TYB
https://www.space.com/stargazing/the-moon-meets-up-with-the-seven-sisters-this-week-heres-how-to-see-it
The moon meets up with the Seven Sisters this week
October 8, 2025
If you missed the moon passing in front of the Pleiades this past January, February and July, the next show for North America comes our way on Thursday night, Oct. 9.
This time the moon will be a waning gibbous (86% sunlit), so stars belonging to the Pleiades cluster will disappear behind its bright limb and reappear behind the thin crescent of darkness on the moon's trailing side.
You're going to need a telescope; binoculars likely will not provide enough magnification for following the stars in their final moments as the moon's rather glary, sunlight edge creeps up to them. With a telescope use an eyepiece that provides you with at least 50-power.
Conversely, stars will be much easier to see when they suddenly pop back into view from behind the moon's dark limb, and in this case, binoculars probably will suffice — especially if you mount them on a tripod.
When to watch
The details vary depending on your location, but out in the western U.S. and Canada the moon will begin to encroach upon the Pleiades — popularly known as "The Seven Sisters" — during the early-to-mid evening hours, although somewhat low (around 10 degrees) in the east-northeast sky.
For the eastern U.S. and Atlantic Canada, the show will begin within an hour either side of local midnight (before midnight for the Eastern time zone, after midnight in the Atlantic time zone), with the moon considerably higher; roughly halfway up in the eastern sky.
In most cases, the moon's passage across the star cluster will take about two hours.
As an example, from Chicago, among the cluster's seven brightest stars, observers can see the moon occult Electra (magnitude 3.7), Taygeta (4.3), and Maia (3.8) at about 10:27 p.m., 10:53 p.m., and 10:55 p.m. CDT, respectively along the moon's bright limb.
These three stars will reappear from behind the moon's dark limb at, respectively, 11:20 p.m., 11:38 p.m. and 11:55 p.m. CDT. From Chicago, the moon will miss four of the seven brightest Pleiades stars, Alcyone (2.8), Atlas (3.6), Merope (4.1), Pleione (5.0).
Of course, many other (fainter) stars will also be occulted during the moon's passage through the cluster.
Specific times and zones of visibility
Courtesy of the International Occultation Timers Association (IOTA), pages are available that provide timetables for hundreds of locations for four stars in the cluster.
Alcyone
Atlas
Electra
Maia
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Each page provides times for the disappearance and reappearance of the star in question. The times are given in Universal Time (UT) which is the same as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Since the occultation occurs after midnight UT, the calendar date is Oct. 10. When converting to your local time zone, the times will be before local midnight on the previous date (Oct. 9), the exceptions being for Atlantic Canada.
As an example: For Alcyone, as seen from Denver, Colorado, this star will disappear at 4:32:30 UT on Oct. 10. Denver is in the Mountain Time Zone and is six hours behind Universal Time.
So, for the Mile-High City, Alcyone will disappear at 10:32 p.m. MDT on Oct. 9. Alcyone is predicted to reappear at 4:51:21 UT, which corresponds to 10:51 p.m. MDT.
The three images below show how the moon will interact with the Pleiades star cluster as seen from Denver, CO during the mid-to-late evening hours of Oct. 9.
The views are in one-hour increments, respectively from left-to-right, 9:30 p.m. MDT, 10:30 p.m. MDT and 11:30 p.m. MDT.
The moon generally moves at its own diameter (one-half degree per hour) from west-to-east and will take about two hours to pass completely through the cluster.
Note how much smaller the moon appears relative to the Pleiades (which measures roughly one-degree across).
In addition to the timetable, a world map (Mercator projection) is provided, showing the region where the occultation will be visible. The boundaries are in different colors. The Cyan boundaries show the curves of the occultation disappearance or reappearance at moonrise or moonset.
A continuous white line marks the nighttime northern and southern limits of the occultation. A continuous blue line denotes the occultation limits occurring during twilight, while a dotted red line depicts the occultation limits occurring in daylight.
For Alcyone and Atlas, these occultations will take place over the northwestern U.S., western Canada and Alaska. For Electra visibility will cover virtually all of North America including Greenland, while for Maia visibility will be confined to much of the U.S., central and eastern Canada and Greenland.
Coming attractions
Typically, an occultation of a specific star is not a "hit-or-miss" proposition; each month the moon will pass in front of that star as seen from various parts of our planet. Such a pattern is called a series and can last a few years or more.
The current series of Pleiades occultations began in September 2023 and will continue until July 2029. After 2029 the moon will pass south of the Pleiades until the next series commences in 2042.
After Thursday, the next Pleiades occultation that will be widely visible across North America will take place on Wednesday evening, Dec. 3, occurring on the day before a full moon.
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https://www.space.com/astronomy/james-webb-space-telescope/jwst-spots-dust-cloaked-red-supergiant-star-just-before-it-went-supernova
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1100673
JWST spots dust-cloaked 'red supergiant' star just before it went supernova
OCtober 8, 2025
For decades, astronomers have searched the skies for a missing population of doomed stars — the massive red supergiants that theory predicts should end their lives in powerful stellar explosions, but somehow rarely seem to.
Now, thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the mystery may finally be clearing up, quite literally.
In a new study, a team of astronomers report that they have captured the most detailed glimpse yet of a red supergiant before it exploded.
Using JWST's powerful infrared vision, the researchers identified the star that produced a supernova, marking the first time that the powerful space telescope has detected a supernova progenitor.
The findings, published Wednesday (Oct. 8) in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, suggest that many of these enormous stars indeed explode, but are simply hidden behind thick veils of dust that obscure them from the view of most telescopes.
"We've been waiting for this to happen — for a supernova to explode in a galaxy that JWST had already observed," Charlie Kilpatrick of Northwestern University, who led the study, said in a statement.
"Only now, with JWST, do we finally have the quality of data and infrared observations that allow us to say precisely the exact type of red supergiant that exploded and what its immediate environment looked like."
The supernova, known as SN 2025pht, was detected on June 29 in a galaxy about 40 million light-years from Earth.
Both JWST and the Hubble Space Telescope had imaged this region before the explosion, Hubble dating back as far as 1994 and JWST observing the site twice in 2024.
