Mission

Caracas, July 8, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez held a meeting with a military and diplomatic delegation from Israel on Tuesday.

The talks represented the first official engagement between Caracas and Tel Aviv since former President Hugo Chávez severed diplomatic relations in 2009.

According to Venezuelan state media reports, Rodríguez alongside Public Works Vice President Juan José Ramírez and Transport Minister Francisco Garcés sat down with Israeli officials to discuss plans for the removal of over 1 million tons of rubble from La Guaira state in the wake of June 24’s double earthquake.

For its part, the IDF indicated that its engineering personnel delivered a “national rehabilitation” plan to the Venezuelan government. Photos published on social media showed Brigadier General Elad Edri, chief of staff of the IDF Home Front Command, presenting a slide show titled “Project for the Reconstruction of the Future” with Venezuelan and Israeli flags. 

The Israeli Foreign Ministry added that, at Rodríguez’s request, its delegation will stay in the Caribbean nation for two additional weeks to “begin implementing the reconstruction plan prepared by Israeli experts.”

Uniformed Israeli soldiers have toured multiple affected areas in Caracas and La Guaira, reportedly conducting inspections on damaged infrastructure. It has held multiple meetings with Venezuelan authorities, including a previous one with Ramírez in the Vicepresidency of Public Works. In a press conference last week, Rodríguez expressed her appreciation for the arrival of the “highly trained and professional” Israeli team.

It is not presently known whether the Israeli evaluations are being coordinated with similar assessments from specialized Venezuelan brigades.

“We are here primarily to assist in a natural disaster,” diplomat Yoed Magen said in a social media video. “Whenever we come to a country to advise or provide assistance, a relationship is formed and it can lead to a faster rapprochement.”

Former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez cut ties with Tel Aviv in 2009, fiercely denouncing Operation Cast Lead as “genocide” and voicing solidarity with the Palestinian people.

President Nicolás Maduro maintained his predecessor’s position excoriating Israeli military occupation and war crimes in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as the June 2025 Twelve-Day War against Iran. The Maduro government publicly endorsed South Africa’s activation of the Genocide Convention against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2024.

The mission has drawn backlash from the Chavista grassroots.

“[Israel] is a rogue nation. Its rulers are committing a genocide against the native people of Palestine and now they supposedly help Venezuela rescue [earthquake] victims and rebuild La Guaira,” Hindu Anderi, spokesperson for the Platform of Solidarity with the Palestinian cause, wrote on social media.

Venezuelan officials have reported 3,685 people killed in the earthquake as of July 7, more than 16,000 injured, and over 15,000 displaced families. A total of 190 buildings have collapsed, with hundreds more suffering various levels of damage.

The Venezuelan government has radically shifted its foreign policy after the January 3 US military strikes and kidnapping of Maduro. Apart from reestablishing diplomatic relations with Washington, Caracas has distanced itself from historic allies. During the recent US-Israel war against Iran, Caracas did not express support for Tehran, instead offering public backing for US Gulf allies such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The diplomatic rapprochement with the Trump administration has seen US forces hold military exercises in Caracas and conduct an extrajudicial execution in southeast Bolívar State.

Following the recent earthquakes, Washington expanded its footprint in the Caribbean nation, with 900 military personnel reportedly on the ground in Venezuela. After conducting repair works, US forces are currently running logistics and aid operations at La Guaira port and the Simón Bolívar International Airport.

Edited by Lucas Koerner in Caracas.

A three-armed spacecraft rockets into orbit to rescue a NASA telescope that’s in danger of crashing back to Earth.

NASA has launched a robotic mission to try to prevent one of its ageing telescopes from burning up in the atmosphere in a complicated operation expected to last several months.

Northrop Grumman launched the Link spacecraft – built by United States-based Katalyst Space Technologies – from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean on Friday.

A Pegasus rocket blasted off from the belly of a modified aircraft putting Link on course to reach and capture NASA’s Swift Observatory in about a month.

Initially scheduled for Tuesday, the robot’s launch was postponed due to weather, then technical issues. Blast-off happened on Friday at 0836 GMT from an atoll in the Pacific Ocean.

The unprecedented $30m effort involves sending a robot to rescue the Swift space telescope that is falling towards Earth. If successful, the mission could pave the way for giving other satellites a second life.

Launched in 2004, Swift is sinking faster than ever because of recent solar storms. The $250m telescope studies gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe.

Once it reaches an orbit close to Swift’s, the robot will deploy its solar panels and perform a series of checks.

It will then have to locate the Swift telescope in the vastness of space, circle around it and dock using three robotic arms – manoeuvres expected to take several weeks.

Finally, it will attempt to propel the satellite approximately 300km (186 miles) higher above the Earth, roughly to its initial orbital position. That operation is expected to last at least a month.

“This is a lot of firsts stacked on top of each other,” Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of NASA’s astrophysics division, told reporters on Tuesday. “I’m just deeply thankful that we’re even giving this a go.”

Caracas, July 2, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Venezuelan government has welcomed an official Israeli delegation in the first significant bilateral engagement since Caracas severed ties with Tel Aviv in 2009.

In the wake of the devastating June 24 double earthquake, a joint civilian-military mission led by Israeli diplomat Yoed Magen landed in the South American country on Wednesday.

In a social media message, the IDF claimed its “humanitarian delegation” would “support recovery efforts” and share Israel’s “experience in emergency situations.”

The Israeli government confirmed the deployment of a “preliminary team” via its Spanish-language X account and announced further arrivals in the coming days.

“The remaining delegation members will incorporate themselves in the coming days. Expert teams will work alongside local authorities and collaborate in the reconstruction efforts,” the statement read.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil “received and thanked” the Israeli mission on behalf of the acting Delcy Rodríguez administration, claiming that  it was part of “international technical cooperation and support for the Venezuelan people.” In a Thursday night press conference, Rodríguez expressed her appreciation for the arrival of the “highly trained and professional” Israeli team and confirmed they were meeting with Venezuelan authorities to help evaluate damaged infrastructure.

The Israeli delegation includes a military contingent headed by Brigadier General Elad Edri, chief of staff of the IDF Home Front Command. It held meetings with Venezuelan Public Works Minister Juan José Ramírez and with Francisco Garcés, the head of a newly formed presidential commission tasked with evaluating the safety and habitability of infrastructure following the tremors.

Israeli nonprofits IsraAid and NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief had previously announced they were dispatching teams to Venezuela but their arrival has not been confirmed. Social media footage has shown the use of Israeli-made drones to conduct 3D-mappings of flattened buildings and locate possible survivors under the rubble.

The dispatch of the Israeli mission dovetails with a significant post-earthquake US military deployment. The Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) has reported 900 military personnel on the ground, while US forces are running logistics at the Simón Bolívar International Airport and La Guaira port.

Following the January 3 US military strikes and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro, the acting Rodríguez administration has fast-tracked a diplomatic rapprochement with Washington and radically reoriented its geopolitical alignments. During the recent US-Israel war against Iran, Caracas did not express support for its longtime ally in Tehran, instead offering public backing for US Gulf allies such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez severed ties with Tel Aviv in 2009, fiercely denouncing Operation Cast Lead as “genocide” and voicing solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Maduro maintained his predecessor’s policy position excoriating Israeli military occupation and war crimes in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as the June 2025 Twelve-Day War against Iran. The Maduro government publicly endorsed South Africa’s activation of the Genocide Convention against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2024.

