base

Wiffen said he is expecting “to swim the best ever so I don’t have to make a decision” across the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m events he will be competing in, despite his recent lack of competitive action.

He outlined his goals as swimming the 400m around 4.33 seconds, the 800m below 7.42 seconds and the 1500m under 14.40 to assess whether his time spent in California has been successful.

The County Armagh man also cited Dublin as a potential future base if he does decide to move, but emphasised that doing so would be heavily dependant on his performances in Bangor.

“If I’m around those times, under or around PB, then that’s great. That obviously means the training is working, and if it doesn’t work then I [have to figure out] what I’m going do after,” he added.

“I’m thinking of coming back to Dublin if it doesn’t go well, but, we have to see. If I swim lights out in Bangor, then my decisions obviously can’t have been made.”

Wiffen also explained the main differences he has encounter between training in England and in the US, where they use yardage instead of metres.

“The training is just quite different and, even though I don’t swim a lot of yards, I just think being in America is fun. There’s quite a lot of distractions, and it’s a good lifestyle but, it’s not the same as what Loughborough was like,” he said.

“[It was] all about grind, very similar weather to Ireland and I love swimming in the rain and when the weather is dull. When you’re in the sun everything becomes a lot harder and the motivation becomes a lot harder.

“When I’m swimming in California, my motivation is I’m with a really good training group and everybody’s pushing each other, where as in Loughborough, I feel like it was more self-motivation, I was getting there because I wanted to win.

“I wanted to do all these things where I feel like another group is kind of pushing me to swim fast, which I like, but I think I want a bit of the self-motivation back, so we’ll have to see how the next week goes.”

March 27 (UPI) — An Iranian attack on an air base in Saudi Arabia on Friday injured 10 U.S. service members — two seriously — unnamed officials familiar with the incident told media outlets.

The attack took place at the Saudi military’s Prince Sultan Air Base in Al Kharj, striking a building where the U.S. service members were, U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal. NBC News and CBS News also confirmed the attack, citing unnamed sources.

Iran used missiles and drones to carry out the attack, which also damaged multiple refueling vehicles.

Since the start of the war in Iran a month ago, more than 300 Americans have been injured and 13 killed.

The United States and Israel began attacks on Iran beginning Feb. 28 amid stalling talks regarding Iran’s nuclear program. On Thursday, President Donald Trump said the United States would forgo attacks on Iran’s energy sites for 10 days to give time for further negotiations to end the war.

Iran on Friday blamed Israeli for contradicting Trump’s 10-day delay by launching attacks on infrastructure sites, including an energy plant.

The U.S. Air Force’s 378th Air Expeditionary Wing has been based at Prince Sultan base since 2019.

With its facilities in the Middle East frequently targeted by Iranian missiles and drones, U.S. Central Command is looking for better ways to protect its troops and capabilities. This week, the command and its subordinate units put out two calls for information from companies that can design and provide hardened infrastructure, including underground facilities, as well as shelters. The need for hardened shelters is something that The War Zone has been raising for years, especially when it pertains to aircraft.

The moves come as 13 U.S. troops have been killed, more than 300 wounded and facilities and equipment like radar systems and aircraft have been destroyed and damaged since the launch of Epic Fury on Feb. 28.

The attacks have been so intense that they’ve forced “many American troops to relocate to hotels and office spaces throughout the region,” The New York Times reported on Thursday, citing military personnel and American officials. “So now much of the land-based military is, in essence, fighting the war while working remotely, with the exception of fighter pilots and crews operating and maintaining warplanes and conducting strikes.”

You can see video from one of those Iranian attacks, on the U.S. Navy base in Bahrain, below.

The troop relocations spurred Iran’s powerful Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Bagher Ghalibaf to mock the U.S. war effort in a post on X.

How can the US, which can’t even protect its own soldiers at its bases in the region and instead leaves them stashed away in hotels and parks, protect them on our soil?

— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) March 27, 2026

One of the shelter sources sought requests from CENTCOM this week is a long-term seven-year project while the other is for more immediate protection. Neither addresses the issue of protecting aircraft.

On Wednesday, U.S. Air Forces Central (AFCENT) put out a call for vendors who are able to help bolster force protection at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest American military installation in the Middle East. Like many other bases in the region, it has come under frequent attack from Iran. AFCENT is seeking information from companies able to plan and design “a hardened, underground, secure, Combat Center Building…and squadron operations buildings supporting a variety of airframe and missions to include, but not limited to, bombers, fighters, and unmanned aircraft systems for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).”

The sources sought solicitation, which could lead to a sole-source contract award, states that the plan may also seek construction of additional facilities, including administrative offices, command and control facilities, operational readiness and life support facilities for specialized personnel, elevators, and a parking garage. However, there is a long lead time for this project, even if it gets approved. A contract solicitation won’t be issued until April 2027, with the award anticipated in January 2028. 

The underground shelter plan for Al Udeid is part of Strategic Master Plan 2040 (SMP2040), “a portfolio of over 170 Qatar-funded projects worth $10 billion that will be carried out from the first quarter of 2026 until 2040,” according to AFCENT. “Most of the projects are designed and will be constructed by Qatar with a few being U.S.-designed and constructed.”

It is unclear whether the new shelter project was spurred by current events, but a Feb. 3 AFCENT release on SMP2040 makes no mention of such structures. That fact that the plan will take years to come to fruition also raises questions about why it had not been unveiled sooner, given that Al Udeid has long been known to be a target of potential Iranian attacks. It is also not publicly known whether the proposed Combat Center Building at Al Udeid will replace or augment the current Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) that serves as a command and control headquarters for U.S. and allied aircraft operating across the Middle East. We’ve reached out to AFCENT for clarification, but they deferred us to CENTCOM, which declined comment.

Al Udeid, just 175 miles from Iran across the Persian Gulf, has already been hit by Iran, suffering damage to a radar and buildings during Epic Fury and forcing the relocation of troops. Last year, Iran launched 10 ballistic missiles at the base in retaliation for the Operation Midnight Hammer strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. That incident spurred what was at the time the largest volley of Patriot interceptors ever expended by the U.S. for one single event.

Attacks on and damage to Al Udeid from Iranian missiles can be seen below.

This satellite imagery is noteworthy. It appears to show at least two precise impact points on a large bunker used by U.S. forces at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar 🇶🇦, located at 25°06’45.71″N 51°20’43.17″E.

Curious which munitions were used in that strike. https://t.co/unbsGZmZUc pic.twitter.com/CItRQjA9gr

— Egypt’s Intel Observer (@EGYOSINT) March 13, 2026

In a more immediate request, CENTCOM is looking for vendors capable of providing “prefabricated, transportable, hardened shelter systems designed to protect personnel from blast and fragmentation threats,” according to a sources sought posting on Monday. “All proposed solutions must be deliverable to the Aqaba Air Cargo Terminal at King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba, Jordan.”

Unlike the Al Udeid plan, CENTCOM is looking for a quick turnaround on these shelters, asking that vendors submit “three potential delivery options reflecting estimated timelines of 3 days, 15 days, and 30 days.”

“Responses shall include a comprehensive description of the materials used in fabrication, including composition, structural design, and any reinforcement features,” according to the solicitation. “Vendors must also clearly identify the protection level of each proposed bunker, including the highest level of threat (e.g., blast force, fragmentation, or ballistic impact) the system is designed to withstand.”

The total quantity of these shelters is currently unknown and vendors are being asked to provide pricing structures “that reflect any available economies of scale.” The timeline for this project is unclear. Responses are due today, but there is no contract award deadline listed in the solicitation. CENTCOM declined our request for details, citing operational security concerns.

“Vendors are requested to submit three potential delivery options reflecting estimated timelines of 3 days, 15 days, and 30 days.”

“The USG’s review of documentation priorities are delivery timeline first, followed by protection level of the bunker systems.”

— 1st ETSG/TKO

— Carter Johnston (@__CJohnston__) March 23, 2026

As noted earlier in this story, we have long wondered why the U.S. military has not done more to protect its assets by building hardened shelters, particularly for aircraft.  For years now, U.S. military officials have often pushed back on the utility and cost-effectiveness of investing more in the physical hardening of bases and other critical facilities, especially shelters to shield aircraft from drones and other threats.

The most recent incident took place earlier this month when Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana experienced waves of drone incursions. The base is home of B-52 Stratofortress bombers and nuclear weapons storage facilities, and is a key part of the airborne leg of America’s nuclear triad.

I have spent a good part of my career just getting people to believe this was actually happening. Now we are here. With 15 drones, you can lose roughly 1/4 of the B-52 force as it sits idle on the ground. This was always the most concerning scenario. Time to move to hardening.… https://t.co/bBgE5taas9

— Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) March 20, 2026

One of the biggest concerns we have raised over the years is the lack of shelters at the massive and highly strategic Andersen Air Force Base on the island of Guam. The base, a key location for U.S. power projection in the Pacific, will be a prime target for Chinese long-range missiles in the event of a war.

Friday morning, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. David Deptula, now dean of the Mitchell Institute, concurred with our concerns about the lack of shelters and other hardened infrastructure.

“It absolutely has been needed and I made that case back when [Al Udeid] was being built,” Deptula told us. “But it’s all about money. That, along with not hardening aircraft shelters in Guam.

Deputla added that he tried to get hardened shelters built in Guam back when he was Director of Air and Space Operations for Pacific Air Forces more than 20 years ago.

“We were passed over due to other priorities at the time,” he explained.

As for the concept for hardened infrastructure at Al Udeid, Deptula said he was not aware of the plan, “but it is too little too late for this war.”

