Top 5     US shoots down Iranian drone approaching aircraft carrier (The Associated Press) A U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, U.S. Central Command said Tuesday, threatening to ramp up tensions as the Trump administration warns of possible military action to get Iran to the negotiating table.       Pentagon taps 25 firms for small, cheap attack drone competition (Military Times) The Pentagon on Tuesday announced 25 small technology and drone companies that will compete for a chance to quickly field thousands of low-cost one-way attack drones for the military.       Trump signs bill to end partial government shutdown (The Associated Press) President Donald Trump signed a roughly $1.2 trillion government funding bill Tuesday that ends the partial federal shutdown that began over the weekend and sets the stage for an intense debate in Congress over Homeland Security funding.       Trump hails White House talks with 'terrific' Petro, after months of trading barbs (BBC) After months of mutual insults, a highly anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, has ended cordially.       Veterans Affairs personnel say ‘silence is deafening’ from leaders after Alex Pretti’s death (Task & Purpose) More than a week after federal immigration agents killed a Veterans Affairs nurse in Minneapolis, a staffer at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center says patients visiting the hospital have asked why there is nearly no sign that Alex Pretti worked there.   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.   Pentagon     Pentagon, Scouts ‘near a final agreement’ on continuing partnership (The Hill) The Pentagon says it is close to an agreement with Scouting America to keep providing financial support, but said the organization must show its commitment to implementing “common-sense, core value reforms.”   Congress & Politics     Judge seems skeptical of legal justification for Pentagon’s punishment of Sen. Mark Kelly (The Associated Press) A federal judge said Tuesday that he knows of no U.S. Supreme Court precedent to justify the Pentagon’s censuring of a sitting U.S. senator who joined a videotaped plea for troops to resist unlawful orders from the Trump administration.       Complaint accuses Gabbard of playing politics with intelligence, which spy agency rejects (The Associated Press) A complaint made about Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard months ago relates to an allegation that she withheld access to classified information for political reasons, according to a memo sent to lawmakers by the inspector general’s office and obtained by The Associated Press.   Army     Army recruiting waivers for mental health will be approved at lower levels (Task & Purpose) The Army is loosening its grip on recruiting waivers for mental health and misconduct, putting those decisions in the hands of the commanders who oversee street-level recruiting.       Army’s Stuttgart garrison seeks feedback on plan to close and combine base commissaries (Stars and Stripes) The local U.S. Army garrison is surveying residents to see how they will be affected by plans to close four commissaries spread across the community and merge the stores into one central hub.       Army private sentenced to more than 20 years for barracks murder (Military Times) Pvt. Abdul N. Latifu was 21 years old when he was killed by a fellow soldier over three years ago in Army barracks. Last week, the soldier who admitted to the crime was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.   Navy     USS Greeneville returns to Naval Base Point Loma after Indo-Pacific deployment (Stars and Stripes) The USS Greeneville on Friday returned to its homeport of Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego after a deployment to the Indo-Pacific region, a service news release said.   Marine Corps     Ex-Marine arrested after early release following hazing death (Military Times) A former Parris Island Marine drill instructor that was sentenced to prison in 2017 for hazing recruits and released early on good behavior has recently been arrested and charged with a separate crime in South Carolina.   Air Force     Japan’s Supreme Court dismisses convicted US airman’s final appeal in sexual assault case (Stars and Stripes) Japan’s highest court has upheld a U.S. airman’s conviction for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl just over two years ago on Okinawa.   Coast Guard     Coast Guard commits $323M to modernizing future Polar Security icebreaker homeport (USNI News) The Coast Guard has committed $323 million to modernize its Seattle base in Washington, which will be home to future Polar Security Cutter icebreakers critical to far-flung frozen Arctic and Antarctic missions, commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday confirmed.   Veterans     Pilot program would offer over-the-counter hearing aids to veterans with hearing loss (Stars and Stripes) Veterans with mild and moderate hearing loss would have an easier time getting hearing aids under a proposed bill to let them bypass a prescription from an audiologist at the Department of Veterans Affairs.   