I - On Defense Podcast

For review:
1. Havana on Friday, October 23, mocked the "desperation" of the United States after it called for Cubans to collaborate with the CIA, as Washington intensifies its pressure on the communist island.
2. Houthi media reported Saturday that Saudi strikes killed 11 people in Yemeni capital Sanaa, shortly after the Saudi-led coalition fighting them said it had intercepted two missiles targeting Saudi cities.
3. Two Iranian officials, one of them a Revolutionary Guards member, confirmed to NYT on Saturday that the Islamic Republic is preparing to target US diplomats and personnel, the newspaper said.
 The unnamed officials US officials were seen as “fair game” given the number of Iranian officials and their relatives that the US and Israel have killed.
4. US President Donald Trump doubles down on his endorsement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling Israelis he needs to be reelected on Tuesday so that the two leaders can “finish the job” against Iran.
5. Senior Israeli military officials have presented intelligence to their US counterparts that indicates Hamas has no intention of disarming and is instead rebuilding its forces in the Gaza Strip in preparation for possible renewed fighting.
6. Denmark will acquire two types of long-range precision missiles in an effort to “strengthen national and collective deterrence.”
The purchases of F-35 Joint Strike Missiles, and ground-launched Anthem cruise missiles, “are a significant step towards making Denmark better able to defend itself,” said Minister of Defence Jeppe Bruus in a statement.
7. China built more than twice the naval tonnage of the United States in the 2024-25 period, narrowing the gap between the two countries’ navies, according to the World Defense Shipbuilding.
The combined tonnage of combat ships built by China in the two years through to December 2025 amounted to 636,208 tons, compared to 270,509 tons for the United States.

For review:
1. US SEC of State urged Cubans seeking political change Friday to discreetly cooperate with the CIA.
"To those who seek to create positive change in Cuba - now is the time," Sec of State Rubio wrote in a post on X.
2. The UK is sending military support to Saudi Arabia as Iran-aligned Houthi rebels launch repeated attacks on the kingdom.
The aircraft will protect Saudi cities and critical infrastructure from drones and missiles, the Ministry of Defense said. They will not carry out offensive strikes against Houthi targets.
3. Tehran has drawn up detailed plans to target undersea communications cables in the Persian Gulf if the United States and Israel attack Iran again, two senior Iranian security officials told Reuters.
4. A US envoy claimed Friday that Washington could strike Iran this weekend, but President Donald Trump appeared to pour cold water on the idea, subsequently telling reporters he was unfamiliar with such plans.
5. Up to 500 Moroccan personnel have undergone training in preparation for deployment with the International Stabilization Force in Gaza, a Board of Peace official told The Times of Israel Monday, as preparations for the multinational force continue despite significant delays in implementing the US-backed Gaza peace plan.
6. French and British air forces have for the first time staged a joint exercise simulating a nuclear strike, the countries’ defense ministries said in a statement Friday.
7. U.S. First Lady Melania Trump has mediated a localized ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in and around the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in Kherson Oblast to allow the safe evacuation of civilians and delivery of humanitarian aid.
8. The Pentagon and LM announced today they reached a framework agreement covering a decade’s worth of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter production and sustainment, potentially inaugurating a transformative deal for the stealth jet’s enterprise. 
9. The U.S. Marine Corps stood up its first Medium-range Missile Battalion last week as the service works to integrate longer range and maritime strike capabilities across the force.
10. The U.S. Army’s recently activated a Guam-based air defense battalion meant to protect the island from increasingly advanced air and missile threats fielded by China and North Korea.