The arrival of an Israeli mission has drawn backlash from the Chavista grassroots. Hindu Anderi, spokesperson for the Platform of Solidarity with the Palestinian cause, slammed the “hypocrisy” of Tel Aviv claiming the mantle of humanitarianism amid its ongoing genocides in Gaza and Lebanon.

“The Zionist regime wants to whitewash its record through rescue teams […] after condemning the Palestinian people to rubble,” she wrote on social media.

Venezuelan officials have reported 2,595 people killed in the earthquake as of July 2, more than 12,000 injured, and over 15,000 displaced families. The search and rescue operations have been backed by more than 4,000 foreign specialists from 30 countries.

Edited and with additional reporting by Lucas Koerner in Caracas.

Imagery has recently appeared showing a Russian Sukhoi Su-57 Felon fighter with an unusual external weapons load of short-range air-to-air missiles, as well as what looks like a previously unseen type of targeting pod. While we cannot say for sure, we may just have gotten our first close look at a Su-57 equipped to counter the Ukrainian kamikaze drones and cruise missiles that are now a regular menace to air defenses increasingly deep inside Russia.

Two photos, the original source of which is unclear, show a Su-57 configured with a pair of R-73/R-74 (AA-11 Archer) series short-range air-to-air missiles on pylons under the wings. One of those photos further shows the mysterious targeting pod below the left engine nacelle.

Both show a Su-57 seen from the rear inside a large shelter. One photo apparently surfaced on the TikTok social media platform. Somewhat surprisingly, it is one of a pair that also show apparent teenagers posing alongside the Felon — one of them inside the fighter’s cockpit — suggesting some kind of unofficial tour of the base.

The photos have been reposted on Russian social media, with military bloggers identifying them as showing Su-57s configured to hunt and shoot down Ukrainian drones.

While this certainly seems likely, we should not rule out some other possibilities, including a Felon involved in some kind of weapons trials. On the other hand, it is unusual to see Su-57s, in operational service or otherwise, carrying short-range air-to-air missiles externally. After all, the jet has internal bays specifically for this purpose, something we have described in detail in the past.

At the very least, this would appear to be a load-out optimized for close-range engagements, of the kind that would be required for hunting Ukrainian long-range one-way attack drones and, increasingly, cruise missiles.

It is also worth noting the large shelter in which the Su-57 is parked. This looks to be of the same type that has been installed at the airfield at Akhtubinsk in the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation, located more than 350 miles from the front line. In June of 2024, Akhtubinsk was itself hit by Ukrainian drones, which appear to have severely damaged, if not destroyed, a Felon parked in the open.

Russian military bloggers complained bitterly about the lack of protection from drone attacks at Akhtubinsk.

This reflected wider questions about the ability of Russia’s widely dispersed and heavily targeted air defenses to counter Ukrainian drone incursions and the ability to protect its own aircraft. Almost all of these assets, at the start of the conflict, sat in the open without any sort of shelters, let alone hardened ones. This is an area that Russia has since begun to address, even extending this to its long-range bomber fleet.

The Su-57 is very much a prized, ‘silver bullet’ asset of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS). But it is also notably well-equipped for countering drones and cruise missiles, as we will come onto later.

The number of production configuration Su-57s in Russia’s inventory is notoriously limited. As of early 2023, there were just around nine series-production Su-57s in Russian service, along with less than a dozen pre-production and prototype aircraft that are not fully equipped for combat operations. The number of production Felons has expanded since then, but not on a grand scale as Russia prioritizes production of fighters like the cheaper and less complex Su-35S Flanker.

The scope of the Su-57’s contribution to Russia’s conflict in Ukraine is hard to quantify.

The U.K. Ministry of Defense has stated that Su-57s have been used in Ukraine since “at least June 2022.”

Prior to that statement, there had been on-and-off claims of the Felon being used to launch standoff strikes, mirroring tactics for other Russian jets involved in similar missions, in which they avoid the highly contested airspace over Ukraine itself.

For this purpose, the Felon can be armed with the Kh-69 stealthy cruise missile, intended to destroy small, hardened targets at distances of over 180 miles. It also carries the Kh-58UShK anti-radiation missile (including in its internal weapons bays) with a maximum range of around 150 miles, depending on launch parameters.

There was also combat testing between the Su-57 and the S-70 UCAV that went terribly wrong.

Meanwhile, the Su-57 has very impressive air-to-air capabilities.

Most impressively, it is armed with the 124-mile-range R-37M (AA-13 Axehead) air-to-air missile, complemented by the R-77-1 (AA-12 Adder) air-to-air missile, with a range of 68 miles, which are also capable of engaging Ukrainian aircraft ‘across the border’ in some scenarios.

Using high-end, fifth-generation, or equivalent fighter jets to tackle hostile drones and cruise missiles would not be unique to Russia. The U.S. military, as well as Israel and the United Kingdom, have called upon their F-35 fleets to deal with lower-end threats like these in the Middle East.

The Su-57 is the only operational Russian fighter available in any kind of meaningful numbers with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.

The N036 radar, which has five separate AESA arrays, is part of a broader, integrated fire-control system that includes the 101KS electro-optical suite, the N036Sh identification friend or foe (IFF) system, and the L402 electronic countermeasures suite.

AESA radars are, in general, much better able to deal with drone and cruise missile threats.

Overall, any kind of AESA radar provides a significant boost to modern combat aircraft. In comparison with traditional mechanically scanned array technology, an AESA can find and track a target at a much greater range, more quickly, and with a greater degree of accuracy. This also applies to smaller threats, including those with limited radar signatures, or flying at very low levels, such as drones and cruise missiles.

The passive 101KS electro-optical suite should also be very useful against the same kinds of threats. It comprises an infrared search-and-track (IRST) sensor ahead of the cockpit, four ultraviolet missile-approach warning sensors, two directional infrared countermeasures turrets, and one imaging infrared sensor for low-level flying. Using the IRST, in particular, for counter-drone and cruise missile work, would reflect U.S. fighters’ employment of podded infrared sensors for the same. These sensors allow for long-range detection of low-radar-signature targets, including drones and cruise missiles. They can work collaboratively with the radar and other sensors to detect, classify, and engage these kinds of hard-to-spot targets at long distances.

Furthermore, unlike previous Russian tactical fighters, the Su-57 has a navigation and targeting pod, the 101KS-N, developed for it from the outset. Again, these kinds of stores have begun to be employed much more widely in efforts to counter drones and cruise missiles.

While targeting pods were first fielded for air-to-ground applications, they can also be used for air-to-air engagement, being highly important for visual ID at range. The laser designator can also be employed to illuminate, or ‘laze,’ a target, although that does not come into play with the Felon, since the aircraft has no laser-guided air-to-air weapons that we know of.

