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Ranger Road Fire, Oklahoma and Kansas
Feb. 19, 2026
The Ranger Road Fire began in Oklahoma in the afternoon of Tuesday, February 17. The fire has since spread across the border into southern Kansas and, as of February 19, burned more than 283,000 acres.
The image comparison above shows the day the fire started, February 17, on the left "A" side. The active fire front can be seen encircling the burned area in bright red, with smoke emanating from the fire.
Move the center swipe bar to the left to see by Wednesday, February 18, the burned area in brown has doubled to almost twice the size of Chicago. The fire is currently only about 15 percent contained.
The false-color corrected reflectance images were acquired by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard the joint NASA/NOAA NOAA-20 platform.
The Plains have been experiencing extremely critical to elevated fire weather conditions these past few days due to dry air, high and sustained winds up to 20 mph, and dry vegetation with high burn risk.
Visit Worldview to visualize near real-time imagery and historical imagery from NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS); find more imagery in our Worldview weekly image archive.
https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/news/worldview-image-archive/ranger-road-fire-oklahoma-kansas
https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/news/worldview-image-archive
Winds Whip Up Fires and Dust on the Southern Plains
Feb 20, 2026
High winds coupled with dry conditions fueled fast-spreading wildland fires in the U.S. southern Plains in winter 2026.
On February 17, several large blazes broke out on the Oklahoma Panhandle and burned quickly through tens of thousands of acres of grasslands and shrublands.
The winds also caused dust storms and low visibility throughout the wider region.
Smoke from multiple fires as well as wind-borne dust streamed across the Plains on the afternoon of February 17, when the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this image.
The Ranger Road fire, the largest of the group, started that day shortly after noon near Beaver, Oklahoma, and spread rapidly throughout the afternoon.
By the evening, it had burned into Kansas and consumed an estimated 145,000 acres (587,000 hectares), the Oklahoma Forestry Service reported.
Combined with other fires nearby, including the Stevens and Side Road fires near Tyrone, Oklahoma, more than 155,000 acres burned that day, the agency said.
The Ranger Road fire exhibited features of a “fast fire,” a particularly dangerous and destructive type of fire characterized by rapid spread.
These blazes usually burn in grasslands and shrublands rather than forests, often occur in autumn and winter when fuels are dry, and are propelled by strong winds.
Wind gusts up to 70 miles (110 kilometers) per hour were measured across the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles on February 17, the National Weather Service said.
The fires destroyed several structures, threatened farmland and livestock, and prompted evacuation orders for parts of western Oklahoma and southern Kansas, according to news reports.
Oklahoma’s governor declared a disaster emergency for counties in the Panhandle.
Persistent winds and dry conditions led to further fire growth on February 18. The Ranger Road and Stevens fires approximately doubled in size that day, the Oklahoma Forestry Services reported.
On February 19, a red flag warning remained in effect for the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, with forecasts calling for wind gusts up to 40 miles (64 kilometers) per hour and very low relative humidity.
Wind-blown dust created other serious hazards across the region. Near Pueblo, Colorado (west of this scene), poor visibility led to a deadly pileup of dozens of vehicles on Interstate 25, according to reports. A
nd in southern New Mexico, officials warned travelers of dangerous conditions due to blowing dust.
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/winds-whip-up-fires-and-dust-on-the-southern-plains/
Webb maps Uranus's mysterious upper atmosphere
19/02/2026
For the first time, an international team of astronomers have mapped the vertical structure of Uranus’s upper atmosphere, uncovering how temperature and charged particles vary with height across the planet.
Using NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope's NIRSpec instrument, the team observed Uranus for nearly a full rotation, detecting the faint glow from molecules high above the clouds.
The results offer a new window into how ice-giant planets distribute energy in their upper layers.
Led by Paola Tiranti of Northumbria University in the United Kingdom, the study mapped out the temperature and density of ions in the atmosphere extending up to 5000 km above Uranus’s cloud tops, a region called the ionosphere where the atmosphere becomes ionised and interacts strongly with the planet’s magnetic field.
