Top 5     These are Ukraine’s $1,000 interceptor drones the Pentagon wants to buy (Military Times) Ukraine spent years perfecting cheap drone killers. After burning through billions in missiles in three days, the U.S. and its allies are asking for help.       Iran war may force US to shift missile defenses from South Korea, Seoul says (Military Times) South Korea’s president said this week that some U.S. air defense systems stationed on the Korean peninsula could be deployed overseas as the United States’ war with Iran intensifies.       Norwegian F-35s intercept Russian spy aircraft during NATO drill (Defense News) Norwegian F-35s intercepted Russian intelligence-gathering aircraft two days in a row during an ongoing NATO military exercise.       Pentagon confirms identity of soldier killed in Kuwait (Military Times) The Pentagon confirmed Wednesday the identity of the sixth soldier killed by Iran in a March 1 drone strike that hit Port Shuaiba, Kuwait.       US has destroyed entire class of Iranian warships, CENTCOM commander says (Military Times) Since the United States and Israel began their joint offensive against Iran on Feb. 28, the U.S. has targeted and taken out more than 60 Iranian ships.   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.   Pentagon     Pentagon seeks system to ensure AI models work as planned (Defense News) As the Pentagon increasingly relies on artificial intelligence, a question has arisen: How can one be sure that the AI models are working the way they should?   Congress & Politics     Amid US military actions, White House struggles to explain how Iran war will end (Military Times) Facing jittery global markets and drooping poll numbers since launching a war on Iran, President Donald Trump has cycled from calls for “unconditional surrender” to sounding amenable to an end state in which Iran trades one hard-line ayatollah for another.       Senators demand answers on school strike in Iran as growing evidence points to US involvement (The Associated Press) Outdated intelligence likely led to the United States carrying out a deadly missile strike on an elementary school in Iran that killed over 165 people, many of them children, in the opening hours of the conflict, according to a U.S. official and a second person briefed on findings of a preliminary U.S military investigation into the incident.   Navy     Select naval flight officers, aviators eligible for $120,000 retention bonus (Military Times) The U.S. Navy seeks better retention among Training and Administration of the Reserve naval flight officers and naval aviators through a fiscal 2026 retention bonus program worth $40,000 per year for a total of $120,000 during the three-year program.   Marine Corps     US Marine Corps pursues thermal cloaks to hide troops from heat sensors (Military Times) As the Ukraine war has shown, drones equipped with thermal sensors have made the battlefield so hazardous that the best defense is not to be spotted at all.   AIr Force     Engineer acquitted of charges in probe into fatal 2017 Marine plane crash (Military Times) A former Air Force engineer who was charged with making false statements and obstructing justice during a criminal investigation into a 2017 military plane crash in Mississippi that killed 16 service members was acquitted Thursday.   Veterans     Former VA secretary to head national hunger relief organization (Military Times) Former Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough has been named CEO of Feeding America, a non-profit network of more than 250 food banks, regional cooperatives, agencies and food bank associations.   Cyber, Space & Unmanned     ‘Radical acceleration’ in AI military targeting raises oversight fears (France 24) Elke Schwarz, Professor of Political Theory at Queen Mary University of London, warned of a “radical acceleration” in the speed at which military targets are identified through the use of AI, and how quickly action is taken against them. She said this raises concerns about the lack of human oversight, especially given that AI models have “25 to 50% reliability, which means they are wrong very often”.   Defense Industry     Japan shrugs off GCAP delays, fast-tracks export rules for future warplane (Defense News) Japan is working to accelerate the tri-nation GCAP fighter jet collaboration with the U.K. and Italy despite reported fiscal and contract delays, which experts say will unlikely push back target deployment in 2035.   Israel-Gaza-Lebanon-Syria     Missile strike hits SES teleport in Israel (Space News) Satellite operator SES said a missile “targeted and struck” its teleport facility in Israel March 9 as tensions spill across the region amid ongoing Israeli and U.S. military operations against Iran.   Ukraine     Ukraine’s top drone units to bring frontline lessons to Washington this month (Defense News) Some of Ukraine’s best-known drone military commanders and experts will be visiting Washington later this month to brief policymakers and defense leaders on the rapidly evolving landscape of modern drone warfare.   