Top 5     Iran says it captured US submarine drone in Strait of Hormuz (Reuters) Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday it had captured a U.S. uncrewed submarine at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, offering a rare glimpse into how underwater drones are being used in military operations.       Veterans fight against arch that would obstruct view of Arlington Cemetery (Military Times) Advocacy groups joined together to continue a push to halt President Donald Trump’s plans to construct an arch that would obstruct the ability to view Arlington National Cemetery.       Cao needs special waiver from Congress to become Navy secretary (Military Times) President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he was nominating Hung Cao for the full-time position of secretary of the Navy. Cao has been in the acting role since former Navy Secretary John Phelan’s abrupt departure in April.       Man sentenced to life in killings featured in ‘The Fort Bragg Cartel’ (Military Times) The deaths of a Delta Force soldier and an Army veteran found shot in the woods of a North Carolina base have for years garnered speculation that culminated in the form of a bestselling book about drugs, violence and the culture of U.S. special forces troops at Fort Bragg.       ‘Playful banter’ over Army grooming rules ends with Guardsman drawing loaded pistol (Military Times) A Georgia National Guardsman told police that an argument over U.S. Army hair regulations was just “playful banter” when he pointed his loaded service pistol at another soldier during a break from patrol in Washington, D.C., according to court records.   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     Congress may alter Air Force fighter structure as service fails to reach 1,145 aircraft minimum (Military Times) The U.S. Air Force’s fighter fleet is nearly 50 aircraft short of the number required by Congress, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report that outlines questions lawmakers face as the service plans its future fighter force.   Navy     Navy base settles lawsuit with military spouse over Facebook ban (Military Times) A Georgia naval base agreed to revise its social media policy as part of a settlement with a military spouse who sued after officials blocked him from the base’s Facebook page over comments questioning its handling of a power outage.   AIr Force     US Air Force seeks air-defense guns to protect overseas bases (Military Times) In the wake of Iranian attacks that devastated U.S. bases in the Middle East, the U.S. Air Force wants portable air-defense guns that can destroy drones and cruise missiles.   Coast Guard     Coasties’ photos used on stamps honoring Coast Guard Academy’s 150th (Military Times) When Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Steven Strohmaier mails out the birth announcements for his son, Ethan, he’ll also be telling his friends, “By the way, the stamp in the corner is mine,” he said.   National Guard     National Guard crime task force member arrested in DC, accused of drawing gun on fellow Guard member (The Associated Press) A member of the Georgia National Guard deployed in Washington, D.C., as part of President Donald Trump’s task force to fight crime has been arrested for pulling a gun on a fellow Guard member in an alleged dispute over regulation haircuts.   Defense Industry     Hanwha plans to build armored vehicle carrying a counter-drone laser (Defense News) As Poland and numerous other NATO eastern flank countries are looking for inexpensive ways to bolster their counter-drone capabilities, South Korea’s Hanwha is pitching a new product to militaries across the region: a 50 kW laser mounted on an armored vehicle.       EU abruptly shelves Kallas-led defense panel after pushback from Berlin, Paris, Rome (Defense News) EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas scrapped plans to launch a high-level advisory group on European defense just hours before its scheduled unveiling, after several member states, reportedly including Germany, Italy and France, pushed back against the initiative.       Sweden to buy HIMARS rocket artillery for around $730 million (Defense News) Sweden signed off on the purchase of Lockheed Martin’s M142 HIMARS rocket-artillery system for around 7 billion Swedish kronor (US$733 million), with the government saying the security situation is such that it needs rapidly available capabilities to complement its Archer self-propelled howitzers.   Ukraine     Ukraine contracting around 1,000 Patriot missiles from allies, defense chief says (Reuters) Ukraine is contracting a supply of around 1,000 missiles for U.S.-designed Patriot air-defense systems with the help of allies and through a European Union loan, Kyiv’s defense minister said on Tuesday.   International     US says Iranian tankers destroyed after missile attacks on American warship (The Guardian) Military officials say navy warship evaded IRGC missile attacks and U.S. struck Iranian tankers in response       Iran claims to have seized American drone US says had ‘malfunctioned’ (The Guardian) Centcom says ‘defective’ drone was surveilling regional waters and was not collecting sensitive data       China is trying to steal US AI models' secrets, intel agencies warn (Defense One) China is trying to glean the secrets of U.S. artificial-intelligence models by using simpler AI models to query more advanced American ones, national-security and intelligence agencies warned on Tuesday.       