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PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – And what about drones? Pentagon officials are crafting a plan to expand the US missile defense system under the “Iron Dome for America” initiative and grappling with whether new tech to down aerial drones should also be included.
But is it really feasible? Or does it need to be adjusted to American reality?
Creating an Iron Dome defensive umbrella for the US or Europe, modeled after Israel’s system, would be unsuitable against the threat of long-range missiles, according to industry executives.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense stories ending the week from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.
Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEFING – the PDB:
NATIONAL SECURITY
Trump comments on national security topics while aboard Air Force One.
What we mean when we call something an intelligence failure. When most people hear the words “intelligence failure,” they think of a surprise event that an intelligence service failed to predict.
HOMELAND SECURITY
Military commanders from the US and Mexico have agreed to conduct coordinated patrols, share more information and establish channels for instant communication as part of increased border security each put in place in the past month.
Mexico will never tolerate an “invasion” of its national sovereignty by the US, Claudia Sheinbaum has warned after Washington designated Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations.
Trump loyalist Kash Patel is confirmed as FBI director by the Senate despite deep Democratic doubts.
Under Trump, nearly every major department is an immigration agency. DEA agents making immigration arrests, IRS agents analyzing documents, and the military making deportation flights. The Trump crackdown on illegal immigration and carrying out mass deportations, spans the federal government — well beyond DHS.
Senators kept chugging through an all-night budget “vote-a-rama,” a crucial, if dreaded, step toward unleashing a $340 billion package Trump’s team wants for mass deportations and security measures.
Facing pressure from Trump, Costa Rica and Honduras join Panama as stopovers for foreign deportees.
Boeing is working with Elon Musk to speed up the delivery of new Air Force One jets after Trump expressed ire over the delays of the highly specialized aircraft.
DOD to review all consulting contracts as it looks to cut those that aren’t ‘essential’ to Trump’s priorities.
Lawmakers to DOGE: Use a scalpel, not a sledgehammer at the Pentagon.
The Defense Department is preparing for a hiring freeze and mass firings of civilian employees, bringing the Trump administration’s federal-workforce-reduction efforts to the government’s largest agency.
Some lawmakers are decrying the call from the Trump administration for sweeping cuts to the defense budget, while others see it as an opportunity to reinvest the money in other areas.
Trump holds Black History Month event as some agencies skip recognition after anti-DEI order. Trump made an appearance at the reception with a surprise guest, golf legend Tiger Woods, while praising other athletes in attendance and marveling at the size of the crowd.
US POWER OVERSEAS
The Navy relieved the commanding officer of the Harry S. Truman on Thursday, one week after the carrier collided with a civilian merchant vessel in the Mediterranean.
Japanese police are investigating email threats that targeted 32 US military installations on the island of Okinawa, warning of planned explosions unless a ransom is paid.
Watch Iraqi F-16s fly in formation with US B-52s and F-15s in joint exercise.
US diplomacy faces a paradox: The State Department is filled with some of the most knowledgeable foreign policy experts in the world, yet its impact is diluted by bureaucratic inefficiencies and lack of focus.
IRAN THREAT/ISRAEL WARS
Arab leaders to gather for postwar Gaza proposal to counter Trump’s plan to take ownership of Gaza, expel its Palestinian population and turn it into a Middle Eastern ‘Riviera.’
CHINA THREAT
Commercial flights diverted as Chinese warships undertake apparent live-fire drill in sea between Australia and New Zealand.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Ukraine’s ‘super soldiers’ bust stereotypes of what ‘lethal’ looks like.
Europe reacted with shock to Trump’s abrupt turn against Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seeking simultaneously to reassure Kyiv that it has the continent’s backing while trying to appease Washington.
A news conference between Zelenskyy and Trump’s Ukraine envoy is canceled as tension rise.
Ukrainians rally around their president after Trump seeks to denigrate him. Ukrainians are as somber and tense today as they were right before Moscow launched the war three years ago.
Denmark to pass 3 percent GDP on defense. Based on a strategic assessment that Russia could rearm faster than NATO should the war in Ukraine end or turn into a frozen conflict, Denmark plans on injecting an additional $7 billion to its defense budget over 2025-2026.
Russia and Belarus will hold a joint military drill in September, part of efforts by the two neighbors and allies to expand their military ties.
As Trump loses patience with Ukraine, Russia’s biggest backer China sees a ‘window for peace’.
SPACE THREAT
Companies are planning to build space critical infrastructure. Can space policy keep up? When we talk about space services, we look at low Earth orbit (LEO), and services provided from LEO assets to Earth. Less so about cislunar travel or interplanetary travel even though there are plans for both in the near future. The difference is that one is real today and one is abstract.
NORTH KOREA THREAT
The US and South Korean militaries conducted an aerial exercise involving at least one B-1B bomber and multiple fighters in the allies’ first joint air force drill of Trump’s second term.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
As the US is sorting out what an American Iron Dome will look like, Turkey is forging ahead with its own Steel Dome — and eyeing potential exports to NATO allies and Gulf customers.
Africa must respond credibly to Trump’s demolition of the US aid model.
US MILITARY
Eyeing a potential future fight in the Arctic, the Army is putting its new light tank-like M10 Booker Combat Vehicle through a series of cold-weather tests at Fort Greely, Alaska.
Virginia-class submarines, “executable” surface ships and nuclear modernization are exempt from a SECDEF budget effort to shift $50 billion in Pentagon funds.
The Air Force, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), is still exploring concepts for a reusable hypersonic air vehicle capable of performing strike and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.
US Special Operations Command wants to arm lightweight drones with new glide bombs.
END of PDB
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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