TYB
10 times the sky amazed us in 2025
December 22, 2025
What was your skywatching highlight of 2025? A comet becoming visible to the naked eye? Mars disappearing behind the moon?
Or did you glimpse a "blood moon" total lunar eclipse and see the northern lights at last?
Here's what happened in the skies in 2025, in spectacular images.
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A Wolf Moon "eats" Mars
Mars comes to a bright opposition in Earth's sky only once every 26 months. But just before its big day came on Jan. 15, it grabbed skywatchers' attention when it crossed paths with the moon.
North America had a ringside seat to the full Wolf Moon's occultation of the Red Planet, which happens just once every 14 years from a specific place on Earth's surface.
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A "great comet" appears
If you don't remember 2025's "great comet," it's probably because you're in the Northern Hemisphere.
Back in mid- to late January, Comet 2024 G3 (ATLAS) made a close pass of the sun before sprouting a bright, structured tail that delighted astrophotographers south of the equator.
The comet even became bright enough to be visible in the daytime with the naked eye.
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"Blue Ghost" lands on the moon
After launching atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in January, Texas-based Firefly Aerospace successfully landed its Blue Ghost spacecraft on the moon's 300-mile-wide (500 kilometers) Mare Crisium ("Sea of Crises") basin in early March, becoming the second private spacecraft ever to soft-land on the moon.
The company shared a spectacular video showing Blue Ghost's descent and spectacular landing, complete with its own long lunar shadow.
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A star trail is visible from orbit
Between September 2024 and April 2025, NASA astronaut Don Pettit — famed for his pioneering work in astrophotography from orbit — conducted his third mission on the International Space Station.
In collaboration with astrophotographer Babak Tafreshi of The World at Night on the ground, Pettit took the art form to another level, capturing dozens of mesmerizing star trails.
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A "blood moon" total lunar eclipse captivates skywatchers
The first total lunar eclipse in three years delighted skywatchers on March 13-14, 2025, when a full Worm Moon crept through Earth's central shadow in space for 65 minutes, making the lunar surface appear reddish-orange from our perspective on Earth.
The event, visible from Earth's nightside, was captured with a moonbow from Kentucky and with the Milky Way from Chile.
Another lunar eclipse on Sept. 7-8 made for some spectacular photos, including one taken over Egypt's White Desert.
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Vapor tracers appear inside auroras
Just as an aurora substorm erupted, two NASA sounding rockets poised for launch at Alaska's Poker Flat Research Range suddenly went skyward, releasing colorful vapor tracers within the aurora borealis, or northern lights.
As part of the AWESOME mission, vapor tracers were imaged using cameras across northern Alaska to track winds, particle flows and magnetic changes during the outburst.
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Perseids blast through moonlight
It may be the Northern Hemisphere's favorite annual meteor shower, but the Perseids weren't a classic in 2025, as they were marred by an 84%-illuminated crescent moon.
However, before the peak night of the Perseid meteor shower on Aug. 12-13, there was a short window of darkness, during which a few bright meteors were seen in the predawn hours.
About 10 days before the peak night, NASA photographer Bill Ingalls took this long exposure of a Perseid meteor in Spruce Knob, West Virginia.
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An interstellar comet grows a tail
For comet hunters, 2025 was a landmark year, primarily because it saw the discovery of the third interstellar object ever to visit our solar system.
Comet 3I/ATLAS, as it came to be known, followed in the wake of 'Oumuamua (1I/2017 U1) in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019.
In late August, astronomers using the Gemini South telescope in Chile glimpsed the tail of the interstellar interloper.
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Solar maximum continues to deliver
Following an incredible year in 2024, it was likely that 2025 would experience some significant geomagnetic activity, thanks to solar maximum, the peak of the 11-year solar cycle.
Observers in the right place at the right time on April 14-15, June 1, June 17 and Sept. 2 (and many other dates) enjoyed spectacular auroras as G4 geomagnetic storms produced auroras at low latitudes.
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Comet Lemmon ripens
What are the chances of a naked-eye comet becoming visible on the same night as the peak of the Orionid meteor shower?
Although it was only on the cusp of naked-eye visibility — and was visible only to astrophotographers in the Northern Hemisphere — Comet Lemmon (C/2025 A6) put on a show in mid- to late October.
A surprise companion, Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN), appeared in telescope images on Sept. 10. But although it was initially bright, it never got as luminous as Lemmon.
https://www.space.com/stargazing/10-times-the-sky-amazed-us-in-2025
Satellites reveal heat leaking from largest US cryptocurrency mining center
December 22, 2025
One of the world's largest Bitcoin mining facilities is seen leaking heat into the environment in a new image captured from orbit by a heat-seeking satellite that was recently released by the U.K.-based company SatVu.
The image reveals the thermal footprint of a major Bitcoin-mining data center in Rockdale, Texas, which has been widely criticized for its electricity consumption and carbon footprint.
SatVu didn't disclose which specific facility is in the image, but Rockdale is home to the Riot Platforms Bitcoin mine.
The facility, considered the largest in the U.S., has an energy consumption of 700 megawatts, requiring about as much electricity as 300,000 homes.
The satellite image reveals in a resolution of 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) where and how much heat leaks into the environment from the plant.
