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Astronomers discover the largest comet from the outskirts of the solar system is exploding with jets of gas
June 19, 2025
Astronomers have discovered that the largest comet from the Oort Cloud, a shell of icy bodies at the very edge of the solar system, is bursting with chemical activity.
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, the team discovered that C/2014 UN271, an 85-mile-wide (137 km) body around 10 times the size of the average comet and also known as Bernardinelli-Bernstein, is erupting with complex and evolving jets of carbon monoxide gas.
Now located halfway between the sun and the solar system's furthest planet, Neptune (or 16.6 times the distance between the Earth and our star), C/2014 UN271 becomes the second-most distant comet originating from the Oort Cloud that has been seen to be chemically active.
The observations are also the first direct evidence of what drives cometary activity when these icy bodies are far from the sun.
"These measurements give us a look at how this enormous, icy world works," team leader and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center researcher Nathan Roth said in a statement.
"We're seeing explosive outgassing patterns that raise new questions about how this comet will evolve as it continues its journey toward the inner solar system."
ALMA was able to observe C/2014 UN271 despite its distance from the sun via the carbon monoxide in its atmosphere and its thermal emissions.
Previously, the sensitivity of this ground-breaking instrument, composed of an array of 66 radio antennas located in the Atacama Desert region of northern Chile, allowed scientists to determine the size of the core or "nucleus" of the comet.
Building upon this, the team was able to precisely determine the comet's entire size and the amount of dust that envelopes its core or "nucleus." This confirmed the status of C/2014 UN271 as the largest Oort Cloud comet ever found.
Adding to the clearer picture painted of this giant comet by ALMA was the first detection of molecular outgassing for C/2014 UN271. This has afforded scientists a rare look at the chemistry of icy bodies from the very edge of the solar system.
C/2014 UN271 is approaching the sun, and as it does, the comet will begin to heat up, and more frozen material within it will turn gaseous and erupt from its icy shell.
Because comets are thought to be composed of unspoiled material left over from the formation of the solar system around 4.6 billion years ago, this could offer a glimpse at the conditions in which Earth and the other planets were formed.
https://www.space.com/astronomy/solar-system/astronomers-discover-the-largest-comet-from-the-outskirts-of-the-solar-system-is-exploding-with-jets-of-gas
https://public.nrao.edu/news/largest-oort-cloud-comet-ever-observed-reveals-its-secrets-with-almas-powerful-gaze/
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/add526
Firefly announces commercial lunar imagery service
June 18, 2025
Firefly Aerospace says it plans to offer a commercial lunar imaging service for use by governments and companies, one that could supplement or replace an existing, but aging, NASA orbiter.
Firefly announced June 18 a service called Ocula that will provide imagery using instruments placed on its Elytra spacecraft. The system will use telescopes from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory with ultraviolet and visible sensors.
The company said that those telescopes, mounted on Elytra spacecraft orbiting the moon at an altitude of 50 kilometers, will be able to provide images at a resolution of 20 centimeters.
By comparison, the main camera on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has a resolution of 50 centimeters per pixel.
It added that imagery at ultraviolet and visible wavelengths could be used to identify key minerals. That includes ilmenite, a mineral associated with the presence of helium-3.
The imagery system can also be used for space domain awareness, tracking and identifying objects in cislunar space.
“Ocula will be one of the first, if not the first, commercial lunar imaging service on the market,” Jason Kim, chief executive of Firefly Aerospace, said in a statement announcing the service.
“Ocula will provide critical data that informs future human and robotic missions and supports national security with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.”
Firefly said it will start offering services with Ocula with the launch next year of its Blue Ghost 2 lunar lander mission, which includes an Elytra spacecraft that will operate in lunar orbit.
Another Elytra will carry an Ocula payload on the Blue Ghost 3 lander mission launching in 2028.
The company said it would offer imagery from those initial missions “at low cost” to government and commercial customers, but did not specify the price.
A service like Ocula could be a solution for NASA to ensure access to high-resolution lunar imagery as LRO ages. That spacecraft, originally built to support a previous NASA lunar exploration effort, Constellation, has been operating since 2009.
While the spacecraft continues to perform well, scientists have in recent years been pushing for NASA to replace LRO’s high-resolution imaging capability in some way.
A 2022 study by a working group of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group concluded that work on a mission to succeed LRO was “long overdue.”
It added, though, that simply replacing LRO with a single, similar spacecraft would not be enough to meet science goals. It recommended NASA pursue “diverse orbits and implementations approaches” like the use of smaller spacecraft.
That could include the use of services, rather than NASA-operated spacecraft, to provide that imagery and other science data.
“Private industry should use these inputs to identify the recurring themes and potential new opportunities providing not just infrastructure but also data acquisition services to government agencies and the interwoven science community,” the report stated.
Companies currently involved in NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, including Firefly, said at a House hearing in April that they were interested in providing additional services to NASA beyond their current roles in landing payloads on the moon.
https://spacenews.com/firefly-announces-commercial-lunar-imagery-service/
https://www.lpi.usra.edu/leag/reports/CLOC-SAT_Report.pdf
Coming June 23, 2025: First Look at the cosmos with NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory
June 19, 2025
Get ready to join us virtually around the world on June 23, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. US EDT as we unveil the first spectacular images from NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory!
This First Look event will be live streamed via Youtube — link below! Join us to celebrate the start of a new era in astronomy and astrophysics with the world's newest and most powerful survey telescope.
Over the next ten years, Rubin Observatory will create the ultimate movie of the night sky using the largest camera ever built — repeatedly scanning the sky to create an ultra-wide, ultra-high-definition time-lapse record of our Universe.
https://rubinobservatory.org/news/rubin-first-look
https://www.livescience.com/space/astronomy/vera-c-rubin-debut-images-how-to-see-the-groundbreaking-space-photos-from-the-worlds-largest-camera
https://www.youtube.com/live/Zv22_Amsreo
Space Force is contracting with SpaceX for new, secretive MILNET SATCOM network
June 18, 2025 at 4:00 PM
The Space Force in contracting with SpaceX for a new government-owned, contractor-operated satellite communication constellation in low Earth orbit (LEO), called MILNET, that eventually will be integrated into the service’s grand plan for a “hybrid mesh network” combining commercial and Defense Department satellites, a senior Space Force official revealed today.
“MILNET is onboarding to the United States Space Force through SSC [Space System Command] right now, but specifically to Delta 8, and we are completely relooking at how we’re going to operate that constellation of capabilities for the Joint Force, which is going to be significant because we’ve never had a DoD hybrid mesh network at LEO,” Col. Jeff Weisler, Delta 8 commander, said today.
Delta 8, headquartered at Schriever SFP in Colorado, is “mission-focused on Satellite Communications and is the focal point for U.S. protected and assured Military Satellite Communications to the president, secretary of defense, national decision makers, theater commanders, and strategic and tactical forces worldwide,” according to the Space Force’s website.
MILNET, which has rarely been discussed publicly until now, comprises “480-plus” satellites, Weisler said, that will be operated by SpaceX but overseen by a Delta 8 “mission director who communicates to the contracted workforce to execute operations at the timing and tempo of warfighting.”
The network will use terminals created by SpaceX for its Starshield satellites being configured for military use, which also can link into SpaceX’s commercial Starlink constellation.
The Starshield terminals have more encryption than those sold to consumers for Starlink access, he explained.
The Space Force also has contracts with SpaceX for use of Starshield terminals to link to Starlink under its Proliferated Low Earth Orbit Satellite-Based Services program, which has a ceiling of $13 billion over 10-year for tasking orders to providers via an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract pool.
The service has not disclosed the value of those contracts.
Previously, the only public Space Force reference to MILNET came in an SSC announcement last month about awards to CACI, General Atomics, and Viasat to “continue development of space laser communication terminal prototypes in Phase 2 of the $100 million Enterprise Space Terminal (EST) program. … ESTs are a key building block of the broader space data network known as MILNET, which will build a space mesh network for resiliency and information path diversity.”
Several government and industry sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the reason for the secrecy surrounding MILNET up to now is that while SSC is funding the effort, the actual contract is being managed by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) under its never publicly acknowledged contract with SpaceX for the spy satellite agencies new LEO constellation of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellites.
