For review:

1. A drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels evaded Israeli air defenses and smashed into the Ramon Airport terminal in southern Israel on Sunday. The unmanned aerial vehicle struck the passenger terminal at the airport north of Eilat, causing damage, according to airport authorities.

2. President Trump Warns Hamas to Accept Terms for Hostage - Ceasefire Deal.

According to the reported proposal, Hamas would release all 48 hostages, living and dead, on day one, while Israel would release hundreds of Palestinian terrorists with blood on their hands, and thousands of other prisoners.

In addition, the IDF would call off its conquest of Gaza City and would remain outside the city, according to the report.

The two sides would engage in talks over the end of the war under the personal oversight of President Trump, and the ceasefire would continue as long as negotiations last.

3. Lebanon's cabinet on Friday welcomed a plan by the Army that would disarm Hezbollah and said the military would begin executing it, without setting a timeframe for implementation and cautioning that the Army had limited capabilities. But it said continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon would hamper the Army's progress. 

4.  President Zelensky Responds to Russian President Putin: "He can come to Kyiv."

5. China said Saturday that its military monitored the passage of Australian and Canadian warships through the Taiwan Strait, criticizing their presence in the sensitive waterway as “causing trouble.”

6. Marines from the 3rd Marine Division trained with the Navy/Marine Corps Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) in recent weeks after the system arrived July 10 in Japan, the Marine Corps said. 

7. The Air Force and Sierra Nevada Corporation have started flight tests on the service’s next-generation “doomsday plane.”

Flight tests for the E-4C Survivable Airborne Operations Control, or SAOC, are being held at the Aviation Innovation and Technology Center in Dayton, Ohio, the company said in a Wednesday release.

For review:

1. President Trump's Executive Order Returns Department of War Title.

2. US special envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly met in Paris with Qatari officials on Thursday to discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, though Israeli officials sounded skeptical about progress toward an agreement.

3. Finland is joining a declaration calling for the implementation of a two-state solution to Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians. The declaration is a product of an international conference at the United Nations in July, hosted by Saudi Arabia and France.

4. IDF Controls 40% of Gaza City.

In a televised briefing, military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said that “we hold 40 percent of the territory of Gaza City,” adding that the offensive “will continue to expand and intensify in the coming days.”

5. A drawing outlining a map of Hamas tunnels under part of Rafah was reportedly found in the pocket of Yahya Sinwar, when he was killed in the southern Gaza city last year.

6.  Russian President Putin invites President Zelenskyy to Moscow. 

Speaking from Beijing on Wednesday, the Russian leader said US President Donald Trump had asked him to hold talks with (President) Zelensky.

“Donald asked me if it was possible to hold such a meeting. I said yes, it is possible. In the end, if Zelensky is ready, let him come to Moscow. Such a meeting will take place,” Putin said.

7. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Hyundai Rotem have teamed up to integrate, the Israeli Trophy vehicle-protection system on the South Korean K2 Tank.

The agreement includes the Poland-specific K2PL version, following the supply of a 180 K2 tanks deal signed between Poland and South Korea.

8. US Navy CCA Program.

The US Navy has awarded contracts to four major aerospace prime contractors — Anduril, Northrop Grumman, Boeing and General Atomics — for “conceptual designs” for a carrier-based autonomous combat drone. 

For review:

1. A top United Arab Emirates official warned Israel on Tuesday that annexing the West Bank would cross a “red line” that would “end the vision of regional integration.”

It would foreclose the idea of regional integration and be the death knell of the two-state solution,” Emirati special envoy Lana Nusseibeh told The Times of Israel.

2.  Belgium will recognize the State of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot announced Tuesday, adding that sanctions will be imposed on the Israeli government.

Belgium will not take formal measures, like opening an embassy, until Hamas is disarmed and excluded from any governing role, said the official.

3. Israeli PM: War Entering Decisive Stage. 

Premier Benjamin Netanyahu said the war was entering its “decisive stage,” while IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told troops that the Gaza City campaign was already moving forward, that operations would be intensified and expanded, and that the IDF would not accept anything less than the complete defeat of Hamas.

4. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul urged India to press its close ally Russia to return to peace talks over the war in Ukraine.

5. China today used a military parade to show off a new Air-Launched Ballistic Missile (ALBM) and two new Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM), joining a previously shown Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM).

The parade was held in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, and was overseen by Chinese leader Xi Jinping and included several invited world leaders- notably Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.

6.  USAF Minuteman III Silo Offline During Transition to Sentinel.

Statement from Air Force Global Strike Command: “During the transition process, there will be no degradation of the land-based leg of the nuclear triad."