The reluctance about hardened shelters may be starting to change. Last year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced anti-drone updates to the Modular Protective System-Overhead Cover (MPS-OHC). MPS-OHC was originally developed during the Global War on Terror era in response to indirect fire threats like artillery shells, rockets, and mortar rounds that U.S. forces were facing in Afghanistan and Iraq. The modular shelters, while still hardened, could provide a more temporary and cost-effective way to protect aircraft, other equipment and personnel from drones.

Meanwhile, weeks before Epic Fury was launched, the Pentagon released new guidelines for hardening civilian and military facilities in the homeland from the growing threat from small drones that The War Zone has long warned about. These concerns have been spurred by years of incursions over U.S. bases and critical facilities and were hammered home by Ukraine’s 2025 near-field attack, dubbed Operation Spider Web, that wiped out a large number of Russia’s bombers with concealed arrays of drones stashed near airbases.

Epic Fury, of course, presents a different threat as U.S. bases get hit by ballistic missiles and large drones like Shahed-136s, in addition to first-person view (FPV) drones. Regardless, this conflict has once again highlighted the need to find better ways of protecting American troops and assets.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com

Operation Epic Fury will hit a month old by the weekend. It and the massive military build-up to it were made possible by a global logistics chain that only the Pentagon can supply. At the heart of it is the aerial refueling fleet. These aircraft have flown thousands of sorties to get materiel where it needs to be and fast. These have included stuffing the fuel tanks of C-17s with cargo holds full of Patriot missiles to dragging stealth fighters across the globe. Epic Fury has been one of many operations to heavily tax the tanker fleet in recent years. To get a much better insight into the tanker portion of the war and its impacts, we talked to one man with an extreme level of experience behind the controls of USAF tankers.

For more than 20 years, Troy Pananon, a retired Air Force colonel, served in the aerial refueling community. He flew KC-10 Extender and KC-135 Stratotanker refueling jets and served as deputy commander of the 6th Air Mobility Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida (now 6th Air Refueling Wing), and later as commander of the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall in England. Both of these installations and their KC-135s are instrumental in the ongoing war in Iran.

In a two-hour, wide-ranging exclusive interview, Pananon offered insights into the strain of the war on the jets and personnel and the challenges of keeping the aging KC-135s flying as they perform hundreds of sorties gassing up fighters, airlifters and other aircraft. One of those missions resulted in the deaths of six airmen after a suspected midair collision over Iraq. Pananon also addressed a whole host of other issues, including how Epic Fury is affecting readiness for a fight against China, the scourge of drone incursions and much more, which will be addressed in future installments.

Pananon, who began his career as an enlisted Marine, retired from the Air Force in 2023 and is now a 737 first officer with United Airlines. The first installment of our conversation focuses on Epic Fury and the toll on the tankers, crews and maintainers. Some of the questions and answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

Q: The Air Force tanker fleet has come under extremely heavy use in recent years, being widely utilized in the evacuation of Afghanistan, the massive deliveries to Ukraine, the constant crisis in the Middle East and the campaign against the Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. Now, the war in Iran. Talk about the strain this is putting on it, on the aircrews, the maintainers and the airframes, some of which rolled out during the Eisenhower era.

A: I would categorically say that there’s a huge strain on the entire ecosystem. The KC-135s were rolling off the assembly line in the 50s and 60s. Some of the technology, and we called it technology back then, was graduated from the Wright brothers technology. Parts on that aircraft are still reminiscent of some of the things that were invented by the Wright brothers. So it’s amazing to me that the KC-135 is able to operate, and it’s due in large part to the maintainers and the relentless effort that they follow through to keep those aircraft air worthy. 

If you think about the [airmen], how they’re operating in places you mentioned all over the world, they’re there. We’ve broken their normal routine. They’re away from home, away from their family and friends. So that’s a mental and physical stressor, because they’re in environments that they’re not accustomed to. 

We don’t know how long this conflict could last. We’re approaching a high heat of summer in that region, and so depending on where some of these personnel are based or stationed, they’re certainly out of their normal circadian rhythm, their normal environmental routines. It is a huge strain on those maintainers and the airframes that we’re placing in different parts of the world, exposed to different elements than they may have been exposed to at their normal pace. Maintaining these aging aircraft is a strain on the entire ecosystem, and we are operating them at a high operations tempo, and surely that puts a lot of a significant strain on the KC-135.

We do have the KC-46 that is helping to fill some of that void, but we just retired the KC-10, which was a tremendous workhorse. And so I would say that there’s a significant strain on the ecosystem.

Q: What are the biggest challenges in keeping these Cold War-era jets like the KC-135 flying? How difficult is it to find parts, and what do you do when you can’t?

A: That’s 100% accurate. There have been some breakthroughs in technology. I know that they’ve used 3D printing to help source some parts. They’ve even gone back to the boneyard and pulled parts off of older KC-135s. So resources will always be a great puzzle for our entire team to source. 

There’s no new assembly line. They shut that assembly line down back in the ’50s and ’60s. Some of the parts for those aircraft in general were from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. And then, you have to take those back and refurbish those certain parts. There’s not a lot of new technology that’s going on to these core platforms. The avionics, for sure, is newer. But everything that you add to this aircraft, I call it the Frankenstein effort – taking bolt-on technology to try and help modernize the fleet. And by modernizing that means that you’re also helping with the parts availability. But going back to the age of these aircraft, some of these parts were developed back in the ’40s and machined back in the ’50s and ’60s. Our teams have to get creative with the acquisition. And that’s a huge, huge challenge. But they currently have done a great job of putting new engines on the aircraft. And so that means that the parts availability is better in some cases, but it’s not a solution. 

Davis Monthan AMARG Boneyard tour with KC-135s and Boeing 707s

Q: What are some of the old parts you’re talking about that go back to the ’40s, or to the Wright brothers era?

A: Just think about the flight controls. If you, for whatever reason, need to replace certain pulleys or elements within the flight control system, those parts were thought-up and developed way back in the ’40s. Machined maybe back in the ’50s and ’60s. It’s still not a fly-by-wire aircraft like some of the modern aircraft that we have nowadays. And so you have to go back and machine some of these parts if they get wear and tear.

Q: What are the complexities of supporting such a high tempo operation like the war against Iran with aerial refueling? We’ve heard that the airspace over Iraq is chaotic and that the lack of onboard situational awareness is a major issue with tanker crews and receivers. What have you heard about this?

A: Obviously I haven’t operated over there in a number of years, but I do go back to the times when I was operating aircraft in that theater. That puts me back into the Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom timeframe. We have deconfliction procedures. We have airspace procedures that we study and that we follow. We have aircraft in there that help us deconflict the airspace and ensure that we have safe separation. And it goes to training, it goes to situational awareness.

Back then, we didn’t have some of the avionics and software suites that we have available to us today, so our situational awareness wasn’t as high, but yet we had good, solid procedures and processes that ensured clear deconfliction and separation in the airspace that they’re operating in. Now, I would assume that it’s congested and it’s contested, and so having the ability to have higher situational awareness with onboard avionics suites that are connected is probably more and more essential as we go forward.

Q: But have you heard anything about the chaotic nature of the current airspace and lack of onboard situational awareness? Is it a major issue right now with the tanker crews and receivers?

A:  I really can’t comment on it, because I don’t have firsthand knowledge. What I can say is that it’s in a contested environment, and our crews are definitely trained to operate in these kinds of environments. And you know, it’s just like anything there. There are elements that we have little control over, and I call it the fog and friction of warfare. But I have 100% absolute trust in the personnel. They’ve been trained. They are equipped. Could they be equipped better? Could they be resourced better? Sure. But again, it still goes back to the fact that even if we resource them with the newest technology, they then have to go back and be trained to understand how to integrate it and how to use it effectively. 

There is still an opportunity here. You can’t solve it overnight, but it does need to happen so it would help. I’m certain that if we ever get into conflict with a near peer, it’s going to be even more challenging.

Q: When was the last time tanker crews flew in contested airspace against adversaries with more robust air defenses than we have seen in past conflicts?

A: I would like to say that any time that you’re operating within a conflict zone, that’s considered contested airspace, right? The tankers are considered a high-value, low-density. We don’t have an infinite number of tankers, so they’re going to tend to operate outside the reach of the adversary’s missiles, or fighter aircraft that would try to reach and take down one of these tankers. So they’re really going to try and operate within a safe, safe zone. I would frankly say that in a conflict, tankers operate in contested airspace all the time, and it’s really contingent on the ability of our joint force to clear that airspace and to allow our tankers to move closer to the tip of the spear, but generally speaking, it is really sacrosanct to keep tankers an arm’s reach away from an adversary’s ability to take them down.

Q: Do you have any sense of what happened in the fatal March 12 KC-135 crash in Iraq that led to the deaths of Maj. John “Alex” Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Alabama; Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington; Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Kentucky; Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, of Mooresville, Indiana; Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, of Wilmington, Ohio; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio?

A: There’s an investigation taking place and it’d be wrong of me to comment on what I think took place. These crews are highly trained. They have a process. They have procedures. I don’t know what was taking place on the flight decks of both of those aircraft. There was probably some confusion as to who and where each aircraft was supposed to be, but I don’t know what led to that. There’s a lot of speculation out there. It’d be hard for me to really say what I think actually did happen.

Q: The cause of the tanker crash is suspected to be a collision with another KC-135. How many close calls have you experienced in your career?