Reuters first reported in February on the fact that NRO had contracted with SpaceX for Starshield buses for its “proliferated LEO” constellation that the agency said in April numbered more than 150 birds.
In response to questions from Breaking Defense about the EST contract, an SSC spokesperson said that “MILNET satellites will carry Enterprise Space Terminals (ESTs) as will other U.S. Space Force (USSF) satellites that can then connect into MILNET for resilient data transport.
The long-term intent is that all USSF satellites will have the option to integrate EST-compatible terminals and connect to MILNET for data transport.”
However, SSC was unable to clarify details about the MILNET network and contract by press time.
https://breakingdefense.com/2025/06/space-force-is-contracting-with-spacex-for-new-secretive-milnet-satcom-network/
https://www.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Fact-Sheet-Display/Article/3743020/space-delta-8/
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/trump-formally-nominates-guetlein-as-golden-dome-czar/
https://spacenews.com/trump-officially-nominates-space-force-gen-guetlein-to-lead-golden-dome/
https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/volume-171/issue-103/senate-section/article/S3406-3?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22guetlein%22%7D&s=1&r=1
Trump Formally Nominates Guetlein as Golden Dome Czar
June 18, 2025
The White House this week formally tapped the Space Force’s No. 2 officer to oversee the sweeping Golden Dome missile defense project.
Gen. Michael A. Guetlein, the vice chief of space operations, is nominated to take on the role of “direct reporting program manager” for Golden Dome, the Pentagon announced June 18.
A June 16 notice in the Congressional Record indicated Guetlein would be reassigned but did not specify his new job.
President Donald Trump announced Guetlein would run the Golden Dome program at a White House press conference last month.
Golden Dome is envisioned as a massive network of sensors, interceptor weapons, and electronic-attack tools that—like its inspiration, Israel’s Iron Dome—would protect the United States from ballistic and cruise missiles.
Trump is pushing for the project to become operational by the end of his term in 2029, a goal defense experts say is unlikely.
Guetlein will be tasked with pulling together existing military systems—relying heavily on the military space enterprise that the four-star has helped build—and fielding new ones to track, warn of, and disable or destroy incoming missiles, similar to the Reagan-era “Star Wars” initiative that failed to come to fruition.
Such an enterprise would cost hundreds of billions of dollars to develop and launch. Trump has projected a $175 billion price tag, while an independent estimate pegged the cost of space-based missile interceptors alone at more than $542 billion over 20 years.
Guetlein, who has likened Golden Dome’s scope to the Manhattan Project that developed America’s first nuclear weapons, is no stranger to major acquisition initiatives.
The general led the Space Force’s acquisition branch, Space Systems Command, for two years following stints as deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office and a program executive at the Missile Defense Agency.
He’ll become the face of one of Trump’s top defense priorities, particularly as the administration looks to jumpstart its progress with a $25 billion infusion of funds through the massive GOP-led spending package under consideration on Capitol Hill.
It’s unclear how much money the Pentagon is seeking for Golden Dome in total next year.
Republicans and Democrats alike have criticized the Trump administration for seeking billions of dollars to fund Golden Dome in 2026 with few details of how it would spend that money.
“We still haven’t seen a clear definition of what it is,” Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), who chairs the House Appropriations Committee’s defense panel, said June 10.
He questioned how Golden Dome would protect the continental U.S., as well as Hawaii and Alaska, without “spending a lot of money unnecessarily.”
Over the course of several recent congressional hearings, lawmakers and defense officials have begun piecing together a clearer picture of how Golden Dome might work.
Air Force and Space Force leaders expect their services will play a significant part in bringing Golden Dome to life.
Gen. Chance Saltzman, the Space Force’s top officer, told House lawmakers June 5 Golden Dome will spur the service to take on requirements for missions that have never been accomplished by a military space organization.
He expects leaders will lay the “foundational groundwork” for Golden Dome by the end of September, noting that the Space Force is already discussing how to integrate its systems with other military services and agencies.
Defense officials have floated several ideas of existing and future technologies that could become part of Golden Dome.
Plugged into that network could be heat-seeking sensors and artificial intelligence-powered targeting tools; Northrop Grumman’s Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor Satellites that are designed to follow low-flying, fast-moving weapons; and undersea submarine-tracking sensors, among other equipment, military officials told lawmakers.
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“I think that it’s a seabed-to-space approach,” said U.S. Northern Command boss Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, who is also the country’s top homeland defense officer as head of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
“We need to have undersea sensors to detect submarines that can now get closer to North America than they could before based on improved stealthiness of those ships,” he told senators May 13.
“Then a ground layer that can see much further out because of the advanced standoff weapons that our adversaries can now employ.”
Then add an air layer, like the E-7 Wedgetail airborne target-tracking plane, and a space layer, he said.
The Pentagon has indicated it will abandon the Air Force’s plan to buy a fleet of Wedgetails in favor of eventually relying on satellites to track airborne targets—an approach critics say would leave the U.S. military far short of the aircraft- and missile-tracking capabilities it needs until those space assets are ready.
“I suspect that [Golden Dome] would be able to use a lot of the systems that are already in place and currently in development, which would give us a full capability in probably something closer to zero to five years, as opposed to something a decade out into the future,” Guillot said.
The project will also require a buildup of radars and military communications infrastructure around population centers and defense sites, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) added June 18 at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the 2026 defense budget.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin cautioned that the whole Golden Dome enterprise—from the sensors that see an enemy strike to the software that processes reconnaissance images and the weapons that neutralize a threat—”all has to be stitched together.”
The service has struggled to network its own sensors and shooters as an alternative to jet-based battle management over the past several years.
“We’re doing the mission analysis,” Allvin said at the June 5 House Armed Services Committee hearing on the Department of the Air Force’s budget request.
“Which systems are required . . . so we can move data to the right places and most effectively orchestrate a very complex mission set?”
While Saltzman said at the June 5 hearing it’s too early in that analysis to know whether Golden Dome would protect the U.S. from bomb-laden small drones like those that attacked Russian bomber aircraft earlier this month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers a few days later that the Pentagon’s 2026 budget request includes “robust increases” in hypersonic weapons, drones and counter-drone technology, and surveillance tools that could become part of Golden Dome.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine told House lawmakers June 12 that the Defense Department is looking at ballistic missile defenses like the Army’s Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system and the Navy’s Aegis Ashore system to ensure they can connect to offer all-encompassing protection without any gaps.
Among the biggest lessons the U.S. can adopt from Iron Dome is Israel’s insistence on plug-and-play technology—unlike America’s bespoke systems that often need modifications or add-ons to talk to other military equipment.
“You cannot even sell a system to the Israeli military . . . that is not open architecture, that will not work with the rest of their systems, so you don’t end up with a proprietary system that’s standalone,” U.S. Central Command boss Gen. Michael E. Kurilla told HASC June 10.
“We need systems that can integrate and all talk to each other.”
A spokesperson for the Senate Armed Services Committee did not answer June 18 when the panel might consider Guetlein’s nomination.
If Guetlein is confirmed, his departure from Space Force leadership would leave the Air Force and Space Force without Senate-approved vice chiefs.
Trump fired Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Jim Slife in February’s purge of top brass that also included the ousters of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown Jr. and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti.
Hegseth said at the time the firings sought to “focus our military on its core mission of deterring, fighting and winning wars.”
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USSF opens registration for second annual AI challenge
June 18, 2025
Registration is now open for the United States Space Force’ s second annual Artificial Intelligence Challenge.
The 2025 U.S. Space Force AI Challenge runs from July 16, 2025 and culminates with the awards ceremony at the Space Power Conference in Orlando, Florida, in December 2025.
This year’s challenge is designed to foster collaboration and innovation in AI. Participants form teams, engage in learning sessions, and develop AI solutions to address challenges.
Teams will present their solutions to technical experts for scoring, and based on scoring, select teams to present their solutions to Department of the Air Force senior leaders in October.
“The 2025 AI Challenge is a team-building activity focused on solving staff, acquisition, and operational problems,” said Col. Nathan Iven, acting deputy chief of Space Operations for Cyber and Data at Headquarters, Space Force.
“This experience is designed to support innovation and encourage Guardians to leverage disruptive solutions like AI to gain advantage over the pacing threat.”