Cyber, Space & Unmanned     The US Army is seeking autonomous drones to clean up chemical weapons (Military Times) The U.S. Army is looking to have autonomous airborne drones and ground robots clean up chemical and biological weapons.       US Navy seeks commercial satellites for nighttime Earth observation (Defense News) The U.S. Navy wants commercial satellites that can perform nighttime observation of the Earth, according to a Naval Research Laboratory Request for Information.   Defense Industry     Taiwan’s Tron Future unveils AI-guided anti-armor rockets (Defense News) The Taiwan-based company Tron Future has unveiled an AI-assisted system that guides anti-armor rockets, which could help to accelerate the training of civilians and soldiers during a war, according to company officials.       CDAO invests in AI-enabled translation for military-wide use (DefenseScoop) The Pentagon recently tapped California-based tech company LILT to supply artificial intelligence-powered translation options to military forces worldwide.       Overland AI raises $100 million to speed up use of military land robots (Bloomberg) The Seattle-based defense firm Overland AI Inc. has raised $100 million in new funding to help accelerate the use of robots and other autonomous systems across the US military’s ground forces.   Ukraine     Live: Ukraine, Russia set to meet in Abu Dhabi for US-brokered peace talks (France 24) Negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States are to gather in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday to hold talks on how to end the four-year war, with the main sticking point is the long-term fate of territory in eastern Ukraine. The talks come as Russia continues to launch strikes against Ukraine's energy infrastructure.   International     US military team deployed to Nigeria after recent attacks (The Associated Press) The U.S. has dispatched a small team of military officers to Nigeria, the general in charge of U.S. Africa Command told reporters in a briefing on Tuesday.       US military build up seen giving Puerto Rico $833 million bump (Bloomberg) The beefed up US military presence in the Caribbean, designed to crack down on drug routes and turn the screws on Venezuela and Cuba, is set to deliver economic gains for Puerto Rico.       Amid political turmoil in Haiti, US warship arrives off coast of Port-au-Prince (Stars and Stripes) A U.S. military warship has arrived off the coast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where two U.S. Coast Guard cutters are also patrolling nearby.       Evidence Of Mi-28 Havoc attack helicopters delivered to Iran grows (The War Zone) Video has emerged that is said to show a Russian-made Mi-28NE Havoc attack helicopter flying over the Iranian capital Tehran. Last week, pictures had also appeared online that looked to show at least one Mi-28NE in Iran.       US-flagged oil tanker hailed by Iranian ships in Hormuz (Bloomberg) An oil tanker that’s part of a US-military fuel procurement program was hailed by small armed ships in the Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s coast, amid heightened tensions between the two countries.       Army brigade in Poland turns to air delivery to cut risk, speed support (Stars and Stripes) A U.S. Army sustainment brigade on NATO’s eastern flank has begun using airlifts to get supplies to troops faster in connection with a push to better prepare forces for quick-reaction missions in a crisis.   Military Culture & History     How a bombardier’s jacket inspired a failed Nazi propaganda campaign (Military Times) Kenneth Daniel Williams was falling from the sky.       Efforts underway to preserve first WWII Devastator torpedo bomber (Military Times) A team of maritime and naval conservation organizations are on a mission to save the last viable U.S. Navy Douglas TBD-1 Devastator torpedo bomber.   Commentary & Analysis     Top enlisted leader in the Air Force explains why he wears his father’s service pin (Task & Purpose) Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David Wolfe wears a physical reminder of why he chose to make the service his career.       Pakistan’s burgeoning arms industry is a strategic opportunity for the US (Defense One) U.S. policymakers need to energize their engagement with the midtier arms producers fighting for a larger slice of the global arms market. They should look most urgently at Pakistan, whose cost-effective weapons and growing ties to China make it a country of increasing geopolitical importance.       Vladimir Putin isn’t winning in Ukraine (The Wall Street Journal) President Trump has his hands full in Venezuela while also pondering military action in Iran, but the Ukraine war is grinding on and Vladimir Putin wants the world to think he can’t be defeated.       Space-based interceptors make even less sense now (Defense One) The rationale behind Golden Dome’s mandate for space-based boost-phase defense made some sense. If orbiting interceptors could hit an enemy missile very early in flight—before it could deploy countermeasures—they would avoid the Achilles’ heel of defense systems that target missiles in midcourse.