PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – U.S. has shown China and Russia “who really is a military power,” says Trump’s ex-commerce secretary. Don’t expect them to get involved in Iran. Both Russia and China have condemned the military action that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, but haven’t provided any support for their ally beyond that.
What’s more, Iran shouldn’t expect either global power to come to its aid, said Trump’s former Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross. The U.S. displays have demonstrated to global rivals how effective the U.S. military can be.
The U.S. just took out two China-friendly leaders in two months. Why has Beijing done very little about it? In quick succession, Donald Trump has taken out two of Beijing’s closest allies: Venezuela’s narco despot Nicolás Maduro and Iran’s “Supreme Leader.”
The limited support Beijing has offered Iran during the two major military attacks raises questions about its reliability as a partner during adversity. “China is a fair-weather friend – long on words, short on risk,” said Craig Singleton, senior director for China at the D.C.-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
“Others who work with or wish to work with the PRC on security issues may rightly ask if Beijing will abandon them, especially if they are far away from the PRC – as in the case of Iran and Venezuela earlier.”
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense news from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.
THE PDB – Not the President’s Daily Briefing, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF:
NATIONAL SECURITY
“America First” weapons-sales policy favors arming Taiwan quickly — in theory. U.S. strategy prioritizing foreign arms sales to recipients that vigorously support themselves and have geopolitical value to Washington should help Taiwan receive advanced weapons faster than usual.
As the U.S. Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile force ages, the Air Force is facing another problem: obsolete secure transport vehicles needed to carry missile warheads, rocket engines, and other vital equipment. New armored transporters are needed.
HOMELAND SECURITY
OpenAI CEO unveiled a reworked agreement with the Pentagon governing its use of OpenAI services, which he says provides stronger guarantees that the military won’t use OpenAI’s systems for domestic surveillance.
NARCO TERRORIST THREAT
U.S. forces have launched military operations with Ecuador against “designated terrorist organizations” inside the South American country.
IRAN CAMPAIGN
In a letter to U.S. troops, the same day they began striking targets inside Iran, the top commander in the Middle East said that the military was moving from “deterrence into active combat” and those involved in the operation, Epic Fury, would “change the course of human history.”
Iran’s leaders: Who was killed by U.S., Israeli strikes? Who’s in charge now?
President Trump says the U.S. military could escort shipping vessels traveling through the embattled Strait of Hormuz as the war against Iran rages on.
Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers conducted long-range strikes deep inside Iran, targeting ballistic missile facilities and command-and-control infrastructure as part of Operation Epic Fury.
U.S. Marines assigned to the U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, fired their weapons in self-defense after they were attacked by rioters who had breached the facility.
Video appears to show US F-15 fighters tumbling from the sky in a friendly fire incident in Kuwait. All pilots and crew reported to have ejected safely.
Israel says it hits security headquarters across Tehran, as Iran attacks U.S. sites in Dubai and Qatar.
US FIRSTS IN IRAN CONFLICT
An Iranian warship was sunk by an American submarine torpedo in the faraway Indian Ocean, the first since WWII.
REGIONAL, ALLIED IMPACT OF IRAN CONFLICT
Saudi Arabia strongly condemns Tehran’s “treacherous” drone strikes against the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh.
U.S. embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait on Tuesday announced they are closing, and a senior State Department official exhorted Americans to leave the Middle East immediately.
Greece has dispatched two frigates and four F-16 fighter jets to Cyprus following an Iranian drone strike on RAF Akrotiri, the U.K.’s main military hub for Middle East aerial operations.
France will send the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and its strike group to the Mediterranean as the war expands in the Middle East.
RUSSIA THREAT/UKRAINE WAR
Russia is using a new kind of air-launched cruise missile in Ukraine, the Izdeliye 30. This underscores that it is running low on stocks of “legacy” air-launched cruise missiles, and new production cannot meet its wartime demand. So, it is fielding similar new weapons in this class that are cheaper and better suited to the conflict.
SPACE THREATS
Why satellites fail — and how to protect them. In popular techno-thrillers, major conflicts often begin with a sudden satellite-driven communications blackout. Which real-world capabilities now exist that make such scenarios plausible, and which threats are still more speculative than operational?
Space Force is preparing for more budget growth in 2027 to manage its growing slate of missions and responsibilities—from tracking and engaging more advanced missile threats to supporting an ever-expanding demand for launch services—and to operate in an increasingly dangerous threat environment.
Space Force modernization push runs into acquisition workforce shortfall. New training for program managers is shifting focus from hardware buys to integrated warfighting systems.
DEFENSE POLITICS
A lesson from private equity investing in defense and space technology is that while the sector has become trendy among investors, success in the long run depends on sustained government engagement.
Many hope 2026 will be the year Congress passes legislation to give 54,000 wounded veterans their military retirement pay and VA disability compensation — without one offsetting the other.
US MILITARY
A National Guard member’s invention allows cyber warfare training on the go. A portable cyber system that fits in a backpack and can process drone images, currently being used for training by the Massachusetts Air National Guard.
Can “garage innovators” transform military drone resupply? DARPA hopes so. To spur innovation in transforming how much weight drones can carry, DARPA opens a competition to include everyone from big business to independent inventors.
The Air Force updated its physical fitness program and score charts for fitness tests to boost the long-term health and fitness of airmen.
Leaders look to new methods to retain Navy talent. Updated promotion avenues, flexibility in duty station choices, and less time at sea are all on the table as the Navy looks to keep good sailors in uniform.
END of PDB
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The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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Americans (mainly the Conservative Voters): Hello. Considering the volume of munitions being used in “iran”, recall the major munitions factory in our USA [I think, in Kentucky] that recently exploded mysteriously and was destroyed ? That was a major loss to our military munitions supply. Hope its replacement factory is in the works.