A: Well, I have a deep background in the KC-10, and that also gives gas and takes gas. So I’ve been within 10 feet of another aircraft, operating at close to 350 miles an hour. It’s an inherently dangerous occupation when you’re trying to receive fuel from another aircraft. I don’t think that was the case in this particular incident over Iraq. But at all times, everything we do is inherently dangerous because we operate within safe operating margins, but they’re tight. So, a simple split-second decision or maybe error puts you in a precarious position. But we have procedures that, if we make a mistake and we come close to another aircraft – there is a term that we use, which is ‘breakaway.’ And that tells both aircraft, ‘hey, we’re in a situation where we need to create some space between our aircraft,’ and we follow our procedures. It’s a safe maneuver, but probably makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up a little bit. I’ve been in this, I’ve been in situations where I’ve had to rapidly escape from another aircraft. 

But again, we get trained for this. We are highly trained. And I think because of the training, when a situation like that occurs, your instinct kicks in and you know what to do. And so, I don’t recall instances where two KC-135s had a midair collision, but certainly, we have had air-to-air collisions, just none in my recent memory.

Q: The air refueling tanker community is tight. You served at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, with Tech. Sgt. Pruitt, one of the airmen who was killed in the crash. Tell me about how the crash affected the community. Tell me a little bit about Pruitt.

A: From my time at MacDill, I do remember her family. In general, losing anyone is just a shock to the system. And especially somebody that you may have worked with in the past, and you know. I just feel for their families. And we have a community. The tanker community – it’s just a system, a brotherhood and sisterhood. We are just one big family. Anytime we have a tragedy that strikes our community, especially like this, it’s tough. 

I know that there are teams of people out there that are remorseful for the loss and that are doing anything in their power to support the families of these airmen. And I know there’s a lot of effort right now within our tanker community and outside of our tanker community with Go-Fund-Me pages. This is critical, because the families that have been affected by this lost a parent, right? A brother or sister or a spouse. I really do feel for these families, and I applaud the efforts of the supporters out there that are contributing to help with some of the things that are going to end up financially costing these families; but emotionally, you know that they will need support, probably for the rest of their lives. And so it’s a huge, huge loss.

Q: What can you tell me about Tech. Sgt. Pruitt?

A: Ashley was full of energy and was extremely bright, tenacious, and had an unmatched work ethic. She was a real, genuine people person. When you walked into a room, you knew she was there. But she was incredibly talented and someone that you could rely upon to help others, and she was absolutely an incredible boom operator and highly skilled and her death is this huge, huge loss. For her legacy, she impacted so many people and so many of these airmen and their families were certainly enriched by her being in their lives. At the time, I was the vice commander of the [then-6th Air Mobility Wing] at MacDill. And on occasion, I would go out and go fly with the KC-135 crews. I didn’t have a daily interaction with her, but everybody knew her, and everybody knew of her. And that’s the important part. There are many other airmen that are in our ranks right now that have benefited from being introduced to her and being taught by her and being mentored by her. So she’s surely missed.

Q: Give me a sense of how RAF Mildenhall and other bases in Europe and elsewhere keep these aircraft flying to generate sorties and deploy to combat zones like the Middle East.

A: The best part about having a forward operating base like Mildenhall is that you have all the resources in place, and in this particular case, they’re closer to where the conflict is. You don’t have as much of a long logistical chain, but you still have a logistics chain that you have to support. And so operating at a place like Mildenhall, a round the clock operation every day of the year, you do have weather to contend with on occasion, and you do have airspace constraints that you do have to contend with. But again, all of these crews are highly trained and so I would say that the operations tempo at a place like Mildenhall is extremely high. 

Just being able to have the support of the government there and the host nation that there is, and the local community is a big deal. I enjoyed my time there. Of course, we were there during COVID, during the global pandemic, and the lengths and support that we received from the host nation to ensure the safety of our community and our airmen was incredible.

Q: The 100th Air Refueling Wing has 15 tankers and more transit through. What are the concerns and checklists of objectives for a Mildenhall commander during a major contingency operation like Epic Fury?

A: It’s just our ability to support, right? You mentioned there are 15 tankers, but the airfield itself was able to surge to support twice as many. I currently don’t know how many aircraft that we’re currently supporting out of Mildenhall, but the ability to support that means that you have to be able to flex to the surge of the operation that you’re encountering. You have personnel that are helping to fuel the aircraft. You need personnel to maintain and sustain the aircraft. And so I would assume that we are getting support from bases in the United States. And they’re deployed there from all parts of our country and major units. The tanker fleet is a total force effort. Nearly half of the force resides in the [Air Reserve Component] ARC, and so personnel from Reserve, Guard, active duty, I’m sure, have been sent to help support operations like that. 

In our next installment, Pananon talks about the KC-46’s lack of a boom pod, how Epic Fury is affecting the ability to potentially fight China and the dangers of flying long distances over the Pacific against an adversary with robust and plentiful modern air defenses.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com

March 24 (UPI) — NASA on Tuesday announced plans to spend $30 billion on a permanent lunar base and send astronauts to the moon every six months after the Artemis V mission.

Speaking at a so-called “Ignition” event at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., Administrator Jared Isaacman discussed plans to accelerate construction of a moon base.

“There will be an evolutionary path to building humanity’s first permanent surface outpost beyond Earth,” he said.

“NASA is committed to achieving the near-impossible once again: to return to the moon before the end of President [Donald] Trump’s term, build a moon base, establish an enduring presence, and do the other things needed to ensure American leadership in space.”

NASA’s plan was initially to focus on what it called the Gateway program — a space station that was going to orbit the moon. Then the agency would build a base on the moon.

Carlos Garcia-Galan, the program executive for NASA’s Moon Base program, said the systems and hardware already established for the Gateway program would be repurposed to build the moon base.

Isaacman said the moon base plan will comprise three phases.

The first phase would include a series of missions to send small robotic landers and vehicles astronauts can drive on the surface to the moon. It would also encompass communications and scientific instruments.

The second phase would involve the construction of a “semi-habitable infrastructure” for astronauts on the lunar surface.

The third phase would start construction of a more permanent structure.

The first two phases would involve an investment of $20 billion over the next seven years and dozens of missions to the moon. The third phase would cost another $10 billion.

“The moon base will not appear overnight,” Isaacman said.

Isaacman said NASA also plans to launch a nuclear-propelled spacecraft to Mars by 2028.

NASA’s launch window for Artemis II is set to open April. The crewed mission is expected to send the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft to orbit the moon over 10 days and return to Earth. The crew will test whether the spacecraft operates in deep space.

The long-term goal of the Artemis program is to re-establish a human presence on the moon in preparation for the ultimate aim of putting a human on Mars.

The agency will increase robotic missions to the moon and launch a spacecraft called Space Reactor 1 Freedom.

NASA has unveiled a major overhaul of its moon and Mars strategy, scrapping plans for a lunar-orbit space station and instead committing $20bn over the next seven years to build a base on the moon’s surface, while also advancing plans to send a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman outlined the changes on Tuesday during a meeting in Washington, DC, with partners, contractors and government officials involved in the Artemis programme, saying the agency will increase robotic missions to the moon and lay the groundwork for nuclear power on the lunar surface.

Isaacman, appointed by US President Donald Trump and who took charge in December, said the changes form part of a broader overhaul of NASA’s long-term Moon-to-Mars strategy.

The planned moon base is intended to support long-term human presence on the lunar surface, with robotic missions expected to help prepare the site, test technologies and begin building infrastructure before astronauts return later this decade.

The agency also disclosed plans to launch a spacecraft called Space Reactor 1 Freedom before the end of 2028, a mission designed to demonstrate nuclear electric propulsion in deep space on the way to Mars.

The spacecraft will deliver helicopters on the Red Planet, similar to the Ingenuity robotic test helicopter that flew with NASA’s Perseverance rover, a step the agency said would help move nuclear propulsion technology from laboratory testing to operational space missions.

The Ingenuity helicopter was the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on another planet. It travelled to Mars attached to NASA’s Perseverance rover and landed in February 2021.

Pausing the Lunar Gateway station

The Lunar Gateway station, a planned space station in lunar orbit being developed with contractors including Northrop Grumman and international partners, was meant to serve as a base where astronauts could live and work before heading to the Moon’s surface.

But NASA now plans to repurpose some Gateway components for use on the surface instead.

Repurposing Lunar Gateway to create a base on the moon’s surface leaves uncertain the future roles of Japan, Canada and the ‌European Space ⁠Agency in the Artemis programme, three key NASA partners that had agreed to provide components for the orbital station.

“It should not really surprise anyone that we are pausing Gateway in its current form and focusing on infrastructure that supports sustained operations on the lunar surface,” Isaacman said.

The changes to NASA’s flagship Artemis programme are reshaping billions of dollars’ worth of contracts and come as the United States faces growing competition from China, which is aiming to land astronauts on the moon by 2030.

The Artemis programme, begun in 2017 during Trump’s first term as president, envisions regular lunar missions as NASA’s long-awaited follow-up to its first moon missions in the Apollo programme that ended in 1972.

Spotters in Greece have caught an especially good look at what very much appears to be a stealthy, long-range, high-altitude (HALE) intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance drone commonly referred to as the RQ-180, or an evolution of that design.

Pictures of the dark-colored, flying-wing type aircraft landing at Larissa National Airport, also known as Larissa Air Base, situated in the Greek city of the same name, were published earlier today by local news outlet onlarissa.gr.

“Those who were in the area near the 110th Fighter Wing [technically the 110th Combat Wing] in Larissa at the end of last week were left speechless when they saw an impressive plane in the sky, completely different in shape and appearance from everything we see daily in politics and the military air force,” according to a machine translation of onlarissa.gr’s piece, which misidentifies the aircraft as a B-2 bomber. “According to more recent information from military sources, this [aircraft] … reportedly parked at the Larissa military airport due to a breakdown and will remain there until it is repaired.”

