Top 5     Air Force major arrested on Capitol steps during protest calling for Trump impeachment (Military Times) A U.S. Air Force major was arrested Wednesday for protesting alone on House steps as he called for the immediate impeachment and removal of President Donald Trump.       Russia bombards Kyiv in one of war’s biggest strikes, at least 21 people killed (Defense News) Russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Ukraine’s capital Kyiv in the early hours on Thursday, killing at least 21 people, wounding scores more and damaging around 130 buildings in one of the biggest attacks of the war.       Air Force medical commander removed from post at Virginia base (Military Times) A U.S. Air Force commander for medical services at a Virginia base was removed from her post this week, according to Air Force officials.       Gen. Christopher Donahue relinquishes command of US Army Europe and Africa (Defense News) U.S. Army Gen. Christopher Donahue relinquished command of U.S. Army Europe and Africa in Wiesbaden, Germany, Thursday after an unexpectedly brief 18 months in the role.       Castro says Air Force confirmed death from flu outbreak at Texas base (The Hill) The Air Force has confirmed a trainee died as a result of a flu outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, according to Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas). Keon McDaniel was in his sixth week of basic military training when he experienced a “medical emergency” June 12.   US Strikes in Caribbean and Eastern Pacific     A list of US military strikes against alleged drug-carrying vessels (Military Times) Since early September 2025, the U.S. military has conducted strikes against alleged drug-carrying vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean in support of what the Pentagon has called continued counternarcotics efforts.   Operation Timeline     The human impact of policy changes at the DOD and VA (The War Horse) An ongoing timeline of the Trump administration’s actions focusing on the military and veterans.   Pentagon     Hegseth creates powerful new drone office, pulling authority from the military services (Defense News) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has consolidated nearly all of the Pentagon’s drone and autonomous systems programs under a single new office that reports directly to his deputy and will oversee what Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell called “the most consequential battlefield innovation of this generation.”   Congress & Politics     Does Space Force have enough lawyers for tomorrow’s wars? Senators want to know (Defense One) As Space Force leaders push for more orbital warfighting capabilities and even potential moon operations, senators want to make sure they have enough space-focused military lawyers for future conflicts.   Navy     Navy hits 45,000 recruits three months ahead of schedule (Military Times) The U.S. Navy announced on Thursday that the service reached its fiscal 2026 goal of contracting 45,000 future sailors to man the fleet, continuing a trend over the past several years of successfully meeting its enlistment needs.   Marine Corps     Marines deploy Iron Dome air defense systems to the Western Pacific (USNI News) Forward-deployed Marines in Japan recently received advanced air defense systems to counter cruise missile and drone threats that the service may face during a potential conflict with China in the Western Pacific.   Veterans     Proposed ‘Honor and Remember’ flag resembles communist imagery, Vietnam veterans argue (Military Times) Vietnam War veterans are pushing back against the use of an “Honor and Remember” flag because of its resemblance to the Bolshevik Communist flag and the flag flown by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.   Cyber, Space & Unmanned     Guardians, Airmen use AI in experiment to supercharge battle management (Air & Space Forces Magazine) For the first time, members of the Space Force joined with the Air Force in using advanced artificial intelligence in a complex command-and-control experiment to speed up combat decision-making.   Defense Industry     Navy withholds Northrop payments over tardy missile, GAO says (Bloomberg) The US Navy has withheld payments from Northrop Grumman Corp. over delays to fielding an upgraded air-to-ground missile designed to destroy enemy air-defense radar, congressional auditors said.       US Navy seeks to boost production of new anti-radar missile (Military Times) The U.S. Navy’s appetite for next-generation anti-radar missiles is growing.       Defense startups raid auto and fracking sectors for parts to speed weapons output (Defense News) Defense tech startups are repurposing automotive chips and pipes used in fracking — while copying production methods from drugmakers — in an effort to deliver weapons to the Pentagon faster and at lower cost.       Pentagon awards $500M contract for counter-drone tech to AeroVironment (DefenseScoop) The Pentagon awarded a $500 million contract to AeroVironment, a defense company that makes Switchblade loitering drones and other tech such as the LOCUST directed energy laser, to procure commercial counter-drone technology for the military over the next three years.       