For review:
1. Washington has ordered non-essential US embassy staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, the State Department says, as the kingdom comes under sustained deadly attacks by Yemen’s Houthis.
2. Yemen's Houthis said that they had neither launched drones towards the Saudi holy city ​of Medina on Wednesday nor conducted military operations towards Saudi ‌Arabia, refuting earlier comments from the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.
3. Turkey’s government has asked parliament to ratify a mutual defense agreement it signed with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan,.
Mirroring NATO’s Article 5, the so-called Mecca Joint Defense Agreement commits the sides to view an armed attack against one as an attack on all three.
4. Qatar, Turkiye, Pakistan and Indonesia signed a deal on Wednesday to deepen their defence industry cooperation,.
The four countries signed the memorandum of understanding in Doha, building on existing military projects through joint production, technology transfers and more closely integrated supply chains.
5. Turkish spending on platform procurement is projected to increase by 229 percent under the proposed fiscal 2027 budget, said Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz.
6. Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei told visiting Pakistani army chief Asim Munir on Tuesday that Tehran will not allow nuclear material to leave the country, according to state TV, and delivered the message that there would be no talks with Washington until its demands were met.
7. Dozens of Israeli fighter jets and refueling aircraft reportedly flew over Syria and Iraq toward the Iranian border earlier this week, following a flight path resembling an attack on Iran.
The aircraft turned around shortly before reaching Iranian territory and returned to Israel, according to an Axios report citing unnamed US and Israeli officials.
8. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Kremlin would be ready to resume trilateral Russia-US-Ukraine peace talks after mid-November, at the request of US special envoy Steve Witkoff who met with Putin for around three hours Wednesday.
The meeting in St. Petersburg came off the back of Witkoff’s “productive” Tuesday summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Norway, as the United States seeks to advance proposals to end to the war.
9. Norway is set to begin receiving its 16 South Korean-made Chunmoo rocket artillery systems in 2028, the acting chief of the Norwegian army told Breaking Defense, as the country faces an increasing Russian threat.
“Initial capability is expected by 2029 and the operators will be trained in Norway.

For review:
1. The  US Military is deploying several hundred Army soldiers to Latin America for training and joint exercises with regional, Fox News confirmed.
The deployment involves soldiers from the Army's 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum, New York, with the first troops from a roughly 600-soldier battalion expected to deploy to Panama, according to the NYT, which first reported the deployment. Separately, several hundred soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division are expected to help staff a new Western Hemisphere military command based in Miami.
2. More than 50 people were killed and over 200 wounded when Yemen’s Houthis hit a military camp in the energy-rich Shabwa province with ballistic missiles, officials and military sources said on Monday.
3. Egypt's top security body said Sunday it has agreed to support close ally Saudi Arabia in the major escalation of fighting between the kingdom and Houthis in Yemen, which has marked the latest front in the Iran war.
4. Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir placed the military on its “highest state of alert” ahead of next week’s election and canceled soldiers’ leave, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Israel’s enemies not to test the country.
5. Ukraine and Russia should focus on ending the war between them, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters during his visit to Uzbekistan on Monday.
6. US President Donald Trump said Monday, Oct. 19, that he was willing to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in China next month, potentially without President Volodymyr Zelensky, while renewing his criticism of Kyiv and suggesting that someone else should negotiate on Ukraine’s behalf.
7. The German Ministry of Defence has formally notified Boeing that it will not be directly procuring the company’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat drone wingman, as Berlin readjusts plans for a lucrative Collaborative Combat Aircraft procurement.
8. A specialized Army artillery battery focused on the European theater carried out its first test fire of a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile from a Typhon missile system in recent weeks.

For review:
1. Many of the recent drone & missile attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi terrorists on Saudi Arabia are based on targeting intelligence provided by the Islamic regime, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
2. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said on Saturday Egypt would take any measures necessary to defend Saudi Arabia “if requested,” amid escalating Houthi attacks on the kingdom, and parliament announced an emergency session on Sunday.
3. Adm. Brad Cooper, head of the US military’s Central Command, said in a video statement Saturday that “there are reports” that Tehran’s regional proxies were withholding payments to fighters to “funnel money back” to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
He also said the “Strait of Hormuz is controlled by the United States and our regional partners, not Iran,” even as at least one tanker was reportedly struck in the key waterway.
4. Four Hamas operatives, including a terrorist who invaded Israel during the October 7 onslaught, were killed in recent strikes in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military announced Saturday.
5. The U.S. Army laid out its plans to prepare for a prolonged fight in the Pacific along the First Island Chain in the service’s new warfighting guidance released this month.
6. Ukraine is negotiating with its European partners to establish a separate European track for dialogue with Russia aimed at achieving a diplomatic settlement to the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.