TWZ cannot immediately confirm any of these latter details, but we have reached out to U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) and the Pentagon for more information.

What is clear is that this is not a B-2, which has a very distinctive saw-tooth trailing edge that is not visible here, among other features. In fact, the overall planform is highly reminiscent of the new B-21 Raider stealth bomber from Northrop Grumman, as well as past sightings of aircraft believed to be RQ-180s or progenitors of that design. The RQ-180 is widely understood to be a Northrop Grumman product, as well, and very likely played a significant role in risk reduction efforts as part of the development of the B-21, as we have posited for years.

There are also some very rough similarities to sightings of what is believed to be an Israeli drone called the RA-01, but with some distinct differences. The RA-01 shares a similar planform, but is a more svelte design that would be significantly smaller than what we are seeing here. Furthermore, it makes very little sense that an Israeli drone would be flying that far west for any reason. The American aircraft in question is likely quite large, sitting below the size of a B-21, but maybe by 25 percent, as a guess. It would be designed for extremely long-endurance, high altitude strategic reconnaissance missions.

B-21 Takeoff and Landing

The pictures from Larissa also offer a good look at the aircraft’s landing gear, which is very widely positioned. A gear configuration of that kind allows for the maximization of volume in between and underscores the sheer wingspan of the aircraft.

Whether the aircraft in question has been operating from Larissa, or simply diverted there due to an issue, is unknown. It is possible that it has been forward-deployed to the base, but still had to return to base unexpectedly, leading to it being spotted during the day rather than coming in discreetly at night.

Larissa is a Hellenic Air Force base, home to the 110th Combat Wing, which operates Block 52+ F-16C/D Viper fighters, as well as various types of drones. Since the late 2010s, the U.S. Air Force has also publicly used the base for MQ-9 Reaper drone operations over areas of Europe and Africa. That, in turn, has led to upgrades to Larissa’s infrastructure, especially along the south side of the base, where there are now hangars that could accommodate larger flying wing aircraft and that do not appear to be used to house MQ-9s.

By what we can surmise about the RQ-180 program, aircraft that are part of its lineage have likely been flying for roughly over a decade and a half. Yet in recent years, just as this platform was thought to be coming online in a grander operational sense, we have not seen the infrastructure that would be indicative of that. It’s even possible its scale has been reduced as the Pentagon looks to push its surveillance capabilities to space, and especially some of the kinds an ‘RQ-180’ could do.

Still, given that this aircraft is now likely a component of the Long Range Strike (LRS) family of systems, and will work in concert with and even possibly have some commonality with the B-21, it could share that same infrastructure and come online fully alongside the Raider in the next couple of years. That is if the program is still intended to be scaled-up as opposed to diverting funds to on-orbit surveillance capabilities.

Regardless, the aircraft has been spotted flying over secretive locales in America’s Southwest for many years now, with sightings over Area 51, and reports of it flying out of Palmdale and Edwards Air Force Base. A conflict with Iran would be a relevant fit for what it was designed to do, so it should be of no surprise that it is flying missions over the country, even if it still remains in something of a late developmental state.

In all of the years of the RQ-180’s rumored existence, multiple stealthy HALE drone designs have emerged in China, at least undergoing testing, and these are just the ones we know about.

We will have more analysis on all this in the near future.

Already, if nothing else, there are very strong signs that we’ve now gotten our best look ever at the drone referred to as the RQ-180 or a directly related design.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Islamabad hits Kandahar facility after Taliban drones strike civilian areas and military sites as conflict intensifies.

Pakistan has carried out strikes on an Afghan military facility in Kandahar after Taliban drones targeted civilian areas and military installations across the country.

The strikes on Saturday came after Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the overnight drone attacks, warning Kabul it had “crossed a red line by attempting to target our civilians”.

Pakistan’s military said the drones, described as locally produced and rudimentary, were intercepted before reaching their targets, though falling debris wounded two children in Quetta and civilians in Kohat and Rawalpindi.

A security source told the AFP news agency that airspace around the capital, Islamabad, had been temporarily closed when the drones were detected.

Islamabad said the Kandahar facility had been used both to launch the drone attacks and as a base for cross-border rebel activity.

The exchange marks the sharpest single escalation yet in a conflict that has been building since late February, when Pakistan launched military operations against what it said were Pakistan Taliban fighters sheltering on Afghan soil.

Islamabad also accuses Kabul of harbouring fighters from the ISIL (ISIS) group’s Khorasan province affiliate.

The Taliban government has denied both charges.

The drone attacks followed Pakistani strikes on Kabul and eastern border provinces in Afghanistan overnight on Thursday into Friday. The Pakistani attacks killed four people in the capital, women and children among them, and two more in the east.

In the Pul-e-Charkhi neighbourhood of Kabul, one resident described being buried under rubble after his home was hit, saying he lay there believing it was his “last breath” before neighbours pulled him free.

A local representative told AFP that those killed were “ordinary people, poor people” with no involvement in the conflict.

Pakistani aircraft also struck a fuel depot belonging to the private airline Kam Air near Kandahar airport, which an airport official said supplied aid organisations, including the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The official added that there were “no military installations” at the site.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence claimed that its forces had captured a Pakistani border post and killed 14 soldiers.

Islamabad dismissed the assertion as baseless, with the prime minister’s spokesman accusing the Taliban of “weaving fantasies” rather than dismantling rebel networks on Afghan territory.

The UN mission in Afghanistan says at least 75 civilians have been killed and 193 injured since hostilities intensified on February 26, a toll that includes 24 children.

According to the UN refugee agency, about 115,000 people have been forced from their homes.

The crisis is unfolding as the wider region remains engulfed by the US-Israeli war with Iran, which began just two days after the Pakistan-Afghanistan clashes escalated.

Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi has urged both sides to pursue dialogue, warning that further force would only deepen the crisis, though his appeal came as Pakistani jets were already in the air over Kandahar.

The war is now in its 10th day, and Israel and the United States continue to trade blows with Iran, with further missile and drone strikes across the Middle East. Meanwhile, the U.S. military’s ability to execute more rapid heavy airstrikes against Iranian targets was stepped up further today, with the arrival at RAF Fairford in England of three U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bombers. The aircraft are from the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota.

The bombers arrived at Fairford after U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer approved so-called defensive U.S. actions against Iranian targets from British bases. This includes striking Iranian missile sites prior to them launching attacks.

The B-52s are part of a growing fleet of U.S. bombers at Fairford. The base received a single B-1B Lancer on Friday, and another two of the swing-wing bombers arrived on Saturday.

As well as making use of RAF Fairford to strike Iran, the change in U.K. government policy covers Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Satellite imagery from today that TWZ has reviewed via Planet Labs shows no sign of bombers on the island, but heavy transport aircraft continue to show up there, along with the handful of tankers and five F-16s currently operating from the Indian Ocean outpost.

B-52s have already flown missions against Iran from bases in the United States, delivering AGM-158 JASSM stealthy cruise missiles. These missiles would have launched from outside Iranian airspace, likely over Iraq or another friendly Arab country. You can read more about the implications of standoff strikes such as these in our previous analysis of the enduring Iranian air defense threat here.

As we have discussed repeatedly in recent weeks, having the bombers forward deployed to England and/or Diego Garcia will drastically increase sortie rates and decrease wear-and-tear on the precious bomber fleet compared to flying from the U.S. and back. This will become even more relevant if the B-1 and B-52 force move from making standoff strikes to direct attacks on Iranian targets, even if just over limited parts of the country where air supremacy is more guaranteed.

LATEST UPDATES

We have concluded our rolling coverage in this piece.

UPDATE: 7:30 PM EST –

Trump held a Monday evening press conference to address the situation in the Middle East. Among other things, Trump hinted, without offering specifics, that lasers are now being used for air and missile defense. CENTCOM pushed us to the White House for more details and we are awaiting their response.

Trump also said that Iran has Tomahawk missiles, which it doesn’t.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the briefing—

On when the war will be over:

Very soon. Look, everything they have is gone, including their leadership. In fact, they have two levels of leadership. And even actually, as it turns out, more than that. But two levels of leadership are gone. Most people have never even heard about the leaders that they’re talking about….We’re achieving major strides toward completing our military objective. And some people could say they’re pretty well complete.

On the use of lasers for air and missile defense:

So as you probably saw, they had a tremendous number of missiles, most of which have now been used or destroyed and very unsuccessfully used, because we have been able, for the most part, to shoot them all down. What incredible technology. The Patriots have been unbelievable. And other things. And the laser technology that we have now is incredible. It’s coming out pretty soon. Where literally lasers will do the work of, at a lot less cost, do the work of what the Patriots are doing or what other things are doing.

On whether U.S. Tomahawk missiles destroyed an Iranian girls’ school and whether the U.S. will take responsibility for that.

I will say that the Tomahawk, which is one of the most powerful weapons around, is used by, you know, sold and used by other countries. You know that, and whether it’s Iran who also has some Tomahawks, I wish they had more. But whether it’s Iran or somebody else, the fact that a Tomahawk – a Tomahawk is very generic. It’s sold to other countries, but that’s being investigated right now.

Responding to a reporter about why he is the only one in the administration suggesting that “Iran somehow got its hands on a Tomahawk and bombed its own elementary school on the first day of the war.”

Because I just don’t know enough about it. I think it’s something that I was told is under investigation, but Tomahawks are used by others. As you know, numerous other nations have Tomahawks. They buy them from us. But I will certainly – whatever the report shows – I’m willing to live with that report.