7. US SPACECOM to Redstone Arsenal.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will move the military’s US Space Command to Huntsville, Alabama — undoing a decision by the Biden administration to keep operations in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

For review:

1. Israel declared on Sunday that Hamas spokesman Hudayfa Samir Abdallah al-Kahlout, alias Abu Obeida, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City.

2. Russia & China Reject E3 Snapback Sanctions Against Iran.

3. Chinese President XI Jinping hosted more than 20 leaders of non-Western countries at a summit in the Chinese port city of Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization- a China-backed initiative given renewed impetus by the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

4. Russia & China Conduct Submarine Patrol in Sea of Japan.

5. EU President's Plane Jammed While Landing in Bulgaria. 

A plane carrying EU chief Ursula von der Leyen was hit by GPS jamming as it readied to land in Bulgaria on Sunday, Brussels said Monday, alleging Russia was thought to be behind the incident.

6. The US Army has been tasked with standing up a new Joint Interagency Task Force 401 that is expected to give it broader oversight over tech to counter small drones across the Defense community. 

7. The Army has given Sikorsky a $43 million contract to modernize the service’s UH-60 Black Hawks with capabilities that will enable the helicopters to carry and launch unmanned aerial systems.

8. USAF CCA update.

For review:

1. Houthi Prime Minister Reported Killed in IDF Strike. 

Yemen’s Al-Jumhuriya channel and the Aden Al-Ghad newspaper reported that Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in an Israeli attack on an apartment in the capital Sanaa, 

The IDF assesses that the entire Houthi cabinet — including the prime minister and 12 other ministers — were likely killed in Thursday’s strikes in Yemen, Channel 12 reported Friday, without citing any sources.

2. The notorious spokesperson for Hamas’s military wing in the Gaza Strip was said to have been the target of an Israeli airstrike on Saturday.

While the statement did not provide the identity of the targeted terror operative, multiple Hebrew media outlets reported that it was the longtime Hamas spokesman, Hudayfa Samir Abdallah al-Kahlout, who is more widely known by his nom de guerre Abu Obeida.

3. US to Ban PA President's (Mahmoud Abbas)Travel to UN General Assembly Meeting in September.

President Abbas’s office said it was astonished by the visa decision and argued that it violated the UN “headquarters agreement.”

4. Forces from the military and Shin Bet security service recovered the body of slain hostage (Ilan Weiss) in an operation in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces said Friday.

His body was recovered along with the remains of a second hostage, whose name was not immediately published as the identification process was still ongoing.

5.  What is Europe's "Reassurance Force" for Ukraine?

6. NATO said all alliance members will spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense this year, the first time for that to happen since the spending target was set more than a decade ago.

7. Poland will increase its defense spending next year (2026) to 4.8 percent of GDP ($55.0 billion), its finance minister said Thursday.

8. Japan’s Ministry of Defense has submitted its budget request of $59.9 billion for the 2026 fiscal year. 

For review:

1. Report: IDF Strikes Gathering of Houthi Leadership in Sanaa. 

The strike was first reported by the Houthi-run Al Masirah TV, and then confirmed by Defense Minister Israel Katz and the Israel Defense Forces, though they did not confirm the targets.

2.  IDF Ground Operation on Syrian Military Installation Near Damascus.

According to a Syrian source who spoke to Al Jazeera, the raid involved four helicopters and two fighter jets, as well as dozens of soldiers.

Saudi outlet Al-Hadath reported that Israeli forces had located and confiscated “secret and sensitive equipment,” citing an unnamed senior Israeli security official.

3. The United Nations Security Council on Thursday unanimously extended “for a final time” a long-running peacekeeping mission in Lebanon until the end of 2026, when the operation will then begin a year-long “orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal.”

4. Wall Street Journal Report: The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog has been guarded by a 24/7 security detail in recent weeks due to a specific Iranian threat against him.

5.  Britain, France and Germany announced Thursday their decision to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. The step was announced in a letter to the UN Security Council sent by the European powers as they launched a 30-day process to once again level punitive measures against the Islamic Republic.

6. Sweden and the Netherlands have urged the EU to adopt sanctions on Israel and Hamas over the war in Gaza, including suspending the EU-Israel trade deal.

7. USAF Sentinel ICBM Update.

For review:

1. Australia expels Iran's Ambassador over connection to antisemitic events.

2. Israeli Defense Minister: IDF Troops Remain on Syrian Side of Mt. Hermon.

3. Lebanon's Plan to Disarm Hezbollah Due on 29 Aug.

4. President Donald Trump is signaling fresh doubts about whether Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and Russian President Putin will meet anytime soon. 

“I don’t know that they’ll meet — maybe they will, maybe they won’t,” the President said.

