Top 5     US aircraft lost or damaged in Iran war nearly doubles in latest congressional report (Military Times) An updated report from the Congressional Research Service, or CRS, now lists 81 U.S. military aircraft as lost or damaged since the United States launched Operation Epic Fury against Iran on Feb. 28. That is nearly double the 42 aircraft the research service counted in May, as Defense News reported at the time.       Army sets date, location for execution of Nidal Malik Hasan (Military Times) The Army has set a date and location for the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, a former Army officer and psychiatrist who killed 13 people and injured 32 others during a mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009.       Latest AH-64 Apache grounding likely to last months, officials say (Military Times) An order to ground hundreds of the Army’s AH-64E Apache attack helicopters is likely to affect every squadron and is expected to be in place for months as the service conducts a global inspection, an official told Military Times Tuesday.       Hegseth tells USS Lincoln sailors controversial deployment ‘wasn’t easy’ (The Guardian) Pete Hegseth, the U.S. defense secretary, told service members on the USS Abraham Lincoln on Wednesday that their deployment “wasn’t easy” as the carrier prepares to dock after spending over 260 consecutive days at sea without a port call, setting a Navy record.       Embraer, Lockheed Martin vie for India’s $10.5B military transport aircraft deal (Defense News) Global aerospace companies Embraer from Brazil and Lockheed Martin from the United States are offering to expand aircraft manufacturing facilities in India as they pursue an approximately $10.5 billion contract for 60 medium transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force.   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 launches pilot program that will use AI to manage sensitive information (DefenseScoop) The Pentagon is launching a pilot program that will use artificial intelligence to manage its classification processes and handling of sensitive military information, according to a memorandum reviewed by DefenseScoop and sources familiar.   Congress & Politics     Lawmaker wants Pentagon to track civilian suicides (Federal News Network) Five people assigned to support U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency died by suicide over the course of five weeks in June and July.       Rubio warns Europe faces ‘inflection point’ (Politico) Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Europe to “wake up from its long slumber” in an address in Athens on Wednesday, leaning hard into the combative stance that President Donald Trump has taken with the continent.       Rubio says US, Greece to jointly combat security threats (Reuters) U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that “strong and model NATO ally” Greece and the United States are launching new counterterrorism information sharing between their law enforcement agencies.   Army     Army activates sustainment brigade as part of Pacific restructuring (Defense One) The Army shuttered one Okinawa-based support unit and reactivated a larger one, part of the broader effort to prepare for a potential conflict in the expansive theater.   Veterans     Neglected veterans cemetery in Hawaii gets more than $6 million for renovations (Stars and Stripes) A cemetery for veterans on Hawaii’s Big Island is receiving a $6.1 million grant to raise and realign thousands of jumbled gravestones, the state’s senior U.S. senator said Tuesday.   Israel-Gaza-Lebanon-Syria     Syria weighs military aid for Saudi Arabia amid Yemen war, sources say (Reuters) Syria is carefully considering providing military assistance to key ally Saudi Arabia amid an escalating war against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, a US official and a Syrian military official briefed ?on the matter said.       Israel marks three years since October 7 attack ahead of elections (France 24 ) Israel marked the third anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 attack on Wednesday with silent tributes and renewed strikes on Gaza as political debate intensified ahead of elections. Families gathered at the Nova festival site and Kfar Aza kibbutz. Gaza officials said strikes killed five people despite a year-old ceasefire agreement.       UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon says shots fired at Israeli border post (Al Jazeera English ) The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said there were no casualties after small arms fire targeted a border post.   Ukraine     Ukraine accuses Russia of bombing apartment block as birthday gift for Putin (The Guardian) Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia’s military of deliberately killing civilians and bombing residential buildings as a macabre gift for Vladimir Putin, who celebrates his 74th birthday on Wednesday.   International     Saudi Arabia strikes back after deadly Houthi attacks on airports (France 24 ) Saudi authorities said Wednesday three people were killed and 36 wounded in attacks on Abha and Riyadh’s King Khalid international airports claimed by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis. The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed the ballistic missile launch platform used to attack Riyadh, as fighting with the Houthis intensified across the region.       Estonian infantry brigade sent closer to Russian border as NATO awaits new war plan (Stars and Stripes) Estonia is moving elements of its main combat brigade closer to Russia as part of a new strategy aimed at stopping an invasion at the border.   Military Culture & History     During WWI, this German sub sailed into a US harbor — uninvited (Military Times) Sailors lined the railings of American destroyers in Newport Harbor, staring in disbelief at the sight before them.       DPAA identifies remains of 250 missing service members in record year (Stars and Stripes) The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency had a record year in fiscal 2026 — identifying the remains of 250 service members lost in past conflicts.   Commentary & Analysis     As Army moves to execute Fort Hood shooter, questions about procedure linger (The Associated Press) The former U.S. Army officer convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, is scheduled to be executed by firing squad in December in what would be the first military execution in more than 65 years.       The Navy’s missing welders are stocking shelves (War on the Rocks) The U.S. Navy’s May 2026 shipbuilding plan, signed by Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao, uses the word “innovative” eight times.       Trump approved the military's 1st firing squad execution since WWII. Why now? (NPR) The Pentagon says Nidal Hasan will be executed by firing squad in December at Fort Hood, where he killed 13 people in 2009. The announcement came days after a botched lethal injection in Tennessee.       How America wins the AI race with open source (The Cipher Brief) Speaking in Shanghai on July 17, Xi Jinping offered the world a vision of AI “for the positive, for good and for humanity.” He called for open source, openness, and sharing. He cautioned against stretching national security to cover the field.       The myth of military victory (Foreign Affairs Magazine) Military victory is an alluring idea. A short, violent campaign that defeats the enemy promises payoffs at a tolerable price.       Unmanned warfare has now expanded to the high seas. Is the US ready? (DefenseScoop) Drone warfare is expanding from the skies to the seas, and the United States must be ready. The Russia-Ukraine war, which has become synonymous with aerial drone warfare, has now featured  the “first naval battle in history between unmanned boats,” according to the Ukrainian Navy. On Sept. 14, a Ukrainian Sargan 300 drone boat fired at and sank a Russian unmanned surface vessel (USV) in the Black Sea — a significant milestone  in warfare’s rapid evolution.       Could NASA’s SR-71 Blackbird be modified to reach Mach 4? (The War Zone) The SR-71's airframe is capable of going beyond its known top speed and NASA may have good reason to push its limits via new engines.       How to defend against AI-designed viruses (War on the Rocks) Anthropic recently disclosed five cases in which users hid their countries while asking Claude for help enhancing pathogens or toxins. This added fuel to the ongoing debate over whether progress in AI should be slowed.       How the groundwork for F-47 flight testing is being laid (The War Zone) The Air Force Test Center plans to use an evolving blend of real-world and digital testing once the F-47 starts flying.       Recent Taiwan simulation highlights US cyberdefense gaps against China, experts warn (Defense One) Organizers of a cyber exercise say Washington needs to prepare for attacks that both disrupt civilian services and pressure Taipei without triggering outright military conflict.       Glaring lack of investment in aircraft shelters highlighted by B-1B’s sudden retreat from UK airbase (The War Zone) Multiple reports now say that U.S. Air Force B-1 Lancers left the United Kingdom over the weekend due to the threat of an Iranian-directed near-field drone attack broadly akin to Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb that decimated Russian bombers. Though many specific details are still unconfirmed, this is an entirely plausible mode of attack that TWZ has been warning about for many years now.