Open to all military branches and government agencies, teams must have a Space Force Guardian (officer, enlisted and/or civilian) as their lead, and can compete in three categories - Operations, Space Acquisitions or Staff Support.
Five awards will be presented: best AI solution in each of the three functional areas [operations, space acquisitions, staff support], Guardians' choice, voted on by the Guardian workforce, and grand prize winner.
AI plays a central role in enhancing data utility and providing the analytical power needed to analyze large volumes of data.
Chandra Donelson, Data and AI officer for the U.S. Space Force, stated, “I look forward to the solutions our Guardians will build and, more importantly, the partnerships they will establish during this year’s challenges.”
By participating, Guardians and other participants will increase their AI literacy and team-building skills to develop innovative solutions to real-world challenges.
Senior leaders are encouraging Guardians to take advantage of the educational series, designed to provide participants with a foundational understanding of AI concepts to facilitate innovation.
The Space Force AI Challenge addresses key tasks captured in the Fiscal Year 2025 Data and AI Strategic Action Plan.
Challenge rules
Team Composition: Each team requires a Space Force Guardian (officer, enlisted and/or civilian) as the team lead. Participation is open to all military branches and government agencies.
Tools: Participants are responsible for bringing their own government-approved tools and use publicly-available or fabricated data.
Final submission: Teams must submit a 3–5-minute concept video of their solution, a one paragraph narrative explaining the product, and a 3-5 slide presentation slide deck.
Semi-final judging: Judges will consist of U.S. Space Force data and AI experts/leader who will score the AI solutions against standard criteria. Winners and honorable mentions will be recognized from each functional area.
Guardians choice: All Guardians will have the opportunity to select their favorite solution via online-voting.
Senior leader pitch: Each functional area winning team will have 5 minutes to present their solution and demo their work to a board of senior leaders.
For more information and links to register please visit our CAC enable Guardian One site, or visit our U.S. Space Force AI Challenge MS Teams.
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4220376/ussf-opens-registration-for-second-annual-ai-challenge/
Russia and Ukraine conduct another prisoner swap – MOD
19 Jun, 2025 12:57
Russia and Ukraine have carried out another prisoner-of-war swap under terms agreed at talks in Istanbul earlier this month, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has announced.
In a statement on Saturday, the ministry said that a group of Russian service members held in Ukrainian custody was returned to Belarus, where they are receiving psychological and medical care before proceeding to Russia for treatment and rehabilitation.
The Defense Ministry did not say how many Russian servicemen returned, but released footage of more than a dozen soldiers chanting “Russia” while carrying a national tricolor flag.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has confirmed the exchange, also without providing specifics on the number of repatriated service members.
He noted that many were members of the Ukrainian military, National Guard, and border service, most of whom ended up in captivity back in 2022 during fighting in Kiev and Chernigov Regions.
Ukrainian officials also said that some of the POWs were either gravely ill or injured. The swap is part of a broader agreement reached at the Istanbul talks on June 2.
The sides had agreed on an exchange involving, in total, approximately 1,200 prisoners each and the transfer of thousands of remains.
According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Moscow handed over to Kiev around 6,000 bodies and received the remains of 57 of its soldiers.
https://www.rt.com/russia/619832-russia-ukraine-another-prisoner-swap/
https://www.rt.com/russia/619751-putin-nato-iran-ukraine/
NATO rearmament, Iran-Israel conflict and German involvement in Ukraine: Key takeaways from Putin’s Q&A
19 Jun, 2025 04:01
Russian President Vladimir Putin has touched upon a wide range of topics – from Europe’s military posture and the Ukraine conflict, to the Middle East crisis and global diplomacy – in an unscripted Q&A session with international media.
Here are the key takeaways from Putin’s meeting with journalists from Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Germany, Kazakhstan, Spain, Türkiye, Belarus, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan, as well as representatives of AFP, AP, and Reuters, which began shortly before midnight and continued into early Thursday morning.
1 Ukraine conflict and peace prospects
Putin reiterated that Russia’s military involvement in Ukraine was triggered by the West’s refusal to acknowledge Moscow’s legitimate security concerns and failure to compel Kiev to uphold past agreements and protect the Russian-speaking population in Donbass.
The Russian president expressed willingness to resume peace talks but insisted that any agreement must be signed by a legitimate Ukrainian government – a direct jab at Vladimir Zelensky, whose presidential term expired more than a year ago.
He noted that peace proposals developed during the 2022 Istanbul talks – later derailed by Ukraine’s Western backers who sought to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia – can still serve as a framework, but only if the new reality on the ground is taken into account.
“As I warned, the situation is going to get worse – so it got worse for them. Now we are not talking about Donetsk and Lugansk, but about two more subjects of the Russian Federation, and Crimea, of course. Let’s discuss this,” Putin stated.
Under renewed direct talks in Türkiye, Kiev and Moscow have agreed on several major prisoner exchanges, and communication channels between Russian and Ukrainian envoys remain open.
Nevertheless, Putin warned that absent a genuine willingness from Ukraine and its Western backers to drop unrealistic demands and pursue a negotiated settlement, Russia will continue to pursue its objectives through military means.
2 NATO rearmament and fearmongering
Asked about NATO’s growing military budgets and rearmament drive, Putin dismissed the idea that Russia poses a threat to the US-led military bloc as “nonsense.”
He argued that Russia is fully capable of defending itself and continues to modernize its armed forces with far lower budgets. Western claims that Russia plans to attack NATO countries, he said, are a “deliberate fabrication” designed to manipulate public opinion and conceal domestic failures.
He accused Western leaders of using the “Russia scarecrow” to justify inflated defense spending and likened their rhetoric to Nazi-era propaganda, citing Joseph Goebbels’ dictum: “The more monstrous the lie, the more likely people are to believe it.”
Putin warned that this kind of military posturing only escalates global tensions while diverting resources from social and economic development.
He cited Germany’s economic stagnation and the decline of energy-intensive industries as self-inflicted consequences of its decision to decouple from Russian energy.
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3 Berlin derailing relations with Moscow
The Russian leader expressed skepticism about Germany’s potential role as a peace broker in the Ukraine conflict, saying Berlin has lost its neutrality.
He pointed to the presence of German Leopard tanks on internationally recognized Russian territory as proof that Germany is no longer a mere supporter but has become a “co-combatant.”
Berlin’s potential deliveries of Taurus missiles to Kiev, he warned, would not shift the military balance but would “completely destroy” any remaining trust.
Responding to remarks by newly appointed Chancellor Friedrich Merz about being open to dialogue, Putin said Moscow was not the one to break off communication with Berlin and suggested that Merz is welcome to call if he is serious.
He also accused Berlin of sabotaging its own economy by cutting energy ties with Russia. “Volkswagen is dying, Porsche is dying… For what?” Putin said, questioning the logic behind Germany’s economic decisions.
4 Trump knows costs of anti-Russia moves
Asked about US President Donald Trump’s claims that the Ukraine conflict “would never have happened” under his leadership, Putin responded that Trump is “probably right.”
He praised Trump’s transactional approach to politics, noting that as a businessman, he “can count the costs” and understands the economic consequences of international decisions. This, Putin said, makes him more pragmatic than previous administrations.
Putin expressed openness to further contact and future meetings with Trump, provided they are well-prepared and result in “positive outcomes.”
“The track is well chosen,” he said, referencing several phone conversations. “We have great respect for his intention to restore relations with Russia in many areas, both in the field of security and economic activity.”
5 Iran-Israel conflict
Putin stressed that Russia firmly opposes any further escalation between Iran and Israel. Asked what Moscow would do in the event of the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, Putin refused to even entertain the notion, calling it a “scenario I won’t even discuss.”
Putin added that Moscow has not been asked to intervene militarily in the conflict and sees no reason to alter its current stance. While Russia previously delivered air defense systems to Iran, he said Tehran has shown “little interest” in broader cooperation.
Instead, Putin advocated for mutual security guarantees to protect both Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear technology and Israel’s right to security.
He said Moscow has put forward several compromise frameworks to all stakeholders – including the US, Israel, and Iran – adding that he holds out hope that diplomacy will prevail.
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Russia to hand Ukraine list of children for return – children’s rights commissioner
19 Jun, 2025 13:59
Russia is working on a new list of children it will submit to Ukraine so they may be reunited with their families, Children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova told media on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Thursday.