By comparing these pre-explosion datasets, Kilpatrick's team pinpointed the specific star that later detonated, according to the study, which was posted to the preprint archive arXiv on Aug. 14.
To confirm the match, the team carefully aligned the Hubble and JWST images using 36 stars visible in both datasets as reference points, ensuring that every pixel corresponded to the same spot in the sky, the study noted.
They then compared the precise position of the supernova with all sources detected in the older, pre-explosion images. In those earlier observations, they found a single bright, point-like source visible across all JWST images exactly where the supernova later appeared in a post-explosion Hubble image, confirming that the object seen by both telescopes before the explosion was the progenitor star that became SN 2025pht.
Those images revealed a star that was extraordinarily bright and incredibly red — so red, in fact, that it was clear it was blanketed by a dense cocoon of dust.
Although the star shone about 100,000 brighter than our sun, its visible light was dimmed by more than 100 times, according to the statement.
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"It's the reddest, dustiest red supergiant that we've seen explode as a supernova," study co-author Aswin Suresh, a graduate student in physics and astronomy at Northwestern, said in the same statement.
"That tells us that previous explosions might have been much more luminous than we thought because we didn't have the same quality of infrared data that JWST can now provide," Kilpatrick added.
Stars like SN 2025pht are what astronomers call red supergiants, which are massive stars in the final stage of their lives.
When their cores run out of fuel, gravity crushes them inward, triggering supernovae that leave behind a neutron star or black hole.
The best-known example of such a star is Betelgeuse, the bright red shoulder of Orion and the closest known red supergiant, which is speculated to explode within the next 10,000 to 100,000 years.
Astronomers have long puzzled over the apparent lack of luminous red supergiant stars in pre-explosion images, even though models predict that these stars should dominate the population of core-collapse supernova progenitors.
The new results suggest that many may simply be hidden behind thick layers of dust, rendering them invisible to optical telescopes.
"I've been arguing in favor of that interpretation, but even I didn't expect to see such an extreme example as SN2025pht," Kilpatrick said.
The team also found that the dust around the progenitor star was unusually rich in carbon, rather than the silicate-based dust typically seen in red supergiants.
This may indicate that powerful convection deep inside the star dredged up carbon from its core during its final years, changing its chemistry just before it blew apart, the study notes.
Beyond solving an old mystery, the discovery opens a new window into the life cycles of massive stars, researchers say.
With JWST and the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, astronomers will be able to track more of these hidden giants in their final moments.
"With the launch of JWST and upcoming Roman launch, this is an exciting time to study massive stars and supernova progenitors," Kilpatrick said in the statement.
"The quality of data and new findings we will make will exceed anything observed in the past 30 years."
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U.S. Space Force Flags China’s Expanding Web Of On-Orbit Assets
October 07, 2025
China’s burgeoning space portfolio is prompting U.S. Space Force leaders to issue fresh warnings about Beijing’s ambitions to compete with Washington’s on-orbit enterprise.
The Chinese government is leveraging years of observing U.S. and allied systems to accelerate development of its space capabilities.
“It is concerning how fast they’ve done it,” Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Intelligence Brig. Gen. Brian Sidari said during a Sept. 22 panel discussion at the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland.
Beijing began consolidating its military space portfolio under the newly established Aerospace Force in 2015.
A decade later, China has deployed more than 1,189 satellites to orbit, according to a September space threat fact sheet published by the Space Force.
It has a breathtaking range, spanning global satellite communications networks; position, navigation and timing spacecraft; and inspector satellites that could support wartime operations.
China has nearly 1,200 satellites on orbit
Remote-sensing systems are heading to medium Earth orbit. Among recent launches is Yaogan-45, a reconnaissance satellite that was placed in medium Earth orbit (MEO) on Sept. 8 by a Long March 7A rocket.
Yaogan-45’s location in MEO—rather than the more common low Earth orbit (LEO)—is a “very unusual” choice for a remote-sensing platform, said Chief Master Sgt. Ron Lerch, Sidari’s senior enlisted advisor.
In 2024, China began launching satellites for Smart Skynet, a new broadband constellation in MEO, to establish data relay infrastructure in that orbit, Lerch noted.
The network is planned initially to include eight spacecraft operating at 20,000 km (12,430 mi.) but could grow to as many as 32, with space-to-space connectivity to networks in higher and lower orbits, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC).
“That starts to paint a picture . . . that they value remote sensing to the point where they want resiliency, and layers of it,” Lerch said.
China also launched five satellites for its Tongxin Jishu Shiyan experimental communications network, Lerch disclosed.
Observers have tracked these spacecraft maneuvering around the geosynchronous Earth orbit belt, “which is very uncharacteristic for a system that’s supposed to be providing satellite communications,” he said.
Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess, commander of Space Forces-Space, called China the biggest space threat facing the U.S. The component field command plans, directs and executes operations in support of U.S. Space Command.
“They are bringing on capability—I don’t want to say daily, but at least monthly,” Schiess told reporters Sept. 24.
In the first seven months of 2025, Beijing conducted 42 total space launches, 41 of which succeeded, according to the Space Force.
The launches placed 112 payloads into orbit, including 19 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellites.
China’s fleet now includes more than 500 spacecraft equipped with optical, multispectral, radar and radio frequency sensors.
Among its recent launches, the nation deployed two demonstration remote-sensing satellites, dubbed Shiyan-30-01 and -02, into orbit on Sept. 29, according to CASC. Beijing continues to expand its space portfolio across multiple orbits.
To compete with Western nations’ proliferated-LEO (p-LEO) constellations, such as SpaceX’s Starlink, China plans to launch nearly 650 satellites by year-end and 15,000 by 2030 for its G60 communications fleet.
The China Satellite Network Group is developing a separate p-LEO constellation with 13,000 satellites.
China could soon increase its launch cadence as it develops reusable launch vehicles, Sidari said.
The country completed a vertical-takeoff-and-landing test with a reusable launch vehicle that reached 12 km in 2024. “It is concerning once they figure out that reusable lift,” he said.
Rendezvous and proximity operations remain a major Chinese focus. In June, commercial space trackers observed two Chinese satellites, Shijian-21 and Shijian-25, maneuvering in close proximity with each other in GEO.
