The latest Quinnipiac University poll found that only 32 percent of all registered voters support how president Donald Trump has handled his second term in office. Several factors are influencing the low approval rating, including the high fuel prices caused by the war with Iran. Accoridng to the poll, 58 percent of respondents disapproved, and 10 percent did not offer an opinion on his job performance. According to a report by The Hill, Trump’s approval rating marks a new low for Trump’s presidency in the center’s polling. A CNN survey conducted within the same period reported an approval rating of 34…
Author: Tommy Grant
The U.S. Navy announced that it is awarding contracts for another round of ballistic missile and fast-attack submarines. The Defense Department is granting a collective $76.6 billion to General Dynamics Electric Boat for five Columbia-class submarines and to both General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding for nine Virginia-class submarines to be built in the coming years.“This historic investment underscores the department’s continued commitment to undersea superiority and the recapitalization of our nuclear triad,” said Vice Adm. Robert Gaucher, director of submarine programs. “By securing the continuous production of both the Columbia and Virginia classes, we ensure…
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency next week will kick off its inaugural Lift Challenge, a weeklong competition that aims to “revolutionize heavy vertical-lift aviation” by finding a drone capable of lifting and transporting a payload four times its own weight. The agency will award $6.5 million in prizes to the winners. Phillip “Donna” Smith, the Lift Challenge program manager and a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, said that multirotor drones are limited in their usability because of their low payload-to-weight ratios, meaning they can only transport a payload equal to or less than their own weight. “This…
Car manufacturer BMW plans to cut around 8,000 jobs by late 2027. The German auto giant will begin the “voluntary reduction program” by offering buyouts to personnel in research, development, and planning. Factory workers will not be offered a buyout, accoridng to sources. BMW CEO Milan Nedeljkovic is expected to announce the voluntary reduction program at a staff meeting this week, some of the sources said. They added that the plan would be launched in October and run through 2027. The company intends to reportedly cut around 5% of its total workforce. The automaker employed 87,436 people in Germany as…
The U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth up to $58.6 billion to produce Patriot interceptor missiles, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, as conflicts in Iran and Ukraine strain U.S. weapons stockpiles.The U.S. has supplied large quantities of weapons to allies while also using munitions in its own military operations in Iran, raising concerns about inventories of key air defense and precision-guided weapons.The Lockheed award converts a previous one-year deal worth $4.7 billion awarded in April into a seven-year draft agreement, creating a multiyear procurement plan for the interceptors from fiscal 2026 through 2032, the Army said.Pentagon negotiators are…
The House version of next year’s defense budget bill revives a push to use emerging technology to make military rations lighter and more portable. While the standard Meal, Ready-to-Eat, or MRE, delivers nutritionally complete chow in a package weighing 1.5 pounds or less, that adds up for troops on the move: more than 30 pounds of supply per service member for a week-long patrol. And amid efforts across the services to prepare to operate independently in austere environments far from resupply, cutting down the weight and volume of food is a known need.The fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act calls…
The United States has resumed its bombing of Iran after a “surprise attack” on American forces. US President Donald Trump had warned earlier on Wednesday that Iran was about to face a harsh response, reportedly telling Fox News: “We’re going to beat the f***ing s**t out of them.” The renewed strikes marked the first US attacks inside Iran since Trump paused the bombing campaign Friday. The halting of attacks came after 13 consecutive nights to allow diplomacy another chance; however, Iran continued to say that negotiations were not underway. Trump: US And Iran Engaged In “Very Friendly” Talks During the pause in…
The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Charles Sexton and local forces seized an estimated 2,380 pounds of suspected marijuana worth approximately $2.8 million Saturday near Great Inagua, Bahamas.The Charles Sexton crew and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force boarded a suspected drug-smuggling vessel about 80 miles southwest of Great Inagua, where they discovered 97 bales of suspected marijuana. The three people aboard the vessel were transferred to the Royal Bahamas Defence Force for prosecution along with the narcotics.“This interdiction highlights the strength of our partnership and our shared commitment to combating transnational organized crime in the region,” Lt. Peter…
This article was originally published by Mark Thornton at The Mises Institute. I’m not predicting WWIII; I am certainly not calling for WWIII; I’m doing everything in my power to prevent WWIII and illuminate the causes, risks, and general results of future war. We are in a quasi-war with Russia, with Europe planning to fight. We are at war in the Middle East with no end in sight. We have stolen China’s oil source in Venezuela and threatened Denmark with our might. The last decade has seen the entire globe turn from firm allies and admirers of America to disgruntled…
Ukraine’s F-16 fighters have become a crucial defense against Russian drones, but repeated interceptions are wearing out the country’s small fleet.Ukrainian F-16s have destroyed more than 2,500 Geran and Gerbera one-way attack drones, wrote airpower expert Justin Bronk in an analysis of the Ukraine air war for the Royal United Services Institute, a British think tank.“[The] use of fighters against such drones has consumed an unsustainable number of airframe flying hours and air-to-air missiles … since mid-2024, when the Ukrainian Air Force received its first Western aircraft and trained crews,” the analysis reads.“Russian industry produces more than 6,000 [one-way attack]…