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Mediators: Hamas Truce Demands Unacceptable + Russia & Ukraine Agree to Prisoner Swap in Istanbul + USAF Sentinel ICBM Program Update + More Jul 23, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. Syria’s interim government has requested Turkey’s support to strengthen its defense capabilities following sectarian violence over the past two weeks.

2. US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack has urged Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to recalibrate his policies and embrace a more inclusive approach after a new round of sectarian bloodshed last week, or risk losing international support.

3. Hezbollah has informed Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri that it will not surrender its weapons to the government, contradicting previous indications that the terror group was willing to disarm- even if Israel were to withdraw from the five strategic points it has been holding since a ceasefire between the adversaries came into effect in November.

4. Mediators: Hamas Truce Demands Unacceptable.

Hamas has demanded that Israel further withdraw toward the Gaza border; end the operations of the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation; and raise the ratio of security prisoners who will be released for each Israeli hostage.

5. Russia & Ukraine Agree to Prisoner Swap in Istanbul. An exchange of around 250 Russian and 250 Ukrainian prisoners of war will be completed along the Ukrainian-Belarusian border.

The two sides had also agreed “that in the near future an exchange of at least 1,200 more prisoners of war from each side will be carried out.”

6. Turkey and the United Kingdom signed a memorandum of understanding on the export of Eurofighter Typhoon jets. Turkey is reportedly seeking to buy as many as 40 of the jets.

7. Rafael Advanced Systems will supply Spyder short-range air defense systems to Romania for over $2 billion, the Romanian Ministry of Defense announced this week.

The Spyder is a mobile air defense system whose components are mounted on combat vehicles, and is built around Python-4 heat-seeking missiles and radar-guided Derby missiles, designed to intercept targets at low altitudes and at a distance of tens of kilometers.

8. Romania and Poland are advancing plans to increase their tracked vehicle fleets.

9. USAF Sentinel ICBM Program Update.

Russia and Ukraine Peace Talks in Turkey on Wednesday + Iran and E3 Nuclear Talks in Istanbul on Friday + Australia Delivers First Tranche of M1 Tanks to Ukraine + IDF Drone Strike on Houthi Port + More Jul 21, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. Iran and E3 Nuclear Talks in Istanbul on Friday. Iran, Britain, France and Germany will hold nuclear talks in Istanbul on Friday- following warnings by the three European countries that failure to resume negotiations would lead to international sanctions being reimposed on Iran.

2. Iran could withhold security commitments if European states invoke a UN mechanism to reimpose international sanctions on the Islamic Republic, a member of Iran’s parliamentary national security commission said on Monday. In the past, Iran has used the threat of disrupting maritime transit in the Strait of Hormuz as a means to push back against Western pressures on its nuclear program.

3. IDF Drone Strike on Houthi Port. Israeli Air Force drones struck Yemen’s Houthi-controlled Hodeida port in response to the Iran-backed group’s continued attacks on Israel, the IDF said Monday.

4. Russia and Ukraine Peace Talks in Turkey on Wednesday.

5. Australia Delivers First Tranche of M1 Tanks to Ukraine. Australia pledged to give Kyiv 49 Abrams tanks that it recently retired.

6. Belgium to increase defense spending to 2% GDP in 2025- will order more F-35s and procure air defense systems.

7. The US House passed its $832 billion defense appropriations bill for FY26 in a 221-209 vote on 18 Jul.

This version of the FY26 defense budget is not the final word on the topic, as the House bill will have to be reconciled with the Senate’s spending bill further down the line. The Senate Appropriations Committee has yet to release its defense spending proposal.

Ceasefire in S. Syrian City of Sweida Between Druze & Bedouin + New Round of EU Sanctions Against Russian Energy + UK & Germany Sign New Defense Pact + Opinion Article: F-35s to Turkey is Smart Business + More Jul 19, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. Ceasefire in S. Syrian City of Sweida Between Druze & Bedouin.

2. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said elections will be held before the end of the year for the Palestinian National Council, for the first time since 2006.