Since the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, Moscow has evacuated children from the combat zone and relocated them to safety until they could be reunited with their families.
Kiev, however, has accused Russia of “kidnapping”.
“We have children currently in Ukraine who need to be reunited with their Russian families,” said Lvova-Belova, noting that Russia plans to submit a list of names during the next round of direct talks.
Five children among 339 listed by Ukraine at the latest round of talks in Istanbul are now being prepared for return, she confirmed.
Following the latest talks Moscow’s chief negotiator for the Ukraine conflict, Vladimir Medinsky noted Ukraine’s previous accusations of over a million of “stolen children” as being primarily for “propaganda purposes.”
Moscow and Kiev have agreed to carry out a series of exchanges, focusing on seriously injured, ill and younger captives. Russia also unilaterally repatriated the bodies of more than 6,000 fallen Ukrainian troops.
According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Moscow received only 57 bodies of Russian soldiers in return.
Russian authorities have regularly reported on efforts undertaken to reunite displaced children with their families.
In February this year Lvova-Belova announced that 17 children from 11 families had been reunited with relatives in Russia, while 95 more were connected to relatives in Ukraine and other countries under a Qatar-mediated agreement.
She has repeatedly called Kiev’s claims of abductions a “systemic myth” and pledged to continue facilitating family reunifications.
In 2023, Lvova-Belova was named alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin by the International Criminal Court (ICC) as key suspects in an investigation into the alleged unlawful deportation and transfer of minors during the Ukraine conflict.
Russia, however, has dismissed the claims as politically motivated, explaining that it evacuates children from the conflict zone to protect them.
Russian officials have also stressed that displaced children are not adopted in Russia but placed under temporary guardianship or foster care until they can be returned to their families.
https://www.rt.com/russia/619844-russia-ukraine-children-return-list/
Putin reveals pitfalls of potential meeting with Zelensky
19 Jun, 2025 07:23
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he could meet with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky to conduct peace talks between the two countries, but expressed doubt regarding Zelensky’s authority to sign a treaty.
Zelensky has repeatedly called for a meeting with Putin, claiming that he alone can resolve key bilateral issues, including territorial disputes.
Speaking late Wednesday with international media at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Russian president reiterated Moscow’s concerns about Zelensky’s legitimacy.
”If the Ukrainian state entrusts someone to negotiate on its behalf, suit yourself, let it be Zelensky,” Putin said. “The question is, who will sign the document?”
Zelensky’s presidential term expired last year, and no successor has been elected due to martial law.
Zelensky insists that he has the right to remain in office, even though the Ukrainian Constitution calls for the transfer of presidential powers to the speaker of the parliament
”Propagandistically, one can say anything about the legitimacy of the current authorities, but we care about legal aspects and not propaganda when dealing with serious issues,” Putin said.
He added that since Ukrainian officials are appointed by the president, Zelensky’s questionable legitimacy calls into question the authority of those serving under him.
”But the signature must come from legitimate authorities,” Putin stressed. “Otherwise, whoever comes after him will toss it to the dumpster. That’s not a way to conduct serious business.”
https://www.rt.com/russia/619764-putin-zelensky-peace-talks/
Netanyahu ‘has surpassed Hitler’ – Erdogan
19 Jun, 2025 11:46
The Turkish president says Israel has surpassed the Nazi dictator in committing crimes of “genocide” in Gaza
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned Israel’s aggression in Gaza and ongoing attacks on Iran, comparing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.
Israel began bombing Iran on Friday, claiming Tehran is nearing the completion of a nuclear bomb. Iran dismissed the accusations.
The Turkish president said it has the legal right to respond to Israel’s attacks. This is not the first time Erdogan has issued hostile remarks toward West Jerusalem, accusing it of engaging in “banditry and state terrorism.”
Speaking to members of his ruling AK Party in Parliament on Wednesday, Erdogan stated:
“The most horrifying photos and videos from World War II pale in comparison to what we’re seeing from Gaza,” claiming that Netanyahu has “long surpassed the tyrant Hitler in the crime of genocide.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar shot back at Erdogan. “The sultan, in his own eyes, in yet another inflammatory speech, continues to incite against Israel and against the Israeli prime minister,” he wrote on X.
Erdogan said Türkiye is doing “everything we can” to stop what he called “inhumane aggression” not only against Iran, but also Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, adding that the country is prepared for “every possible negative development and scenario.”
West Jerusalem has justified its ongoing attacks by claiming that Iran is on the brink of obtaining nuclear weapons. Tehran has denied the accusations, maintaining that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, said on Wednesday that the agency has not found any proof of an effort by Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Russia has condemned the Israeli campaign as illegal and warned that strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure could trigger a “nuclear catastrophe,” calling for a diplomatic resolution.
US President Donald Trump, however, has backed Israel and demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender,” claiming that US forces and allies have achieved “complete and total control of the skies over Iran.”
https://www.rt.com/news/619814-netanyahu-surpass-hitler-erdogan/
https://twitter.com/gidonsaar/status/1935328011152228546
Pro-regime change US senator hails ‘our’ military strikes on Iran
19 Jun, 2025 12:42
Ted Cruz has described Israel’s bombing campaign as an American proxy war
Israel’s strikes against Iran amount to US military action despite official denials from Washington, US Senator Ted Cruz has suggested. Tehran has accused America of complicity in Israel’s attacks on its nuclear infrastructure.
Israel launched a series of attacks on Iran last Friday, targeting sites linked to its nuclear program and killing scientists and senior military officials.
The Israeli authorities described the campaign as “preemptive,” claiming it was aimed at stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas, defended the strikes and called for regime change in Tehran during a tense interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson this week. ”We are bombing the crap out of them. Israel is,” the lawmaker said.
”Right now, this tiny little country the size of the state of New Jersey is fighting our enemies for us and taking out their military leadership, and trying to take out their nuclear capacity,” he added. “That makes America much safer.”
Iran denies having a military component to its nuclear program and maintains that it does not seek nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency has said it sees no evidence to support Israel’s allegations.
US intelligence agencies have offered similar assessments, though President Donald Trump has dismissed these conclusions.
Carlson confronted Cruz over his failure to recall basic facts about the Iranian population, including its size and composition, raising concerns about the senator’s support for regime change.
Cruz pushed back, accusing Carlson of being overly skeptical about allegations that Iran had plotted to assassinate Trump – a claim brought up by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an appearance on Fox News last week.
”You don’t believe they are trying to murder Trump because you are not calling for military strikes against them in retaliation,” Carlson argued. ”We are carrying out military strikes today,” Cruz replied.
Carlson noted that it was Israel conducting the attacks, to which Cruz responded: “Right, with our help. I’ve said ‘we.’ Israel is leading them, but we are supporting them.”
Carlson highlighted the significance of Cruz’s comments, pointing out that they contradict statements made by National Security Council spokesman Alex Pfeiffer, who has denied US military involvement.
Cruz went on to say he hopes Iran’s government will fall to a popular uprising – a scenario Israeli leaders have endorsed during the conflict. He added, however, that he would not support sending US troops to occupy the country.
https://www.rt.com/news/619827-cruz-iran-regime-change/
Russian Army Says It Downed Nearly 90 Ukrainian Drones Overnight
June 19, 2025
Russia’s Defense Ministry said early Thursday that its air defense systems destroyed 85 Ukrainian drones overnight and into the morning.
The military initially reported downing 81 drones between Wednesday evening and 6:40 a.m. Moscow time, later updating the figure to include four additional drones intercepted over the Rostov and Tula regions, as well as annexed Crimea.
No damage or injuries were reported.
Nearly half of the drones targeted the Bryansk and Kursk regions near the Ukrainian border. Local authorities reported minor damage but no injuries or deaths.
Airports in the cities of Volgograd, Saratov, and Kaluga temporarily suspended flights during the attacks.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Air Force said it downed 88 of 104 Russian drones launched overnight.
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/06/19/russian-army-says-it-downed-nearly-90-ukrainian-drones-overnight-a89499
Dozens of Russian Regions Now Face Regular Internet Outages Amid Drone Attacks
June 19, 2025
Mobile internet outages have become increasingly routine across dozens of Russia’s regions in recent weeks as authorities respond to Ukrainian drone attacks with temporary shutdowns.