SatVu thinks that the insights that could be gleaned from such images could help regulators and grid operators better understand the impact such facilities have on the environment and local power networks.
"Today's data center buildout is moving incredibly quickly, and the world needs better ways to understand what's actually happening on the ground," Thomas Cobti, SatVu's VP for Business Development, said in a statement.
"Thermal data gives an objective view of operational activity as it occurs — not weeks later through reports or announcements."
Although the image was only released on Dec. 17, it was most likely captured already in 2023, before SatVu's HotSat-1 satellites failed in orbit in December that year.
SatVu plans to launch its replacement HotSat-2 next year and is already building HotSat-3.
The thermal camera aboard these satellites is the best in class, providing an order of a magnitude better resolution than other temperature-measuring devices in orbit.
SatVu released the first HotSat-1 images in October 2023, capturing the heat trails behind locomotives and showing how heat spreads from large sun-drenched concrete parking lots in a city like Las Vegas.
With the newly released image, the company shows how satellites could keep an objective eye on a fast-growing and controversial sector.
"At a closer level, [the image] reveals which substations and cooling systems are under load — clear, physical indicators of real operational behavior," the company said in the statement.
"Together, these layers provide a grounded, evidence-based view of how major data center sites are evolving in real time."
A closer inspection of the image shows "distinct thermal signatures across rooftop chillers, transformers and electrical yards, making clear which parts of the facility are active and which remain dormant," SatVu added.
According to the McKinsey consultancy, investment into computing data centers will continue to grow, reaching more than $7 billion by 2030. Global data centers are believed to contribute by about 0.5% to the global carbon dioxide emissions.
Bitcoin mining is especially energy intensive, a recent study estimated that one Bitcoin transaction generates about as much carbon dioxide as a gasoline car generates in a 1,600-mile (2,500-kilometer) drive.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/satellites/satellites-reveal-heat-leaking-from-largest-us-cryptocurrency-mining-center
U.S. Space Forces-Japan Celebrates One Year since component’s activation
12.04.2025
YOKOTA AIR BASE – On December 4, 2025 U.S. Space Forces-Japan celebrated it’s one year birthday since the component activated at Yokota Air Base, Japan.
As the newest independent service in the Department of Defense, and a newly activated component in the AOR, this small but essential team of Guardians advances space expertise for Japanese and joint partners.
U.S. Space Forces-Japan is the second sub-component under U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific, following the activation of U.S. Space Forces - Korea in 2022.
The sub-component supports the rapidly developing Japan Ministry of Defense space organizations and capabilities, and the need for robust space expertise to support U.S. Forces in Japan
“I am proud and honored to have been chosen to lead this organization,” said U.S. Space Force Col Ryan Laughton, Commander U.S. Space Forces-Japan.
“It’s exciting to be able to come in and craft a component into something that’s never been done before, but ultimately it’s been a team effort.”
Over the last year the component has experienced significant growth in expertise, manpower, and operational capabilities.
This includes building out directorates, establishing robust processes, and developing strong relationships with counterparts at U.S. Forces - Japan, other service components, U.S. partners and U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific.
The activation of U.S. Space Forces–Japan ensured space forces can plan, integrate, coordinate, and execute efforts in Japan on behalf of U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific to best support U.S. partnership agreements with Japan, deepen integration with Japanese space counterparts, and meet dynamic regional challenges to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.
“It’s incredibly rewarding,” said U.S. Space Force Capt Rafael Fermin, Chief of Engagements, “It comes with significant responsibility, but I’m proud to play a role in shaping [U.S. Space Forces – Japan] and contributing to its long-term foundation and success.”
The bilateral alliance between Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) Space Operations Group (SOG) has strengthened exponentially over the year.
“Working with SOG, especially in my current role, has shown me how strong and steadily growing our collaboration is,” said Fermin.
“It’s clear that we share many of the same goals and priorities, and we approach them as true partners. I’m excited to see how this relationship continues to deepen as our missions evolve.”
Further emphasizing that strong partnership, Laughton noted that Japan is also investing heavily into their space capabilities.
“As the JASDF SOG continues to grow, it has been an exciting challenge to learn how to be effective in performing our missions together,” said Laughton, “but overall working side by side with Japan’s Space Guardians has been phenomenal.”
The stars are the limit for U.S. Space Forces-Japan’s future.
The component plans to continue its work to establish itself as the ‘One Voice for Space in Japan’, providing a hub for collaboration with Japan space partners, operating space effects for joint warfighters in the region, and bringing options to U.S. Forces, Japan as they move forward in their own transformation to a joint force headquarters.
Sempre Supra.
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/555074/us-space-forces-japan-celebrates-one-year-since-components-activation
Russian general assassinated in Moscow
22 Dec, 2025 07:07
A Russian general has been killed in a car bomb blast in Moscow, the Investigative Committee has reported.
Officials identified the victim as Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of operational training at the General Staff.
According to the statement, an explosive device had been planted beneath the vehicle he was traveling in, and detonated on Monday morning in the southern part of the Russian capital.
The blast also damaged several other vehicles and seriously injured Sarvarov’s driver, media reports stated.