3. Ukraine proposes new round of peace talks with Russia next week.

4. New Round of EU Sanctions Against Russian Energy.

5. UK & Germany Sign New Defense Pact.

The new bilateral agreement, referred to as the “Kensington Treaty,” was signed on Thursday in London. It includes a broad range of promises, ranging from joint military-industrial exports to facilitating school exchanges between the two countries. It additionally commits the NATO allies to “assist one another, including through military means, in the event of an armed attack on the other.”

6. Marine Corps LTG Greg Masiello has taken the reins of the Joint Program Executive Office (JPEO) F-35, from its outgoing leader Air Force LTG Mike Schmidt.

JPEO F-35 is a global enterprise that has grown to 19 customers internationally. LTG Masiello was nominated for the F-35 post in June and subsequently confirmed by the US Senate.

7. Breaking Defense Opinion Article: Why selling F-35s to Turkey is smart business for US and NATO.

In a response to an op-ed previously published on Breaking Defense, Barın Kayaoğlu and Özgür Ekşi argue that Turkey can and should be trusted with F-35s.

IDF Strikes Damascus in Support of Druze Community + France Departs Last Senegal Posts + US Army Mid Range Capability Live-Fire During Talisman Sabre '25 + More Jul 17, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. US Army Mid Range Capability Live-Fire During Talisman Sabre '25. The U.S. Army hit an at-sea target with a Standard Missile 6 fired from its Typhon missile system as part of the Talisman Sabre 2025 exercise in Australia.

The live-fire test is the first time the Army has tested the containerized missile launcher derived from the Navy MK 41 launchers used on warships outside the US.

2. IDF Strikes Damascus in Support of Druze Community.

3. The U.S. State Department has informed Switzerland of delays in the delivery of Patriot air defense systems due to a decision to prioritize shipments to Ukraine, the Swiss Defense Ministry said on 17 July.

4. France and Italy have declined to participate in a new NATO initiative to supply US-made weapons for Ukraine, including air defense systems, financed by European allies.

5. France Departs Last Senegal Posts. France returned Camp Gélie, its largest base in the West African country, and its airfield at Dakar Airport.

6. Singapore participates in Australian Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025. More than 100 personnel from Singapore will be taking part in the exercise, including from the Special Operations Task Force of the Singaporean army and Republic of Singapore Air Force Special Operations Aviation Task Group crew.

7. US to build a fast boat facility on the western coast of Palawan in the Philippines.

The new fast boat facility is slated to be operational in the first quarter of fiscal 2026.

8. Shipbuilder Austal USA delivered the final Independence-class littoral combat ship to the US Navy on Friday, marking the end of a construction phase that’s lasted 15 years.

The final ship will be christened as the Pierre, named after the capital of South Dakota.

Israel Strikes Syrian Govt Forces in Druze-Majority Sweida + France to Spend $74.8 Billion on Defense in 2027 + US-Australian Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025 + Tropic Lightning Division Now Equipped with HIMARS + More Jul 15, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. No progress on Israel - Hamas Hostage and Ceasefire negotiations.

2. In a meeting in Amman on Sunday with British former prime minister Tony Blair, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas urged Hamas to release the hostages it is holding and hand over its weapons to the PA, stressing that the terror group “will not rule the Gaza Strip” after the war there ends.

3. Israeli jets carried out a wave of airstrikes deep inside Lebanon aimed at stopping an elite Hezbollah unit from regrouping and rebuilding its strength, authorities said Tuesday.

The strikes in Lebanon’s northeastern Beqaa Valley were aimed at military facilities belonging to the Hezbollah terror group’s Radwan force.

4. Israel Strikes Syrian Govt Forces in Druze-Majority Sweida- in what Israeli PM Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz said was meant to protect “the Druze in Syria due to the deep brotherly alliance with our Druze citizens in Israel.”

5. Ukraine could secure victory over Russia if international partners supply Kyiv with additional air defense systems and end resistance to long-range strikes inside Russian territory, according to a Major Oleh Shyriaiev, Commander of Ukraine’s 225th Separate Assault Battalion.