Once aligned, the satellites appeared to conduct “probable satellite refueling experiments,” the Space Force said. China is also developing inspector satellites that the Pentagon warns could someday function as weapons.
https://aviationweek.com/space/satellites/us-space-force-flags-chinas-expanding-web-orbit-assets
U.S. Space Force launches competition for space-based interceptor
Oct 8, 2025
The United States Space Force has released a Request for Prototype Proposal (RPP) for its Space-Based Interceptor (SBI) program.
The solicitation was issued by Space Systems Command’s Space Combat Power Program Executive Office and seeks multiple industry partners to design and deliver prototype interceptor systems.
According to the Department of War, the awards will be structured as fixed-price Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs) under 10 U.S. Code 4022 and may also incorporate prize competitions authorized under 10 U.S. Code 4025.
In a notice released on October 4, the Space Force said the RPP “shall not be construed as an obligation on the part of the Government and does not commit the Government to making any awards.”
Instead, the solicitation is aimed at attracting competitive proposals from companies capable of delivering new interceptor technologies for deployment in orbit.
The SBI program is part of a broader push to develop layered missile defense systems capable of neutralizing threats in the earliest phases of flight.
A space-based interceptor constellation would operate above Earth’s atmosphere, with the goal of detecting and destroying ballistic and hypersonic missiles before they reach their targets — a mission seen as increasingly critical amid rapid advances in adversary missile capabilities.
Access to the solicitation’s detailed technical documents, known as the Bidders Library, is restricted to companies with approved access to controlled technical data.
Eligible firms must provide a valid DD Form 2345, the Militarily Critical Technical Data Agreement, which is processed through the Defense Logistics Agency’s Joint Certification Program.
Once approved, companies can request additional materials and classified information through secure channels.
“Eligible companies can also optionally submit JWICS points of contact in order to receive the supplementary classified information shown during the USSF SBI Industry Day to further inform their contemplated approach,” the notice said.
The government’s verification process generally takes one to two days following the submission of required documents.
The deadline for companies to request access to the Bidders Library was set for September 24, 2025, while final proposals were due by October 2.
The solicitation officially became public on October 4. While the project is not designated as a small business set-aside, the Space Force “highly encourages” participation from small and disadvantaged businesses, according to the release.
The Space Force also confirmed that non-government personnel would assist in reviewing submissions.
“Interested parties are advised that the Government intends to use non-Government personnel for the review and analysis of any feedback submitted and the proposals,” the announcement said.
These personnel may include Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), Systems Engineering and Integration (SE&I) firms, and Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) contractors providing technical and acquisition support.
The Space-Based Interceptor project represents one of the most ambitious components of U.S. missile defense modernization, potentially extending American defensive reach beyond terrestrial and airborne systems.
While details of the interceptor designs remain classified, the initiative underscores the Pentagon’s strategic shift toward integrating space as an active domain of defense rather than solely a platform for surveillance, communications, and command-and-control.
If successful, the SBI program could eventually provide a persistent orbital layer capable of intercepting missile threats during their boost phase — a capability long sought but never fully realized.
https://defence-blog.com/u-s-space-force-launches-competition-for-space-based-interceptor/
>watch him go on the run.
https://interestingengineering.com/culture/sci-fi-space-suits
Galactic armor: 7 sci-fi space suits mixing futuristic style with functional design
Updated: Oct 08, 2025 09:47 AM EST
We’ve all seen it, the glossy visors, sculpted armor, and sleek silhouettes of sci-fi space suits that look decades ahead of anything NASA’s ever launched.
From Prometheus to Sunshine, filmmakers have turned astronaut gear into symbols of progress and imagination. Wearable visions of the future that make exploration look effortless, elegant, and even heroic.
But there’s a fascinating truth hiding beneath the spectacle. While real space suits may not look futuristic, they’re evolving in extraordinary ways.
The real advancements aren’t about style, they’re about survival. Today’s engineers are reinventing what astronauts wear from the inside out. Smarter fabrics, adaptive joints, modular life-support systems, and built-in tech that turns these suits into mini spacecraft.
In this list, we’re celebrating seven sci-fi space suits that look straight out of tomorrow, exploring what makes their designs so visionary, and later, we’ll see why real-world suits don’t share the same glossy appeal (yet), even as they quietly outpace fiction in function.
Sunshine – 2007
In Sunshine, the Icarus II crew’s suits are the definition of “futuristic realism.” The design blends a traditional EVA shape with eerie gold visors and thick layered shielding to withstand the Sun’s radiation.
The gold-plated helmets, inspired by NASA’s anti-radiation visors, are both visually stunning and scientifically sound. Costume designer Sian Jenkins worked with aerospace consultants to ensure the look wasn’t just theatrical.
The Wandering Earth – 2019
Few sci-fi films have treated space suit design with the same obsessive realism as The Wandering Earth, China’s first large-scale sci-fi production.
Designed by New Zealand’s Wētā Workshop, the team behind Avatar and Blade Runner 2049, the production built 100s of iterations to make suits tailored to character roles and environments.
Engineers, soldiers, and civilians all wore different variations, complete with modular life-support backpacks, exoskeletal plating, and transparent domed helmets that reveal the actors’ faces while maintaining a sense of airtight realism.
Each piece was weathered and color-coded to signal hierarchy and purpose, grounding the film’s grand concept of a migrating Earth into reality.
Prometheus – 2012
Ridley Scott’s Prometheus goes bold with spherical, near-transparent helmet domes and built-in lighting systems that make the crew look like space archaeologists in designer armor.
The production used two internal fans in the helmets to keep condensation down and various internal screens inside the helmet shell to display data. The clean lines, hidden seams, and lighting combine to give us one of the more futuristic looks in big sci-fi.
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Lost in Space Netflix – 2018–2021
Netflix’s Lost in Space reboot took the “sci-fi explorer suit” aesthetic and turned it into something that feels genuinely futuristic.
Designed by Legacy Effects (the team behind Iron Man and The Mandalorian), the suit features sculpted armor plating, subtle blue LED illumination, and integrated fiber-optic panels that pulse softly, giving it a breathing, machine-like presence.