On whether the new Supreme Leader “has a target on his back.”

I don’t want to say whether or not he does, because that would be inappropriate. 

On how many U.S. troop deaths he is willing to accept in this war.

Well, as I said before, when you have conflicts like this, you always have death. And I was in Dover yesterday, I met the parents, and they were unbelievable people. They were unbelievable people, but they all had one thing in common. They said to me, one thing every single one, finish the job. Sir, please finish the job. And I’ll leave you at that. 

UPDATE: 5:40 PM EST –

“We’re crushing the enemy in an overwhelming display of technical skill and military force,” Trump told the Republican House leaders.

He also extolled the virtues of the B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, saying “Israel would have been wiped out” without them.

Australia will deploy a surveillance aircraft and supporting ADF personnel to the Middle East for at least a month, as well as provide air-to-air missiles to the United Arab Emirates, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

Albanese said an E-7 Wedgetail radar jet would help provide long range reconnaissance capability to help “secure the airspace above the Gulf.”

“The Wedgetail and supporting Australian Defence Force personnel will be deployed for an initial four weeks in support of the collective self defence of Gulf nations. Additionally, in response to a request, my government intends to provide advanced, medium range air to air missiles to the United Arab Emirates,” he explained.

CENTCOM released its latest operational update. So far, more than 5,000 targets have been hit, including 50 Iranian vessels damaged or destroyed, the command stated.

UPDATE: 4:58 PM EST –

Speaking to Republican leaders today, Trump called Epic Fury “a short-term excursion.”

“We’re making America great again,” the president proclaimed. “We’re doing it much faster than we thought, and it’s better, stronger. Our country is doing really well, at a level that nobody thought. We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some people. And I think you’ll see it’s going to be a short term excursion. How good is our military? In my first term, we rebuilt our military, and I didn’t know I’d be using it so much in the second term. But we have a military like no other as not even close.”

With Trump hinting that the war could soon be over, Israeli officials are racing to hit as many targets as possible, I24 News Diplomatic Correspondent Guy Azriel stated on X.

The Lebanese government “proposed direct negotiations with Israel — through the Trump administration — aimed at ending the war and reaching a peace agreement,” Axios reported, citing five sources with knowledge of the matter.

If the war ended today, it would take two weeks to restore Persian Gulf shipping, and another two months to get oil production back to normal levels, The Wall Street Journal reported.

If the war ended today with Iran’s complete and total surrender, Strait of Hormuz shipping traffic would take two weeks to return to normal and Gulf oil production two months to get back to pre-war levels. And that’s optimistic. https://t.co/o3CKt61EZn

— Michael Amon (@michaelkamon) March 9, 2026

Iran says it is prepared to form a joint team with Turkey to investigate “allegations” of Iranian missile attacks on Turkey.

IRAN’S PRESIDENT SAYS DURING PHONE CALL WITH TURKEY’S ERDOGAN THAT IRAN IS PREPARED TO FORM JOINT TEAM TO INVESTIGATE “ALLEGATIONS” OF IRANIAN MISSILE ATTACKS ON TURKEY – IRANIAN STATE MEDIA

— Phil Stewart (@phildstewart) March 9, 2026

The White House posted a video on X showing what appears to be targets hit by F-22 Raptor stealth fighters. The video opens up with the aircraft flying, followed by several targets hit. The White House titled the post “If you don’t know, now you know.”

UPDATE: 4:17 PM EST –

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed the Iran war and Ukraine conflict during a “frank and constructive” telephone call today, the Kremlin said.

The one-hour call, the first since December, was sought by Washington, Putin’s diplomatic advisor Yuri Ushakov claimed, according to Russian media.

“The accent was placed on the situation surrounding the conflict with Iran and the bilateral negotiations underway with the representatives of the United States on settling the Ukrainian question,” Ushakov proclaimed.

טראמפ שוחח עם פוטין על המלחמה באיראן, כך נמסר מהקרמלין

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) March 9, 2026

The U.S. has lost two more MQ-9 Reaper drones, bringing the total to 11 so far during Epic Fury, CBS News reported.

The U.S. military has lost two more MQ-9 Reaper drones during Operation Epic Fury in Iran, bringing the total lost to 11 drones.

The 11 drones lost are worth over $330 million in total.

Source: CBS News pic.twitter.com/ptyp7sVJNT

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 9, 2026

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) bombed six Iranian military air bases during a wave of strikes in Iran last night, according to the IDF.

The Israeli Air Force bombed six Iranian military airbases during a wave of strikes in Iran last night, the IDF says.

Some of the airports were previously targeted by the IAF amid the war.

As part of the strikes, the military says it destroyed numerous aircraft, including… pic.twitter.com/oKHD5P9KrA

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 9, 2026

IRGC Gen. Ebrahim Jabbari said Iran is ready for 10 years of war with America and that its “weapons stockpiles are full and the production of missiles and drones continues.”

⚡️BREAKING

IRGC GENERAL JABBARI:

We are ready for 10 years of war with the Americans

Our weapons stockpiles are full, and the production of missiles and drones continues pic.twitter.com/MnNozB6mDq

— Iran Observer (@IranObserver0) March 9, 2026

UPDATE: 3:41 PM EST –

In a phone interview with CBS News senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang, Trump said the war could be over soon.

“I think the war is very complete, pretty much,” Trump told the network, according to a post on X. “They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no Air Force.”

The U.S. is “very far” ahead of his initial 4-5 week estimated time frame, the president added.

NEW—In a phone interview, President Trump told me the war could be over soon: “I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no Air Force.” He added that the U.S. is “very far” ahead of his initial 4-5 week estimated time frame.

— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) March 9, 2026

Still, the Department of War stated on X that “We Have Only Just Begun To Fight.”

During a broadcast, Fox News caught Israeli interceptors firing at missiles launched toward Tel Aviv.

Fox cameras capture Israeli interceptor missiles neutralizing incoming threats in the sky over Tel Aviv, followed by a wave of additional launches, as Israel’s air defense system responds to enemy fire. @TreyYingst pic.twitter.com/jJi2ZxtUFt

— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 9, 2026

Hezbollah has initiated “preliminary feelers to start negotiations for a ceasefire,” Israel’s N12 News reported on X. “Discussions are underway in Israel on the matter, with the key question being whether to launch a broad operation to eliminate the organization or to achieve a strategic gain in the form of severing the connection between Iran and the Lebanese terror group, which Iran has financed at a rate of one billion dollars per year.”

Exclusive report:
Hezbollah has initiated preliminary feelers to start negotiations for a ceasefire. Discussions are underway in Israel on the matter, with the key question being whether to launch a broad operation to eliminate the organization or to achieve a strategic gain in…

— Amit Segal (@AmitSegal) March 9, 2026

Pilots participating in long missions over Iran as part of Operation Roaring Lion “have admitted to using stimulant pills to maintain concentration,” The Jerusalem Post reported. This is leading doctors “to warn against the phenomenon spreading from the tightly controlled system in the IDF to the general public, where it could end in cardiac arrhythmias and seizures.”

Doctors warn against civilians using stimulant pills after IDF pilots admit to taking them during long missions over Iran. https://t.co/drQILizjnk

— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) March 8, 2026

More video is emerging of the remnants of Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missiles (TLAMs) found in Iran.

The French Embassy shared video of President Emmanuel Macron aboard the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Mediterranean.

From 🇫🇷 President Emmanuel Macron, on board the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean. pic.twitter.com/E5vWSOoH0c

— Embassy of France in the U.S. (@franceintheus) March 9, 2026

The U.K. MoD provided its latest assessment of operations in the Middle East.

The U.K. stated that its military aircraft “operated over the UAE alongside our Emirati hosts.”

UPDATE: 2:59 PM EST –

Trump has told aides “he would back the killing of new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei if he proves unwilling to cede to U.S. demands, such as ending Iran’s nuclear development,” The Wall Street Journal reported, citing current and former U.S. officials.

Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded in an airstrike, according to Iranian TV.

“The anchors read reports describing him as ‘janbaz,’ or wounded by the enemy, in the ‘Ramadan War,’ which is how media in Iran refer to the current conflict,” according to the Times of Israel.

The reports do not elaborate on Khamenei’s condition or say how or when he was wounded.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio laid out the goals of Epic Fury.

SECRETARY RUBIO: The goals of the mission against the Iranian regime are clear:
– Destroy their ability to launch missiles
– Destroy factories making these missiles
– Destroy their navy pic.twitter.com/KPUpMGNtDf

— Department of State (@StateDept) March 9, 2026

Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 1,900 Iranian commanders and troops, IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin told the media.

More than 1,900 Iranian soldiers and commanders have been killed in Israeli strikes in Iran, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin says in a press statement.

He says thousands more have been wounded.

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 9, 2026

German Chancellor Fredrich Merz continues to back the strikes against Iran.

German Chancellor Merz on Iran:

Iran is the center of international terrorism, and this center must be shut down.

The Americans and Israelis are doing that in their own way. pic.twitter.com/GrW5Xianjv

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 9, 2026

In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced a 5:30 p.m. address to the nation. The topic is not immediately known.

Beachgoers in the UAE witnessed a wild scene of an Iranian Shahed-136 drone being chased down at a low level by an Emirate Air Force F-16E, which fired at least one munition at the drone.

1:44 PM EST –

The U.S. Embassy in Kurait is being evacuated as the result of Iranian attacks on that country.

The American Embassy is being evacuated in Riyadh because of sustained attacks by Iran against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

It is my understanding the Kingdom refuses to use their capable military as a part of an effort to end the barbaric and terrorist Iranian regime who has…

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 9, 2026

CENTCOM highlighted the use of the Army High Mobility Rocket Systems (HIMARS) attacks on Iran. The post, on X, includes an image of a HIMARS firing an Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) warhead.