Most likely this is the 101KS-N Atoll from UOMZ.
If that’s the case, that’s actually very good—UOMZ usually produces some pretty low-quality stuff. https://t.co/54laFDZ6gc pic.twitter.com/6cqMFyYIzw

— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝕯𝔢𝔞𝔡 𝕯𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔠𝔱△ 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇺🇲🇬🇷 (@TheDeadDistrict) May 18, 2026

Interestingly, the pod seen in the accompanying image has a different rear end from the standard 101KS-N. It is unclear if it represents a new version of the pod, or even one that is optimized for air-to-air engagements, but that is a possibility. We also should not rule out that this is another type of store entirely, although its position on the nacelle makes that less likely.

Meanwhile, despite claims that Russia is developing laser-guided rockets that can be used for air-to-air engagements, like the U.S. developments of the 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) rocket as a lower-cost way to down drones, there is no evidence that these have yet been fielded. This leaves the R-73/R-74 series short-range air-to-air missiles as the cheapest option for bringing down these kinds of threats.

When the R-73 first emerged in the early 1980s, it soon established itself as a very capable short-range air-to-air missile. Its combination of an all-aspect infrared seeker, high off-boresight capability, thrust-vectoring controls, and the fact it could be cued by the pilot’s helmet-mounted sight was unusual for the time, but is now much more commonplace. It has also been proven as a drone-killer, as seen in the video below, of a Russian MiG-29 Fulcrum shooting down one of Georgia’s Israeli-made Hermes 450 drones over Abkhazia in March 2008.

Russian jet shoots Georgian drone © Reuters

The successor to the R-73 is the R-74M, which looks almost identical but has a new two-band infrared seeker. This provides an increased seeker range and an expanded off-boresight capability, reducing the possibility of the enemy aircraft escaping it in a tight-turning dogfight.

However, since critical parts of the R-74M were sourced from Ukraine, Russia then moved to the R-74M2, which is optimized for internal carriage by the Su-57. This uses a Russian-made seeker and a rocket motor with increased burn time, for longer range. The weapon can also be fired in lock-on-after-launch mode, which is typically required when launched from an internal bay, the missile beginning its flight under inertial control before achieving an in-flight lock-on.

It’s unclear which of these weapons are carried under the wings of the Su-57 in these images. However, with plentiful stocks of older R-73s still available, it would make good sense to carry these externally, since they cannot be accommodated in the internal weapons bays.

Another key counter-drone and cruise missile weapon could be the Su-57’s 30mm single-barrel cannon within the starboard wing root and provided with 150 rounds of ammunition. You can see it in action here. On the other hand, downing slow and low drones with the gun is very challenging from a fighter and can be outright dangerous. The 30mm gun on the Felon also has a notably limited magazine size.

All in all, there is some circumstantial evidence that Su-57s are now being used — whether routinely, or as part of combat trials — for air defense against Ukrainian drones and cruise missiles.

Clearly, this is a growing problem for Russia, underscored very publicly by the large-scale daylight raid on Moscow last month. In what was one of the biggest attacks on the Russian capital in the conflict, multiple Ukrainian drones and cruise missiles hit several locations across the city.

Ukraine is pursuing a relentless campaign that is particularly targeting Russia’s refineries, as well as weapons production sites, and key military facilities.

In response, Russia is calling upon a wide variety of assets to help defend against the drones and cruise missiles.

Although many key assets are deployed closer to the front lines in Ukraine, there is now an array of additional layered air defenses deployed in and around key potential targets. Defensive systems extend from S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile batteries to attack helicopters tasked with gunning down drones in midair. Most prominently, Pantsir short-range air defense batteries have been positioned on rooftops and elevated towers.

The ruSSians are using a Mi-26 heavy-lift helicopter to deliver a Pantsir-SMD-E air defense system onto the roof of the Nordstar Tower business center in downtown Moscow.

Well thanks, now everyone knows where the next Ukrainian drone is going to hit 🎯 👍 pic.twitter.com/hgeIPJUwSq

— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝕯𝔢𝔞𝔡 𝕯𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔠𝔱△ 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇺🇲🇬🇷 (@TheDeadDistrict) May 28, 2026

Ukraine has demonstrated it can now strike targets over vast expanses of Russian territory. With its ground-based air defenses already stretched extremely thin, robustly protecting a growing landmass from potential strikes with those systems alone just isn’t possible. With Ukraine increasingly using long-range cruise missiles capable of delivering very heavy warheads, the stakes are further increased. Even if fighter aircraft were just focused on defensing key targets from the heavy cruise missile threat, it would make sense as these missiles can do huge amounts of damage and are easier to spot using both infrared and radar sensors.

New, incredibly clear footage of a Ukrainian Flamingo cruise missile slamming into Russia’s Titan-Barrikady missile plant last week. pic.twitter.com/Su30R6qRXI

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) June 30, 2026

In addition, we know fighters are part of the overall response equation already. For instance, they have been forward-stationed on alert at the bomber base at Engels for some time now.

These kinds of fighter activities are less visible, and the Russian authorities are unlikely to publicize them much, since the fact they are doing this work paints a less-than-impressive picture of the state of Russian air defenses, and further underlines expanding Ukrainian capabilities. This is especially true of the prized Su-57s, which may well now be involved in these lower-end defensive efforts.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Nearly a dozen A-10C Thunderbolt II attack jets landed at RAF Lakenheath in the U.K. earlier on Friday, sporting mission marks from operations in the Middle East as well as their distinctive nose art. The photos were taken by aviation photographer Andrew McKelvey, who told us that 11 Warthogs landed at Lakenheath at about 3 p.m. local time. McKelvey was kind enough to share his photos with us.

According to the Coronet East X account, the jets belong to the 75th Fighter Squadron and arrived through Aviano Air Base in Italy from Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.

One of the most interesting shots shows one of the jets with an F-15E tail marking, green footprints of the Air Force Pararescue Jumpers (PJs) and the words “So others may live,” which is their motto. As we have previously reported, A-10s took part in the daring mission to rescue two F-15E crewmembers whose Strike Eagle was shot down over Iran, acting in the Sandy low-altitude escort role for the rest of the rescue package. One A-10 was struck by Iranian fire and crashed. The pilot survived.

So it is possible that the Warthog with this marking took part in the F-15E crew’s CSAR operation or another one that we do not know of. We reached out to the 75th Wing for more information.

Following a long aviation tradition of personalizing aircraft, the Warthogs are emblazoned with colorful nose art that includes Nintendo game characters homages like Ridley the giant purple space dragon, ‘Diddy Kong,’ King Dedede, Samus Aran, Star Fox and Little Mac. Non video game references include Macho Man, Doc Holiday and the Reaper.

We have previously noted that personnel have applied nose art as part of other deployment to Muwaffaq Salti, which appears to be becoming something of a trend in the region. F-15Es from RAF Lakenheath are well known for their often comical nose art designs and the practice is now allowed after the USAF forbid it unless under very particular circumstances for many years.

The mission marks show a mix of weapons used against Iranian targets. They include Small Diameter Bombs, GBU-12 Paveways, Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) laser-guided rockets, AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface missiles. Miniature Air-Launched Decoys (MALDs) and generic bombs that probably signify Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs). The A-10 notorious gun is also represented.

There are also a couple of target type ‘kill’ markings seen, as well. This includes a pair of boats and a truck that appears to have made a giant secondary explosion, based on the mushroom cloud marking.