The articulated joints, magnetic harnesses, and detachable life-support pack make it look like something NASA could unveil in 2040.
Moonraker – 1979
James Bond goes to space! In Moonraker, Roger Moore sports a silver, reflective suit with a Union Jack and a name tag, built by Jacques Fonteray.
It’s pure campy sci-fi, but its bold reflectivity, slick surface, and clean color blocking make it feel futuristic in a retro way. It stands out because it doesn’t try to hide. It leans into shine and style.
The Martian – 2015
This suit’s appeal lies in its grounded future design. Costume designer Janty Yates worked with NASA’s archives and museums to build something that feels “one decade ahead.”
The suit includes hidden fans (for cooling), internal LED lighting, and a backpack with batteries and cooling systems. It manages to walk the line by being sci-fi enough to feel visionary, but still believable.
2001: A Space Odyssey – 1968
Kubrick’s 2001 suits are the OG of cinematic futuristic style. Despite being made in 1968, their geometry, color blocking, and formal silhouettes still look ahead of their time.
The Verge calls them “iconic” and notes how modern designers still reference them. For many sci-fi fans, these suits set the aesthetic baseline.
Where are the “real” futuristic sci-fi space suits
These space suits dazzle with sleek visors, bold lighting, and layered armor because they let us see the future. But in real astronautics, the revolution is happening beneath the surface.
While new designs and technologies are being developed for more advanced next-generation space suits, the process is slow due to the high stakes and difficulty of creating a reliable system that meets all life support, mobility, and durability requirements for future missions like lunar exploration. Today’s engineering breakthroughs focus less on visual spectacle and more on invisible performance.
Still, some real suits are beginning to blur the line between function and fiction. Axiom Space’s AxEMU, developed in collaboration with Prada, is one such leap. Meanwhile, SpaceX’s EVA suits for the Polaris program are rewriting expectations for form and function.
Their helmet visors use copper and indium tin oxide coatings for heat and glare control, while a head-up display provides real-time data inside the visor.
The suit’s joints and fabrics are reengineered for a balance of flexibility and protection, giving them a sleek, cinematic look, much like newer spacewalk suits like the new bright blue Boeing spacesuit.
These are early signals of what’s to come. The outward look may still be practical, but the technology inside is slowly catching up with science fiction’s imagination.
So yes, modern space suits may not yet match the visual drama of Prometheus or Lost in Space. But the seeds of that future are already woven into today’s smart textiles, adaptive materials, and modular engineering.
As these internal innovations mature, we may finally get suits that not only work like miracles of engineering, but also look like they were borrowed from the 23rd century.
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Six killed in Ukrainian attacks on Russian villages – officials
8 Oct, 2025 10:16
Six civilians have been killed in overnight Ukrainian attacks on the Russian regions of Belgorod and Kherson, officials have said. The Russian Defense Ministry has also reported intercepting over 50 drones throughout the night across multiple regions.
In Belgorod Region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said two men and a young woman died after the village of Maslova Pristan came under attack late on Tuesday night.
“My most sincere and deepest condolences to the families struck by such terrible grief,” he wrote on Telegram.
According to Gladkov, nine women have also been injured, four of whom suffered multiple shrapnel wounds. Seven people have been taken to hospitals in Belgorod, while others were treated at the scene or remain under observation at local facilities.
The strikes partially destroyed a social facility and damaged two apartment buildings, tearing off roofs and shattering windows, balconies, and facades.
Five vehicles were been hit by shrapnel. Local residents reportedly managed to avoid further casualties after an air-raid warning sounded before the impact.
In Russia’s Kherson Region, Governor Vladimir Saldo said three civilians had been killed after two temporary housing buildings caught fire in the village of Zhelezny Port following Ukrainian shelling.
He added that a medical vehicle was damaged in the settlement of Gornostayevka, although no one was hurt, while a private home in Novaya Kakhovka caught fire but has since been extinguished.
The Russian Defense Ministry said air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 53 Ukrainian drones overnight between 11pm and 7am Moscow time.
Of these, 28 were shot down over Belgorod Region, 11 over Voronezh, and several more across Rostov, Bryansk, and other western regions.
Kiev has routinely launched drone raids deep into Russia in recent months, targeting critical infrastructure and residential areas, and leading to civilian casualties.
Russian officials have accused Ukraine of “terrorism,” and Moscow has responded with strikes on the country’s military facilities.
https://www.rt.com/russia/626078-six-killed-ukraine-strikes/
Russian drone strike takes out Ukrainian power plant ahead of winter
Oct. 8, 2025 / 11:13 AM
Russian drones attacked and seriously damaged a Ukraine thermal power plant overnight, authorities announced Wednesday.
Two workers were injured in the attack, said DTEK, Ukraine's largest electric company. The location of the plant was not disclosed.
The attacks also struck energy infrastructure in the northern Chernihiv, southern Kherson and southeastern Dnipropetrovsk regions, authorities said.
These attacks on heat sources come annually in preparation for winter. Similar attacks left millions of Ukrainians without electricity last year.
DTEK posted on X that a coal-enrichment plant was attacked in the Donetsk region. The plant was destroyed but there were no injuries.
At least five civilians were killed and 37 injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day, the Kyiv Independent reported.
Ukraine's air force reported that Russian forces launched 183 Shahed-type attack and decoy drones overnight. The air force intercepted 154, but 22 struck in 11 locations.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/10/08/ukraine-russian-drone-attack-power-plant/9011759934787/
https://x.com/DTEK_Ukraine/status/1975935204565954869
UK condemns Russian drone strike on Ukrainian civilian transport hub, a sign of Russia’s growing desperation: UK statement to the OSCE
8 October 2025
Thank you, Madam Chair. The United Kingdom wishes to focus this week on grave concerns regarding the Russian Federation’s recent strike on the Ukrainian civilian transport system in Ukraine on 4th October 2025.
A Russian drone strike hit a train station in Shostka, in the northern Sumy region, near the Russian border. The strike resulted in one fatality and injured at least 30 others, including civilians and railway staff.
According to independent reporting this incident also included a secondary strike, which hit emergency services and rescuers.
We would remind Russia that international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, clearly protects civilian objects. The principle of distinction requires all parties to a conflict to differentiate between civilians and military targets.