U.S. Army High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) provide unrivaled deep-strike capability in combat against the Iranian regime. pic.twitter.com/Onsp1FUrz4

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 9, 2026

CBS News posted video of the remnants of an Iranian ballistic missile with a cluster munition warhead that landed in Tel Aviv.

IRANIAN MISSILE UP CLOSE: Standing beside the fuel tank of an Iranian missile that landed in Tel Aviv, Israel, CBS News’ @CBSMATTGUTMAN shows us the sophistication and sheer size of the missiles Iran has been firing at Israel and the Gulf states. Gutman explains how these sorts… pic.twitter.com/88v7zV1cJA

— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 9, 2026

High-ranking Iranian official Ali Larijani said on X that “It is unlikely that any security will be achieved in the Strait of Hormuz amid the fires of the war ignited by the United States and Israel in the region, especially if that is by the design of parties that were not far removed from supporting this war and contributing to its fanning.”

من المستبعد أن يتحقق أيُّ أمنٍ في مضيق هرمز في ظلِّ نيران الحرب التي أشعلتها الولايات المتحدة وإسرائيل في المنطقة، ولا سيّما إذا كان ذلك بتصميم أطرافٍ لم تكن بعيدةً عن دعم هذه الحرب والإسهام في تأجيجها. https://t.co/Fn2tcbLhDT

— Ali Larijani | علی لاریجانی (@alilarijani_ir) March 9, 2026

Watching oil prices spike during Epic Fury, Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly considering trying to export oil to Europe. Crude oil prices hovering near $100 a barrel could be very beneficial for the Russian economy, which relies heavily on energy exports.

Putin says Russia should take advantage of the sky-high oil prices after US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Russia should redirect supplies to Europe elsewhere, he adds. “If we shift our focus right now to the markets that need more supplies, we might get a foothold there.” pic.twitter.com/FZAHksP2p6

— max seddon (@maxseddon) March 9, 2026

The planes that entered Iran at the beginning of Operation Roaring Lion “did so at great risk and with partially reestablished air defenses, a senior Israel Air Force officer told Israeli media on Monday.

“The planes that entered Iran first were at very high risk,” the officer explained. “I was there. I led the people from the air, the pilots took this risk out of a deep understanding that we would be able to attack a surface-to-surface missile squadron that could hit Israel and its citizens.”

The planes that entered Iran at the beginning of Operation Roaring Lion did so at great risk and with partially reestablished air defenses, a senior Israel Air Force officer said.https://t.co/QwoQSm2gNS

— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) March 9, 2026

Hezbollah reportedly launched a new wave of missiles deep into Israel and hit a satellite communications site.

The Lebanese group “claims to have targeted the IDF Home Front Command headquarters in Ramle, known as Rehavam Base, as well as a ‘satellite communications station’ in Haela Valley near Beit Shemesh, in its missile attack on central Israel this afternoon,” the Times of Israel reported. “The missile fire marks the deepest attack in Israel carried out by Hezbollah since hostilities intensified last week.”

The IDF only acknowledged that missiles were fired from Lebanon.

“Following the sirens that sounded in several areas in Israel, several projectiles that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory were identified,” the IDF stated. “The Israeli Air Force intercepted several launches and several additional launches fell in an open area. Additionally, a report was received regarding an impact in central Israel.”

💢 NEW: Hezbollah missiles strike deep inside Israel, hit satellite communications site

Hezbollah launched a barrage of long-range missiles that struck multiple locations in Israel, including a direct hit on military SATCOM dishes at the SES Satellite Station in the Ha’Ela… pic.twitter.com/H4MhdydFGU

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) March 9, 2026

A few senior officials in Israel “are starting to voice concern about the escalating, open-ended attack on Iran — and suggesting possible exit ramps that might halt the war before it further damages the region and the global economy,” David Ignatius opined in The Washington Post.

“Talk of an endgame is early, and a decision about whether to stop the attacks rests largely with President Donald Trump, who continues to seek all-out victory,” he wrote. “But in a telephone conversation Sunday, a senior Israeli official familiar with the planning and strategy for the Iran war discussed alternatives to Trump’s call for “unconditional surrender.” The official requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the Iran situation.”

NEW: Israeli officials “growing concerned” about escalating war with Iran and now seeking possible exit ramps according to the Washington Post.

— Dominic Michael Tripi (@DMichaelTripi) March 9, 2026

Reports are emerging that despite Iranian claims that it has closed the Strait of Hormuz, at least one ship has passed through by turning off its transponders. There are questions about whether Iran still has the sensor capability to track ships given constant U.S. and Israeli attacks.

Ships are reportedly crossing the strait of Hormuz. They are reportedly turning off their transponders before passing through, and switch them back on afterward.

pic.twitter.com/hbq9gsRvyk

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 9, 2026

1:02 PM EST –

The U.S. has intercepted encrypted communications believed to have originated in Iran that may serve as “an operational trigger” for “sleeper assets” outside the country, ABC News reported, citing a federal government alert sent to law enforcement agencies.

The alert cites “preliminary signals analysis” of a transmission “likely of Iranian origin” that was relayed across multiple countries shortly after the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, was killed in a U.S.-Israeli attack on Feb. 28.

NEW: The U.S. has intercepted encrypted communications believed to have originated in Iran that may serve as “an operational trigger” for “sleeper assets” outside the country, according to a federal government alert sent to law enforcement agencies. https://t.co/3LK66mTlJG

— ABC News (@ABC) March 9, 2026

CBS News broke down targets hit across the Middle East since Epic Fury was launched.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi posted a list of oil prices that have spiked since the launch of what he calls “Operation Epic Mistake.”

“…oil prices have doubled while all commodities are skyrocketing,” Araghchi stated on X. “We know the U.S. is plotting against our oil and nuclear sites in hopes of containing huge inflationary shock. Iran is fully prepared.”

It should be noted that prices are volatile and subject to frequent change.

9 days into Operation Epic Mistake, oil prices have doubled while all commodities are skyrocketing. We know the U.S. is plotting against our oil and nuclear sites in hopes of containing huge inflationary shock. Iran is fully prepared.

And we, too, have many surprises in store. pic.twitter.com/UNQu0fVZE2

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) March 9, 2026

“I don’t see any room for diplomacy anymore,” Kamal Kharazi, Foreign Policy Advisor to the office of the Supreme Leader, told CNN in an exclusive interview in Tehran. He also said he believes the regime can continue with the war for a long time.

“I don’t see any room for diplomacy anymore,” Kamal Kharazi, Foreign Policy Advisor to the office of the Supreme Leader, tells @fpleitgenCNN in an exclusive interview in Tehran.

He also said he believes the regime can continue with the war for a long time. pic.twitter.com/tQetUT8lkW

— CNN International PR (@cnnipr) March 9, 2026

The IDF posted images it said were from the aftermath of an Iranian cluster munition attack on the city of Rishon Lezion.

Pictured is the Iranian terror regime’s strategy: targeting civilians.

Last night, the Iranian regime fired a cluster bomb at the Israeli city of Rishon Lezion—damaging multiple areas including a children’s playground. This is what we’re operating against. pic.twitter.com/YQZHCeHBTd

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 9, 2026

Iranian Gen. Majid Mousavi, head of the IRGC Aerospace Force, claimed his nation has a new tactic for launching missiles.

Only those with warheads over one ton will be fired, and the frequency will increase, Mousavi posited.

IRGC Aerospace Commander, General Mousavi, announced Iran’s new war tactic:

From now on, missiles with warheads lighter than one ton will not be launched.

The frequency and scope of the launches will increase, and their range will become wider. pic.twitter.com/LyrZveSTL8

— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) March 9, 2026

UPDATE:12:28 PM EST –

The Trump administration has discussed seizing Kharg Island, a strategic terminal responsible for roughly 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports, according to Axios.

Axios reports that the Trump administration is discussing seizing Kharg Island, a key Iranian oil terminal in the Persian Gulf. pic.twitter.com/4JBtB14RLY

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 8, 2026

Trump took to his Truth Social platform to say that short-term oil price hikes are worth the long-term removal of the Iranian nuclear threat.

U.S. officials were reportedly surprised by Iran’s sustained response to Epic Fury.

NEW: US officials surprised by Iranian military response, did not expect retaliatory strikes to be extensive or sustained, planned for operations in Iran to go similarly to Venezuela according to NYT.

— Dominic Michael Tripi (@DMichaelTripi) March 9, 2026

Gulf states have been surprised that Iran has carried out widespread attacks across the region.

“We surely didn’t think Iran would actually go after the entire Gulf and throw our ties with it out of the window,” a senior Saudi official says – WSJ

— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) March 8, 2026

Iran’s Isfahan Optics plants was reportedly leveled by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes this morning.

American allies “are watching in disbelief as the Pentagon reroutes weapon shipments to aid the Iran war, angry and scared that arms the U.S. demanded they buy will never reach them,” Politico reported.

European nations that have struggled to rebuild arsenals after sending weapons to Ukraine “fear they won’t be able to ward off a Russian attack,” the outlet added. “Asian allies, startled by America’s rate of fire, question whether it could embolden China and North Korea. And even in the Middle East, countries aren’t clear if they will get air defenses from the U.S. for future priorities.”

NEW: U.S. allies are watching in disbelief as DOD reroutes weapons to aid the Iran war, worried long-promised American arms will never come.

