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Russia Training Young Children to Fly Combat Drones

Published 2 days ago • 6 min read

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Major Developments

SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITIES

 

Russia Training a Generation of Child Drone Operators for Future Wars

Russia is integrating military drone instruction into hundreds of schools, recruiting children as young as seven under the federal “Fundamentals of Homeland Security” course. Students learn drone assembly, programming, and piloting, often guided by war veterans.

Beyond schools, children engage in simulator-based games and nationwide drone competitions. Teenagers are also recruited into UAV factory assembly and combat programs, with Russia offering university students financial incentives starting at 7 million rubles ($87,000) per year to join drone units. (Read More)​

U.S. Airstrikes Sever Iran's Tallest Bridge Using 2,000-Pound JDAMs

A major bridge near Tehran was struck Thursday hours after President Donald Trump threatened to bomb the country “back to the Stone Ages.” The B1 bridge in Alborz province, one of the tallest in the Middle East and a critical link between Tehran and the city of Karaj, was hit in two waves of attacks about an hour apart, Iranian state TV reported.

Trump claimed responsibility for the strike. Open-source reports say the strikes may have involved 2,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM), a weapon commonly used by the U.S. and Israel. This claim has not been independently verified. (Read More)​

Air Force's EA-37B Compass Call Makes First Combat Deployment to Middle East

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has confirmed that the Air Force’s new electronic attack aircraft EA‑37B Compass Call has been sent to the Middle East, marking the platform’s first operational use.

In an April 1 update, CENTCOM included the EA‑37B in its listing of assets involved in Operation Epic Fury. The aircraft was last seen departing RAF Mildenhall on April 2 at 2 p.m. local time. (Read More)​

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The Tear Line

QUICK UPDATES

CONFLICT UPDATES

➤ Russia's defense ministry announced its forces "completed the liberation" of the Luhansk region, the third time Moscow has made the claim since its 2022 invasion. Ukraine denied the assertion, with a military spokesman saying forces still hold small patches defended by the 3rd Brigade. (Read More)​

➤ Human Rights Watch said Burkina Faso’s government forces have killed more civilians than jihadist groups. According to the report, from January 2023 to August 2025, at least 1,837 people died amid ongoing fighting, with most killings, 1,255, attributed to the military and allied militias. (Read More)​

➤ An airstrike hit the Tehran home of Kamal Kharazi, Iran's former foreign minister who was reportedly arranging back-channel talks with the U.S. through Pakistan. His wife was killed and Kharazi was critically injured. Iranian sources blame Israel for the strike. (Read More)​

SECURITY UPDATES

➤ The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad warned Americans to "leave Iraq now," citing intelligence that Iranian-aligned militias plan attacks in central Baghdad within 48 hours. It advises U.S. citizens to travel overland to Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, or Turkey, as Iraq’s airspace remains closed. (Read More)​

➤ Security tightened across Paris after a foiled bomb attack on Bank of America offices. The suspected pro-Iranian group HAYI is under investigation, and four suspects, including three teenagers, have been arrested. (Read More)​

➤ WhatsApp notified roughly 200 users that an Italian surveillance firm tricked them into installing a fake version of the app that was actually government spyware. Meta took legal action against the company, Asigint, which sells surveillance tools to law enforcement. (Read More)​

TECHNOLOGY UPDATES

➤ South Korea's Cheongung II air defense system made its combat debut in the UAE, intercepting 161 of 174 Iranian ballistic missiles at a kill rate above 90%. The UAE has since requested more than 30 additional interceptors from Seoul. (Read More)​

➤ The U.S. is sending more A-10C Thunderbolt II jets to the Middle East. Twelve aircraft arrived at RAF Lakenheath on March 30, with additional jets expected to support operations against Iranian boats and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. (Read More)​

➤ New photographs of the Air Force's secretive NT-43A radar testbed revealed a previously unseen removable dorsal turret with electro-optical and infrared sensors. The modified 737, normally based at Area 51, was spotted near MacDill Air Force Base. (Read More)​

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Special Interest

SPECIAL CATEGORY

➤ A 2,500-year-old Romanian gold helmet and two golden bracelets stolen last year from a Dutch museum, have been recovered through a plea deal with the suspects. Robert van Langh, the museum director, called the return a “wow” moment, saying the objects have immense historical value.

➤ A ship operated by the Paul Watson Foundation collided with a Norwegian krill trawler off Antarctica. Activists aboard the ship described the action as a “direct intervention” and part of a strategy of “aggressive nonviolence” to disrupt industrial krill fishing.

➤ Perplexity AI, the search-engine chatbot, got hit with a class-action lawsuit alleging its incognito mode is a sham. The suit claims trackers from Meta and Google silently harvest user queries and device data even with the privacy feature enabled.

On this day in history: On April 3rd, 2003, the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division seized Baghdad International Airport in a Thunder Run through Republican Guard lines during Operation Iraqi Freedom, just two weeks after the invasion began. Baghdad fell to coalition forces three days later.
Special Interest

SENTIMENT COLLECTION

Yesterday’s Results:

Do you think AI systems developing self-preservation instincts will become a genuine security threat, or is the fear overblown?

  1. Genuine threat (81.3%)​
  2. Potential risk but too early to panic (14.8%)
  3. Overblown by media (3.9%)

Have a question you would like polled? Email us at editor@sofx.com​
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About SOFX: We are an independent media and communications technology company reporting on the conflicts, security, and technology issues impacting your lives and businesses. SOFX was founded by former special operations & intelligence professionals, not career journalists or Big Tech / Big Media.

Have feedback for us? We want to hear any and all comments you may have. Contact us at editor@sofx.com​.​

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