These unique data provide the most detailed portrait yet of where the planet’s auroras form, how they are influenced by its unusually tilted magnetic field, and how Uranus’s atmosphere has continued to cool over the past three decades.
The measurements show that temperatures peak between 3000 and 4000 km, while ion densities reach their maximum around 1000 km, revealing clear longitudinal variations linked to the complex geometry of the magnetic field.
“This is the first time we’ve been able to see Uranus’s upper atmosphere in three dimensions,” said Paola.
“With Webb’s sensitivity, we can trace how energy moves upward through the planet’s atmosphere and even see the influence of its lopsided magnetic field.”
Webb’s data confirm that Uranus’s upper atmosphere is still cooling, extending a trend that began in the early 1990s.
The team measured an average temperature of around 426 kelvins (about 150 degrees Celsius), lower than values recorded by ground-based telescopes or previous spacecraft.
Two bright auroral bands were detected near Uranus’s magnetic poles, together with a distinct depletion in emission and ion density in part of the region between two bands (a feature likely linked to transitions in magnetic field lines).
Similar darkened regions have been seen at Jupiter, where the geometry of the magnetic field there controls how charged particles travel through the upper atmosphere.
“Uranus’s magnetosphere is one of the strangest in the Solar System,” added Paola. “It’s tilted and offset from the planet’s rotation axis, which means its auroras sweep across the surface in complex ways.
Webb has now shown us how deeply those effects reach into the atmosphere. By revealing Uranus’s vertical structure in such detail, Webb is helping us understand the energy balance of the ice giants.
This is a crucial step towards characterising giant planets beyond our Solar System.”
The study is based on data from JWST General Observer programme 5073 (PI: H. Melin of Northumbria University in the United Kingdom), which used NIRSpec’s Integral Field Unit on 19 January 2025 to observe Uranus for 15 hours.
The research has been published in the Geophysical Research Letters.
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Webb/Webb_maps_Uranus_s_mysterious_upper_atmosphere
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025GL119304
other ESA
https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Week_in_images/Week_in_images_16-20_February_2026
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2026/02/The_stellar_lifecycle_in_a_nearby_spiral
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2026/02/Annular_solar_eclipse_seen_from_space
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2026/02/Earth_from_Space_Ouarzazate_Morocco
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2026/02/Sophie_Adenot_exercising_on_the_CEVIS_bike
Lunar New Year fireworks seen from orbit
Feb. 19, 2026
NASA astronaut Chris Williams has shared an enchanting view of fireworks exploding in the sky over Beijing from the International Space Station (ISS), as millions gathered on the world below to celebrate Lunar New Year on the night of Feb. 17.
A celebration witnessed from orbit
Williams captured spectacular detail in the complex network of highways and thoroughfares branching out from the bright urban centres of Beijing, and the coastal city of Tianjin, which can be seen to the southeast of the Chinese capital
On the night of Feb. 17, this metropolitan light show was bolstered by the light cast by spectacular fireworks displays, which took on a static-like appearance in the time-lapse footage captured from 250 miles (402 kilometers) above Earth in low orbit.
"Happy Year of the Horse," wrote Williams in an X post accompanying the video. "I was fortunate to be looking out of the Cupola while we were passing over Beijing and saw the twinkling of fireworks celebrating the Lunar New Year!"
Meanwhile, Chinese taikonauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang marked the celebration in orbit by adorning the Tiangong Space Station with festive decorations and a feast, while also sharing a music video partially filmed aboard the orbital outpost, titled "Let the five-star red flag fly high in space".
What spacecraft are in frame?
A circular solar panel belonging to the Northrop Grumman-built Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft NG-23 can be seen to the right of the shot. The spacecraft carried 11,000 pounds (4,990 kilograms) of supplies and equipment to the orbital station following its launch on Sept. 14, 2025.
The MS-28 Soyuz spacecraft — whose rocket caused significant damage to the only crew-capable launch pad at Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome upon lifting off on Thanksgiving Day in November last year — is visible to the left of the Cygnus freighter.