Russian officials said one line of investigation is an assassination carried out by Ukrainian intelligence services, noting that Kiev has previously used explosive devices in targeted killings of officials and public figures.
Last December, a bomb hidden in an e-scooter killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Forces, and his aide in what investigators alleged was a Ukrainian plot.
Sarvarov was a career officer with combat experience he received during counterterrorism action in southern Russia in the late 1990s and early 2000s, according to the Defense Ministry’s website.
The 56-year-old was appointed in 2016 to lead the department responsible for training senior officers at staff exercises and other events. Previously he was involved in the Russian deployment in Syria.
https://www.rt.com/russia/629859-russian-general-assassinated-in-moscow/
Last group of kidnapped Nigerian students freed
22 Dec, 2025 09:22
The remaining 130 schoolchildren abducted in one of the largest mass kidnappings in Nigeria this year have been freed, the West African nation’s authorities announced on Sunday.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said the children, kidnapped on November 21 from St. Mary’s Catholic boarding school in Papiri, Niger state, were released following a military intelligence operation.
“They are expected to arrive in Minna on Monday and rejoin their parents for the Christmas celebration,” Onanuga wrote on X.
Gunmen seized more than 300 students and 12 staff in the pre-dawn attack on the north-central school, part of a surge in school abductions that has alarmed communities and drawn criticism of Nigeria’s security strategy.
Fifty students escaped soon after the assault, and authorities secured the release of 100 others on December 8.
No group has publicly claimed responsibility for the Papiri abduction, the largest mass school kidnapping since Boko Haram seized 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in 2014.
The government has referred to all the victims as “released,” but has not clarified how their freedom was negotiated nor provided details on any arrests, sparking allegations that ransoms might have been paid in violation of Nigerian laws.
In April 2022, lawmakers in Africa’s most populous country amended the Terrorism (Prevention) Act to criminalize ransom payments, making anyone who pays a kidnapper liable to a prison term of at least 15 years.
Armed gangs that kidnap for ransom are active across Nigeria’s conflict-affected north. Similar incidents have struck repeatedly in recent weeks.
In mid-November, 25 girls were seized from a boarding school in Kebbi state, in an attack in which the vice principal was killed.
The girls were later released. According to estimates published by Amnesty International, the government has shut at least 20,468 schools across seven states in response to the incidents.
Late last month, President Tinubu declared a nationwide security emergency and ordered the deployment of thousands of military and police personnel, intensifying operations amid pressure to improve protection for schools and communities targeted by organized criminal and militant groups
https://www.rt.com/africa/629863-kidnapped-nigerian-st-mary-catholic-schoolchildren-released/
https://twitter.com/aonanuga1956/status/2002840418975879505
Kremlin outlines senior negotiator’s mission in US
21 Dec, 2025 21:29
Senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev has gone to the US to get up to date on the West’s current position regarding the Ukraine peace process, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
The envoy is expected to brief Russian President Vladimir Putin upon returning to Moscow.
Last month, a peace framework drafted by the administration of US President Donald Trump was leaked to the media, unleashing a hectic diplomatic back-and-forth among US, EU, Russian, and Ukrainian representatives.
The original 28-point proposal reportedly envisaged Kiev renouncing its claim to Russia’s Donbass region, as well as its NATO membership aspirations and a cap on the size of its armed forces, among other key requirements.
Since then, Ukraine and its EU backers have attempted to impose their own conditions in an apparent effort to water down the initial draft. Moscow has said it will stand by its red lines.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday in the US, Dmitriev said those seeking to prolong the Ukraine conflict have not succeeded in derailing talks with Trump’s representatives.
Kremlin spokesman Peskov stated on Sunday that Dmitriev will “receive information on what the Americans and the Europeans have worked out” and then report back to Putin.
Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, told journalist Pavel Zarubin on Sunday that Moscow will evaluate the Western position to see “what can be accepted and what categorically cannot be accepted.”
“Most of the proposals [put forward by Kiev and its European backers], of course, do not suit us,” the official added.
Ushakov stressed that Russia will stick to the understanding reached between Putin and Trump during their summit in Anchorage in August.
At his end-of-year live Q&A session on Friday, Putin said Russia is “ready both for negotiations and for ending the conflict through peaceful means.”
“The ball is entirely in the court of our Western opponents – above all the leaders of the Kiev regime and their European sponsors,” he added.
https://www.rt.com/russia/629853-peskov-dmitriev-us-talks/
https://x.com/kadmitriev
Ukraine confirms 2 ships, oil pipeline damaged in drone strike on Russia's Krasnodar Krai
Updated: December 22, 2025 5:43 pm
Ukrainian drones struck the Tamanneftegaz oil terminal in the village of Volna, Krasnodar Krai, Ukraine's General Staff confirmed on Dec. 22.
The regional Emergency Headquarters reported on Dec. 21 that drone debris had damaged a pipe in Volna but did not specify that it belonged to an oil facility.
Two piers and two ships docked at the village were damaged in the attack as well, according to Russian officials.
There were no casualties among the crew or shore personnel.
A source in Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) told the Kyiv Independent that the Ukrainian strike damaged equipment at the oil terminal, the liquefied hydrocarbon gas pier, and other port infrastructure, triggering a large-scale fire.
