Top 5     US Navy to blockade Strait of Hormuz ‘effective immediately,’ Trump says (Reuters) President Donald Trump said on Sunday the U.S. Navy would immediately start blockading the Strait of Hormuz, raising the stakes after marathon talks with Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war, jeopardizing a fragile two-week ceasefire.       US military says it will blockade Iran’s ports as ship traffic appears to halt in Strait of Hormuz (The Associated Press) The U.S. military announced it will begin a blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas on Monday, tempering President Donald Trump ‘s earlier vow to entirely block the strategic Strait of Hormuz as early reports indicated that ships had stopped crossing the waterway.       Pentagon, Lockheed Martin agree to $4.7 billion PAC-3 interceptor deal (Military Times) The Pentagon has agreed to terms with Lockheed Martin on a $4.7 billion contract for the defense giant to accelerate production of its Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptor.       Strikes on alleged drug boats kill 5, leave 1 survivor in eastern Pacific, US military says (The Associated Press) The U.S. military said Sunday that it blew up two boats accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing a total of five people and leaving one survivor, as the Trump administration pursues its campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America while preparing a naval blockade of Iranian ports.       The president who threatened to end a civilization is supposed to guarantee Ukraine’s survival (Military Times) On Tuesday, the president of the United States sent a message to the world. The man whose military is supposed to guarantee the survival of a 35-nation coalition in Ukraine posted on Truth Social that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his 8 p.m. deadline.   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     Pentagon, FAA sign agreement on deploying anti-drone laser system near Mexico (Reuters) The Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon said on Friday they had signed an agreement allowing the government’s use of a high-energy laser counter-drone system along the southern U.S. border with Mexico.   Congress & Politics     UK’s Starmer and Trump discussed military options for Strait of Hormuz (Reuters) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday that he discussed military capabilities and the logistics of moving vessels though the Strait of Hormuz when he spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump a day earlier.   Your Military     Sailor reportedly finds dead rat in finished energy drink (Military Times) A sailor indulging in the time-honored military tradition of energy drink guzzling was reportedly greeted with a rude surprise this week when, after polishing off a Monster, he discovered the decomposing corpse of a rat at the bottom of the can.   Army     Army debuts data operations center to serve as information hub (Military Times) The U.S. Army launched a new data center earlier this month to support the flow of information from the military’s vast troves to commanders and soldiers on the battlefield.   Navy     Meet the Navy sailors who will be the first to greet returning Artemis II astronauts (Military Times) After a 10-day space journey around the moon, the Artemis II team will splash down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday night and be met by a team of U.S. Navy sailors, ready to give them a warm welcome home.       US Navy ends USS Boise submarine overhaul after price tag soars (Defense News) The U.S. Navy announced today that it would begin retiring the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Boise after repairs for the boat became too costly.       US navy destroyer equipped with new launcher for unknown weapons (The War Zone) A new and not immediately recognizable launcher has emerged on the U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Carl M. Levin.   Marine Corps     Marine Corps directs commanders to move more quickly when service members go missing (Stars and Stripes) The Marine Corps wants its leaders to act more quickly when a service member does not report for duty and cannot be found, according to an interim service directive published Friday.   Space Force     Space Force brings 14 vendors into $1.8B next-gen space domain awareness program (DefenseScoop) The Space Force has named 14 companies eligible to compete under a 10-year, $1.8 billion contract vehicle designed to modernize the service’s ability to keep tabs on objects in space.   Coast Guard     Navy to use underwater drones to help clear Iranian mines from Strait of Hormuz (DefenseScoop) The Navy plans to use underwater drones in the coming days as part of its new effort to clear Iranian mines from the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command announced Saturday.   Veterans     After three-year hiatus, VA to resume rollout of new electronic medical records system (Military Times) Four Veterans Affairs health systems in Michigan will activate the department’s new electronic health records system on Saturday, ending a three-year pause to a program that has been plagued by delays and cost overruns.       ‘I didn’t want to be on medication the rest of my life’: veteran runs psilocybin retreats for PTSD before FDA approval (The Guardian) Researchers say ‘magic mushrooms’ can help with traumatic symptoms, but urge caution as states expand access   Cyber, Space & Unmanned     Navy to use underwater drones to help clear Iranian mines from Strait of Hormuz (DefenseScoop) The Navy plans to use underwater drones in the coming days as part of its new effort to clear Iranian mines from the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command announced Saturday.   