The spacecraft and its crew, composed of NASA's Chris Williams and cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev are due to depart the station and return to Earth this summer.
Peeking up at the bottom left of the video is the Russian docking node "Prichal" — a recent addition to the orbital station that, installed back in 2021, provides additional berths for crewed Soyuz spacecraft and Progress freighters..
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/international-space-station/lunar-new-year-fireworks-seen-from-orbit-space-photo-of-the-day-for-feb-19-2026
https://x.com/Astro_ChrisW/status/2024182051474157928
A mini 'planetary parade' is visible tonight. Can you spot them all?
February 20, 2026
Look to the western horizon at sunset on Feb. 20 to witness an incredible sight, as three planets shine below the slender crescent of the waxing moon, with Jupiter glowing high overhead in the winter sky.
The upturned sickle-shape of the 18%-lit moon will appear 40 degrees above the horizon as the sun sets, with a string of bright "evening stars" representing Venus, Mercury and Saturn arrayed beneath, fighting for attention in the glow of the setting sun.
Saturn will be positioned 15 degrees directly below the crescent moon, with Mercury less than 10 degrees— roughly the width of your clenched fist held at arm's length — to its lower right.
Mercury is currently in prime viewing position, having just passed its point of greatest eastern elongation on Feb. 19, when it was at its furthest from the sun in Earth's sky in its current evening apparition.
Find a spot with a clear view to the west for a chance to see Venus shining directly below Mercury, less than 10 degrees above the horizon at sunset.
Neptune will also be present less than 1 degree — approximately the width of your little finger — to the right of Saturn, though it'll be too dim to spot with the naked eye.
Neptune is so distant that the blue spec of its disk can only be seen with the aid of an 8-inch telescope, but utmost care must be taken to ensure that the sun is well below the horizon before pointing any telescopic equipment in its direction.
Uranus, meanwhile, will be five degrees below the Pleiades on Feb. 20 and while technically just bright enough to spot with the naked eye from a dark sky location, the planet will also benefit from the magnifying power of a telescope to spot its tiny aqua disk.
Jupiter dominates the sky this time of year and can be found high in the east at sunset, glowing with the bright stars Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini.
A 6-inch telescope will reveal details in the cloud bands lining its surface, along with its four largest moons, Io, Ganymede, Europa and Callisto.
The lunar crescent will also make for a fascinating telescopic target, just three days out from its new moon phase on Feb. 17.
Look out for the dark forms of Mare Crisium and Mare Fecunditatis darkening the sunlit wedge of Earth's satellite, which formed when ancient lava flows flooded networks of impact craters before hardening many millions of years ago.
Next, sweep your telescope across the line separating night from day on the lunar surface — known as the terminator — to spot a myriad of shadowed impact craters scarring the lunar surface.
https://www.space.com/stargazing/a-mini-planetary-parade-is-visible-tonight-can-you-spot-them-all-feb-20-2026
https://nurse.org/news/nurses-in-space-missions/
https://www.instagram.com/the_spacenurse/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-rincon-445b248b
The Next Frontier for Nurses? Outer Space.
February 19, 2026
As NASA and private space companies plan missions farther from Earth, one nurse is working to make sure nursing is part of the conversation.
Christine Rincon founded The Space Nurse to advocate for a formal role for nurses in space travel and long-duration missions.
Her message is that if humans are going to live and thrive in space, not just survive, nurses need to be involved.
Why Nursing Is Missing From Space Missions
Rincon became a nurse in 2015. At the time, she said space nursing “wasn’t really a thing.”
She initially believed that by the time she gained experience, opportunities might open up. By 2026, Rincon realized the profession still did not have a clear pathway into space operations.
Currently, space missions rely on a flight surgeon, and a biomedical engineering team in mission control.
If a medical issue occurs aboard the International Space Station, teams coordinate from Earth and evacuate if needed.
But as Rincon pointed out, missions to Mars would take about six months to reach their destination. Evacuation would not be an option.
As space agencies plan to go farther, Rincon believes medical teams must begin to "mirror Earth."
“Who better to care for the whole person than the nurse?” she said.