6. France to Spend $74.8 Billion on Defense in 2027. The move would represent a full doubling of the nation’s defense spending since 2017.

7. US-Australian Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025.

Countries participating in the drills alongside the US and Australia are Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, and the United Kingdom with Malaysia and Vietnam as observers.

China is expected, as has been the case in past iterations of Talisman Sabre, to deploy a surveillance ship to spy on the sea phases of the exercise.

8. Tropic Lightning Division Now Equipped with HIMARS.

This week the US Army's 25th Infantry Division (Schofield Barracks, Hawaii) began the six-week process of replacing eight 105mm and six 155mm howitzers with 16 HIMARS launchers.

The Division is not completely shedding towed artillery, as it will retain a single cannon battalion with two batteries of 105mm howitzers and one battery of M777 155mm howitzers.

Doha Hostage & Ceasefire Talks Stalled + Russian President Putin Supports Zero Enrichment for Iran + Japan Protests to Chinese Ambassador Concerning Unsafe Aircraft Incident over E. China Sea + More Jul 13, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. Doha Hostage & Ceasefire Talks Stalled.

2. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “confident” he will be able to reach a deal to free hostages held in the Gaza Strip, in an interview with US media aired late Saturday.

3. Russian President Putin Supports Zero Enrichment for Iran.

4. A Syrian official and an Israeli official are expected to meet in Baku later Saturday on the sidelines of President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s current visit to Azerbaijan,.

5. Ukrainian security agents have killed a group of Russian spies near Kyiv in another escalation of the secret war between the two countries.

It follows the assassination of a top Ukrainian intelligence officer days earlier.

6. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered Moscow his full support for their war in Ukraine during talks with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, Pyongyang state media said Sunday.

7. Japan Protests to Chinese Ambassador Concerning Unsafe Aircraft Incident over E. China Sea.

8. A Philippine Coast Guard cutter intercepted a Chinese Navy spy ship within Manila’s western exclusive economic zone over the weekend.

Lebanon's President Aoun: Peaceful Relations but No Normalization with Israel + US Sec of State Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov Meet in Kuala Lumpur + Argentina to Procure US Stryker Infantry Carriers + More Jul 11, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. No significant progress has been made on Hostage and Ceasefire Negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

2. Lebanon's President Aoun: Peaceful Relations but No Normalization with Israel.

Addressing relations with Israel, President Aoun “distinguished between peace and normalization,” according to a statement by his office.

3. US Sec of State Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov Meet in Kuala Lumpur. This was their second in-person meeting since Mr. Rubio has become the US Secretary of State.

4. The United States is selling weapons to its NATO allies in Europe so they can provide them to Ukraine as it struggles to fend off a recent escalation in Russia’s drone and missile attacks- (President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rubio).

5. The US State Department today cleared the potential sale of up to nine HH-60W helicopters to Norway, a deal valued at $2.6 billion.

6. Argentina to Procure US Stryker Infantry Carriers.

7. The Senate Armed Services Committee has approved $913.9 billion in defense spending for fiscal 2026.

Israeli PM on Hostage & Ceasefire Deal: "Not at any price" + US Lifts Pause on Munition Shipments to Ukraine + Army - Navy - USAF Unfunded Priority List (Budget) + More Jul 09, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. Israeli PM on Hostage & Ceasefire Deal: "Not at any price."

Israeli PM Netanyahu: “President Trump and I have a common goal. I want to achieve the release of our hostages. We want to end Hamas rule in Gaza. We want to make sure that Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel anymore.”

2. Israeli ground troops raided several sites inside Lebanon in recent days, destroying Hezbollah weapon depots and other infrastructure, the Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday.

3. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem admitted that the Lebanese terror group drastically underestimated the extent of Israel’s surveillance capabilities in the run-up to the pager operation last September.

4. Pope Leo told visiting Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on Wednesday that the Vatican was willing to host Russia - Ukraine peace talks.