Defense Industry     Ukrainian drone makers visit Paris looking for co-production deals (Defense News) More than two dozen Ukrainian defense companies traveled to Paris this week to meet with French counterparts, laying the groundwork for co-production deals in France and seeking to bolster integration with the European defense-industrial base.       Italian government shakes up Leonardo leadership, replacing Cingolani as CEO (Defense News) Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani is to be replaced at the helm of the Italian defense company in a surprise move by the Italian government which sources said was related to his decision to shift Leonardo’s focus away from kinetic products as wars rage around the world.   Ukraine     Russian drone attacks persist despite Kremlin’s Easter ceasefire, Ukrainian forces say (The Guardian) Ukraine reports 469 violations of Putin’s 32-hour ceasefire, hours after deadly drone attacks on Odesa and Kherson   International     US-Iran peace talks end without deal as delegations leave Pakistan (Reuters) The U.S. and Iran failed to reach an agreement to end their war despite marathon talks that concluded on Sunday in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, jeopardizing a fragile ceasefire.       Israeli ambassador to US points to 'potential' for 'continued talks' with Iran (The Hill) Michael Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., said Sunday that there could be a “potential” for “continued talks” with Iran about the U.S.-Israeli conflict against the country after Vice President Vance said no progress was made in the direction of a peace agreement in recent negotiations. “When you said the talks are still going...       US military begins clearing Strait of Hormuz, Trump says (Reuters) U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday posted on social media that the United States military has started to clear the Strait of Hormuz, and that all of Iran’s minelaying ships have been sunk.       Pakistan sends military force to Saudi Arabia as part of pact (Bloomberg) Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense said a Pakistani military force arrived at King Abdulaziz Air Base as part of a strategic defense pact between the two countries.       Scores killed in Nigerian military strikes as clashes with militants intensify (The New York Times) Nigerian officials said they attacked a terrorist enclave, but locals and rights groups said the airstrikes hit a popular market, killing many civilians.       Philippines says China boats’ cyanide threatens military outpost (Bloomberg) The Philippines on Monday said it confirmed that Chinese boats last year used cyanide that threatens the stability of the Southeast Asian nation’s military outpost in the disputed South China Sea, as well as the safety of its soldiers.   Military Culture & History     ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ finds a new voice (Military Times) Published in January 1929, “All Quiet on the Western Front” sold a million copies in Germany in its first year and two million around the world.       30 years after Croatia crash, airmen reflect as new losses underscore risks (Stars and Stripes) U.S. airmen at this vast hub for military operations paused this week to mark the 30th anniversary of a plane crash in Croatia that killed six of their own, along with a Cabinet secretary and 28 others.       The only Navy Seabee awarded the nation’s highest award for valor (Military Times) Fought on the night of June 9-10, 1965, the Battle of Dong Xoai was, as was often the case in the Vietnam War, hard to pin down as to the winner. One thing is certain, however. It produced two Medals of Honor — and one had the unique distinction of being a Seabee.   Commentary & Analysis     US blockade of Iran will be major military endeavor, experts say (Reuters) U.S. blockade of Iran will be major military endeavor, experts say.       Iran’s other rront: The war over the internet (War on the Rocks) For a long time, the Iranian government has treated free internet access as a privilege that is extended by the state to those willing to carry its message and withheld from everyone else. Around four hours after Israeli and American strikes began, internet traffic collapsed by 98 percent — a near-total blackout. Iran’s communications infrastructure was deliberately dismantled by the government and internet traffic was completely halted. The strikes were made by the Iranian government’s adversaries aimed at military installations, capabilities, and senior political and military leadership. The internet blackout was imposed by the government, aimed at the Iranian people.       The future soldier loadout: Smarter gear or dead weight? (War on the Rocks) The tech soldiers carry will shape their performance in combat, missions, safety, and health. If you care about any of those things, you will love this episode. The next generation of American soldiers will operate with systems that blur the line between human and machine, but that future is still being worked out in real time. In this episode, three former servicemembers turned industry leaders look ahead to how frontline capabilities may evolve over the next decade and what will constrain them.Image: Sgt. Thiem Huynh via DVIDS.       Disperse to survive: The logic of French forward deterrence (War on the Rocks) In his long-awaited nuclear deterrence speech, French President Emmanuel Macron laid out his new doctrine of “forward deterrence” and — for the first time in history — offered to deploy the French Strategic Air Forces to European countries. “In the same way that our strategic submarines dilute naturally in the oceans,” the French president said, “our strategic air forces will also be able to be spread deep into the European continent."