A pipeline, two berths, and two ships were damaged, with the fire spreading over an area of more than 1,000 square meters, according to the General Staff.
The blaze also engulfed one ship and the tank farm area.
Tamanneftegaz operates the Taman transshipment complex, handling crude oil, petroleum products, and liquefied hydrocarbon gases. The complex is one of the largest in the Black Sea region.
The total capacity of its tank farm for petroleum products and liquefied gas exceeds 1 million cubic meters, the source said. Volna is located near the Crimean Bridge, which links the occupied peninsula to mainland Russia.
Constructed after Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, the bridge is a critical supply and transport route for Russian forces to the occupied Ukrainian territories.
A Ukrainian missile also struck a temporary base for vessels of the 92nd River Boat Brigade in Olenivka in Russian-occupied Crimea overnight on Dec. 22, the General Staff said.
Ukrainian strikes destroyed a Russian motorized rifle ammunition depot in the town of Ukraiinsk and a storage and launch site for strike drones in the city of Donetsk in the Russian-occupied part of Donetsk Oblast, the statement read.
The full extent of the damage from the attacks is still being assessed, according to the General Staff.
The report comes two weeks after a Ukrainian drone attack on Krasnodar Krai's Temryuk Seaport triggered a massive three-day fire at a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.
The Temryuk port is a key Russian facility in the Sea of Azov, operating an oil export terminal and a large liquefied petroleum gas facility.
In May 2023, Russian officials reported that Ukrainian drones sparked a blaze at a fuel storage facility in Volna.
Videos and photos appeared on social media showing large oil tanks on fire, and authorities said the resulting fire was classified as "the highest rank of difficulty.
Ukraine regularly targets oil facilities in Russia and in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories in an effort to disrupt Moscow's military logistics and supply lines.
https://kyivindependent.com/ukrainian-drone-attack-
damages-russian-pipeline-in-krasnodar-krai-officials-say/
other Russia and Ukraine
https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/12/22/russian-drones-damage-infrastructure-in-odesa-and-kryvyi-rih-derail-train-in-zhytomyr-oblast-map/
https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/12/22/drone-vs-horseman-ukrainian-fpv-strike-ends-bizarre-russian-cavalry-charge-video/
https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/12/22/russian-oil-tanker-valery-gorchakov-slowly-sinks-days-after-recent-drone-attack-near-rostov/
https://english.nv.ua/nation/ukraine-rail-staff-wounded-as-russian-drones-target-energy-and-transport-sites-photos-50570332.html
https://english.nv.ua/russian-war/russia-adapts-molniya-drone-for-reconnaissance-using-starlink-ukraine-says-50570423.html
https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/12/21/belbek-strikes/
https://united24media.com/latest-news/russian-soldier-tries-to-swat-down-drone-with-his-hat-video-shows-14458
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4072112-russian-drone-strike-leaves-two-wounded-in-kherson.html
Italian prosecutors ask to drop case of suspected Russian drone flyovers
December 22, 2025
Italian prosecutors investigating suspected Russian drone flights over an EU space research centre have concluded their suspicions were unfounded and have requested the case be dropped, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Milan prosecutors found that 21 alleged overflights between March and May 2025 were actually caused by interference from a private GSM phone signal booster near the European Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra, near Italy's Lake Maggiore.
Flights over the JRC, which opened in 1960 as a nuclear research site, are banned.
Following alerts from the facility, the prosecutors launched an investigation in March into possible military or political espionage for terrorist purposes, suspecting the presence of a Russian-made drone.
However the investigation showed the repeated false positives were due to overlapping interference between the centre's own security system and sporadic activity from the GSM amplifier in a nearby home, the sources said.
A judge at the Milan court will now decide whether to accept the prosecutors' request and drop the case, something which is normally a formality.
NATO allies frequently accuse Russia of mounting hybrid attacks on the West through hacking, sabotage and espionage. Moscow denies the allegations, saying the West is fuelling anti-Russian sentiment.
The JRC website says the Ispra site is the European Commission's third-largest research campus after Brussels and Luxembourg, working on issues ranging from nuclear safety and space to sustainable resources, migration and transport.
https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/italy-eu-russia-drone/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-warns-us-that-iran-may-use-missile-launch-drill-as-cover-to-strike-report/
other Israel
https://en.abna24.com/news/1764680/Palestinian-woman-martyred-others-injured-in-drone-attack-in
https://www.timesofisrael.com/three-said-killed-in-idf-airstrike-targeting-hezbollah-operatives-in-south-lebanon/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/several-settler-activists-breach-border-into-syria-are-returned-to-israel-by-idf/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-chief-army-has-completed-its-oct-7-probes-will-now-implement-its-conclusions/
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-881008
https://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/node/67240
Israel warns US that Iran may use missile launch drill as cover to strike – report
December 22, 2025 9:47 am
Israel has reportedly warned the Trump administration that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps may be using an ongoing military exercise focusing on missiles as cover to launch an attack on Israel, according, amid fears that Jerusalem and Tehran are readying for another confrontation.
Citing Israeli and US sources, the Axios news site reported Sunday that Israel has a much lower risk tolerance after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, and noted that Jerusalem issued similar warnings six weeks ago when it identified similar movements of Iranian missiles, though nothing came of it.