5. US Lifts Pause on Munition Shipments to Ukraine.

Munitions heading into Ukraine include 155mm munitions and precision-guided rockets known as GMLRS. It was not clear if Patriot missiles would be added.

6. Denmark considering the purchase of more F-35 Fighters.

7. Army - Navy - USAF Unfunded Priority List (Budget).

Israeli PM in Washington DC to Discuss Hostage Negotiations & Regional Issues + IDF Strikes Houthi Ports in Yemen + BRICS Leaders Condemn Military Strikes on Iran + More Jul 07, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. During interview with American commentator Tucker Carlson, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed that Israel attempted to assassinate him.

2. IDF Strikes Houthi Ports in Yemen. More than 50 munitions were dropped by IAF fighter jets on the Houthi targets, in response to repeated Houthi missile and drone attacks on Israeli territory.

3. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said Sunday his group would not surrender or lay down its weapons in response to Israeli threats, despite pressure from Lebanon’s Western-backed government demanding the terror group disarm.

4. BBC Report: A senior Hamas commander quoted in a BBC report published Sunday said that the terror group has lost control of around 80 percent of the Gaza Strip and that there is “barely anything left” of its military structure, after 21 months of intense fighting with the Israeli military.

5. Israeli PM in Washington DC to Discuss Hostage Negotiations & Regional Issues.

President Trump is slated to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for dinner on Monday evening, with Gaza at the top of the agenda along with the recently diminished Iranian nuclear threat and other regional issues.

In preparation for the dinner, PM Netanyahu met separately on Monday afternoon with US Envoy Witkoff and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Blair House.

6. Wall Street Journal Report: A group of five leading sheikhs in the Palestinian Authority’s Hebron district sent a letter to the Israeli government expressing a desire to join the Abraham Accords and to have peace with Israel.

The letter expresses the sheikhs’ desire to break off from the Palestinian Authority and establish Hebron as an emirate that “recognize[s] the State of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.”

7. Meeting in Brazil, BRICS Leaders Condemn Military Strikes on Iran.

BRICS 11 = Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia.

Israel Sending Team to Qatar for Hostage Talks + UK Reestablishes Diplomatic Ties with Syria + Iran's Supreme Leader Makes First Appearance Since Ceasefire with Israel Jul 05, 2025

Show notes

For review:

1. Israel Sending Team to Qatar for Hostage Talks. However, the Prime Minister’s Office cautioned in a statement that Hamas had suggested several amendments to the proposal, which Israel found to be unacceptable.

According to a source involved in the mediation efforts, Hamas proposed three amendments to the proposed framework.

The source said that Hamas wants the agreement to say that talks on a permanent ceasefire will continue until an agreement is reached; that aid will fully resume through mechanisms backed by the United Nations and other international aid organizations; and that the IDF withdraw to positions it maintained before the collapse of the previous ceasefire in March.

2. UK Reestablishes Diplomatic Ties with Syria.

3. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday made his first public appearance since the 12-day war between Israel and Iran began last month. There was no immediate report on any public statement made.

4. President Volodymyr Zelensky described his recent phone call (occurred on 04 July) with US President Donald Trump as "the best conversation in all this time" in an evening address on 05 July.

5. Breaking Defense Opinion Article - Titled: S-400s or not, don't give Turkey the F-35.

Authored by:

Bradley Bowman is senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).

Sinan Ciddi is a senior fellow at FDD and director of its Turkey Program.

6. Japan's Ministry of Defense all-in on Australian Frigate competition. Japan's shipbuilder (Mitsubishi Heavy Industry) is competing against Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) to sell Australia 11 x Frigates.. A final decision on the winner is expected by the end of this year. Delivery of the first ship is expected by the end of 2029.

7. The US Military is preparing for the difficult challenge of sustaining a possible protracted operation in the Pacific theater, by developing Joint Theater Sustainment Distribution Centers.

Universal characteristics:

a. Port capability to move surface vessels with large amounts of materiel.

b. Storage capacity for classes of supply.

c. Airfield/air capability to move materiel and supplies rapidly.

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