On Tuesday, at least 30 regions faced disruptions linked to efforts at combating incoming drones, according to the regional news outlet 7x7, which published a map showing large clusters of outages in Russia’s southwest, northwest and Siberian regions.
The shutdowns are beginning to have an impact on daily life, with stores unable to process card payments, ATMs going offline and taxi services reverting to phone-based dispatch rather than through online applications.
In the southern Saratov region, Governor Roman Busargin said Thursday that mobile internet access was being restricted “to maintain security.”
Authorities say shutting down mobile internet helps prevent Ukrainian drones from being guided or receiving targeting coordinates via civilian networks.
On Wednesday, the tech monitoring project Na Svyazi reported mobile internet disruptions across 35 regions, an apparent record.
The growing wave of outages began in early May as authorities ramped up security ahead of Victory Day, Russia’s May 9 holiday commemorating the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/06/19/dozens-of-russian-regions-now-face-regular-internet-outages-amid-drone-attacks-a89509
Russia Sends Drone Swarm From Five Directions in Overnight Assault
June 19, 2025, 9:46 am
Russian forces launched more than 100 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in a massive drone assault against Ukraine early in the morning of June 19, the Ukrainian Air Force reported.
According to the statement shared on Telegram, a total of 104 Shahed-type attack drones and decoy drones were launched from five directions.
As of 8:30 a.m., Ukrainian forces confirmed the destruction of 88 drones across the northern, eastern, southern, and central regions of the country.
Of these, 40 drones were shot down by air defense units, while 48 were neutralized through electronic warfare or lost their positioning.
Despite the defensive success, drone strikes were recorded in at least six locations.
As of 9:04 a.m., an air raid alert was issued in Kyiv due to a suspected ballistic missile threat, but it was later canceled.
Ukrainian officials said Wednesday that at least 28 people were killed after one of the deadliest Russian attacks on the capital on June 17 since the war began more than three years ago.
Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko reported that the search and rescue operation in Kyiv’s Solomyanskyi district lasted for more than 39 hours.
According to the minister, the bodies of 23 victims were recovered from the rubble of a nine-story apartment building in the city’s Solomyansky district.
In total, 28 people were killed in Kyiv as a result of the Russian attack on June 17, and another 142 people were injured.
The assault came early Tuesday, when Russia launched dozens of missiles and drones across Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky called it “one of the most horrific attacks” Kyiv has seen during the war.
Russia’s defense ministry said its forces had hit “military-industrial facilities” in the Kyiv region, repeating a statement often issued after large-scale attacks.
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/54775
IDF says Hezbollah commander killed in Lebanon drone strike
June 19, 2025 6:43 am
A Hezbollah commander was killed in an Israeli drone strike last night in southern Lebanon, the IDF says.
The target of the strike in the town of Barish was Yassin Izz a-Din, commander of Hezbollah’s rocket artillery unit in the Litani River sector, according to the military.
The IDF says he advanced numerous rocket attacks on northern Israel during the war, and was involved in “attempts to restore Hezbollah’s artillery forces.”
The IDF adds that his actions “constituted a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-says-hezbollah-commander-killed-in-lebanon-drone-strike/
IDF says 2nd Hezbollah commander killed in drone strike overnight
June 19, 2025 10:36 am
Another Hezbollah commander was killed in a drone strike in southern Lebanon overnight, the IDF announces.
The strike in the Nabatieh area killed Mohammad Ahmad Khreiss, who the IDF says was the commander of Hezbollah’s anti-tank unit in the Shebaa area.
“During the war, the terrorist advanced numerous attacks against the State of Israel,” including an anti-tank missile attack on Mount Dov on April 26, 2024, which killed Sharif Sawaed, an IDF civilian contractor
“In addition, the terrorist continued to advance terror activity in southern Lebanon in a way that violated the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military adds.
Another Hezbollah commander was killed in a separate drone strike announced earlier.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-says-2nd-hezbollah-commander-killed-in-drone-strike-overnight/
IDF kills Hezbollah operative in south Lebanon drone strike
Today, 6:25 pm
A Hezbollah operative was killed in a drone strike in southern Lebanon earlier today, the IDF says, marking the third in less than a day.
According to the IDF, the operative was involved in efforts to restore Hezbollah infrastructure in the Houla area.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-kills-hezbollah-operative-in-south-lebanon-drone-strike/
Two drones crash in Jordan's Amman, injuring child and damaging homes
19 June, 2025
Two drones crashed in Jordan on Thursday, injuring a 12-year-old girl and damaging homes, vehicles and public infrastructure outside the capital.
The first one came down near a commercial area in northern Amman earlier in the day, damaging a civilian vehicle and a public bus shelter. No injuries were reported.
Hours later, another drone crashed in the Azraq district, east of Jordan, wounding a 12-year-old girl and causing significant damage to three homes and two vehicles.
The director of Zarqa Governmental Hospital confirmed the girl's condition was stable. In response to both incidents, security and military teams cordoned off the affected areas and launched an investigation into the violent crashes.
As the country continues to face fallout from the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, authorities remain on high alert.
Jordanian officials have not attributed responsibility but said the crashes were being treated as part of a broader pattern.
Since Israel and Iran's airstrike exchange started on 13 June, the country's Public Security Directorate (PSD) received a growing number of reports of unidentified objects falling across the country, many believed to be debris from Iranian missiles or Israeli interception systems.
On Saturday, five people were wounded when a projectile struck a home in the northern city of Irbid. In another incident, a suspicious object hit the roof of a school in Mafraq Governorate.
Although no injuries were reported, as students were not present at the time, administrative staff evacuated the premises.
The kingdom has temporarily closed its airspace and intercepted several aerial threats over the past week. The PSD urged the public to remain vigilant and avoid any unidentified debris, warning of potential explosive risks.
Citizens are advised to report such objects immediately by calling 911 and to refrain from interfering to allow specialists to investigate safely.
Officials have repeatedly stressed that Jordan will not serve as a battleground for foreign powers.
Addressing the European parliament on Tuesday, Jordan's King Abdullah II warned that Israel's "attacks" on Iran threatened to dangerously escalate tensions in the "region and beyond".
He told lawmakers in Strasburg that "with Israel's expansion of its offensive to include Iran, there is no telling where the boundaries of this battleground will end. And that, my friends, is a threat to people everywhere".
https://www.newarab.com/news/drone-crashes-jordans-amman-wounds-girl-destroy-homes
Several drones intercepted by police in The Hague in anticipation of NATO Summit
Thursday, 19 June 2025 - 17:55
The police have intercepted several drones in anticipation of the NATO Summit that will be held in The Hague next week.
According to Willem Woelders, who is responsible for security at the summit on behalf of the police, at least six drones were taken down.
According to Woelders, the drones were being controlled by hobbyists. “We have no indications that suggest that the people involved had any malicious intent.”
The drones were seized, and it is up to the public prosecutor to decide whether the pilots of the drones will be prosecuted. “Don’t send any drones into the sky. Just don’t do it,” Woelders said.
Woelders would not share how the drones were stopped. Officers and the military can force people to have their devices land, but they also have permission to take over the drone’s controls.
And in the most extreme cases, they can shoot it out of the sky.
The NATO Summit will be attended by the leaders of all 32 member states. The authorities have declared temporary no-fly zones over key areas in The Hague.
Violations of this can lead to fines, prosecution, and confiscation of the equipment.
https://nltimes.nl/2025/06/19/several-drones-intercepted-police-hague-anticipation-nato-summit
Gov. Landry signs bill to allow law enforcement to neutralize threatening drones
Updated: Jun 18, 2025 / 01:38 PM CDT
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Law enforcement at the state and local level will now be able to neutralize drones in Louisiana.
This was made possible after Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed the “We Will Act” Act into law.
The governor’s office said the law allows “law enforcement to actively intercept and disable drones that pose credible threats to public safety.”
Specially trained officers will now be able to use non-kinetic and kinetic technologies against unmanned aerial systems that are breaking the law.
That would include drones operating in areas like public events, schools and important infrastructure.
Anyone who violates this law could face fines, jail time and the loss of the drone that is involved in the illegal activity.
Specifically, offenders could face a fine of up to one year in prison and up to a $5,000 fine, according to the governor’s office.