“The chances for an Iranian attack are less than 50 percent, but nobody is willing to take the risk and just say it is only an exercise,” an Israeli source was quoted by the news site as saying.
However, the US intelligence community has not seen any signs that an Iranian strike could be imminent, an American source told the outlet.
According to the sources quoted by Axios, the highest risk of war breaking out between the two regional enemy countries comes from a potential “miscalculation,” with each side thinking that other is preparing for attack and moving to preempt it.
According to the report, Iran was down around 50% of its arsenal following the war with Israel, left with around 1,500 missiles and 200 launchers. While Tehran is ramping up production efforts, the outlet quoted an Israeli source as saying it has not yet returned to its prewar stockpiles.
The report added that both the Mossad and the IDF’s Military Intelligence do not assess that the current pace of Iran’s rearmament necessitates immediate action, but they believe the problem could become more urgent in several months.
According to Axios, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir called US Central Command head Adm. Bradley Cooper on Saturday and voiced Israel’s concerns about Iranian military exercises.
The two then met in Tel Aviv on Sunday, the report added, where Zamir urged close coordination between the US and Israeli militaries on defensive preparations.
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The IDF declined to comment on the report, and CENTCOM did not respond to the outlet’s request to comment.
Zamir on Sunday warned publicly that the IDF will strike Israel’s enemies “wherever required, on near and distant fronts alike,” apparently hinting that Israel may again need to attack in Iran.
“Iran is the one that financed and armed the ring of strangulation around Israel and stood behind the plans for its destruction,” he said at a changeover ceremony for the head of the IDF Planning Directorate, referring to the terror proxies that Tehran built up in the region.
Zamir’s comments came a day after NBC News reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will present plans for a new potential attack on Iran to US President Donald Trump during his upcoming visit to the United States.
According to the report, which cited several unnamed officials with knowledge of the matter, Israel is growing increasingly concerned that Iran is rebuilding and even expanding its ballistic missile production in the wake of the nations’ 12-day war in June.
“The threat of the missiles is very real, and we weren’t able to prevent them all last time,” a source said.
A source with knowledge on the matter, as well as former US officials, told NBC that Jerusalem believes Iran’s renewed production of ballistic missiles could increase to 3,000 per year if left unchecked.
Perhaps lending credence to Israel’s concerns, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed Sunday that his country was “fully prepared” for a new round of fighting if it comes, and that it has rebuilt its strategic facilities damaged during the June war.
Israel launched its war against Iran in June targeting the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and citing an imminent existential threat.
Over 12 days, successive waves of airstrikes killed Iranian nuclear scientists, took out much of the supply and production capacity for the missile program, and damaged uranium enrichment sites, with the US joining in the last days to take out underground nuclear facilities that only heavy bunker-buster bombs could penetrate.
Iran said over 1,000 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the war. It retaliated by launching over 500 ballistic missiles and around 1,100 drones at Israel, which killed 32 people and wounded over 3,000 in Israel, according to health officials and hospitals.
In all, Israel suffered 36 missile impacts and one drone strike in populated areas, causing damage to 2,305 homes in 240 buildings, along with two universities and a hospital, and leaving over 13,000 Israelis displaced.
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Thai–Cambodia dispute must be settled through bilateral talks: NSC
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2025
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Thailand has designated controlled areas around airports, borders, and other critical sites in response to unauthorized drone sightings.
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Urgent measures include fast-tracking the procurement of anti-drone systems, tightening controls on drone imports, and coordinating multiple agencies to support police operations.
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The public has been warned of severe penalties for flying drones in restricted zones, which could include the death penalty for serious offenses threatening national security.
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A long-term plan involves establishing a national counter-drone management center, led by the Royal Thai Air Force, to unify and coordinate anti-drone efforts.
At Government House, Chatchai Bangchaud, Secretary-General of the National Security Council (NSC), and Pol Gen Kitrat Phanphet, the National Police Chief, jointly briefed the media on the outcome of an NSC meeting on Monday (December 22).
Chatchai said the meeting discussed reports of drones appearing in various areas, particularly sensitive locations such as airports and border provinces.
He said authorities had detected several drones entering restricted zones.
In response, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) had issued a notice designating controlled areas, effective from Saturday (December 20), covering seven border provinces, key airports and other critical sites nationwide, to prevent unauthorised drone activity.
He added that drones detected over the weekend appeared to be improvised devices, and officials were now checking their origin and intended destination.
Chatchai said the NSC agreed on two sets of measures.
Urgent measures
Multi-agency support for police operations:
Relevant agencies, Airports of Thailand (AOT), the CAAT, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC), the armed forces and local administrative authorities, were instructed to support the Royal Thai Police in managing drones detected in controlled areas.
This includes prevention, intelligence-gathering and investigations, as well as the coordinated use of anti-drone systems, with close coordination to ensure effective, aligned operations.
Fast-track procurement of anti-drone equipment: The Defence Ministry was asked to use its authority to ease approval procedures so AOT and other relevant agencies can procure anti-drone systems, which are classified as military equipment, to strengthen area protection.
Tighter controls on drone imports: Authorities were told to step up checks on drone imports and crack down on smuggling, particularly along border areas and elsewhere.
