Top 5     Pentagon identifies third American soldier killed in Iranian attack in Jordan (Military Times) The Pentagon released the “believed to be death” of a third active-duty soldier killed in action late last week in an Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack in Jordan.       Pentagon identifies soldier killed in controlled detonation of Iranian drone (Military Times) The Pentagon identified on Tuesday the soldier who was killed Saturday in northern Iraq during the controlled detonation of an Iranian one-way attack drone.       Zelenskyy ousts Ukraine’s military commander as major shake-up continues (Washington Post) The dismissal of Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky came days after the Ukrainian president fired Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.       Cost of Iran war rises to $37.5 billion, Pentagon requests $67.1 billion more (Military Times) The Iran war has cost the Defense Department $37.5 billion to date, Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators Tuesday during a hearing to request emergency funding for the ongoing conflict.       Lebanese army enters southern town after Israeli withdrawal, in first test of US-brokered deal (Reuters) Lebanese army troops began deploying in the southern Lebanese town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh on Tuesday after Israeli forces withdrew from the area, a senior Lebanese security official said, in line with a U.S.-brokered plan.   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.   Congress & Politics     Spies are targeting US AI labs, experts warn Congress (Defense One) The U.S. intelligence community needs to devote more resources to protecting American artificial intelligence companies from foreign espionage, former officials told the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, arguing that China will use a range of intelligence-gathering techniques to steal proprietary AI technology and advance its own military and economic goals.   Your Military     Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey suffers engine fire during Air Force training exercise (Military Times) A Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft caught fire Sunday while on the ground at an airport in Mesa, Arizona, for a joint exercise.   Navy     USS Charlotte crew that reportedly sank Iranian frigate awarded Navy Unit Commendation (Military Times) A Navy submarine that is believed to have played a notable part in the early stages of the Iran war was presented with a prestigious military award commemorating its heroism in combat.       Navy won’t conduct crucial at-sea hypersonic missile test until 2027 (Stars and Stripes) The Navy is two years behind in its efforts to modernize destroyers that will first carry the service’s hypersonic missiles, a lag that has pushed back at-sea flight testing for the fearsome weapons already fielded by China and Russia.   Marine Corps     US Marine Corps turns to AI-powered Bullfrog as drone threats expand (Defense News) The weapon’s barrel points towards a drone in the sky. It briefly adjusts and then fires, with smoke rising where the round shoots.   Space Force     Space Force swears in first batch of part-time workers (Military Times) In a first, the U.S. Space Force transferred over a dozen space-experienced Air Force reservists to become part-time guardians.   National Guard     Two Air National Guard commanders fired for ‘loss of confidence’ (Task & Purpose) The top wing commander in the Wyoming Air National Guard and a senior group commander were fired from their positions July 17 by the unit’s commanding general, state officials said.   Veterans     VA expands use of extended reality tech across healthcare operations (Nextgov) The Department of Veterans Affairs is amplifying its use of immersive technologies to enhance clinical care, with a top agency official saying VA is looking to further build upon early adoption of the tools across its healthcare operations.   Cyber, Space & Unmanned     Latest Guard-led Cyber Shield exercise is focused on protecting the power sector, including OT (DefenseScoop) The 2026 iteration of Cyber Shield, a massive annual National Guard-led exercise, is focused on honing participants’ skills in defending the power sector and associated operational technology from digital attacks, according to officials involved in the effort.   Defense Industry     Boeing on track for 2028 Air Force One delivery, costs rise (Reuters) Boeing said on Sunday it remains on track to deliver two new Air Force One jets in 2028, but meeting that target will require additional spending on a program already years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget.       New British prime minister gains early defense win with Canada fighter jet tie-up (Reuters) Britain’s new government secured an early defense win on Tuesday as Canada joined the delayed GCAP fighter jet program , part of a wider push by European allies to reduce their reliance on U.S. weapons and military technology.       Germany to study French cooperation offer on SAMP/T air-defense system (Defense News) German government leaders will study an offer by French President Emmanuel Macron to cooperate on the French-Italian SAMP/T air defense system, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius confirmed on Tuesday.       