The principle of military necessity demands that any use of force must serve a legitimate military purpose. The principle of humanity forbids inflicting unnecessary suffering.
And the principle of proportionality prohibits attacks where expected civilian harm would be excessive in relation to the anticipated military advantage.
Does Russia’s strike on this train station conform with these foundational principles? If it was a deliberate strike, was there any target verification? Was the impact on civilian life even considered?
If not, then this attack would be considered in breach of international law, and an example of the systematic erosion of wartime norms.
Madam Chair, we have said this before and will say it again. The OSCE Moscow Mechanisms, ODIHR and UN, continue to report on mounting independent evidence of Russia violating international law, including international humanitarian law.
Russia’s continued attacks are not an indication of strength, but a sign of desperation. Regardless of what we might hear in the FSC, Russia is not prevailing in Ukraine. Its forces are overextended, its logistics are failing, and its tactics are unsustainable.
A Russian victory is not inevitable. What is inevitable, however, is the growing international consensus that Russia must be held accountable for its actions.
The United Kingdom reaffirms its unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. We remain fully committed to upholding international law, defending the principles of the UN Charter, and ensuring accountability.
Our support for Ukraine is resolute, and our commitment to NATO and the collective security of the Euro-Atlantic area remains ironclad.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/uk-condemns-russian-drone-strike-on-ukrainian-civilian-transport-hub-a-sign-of-russias-growing-desperation-uk-statement-to-the-osce
US targets Chinese companies over drone components used by Hamas, Houthis
October 8, 2025
The United States said on Wednesday it was adding 15 Chinese companies to its restricted trade list for facilitating the purchase of American electronic components found in drones operated by Iranian proxies including Houthi and Hamas militants.
Ten companies in China were designated for the Commerce Department’s so-called Entity List, for facilitating the purchase of components found in weaponized unmanned aircraft systems operated by proxies including Yemen’s Houthi militants, according to a post in the Federal Register.
Five additional Chinese companies were listed after information that around October 7, 2023, Israel Defense Forces recovered numerous weaponized unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs) operated by Iranian proxies including Hamas, the post said.
Hamas-led militants staged an attack in Israel that day that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and triggered the war in Gaza.
In all, the Commerce Department is adding 29 entities to the list, including companies based in Turkey and United Arab Emirates.
Among those, the U.S. added another Chinese company to the list for being part of an illicit network that obtains and supplies UAV and other components to front companies of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force (IRGC-QF).
Companies are added to the Commerce Department’s Entity List for activities deemed contrary to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. Licenses are required to export to companies on the list, and are likely to be denied.
https://ddnews.gov.in/en/us-targets-chinese-companies-over-drone-components-used-by-hamas-houthis/
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-10-08/ty-article-live/president-trump-meets-freed-hostage-edan-alexander-as-witkoff-heads-to-cease-fire-talks/00000199-c1aa-db47-a1fd-f7fb9fd30000
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-10-08/ty-article/.premium/idf-gears-up-for-possible-gaza-withdrawal-but-has-yet-to-receive-any-map-beyond-trumps/00000199-c4b9-d7d2-add9-f5f95b190000
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1kb4m4tge
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-869822
Israel at War Day 733 | Israeli Sources to CNN: Hamas Won't Be Able to Locate Bodies of All 28 Dead Hostage
Updated: 09:16 p.m. IST
8 minutes ago
Report: Hamas is open to partial disarmament, Arab mediators believe
Several Arab mediators hope Hamas can be persuaded to partially disarm as part of the cease-fire agreement with Israel, three sources told the New York Times.
The Times report added that Hamas could lay down its arms, at least partly so, as long as U.S. President Donald Trump can guarantee the Palestinian militant organization that Israel will renew its offensive in the enclave.
"Hamas might be willing to give up some weapons, but they won't go without them altogether," retired Israeli intelligence officer Adi Rotem, who also served in Israel's cease-fire negotiating team until December 2024, told The Times. "Weapons are a core part of Hamas's DNA."
18 minutes ago
Talks regarding Palestinian prisoners to be released in cease-fire deal to begin Wednesday night, Palestinian source says
Talks regarding the Palestinian prisoners to be released if a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas is reached are set to begin on Wednesday night, according to a Palestinian source involved in the negotiations.
Another source, belonging to one of the Palestinian factions involved in the talks, said that "for the first time, one could say the atmosphere is serious and there is a genuine willingness to finish [the war]."
"There are several loose ends, including Hamas' demand for a full [IDF] withdrawal and the release of all the hostages only when this happens," the source added.
"We are making efforts to obtain guarantees that Israel will not attack in the Strip after all of the hostages are released."
A Reuters report said that the list included major Palestinian prisoners like Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti and the chief of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Ahmad Sa'adat.
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Israel fears Hamas may be unable to locate bodies of all slain hostages, Israeli sources reportedly say
Israel fears that Hamas may not find and return all the remaining dead hostages in the Gaza Strip, three Israeli sources told CNN on Wednesday.
The CNN report said that the Palestinian militant organization that kidnapped over 200 Israelis on October 7, 2023, may not know the location of the 28 slain hostages currently held in the enclave, according to assessments based on Israeli intelligence reports.
One of the sources told CNN that the number of missing hostages is between seven and nine, another said it could be between 10 and 15.
The sources also told CNN that Netanyahu's government has been aware for months that Hamas doesn't know all of the deceased hostages' whereabouts.
1 hour ago
Footage of Nepali hostage Bipin Joshi in Gaza captivity released by family
Hostage Bipin Joshi in a Hamas captivity video.
Video footage of Nepali hostage Bipin Joshi from Hamas captivity was released to the public by his family on Wednesday.
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The video, recovered by the IDF and shared with the family by intelligence officials, is estimated to have been filmed in November 2023.
Joshi, a Nepali national who came to Israel to study agriculture, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Alumim during Hamas' attack on the border kibbutz on October 7, 2023.
Video footage that had already been made public, from that day, shows him walking inside Shifa Hospital in Gaza on his own two feet, but prior to the newly released footage, no signs of life had been received from him since the early days of the war, and he was feared dead.