As we have previously reported, the venerable Warthogs were pressed into service helping to destroy the Iranian Navy, strike Iranian proxies in Iraq and Syria, and take part in the aforementioned rescue mission, among other tasks, as part of Operation Epic Fury.

All this took place as the seemingly ceaseless debate between the Air Force and Congress about the future of these jets and their survivability in future conflicts rages on. We recently wrote that an amendment added to the House Armed Services Committee’s version of the National Defense Authorization bill threw a lifeline to the jets. It called for the Secretary of the Air Force to keep supporting A-10 training, testing, experimentation, maintenance, and sustainment efforts through to the planned retirement date, as well as preserving lessons learned and operational expertise from A-10 missions to help shape future replacement systems.

Regardless of what ultimately becomes of the A-10, the markings seen in these pictures shows they still provided a lot of value in this most recent fight.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com

In less than a month, Riverside’s Mission Inn has gained a new owner, lost two prized pieces of art and sparked a heated debate over the line between private property and community history.

The stage for this controversy was set in early May, when hotel owner Kelly Roberts decided to sell the Mission Inn to the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation, the tribe that owns the Yaamava’ Resort & Casino in Highland and the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

But it wasn’t the sale (for an undisclosed amount) that started arguments. It was Roberts’ removal of two beloved paintings from the hotel before the sale closed.

A painting at the Mission Inn in Riverside titled “Charge Up San Juan Hill” is taken down on March 20, shortly before the hotel’s change in ownership.

(James Ranger)

One is an alpine landscape called “California Alps” (1874) by William Keith, which measures roughly 6 feet by 8 feet and was displayed in the lobby near the front desk. The other painting, “Charge Up San Juan Hill” (about 1900) by Vasily Vereshchagin, was displayed on a wall of the steakhouse near the lobby. Both paintings had been a part of the hotel for more than a century.

“It was like a slow-motion version of the Louvre Museum heist, pulled off on a sunny day in Riverside in view of guests, staff and visitors,” wrote David Allen of the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

“There’s an outrage among members of this community,” said Mike Marlatt, a Riverside attorney and former board member of the Mission Inn Foundation.

The issue appears to be what agreements Roberts’ late husband made when he bought the building more than 30 years ago.

Former Riverside redevelopment official Ralph Megna, who facilitated the 1992 sale to Duane Roberts’ Historic Mission Inn Corp., wrote on Facebook that “What Kelly is apparently doing at this point is just pillaging the place in violation of those agreements.” But on a phone call, he was less absolute. He said the original pact included an agreement intended to protect about 180 movable pieces of art and artifacts from removal, but that “there’s shades of gray here.” Megna added, “We trusted people. Good faith turned out to be not so good.”

Duane and Kelly Roberts, photographed in 1998 at their home in Laguna Beach. Duane, who reopened the Mission Inn in the early 1990s, died in 2025.

(Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Roberts’ family attorney Alan Jackson, however, said “Kelly is not pillaging anything.” He maintained that when Duane Roberts bought the hotel, “he bought every single item. Every single item was the Roberts family’s personal property.” When Kelly Roberts sold the hotel last month, Jackson said, she was free to keep or sell any of its contents.

In that deal, Jackson said, “the buyers would not close” until the paintings and a sculpture of Duane and Kelly Roberts were removed, because “they’re expensive.” Also, Jackson said that Duane Roberts, “before his passing, made it very clear to Kelly and the family that those are two of his favorite paintings ever.”

Jackson declined to say where the artworks are but said “they are in her possession” and “she has no intention of ever getting rid of those ever.”

The iconic spiral staircase in the rotunda of the historic Mission Inn.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The hotel’s new owner, the San Manuel Investment Authority, declined to address questions about the sale agreement. But in a statement, it said it is “committed to collaborating with the Mission Inn Foundation and the City to respectfully steward and preserve this historic landmark, recognizing its deep history and significance to the Riverside community.”

Despite accolades from groups including Historic Hotels of America, tensions between the Roberts family and Riverside preservationists have risen in recent years. In late 2024, after more than 30 years renting space within the hotel, the nonprofit Mission Inn Foundation and Museum was unable to agree on a lease extension with hotel management and moved to a building on Main Street. Foundation leaders did not respond to messages seeking comment.

“The Mission Inn is so foundational to Riverside that any significant change brings real concern to me and makes me uneasy,” said City Council member Philip Falcone, 28, who has been leading tours of the inn since he was in high school.

The Keith painting is “quintessential California, a romanticized view of the Sierra Nevada range. William Keith, the painter, was friends with John Muir,” Falcone said. As for the San Juan Hill painting, it connects neatly with the history of Theodore Roosevelt, one of nine presidents who have visited the inn.

A guest takes in the view from the Spanish patio at the Mission Inn.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

The hotel is largely the creation of Frank Miller, who bought Glenwood Cottage, a modest boarding house, from his father in 1880. Then Miller enlisted investment help from his friend, railroad magnate Henry Huntington, transformed the boarding house into a hotel and renamed it. Over time, Miller built it into an architectural wonderland filled with art and antiques gathered in the U.S. and Europe. By 1931, the enterprise filled a city block.

“It’s a unique property,” said David Stolte, president of the Old Riverside Foundation. “It’s a National Historic Landmark. It kind of sits at the intersection of private commerce and public benefit. The original owner, Frank Miller, intended it as a public space, essentially a cultural museum, in addition to his business of running a hotel.”

After Miller’s death in 1935, the hotel’s reputation spread even further, attracting dignitaries of the day — and the future. It served as the site of Richard and Pat Nixon’s wedding in 1940 and Ronald and Nancy Reagan’s honeymoon in 1952. But by the 1960s, it was much diminished, and a later owner, Benjamin Swig, had sold close to 1,000 antiques and artworks to help pay bills.

By the mid-1980s, the hotel had passed through a period of city ownership and was closed. By 1992, more than $50 million had been spent in restoration and renovation, but the project was scuttled by a bankruptcy. That’s when Duane Roberts, who grew up in Riverside and made his fortune selling flash-frozen burritos, bought the property and reopened it.

Duane and Kelly Roberts, residents of Laguna Beach, also established the hotel’s annual Festival of Lights, an Inland Empire holiday tradition. The hotel today includes 238 guest rooms, four restaurants, two lounges, two chapels, a spa, pool and candy shop.

Besides their stewardship of the hotel, Duane and Kelly Roberts became known as major donors to the Republican party. In 2017, Politico reported that Kelly Roberts was in line to be named the Trump administration’s ambassador to Slovenia, but turned down the post.

After Duane Roberts died at 88 in November, Riverside buzzed with questions over the fate of the hotel, prompting another Roberts family lawyer to offer public assurances.

“Nobody’s buying this hotel. Mrs. Roberts is keeping this hotel,” attorney Patrick O’Brien told a TV news crew in late November. But on May 4, Kelly Roberts and the San Manuel Investment Authority announced the pending sale.