Iran-backed fighters in Yemen and Iraq are joining forces to threaten the Gulf, officials say (The Associated Press) In July, Saudi Arabia and the United States bombed Iran-backed militias in Iraq after blaming them for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities that had been claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, another Iranian ally.       Saudi’s remaining energy lifeline to the world under threat after successful Houthi strikes (The War Zone) Just hours ago, the Saudi Aramco refinery at Jazan on the Red Sea was engulfed in flames after a Houthi missile and drone attack. Strikes at the heart of the Saudi’s energy infrastructure on the Red Sea, which acts as the remaining primary lifeline of energy exports out of the region, threaten to drastically impact global oil prices further, a concern we have been raising for some time. In the wake of the attack and additional fighting in the Persian Gulf, oil prices surged toward the $100 per-barrel mark.   Video     Launches, landings and more: flight operations aboard the carrier George Washington (Defense News) At work in support of operations in the Middle East, the aircraft carrier George Washington conducts flight ops at sea.       Marines to add thousands to ranks in coming years | Defense News Weekly Full Episode 9.8.26 (Defense News) The Marine Corps seeks to swell its ranks in the next five years. Plus, the Army museum remembers Sept. 11 and those who responded.   Commentary & Analysis     They served through America’s post-9/11 wars. 25 years later, what did that service mean? (The War Horse) If not for what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, Valeria Casillas probably would not have joined the military. But in the surge of patriotism following deadly terrorist attacks on New York City and outside Washington, D.C., she saw service as a chance to give back to the country where her father—a truck driver and naturalized citizen from Mexico—had carved his own path.       What the Iran war is teaching the US about air superiority (Task & Purpose) Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, Iranian drones and missiles have struck a stunning list of U.S. assets, including missile defense radars, logistics hubs, runways, early warning aircraft, command and communications infrastructure, and aerial refueling tankers. Iran has also shot down 45 MQ-9 drones, an F-15E fighter, and an A-10 attack jet, and threatened commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz for months.       Hegseth is shaking up the Pentagon as the US wages war — but at what cost? (BBC News) The upheaval in the military could shape the legacy of Trump's second term, writes the BBC's Tom Bateman.       Are we ready for AI warfare? (The Cipher Brief) For decades, national security officials have worried about cyberattacks moving at the speed of machines and today the frontier AI race is shifting from models that answer questions to models that are capable of independently making consequential decisions and taking action in today’s digital world. So, what comes next?       Everything we know about the US Navy’s submersible drone Iran just captured (The War Zone) The U.S. Navy has lost an advanced uncrewed underwater vehicle, and it is now in Iranian hands. Here’s what we know about the Dive-LD drone and its apparent seizure, and its implications.       Inside Trump’s massive Venezuela oil deal (The Cipher Brief) “A major oil agreement has been announced between the government of the United States and the [Venezuelan interim] regime of Delcy Rodriquez. I know what you [Venezuelans] are feeling, sadness, anger and that painful sense so familiar throughout our history that someone else is making decisions about what belongs to us in our name, without us. The true scope of this agreement is still unknown. Who is signing it? What exactly is being signed? Who is providing the funds? Who is offering the guarantees? How does this benefit Venezuelans? Quite rightly, this has sparked deep concern about its implications for our country's future.”       Will Taiwan just give up? (The Atlantic) Chinese president xi jinping does not often look like he’s having a good time. His resting face at public events exudes a mixture of boredom and annoyance, as though he has more interesting business elsewhere. His displays of good humor have qualified as news in Chinese state media.       China’s warrior scientists: Insights from recent operations around Taiwan (War on the Rocks) China’s marine scientific research ships are expanding their operations around Taiwan, and they are not just there to advance the frontiers of human knowledge. Their operations serve to undermine Taiwan’s independent political status and to force international acceptance of Beijing’s claim of sovereignty over the island and its surrounding waters.       The AI we cannot deploy — and what is at stake (The Cipher Brief) Last week, I argued in these pages that the United States is buying an army it cannot command — writing procurement checks at a scale its adversaries cannot match, without writing the doctrine or arbitration to decide how the capability behind those checks gets used. Not everyone agreed. The sharpest pushback came from readers with institutional equity in the current procurement path — those with the most to lose if the diagnosis is right. Fair question they kept asking: what is at stake if we get this wrong?       Nicaragua’s army will decide what comes after Ortega (War on the Rocks) The first institution Nicaragua’s National Assembly called to testify on the constitutional reform ending competitive elections was the army.