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Palestinian source: Israeli 'drama' surrounding prisoners to be released created by hostage deal opposers
A Palestinian source told Haaretz on Wednesday that the "drama" surrounding the Palestinian prisoners to be released is orchestrated by those opposing a hostage deal, seeing that no discussions have been held on which prisoners are supposed to be released.
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RECAP: Israel-Hamas cease-fire talks making progress, Israeli official says
Here are the latest updates on day 733 of the war:
■ A senior Israeli official told the Saudi outlet Al Arabiya on Wednesday that Israel is "nearing the end of the first phase of cease-fire and hostage deal discussions." Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that if the Israel-Hamas talks will spur "positive results regarding Gaza today, a cease-fire will be announced," without
■ The White House drafted Netanyahu's apology to Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Thani over the attack in Doha, according to Politico, citing three sources familiar with the matter. Netanyahu denied the claim.
■ The man whose attack on a synagogue in northern England last week resulted in the deaths of two Jewish worshippers phoned police to say he was acting for the Islamic State, British media reported on Wednesday.
■ The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported eight Palestinians killed and 61 wounded in the past 24 hours. Total casualties since October 7: 67,183 dead and 169,841 wounded.
■ Cease-fire negotiations begin in Egypt with the arrival of Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman.
■ The family of Nepali hostage Bipin Joshi released new footage showing him alive in Hamas captivity.
2 hours ago
Turkey's Foreign Minister says if talks on Gaza progress positively cease-fire will be announced
Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday that if the Israel-Hamas talks will spur "positive results regarding Gaza today," a cease-fire could be announced. Fidan, who made the remarks in Ankara alongside the Syrian foreign minister, did not elaborate on when such a cease-fire would be declared.
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Pro-Palestinian protesters arrested in Boston after violent clash with police
Thirteen pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested in Boston after a chaotic clash with police that resulted in four officers being sent to area hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said.
Everyone arrested at Tuesday's protest was from the area and ranged in age from 19 and 27, police said. They are due to be arraigned on Wednesday and Thursday, most on charges of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and disturbing the peace.
Local news footage showed protesters and police officers shoving one another and even wrestling on the ground. The video showed protesters shouting, "Get off of him," as officers were restraining someone.
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According to a police news release, officers were stationed at Boston Common to monitor the rally starting at 5:30 P.M. About an hour later, about 200 to 300 protesters clashed with officers a few blocks away.
The crowds blocked a road, chanted over amplified bullhorns and interlocked arms to prevent police vehicles from passing as officers attempted to respond to an "unrelated emergency," the department said.
When officers tried to move the group to the sidewalk to allow emergency vehicles to pass, protesters surrounded police cruisers, kicked their doors, and ignited smoke devices and flares, police said.
Several officers were assaulted, including one who was struck in the face, and four members of law enforcement were transported to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, the department said.
"They tried to block the police cars trying to come down Tremont Street and it was wild," witness Brody Greland told WHDH-TV.
"After they tried to block the police cars, the police got involved and started making arrests and trying to clear the road, and it got really chaotic. I think there were some fights – some people started throwing punches, it got crazy."
The Boston protest was organized by area Students for Justice in Palestine groups, according to social media posts. The Berkeley Beacon, Emerson College's student newspaper, reported that organizers called on protesters to urge their universities to divest from companies with economic ties to Israel.
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U.K. synagogue attacker claimed allegiance to Islamic State in call to police, media reports say
Emergency personnel following the attack outside the synagogue in north Manchester, Britain, Thursday.Credit: Phil Noble/Reuters
The man whose attack on a synagogue in northern England last week resulted in the deaths of two Jewish worshippers phoned police to say he was acting for Islamic State, British media reported on Wednesday.
Jihad Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent, made the call after driving a car into pedestrians and attacking people with a knife at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the Greater Manchester area, the reports said, citing police.
Armed officers shot Al-Shamie dead at the scene, and police later said they had accidentally shot one of the two victims killed in the attack.
A spokesperson for Counter Terrorism Policing North West said that during the initial stages of his attack, he had made a call to officers to claim a pledge of allegiance to Islamic State.
Last week, the head of Britain's Counter Terrorism Policing, Laurence Taylor, said authorities believed Al-Shamie might have been influenced by extreme Islamist ideology, but establishing full details would likely take time.
The attacker was not previously known to counter terrorism police, but he did have a criminal history and had recently been arrested for rape before being released on bail, Taylor said.
3 hours ago
IDF said it killed 'several terrorists' who attempted to attack Israeli soldiers in Gaza City
The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it killed "several terrorists on their way to attack IDF troops" in Gaza City.
In its statement, the IDF added that there were no injuries reported among its forces.
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NATO Weapons-Maker Warns of Mystery Drones at Top Secret Factories
updated Oct 08, 2025 at 06:41 AM EDT
Arms-maker Thales Belgium has warned that there has been an increase in the number of drones flying over its top-secret factories and its leaders want clarification on how they should respond to the mystery unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)—including the possibility of shooting them down.
Why It Matters
Numerous unexplained drone flights over several European NATO members in recent weeks have exacerbated tensions on the alliance's eastern flank and led to calls within the group for the rapid development of better detection, tracking and interception of UAVs violating Europe’s airspace.
Swarms of drones have appeared near airports, leading to some being shut down, and over military sites in several NATO countries, but the warning from Thales highlights the vulnerabilities faced by commercial enterprises and the risks of supply chain disruption for their customers.
What To Know
In 2024, Thales Belgium stepped up its production of a NATO-standard 70-mm caliber laser-guided rocket used in Ukraine as Kyiv fights off Russia's ongoing invasion.
“We are seeing more drones than what was the case a few months ago,” said Alain Quevrin, country director for Thales Belgium, Politico Europe reported. "We are concerned."
He was referring to drone sightings over the company’s Évegnée Fort site in the eastern Liège region, the only Belgian facility where it is licensed to assemble and store explosives for its 70-mm rockets.
Newsweek has contacted the Thales Group via email seeking comment.
Quevrin told Politico Europe that the company is racing to double its manufacturing capacity of unguided and laser-guided FZ275 rockets to 70,000 within the next few years.
Most speculation in NATO countries for the unprecedented drone flights has focused on Russia, but it has denied being responsible.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed Western suspicions of Moscow's involvement in the drone flights as “nonsense” aimed at distracting public attention from domestic problems.