Festival of Lights, Mission Inn’s popular holiday tradition, was created by Kelly and Duane Roberts after they reopened the hotel.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Then on May 20, guests spotted workers removing the two paintings from the lobby area. Longtime hotel-watchers said other items had disappeared in recent years, including an 1876 Steinway piano; a statue of the goddess Pomona; William Wendt’s painting “Houses at Arch Beach”; Ilya Repin’s 1884 painting “Portrait of Madame K.”; and the hotel’s Taft Chair, a sturdy oak armchair commissioned by Frank Miller in 1909 to hold 335-pound President Taft. But the midday, presale removal of the Keith and Vereshchagin paintings prompted immediate outcry.

It was “traumatizing, seeing that stuff on display for so long and then seeing it come down,” said James Ranger, a veteran hotel tour guide and Mission Inn Foundation docent. After all the time and money the Roberts family invested in the property, “leaving on this note puts a sour taste out there,” he said.

The sale closed May 29. Though the Roberts family’s attorneys have insisted that the buyers and sellers are in accord, preservation advocates in Riverside have called for a review of documents associated with Roberts’ purchase of the property.

Meanwhile, the hotel’s new era as a tribal holding begins. Besides the two casino-hotels, the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation owns several other hotels, including the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club in Dana Point. As for the Mission Inn, the tribe has signed on Boston-based Pyramid Global Hospitality to take over management, and several changes are already evident.

Notably, the Roberts’ names have been dropped from the signage. Kelly’s Spa has become simply the spa, Duane’s Steakhouse is now just the steakhouse, and Casey’s Cupcakes, a hotel shop founded by Kelly’s daughter Casey Beau Brown, has closed. The Festival of Lights will continue, a spokesperson said.

Stolte said the Old Riverside Foundation believes the tribe will be “great stewards” for the Mission Inn.

“I wish that their welcome to Riverside was a little smoother,” he said.

Staff writer Alex Wigglesworth also contributed to this story.

June 3 (UPI) — Almost six months after NASA lost contact with the spacecraft, the agency has declared the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Environment satellite unrecoverable and its mission concluded.

NASA’s Deep Space Network (radio antennas that connect Earth with spacecraft) last received a transmission from the MAVEN satellite on Dec. 6, just before its orbit passed behind Mars. When it emerged, communications did not resume, NASA said. The cause of this lapse was under investigation, but the agency said the satellite was rotating at an usually high rate, leading to drained batteries.

The MAVEN mission was the first successful one dedicated to observing Mars’ atmosphere and its evolution. It orbited the planet for more than 11 years, far longer than its planned one-year lifespan.

NASA hosted a media teleconference Wednesday about the end of the mission and issued a statement.

“The MAVEN mission has truly advanced our understanding of the Martian atmosphere and evolution,” said Shannon Curry, MAVEN principal investigator and a professor at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder. “This dataset has had a tremendous impact onthe field. Our science team is exceptionally proud of all of these amazing discoveries.”

The mission launched in November 2013 on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and arrived in Mars orbit 10 months later, Space.com reported.

During its mission, MAVEN provided information about Mars’ atmosphere and how it became the planet it is today, changing from a planet with a more Earth-like atmosphere that could host liquid water on the surface. It discovered new types of auroras across the planet and studied Mars’ dust storms.

MAVEN also played a key role as a communications link to the Curiosity and Persistence rovers on Mars. The Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft remain in operation to play that role.

“The science MAVEN has given us is key to informing what kind of radiation protection and safety measures we must take before sending humans to Mars,” said Louise Prockter, director of the planetary science division at NASA. “The data collected from MAVEN will continue to provide valuable insight into Mars for decades to come.”

Iran protests as Trump announces ‘Project Freedom’ to escort stranded ships out of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Zion Phelps story is going to be told over and over at Loyola High to show students what can happen when someone discovers potential and decides to take a chance to bring it out.

In his first year running track after bragging during the football season that he was the fastest student at Loyola, Phelps proved on Thursday he’s also the fastest 100-meter runner in the Mission League by winning in a school-record time of 10.49 seconds at the Mission League finals at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

“I’m beyond grateful,” he said after embracing Loyola coach Sharaud Moore.

A junior defensive back, Phelps let Moore bring out his track talent, and now he has options in track and football.

Loyola’s Ejam Johannes offers the “shoosh” sign after anchoring the winning 4×100 relay team. He also won the Mission League 400 and 200 titles.

(Craig Weston)

Another Loyola athlete stepping forward in preparation for next weekend’s Southern Section Division 1 prelims was Ejam Yohannes. He ran anchor leg for the 4×100-meter relay team that beat Notre Dame for the first time in three years with a time of 40.75. At the finish, he put a finger over his lips and gave a “shoosh” sign. He also won the 400 meters in 47.05 and the 200 meters in 20.85, the fourth-best wind legal time in the state this year.

Notre Dame’s JJ Harel qualified in three events — going 6 feet, 10 inches in the high jump, 22-5¼ in the long jump and also qualifying in the triple jump.

The strangest moment of the day came in the Mission League 100 girls’ final. Nalia Keyes of Chaminade and Maya Rios of Bishop Alemany tied for first place, each finishing with a time of 12.46.

“It’s weird,” Rios said of her first ever race tie.

In the Marmonte League final, Demare Dezeurn of Westlake ran the 100 meters in 10.39 seconds to outduel Jaden Griffin of Newbury Park (10.50) and Kingston Celifie of Calabasas (10.56). Dezeurn played football for Palisades in the fall after transferring from Bishop Alemany last season.

Baseball

Sylmar 10, Kennedy 0: Rickee Luevano hit a grand slam for Sylmar.

Westlake 10, Newbury Park 3: Dylan Lee homered and Holden Backus had two hits and three RBIs.

Bishop Amat 3, La Serna 2: Ray Castro threw six innings and also had an RBI single.

Temecula Valley 3, Vista Murrieta 1: Grayson Martin gave up one hit and struck out seven in six innings.

Oaks Christian 17, Calabasas 8: Ryan Sheffer hit two home runs and finished with four RBIs.

Softball

Garden Grove Pacifica 4, Cypress 1: Jenna Valladares had an RBI triple and Shay Kletke threw a complete game.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 16, Louisville 0: Jackie Morales had three hits and six RBIs.

Harvard-Westlake 14, Chaminade 11: It was a wild Mission League game that ended on a walk-off grand slam by Kale’a Tindal in the bottom of the ninth inning. Chaminade scored five runs in the seventh to tie the score 9-9. Both teams scored runs in the eighth to make it 10-10. Chaminade took an 11-10 lead in the top of the ninth on an RBI single by Siena Greenlinger. Tindal finished with four hits and four RBIs. Dylan Fischer had a home run, two doubles, a single and four RBIs.

Murrieta Mesa 8, Great Oak 0: Tatum Wolff threw six innings, striking out 10 and walking none. She also hit a home run.

Maybe Tom Cruise will make a visit to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame on Thursday for the Mission League track and field finals since he’s the one who said in his 1986 movie, “Top Gun,” that he feels “the need for speed.”

There will be no lacking in speed for the 100 meters, where there are so many runners who have run under 11 seconds this season that a second 100 final could be run if needed. Zion Phelps of Loyola has the fastest time at 10.39. Quincy Hearn of Notre Dame is at 10.52. Jayden Davis of Loyola has run 10.57. And there’s a freshman at Harvard-Westlake, Calvin Portley, who ran 10.69 at Monday’s prelims.