“This law puts Louisiana on the front lines of drone defense,” said Landry. “We are taking bold steps now to protect our people and our skies before tragedy strikes.”
The law is set to go into effect on Aug. 1.
https://www.klfy.com/louisiana/gov-landry-signs-bill-to-allow-law-enforcement-to-neutralize-threatening-drones/
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?i=248192
Baltimore man pleads guilty illegally flying drone over Ravens’ AFC Wild Card game
June 19, 2025 11:18 am
BALTIMORE- On Wednesday, Alexis Perez Suarez, 43, of Baltimore, Maryland, pled guilty to knowingly and willfully violating national defense airspace.
After accepting the guilty plea, Magistrate Judge Charles D. Austin sentenced Suarez to one year of supervised probation, 100 hours of community service, and a $500 fine for flying a drone over M&T Bank Stadium on January 11, 2025, during the National Football League’s Wild Card game in Baltimore.
According to the guilty plea, the Federal Aviation Administration put a temporary flight restriction (TFR) in place for M&T Bank Stadium during the January 11, NFL playoff game, making it a No Drone Zone.
The restriction precluded flying any Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), including an UAS under the Exception for Recreational Flyers.
A TFR temporarily restricts certain aircraft, including an UAS, from operating within a three nautical mile radius of the stadium.
“Public safety is a top priority, so we’re committed to protecting our airways above mass gatherings. Suarez knew that M&T Bank Stadium was under a temporary flight restriction, yet he flew his drone into the airspace anyway, which is unacceptable,” Hayes said.
“There is a zero-tolerance policy for operating Unmanned Aircraft Systems in No Drone Zones. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with our partners, will hold those accountable who ignore the rules and regulations surrounding restricted airspace.”
“It is not just irresponsible and reckless, but illegal to fly a drone over a major sporting event such as a Ravens playoff game.
Capturing a photo is not worth the risk of hurting any spectators, players, or employees. As shown by this investigation, the FBI and our partners will hold those caught violating the law fully accountable,” Koldjeski said.
“Federal laws regulating the use of drones exist for a reason: to protect people and keep our skies safe,” Thompson said. “Flying drones illegally— especially overcrowded sporting events — is reckless and dangerous.
Today’s guilty plea underscores our commitment to working with our partners to hold violators accountable and prevent potential disasters.”
Instituting a TFR is standard practice for stadiums or sporting venues hosting regular or postseason contests for the NFL, Major League Baseball, NCAA Division I, NASCAR Cup, Indy Car, and Champ Series Race.
The TFR goes into effect one hour before the scheduled start time and lasts until one hour after the end of a qualifying event.
During the wild-card game, NFL Security temporarily suspended the game due to the serious threat posed by the incursion of an unidentified and unapproved drone.
MSP Troopers and FBI Special Agents tracked the movement of the drone over the stadium and deployed to the area where the drone landed.
Although Suarez had left the scene, law enforcement identified him and traced him to his residence.
Suarez admitted that the drone was not registered, and that he lacked the required training and licensing, including a remote pilot certificate, to operate a UAS.
Suarez also admitted in his plea that he flew the drone directly over the stadium despite knowing about the flight restrictions.
According to the complaint’s affidavit, Suarez captured approximately seven photos of the Stadium while flying over the game with thousands of people below his flight path.
There is a zero-tolerance policy regarding UAS/drone use anywhere within the FAA’s No Drone Zone.
Anyone who attempts to fly a UAS/drone in any prohibited manner is subject to arrest, prosecution, fines, and/or imprisonment.
https://tristatealert.com/baltimore-man-pleads-guilty-illegally-flying-drone-over-ravens-afc-wild-card-game/
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/podcast-langley-air-force-base-drones
Who Swarmed Langley Air Force Base With Drones?
June 19, 2025
Dylan Thuras: In December 2023, at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, it’s just after sunset, and something weird is happening in the sky.
Just after dusk, a drone would arrive, and then another, and then another. And this happened for 17 nights straight.
On any given night, between one and two dozen of these drones would appear above the base. Some had lights. Some didn’t.
They would fly in this kind of formation and then split off. Their size varied. Some were big. We’re talking like the size of a car.
Senior military commanders would scramble onto rooftops with binoculars and night vision goggles to try and get a better look at them. And then suddenly, it stopped.
The drones disappeared as quickly as they had come. But the strangest thing about the whole situation is that it seemed that no one at this incredibly secure, highly technologically advanced Air Force Base could figure out what was going on.
Or at least, they certainly wouldn’t say it publicly. Ten, 15 years ago, drones were basically considered toys. Or at least, they certainly weren’t on most people’s radar. Today, they are everywhere. Physically, but also in the news.
They are at the forefront of the war in Ukraine. You might have recently heard about Operation Spiderweb. This is when trucks drove from Ukraine into Russia.
The tops opened up, and they unleashed more than 100 drones, which immediately kamikazed themselves into Russian air bases.
You might remember the New Jersey drone panic from not that long ago, a year ago, when it seemed like every day, people were seeing more and more drones in the sky, and the media was in a kind of total frenzy.
It all kind of fizzled out, dismissed as hysteria.
But before these bigger news stories, there was this other quieter incident, these mysterious drones at Langley Air Force Base. And so I wanted to know whatever happened with that.
So I called up reporter Gordon Lubold. He is a foreign policy and national security reporter at The Wall Street Journal. And he just reported on a number of these drone incidents, including the one at Langley Air Force Base.
Thanks for taking the time, Gordon. I really appreciate it.
Gordon Lubold: Oh, no, no, no. Happy to do it.
Dylan: I’ve been following this for a while. And when the story about the drones over Langley AFB happened, it was like a pretty quiet story. It was kind of like, it was this weird thing, and you’re like, what the hell?
And then, yeah, obviously it didn’t bubble up into this giant national phenomenon. And then literally like one year later, you’ve got this kind of New Jersey drone explosion that suddenly becomes like, you know, it’s like a few weeks of really pretty constant coverage.
Gordon: It was crazy. But the thing that was also, I think maybe there was some irony in it, is that in the end, I never thought that the New Jersey drone thing was actually a scary thing.
Like, I think it was weird, and I think it was kind of circular reporting and people seeing the drones up, whereas the Langley thing actually remains a mystery and is actually a legitimate issue of concern, honestly.
I’m Dylan Thuras, and this is Atlas Obscura. Today on the show, what happened with those drones at Langley Air Force Base? And how should it change the way we are thinking about the world?
Dylan: Let’s go back to December of, I think, 2023. What happens at the Langley Air Force Base?
Gordon: So unbeknownst to all of us, essentially, at the time, was a 17-day series of drone swarms circulating the base. And it started one night, and I think that the people on the base were, you know, taken off guard by it.
But as it continued, essentially every night, it really amounted to they were completely stumped by what these things were, who sent them, and what they were doing.
Dylan: And just to say it, Langley Air Force Base, like, it’s a relatively important air force base. It’s got some pretty important stuff, some pretty sort of high-end fighters there.
Like, you know, it must have been pretty weird to have all these, you know, lights in the sky, weird drones. They’re calling, like, the UFO department to be like, what? Do you know what these are?
1/4
Gordon: So there is, like, you know, fifth-generation jet fighters on the base sitting there. You know, it’s not an overstatement to say $150, $130 million jet fighters sitting, like, sitting ducks on the base.
And as we later report, as we reported in this story, they were later flown off the base to get them out of kind of harm’s way, because they didn’t know they could be taken out very quickly.
Dylan: So what, then, does the Air Force do about these drones? They’ve got these weird things in the air in a place they probably really should not be. They can’t really figure out where they’re coming from. What do they do?
Gordon: It was hard. I mean, I think a lot of it was they didn’t know what to do and how to respond. And they removed the F-22 Raptors that were there, the jet fighters, and got them out of the way.
I think they probably did some other things that we don’t necessarily know what they did. And tried to kind of assess what these things were doing.
They essentially were trying to understand if there was a rhythm to their occurrence, which was, in the end, they never were able to kind of figure out quite where they went.
This, we should say, escalated quickly to not just the Air Force on the base, but to the Pentagon, and then ultimately to the White House, where there were pretty regular meetings.
It doesn’t sound very sexy, but they were huddling over what this was and what to do about it. Because the idea that it could be a foreign adversary was top of mind.