Public warning on strict penalties: Chatchai urged the public not to fly drones in high-risk areas, especially locations linked to national security, such as airports.
He warned that offences could carry severe penalties, including the death penalty in the most serious cases, and that using drones in a manner that threatens national security could breach the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code.
Long-term measures
For the longer term, the NSC resolved that the Royal Thai Air Force should accelerate integration work with relevant agencies and develop an organisational structure to ensure unified operations.
A proposed name for the body is the “National Unmanned Aircraft Countermeasure Management Centre”, in line with a previous NSC resolution designating the Air Force as the lead agency for inter-agency coordination.
Chatchai said relevant agencies were also instructed to plan for modern tools and equipment for the future, train personnel to operate them effectively, and review existing rules and laws, including tougher penalties, for drone use that poses a threat to national security.
On the Thailand–Cambodia border issue, Chatchai said that while the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting had helped create momentum and improve the overall atmosphere, the National Security Council maintained that any lasting resolution must ultimately be achieved through bilateral talks between Thailand and Cambodia.
https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/news/asean/40060155
https://dronedj.com/2025/12/22/dji-drone-us-construction-contractors/
DJI drone scrutiny in the US just took a new turn
Dec 22 2025
For years, Washington’s concerns about DJI have largely played out at the policy level: bans, warnings, executive orders, and legislation aimed squarely at the world’s largest civilian drone manufacturer.
Now, that approach appears to be shifting. Instead of focusing only on DJI, US lawmakers are now publicly calling out individual American companies they believe may still be using Chinese drones at some of the country’s most sensitive sites.
In letters sent to major construction and engineering firms, Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Gary Peters (D-MI) are pressing companies, including Bechtel, Hensel Phelps, and Brasfield & Gorrie, for detailed explanations of their relationships with DJI and their compliance with federal restrictions on Chinese-made drones.
The move marks a notable escalation, one that pulls federal contractors directly into the ongoing national security debate surrounding DJI.
The senators didn’t mince words. They warned that DJI drones, when used at secure facilities such as nuclear weapons labs, missile bases, ports of entry, and military installations, could create pathways for sensitive data to reach the Chinese government.
While DJI has repeatedly denied those claims, lawmakers say the risk is serious enough to warrant direct scrutiny of companies operating the drones — not just the company that makes them.
What makes this moment different is specificity. The letters don’t simply restate existing bans.
They cite named projects, public marketing materials, social media posts, and past collaborations that appear to show contractors continuing to rely on DJI technology despite years of federal warnings.
Bechtel, for example, has worked on nuclear weapons facilities and missile sites and was among the earliest construction firms to adopt drones.
Hensel Phelps has built infrastructure at ports of entry along the US Southwest Border and previously received government approval for advanced drone operations.
Brasfield & Gorrie has worked on military bases and border facilities and has been featured in DJI case studies highlighting drone-based data collection.
Lawmakers argue that this history matters. Construction drones such as the DJI Matrice 4E aren’t just flying cameras; they’re mapping tools capable of capturing high-resolution imagery, facility layouts, terrain data, and potential security vulnerabilities.
At sensitive sites, even routine progress photos can cross into classified territory.
This is why in their letters, the senators aren’t just asking whether DJI drones are being used; they’re demanding a granular accounting of drone operations across sensitive government projects.
Each company is being asked to list every drone and drone component it owns, leases, or operates, including make, model, and when the equipment was first put into service.
Lawmakers also want contract-by-contract disclosures showing where drones were flown on Department of Defense, Homeland Security, intelligence, or nuclear-related projects, even if drones were not an official contract deliverable.
What’s more, the requests go well beyond hardware.
Congress is asking for detailed explanations of how drone data is handled, stored, and protected, including whether drone systems connect to broader company networks and what mobile devices are used to operate them.
The letters also seek records of any cybersecurity audits, internal testing, incident reports, and waivers requested to keep Chinese-made drones in use, as well as copies of company policies governing data retention, compliance with federal acquisition rules, and responses to potential security anomalies.
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Why DJI drone technology worries US lawmakers
The letters lean heavily on a January 2024 joint bulletin from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FBI, which outlined three core concerns with Chinese-manufactured drones:
data collection and transfer, firmware updates that could introduce unknown capabilities, and network-connected systems that could expose broader datasets.
Those risks exist across the drone industry, the bulletin noted, but are especially concerning with Chinese companies due to laws that require firms to cooperate with state intelligence services.
Lawmakers say that combination makes DJI drones uniquely problematic when used around critical infrastructure.
DJI, for its part, has long disputed these claims. The company has pointed to third-party audits and security assessments that it says show no evidence of unauthorized data transmission.
DJI has also argued that broad bans harm US industries that depend on affordable, capable drone technology, right from construction and agriculture to public safety.
DroneDJ readers know that federal scrutiny of DJI isn’t new. Since 2017, US agencies have been raising alarms about Chinese drones.
Congress banned the Department of Defense from purchasing them in 2019. DJI was added to the Commerce Department’s Entity List in 2020. A 2021 executive order discouraged all federal agencies from buying drones made by foreign adversaries.
In 2022, DJI was designated a Chinese military company, triggering additional contracting restrictions.