“The munitions that have been and will be fired are the ones that everybody needs,” said one European official.https://t.co/7EGts4hHMk

— Jack Detsch (@JackDetsch) March 7, 2026

U.S. military transport planes have flown out of South Korea in recent days, after Seoul confirmed it was discussing the possible redeployment of American military assets as the Iran conflict escalates, Bloomberg News reported, citing flight tracking data.

“Data from the Flightradar24 website indicated that US military transport planes, including C-17 and C-5, flew out of South Korea’s Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, one as recently as Saturday,” the news outlet stated. “It wasn’t immediately clear what the aircraft were carrying.”

US military transport planes have flown out of South Korea, after Seoul confirmed it was discussing the possible redeployment of American military assets https://t.co/6nTQCsXpw8

— Bloomberg (@business) March 9, 2026

France will deploy an aircraft carrier, two helicopter carriers and three other warships for an international defensive naval mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz after the most intense part of Epic Fury subsides, French President Emmanuel Macron announced.

French president Macron announced plans with international partners for a defensive naval mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and escort vessels once the most intense stage of the Middle East conflict subsides.
France to deploy 8 warships, an aircraft carrier and 2 helicopter… pic.twitter.com/7VN9Hmmb7D

— Tom Antonov (@Tom_Antonov) March 9, 2026

The UAE MoD said Iran launched 15 ballistic missiles and 18 drones overnight, adding that all but one were intercepted, Fox News reported on X. That represents a sharp decline of drone attacks on the Gulf nation, which had been averaging 124 a day over the past week.

UAE says Iran launched 15 ballistic missiles and 18 drones overnight: MoD. All but one drone successfully intercepted.

Sharp decline in Iranian drone attacks on UAE, which had been averaging 124 per day over the past week.

— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) March 9, 2026

UPDATE: 12PM EST—

U.S. Central Command has previously released a video confirming the employment of ground-launched Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) short-range ballistic missiles as part of the strikes on Iran. Now, there appears to be evidence that at least some of the missiles are being fired from Kuwait. We have seen another video showing a HIMARS launcher fire from a beach in Bahrain, as well.

Empty ATACMS missile container found in the deserts of Kuwait, suggesting the U.S. may be launching HIMARS strikes on Iran from Kuwaiti territory.

ATACMS is a U.S. short-range tactical ballistic missile launched from HIMARS, capable of striking targets up to ~300 km. pic.twitter.com/aVJvdAv1w6

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 9, 2026

Among the targets of recent U.S. strikes are what is left of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy. There have been more attacks against Iranian vessels in coastal waters, one of them being struck while anchored off the coast of Bandar Lengeh earlier today. The warship in question has been widely identified as a Shahid Soleimani class missile corvette. One of these unusual catamaran vessels had been sunk in an earlier U.S. strike, as you can read about here.

Iran has named its new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who is succeeding his father, Ali Khamenei, after he was killed on February 28, as part of a series of Israeli airstrikes around Tehran aimed at high-ranking Iranian officials. While the Iranian regime remains under the highest level of pressure from continued U.S. and Israeli attacks, the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei represents continuity for the regime and signals that hardliners remain in charge — for now.

Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei
• More hardline than father
• He’s the IRGC candidate
• Relatively young: 56
• Avoids public
• Trusted by father, clerics
• Was in military during Iraq-Iran war
• His wife, Zahra, killed in Israeli airstrike w his father

— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) March 8, 2026

Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the international leaders to congratulate Mojtaba Khamenei on his appointment.

✉️ President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory message to the newly elected Supreme Leader of Iran – Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei.

💬 I am confident that you will unite the Iranian people in the face of the severe trials ahead.https://t.co/JOYAAWN2LE pic.twitter.com/jYd80CMb0m

— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) March 9, 2026

The Israeli military said today that it had begun a new wave of attacks against targets in Tehran, Isfahan, and elsewhere in central and southern Iran.

The Israeli Air Force has launched a new wave of “extensive” airstrikes in Tehran, Isfahan, and in southern Iran, the IDF announces.

The IDF says the strikes are targeting Iranian regime infrastructure.

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 9, 2026

The IDF says it struck several military bases of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force and internal security forces in the city of Isfahan, along with missile sites in other areas of the country.

During the wave of strikes in Isfahan, the IDF says it hit the headquarters of Iran’s… pic.twitter.com/q3PmMWFlvx

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 9, 2026

✈️ The IAF completed a wave of strikes, in which numerous munitions were dropped on 400+ military infrastructure targets including ballistic missile launchers & additional weapons production sites.

Since the beginning of Operation Roaring Lion, the IAF carried out ~190 strike… pic.twitter.com/3c85CUrDJg

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 8, 2026

It also said that it struck targets associated with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Beirut.

Five top commanders in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed in an Israeli Navy strike targeting a hotel room in Beirut overnight, the IDF announces.

According to the military, the commanders who were killed “while hiding in a civilian hotel” served in the IRGC… https://t.co/O8jOM0t453

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 8, 2026

According to Hezbollah, its fighters are meanwhile engaged with Israeli forces who entered eastern Lebanon via helicopter. Hezbollah said it detected “the infiltration of approximately 15 Israeli enemy helicopters” from the Syrian side of the border into Lebanon. The Iran-backed militant group said in a statement that its fighters “engaged the helicopters and the infiltrating force with appropriate weapons” and that the confrontation was ongoing.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency described “fierce clashes … towards the outskirts of the town of Nabi Sheet to repel Israeli forces that carried out a landing by helicopters” in the area. Two Hezbollah officials told AFP that an Israeli helicopter was downed, but this has not been independently verified.

⭕️IDF troops began a targeted and limited raid in an area in southern Lebanon to locate and eliminate terrorists and dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure.

Prior to the entry of ground forces, numerous terror targets were struck from the air and ground.

This operation aims to…

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 9, 2026

A previous Israeli commando raid was launched into Lebanon overnight on Friday. Among its aims was the recovery of the remains of Ron Arad, an Israeli airman missing since 1986. The fighting left three Lebanese soldiers and 41 residents of the Bekaa Valley dead, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

The Israeli military confirmed that two of its soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) today issued a new warning in Lebanon, calling for residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut to evacuate the area. An IDF spokesman said that the Israeli military will act “forcefully” against terrorist infrastructure in “the coming hours.”

The IDF says it intercepted dozens of Hezbollah drones and struck dozens of the terror group’s rocket and missile launchers in southern Lebanon in recent days.

It publishes footage showing the interceptions of Hezbollah drones by a fighter jet, a helicopter, and a ground-based… pic.twitter.com/K1uuVQxbBT

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 9, 2026

The IDF also said it conducted targeted strikes against the Iranian Lebanon Corps in Beirut over the weekend.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Israel of unlawfully using white phosphorus munitions in the town of Yohmor in southern Lebanon. HRW verified and geolocated various images that confirmed the airburst use of white phosphorus munitions over a residential part of the town last week.

“The Israeli military’s unlawful use of white phosphorus over residential areas is extremely alarming and will have dire consequences for civilians,” Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

White phosphorus is not a chemical weapon, as sometimes described, since it is primarily an incendiary weapon, although it’s also regularly used for making smokescreens and for target marking. Burning at around 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit, white phosphorus can obviously inflict terrible injuries, and its use in densely populated areas violates international law.

As we discussed last week, Israel may be using a version of the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) that includes white phosphorus in its warhead. However, this particular weapon was designed to attack chemical and biological weapon stockpiles.

Iran and its proxies launched more attacks across the region over the weekend and into Monday.

Gulf nations reported missile and drone attacks Sunday, while Iran vowed to press on with strikes against neighbouring countries as the regional war enters its second weekhttps://t.co/S0cZrTC5I0

🎥 Aftermath of strike on tower in Kuwait City pic.twitter.com/cfoNWrUIAr

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 8, 2026

There are reports that strikes targeted a U.S. diplomatic facility near Baghdad’s international airport but were apparently intercepted.

Another successful drone interception reportedly occurred east of Saudi Arabia’s northern Al-Jawf region. The Saudi Ministry of Defense has released footage showing Iranian drones being taken out by Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) F-15 and Typhoon fighters. The RSAF has plenty of practice in this, having targeted drones launched by the Houthis in Yemen for many years.

However, Iran was more successful in its targeting of the Bapco (Bahrain Petroleum Company) oil refinery — the only one in Bahrain.

Videos show smoke rising from the refinery, where operators declared a state of emergency.

Footage shows massive fires raging at Bahrain’s only oil refinery after it was struck by an Iranian Shahed-136 one-way-attack (OWA) drones.

Following the strike, Bapco Energies, Bahrain’s state-owned oil company, declared force majeure on its deliveries later in the day, citing… pic.twitter.com/cVUKY3AbVy

— Egypt’s Intel Observer (@EGYOSINT) March 9, 2026

A statement from the company said it “hereby serves notice of force majeure on its group operations which have been affected by the ongoing regional conflict in the Middle East and the recent attack on its refinery complex.”

The Bahrain Ministry of Interior earlier today said that the fire at the refinery had been brought under control, with no casualties reported.

Civil Defence: The fire that broke out in a facility in the Ma’ameer area, as a result of Iranian aggression, has been brought under control. No injuries or loss of life were reported. pic.twitter.com/9T6hh7Qny9

— Ministry of Interior (@moi_bahrain) March 9, 2026

Earlier today, Bahrain said an overnight Iranian drone attack on the island of Sitra injured 32 people.

At least 32 Bahrainis were injured in an Iranian drone attack on the island of Sitra including four who were in critical condition, Bahrain’s state news agency said.

— Idrees Ali (@idreesali114) March 9, 2026

Other countries in the region have also reported being targeted by more retaliatory Iranian strikes.