International     Three ships attacked in Strait of Hormuz as Iran 'weaponises' passage point (France 24) The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has ?threatened Gulf ports ?and disrupted global trade through the Strait of Hormuz through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas ?normally passes. Iran tells the world to prepare for $200 oil barrels, as three more ships came under attack in the blockaded Gulf.       Ecuador readies major offensive on criminal groups with US support (Military Times) Ecuador will launch a major offensive against criminal organizations in three western provinces this weekend with logistical support from the United States, the interior minister said Wednesday.       A drone strike hits school and medical center in southern Sudan, killing 17, mostly schoolgirls (The Associated Press) An explosive-laden drone blamed on Sudanese paramilitaries struck a secondary school and a health care center in southern Sudan Wednesday, killing at least 17 people, mostly schoolgirls, a hospital official and a medical group said.       Australia deploys early-warning aircraft to the Middle East amid Iran attacks (Defense News) The Australian government announced on March 10 it would send an E-7A Wedgetail early-warning aircraft to the Middle East and help replenish United Arab Emirates stocks of AIM-120 air-to-air missiles.       3 cargo ships damaged in suspected Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz (USNI News) Suspected Iranian projectiles hit three commercial ships Wednesday in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations.   Military Culture & History     Is there anything new to learn about Patton? The National WWII Museum thinks so. (Military Times) “The world is not supposed to know what the hell they did with me. I’m not supposed to be commanding this army. I’m not even supposed to be in England. Let the first bastards to find out be the goddamned Germans,” came the roar of actor George C. Scott in his famous delivery of George S. Patton’s speech to the Third Army.       Meet the first pilot to receive the Medal of Honor flying the ‘Whistling Death’ (Military Times) World War II in the Pacific produced a remarkable 10 fighter pilots of the United States Marine Corps who were awarded the Medal of Honor. Aside from Captain Henry T. Elrod at Wake Island, they all earned them in or around the Solomon Islands. Among them was the first to achieve ace status in a new entry to the USMC arsenal, one with which his name would be associated: Kenneth Walsh and the Vought F4U-1 Corsair.   Video     US destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, CENTCOM says (Military Times) Video shows strikes on multiple boats.       CENTCOM Commander issues update on Operation Epic Fury (Military Times) Watch now.   Commentary & Analysis     Analysis: Iran war becomes a contest of who can take the most pain (The Associated Press) A plume of smoke rises after a strike in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohsen Ganji, File) 2026-03-11T09:03:36Z       Lessons from Ukraine for defending Gulf airspace from Shaheds (War on the Rocks) In early March 2026, U.S. Central Command confirmed the first U.S. fatalities of the Iran conflict. A drone strike at Port Shuaiba in Kuwait killed six American servicemembers. A counter-drone system can intercept “most” threats and still fail at the mission that matters: protecting people and critical nodes. Small drones can fly as low to the ground, present detection challenges, and punish any gap in hardening or point defense. And there is a big imbalance in target cost and cost to intercept, especially when the United States is using expensive Patriot interceptors to take down Iranian Shaheds: low-cost kamikaze drones.       Operation Epic Escort (USNI News) The U.S. is assessing how to reopen the flow of crude oil tankers and cargo ships through the Persian Gulf as the White House makes resuming regional trade a main priority across the government, the top military advisor to President Donald Trump said Tuesday.       Gaza and the logic of high-intensity rrban warfare (War on the Rocks) To analyze a war accurately, one must apply an analytical framework suited to its actual character. This requirement is nowhere more evident than in assessments of the Gaza War between Israel and Hamas. Much commentary on the conflict has implicitly measured it against a perceived “gold standard” of humane warfare: restrained campaigns emphasizing separation between insurgents and civilians, dismounted ground operations, and expansive humanitarian assistance designed to win “hearts and minds.”This model is often drawn from interpretations of Western experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, including battles such as Fallujah, Mosul, and the surge. Those wars encompassed multiple modes of warfare: