abrams tank before the end of next year.

The test vehicle would be sent to a small unit (identity and location not yet been determined).

Israel To Keep Rafah Crossing Closed & Limit Aid Until Hamas Returns Remaining Hostages + AUSA in Washington D.C + More Oct 14, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. Israel To Keep Rafah Crossing Closed & Limit Aid Until Hamas Returns Remaining Hostages.

2. Post Gaza Ceasefire: Hamas gunmen tightened their grip in Gaza on Monday and Tuesday, sources in the Strip said, including carrying out public executions.

Hamas has killed at least 33 people since a ceasefire took effect on Friday in a crackdown on groups that have tested its grip, sources in the strip said.

3. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that supplying U.S. Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine could end badly for everyone, especially U.S. President Donald Trump.

Mr. Medvedev, said it is impossible to distinguish between Tomahawk missiles carrying nuclear warheads and conventional ones after they are launched - a point that President Vladimir Putin's spokesman has also made.

4. Secretary of the Army Driscoll today teased a shake-up in the way the Army buys its weapons and platforms, saying that he wants to adopt more of a private sector-like model that “speeds up the cycle of innovation for us.”

5. Leonardo DRS is partnering with European land defense specialist KNDS to throw their hat in the ring for the US Army’s forthcoming howitzer competition.

The two signed a “strategic teaming agreement” to offer the Army the CAESAR self-propelled howitzer. Though KNDS makes the CAESAR, Leonardo DRS, the US arm of Italian parent Leonardo, will be the integrator and prime for the project.

6. A year after the program was cancelled, the Army may reverse course and back the development of a next-generation interceptor for the Patriot Missile System- called the Lower-Tier Future Interceptor (LTFI).

7. The UH-60 Black Hawk is now fully reconfigured to be an unmanned aircraft capable of flying a variety of missions, according to Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky.

The aircraft is designated the S-70 UAS and nicknamed the U-HAWK.

20 Living Hostages Returned to Israel After Two Plus Years of Captivity; 4 of 28 Hostages Bodies Also Returned + President Trump Addresses Knesset + President Trump and Leaders of Egypt, Qatar, & Turkey Sign Peace Declaration + More Oct 14, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. 20 Living Hostages Returned to Israel After Two Plus Years of Captivity; 4 of 28 Hostages Bodies Also Returned.

2. President Trump Addresses Knesset.

3. President Trump and Leaders of Egypt, Qatar, & Turkey Sign Peace Declaration.

4. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that President Donald Trump’s success in brokering a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas has renewed his hope that Trump can help facilitate a similar agreement in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

All of Israel Prepares for the Return of the Hostages (Monday AM) + President Trump to Arrive in Israel to Address Knesset; Then to Egypt for Summit + Pakistan & Afghanistan Trade Fire on Border Regions + More Oct 12, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. Pakistan & Afghanistan Trade Fire on Border Regions.

2. All of Israel Prepares for the Return of the Hostages (Monday AM).

3. President Trump to Arrive in Israel to address Knesset; Then to Egypt for Summit.

Egypt will host an international summit in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday to finalize an agreement aimed at ending the war in Gaza, an Egyptian presidential spokesperson said on Saturday.

The summit will be attended by more than 20 leaders, including US President Donald Trump, the spokesperson said in a statement.

Several leaders have confirmed their attendance, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Jordan’s King Abdullah II.

4. Iran dismissed the idea that it would establish diplomatic ties with Israel, describing the idea on Saturday as “wishful thinking.”

The statement came nearly two weeks after US President Donald Trump suggested that Iran could normalize relations with Israel after decades of calling for its elimination.

5. The Department of War plans to siphon $8 billion in leftover fiscal 2025 research and development funding to ensure troops get a paycheck during the ongoing government shutdown, a department official said in a statement on Saturday.

IDF Withdraws to Yellow Line in Gaza; 72-Hour Clock to Release Hostages Begins + US CENTCOM will Send Team to "Observe & Oversee" Ceasefire and Hostage Release + Denmark to Procure 16 More F-35s; Includes CCAs + More Oct 11, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. IDF Withdraws to Yellow Line in Gaza; 72-Hour Clock to Release Hostages Begins. Noon Monday (13 Oct) is the deadline for Hostage Release.

2. US President Donald Trump is set to arrive in Israel on Monday morning and address the Knesset (in Jerusalem) before departing that same day.

3. Opposition activist María Corina Machado of Venezuela won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, dashing US President Donald Trump’s hopes of collecting the prestigious award after mediating a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

4. An American military team of 200 people will be deployed in the Middle East to “oversee” the Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of the US military’s Central Command (US CENTCOM), “will initially have 200 people on the ground. His role will be to oversee, observe, make sure there are no violations,” one senior official told reporters.

5. Qatar will build an air force facility at a US military base in Idaho to host its F-15 fighter jets and to train pilots, according to an agreement signed Friday between US War Secretary Pete Hegseth and his visiting Qatari counterpart.

6. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday praised US President Donald Trump’s peace efforts, despite not winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

7. Denmark to Procure 16 More F-35s; Includes CCAs.

CCA = Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) wingman drones.

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