The 4×100 relay also should be outstanding, matching Notre Dame and Loyola. The Notre Dame quartet of Nikko Petronicolos, Quincy Hearn, Beckham Borquez and Emmanuel Pullins has run 40.76. Loyola has a time of 40.73.

Borquez is also a top hurdler and defending state champion JJ Harel of Notre Dame will be in the high jump. Ejam Yohannes of Loyola is one of the favorites to win a state title in the 400.

League finals are scheduled all week, with the Trinity League finals on Friday at 6 p.m. at JSerra.

Southern Section prelims will be held next weekend, followed by the finals on May 16 at Moorpark High.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

WASHINGTON — Two and a half centuries after the American colonies declared independence from Britain under King George III, his descendant King Charles III lands in Washington on Monday with trans-Atlantic ties under strain and security in the spotlight.

A shooting at a Washington dinner attended by President Trump on Saturday sparked a last-minute security review of the four-day state visit, intended to celebrate the United States’ 250th anniversary, and the U.S.-U.K. “special relationship.”

Buckingham Palace said the king “is greatly relieved to hear that the president, first lady and all guests have been unharmed.” After a security review, the palace said the trip “will proceed as planned.”

Trump praises the king but derides Starmer

A rift between the U.K. government and Trump over issues including the Iran war had already raised the political stakes for the British monarch’s visit.

In recent weeks, Trump has lambasted Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his unwillingness to join U.S. military attacks on Iran, dismissing Britain’s leader as “not Winston Churchill,” the World War II prime minister who coined the phrase “special relationship” for the U.K.-U.S. bond.

It’s part of a wider rift between Trump and the United States’ NATO allies, whom he has called “cowards” and “useless” for not joining action against Iran. A leaked Pentagon email suggested the U.S. could reassess support for the U.K.’s sovereignty over the Falkland Islands in the south Atlantic. Britain and Argentina fought a 1982 war over the islands, also known as the Islas Malvinas.

The president insists the political chill won’t affect the royal visit. Charles “has nothing to do with that,” Trump said in March, meaning NATO.

The president has spoken in glowing terms about Charles, repeatedly referring to the monarch as his “friend” and a “great guy.”

He also continues to mention his “amazing” trip to the U.K. in September with first lady Melania Trump for an unprecedented second state visit. Starmer hand-delivered the invitation from the king in the Oval Office five weeks after Trump returned to office, in a very public attempt to woo the Republican president.

The U.K. royal family laid on pomp and pageantry for the Trumps, with scarlet-clad guardsmen, brass bands and a sumptuous banquet at Windsor Castle.

“President Trump has always had great respect for King Charles, and their relationship was further strengthened by the president’s historic visit to the United Kingdom last year,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told The Associated Press. “The president looks forward to a special visit by Their Majesties, which will include a beautiful state dinner and multiple events throughout the week.”

Trump, meanwhile, told the BBC that the king’s visit could “absolutely” help repair the trans-Atlantic relationship.

“He’s fantastic. He’s a fantastic man. Absolutely the answer is yes,” the president said.

Some have called for the trip to be canceled

Kristofer Allerfeldt, a University of Exeter professor specializing in American history, said the two governments have very different objectives for the trip.

He said that for Charles, the trip is about “reinforcing long-term ties, showcasing the monarchy’s soft power and reminding the world that Britain still carries diplomatic weight.”

For Trump, it’s more about “a media event,” with emphasis on the optics of a visit that resembles a meeting of “two gilded monarchs.”

Some U.K. politicians worry that the trip is fraught with opportunities for embarrassment. Trump’s recent broadsides at Pope Leo XIV have heightened those concerns.

Ed Davey, leader of the U.K. centrist opposition Liberal Democrats party, earlier this month called Trump “a dangerous and corrupt gangster” and implored the government to cancel the trip.

“I really fear for what Trump might say or do while our king is forced to stand by his side,” Davey said in the House of Commons. “We cannot put His Majesty in that position.”

Starmer defended the visit, saying “the monarchy, through the bonds that it builds, is often able to reach through the decades” and bolster important relationships.

Andrew and Epstein cast a shadow

Raising the stakes is the shadow of the king’s younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who has been stripped of his royal title of Prince Andrew, exiled from public life and put under police investigation over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. He has denied committing any crimes.

Epstein victims have urged the king to meet with them and other sexual abuse survivors. It’s unlikely he will do so.

Charles has visited the U.S. 19 times, but this is his first state visit to the country since becoming king in 2022. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, made four state visits to the U.S.

The king, who is 77 and was diagnosed in early 2024 with an undisclosed form of cancer, will spend four days in the U.S. accompanied by Queen Camilla.

In Washington, the king and queen will have a private tea with the Trumps and attend a garden party and a formal White House state dinner. The president and the king will also have a one-on-one meeting.

The royal couple will also visit the Sept. 11 memorial in New York and attend a 250th birthday block party in Virginia, where Charles will also meet Indigenous leaders involved in nature conservation — a favorite cause of the environmentalist king.

Three centuries after Britain’s kings and queens gave up any real political power, the royals remain symbols of soft power, deployed by elected governments to smooth international relationships and send messages about what the U.K. considers important.

A key moment will be the king’s speech to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday. It’s only the second time, after Queen Elizabeth II in 1991, that a U.K. monarch has addressed a joint meeting of both houses.

Elizabeth praised liberalism on that trip, spoke against the idea that “power grows from the barrel of a gun” and praised the “rich ethnic and cultural diversity of both our societies.”

The king’s treasured causes, including the environment and harmony among religious faiths, are in contrast to Trump’s. He’s unlikely to accentuate differences, but Allerfeldt said that, in the monarch’s subtle way, the king could use his speech to send a message.

“He does have an unorthodox way of looking at the world, and I think maybe he can actually have something valid to say when he addresses Congress,” Allerfeldt said.

Superville and Lawless write for the Associated Press. Jill Lawless reported from London.

Five years ago, longtime baseball coach Joe Cascione left coaching the sport to start a women’s tennis team at Mission College.

On Wednesday, Mission College won the state women’s tennis championship armed with local players from Kennedy, Granada Hills, Sylmar and Birmingham high schools, among others.

It’s quite an achievement to win it all with local athletes.

Key contributors included Amy Nghiem, Priscilla Grinner and America Fragoso from Granada Hills; Jaelyn Rivera from Birmingham; Josilyn Rivera and Natalia Ponce from Kennedy; Alitzel Ortega Partida from Golden Valley; Genesis Nochez from West Ranch and Kristen Bonzon from Sylmar.

Cascione singled out his players for their passion and commitment.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Sylmar coach Ray Rivera is smiling. His favorite major league team, the San Francisco Giants, beat the Dodgers twice this week with great pitching. And his favorite high school team, the Spartans, swept a two-game series from Sun Valley Poly with their own great pitching to move three games up in the Valley Mission League race with four to play.

Sylmar pitchers gave up no runs in 14 innings this week. After Matthew Torres threw a no-hitter on Monday against Poly, Alex Martinez took the ball Thursday and recorded six shutout innings in a 10-0 win over the Parrots. He gave up three hits and struck out five.

