Top 5     Iran used Claude to target US Navy in Middle East, Anthropic says (Military Times) A major artificial intelligence company said that Iranian bad actors used its publicly accessible software to target U.S. service members in the Middle East.       US refutes claims that Iran captured Saildrone USV (Military Times) A video shared by Iran Wednesday purported to show an American Saildrone unmanned surface vessel near the Strait of Hormuz in flames after being attacked by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been making the rounds on social media.       Saudi crown prince sought US military help with Houthis, sources say (Reuters) Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sought assistance from U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday to help fight Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, as the Houthis stepped up their threat to the Red Sea.       The US military’s next significant challenge: Hiding (Military Times) Devastating attacks by Iran on U.S. bases across the Middle East in recent months have exposed war strategies that are becoming increasingly outdated, one U.S. Army commanding general acknowledged this week.       Iran ‘blew the hell out of’ base in Bahrain, acting Navy Secretary admits (Task & Purpose) Iran’s attacks on the 5th Fleet’s base in Bahrain were severe, the acting Secretary of the Navy admitted this past week.   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 looks to AI to identify space and missile threats (Military Times) Missile defense in wartime involves many complications. Human operators must deal with high-speed objects, short timelines and sensor data that isn’t always clear.   Congress & Politics     Americans mark 25 years since September 11 attacks amid enduring grief, reflection (Reuters) Twenty-five years after the deadliest attack on U.S. soil, Americans paused on Friday to commemorate the nearly 3,000 people killed when hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania — and to wrestle with the consequences of September 11 that reverberate to this day.   Army     Soldier awarded Bronze Star with ‘V’ for actions after Iranian drone strike in Kuwait (Task & Purpose) A soldier was awarded a Bronze Star for valor in the wake of a deadly Iranian drone strike on a U.S. Army operations center in Kuwait at the start of the war with Iran.   AIr Force     Air Force fighter pilots fall below sortie minimum to be deemed combat ready (Military Times) The U.S. Air Force’s fighter pilots are not getting the number of sorties per month necessary to be deemed combat mission ready, a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies expert said, down from around five and a half per month in fiscal 2023 to only around one currently.       Air Force pilot receives top safety award for saving F-22 (Task & Purpose) A F-22 pilot had to think quickly and work out a plan to save his plane when a tribute flight went wrong. After losing a landing wheel, Capt. Michael Cloninger of the 90th Fighter Squadron had to find a way to safely land the jet.   Coast Guard     ‘Alive and alert’: Coast Guard helps rescue missing hiker in Michigan (Tribune News Service) A 70-year-old hiker missing on Isle Royale has been found, but was reportedly injured and hypothermic, authorities said.   National Guard     In first, Oregon Guard F-15EXs drop live bombs (Military Times) The Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Wing dropped live bombs from its F-15EX Eagle IIs — the first time an operational Eagle II unit has done so, according to official photos and captions released Wednesday. The drops came during a three-week deployment to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, that ended this month.       Georgia National Guard helicopters are spotting marijuana grows to help police get search warrants (Task & Purpose) Hovering over Georgia this summer, National Guard helicopter crews flew from field to field searching for marijuana being grown illegally on private property.   Veterans     Survivor’s guilt felt by young soldiers echoes Odysseus’s haunted memories (Military Times) He was the king of Ithaca and a combat veteran of repute who was the anti-hero of Homer’s Odyssey and a con artist “insatiate of deceit” whose trials of the heart in coming home would mirror those of many veterans 3,000 years later.       For young Americans, the 9/11 attacks and subsequent wars are history, not memory (Military Times) For Harper Cline, Sept. 11, 2001, is not a memory. It is a story she inherited.   Cyber, Space & Unmanned     Russia is weaponizing US-built AI to make killer drones, cyberattack bots, and fake news (Defense One) Kremlin-backed actors used Anthropic’s Claude AI to program autonomous lethal drones, improve hacking and influence operations, and avoid detection, the company said Thursday.       