Top 5     ‘You’re a coward’: Protesters heckle Hegseth during AUSA panel (Military Times) Protesters derailed a Washington, D.C., panel featuring U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, calling him a “war criminal” and a “Nazi.”       US military weighs use of ‘mother of all bombs’ in potential future strikes on Iran, CNN says (Reuters ) The U.S. military has developed strike plans ?that could include using ?the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, also known ?as the "mother of ?all bombs", against Iranian energy ?infrastructure and nuclear sites ?if President Donald Trump ?orders renewed combat operations, CNN reported on Thursday citing US ?officials familiar with the ?matter.       Voting by absentee ballot? It’s time. (Military Times) If you’re a service member, family member or overseas U.S. citizen and plan to vote by absentee ballot in the Nov. 3 election, it’s time to get serious, if you haven’t already.       Pentagon needs $50B for mass drone production, Hegseth says (Military Times) The Pentagon wants to build its stockpile of autonomous weapons from thousands of units to the millions.       Here’s the 2027 cost-of-living increase for retirees, veterans (Military Times) Social Security beneficiaries, military retirees and people receiving veterans benefits will see a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, in 2027.   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.   Congress & Politics     Majority of Americans oppose public executions: poll (The Hill) A new survey found the majority of Americans opposed publicly broadcast executions ahead of the Pentagon’s planned livestreamed execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan. In the YouGov poll, 71 percent of respondents opposed “having executions broadcast live to the public,” while 18 favored it and 13 percent were not sure. Along partisan lines,...       Volodymyr Zelenskyy feels ‘betrayed’ by Donald Trump over Starlink access (The Guardian) Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he feels personally betrayed by Donald Trump after it emerged that Ukraine’s military has had its access to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite squeezed, raising doubts about long-term US support for Kyiv.   Your Military     Sailor, Marine killed in separate vehicle crashes at Naval Base Kitsap (Stars and Stripes) A sailor assigned to a guided missile submarine and a Marine security guard were killed in separate vehicle crashes over the past week at Naval Base Kitsap in Washington, officials confirmed Wednesday.       ‘Addicted to the Guard’: Generals call for ‘traffic cop’ to control state governor’s demands (Military Times) In Florida, about 3,000 of the state’s National Guard troops — nearly 30% — are currently deployed overseas.   Army     Disrupt, Strike, Assault and Endure: The 4 pillars of the US Army’s new warfare guidance (Military Times) Disrupt enemy command and control. Hit enemy forces with firepower, then assault with ground troops to finish the job. And be resilient enough to function despite what the enemy dishes out in return.       Acting US Army secretary creates task force for HVAC repairs (Defense News) HVAC problems, particularly air conditioning breakdowns, are not uncommon for U.S. soldiers residing in barracks.       ‘Nobody’s losing pay’: Army Cyber Command head says new tech mastery program won’t affect troop wages (Defense News) The head of the U.S. Army’s digital defense wing on Monday reassured soldiers in the field that a new initiative aimed at enhancing cyberspace proficiency wouldn’t affect their pay.       How to earn the US Army’s Jungle tab in Panama — and lose 10lbs (Defense News) Though many service members venture into the hot, humid terrain of the U.S. Army’s jungle school in Panama, not all leave with the newly authorized-for-wear Jungle tab.   Space Force     Space Force activates command to support military special operations (Stars and Stripes) The Space Force activated a command this month to work with U.S. Special Operations Command to formalize the space capabilities already integrated into the missions of the military’s special operators.   Defense Industry     Northrop Grumman breaks out the big guns at AUSA (Military Times) With the growing threat of attacks by small unmanned aircraft systems on the battlefield, Northrop Grumman is pitching gun-based air defense systems designed to take down waves of aerial threats.       US Army expands drone marketplace to 33 nations (Defense News) The U.S. Army’s online marketplace for rapid drone acquisition is expanding internationally.       France mulls keeping Charles de Gaulle carrier sailing after 2038 (Defense News) France is studying whether the Charles de Gaulle nuclear-powered aircraft carrier can continue to sail beyond its envisaged retirement in 2038, which would give the country a fleet of two carriers, French Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Christophe Cluzel told lawmakers in a hearing here on Wednesday.       US soldiers must train on ‘new basics’ of unmanned systems, officials say (Military Times) As the U.S. Army trains soldiers for multi-domain operations, like in the multinational exercise Project Flytrap, the service needs to prepare them with “new basics” to establish one standard and baseline, officials said.       