5. Sweden and Thailand finalized an agreement to buy four Gripen E/F fighter jets from Swedish defense firm Saab, with an order value of around ($550 million USD). Deliveries are scheduled between 2025 and 2030.

6. China's New Amphibious Warship. 

China launched its fourth Type 075 Amphibious Assault Ship- CNS Hubei.

The Type 075 is built for amphibious landings and can deploy troops via helicopters- as well as offload combat vehicles from its interior. 

7. US Navy Vice Admiral Daniel Cheever (Commander Naval Air Forces, Pacific): “We’re dedicated in the Navy to maintain the National Defense Authorization Act [level] of 11 aircraft carriers and nine airwings.“

8. Navy Secretary John Phelan said the Navy established the Naval Rapid Capabilities Office.

The new office will help the Navy identify operational gaps and provide quick solutions, as well as enable the service to respond to emerging threats promptly.

9. Defense Innovation Unit head Doug Beck has resigned, Breaking Defense has learned.

For review:

1. Warning Shots Fired Across Korean DMZ.

2. Israel Strikes Houthis; Destroys Presidential Palace in Sanaa. 

3. Israeli planes and tanks pounded the eastern and northern outskirts of Gaza City overnight Saturday and into Sunday- as the IDF increased its troop presence in northern Gaza as part of an offensive aimed at bolstering the army’s control in the area.

4. Report: Possible security deal between Israel and Syria. 

The report said the two sides would agree to the demilitarization of the Syrian side of the Golan Heights; the prevention of the restoration of the Syrian military; the barring of entry of any weapons into Syria that would threaten Israel; and the establishment of a humanitarian corridor to the Jabal al-Druze region of Syria- in exchange of the rehabilitation of Syria.

5. Russia & Ukraine Exchange 146 Prisoners of War.

6. Russia accused Ukraine Sunday of launching drone attacks that sparked a fire at a nuclear power plant in its western Kursk region overnight. The United Nations' nuclear watchdog said it was aware of media reports that a transformer at the plants had caught fire "due to military activity," but hadn't received independent confirmation.

7. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen the test-firing of two new air defense missiles, state media said Sunday.

8. South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace has signed an export agreement with Vietnam for its K9 self-propelled howitzers. Under the $250-million government-to-government deal, Hanwha will supply 20 K9s to Vietnam. 

1.  Iranian Naval Exercise in Gulf of Oman & Indian Ocean.

2. The Houthis in Yemen take responsibility for carrying out today’s ballistic missile and drone attacks on Israel.

3. A Hezbollah weapon depot in southern Lebanon’s Deir Kifa was targeted in an Israeli strike, the IDF says. The military says the site was a violation of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

4. Israeli Defense Minister: If Hamas Does Not Capitulate- Gaza City Will Become Rafah.

5. Israel has approved a $1.5 billion initiative to accelerate the production of main battle tanks and armored support vehicles as part of a five-year pathway to enhance its ground capabilities.

6. Ukraine Foreign Intelligence Report: Iran is interested in receiving assistance from Belarus to restore its air defense and electronic warfare systems.

7. US Army Common Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher (CAML).

8. Goodbye Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS) process.

For review:

1. Israeli PM to IDF: Shorten Timeline for Seizing Gaza City.

2. Israel to Call up 60k Reservists to Support Gaza City Campaign

The forces included 12 brigade-level teams, each of which has infantry, armored, artillery, and combat engineering forces, along with combat support. In addition, the Gaza Division’s northern and southern brigades — normally tasked with the border — are set to participate in the offensive, bringing the total number of brigades to 14.

3. Russia says it must be part of international talks on Ukraine’s security

Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov dismisses European diplomacy as ‘clumsy effort to sway President Trump.'

4. President Trump: US Air Power Could Be Part of Ukraine Security Guarantee.

5. NATO Defense Chiefs meet to discuss Ukraine security guarantees. 

6. The foreign ministers of the Nordic nations (Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland) and Canada release joint statement of support for Ukraine sovereignty and territorial integrity.  

7. Industry competitors line up for next phase of Army’s Common Tactical Truck program. 

In 2023, the Army awarded agreements to American Rheinmetall, Mack Defense, Navistar Defense and Oshkosh Defense to develop load handling and off-road tractor & on-road line haul prototypes.

8. Breaking Defense Opinion Piece.

China’s carriers cruised past the Second Island Chain. What now?

(Brent Sadler & Allen Zhang)  

Brent Sadler is a Senior Research Fellow for Naval Warfare and Advanced Technology in the Allison Center for National Security.

Allen Zhang is a Research Assistant in the Asian Studies Center.