Reuters
A Spanish F-18 operating under NATO command shot down a drone over southeastern Romania after it entered Romanian airspace from Moldova near the Ukrainian border. The incident marks Romania’s fourth reported drone kill of 2026 and underscores the continuing risk of conflict-related aerial incursions across NATO’s eastern flank.
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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 service members. The tour came as tensions with Iran persist over the Strait of Hormuz and the carrier prepares to return.
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A Spanish F-18 operating under NATO command shot down a drone over southeastern Romania after it entered Romanian airspace from Moldova near the Ukrainian border. The incident marks Romania’s fourth reported drone kill of 2026 and underscores the continuing risk of conflict-related aerial incursions across NATO’s eastern flank.
The Trump administration has withdrawn the last U.S. aircraft carrier stationed in Asia as military demands from the Iran conflict and the Western Hemisphere redirect American naval power.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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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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