Germany readies €12 billion contract for warships from TKMS (Bloomberg) German lawmakers are set to approve a €12 billion ($13.7 billion) order of up to eight submarine-hunting frigates from defense manufacturer TKMS AG & Co. KGaA in one of the biggest military procurements for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s ruling coalition this year.       Tank maker KNDS delays stock listing, citing defense-market volatility (Defense News) French-German tank maker KNDS delayed plans for a stock-market listing, citing market volatility for the European defense sector, with the company’s shareholders planning to resume the process for an initial public offering “upon the return of more favorable market conditions.”       In ‘red hot’ counter-drone market, Echodyne CEO sees radar demand boom (Defense News) The scramble by armies to counter the drones dominating modern battlefields has supercharged demand for miniaturized radars from Echodyne that provide detection and fire-control support for dozens of anti-drone solutions, the company’s CEO Eben Frankenberg said.       UK ratchets up nuclear spending, with new warhead and delivery planes in the works (Defense News) Britain will pour more than £63 billion ($84 billion) into its nuclear deterrent over the next four years, the government confirmed this week.       Lithuania moves to end nuclear weapon ban as ‘situation getting worse’ (Defense News) Lithuania’s parliamentary parties have agreed on a plan to lift a constitutional ban on nuclear weapons and foreign military bases in the Baltic nation, the president said, in a sign of how Russia is resetting security calculations in the region.       Polish military ends air operation, reports no airspace violations, armed forces say (Reuters) Military aviation operations ?in Poland's airspace related to Russia's strikes ?on Ukraine have ?ended, the Polish army ?said.   Israel-Gaza-Lebanon-Syria     Syria rules out military intervention in Lebanon despite US pressure (France 24) Syria has ruled out military intervention in Lebanon despite US pressure to act against Hezbollah, saying it seeks to avoid escalation and focus on rebuilding ties with Beirut.   Ukraine     Ukraine will retaliate for Russian attack on Kyiv: Zelensky (France 24) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed Thursday to retaliate for Russia's strikes on Kyiv that killed at least 21 people and wounded dozens, as he visited an apartment block partially destroyed in the attack. Asked by reporters whether Ukraine would retaliate, Zelensky replied: "Definitely". FRANCE 24's Antonia Kerrigan reports.       Kyiv military chief salutes outgoing US Army commander as war rages in Ukraine (Military Times) Ukraine’s top general has publicly thanked the departing head of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, Gen. Christopher Donahue, for helping build and sustain Washington’s support pipeline to Kyiv as the officer relinquished his post on Thursday after an unexpectedly brief 18 months in command.   International     Powerful general in Iran emerges from hiding as Tehran prepares for Khamenei’s dayslong funeral (The Associated Press) A powerful general who leads Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard emerged from hiding as Tehran prepared Friday for the dayslong funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.   Military Culture & History     Army contractor swindles over $1 million... in MREs (Military Times) For one U.S. Army soldier-turned-contractor, the lure of a processed lemon poppy seed poundcake seemingly proved too tempting to resist.   Commentary & Analysis     Drones over Europe raise concerns about Russian activities (The New York Times) A new study, backed up by analysts and political leaders, says frequent drone incursions near military assets mark a Russian campaign to probe defenses and gather information.       The blind spots in Chinese military studies (War on the Rocks) During a recent conference on the People’s Liberation Army, I heard the same question posed to attendees and paper writers: “How would China react to U.S. force posture change X, Y, or Z?” or “How would the Chinese military respond to U.S. strikes in certain locations?” Having participated in dozens of unclassified wargames at the RAND Corporation and elsewhere, I hear a similar refrain when playing the “red team.”       Russia’s $11 billion soft power gamble (The Cipher Brief) I was sitting in the front seat of a “Yandex Taxi” in Moscow in the summer of 2018, dropping off some friends after we had drinks together at a local bar. As the driver, a Russian male in his 50’s, maneuvered through traffic, he asked me if the couple were Americans? “Yes. They are Americans.” “How about you?” he asked. “I am also an American.” Hearing this, the driver continued “You know, 10 years ago I started a small company in Moscow and was doing pretty well. Business was not bad and I enjoyed being an entrepreneur. But then after 2014, when foreign sanctions were placed on Russia my business started to suffer. The Government here claims that sanctions actually ‘help’ our economy, but not in my case. Two years ago I had to shut down my business completely and now I’m driving a taxi to make money to support my wife and daughter.”