In central Israel, a man was killed, and several more were injured in an airstrike, according to local emergency services. It is unclear who launched the attack, but several people were reportedly injured as they made their way to a shelter.

Further to the scene at a construction site in central Israel, MDA EMTs and paramedics pronounced the death of a man, approximately 40 years old, and evacuated to Sheba Tel Hashomer Hospital a man, approximately 40 years old, in serious and unstable condition. pic.twitter.com/cmKg8rkk4u

— Magen David Adom (@Mdais) March 9, 2026

Iran on Monday fired its first barrage of missiles toward Israel after the appointment of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as the Islamic Republic’s new supreme leader – State media pic.twitter.com/KSUWCDMFRY

— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) March 9, 2026

The recent Iranian missile strikes on Israel reportedly also involved the use of warheads carrying cluster munitions.

From the scenes of some of the cluster munition impacts in central Israel following Iran’s latest ballistic missile attack. pic.twitter.com/Pqp9HQCJgs

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 9, 2026

Footage shows two of the Iranian cluster bomb munitions’ impacts in central Israel during the ballistic missile attack this morning.

A total of six cluster munition impact sites were reported across central Israel, killing one and seriously injuring two others. pic.twitter.com/8QEXYcuQXT

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 9, 2026

In the United Arab Emirates, authorities reported two people injured in two separate locations in Abu Dhabi. Both are said to have been hit by debris from intercepted airstrikes.

تعاملت الجهات المختصة في إمارة أبوظبي مع حادثين نتيجة سقوط شظايا على موقعين، عقب الاعتراض الناجح من قبل الدفاعات الجوية. أسفر الحادث الأول عن تعرض شخص من الجنسية الأردنية لإصابة بسيطة، وأسفر الحادث الثاني عن تعرض شخص من الجنسية المصرية لإصابة متوسطة.

ونهيب بالجمهور استقاء…

— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@ADMediaOffice) March 9, 2026

Meanwhile, the fallout from an attack last week on the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone in the UAE is threatening to further disrupt the flow of oil out of the region.

This is significant to shipping as Fujairiah is not just a loading port but a MAJOR bunkering port for ships.

Without it, this will force refueling around the world where stocks are limited and more expensive. https://t.co/s9t68n7MPU

— Sal Mercogliano (WGOW Shipping) 🚢⚓🐪🚒🏴‍☠️ (@mercoglianos) March 9, 2026

The United Arab Emirates is now using AH-64 Apache attack helicopters in a counter-drone role. The footage below shows Apaches from the UAE Joint Aviation Command — reportedly the latest AH-64E versions, rather than the earlier AH-64Ds — using their 30mm guns to bring down Iranian UAVs. While the U.S. Army and other operators using AH-64s to swat down lower-end long-endurance drones might be relatively new, it’s worth noting that Israel has been using the Apache in an air defense role for this purpose for many years. 

The UAE military is using Apache attack helicopters to shoot down Shahed drones over water. This will save a significant number of expensive interceptors as these are practically free kills – just using a few 30mm rounds. A wise evolution of the country’s defensive strategy. https://t.co/7GMkLcssVS

— Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib (@afalkhatib) March 8, 2026

AFP reports several explosions heard today in the Qatari capital of Doha.

Qatar’s defense ministry said that its forces had intercepted and destroyed two drones heading toward the Shaybah oil field in the southeast of the country. These were just a fraction of a much larger barrage of ballistic missiles and drones sent toward Qatar, according to the defense ministry.

UAE air defences intercept 12 ballistic missiles, 17 UAVs.

UAE air defences on Monday detected 15 ballistic missiles, of which 12 were destroyed, while 3 missiles fell into the sea. A total of 18 UAVs were also detected, with 17 intercepted, while 1 fell within the country’s… pic.twitter.com/7l2tjyclK5

— وزارة الدفاع |MOD UAE (@modgovae) March 9, 2026

In Kuwait, the defense ministry reported that air defenses were working to intercept a missile and drone attack on Monday.

بيان رقم (22)

صادر عن المتحدث الرسمي لوزارة الدفاع
العقيد الركن سعود عبدالعزيز العطوان

تصدّت القوات المسلحة الكويتية منذ فجر اليوم الأحد الموافق 8 مارس 2026 لموجةٍ من الأهداف الجوية المعادية التي اخترقت أجواء البلاد.

حيث رصدت منظومات الدفاع الجوي عدد (7) صواريخ باليستية… pic.twitter.com/tMincF3hON

— KUWAIT ARMY – الجيش الكويتي (@KuwaitArmyGHQ) March 8, 2026

Footage purportedly showing a burning high-rise building in Kuwait after it was struck by an Iranian drone over the weekend.

🇰🇼🇮🇷 A massive fire has engulfed a high-rise building in Kuwait after it was struck by an Iranian drone.

The building is located at 29°21’46.61″N, 47°59’01.49″E. pic.twitter.com/OrpzrLnE0Y

— Egypt’s Intel Observer (@EGYOSINT) March 8, 2026

Cyprus, which has also been on the receiving end of drone strikes, received six Turkish Air Force F-16 fighters today. The jets were deployed to the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to bolster local defenses for the Turkish Cypriot state.

6 x Turkish F-16 fighter jets deployed to Northern Cyprus, conducting a show-of-force flight after arriving in the region.

Source: Kıbrıs Postası, Haber Kıbrıs pic.twitter.com/xYp4stP4Uy

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 9, 2026

Turkey has also reportedly come under attack from at least one Iranian ballistic missile, which the local defense ministry said was brought down by “NATO air and missile defense assets” based in the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkish MoD warns Iran:

Türkiye places great importance on good neighborly relations and regional stability.

However, we reiterate that any threat directed at our territory or airspace will be met with all necessary measures, taken decisively and without hesitation.

We… https://t.co/NXEdZnahB7

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 9, 2026

NATO has again intercepted a missile heading to Türkiye. NATO stands firm in its readiness to defend all Allies against any threat

— NATO Spokesperson (@NATOpress) March 9, 2026

In a statement provided to TWZ, a NATO spokesperson added:

“In less than 10 minutes, NATO service members identified a threat to Allies, a ballistic missile, confirmed its trajectory, alerted land- and sea-based missile defence systems, and launched an interceptor to defeat the threat and protect our territory and its people.”

The U.S. military has confirmed the death of a seventh American soldier due to injuries sustained during Iran’s initial counterattack. The Department of War said that Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky, died of his wounds yesterday. He had come under enemy attack on March 1, 2026, at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, where he served with the 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade.

CENTCOM Update

TAMPA, Fla. – Last night, a U.S. service member passed away from injuries received during the Iranian regime’s initial attacks across the Middle East. The service member was seriously wounded at the scene of an attack on U.S. troops in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia…

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 8, 2026

However, unverified reports of the death of an eighth U.S. service member during the current campaign have proven to be erroneous.

This is not accurate. The Marine who is referenced here died before the U.S. and Israeli bombing of Iran started and from non combat injuries, an official told me. His remains were not flown into Dover until March 4. https://t.co/WWM1jiFOl3

— Idrees Ali (@idreesali114) March 8, 2026

According to a report from Axios, U.S. President Donald Trump, together with envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, plans to travel to Israel tomorrow for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

However, reports from Israel suggest that the visit has been postponed.

Regardless, Trump has said that the end of the war will be a “mutual” decision to be made with Netanyahu, the Times of Israel reported.

“I think it’s mutual…a little bit. We’ve been talking. I’ll make a decision at the right time, but everything’s going to be taken into account,” Trump said.

In a telephone interview with the Times of Israel on Sunday, Trump said that Iran would have destroyed Israel if it weren’t for his and Netanyahu’s actions.

“Iran was going to destroy Israel and everything else around it…We’ve worked together. We’ve destroyed a country that wanted to destroy Israel,” the U.S. president said.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Videos showed a projectile striking near Kuwait’s Ali al-Salem Air Base, which has hosted a substantial number of US forces. Earlier on Thursday, the United States announced it was closing its embassy in the country and is reportedly evacuating its staff.

PLANS to build a new railway station and more than 1,000 homes on the site of an apocalyptic bunker have been unveiled.

The proposals include building a range of affordable housing, shops, a secondary school, health centre and train station on the site of a former RAF base.

Part of a large housing development at Alconbury Weald in  Huntingdonshire, the new community will sit on top of a sprawling nuclear bunker, built in 1988.

RAF Alconbury was an active airbase from 1938 up to 1995, surviving attacks from Luftwaffe during World War Two.

The construction of the bunker began in the 1980s with the site “designed to withstand a direct nuclear attack”.

Sitting on a bed of gravel, the bunker is made of steel and reinforced concrete – costing £50 million to construct.

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One purpose of the site was to secretly analyse data collected by spy planes during the Cold War.

Blast-proof guillotine doors divide a number of corridors inside, and further underground is a power plant and communications hub with an entire wall filled with buttons and dials.

Already 6,000 new build homes now surround the former military base and bunker after a major development which saw the first residents set up home in 2020.

The developer, Urban&Civic, now plan to expand the Cambridgeshire by building more houses and new railway station, which has been backed by Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Mike Jenner, Development Manager from Urban&Civic, said: “Phase 4 has an important role to play in the delivery of Alconbury Weald, connecting green spaces and key infrastructure.

“The design of Phase 4 ensures walking, cycling and public transport links connect to the wider site seamlessly, and supports the aspirations of our local transport partners to progress a rail station, which will benefit many.”

In homage to the area’s history dedicated green space has been named Runway Park, which the proposed plans include adding “pockets of play space near a water body” to.