Reuters
A Spanish F-18 operating under NATO command shot down a drone after Romanian surveillance systems detected it entering the country’s airspace from Moldova near the Ukrainian border. The incident marks Romania’s fourth reported drone shootdown of 2026, following years of repeated Russian drone incursions.
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Adm. Brad Cooper visited six West Asian nations and the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea during a 10-day trip, meeting senior leaders and U.S. service members. The tour came as tensions with Iran continued over the strategically important Strait of Hormuz and the carrier prepared to return.
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A Spanish F-18 operating under NATO command shot down a drone after Romanian surveillance systems detected it entering the country’s airspace from Moldova near the Ukrainian border. The incident marks Romania’s fourth reported drone shootdown of 2026, following years of repeated Russian drone incursions.
The Trump administration has withdrawn the last U.S. aircraft carrier stationed in Asia as military demands from the Iran conflict and the Western Hemisphere redirect American naval power. The move leaves the western Pacific without one of the U.S. Navy’s principal symbols and instruments of regional presence.
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Ukraine says long-range Flamingo cruise missiles struck the Progress Rocket and Space Center in Samara, a producer of Soyuz-2 and Soyuz-5 launch vehicles, as well as the Savasleyka military airfield. The facility is also linked to Russian military satellites and a Starlink-style communications network.
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The US Navy has 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, but only three are currently deployed, including two in the Middle East. The USS Abraham Lincoln’s record-breaking deployment has reached its ninth month, underscoring the operational pressure created by limited deployable capacity and maintenance demands.
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Ethiopian Airlines says it cannot repatriate $90 million in ticket revenue held in overseas markets, including $45 million trapped in Russia because of financial sanctions imposed after the war in Ukraine. The blocked funds underscore the cash-flow and settlement risks sanctions create for international carriers.
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