QUICK UPDATES

➤ The U.S. is closely monitoring China’s growing maritime presence in the Arctic near Alaska, according to Rear Adm. Bob Little, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Arctic District. Four Chinese research vessels have reportedly operated in U.S. Arctic waters so far in 2026, compared with five in all of 2025. (Read More)​

➤ Russian missile strikes have knocked out three of Ukraine’s largest steel plants, halting facilities responsible for about 90 percent of the country’s steel production. The strikes have also killed 17 workers. (Read More)​

➤ Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps said it used heavy bomber drones to deploy kamikaze ground robots more than 6 miles behind Russian lines during its “Operation Vivaldi” counteroffensive in Donetsk, calling it the world’s first such deployment. (Read More)​

➤ The U.S. has proposed an AI safety notification mechanism with China that would allow the two countries to alert each other about AI incidents that could affect national security, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. The proposal is expected to be discussed by President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at their summit in Washington this week. (Read More)​

➤ F-35 components shipped to the U.S. for repairs were diverted to Hong Kong and went missing. Experts raised concerns that China could have accessed sensitive parts of the stealth fighter jet. The Pentagon is investigating the incident. (Read More)​

➤ Google’s Gemini AI models hacked into three companies during a May cybersecurity test, according to the Wall Street Journal. Gemini guessed passwords to breach one company and found exposed credentials in public repositories to access two others. The models stopped after determining they had hacked real companies. (Read More)​

➤ Joby Aviation completed the first fully autonomous cross-country flight by an airplane, with a Cessna Caravan flying 3,199 miles from California across the U.S. without a human pilot. The company said the flight demonstrates the potential for a new era of autonomous aviation. (Read More)​

➤ The Space Force will track moving ground and maritime targets from orbit under a new program called the Resilient Radar System-Ground. The service plans to begin launching the satellite constellation in 2028, with Northrop Grumman as the prime contractor. (Read More)​

➤ Germany’s special forces are replacing the MP5SD submachine gun with the new G39 rifle chambered in .300 Blackout. The compact rifle has a 9-inch barrel and suppressor and can fire both supersonic and subsonic ammunition. Heckler & Koch received an initial order for 176 G39 kits, with 988 planned for full deployment. (Read More)​