More recently, the General Services Administration tightened acquisition rules, and Congress mandated a security review that could determine whether DJI devices remain legal to sell in the US market.
If that review isn’t completed by tomorrow, DJI could face an effective import ban. What’s new is how lawmakers are enforcing these policies.
Rather than relying solely on agencies to police compliance, senators are now demanding contract-by-contract disclosures, lists of drone models, data storage practices, cybersecurity policies, and records of any waivers sought to keep DJI equipment in use.
Why contractors are suddenly in the spotlight
Construction firms were early adopters of drones, and DJI dominated that market. Lawmakers appear increasingly concerned that legacy reliance on DJI systems may persist even as regulations tighten.
Inspector General reports have already flagged instances of DJI drones being used at border facilities as recently as 2025.
By calling out individual companies, Congress is signaling that compliance isn’t optional, and that ignorance won’t be an acceptable defense.
Contractors now face the prospect of congressional oversight, reputational risk, and potential contract consequences if they can’t clearly demonstrate adherence to federal drone rules.
This latest move underscores how the DJI debate in the US is evolving. It’s no longer just about whether DJI drones should be banned.
It’s about who is still using them, where, and why, and whether American companies are taking national security warnings seriously enough.
As the pressure shifts downstream from manufacturers to users, the message from Capitol Hill is unmistakable: the DJI drone fight isn’t cooling off; it’s entering a more personal, more targeted phase.
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TX Church Uses 1000 Drones to Tell Christmas Story
December 22, 2025
Attendees at the 2025 Bright Lights community outreach event in Manvel, Texas, have been marveling at a spectacular drone show depicting the Nativity story hundreds of feet in the sky.
https://protestia.com/2025/12/22/tx-church-uses-1000-drones-to-tell-christmas-story/
https://twitter.com/Protestia/status/2003058305800007840
Mace wants UFO briefing from Secretary of State Rubio after watching Age of Disclosure
Dec 21, 2025
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) — Member, Congressional UAP Caucus; House Oversight & Armed Services (HASC) Committees
Rep. Nancy Mace asks:
“Did you watch the new UAP documentary?” Rep. Nancy Mace asks.
Key Burlison:
“Yes. Age of Disclosure?” Rep. Eric Burlison replies. “It was awesome.”
“I couldn’t believe it,” Mace tells Burlison and Ask a Pol UAP. “I mean, truly.”
Ask a Pol asks:
After watching Age of Disclosure, would you want to have Secretary of State Marco Rubio in?
Key Mace:
“Yeah,” Mace says. “I think he’d be fantastic.”
Wonder how much he knows or how much he’s allowed to even say?
“I know. I want to get in a SCIF [Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility] with Rubio. That’s what I want to do,” Mace tells us.
“I want to get in a classified setting with Rubio and find out what he does know, because that would be very interesting.”
Caught our ear:
“I was like, ‘we gotta do this hearing all over again,’” Mace tells us. “They shared stuff that I didn’t hear before.”
https://www.askapoluaps.com/
https://x.com/AskaPol_UAPs
https://x.com/MattLaslo
Sen. Tim Kaine: "A lot of UAS provisions" in NDAA address UAP swarms over Langley, et.
Dec 22, 2025
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) — Member, Senate Armed Services
Around this time last year, you and Senate Intelligence Committee Vice-chair Mark Warner (D-VA) had a classified briefing on the “drone swarms” that shut down Langley Air Force Base] in 2023.
Learn anything new since that briefing?
Key Kaine:
“We don’t know any more,” Sen. Tim Kaine exclusively tells Ask a Pol UAP.
“I’ve had briefings with the DOD [Department of Defense] guys that are working on the UAS remit and asking questions about Langley.
I’ve not had a specific Langley briefing, but I’ve done briefings where it’s come up. No more info about causes or who they were.”
ICYMI — Kaine confirms what Gillibrand told Ask a Pol
https://www.askapoluaps.com/p/uap-uas-drones-mean-same-thing-in-washington
2025 Development: “UAS” now means “UAP” in DC
In this year’s NDAA — or National Defense Authorization Act — were you able to address the UAP incursions at Langley with some of these new UAS provisions?
“Yes, yeah,” Kaine says. “Big picture, there’s a lot of UAS provisions. I would say [Senate Intel Chair Tom] Cotton and Gillibrand are probably the two that are most on that.”
Do you think that’s going to be a game-changer and give commanders the power they’ve asked for to shoot down these objects hovering over US military bases?
“Yeah,” Kaine says.
Caught our ear:
“[Defense Secretary Pete] Hegseth made a move this summer that was really smart.
He kind of reconstituted the stakeholder roundtable on UAS’s in a way that’s making it more effective, and we did have a briefing about that about 60 days ago,” Kaine tells Ask a Pol UAP.
“And it was the first briefing we had where, like, there was one person in charge who, you know, generated a lot of confidence.”
https://www.askapoluaps.com/p/tim-kaine-agrees-uas-new-uap
New UAP Whistleblower Emerges as Congress Prepares for 2026 Disclosure Push
December 22, 2025
Cristina Gomez reveals and discusses the latest UAP developments from Capitol Hill including a new whistleblower working with the UAP Caucus, Rep. Nancy Mace's shocking statements, and Ross Coulthart's predictions for UFO disclosure in 2026 under the Trump administration.