Quevrin said Thales has made a “huge effort” to install drone-detection systems across its facilities and while jammers could be used to bring UAVs down, the law prevented such action, given the danger to people and property on the ground from falling hardware.
“We are not allowed—legally,” Quevrin said. “The process needs to be clarified.” NATO launched an "Eastern Sentry" plan on September 12 to bolster its defenses, especially on its East European flank, against Russian drones.
What People Are Saying
Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken was reported as saying of drones on October 6 by the VRT broadcaster: “We have lost too much time.
That is why we must accelerate our efforts; the situation is urgent. We are not at war, but we are in a military crisis. The threat is becoming increasingly acute."
Danish Defense minister Troels Lund Poulsen told a news conference on September 25: "Countries or actors have an interest in undermining support for Ukraine. It is important that we do not let ourselves be intimidated by that."
Peter Hummelgaard, Denmark's minister of justice, told the September 25 conference: "The attacks we have seen in recent days are part of a series of deeply worrying episodes across Europe.
It tells a very serious story about what kind of times we live in."
What Happens Next
NATO's European members are rushing to bolster their defenses against drones.
https://www.newsweek.com/nato-weapons-drones-top-secret-factories-ukraine-war-10844936
https://kyivindependent.com/belgium-based-arms-maker-reports-mounting-cases-of-suspicious-drone-sightings/
Finland finds drones over Presidential Palace in restricted no-fly zone
07/10/2025
Drone spotted over presidential palace
A drone was flown over the Presidential Palace and nearby buildings in Helsinki on the afternoon of 6 October, in an area where drone flights are prohibited, reports the Finnish News Agency STT.
An eyewitness contacted by STT saw the drone flying above the Presidential Palace and surrounding structures. The witness called the emergency center and later spotted two men operating drones at the Market Square.
When approached, the men identified themselves as tourists from Hong Kong.
"There has been a report to the police. The emergency center closed the task when it was confirmed that the drone was no longer flying in the prohibited area," says Commissioner Markus Koskinen from the Helsinki Police.
Police response and investigation
Both the Market Square and the Presidential Palace fall within the same no-fly zone. Koskinen adds that police normally handle and investigate such incidents. "This particular task went this way," he notes.
The Helsinki Police receive reports about drones on a weekly basis, and tourists often operate them, according to Koskinen. Based on "general feeling," observations have not increased recently, though current statistical data is unavailable.
"Of course, particular attention is now being paid to these due to the general situation," Koskinen says.
Recent weeks have seen drone sightings over restricted areas near airports in Denmark, Norway, and Germany, forcing the cancellation of several flights.
No-fly zones across Helsinki
Helsinki has multiple no-fly zones: administrative quarters in the city center, the official residences of the president and prime minister in Meilahti, and the State Guest House in Munkkiniemi, where President Alexander Stubb currently lives.
Additionally, photographing Finnish Defence Forces buildings in the Helsinki Guards Quarter and Suomenlinna fortress is prohibited without permission. The popular Rajasaari dog park is also located within the Meilahti no-fly zone.
Koskinen remains tight-lipped about police monitoring and response capabilities in no-fly zones.
https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/10/07/finland-finds-drones-over-presidential-palace-in-restricted-no-fly-zone/
Joe Rogan Casts Doubt on Donald Trump’s Mystery Drone Explanation
Oct 07, 2025 at 10:51 PM EDT
Podcaster Joe Rogan cast fresh doubts on Tuesday regarding President Donald Trump’s explanation for the mysterious drone flights over New Jersey and other states last year.
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment via email after office hours on Tuesday.
Why It Matters
Officials at local and federal levels were baffled for weeks by reports of mystery drone sightings spotted in Northeast states like New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, starting in November 2024.
Residents of Ohio, Florida, Massachusetts and California also reported seeing drones overhead, raising concerns about security threats and speculation of foreign involvement.
Federal officials repeatedly sought to calm public anxieties, affirming no evidence of foreign involvement or ill intent behind the sightings. Nevertheless, conspiracy theories ran rampant online and among lawmakers.
What To Know
Before returning to the White House for his second term, Trump had demanded that the Biden administration explain the mystery drones.
Days after his inauguration, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a brief statement from Trump saying the drones "were not the enemy" and “were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons."
Rogan questioned that explanation. “I don’t know what that was, you know, because they were going to tell us, supposedly, and they kind of just didn't,” he said on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience.
“You can’t discount the idea that they’re not telling you the truth but they might have been ours too, that‘s the problem. They might have been someone else’s.
There’s a bunch of different possibilities, right, and all of them, they don’t have to be truthful about it. If it’s a national security issue, it would probably be better they weren't truthful, because people would freak out.
“It’s also the potential that they are ours and they did them on purpose to see how people would respond, so that’s possible too.
“It’s also possible that they’re not ours and there's someone else whose flexing on us, and they’re doing it in a way where, they’re showing you we have technological superiority, our stuff is way more advanced than yours, and if there would be a culprit in that regard, in my mind, it would be China,” Rogan said.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., told Newsweek in December that he was "not clear" on the issue involving the drones in the U.S. and near U.S. bases in Europe.
What People Are Saying
Rogan, also on his podcast: “China is so ahead of the United States in drone technology."
Trump, on Truth Social in December: "Mystery Drone Sightings all over the country. Can this really be happening without our government's knowledge. I don't think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! DJT."
https://www.newsweek.com/joe-rogan-casts-doubt-on-trumps-mystery-drone-explanation-10844248
Ross Coulthart reposted
ProPixel Video Analysis and Research
@BillyKryzak
Why does this drone flap over Europe keep getting weirder. So Copenhagen airport claims that they videoed the drones.. gave the footage to the police.. and then were told to keep it secret.
What in the heck is going on?!?
