FARC Splinter Group Downs Colombian Black Hawk With Explosive FPV Drone
A Colombian National Police Black Hawk helicopter was brought down by an explosive FPV drone in northern Antioquia, killing at least 13 officers during a coca eradication mission. Colombia's President attributed the strike to the 36th Front of the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), a dissident FARC group still active in cocaine-producing regions. The attack came the same day as a car bombing at a military aviation school in Cali that left six dead and more wounded. (Read More)
Ukraine SOF Hits Fuel Convoy in Crimea, Wounds Russian General in Separate Strike
Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces destroyed a Russian fuel train near Dzhankoi in occupied Crimea, disrupting supply lines to Moscow’s southern grouping of troops. In a separate operation days earlier, SOF units struck in Russia’s Kursk region, severely wounding Lieutenant General Esedulla Abachev, deputy commander of the Sever Group of Forces. (Read More)
Italian Police Arrest Ukrainian Man Suspected in Nord Stream Pipeline Blasts
Italian police arrested a 49-year-old Ukrainian man in Rimini for alleged involvement in the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage. The retired Ukrainian officer is accused of helping plant explosives on the pipelines using a yacht rented under false documents. He faces charges of sabotage and damaging critical infrastructure and will be extradited to Germany to appear before a judge. (Read More)
Pentagon Develops Largest Electronic Warfare Test System
DARPA has unveiled the Digital Radio Frequency Battlespace Emulator (DRBE), billed as the most advanced electronic warfare test system ever built. The system will be transferred to a U.S. Navy lab later this year to simulate large-scale radio frequency battles like radar jamming and spoofing, helping test EW systems against sophisticated adversaries. (Read More)
Iran Launches First Naval Drill Since War With Israel
Iran has launched a two-day naval exercise in the Gulf of Oman and northern Indian Ocean, its first since the June war with Israel. The “Sustainable Power 1404” drill featured the frigate IRIS Sabalan, patrol vessel IRIS Ganaveh, and coastal batteries firing Nasir and Qadir cruise missiles at sea targets. The exercise comes as Tehran faces an Aug. 31 deadline from Europe to resolve its standoff with the UN nuclear watchdog. (Read More)
Boeing Is Quietly Building Self-Piloting Submarines: Here's Why | Jalopnik
Boeing, best known for its airplanes, has been building autonomous submarines for over two decades. Its first, the 18-foot Echo Ranger launched in 2001, was designed for oil and gas surveys and later used by NOAA for marine research. Today, Boeing’s undersea work is largely focused on defense, including the Navy’s Orca autonomous submarine. (Read More)
Ex-SAS Soldier to Face Australia’s First War Crimes Trial Over Afghan Killing
Australia will hold its first war crimes trial after former SAS soldier Oliver Schulz, 43, was charged over the 2012 shooting of Afghan villager Dad Mohammad. Helmet-cam footage shows Schulz firing three shots at the man during a patrol in Uruzgan Province. He denies the charge and faces life in prison if convicted . (Read More)
How Did an Anchorage Man Come to Be Gifted a Motorcycle From Vladimir Putin? | ADN
Retired Anchorage fire inspector Mark Warren unexpectedly received a new $22,000 Ural motorcycle from Russian officials after last week’s Trump-Putin summit, a “personal gift” they said came from Vladimir Putin. The gesture followed a Russian news segment featuring Warren and his old Ural bike, which he said was costly to repair due to sanctions. (Read More)
Lessons from U.S. Army Special Ops on Becoming a Leader | HBR
U.S. Army Special Operations training is being adapted for business leaders, focusing on experiential “failure-based” exercises instead of classroom theory. Ohio State professor Angus Fletcher explained in Harvard Business Review that the program addresses four common causes of leadership failure: lack of initiative, emotional confidence, imagination, and strategic vision. (Read More)
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Alert Line NSTR. Sam Havelock CEO, SOFX Are you a first time reader? Subscribe. Footage shows a Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian Buyan-M class warship in the Azov Sea, forcing it to retreat from patrol waters near occupied Crimea. (Source: Ukraine’s military intelligence service (HUR) via Telegram) Armed Conflict Open-Source Reporting on Global Conflict Ukrainian Special Forces Strike Russian Kalibr Missile Ship in Azov Sea Ukrainian military intelligence forces struck a Russian...