A new whistleblower has emerged and is now working with the congressional UAP Caucus, according to Representative Eric Burlison in an exclusive interview with journalist Matt Laslo from Ask A Pol on December 16, 2025.
Burlison revealed that while a another public UFO hearing is potentially in the works, the focus remains on getting witnesses comfortable enough to speak in a SCIF, a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility where classified information can be discussed securely.
Burlison stated there is one person who is a new whistleblower that they have a lead on who might go public.
The congressman also confirmed that David Grusch, the former intelligence officer who testified before Congress in July 2023 about a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval program, will continue working as a special advisor on his staff into 2026.
According to Burlison, how long Grusch remains depends on whether additional hearings are needed. Grusch is currently preparing an end of year synopsis reviewing what has been accomplished and what threads still need to be pulled to advance UAP disclosure efforts.
In a separate exchange captured by Ask A Pol, Representative Nancy Mace expressed her strong reaction after watching the documentary Age of Disclosure.
Mace told Laslo she learned more from the documentary than she did during official congressional hearings, stating she felt they needed to do the hearing all over again because details were shared that she had never heard before.
When asked about Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Mace did not hesitate, saying she wants to get into a SCIF with Rubio to find out what he knows about the UAP issue.
Investigative journalist Ross Coulthart addressed the path forward during his Reality Check Q&A this week. According to Coulthart, everything hangs on one man, Donald Trump.
He believes Trump has been briefed on nonhuman intelligence and is now weighing what benefit he would derive from being the president who tells the public the truth.
Coulthart also referenced the long discussed theory that Hollywood has been used to prepare the public for UAP disclosure, pointing to Chase Brandon, who served as the CIA’s entertainment liaison officer from 1996 to 2007.
Coulthart warned that if the government does not control the narrative, there is a risk of catastrophic disclosure, a scenario where information emerges in a way that damages public trust.
00:00 - New Whistleblower Emerges
00:38 - Grusch's Future on Capitol Hill
01:44 - CIA Crash Recovery Confirmed?
03:29 - Mace Wants Rubio in a SCIF
04:12 - Ross Coulthart on Trump & NHI
05:27 - Hollywood's UFO Connection
06:51 - Catastrophic Disclosure Warning
https://www.ufonews.co/post/new-uap-whistleblower-emerges-as-congress-prepares-for-2026-disclosure-push
https://x.com/Eyes_OnTheSkies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDn-nXXa7Yg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FANHrbEiMAM (Ross Coulthart Q&A: Skywatcher rumors & ‘Disclosure Day’)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arnn6jqsJwM (Eric Burlison drops intriguing information on David Grusch & a NEW Whistleblower! - Psicoactivo #750)
BREAKING: Brazilian Army Captures Live Alien From UFO Crash (ft. James Fox)
Dec 21, 2025
Our American Alchemist this week is James Fox.
Investigator James Fox just surfaced the most intensely-detailed account yet of the Varginha UFO case, an event involving a crashed craft, multiple non-human three fingered and toed beings, military intervention (from Brazil and The United States), and firsthand medical witnesses who did surgery on an alien in a hospital in Varginha, Brazil.
For the first time in the case’s history, James Fox gets a testimony from the head neurosurgeon of the hospital that did surgery on the being.
He also interviews the examiner of the soldier that died from apprehending the being. Chris Ramsay will be doing a deep dive on this autopsy on @Area52Investigations in a couple of weeks.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:05 The 1996 Incident
08:41 The Crash Site
41:33 Encountering the Being
46:49 The Neurosurgeon's Testimony
53:54 Alien Communication
1:05:51 Military Whistleblowers and Witnesses
1:08:27 National Security
1:12:09 The Day of the Event
1:15:15 Witnesses and Testimonies
1:19:35 Investigating the Air Traffic Controller
1:23:48 UFOs and National Security
1:28:25 The Complexity of Disclosure
1:42:18 Meeting Philip J. Corso
1:58:34 They Walk Among Us
2:09:16 The Truth
2:12:29 Edgar Mitchell
2:13:05 The Wilson Davis Memo
2:18:03 The Apollo Astronauts
2:19:36 The Moon Landing
2:30:45 Calls for Transparency
2:38:49 Disclosure
2:58:42 Collaborating With Others
3:04:43 Upcoming Revelations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBrfe4hFuM0
https://x.com/AlchemyAmerican
https://x.com/jamescfox
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHN95mmf6ho (Moment of Contact FREE!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSNfwLJiANQ (The Phenomenon FREE!)
https://kslx.com/episode/uap-ep-178-james-fox-presents-incredible-new-details-on-brazilian-roswell/
https://x.com/UAPodcast850
Tomi Lahren
@TomiLahren
We are ready for the TRUTH about aliens
From The Big Weekend Show
9:03 AM · Dec 21, 2025
https://x.com/TomiLahren/status/2002787089675649444
https://www.youtube.com/@TomiLahrenIsFearless
https://x.com/UAPodcast850/status/2003056791169773832
https://x.com/overclassifiedx/status/2003126127813120022