Dylan: Yeah. I think part of what was so surprising about this story was, a little bit, the sense of inability to do anything. And some of that inability was maybe technological. Some of it was kind of legal, about like, do we have the authority?
What’s the fallout going to be if we shoot these things out of the sky? I mean, there’s all kinds of wacky solutions discussed about taking them down. Maybe you could touch on a few of the ideas that were floated, but then ultimately seemed not to prove viable for various reasons.
Gordon: Shooting them down is in itself a danger. You shoot down a drone, they clearly could have probably done that. But it lands on some kid’s head in a playground, that’s not so good.
Another thing is to use electromagnetic waves or other electricity to just disable it.
Dylan: Yes.
Gordon: But if you don’t do that right, you could have the same problem. And again, remember that so far, these things haven’t done anything wrong.
They seem dangerous because they’re a little scary, nobody knows what they’re doing or why they’re there and who sent them, but they haven’t done anything exactly. So there’s a risk assessment there.
Do we want to shoot it down? If it’s actually attacking the base, that might be a different story. The kind of most fun thing, and I’m dating myself here, but I used to watch Scooby-Dooby-Doo, how he captured the bad guy at the end with a net.
Even then, I remember thinking, can’t the guy get out of the net? And so there was a Coast Guard ship off the coast that did have the capability to shoot a big net into the sky, potentially capture one of these drones. But this was a legal authority issue.
And so the whole episode clearly did point out the vulnerabilities of these kinds of drone flights, even though they weren’t really doing anything.
Dylan: And now comes the question, where the hell are these coming from? I guess maybe we could start by talking about potential suspects. So I’m going to start with maybe the silliest one. Were these aliens?
Gordon: Right. So I think the conclusion is no, they weren’t.
Somebody did say to me that there was some evidence that these things were flying into the water and then back out again, which sounds crazy because a drone normally, unless it’s some kind of crazy super drone that we don’t really know, that starts to get goosebump time.
But the idea that they were aliens was probably ruled out fairly quickly.
Dylan: Okay, suspect two, hobbyists. Maybe someone building something weird, crazy in their garage. I don’t know. Is this some local kids goofing off?
2/4
Gordon: Right. And so that’s a very plausible theory, but it kind of lost credibility after a while because it was clear that there was just the sheer number of these things.
The idea of one or two or even a half a dozen hobbyists kind of doing this seemed incredible. And this would be a pretty serious offense to just be flying all over a military base with these assets there.
This seemed far more sophisticated than any, even one or several hobbyists could do.
Dylan: Could they have been our drones? Not necessarily Langley’s drones, but sometimes we do stuff to send signals to other places and say, hey, by the way, we have this technology. Could they be ours?
Gordon: Not a crazy theory at all. We try to track that down as well, that it could be, you know, another government agency, i.e., the CIA, kind of probing their own government.
It’s not crazy to think that the government doesn’t always talk to other parts of the government and things are very stovepiped. That’s pretty ballsy, honestly.
Dylan: It would be awfully rude, you know, 17 nights in a row.
Gordon: Right. I mean, I would think at some point, and then the ensuing investigation and the coverage, you know, would have led to somebody saying, yeah, sorry, dude, that was us. Like, probably went too far, but like that.
Dylan: Okay. So that basically, in our suspects, it leaves basically everyone else, you know, China, Russia, Iran, you know, insert someone else here, maybe, presumably an adversary.
So where are we left? Because they never got their hands on one of these drones, right?
Gordon: Right. As far as I understand, none of the drones from the swarms were ever snagged and taken and dissected. There’s a couple of things to answer your question. I think, likely China.
There was a separate incident around the same time, which was not really part of the series of incidents. China sends low level Chinese operatives to the U.S. all the time to conduct kind of like this meta surveillance.
They go to military bases, they pose as tourists, they wander around and, you know, sometimes they get caught and sometimes they don’t.
And there was a young kid who was flying a drone over the naval yard there, where sensitive aircraft carriers and nuclear subs are built.
You know, it was funny, because he—it was like a dark, cold night in the middle of January. He supposedly was a tourist.
He bought the drone on sale at Costco a few days earlier, flew to Norfolk and was flying around and got stuck in a tree and couldn’t get it out. And I think the police came.
Ultimately, he fled without the drone, left the drone in the tree. Ultimately, he was apprehended, getting on a one way ticket to China in San Francisco. They got the drone.
From all we understood, what they learned is like the drone had a lot of footage of the shipyard and the construction of ships there. And he was charged and convicted. And I think he got six months in prison.
But it’s also just the kind of greater context of the willingness of China to kind of spend money trying to surveil or at least probe and see what the response is at military bases and other things all around the country already.
And so, you know, if I was betting, I would say I think these were Chinese drones.
3/4
Dylan: How do you frame all of this? Like, there is weird stuff happening with drones. That much seems clear. There’s a lot of noise. What is the big signal that you pull out of all of these stories?
Gordon: I guess what I take away from the whole thing is, U.S. military is not known always for its nimbleness. And I think this episode pointed up the challenge it has to responding to a today issue.
A today issue is there’s drones all over the freaking skies. Some of them may be, you know, just kind of in the way. Others may be, you know, used for nefarious purposes.
And it was interesting to cover and to report and write a story about a time when the military, which is generally full of capabilities and precision and ideas and readiness and preparedness, really just was kind of brought to its knees.
Dylan: And I can’t help but wonder, there’s this interesting tension, which is there. This is a rapidly changing, evolving part of battle, of surveillance, of almost, I don’t know how to put it, geography.
Like our space, the three-dimensional space we are living in is changing dramatically around us.
And that there’s also this effort to kind of keep that narrative or that fact from kind of spinning into something out of the control of the people who kind of, you know, don’t want everyone freaking out and sort of things starting to escalate in funny ways.
Gordon: Part of the problem with the public assurances over the New Jersey drone incidents was that, as I think you kind of alluded to earlier, was like, they really don’t know what was going on over Langley or they haven’t said.
And so for them to say, nothing to see here, there’s nothing happening here, is hard to kind of believe, even though I kind of did believe them because I did some reporting on it.
But like, felt like if you’re not able to come clean over this other set of incidents, how can you assure the public over these?
Dylan: Right. It becomes very hard to pull the signal from the noise in both directions. And there’s so little information being shared.
And so we end up in this funny place where I feel like now when I talk to people, they’re either, you know, they’re kind of like into the conspiracy area or they’re just like, oh, that was all just like crazy mass hysteria.
Gordon: Right. The media just going crazy or whatever.
Dylan: Just because there was a lot of hysteria, doesn’t mean something weird isn’t going on. And I think that’s where we find ourselves.
Gordon: Right. A hundred percent.
Dylan: That was Gordon Lubold. He is a reporter at The Wall Street Journal. He’s done a lot of great reporting on drones and national security issues. We’ll put a link to some of his work in our episode description.
You know, Gordon makes a pretty convincing case that America is being spied on or tested or intimidated using drones, balloons, other things that don’t quite fit our expectation of what you’re going to see when you look up into the sky.
So maybe we will talk about this again down the line. Stay tuned.
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Missile or UFO
Updated: 11:59 AM MDT June 19, 2025
From 9news Denver, CO
https://www.9news.com/video/tech/science/aerospace/colorado-space/73-724a319b-ec09-4c81-9ac1-af4bbda56dd9
Swarms of 'alien jellyfish' invade UK beaches as temperatures soar amid heatwave
17:36, 19 Jun 2025
Swarms of jellyfish have appeared along several of Torquay’s beaches as warm weather continues to heat up the waters around Devon and Cornwall amid the current heatwave.
Moon Jellyfish have been seen floating close to the shore at Watcombe and Oddicombe this week. Others have reported similar sightings across South Devon.
One visitor said: "Wowzers, we saw a few at Woolacombe, I’ve never seen that many though."
Photos of the jellyfish have been shared online, with locals commenting on the rise in numbers. The big influx has sparked curiosity among beachgoers as more jellyfish continue to wash in with the tide.
One told Devon Live: "Moon jellyfish are everywhere now, they're so cool". Others have been spotted in Meadfoot, Maidencombe and Churston Cove on the fringes of Brixton.
