Top 5     US conducts more 'self-defense strikes' after shooting down Iranian missiles (CBS News) American military forces carried out strikes on Iranian targets after attempted Iranian drone and missile attacks, U.S. Central Command said Tuesday, in the latest clash.       US, NATO allies to launch scaled-back Baltic Sea drills (Defense News) The U.S. and NATO allies will launch scaled-back drills in the Baltic Sea this week, as conflicts in other regions draw ships away, though the exercise will still send a message of unity and strength to Russia, a senior German military official said.       Immigration concerns and the ‘very typical’ impact on military recruiting (Military Times) Javier Dela Torre was making plans to join the Army when he learned military service would not provide a pathway to citizenship for his mother.       Rubio faces lawmakers as Iran ceasefire hangs in the balance (Military Times) Iran continues to field a robust drone arsenal, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Tuesday, attributing the resilience — despite America’s 38-day bombing campaign — to the low cost and high replaceability of the technology.       Celebrating 40 years of Defense News (Defense News) Since 1986, Defense News has been the authoritative voice for the world's defense decision-makers. For 40 years we have tracked every war, every weapon, every watershed moment that shaped the force we have today.   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 appoints convicted January 6 rioter to sensitive counterterrorism role (The Guardian) Alarm after Elias Irizarry is hired to position in office that manages highly classified military operations   Congress & Politics     New bill aims to regulate military uses of AI (Defense One) A new bill would restrict the Pentagon’s use of AI in operations and heavily regulate its use on fully-autonomous weapons, for domestic surveillance, and with nuclear weapons.       A Democratic former Navy pilot wins primary to try unseating Tom Kean Jr. in New Jersey's most contested House race (Politico) Democrat Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, will challenge Republican Tom Kean Jr. in November in the Garden State’s most hotly-contested congressional race.   Army     Army South is inactivated as its soldiers roll into service’s new Western Hemisphere Command (Stars and Stripes) The Army shuttered U.S. Army South last week and rolled its troops into the service’s new Western Hemisphere Command as part of a major reorganization spearheaded by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.   Navy     US Navy selects companies for at-sea MUSV prototype testing (Navy Times) May the best Unmanned Surface Vessel win.   Marine Corps     Parris Island drill instructor found deceased in Florida hotel (Military Times) A drill instructor assigned to Marine Corps Recruit Depot-Parris Island was found deceased in a hotel room in Starke, Florida, on May 30, the service confirmed.   AIr Force     US airman found dead on Yokota Air Base (Military Times) A U.S. airman stationed at Yokota Air Base, Japan, was pronounced dead on May 30 after being discovered unresponsive in an on-base dormitory.       Air Force crew honors WWII-era Flying Tigers with A-10 paint job (Military Times) It started as a routine transfer.       Air Force reveals designation for next-gen bunker buster, seeks sources (Air & Space Forces Magazine) The Air Force has dubbed its follow-on to the Massive Ordnance Penetrator the GBU-76/B and is seeking contractors to potentially help design, build, and support the next-generation bunker-busting bomb.   Space Force     Hackers compromised a senior Space Force official’s Instagram, posting anti-American content (Defense News) Hackers took control of a senior U.S. Space Force official’s Instagram account for an undisclosed number of hours on Sunday, posting images and stories with pro-Iranian and anti-U.S. propaganda.   National Guard     National Guard’s DC deployment has had no ‘measurable effect’ on violent crime: Report (Military Times) The presence of more than 2,000 National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., since Aug. 2025 has had “no measurable effect on violent crime,” according to a new report by the Niskanen Center.   Cyber, Space & Unmanned     Anthropic held cyberthreat briefings with agency CIOs last month (Nextgov) Leading artificial intelligence developer Anthropic hosted briefing sessions for federal agency chief information officers in early May, several sources familiar with the sessions told Nextgov.       ‘Cognitive drains’ and weight remain ‘pain points’ for drone employment, Marine official says (DefenseScoop) While small drones increase the distance at which small units can identify or destroy an adversary target, Marines are still contending with how much those systems weigh and the “cognitive drains” it takes to operate them, a service official said Tuesday.   Defense Industry     The US military wants to showcase battle-ready laser weapons by 2028 (Laser Wars) The U.S. military is pushing to demonstrate high-energy laser weapons engineered for fielding at scale in the next two years, according to the U.S. Defense Department’s top science and technology official.       US may consider placing nukes in Poland, Baltic States, report says (Defense News) U.S. officials are engaged in NATO-internal discussions about the possibility of deploying nuclear weapons to new countries within the alliance, a new report says, in what would be a remarkable proliferation in nuclear sharing.       France restricts Israeli presence at Europe’s biggest defense show (Defense News) France barred Israeli government officials from participating in Europe’s biggest defense show, prohibited the country from opening a national pavilion and restricted its arms makers from exhibiting offensive weapons, according to the show organizers and Israel’s Ministry of Defense.   Israel-Gaza-Lebanon-Syria     Israel strikes southern Lebanon despite Trump’s effort to shore up ceasefire (The Guardian) Warplanes carry out dozens of airstrikes and Israeli army issues evacuation warning for city of Nabatiyeh   International     Future presence of US troops in Lithuania is ‘under review,’ says minister (Defense News) The future presence of U.S. troops in Lithuania is “under review”, the Baltic country’s defense minister said on Tuesday, adding that although Washington had assured him new rotations would arrive, he did not know when and at what strength.       Cuba defends military-run GAESA as US sanctions prompt hotel exodus (Reuters) Cuba on Tuesday defended a ?military-run conglomerate long the target of U.S. sanctions, saying the group of businesses known as GAESA has ?contributed to the nation's economic and social development despite a recently ramped-up U.S. pressure campaign.   Military Culture & History     Medal of Honor recipient Bruce Crandall, whose heroism was chronicled in ‘We Were Soldiers Once,’ dies at 93 (Military Times) Ret. Col. Bruce Crandall, who led more than 900 combat missions during two tours in Vietnam and received the Medal of Honor for repeatedly flying his helicopter into intense enemy fire to evacuate dozens of wounded troops, died on May 31. He was 93.   Video     Game-changing new tech emerges for troops and commands | Defense News Weekly Full Episode 6.2.26 (Defense News) A box that makes drinkable water out of the air and hydrofoil drone tech have emerged at defense shows. Plus, an interview with a top executive at Lockheed.       Pentagon’s ‘innovative commercial models’ cited for increased missile production | Defense Dollars (Defense News) Lockheed Martin’s president of missiles and fire control talks about how the company is expanding production under the DoD’s increased drive for more munitions.       How to fund your next getaway — Money Minute (Defense News) Jeanette Mack from Navy Federal Credit Union is here with tips on how you can save for that dream vacation.       Check out a hydrofoil drone that takes off and lands on the water (Defense News) Regent Defense shows off its new hydrofoil drone that can loiter in the water, take off and fly at low altitude, then land again on the surface after a mission.   Commentary & Analysis     NATO in Hormuz is not mission creep (Military Times) Every few years, NATO rediscovers an old argument. The location and actors change, yet the debate remains remarkably familiar: Should the Alliance concern itself only with defending allied territory, or can it legitimately act when developments beyond its borders threaten its security?       Between Beijing and the budget: The domestic realities of Taiwan’s defense spending drama (War on the Rocks) On May 8, Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan broke a grueling six-month stalemate by passing a landmark $25 billion defense budget, catching many observers off guard. The vote brought sudden end to an agonizing legislative deadlock that had pushed U.S.-Taiwanese relations to the edge.       The toll booth at the throat of world trade (War on the Rocks) In late February 2026, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz to foreign shipping. What began as a chaotic wartime closure has, in the past few days, hardened into something more consequential: an official sovereign toll regime, codified in Iranian law, and priced in cryptocurrency.