Tim Sepulveda finished with three hits. Sylmar is 17-6 and 10-1 in league.

Verdugo Hills 10, San Fernando 4: Anthony Velasquez had a two-run double and finished with three RBIs for the Dons.

El Camino Real 5, Chatsworth 1: Ryan Glassman had two hits and two RBIs and Shane Bogacz finished with two hits, including an RBI double, for El Camino Real. Hudson December gave up one hit in five innings.

Taft 5, Cleveland 2: Victor Jara had a two-run single to lead the Toreadors.

Bell 3, Garfield 1: Jayden Rojas struck out six in six innings. He also had two hits.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 8, Sierra. Canyon 5: The Knights ended a six-game losing streak. Jake Noroian had three hits and Jacob Madrid homered.

Alta Loma 2, South Hills 0: Logan Stein threw a one-hit shutout.

Thousand Oaks 4, Westlake 3: Preston Lee contributed an RBI single to break a 3-3 tie in the seventh and lift Thousand Oaks to victory.

Oaks Christian 6, Agoura 5: The Lions scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to win. Ryan Sheffer tied it with an RBI single and KJ Henrich won it with an RBI single. Carson Sheffer finished with two doubles. Tyler Starling homered for Agoura.

Villa Park 4, La Serna 0: Logan Hoppie struck out six and gave up two hits in six innings.

Aliso Niguel 3, San Clemente 1: Chad Alderman threw a complete game and Henry Drews had three hits.

Softball

Anaheim Canyon 4, Garden Grove Pacifica 1: Kelsey Perez struck out 11 for Canyon.

Carson 4, San Pedro 3: Ashannalee Titialii had two hits and Simi Mafoe homered for Carson.

Chaminade 7, Sierra Canyon 4: Siena Greenlinger had two hits and two RBIs.

It’s not every day that umpires decide a player used an illegal bat in a high school baseball game, so Wednesday’s Mission League game between host Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and Sierra Canyon began with a bang. A Sierra Canyon batter in the first inning was declared out after the umpires inspected the aluminum bat following an appeal from Notre Dame.

Sierra Canyon coach Tom Meusborn had a brief discussion with the umpires but their decision was not reversed. The bat apparently had a crack, which caused a strange sound. So began a sometimes tense, nearly four-hour game for second place in the Mission League.

Sierra Canyon scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a one-run lead, keyed by an RBI double from Brayden Goldstein and a bases loaded walk. In the bottom of the seventh, the Knights received two walks with one out. Sierra Canyon brought in sophomore pitcher Milo Benattar, who got a fly out and force play to save a 3-2 victory.

Sierra Canyon is 8-3 in league and Notre Dame 7-4.

Harvard-Westlake 12, St. Francis 1: The Wolverines, ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section power rankings, received home runs and four RBIs each from James Tronstein and Ira Rootman. Evan Alexander struck out 10 in 4 1/3 innings.

Chaminade 7, Crespi 0: Jackson Schroeder struck out 11 and gave up one hit. Isaiah Hearn and Robby Morgan each hit home runs.

Loyola 11, Bishop Alemany 4: Bobby Rapp had three hits to lead the Cubs.

Simi Valley 8, Royal 3: The Pioneers handed their rivals a first Coastal Canyon League defeat. Ryan Whiston had three hits, including two doubles.

Garfield 3, Bell 1: The Bulldogs improved to 7-0 in the Eastern League with a nine-inning win, possibly locking up a City Section Open Division playoff spot. Michael Santillan broke the 1-1 tie with an RBI single in the ninth.

Cypress 1, Foothill 0: Jake DeLaquil had the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning. Drew Slevcove struck out 13 in eight scoreless innings. Landon Smith pitched the final two innings for Cypress. Caden Lauridsen threw nine scoreless innings for Foothill.

St. John Bosco 6, Servite 3: Brayden Krakowski threw four innings of scoreless relief. Aaron Garcia had two RBIs.

Mater Dei 8, JSerra 5: Jack Reis hit a home run and Ezekiel Lara, Jaxon Olmstead and Emilio Young each had two hits for Mater Dei.

King 4, Corona Centennial 1: Eli Lipson had a two-run double and Jason Jones threw a complete game.

Corona 17, Eastvale Roosevelt 5: Adrian Ruiz had three hits and four RBIs.

Norco 3, Corona Santiago 2: After a scoreless game for five innings, Norco broke through for three runs in the sixth. Marcus Blanton had a two-run single. Santiago scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh before Jordan Ayala got the final out on a strikeout.

El Dorado 1, La Habra 0: Juilian Rodriguez struck out five and walked none in throwing the shutout. Brady Abner drove in the winning run in the sixth.

Gahr 9, Warren 1: Bryce Morrison gave up one run in five innings with six strikeouts and Andres Gonzalez had two hits and three RBIs.

San Clemente 2, Aliso Niguel 1: Easton Muraira threw a complete game for the Tritons.

Huntington Beach 4, Los Alamitos 2: Jared Grindlinger struck out eight in five innings.

Rancho Christian 10, Hillcrest 0: Jake Brande struck out 12 in five innings and gave up one hit. Hudson Abbe and Sean Downs each hit home runs.

Bishop Amat 4, La Salle 2: The Lancers clinched the Del Rey League title. Joaquin Ortiz went three for three.

Ayala 13, Diamond Bar 3: Easton Sarmiento finished with three hits and Dylan Wood added two hits and two RBIs.

Oaks Christian 2, Agoura 1: Justin Baird struck out eight in six innings for Oaks Christian. Carson Sheffer had two hits.

Mira Costa 7, West Torrance 1: Caden Ceman finished with three hits.

Torrance 4, Palos Verdes 3: Tessei Magori delivered a walk-off hit in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Softball

Norco 15, Corona Centennial 0: Peyton May gave up one hit and struck out 10 with no walks and Camryn May contributed three RBIs.

TWZ got a personal tour of a U.S. Army UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopter by its pilot during the Dubai Air Show in November 2025. Sikorsky has built more than 5,000 examples of the Hawk family of helicopters for 36 nations worldwide. Together they’ve racked up more than 15 million flight hours, including five million in combat.

The UH-60M Black Hawk has a maximum gross weight of 22,000 pounds (9,979 kg) and can transport 12 fully-equipped troops (seated). The variant has also been missionized for various roles, including for U.S. special forces as the MH-60M.

Whether used by the National Guard to respond to disasters, delivering humanitarian aid across Europe, supporting relief operations in the Philippines, battling wildfires in the Firehawk version, or hoisting stranded hikers, the Black Hawk is a truly versatile multi-mission helicopter.

Sikorsky’s Black Hawk modernization efforts will enable more power, greater payload and extended range while reducing fuel consumption. 

Furthermore, with a digital Modular Open-System Approach and autonomy for unmanned operations in its new U-Hawk variant, the Black Hawk will be able to support fast capability integration and enhanced survivability through uncrewed battlefield operations.