Hanwha Philly Shipyard awarded $2 billion to build 2 missile-tracking vessels (Military Times) Hanwha Philly Shipyard has been tapped to build two Missile Range Instrumentation Vessels for the Pentagon to the tune of $2 billion, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought announced Friday.       X-Bow out to tackle cost quandary with sub-$100,000 drone interceptor (Military Times) Solid rocket motor manufacturer X-Bow Systems is launching what the company hopes will be a much-needed remedy to the ongoing conundrum of combating cheap drones with multimillion-dollar interceptors.   Israel-Gaza-Lebanon-Syria     Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 12, including family of six, medics say (BBC News) Firas al-Masri, his wife and their four children died in one attack, which the Israeli military says targeted a Hamas operative.   Ukraine     Russia may use captured Ukrainian drones against Poland and Baltics, Warsaw warns (Defense News) Russia has captured a large number of Ukrainian drones and may be planning to use them against NATO or to stage a false flag attack, Polish defense minister W?adys?aw Kosiniak-Kamysz said, adding to earlier warnings of a potential escalation.   International     Iran warns Bulgaria against aiding US military operations (Reuters) Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman warned Bulgaria on Tuesday against allowing the U.S. to use its territory for military operations against Iran.   Video     Fire suppression training at Goodfellow Air Force Base (Defense News) Fire suppression specialists at Goodfellow Air Force Base put their skills to the test during live-fire training designed to simulate real-world emergencies.       How the Army celebrates a groundbreaking... for a new artillery production facility. (Defense News) A cannon salute kicked off the groundbreaking for the Army's new Future Artillery Complex at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, a project aimed at expanding and modernizing artillery production.       Navy awards $2.2 billion contract for new medium landing ships (Defense News) The Navy has awarded a $2.2 billion contract for its new medium landing ships, designed to move Marines, equipment and supplies across the Indo-Pacific using faster, commercial-style shipbuilding.   Commentary & Analysis     From depot to detonation: The case for a unified logistics picture (Military Times) For decades, the assumption held: supplies would arrive. Fuel, ammunition and reinforcements moved through ports, sea lanes and rail corridors that were largely secure. American forces fought at range, with time to build infrastructure and accumulate supplies, against adversaries who could not seriously threaten the lines that fed the fight. Logistics was complicated. It was not contested.       How startups are reshaping the Pentagon’s drone industry (Defense News) Last month, the Defense Department wrapped up another round of the Drone Dominance competition, a $1.1 billion program aimed at strengthening the domestic drone industry to supply commercially developed drones to the military.       5 takeaways from Hegseth, Caine hearing on emergency Iran funding (The Hill) America’s top uniformed and civilian military leaders made their case in the Senate on Tuesday for an emergency funding package of nearly $80 billion to help replenish stockpiles spent during the Iran war and fund other Trump administration priorities. Democrats were highly skeptical of the request, asking why U.S. taxpayers should continue footing the bill...       How Ukraine’s front line became a laboratory for drone innovation (The Associated Press) The night air in eastern Ukraine is crisp, and a myriad of stars scatter above a small crew of soldiers watching for Iranian-designed Shahed drones that Russia launches in waves.       The $1.5 trillion defense budget without a strategy (The Cipher Brief) “This is not at all a strategy-driven [FY 2027 defense] budget. This is a budget-driven budget. If you look at the Truth Social posts by the President [Trump] and the statements of the people around him, he [President Trump] makes very clear that this budget was driven by a budget number, a budget target, an arbitrary level that was set based on five percent of last year's GDP…They set this arbitrary level and then at relatively the last minute in the budget development process the [Defense] Department was told come up with a request that gets you to this number, this $1.5 trillion number. And so they did.”       How Ukraine put Russia on the backfoot (War on the Rocks) Ukraine’s expanding use of drones at all ranges has changed the war’s momentum. This episode examines how Kyiv is reaching deeper into Russian territory, disrupting operations and logistics as well as energy infrastructure. How is Russia adapting (or not)? Can these strikes produce lasting advantages on the battlefield? Will this force Russia to escalate? Mike Kofman and Dara Massicot join Ryan to discuss.This episode is brought to you by Booz Allen. Learn more at warontherocks.com/boozallen.I