Nurses Already Have the Skills NASA Needs
Rincon said many NASA job postings use engineering terms that may cause nurses to overlook opportunities.
One example she shared: “human in the loop processes.”
At first, Rincon did not recognize the term and assumed it did not apply to her. After researching it, she realized nurses use human in the loop processes daily.
Examples she provided include:
Opening a medication dispensing system like Pixis and deciding whether to override a warning
Reviewing electronic medical record sepsis alerts and determining whether a patient is truly septic
In both cases, the machine provides data, but the human makes the final decision.
Rincon said nurses may read those job postings and move on without realizing that the experience described applies to them.
She also referenced NASA Standard 3001, which outlines environmental requirements such as:
Temperature
Air quality
Oxygen levels
According to Rincon, nurses understand those parameters in practical, patient-centered ways.
Microgravity Changes Patient Care
Rincon is currently teaching nurses about how microgravity affects the human body.
Gravity, she explained, is something healthcare providers take for granted until it is gone.
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In microgravity:
Fluids float
Blood shifts to the head and chest
There is less blood in the periphery
IV fluids do not drip downward
Air bubbles disperse throughout fluid bags
Vomit does not fall and can pose risks to equipment
She emphasized that what nurses expect to happen to the body in a gravity-based environment “is not what’s going to happen” in space.
Rincon also noted that CPR in space looks dramatically different from CPR performed on Earth.
The Rise of Space Tourism
Rincon said space medicine planning is still largely focused on highly screened, extremely healthy astronauts.
But commercial space travel introduces a new population: space tourists.
Unlike astronauts, tourists may not have the same physical conditioning or training. Rincon gave the example of nausea in space, something most astronauts experience.
In a zero-gravity environment, vomiting does not fall downward. If it contacts electronics, it could become dangerous.
Rincon believes nurses are well positioned to address these operational realities.
Nurses manage:
Activities of daily living
Early signs of abnormal changes
Training and education
Ongoing patient support
Rincon also shared an example from a conference discussion about a head tilt study used to simulate microgravity.
When she asked how participants would go to the bathroom, she said nobody had an answer.
"They don't think about these things," Rincon said.
Building the Path Forward
Rincon said she is actively networking with NASA and private space companies, including:
Blue Origin
SpaceX
Virgin
Axiom, which hopes to build a space station
Her goal is advocacy now and consultation in the future.
Because this path has not yet been established, Rincon said much of her work involves explaining why nursing is important in space operations.
She also addressed imposter syndrome, recalling that she once introduced herself as “just a nurse” in engineering-heavy spaces.
Members of the broader space community pushed back on that language and acknowledged that nurses are needed.
“You are needed,” she said. “You don’t have to be afraid to walk into these rooms.”
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https://research.arizona.edu/news/biosphere-2s-sam-become-testing-ground-next-generation-space-habitats
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDA1JEXplb8
https://biosphere2.org/
Biosphere 2’s SAM to become testing ground for next-generation space habitats
February 20, 2026
From carbon-scrubbing crops to advanced life-support technology and an indoor Mars yard, the facility is emerging as a proving site for future off-world missions.
At the University of Arizona’s Biosphere 2, the Space Analog for the Moon and Mars, better known as SAM, operates as a sealed habitat where air, water and food are measured and recycled as if it were far from Earth’s croplands and life-sustaining atmosphere.
SAM’s research informs the future of astronaut life-support systems while advancing a broader goal: positioning the facility as a critical testing ground for next-generation space habitats.
The SAM facility is built around Biosphere 2’s original 1987 Test Module, a prototype designed to determine whether humans could survive inside a sealed environment on Earth.
The module was later abandoned until Kai Staats, SAM’s director of research, led a reconstruction effort. After years of restoration, the original pressure vessel was expanded and now includes a crew quarters with a kitchen, bath, engineering bay, airlock, carbon dioxide scrubber and life support monitors.
Together, they form a pressurized habitat analog capable of hosting long-duration missions with up to four crew.