Check out the full walk-around video below:

U.S. Army UH-60M Black Hawk Tour And Mission Brief With Its Pilots

Contact the editor: Tyler@twz.com

U.S. Army officials say the modular design of the service’s new MV-75A Cheyenne II tiltrotor will make it easier to reconfigure baseline versions for the medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) mission. This also means that the aircraft can be readily restored to a configuration optimized for the air assaults. The Army currently operates HH-60 Black Hawk MEDEVAC helicopters purpose-built for this role. The service says the Cheyenne II will give commanders in the field important new flexibility, as well as help streamline the acquisition and fielding of the tiltrotors.

Army officials have touted the MV-75’s modularity in the context of the MEDEVAC role, also commonly referred to as the “dustoff” mission, on several occasions this week at the Army Aviation Association of America’s (AAAA) 2026 Warfighting Summit. TWZ has been in attendance at the conference, which wraps up today.

The Army plans to supplant a significant portion of its existing H-60 Black Hawk helicopters with MV-75s in the coming years. A subset of the service’s current Black Hawk fleet consists of the aforementioned HH-60 variants outfitted for the MEDEVAC role. Standard UH-60 transports can also be used to retrieve casualties, but are not equipped with the same array of specialized features found on the “dustoff” variants, which you can read more about here.

There are also plans for a special operations-specific configuration of the Cheyenne II, which TWZ has already explored separately.

The “MV-75, as I mentioned, that’s our signature system. Unmatched range. Unmatched speed. Unmatched mission flexibility,” Army Maj. Gen. Clair Gill, the Program Acquisition Executive for Maneuver Air, told attendees at AAAA on Wednesday. “We’re going to build a modular aircraft that we can use for multiple purposes. So it’s going to have a capability that we can put a MEDEVAC ‘plug’ into it, and generate medical capability for the warfighter.”

With MV-75, “we’re no longer going to have a purpose-built [MEDEVAC] variant. It’s going to be what we like to call a configuration. No longer is ‘tail number 25’ coming off the product line going to be the special operations variant, or the medical evacuation variant,” Army Maj. Thomas Barth further explained during a panel discussion at AAAA yesterday. “You can input what that is via the A kit, and then a B kit – for MEDEVAC, that being the patient handling system, the sensor, and the hoist.”

Barth is leading the integration of MEDEVAC capabilities onto the Cheyenne II and has personal experience as a “dustoff” helicopter pilot.

It should be noted that Army officials separately said at AAAA this week that they expect all MV-75s to be equipped with a hoist.

At the panel discussion, Barth did not elaborate on the “sensor” that will be included in the MEDEVAC configuration. However, existing Army HH-60s do have a sensor turret under their noses that contains electro-optical and infrared video cameras. This is something not found on the service’s standard UH-60s. Bell, the MV-75’s prime contractor, also released a computer-generated video this week, seen below, which depicts a MEDEVAC version of the Cheyenne II with a sensor turret under the nose. Depictions, at least so far, of the baseline MV-75 configuration do not include this sensor turret.

Meet the Cheyenne II

“Being able to have that capability from the beginning of the platform is going to be great. And I really look at modularity from a tactical perspective for MEDEVAC,” Barth added. “Let’s say I have to provide MEDEVAC, and I have an aircraft or a patient handling system that goes down, but I have an aircraft that has a perfectly good patient handling system in it, but that aircraft’s in maintenance. I can now modularly reconfigure my fleet internally to be able to meet the needs of the commander.”

The MV-75 will also offer a massive leap in capability over existing HH-60s, just on account of its increased speed and range. Those attributes have always been among the most attractive elements of the aircraft, and especially so for the MEDEVAC mission. The time it takes to get casualties, especially ones with very serious injuries, to higher levels of care can easily mean the difference between life and death. Medical professionals regularly use the term “golden hour,” which refers to the first 60 minutes after a serious injury occurs, where the chances of saving that person’s life or otherwise preventing serious permanent damage are highest.

Army officials see the added operational flexibility that the Cheyenne II offers going beyond just the MEDEVAC mission.

“Providing flexibility for the warfighter, and really for the commander, is the most important to us. So the aircraft is modular from birth,” Army Col. Jeffrey Poquette, who is managing the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program under which the MV-75 is being developed, also said, while speaking alongside Barth at AAAA. “The commander can maybe take a day to say we need more MEDEVAC aircraft, or we need more assault aircraft.”

“We’re going to let our land component commanders tell us how much of that [MEDEVAC capacity] they need so they’ve got options,” Maj. Gen. Gill had also said on Wednesday. “Maybe in a defense [sic], they want to maximize MEDEVAC capability, put all the plugs in, go heavy MEDEVAC. If not, if they can strip that out, [and] we’ve got more assault capability. So we’re pretty excited about that.”

All of this does raise personnel, training, and force structure questions, especially when it comes to the MEDEVAC role. The Army currently assigns HH-60s to dedicated air ambulance units. “Dustoff” crews specifically train for this mission set and have developed a relevant institutional knowledge base in the process. The Army has already been exploring how MEDEVAC tactics, techniques, and procedures will adapt to its new tiltrotors using surrogate test articles on the ground.

With the MV-75, “we’re delivering a platform that – it’s an a la carte menu of sorts, and there’s certainly some limitations there,” Army Col. Jacob Whiteside, who was also on the panel alongside Poquette and Barth, said yesterday. “That’s the conversation that we use freely and regularly to make sure that we deliver this flexibility to the warfighter, and that’s our job is to consistently advocate for that.”

Whiteside is currently the Director for Transformation and the Lessons Learned Manager at the Transformation and Integration Directorate within the Army’s Aviation Center of Excellence.

As Maj. Barth noted when talking about the A and B kits for the MV-75, the Army also sees the focus on modularity as offering advantages just for acquiring the aircraft in the first place by helping streamline the production line.

“Frankly, this is going to be a very expensive airplane that we’re going to buy, so we can’t have single-purpose aircraft,” Maj. Gen Gill had also said during his talk at AAAA. “So we’re thinking about how we incorporate modularity.”

Gill pointed out at that time that those discussions around modularity are already extending to other capabilities for the MV-75, including aerial refueling. That, in turn, might lead the service to acquire its own fleet of uncrewed tankers, as TWZ has previously reported.

The current estimated unit cost of the MV-75A in any configuration is unclear. We do know that Bell’s winning bid in the FLRAA competition was priced out at just over $8 billion, in total. This was roughly twice the price point for the competing bid from a team made up of Sikorsky and Boeing, which had submitted an advanced compound helicopter design, as you can read more about here.

There are questions now about the Army’s planned schedule for fielding the MV-75, as well as when the first flight of the aircraft will occur. The service has walked back from pronouncements made as recently as January that it would start delivering Cheyenne IIs to operational units next year. Those statements had reflected a larger effort to accelerate the program dramatically.

“It’s going to happen when it’s going to happen. So we are moving as fast as we can,” Army Maj. Gen. Clair Gill, the Program Acquisition Executive for Maneuver Air, had said. “If I was king, and I had all the money in the world and all the engineers, and there were no limits, we probably would be able to do it in a matter of months.”

Regardless of when the first operational aircraft arrive, the Army’s clear goal is to leverage the aircraft’s modular design to begin integrating the MEDEVAC capability into the fleet in short order thereafter.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com