European officials weigh mix of high-tech drones and heavy armor (Defense News) European governments are encouraging their defense industries to jointly develop and produce unmanned systems with Ukrainian companies, while cautioning to simultaneously new keep tanks and armored vehicles on hand for defending NATO’s eastern flank, officials said at the Warsaw Security Forum.       US Army taps 9 companies to build next-gen command and control software (Defense News) The U.S. Army announced that it is awarding initial contracts to several defense technology companies to build applications for its new battlefield software.       Forterra partners with Hypercraft on autonomous vehicle for high-risk missions (Defense News) Defense companies Forterra and Hypercraft have collaborated to produce a contested-environment-ready autonomous vehicle, which they showed off for the first time at the Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C.       Oshkosh adapts JLTV for Dutch military patrol vehicle (Defense News) Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Defense has begun production of the first prototype of the Dutch Expeditionary Patrol Vehicle, or DXPV.       US Army generals propose larger-footprint, more frequent military exercises in Korea (Military Times) A month after President Donald Trump intervened to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea, citing a desire not to upset his “very good relationship” with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, the commander of Army forces on the peninsula said he’d like to go bigger – both in exercise frequency and geographic scope.       Estonia weighs buying light jet aircraft to shoot down Russian jet-powered drones (Defense News) Estonia’s new defense minister said his country should consider buying light jet aircraft to shoot down Russia’s faster, jet-powered attack drones.   International     FBI disrupts North Korean 'laptop farms' used to fund weapons programs (Defense One) The FBI searched more than 40 Texas residences and seized 187 laptops and other devices used to help North Korean operatives obtain remote jobs at U.S. companies under false identities, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.       Wreckage found on Baltic beach was Polish drone from military exercise, minister says (Reuters) An object found on a ?Polish beach is the remains of a Polish ?drone that was destroyed as part of an exercise conducted by the country's military, Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz ?said on Wednesday.   Video     Better weapons, new berets and personal comfort | Defense News Weekly Full Episode 10.13.2 (Defense News) From urine collection systems to updated weaponry and even a new beret for EOD airmen, a bevy of updates could be headed for troops across the military.       A drone designed to coordinate other drones (Defense News) At #AUSA2026, we got a closer look at the ORKID 260 VTOL drone, which takes off vertically before transitioning to fixed-wing flight. Beyond its flight capabilities, ORKID is working with Palladyne AI to integrate SwarmOS technology that could allow the aircraft to relay battlefield information and help coordinate other drones operating together.       Drones, drones, and more drones! (Defense News) Lions and tigers and drones, oh my!       Check out AM General’s Humvee 2.0 (Defense News) The Humvee had a glow-up. Meet AM General’s Humvee 2.0.       Which military vehicle would you choose? (Defense News) Four military vehicles. You can only pick one.       Hegseth speaks on autonomous warfare panel at AUSA Annual 2026 (Defense News) Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivers remarks livestreamed from AUSA Annual 2026.   Commentary & Analysis     The Pentagon’s drone revolution starts with soldiers (The Cipher Brief) Welcome to The Iron Triangle, the Cipher Brief column serving Procurement Officers tasked with buying the future, Investors funding the next generation of defense technology, and the Policy Wonks analyzing its impact on the global order.       The United Kingdom’s military AI ambitions need guardrails (War on the Rocks) Advancing military AI capability is a priority for the United Kingdom, and in recent weeks, the new government has doubled down on its ambitions for AI and defense via two major partnerships.On Aug. 24, 2026, on his first overseas trip as the new prime minister of the United Kingdom, Andy Burnham signed a landmark partnership: The United Kingdom is the first international partner to receive access to Ukraine’s Avengers AI Labs. The deal will allow the United Kingdom to train its military AI systems with battlefield data, which give crucial insights into warfighting in the 21st century. In return, the       The paradox of victory: When winning in Ukraine raises the nuclear stakes (War on the Rocks) In 2022, Jeremy Shapiro warned in “We Are on a Path to Nuclear War” that the war between Russia and Ukraine was heading toward nuclear escalation. Four years into the war, we asked him to revisit that argument.Image: Vyacheslav Argenberg via Wikimedia CommonsIn your original piece, you named nuclear escalation as “the path that we are currently on.” Instead, the past few years have brought several rounds of stalled negotiations and, more recently, a near-frozen front line. What has kept nuclear escalation in check over the last year?We are still on that path. As the piece noted, “It is likely