According to the Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT) "The moon jelly is the most common jellyfish in UK seas, often washing up on our beaches."
They are recognisable by the four circles visible through their translucent 'heads'. They are purple and are 95 per cent water, they have no brain, blood or heart.
Moon jellies have short tentacles and are harmless to humans. They can grow up to 40cm in diameter and live for around 6 months, and thrive in warmer weather.
UK could see 45C temperatures and extreme month-long heatwaves, according to Met Office meteorological experts. Higher temperatures of 45C or more "may be possible" in today’s climate.
The shocking prediction continued as experts even predicted heatwaves could go on for a month or more.
This year the coastline has already seen soaring temperatures, with an 'unprecedented' marine heatwave hitting waters around Cornwall and Devon lasting over two months.
The Met Office said the sea surface temperatures are warmer by 1.5-2.5°C, "It is significant due to its intensity and persistence," it said.
This isn't the first time Jellyfish have flocked to the popular West Coast of England. Recent years have seen many 'blooms' of them in Devon's waters.
Experts described 2015 as "the year of the jelly" when beaches in popular Devon and Cornwall tourist spots almost had to be closed.
Alexandra Bulgakova, a data analyst at the Marine Conservation Society, told the BBC: "Warm waters and abundant food can lead to jellyfish blooms, and if combined with onshore winds, they can find themselves stranded on the shore."
According to Dr Matthew Witt, Lecturer in Natural Environment at the University of Exeter said: "Jellyfish are an important part of our British wildlife - we see them year-round, but mostly in summer months
"But remember to look and don't touch."
Though the sting of a moon jellyfish is harmless to humans, it is possible to experience a mild stinging sensation on the surface of the skin.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/swarms-alien-jellyfish-invade-uk-35420119
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14828913/Joe-Rogan-stunned-disturbing-alien-photos.html
https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1lewpbt/lue_elizondo_and_the_alien_pictures_he_showed_ron/
https://x.com/redpandakoala/status/1935461378392998024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWEqyjFdQo8 (Joe Rogan Experience #2339 - Luis J. Gomez & Big Jay Oakerson June 18, 2025)
Joe Rogan stunned by disturbing 'alien photos leaked by ex-Pentagon chief': 'This is crazy'
Updated: 15:08 EDT, 19 June 2025
A set of disturbing photos claiming to show a dead alien caught the attention of Joe Rogan, who was stunned by what he saw.
The three photos, which surfaced last week on X, have been linked to former military intelligence official Luis Elizondo, a polarizing figure in the world of UFO investigations.
Elizondo has previously made headlines with unverified claims about extraterrestrials and advanced aerial technology.
Daily Mail has chosen not to show the images in full due to their graphic nature.
'Did you see, Lou Elizondo, these photos that are supposedly of a real alien?' Rogan said to his guests, comedians Luis J Gomez and Big Jay Oakerson.
'It's so dumb. The photos look blurry… of the photos of the dead alien. This is crazy.'
Along with the photos, Rogan presented a 1993 document claiming they depicted 'an alien hybrid child born to a 15-year-old girl, subject of an ET genetic experiment.'
The discussion quickly veered into speculation when Rogan and his guests wondered if the figure in the images might be a baby with Harlequin ichthyosis, a skin disorder that causes thick, scaly plates on the body.
'It could be anything, man. I mean, it might not even be human,' Rogan said.
The images have triggered intense backlash online, with many users convinced they depict a deceased baby rather than an extraterrestrial being. Critics have slammed Elizondo for allegedly promoting the photos without proper context.
However, UAP (unidentified anomalous phenomena) researcher Rob Heatherly told DailyMail.com that he sent the images to the former Pentagon official in hopes of getting clarification.
'His only reply to my inquiry, paraphrasing, was that he had absolutely no idea either,' Heatherly said.
'Lue gets accused of things frequently that he has no actual involvement in or cognizance of. It's not required that he address each accusation, especially the absurd one, as this is.
He claimed the photos were sold at auction, saying: 'I didn't buy the albums. I found the auctions and saved the images.
'The person who listed them for sale was commenting about them with me in recent days regarding this.'
DailyMail.com contacted Elizondo and his lawyer Ivan Hannel last week for comment and has yet to receive a response.
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Elizondo, however, appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience in 2024, where he claimed the intelligence community and the Department of Defense have 'hundreds and hundreds of videos of UFOs.'
Rogan did not say Elizondo had shared the images, only mentioned that the former military intelligence official was somehow involved with them.
'Like you can't even zoom in on that,' Rogan said during the podcast, highlighting how blurry the images were. 'You can't even f** focus. Look at these.
'What is that? What's that? What is that dude? How about better pictures? These are the only pictures. Is this from the forties? Like, what's this picture from? What is this?'
Elizondo recently came under fire after sharing an image he said was a UFO.
While speaking in front of Congress on May 1, he held up what he said was a never-before-seen image of a cruise ship–sized craft he claimed was spotted hovering 21,000 feet in the air over the western US.
The image quickly flooded social media and was debunked in less than 24 hours.
Users analyzed the photo and located the object, discovering it was actually a snapshot of two irrigation circles in rural Colorado.
Mick West, a British-American science writer and conspiracy theory investigator, wrote on X: 'This UFO photo shows two irrigation circles.
'The roads are perfectly aligned, and the 'shadow' is in the wrong direction.'
West also noted that this isn't the first time Elizondo, who led the Pentagon's program investigating UFO sightings for 10 years, has made a major UFO blunder.
One glaring mistake involved a high-resolution image of a supposed 'mothership' in 2022, which appeared to be piercing through clouds over Romania. It was later debunked as the window reflection of an indoor chandelier lamp.
Others in the Reddit thread were less forgiving toward Elizondo, with many accusing him of spreading disinformation.
'Trying to clown all of us,' one user wrote. 'If any of the people coming forward are serious, they'll distance themselves from him.'
'Really brings into question what they are doing with disclosure. Starting to think that Elizondo and co. are just disinformation agents,' another added.
Despite the criticism, Elizondo doubled down on showing the photo at Thursday's hearing, saying on X Friday that it was an unvetted image he used to prove a point about civilian pilots lacking access to UFO-reporting resources.
'The purpose of me showing the photo was to illustrate the need for civilian and commercial pilots to have a central reporting mechanism to report potential anomalous sightings,' Elizondo posted on X Friday.
'In this case, the pilot who took the photo, using his own camera, did not have a way to report what he believed was anomalous,' he continued.
'The ones who are screaming about it (instead of discussing it respectfully as I hoped) missed the entire point of the photo and are not helping other pilots in the future from coming forward,' the whistleblower added.
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THE BUGA SPHERE: A TRUE MYSTERY
Jun 13, 2025
Don't miss our LIVE broadcast only on this same YouTube channel 🔴
👉🏻 June 20 at 11 AM Central Mexico Time 👈🏻
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1vzvXCXV-I
https://www.reddit.com/r/aliens/comments/1lczesw/jaime_maussan_announces_that_on_june_20th_there/
extra
The ships are approaching Colombia. The country of the Buga sphere
Jun 17, 2025
In this episode of Interstellar, journalist and researcher Jaime Maussan discusses the incredible sightings of spheres and unidentified flying objects hovering over Colombia, presenting evidence and testimonies of these objects' presence on Earth.
part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu1_VNMAxac
part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzdRn67xj3g
Chris Bledsoe on presidents’ interest in UAPs, NASA missions and summoning orbs
Updated: Jun 17, 2025 / 03:39 PM CDT
In this episode of “Reality Check,” Ross Coulthart is in Palm Springs, attending the Contact in the Desert UFO Conference. Ross sits down with Chris Bledsoe, an author and former construction contractor.
Bledsoe talks about an alleged ability to summon entities on command in the form of glowing orbs and the “new knowledge” that will happen in April of 2026.
The pair also discuss why a two-star general and congresspeople were in Bledsoe’s home, President Obama’s briefing by NASA’s Tim Taylor, President Trump’s interests in UAP and much more.
https://www.newsnationnow.com/podcasts-newsnation/chris-bledsoe-on-presidents-interest-in-uaps-nasa-missions-and-summoning-orbs/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrGeReWlHLg
extra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em7P9g9zCYc (Chris Bledsoe - The Episode We Never Censored | SRS #165 Feb 3, 2025)