Anthropic says ‘we owe it to humanity’ to slow down AI (The Atlantic) Four days after a researcher publicly quit his job at Anthropic, warning that top AI firms are not “acting responsibly” and that their products might be on track to “kill us all,” the company’s CEO, Dario Amodei, seemed to basically agree. “We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models,” Amodei wrote in a 3,800-word essay that he published today on his personal website and posted to social media.   Defense Industry     Polish prime minister: Poland to develop its own Starlink (Defense News) Finnish space company ICEYE and Poland’s state-run defense giant PGZ have signed a letter of intent to jointly develop a military satellite communications system.       German military eyes cruise missiles from Covenant, a surprise vendor setting up shop (Defense News) The German military is in talks with Covenant, a U.S.-Israeli, venture capital-backed startup, over its Anthem cruise missile, the country’s defense ministry said on Friday.       India puts domestic industry at heart of new military equipment orders (Defense News) India will source nearly all of $11.6 billion worth of recently approved military hardware from domestic manufacturers, underscoring New Delhi’s push to reduce dependence on foreign arms suppliers as it modernizes its armed forces.   Ukraine     Former Army secretary praises Ukraine in 1st public appearance since resigning (CBS News) During his 18 months as Army secretary, Dan Driscoll pushed the U.S. military to apply lessons from the war in Ukraine.   International     Houthis claim attack on Saudi base as fighting flares with Yemeni forces (The Guardian) Iran-allied Houthis say drones and missiles used in attack that targeted ‘weapons depots and command and control centres’ in southern Saudi Arabia   Video     Ahead of 9/11 anniversary, Army museum opens up commemorative special exhibit (Defense News) "Steel and Stone", a display commemorating the response to the Sept. 11 attacks, opened at the National Museum for the U.S. Army in Virginia this week.       Army launches laser production with $465 million contract award for drone defense systems (Defense News) The U.S. Army granted the military’s first-ever directed energy system contract to Aerovironment for its Enduring High Energy Laser program, and dozens Locust X3 units.       Marines test out next-gen combat utility uniforms (Defense News) The Corps announced that it is evaluating a new entry in the long lineage of combat utility uniforms. The newest iteration was designed with feedback from service members.       Some 82nd Airborne troops’ deployment extended to one year (Defense News) Elements of the 82nd Airborne Division will remain in the Central Command area of operations, according to a memo.       First Lynx XM30 combat vehicles arrive at Army (Defense News) American Rheinmetall delivered the first Lynx models as the army looks to replace the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle.       Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles presents Italian army with tank options (Defense News) Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles presents the options for tanks it has on offer to the Italian army, plus other products of the budding joint venture.       Israel and Greece sign $3.5 billion deal for missile defense | Defense Dollars (Defense News) Athens looks to establish the Achilles Shield missile defense capability in a landmark defense agreement with Israel.   Commentary & Analysis     Germany is stepping up on defense — and Washington should celebrate (Defense News) The Pentagon’s review of U.S. force posture in Europe has many NATO allies asking questions about the future of America’s military footprint on the continent, even as CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow to reportedly warn the Kremlin not to attack alliance members.       Air Force officer prayed while "free-falling" after being shot down in Iran (CBS News) Badly wounded and alone in Iran's desert, downed U.S. Air Force officer Dude 44 Bravo evaded capture for days as the Iranian forces and the U.S. military searched for him.       She was in the Pentagon daycare on 9/11. Now she is running 2,977 miles, one for every life lost. (Military Times) For many Americans, 9/11 can seem like a distant memory, with millions not even born yet. But for U.S. Air Force Capt. Hanna Born, the 2,977 lives lost that day will always be something to remember and honor.       The war’s last generation is still holding America’s moral debt (War on the Rocks) On the first night of the evacuation of Kabul, Aug. 15, 2021, a young mother found me in the crowd at Hamid Karzai International Airport.