2:54 PM · Oct 7, 2025
Ross Coulthart
@rosscoulthart
Clearly if the administrators of Copenhagen Airport are reporting with concern these unauthorised drone like objects moving over the secure aviation area, these are not known aircraft as some zealous over-reaching debunks have naïvely asserted. It seriously now has to be asked why any government, when the public are demanding answers, would keep secret any information they have about the provenance of these purported drone objects. Why cover up and conceal video?
https://x.com/BillyKryzak/status/1975681284111258061
https://x.com/rosscoulthart/status/1975729095414849571
https://x.com/RonyVernet/status/1975675180690141238
https://omni.se/inga-bevis-for-illegala-dronare-over-danmark/a/8qrpPw
https://dr.dk/nyheder/indland/koebenhavns-lufthavn-er-sikker-vi-fangede-dronerne-paa-video
Canadian journalist calls for total government transparency on UAP reports | Reality Check
Updated: Oct 6, 2025 / 04:23 PM CDT
In this episode of “Reality Check,” we dive into the release of Sky Canada’s UAP report. Ross Coulthart sits down with independent journalist Daniel Otis.
Together, they discuss how Canada acknowledges UAP need to be studied, the chances the United States and Canada will collaborate on technology to seek out and study UAP and harrowing examples of commercial Canadian airlines almost getting into accidents due to random flying objects.
Otis is an advocate for total government transparency.
https://www.newsnationnow.com/podcasts-newsnation/canadian-journalist-calls-for-total-government-transparency-on-uap-reports-reality-check/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu-Yv3thTEI
https://www.twz.com/air/mysterious-aircraft-crash-near-area-51-just-got-weirder
https://twitter.com/thenewarea51/status/1971749169498034230
https://www.youtube.com/@Dreamland-Resort
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ33AcQy9aM
Mysterious Aircraft Crash Near Area 51 Just Got Weirder
Oct 6, 2025 9:07 PM EDT
Details remain scant about an unspecified U.S. Air Force aircraft, widely believed to be a drone of some kind, which came down in southern Nevada not far from Area 51 nearly two weeks ago.
Whether the aircraft was ever actually inside Area 51’s highly restricted airspace, also known as “The Box,” is unknown. The mishap prompted authorities to temporarily close the airspace above the crash site, with some exemptions, while the wreckage was cleared.
In a bizarre twist of events, the Air Force has publicly disclosed that it and the FBI are now investigating apparent strange tampering at the crash site afterward.
“On September 23, 2025, an aircraft assigned to the 432nd Wing was involved in an incident with no fatalities or injuries,” the Wing’s public affairs said in a release regarding the incident on October 4.
“The site was secured and guarded until recovery and cleanup operations were completed on September 27th.”
The 432nd Wing is headquartered at Creech Air Force Base. The flying squadrons assigned to the 432nd are primarily equipped with MQ-9 Reaper drones, but this is not the only type of aircraft the wing operates, as we will come back to later on.
“During a follow-on site survey on October 3rd, investigators discovered signs of tampering at the mishap location, including the presence of an inert training bomb body and an aircraft panel of unknown origin that were placed on the site post-incident,” the release put out this past weekend added.
“The matter is under investigation by Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) and the FBI. No further details are available at this time.”
Officials at Creech had previously confirmed a connection to the incident, and that there had been no fatalities, injuries, or property damage as a result of the crash, in statements to various local news outlets.
They also said that an investigation into the mishap was underway. TWZ reached out to Creech today for any updates, and authorities there said they had no further comment at this time.
The Air Force has not confirmed the exact location of the crash site.
However, it appears to have been around 12 miles to the east of the security boundary around the top-secret flight test center at Groom Lake in Nevada, better known as Area 51, and some 24 and a half miles from the facility itself.
This is based on the coordinates at the center of airspace restrictions that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed between September 23 and October 1.
The TFR, the center of which was also roughly 57 miles to the northeast of Creech, extended five nautical miles in all directions and covered all airspace up to 15,000 mean sea level (MSL).
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The only reason the FAA gave for imposing the TFR was “national security.” The Radar Approach Control at Nellis Air Force Base, further to the southeast of Creech, was listed as a point of contact for pilots. TWZ has reached out to FAA for more information.
The TFR had quickly caught the attention of plane spotters and others due to the curious circumstances and its proximity to Area 51. As mentioned, no connection between the incident and Area 51 has so far been confirmed.
The coordinates at the center of the TFR were also on the edge of part of the sprawling ranges managed by authorities at Nellis Air Force Base, further to the south.
In a live stream on September 23, Joerg Arnu, a long-time Area 51 researcher, webmaster of the site Dreamland Resort, and local resident, said he believed the aircraft that went down had come from Creech and had been associated with an especially large exercise in the area, but also that he did not know for sure.
Arnu subsequently visited the apparent crash site after recovery efforts ended on September 27, as seen in the video below.
The Air Force has confirmed the Creech connection, but little else.
As noted, most of the units at Creech fly MQ-9s, but Reaper crashes are hardly uncommon, and the drone is very much a known quantity after nearly two decades of Air Force service.
While a Reaper’s particular configuration, or the stores it may have been carrying, could be very sensitive, one of these drones going down seems unlikely to have prompted this level of secrecy.
This is underscored by what the service has disclosed about MQ-9 crashes at home and abroad over the years, even when there are certain operational sensitivities.
Creech is also home to the secretive 30th and 44th Reconnaissance Squadrons, which are the only units confirmed to date as operators of RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drones.
Whether or not those squadrons, or any others based at Creech, fly other types of drones, including ones that may not yet have come out into the light, is unknown. RQ-170s do participate in exercises, especially in the ranges around Nellis.
Transient aircraft, crewed and uncrewed, also regularly fly in and out of Creech, but the Air Force has said explicitly that whatever went down belonged with the 432nd Wing.
What the Air Force has shared about possible tampering at the crash site after the fact is curious, as is the basic disclosure that the service is investigating that in cooperation with the FBI.
The statement from the 432nd Wing makes clear that the site was only secured and under guard until recovery and cleanup operations were finished, raising questions about what concerns there might be around any tampering afterward, in general.
Things do fall off of aircraft, especially in the USAF’s premier range complex, although the timing would seem odd in this case for these objects to appear so soon after the mishap.
Still, coincidences happen, but what may have been unique or peculiar about these objects, such as their age, origin, and placement, is unclear.
It remains to be seen what additional details may emerge as the investigations into the mishap and possible tampering of the crash site after the fact proceed.
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