Testing life support with crops – and one human
SAM’s most recent mission sealed a single crew member, Matthias Beach, a member of the SAM development and operations team, inside the habitat with 144 dwarf pea plants to test whether crops could help sustain human life in isolation.
The experiment lays a foundation for future off-world missions.
Conducted over two weeks in October 2025, the dwarf pea experiment tracked how efficiently plants sequester carbon dioxide and return oxygen in a confined environment.
Initially, every breath Beach exhaled inside SAM was captured by the plants through photosynthesis and converted back into breathable air.
On Day 8, with Beach still inside, the peas were harvested so the team could observe the level of carbon dioxide and record a precise measurement of how much carbon each plant had been removing from the air.
The test demonstrated how a relatively small number of crops could become part of a closed air system to support life on future lunar or Martian settlements. For the crew member inside, the experiment was also a deeply personal experience.
“When I harvested the plants, it was actually kind of sad,” Beach said. “I took pictures of a few that I thought were adorable, and I really missed them afterward.
I missed hearing the pumps cycle on and off every half hour, the glow of the lights and that smell – the humidity and the green. Without it, the habitat felt more like a spaceship.”
Additional crops are slated for testing inside SAM through 2026, contributing to a growing database documenting how 20 or more food species might support air revitalization in a sealed habitat.
Those crops include peas, wheat, rice, barley, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, sweet potatoes and white potatoes, Staats said.
The dataset will help determine how many square meters of crops are needed to support long duration, human-crewed missions and how much carbon those crops can recycle.
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Building a database for space agriculture
Inside the SAM Test Module, hydroponic racks – managed with support from the U of A’s Controlled Environment Agriculture Center – regulate plant growth through controlled lighting, nutrient delivery, humidity and temperature.
Sensors embedded within each of SAM’s four compartments continuously monitor carbon dioxide, oxygen, humidity, temperature and vapor-pressure deficit, a measure of how much moisture the air holds relative to how much it can hold when saturated.
That metric is critical to plant health and carbon sequestration rates.
The data streams in real time to SIMOC Live, an air-quality monitoring platform developed by Staat’s team, that connects globally participating habitats in the World’s Biggest Analog project into a shared repository.
Those measurements are also fed into SAM’s digital twin, SIMOC – an agent-based computer model that uses mission data to refine predictions and improve future habitat performance.
SIMOC is now available for use by anyone in the world, equipped with a working, virtual model of the original 1991-93 and 1994 Biosphere 2 missions, as well as SAM and a Mars habitat of customizable design.
Testing machines and plants side by side
Additionally, while the dwarf pea trial focused on what researchers call “bioregenerative” air revitalization, SAM’s team is also developing a complementary “physicochemical” system.
Construction is now complete on the Experimental Air Revitalization Laboratory, or EARL, a four-bed molecular-sieve carbon dioxide scrubber modeled after the system used on the International Space Station and developed under a technology license with NASA.
Designed in partnership with James Knox, a spacecraft carbon dioxide removal systems expert, the scrubber allows the SAM team to test mechanical and biological life-support methods side by side, switching between them or operating in parallel while humans are sealed inside the habitat.
Researchers will be able to evaluate which approach works best for specific mission scenarios and how hybrid systems can balance power demands and environmental control.
“SAM is the only facility on Earth that can study both machine-based and plant-based processes with humans in the loop in a pressurized facility,” Staats said.
“We have the closest thing to an actual Mars habitat running on Earth. No one else – not even NASA or the International Space Station – has that today.”
Practicing missions on a simulated Mars
The SAM habitat is immediately adjacent to an indoor Mars yard – a geologically accurate landscape featuring ancient riverbed deposits, a lava tube, a scree slope and a reduced gravity simulator designed for rovers and crewed exploration.
Researchers train in pressure suits while testing procedures and mobility under reduced-gravity conditions, allowing scientists and industry partners to evaluate systems and protocols before launching them into orbit or deploying them on planetary surfaces.
A new surgical bay is also under construction inside of the SAM crew quarters. Led by practicing surgeon and SAM team member Dr. Bindhu Oommen, the SAM Med Bay has engaged a growing collaboration of space medical professionals, including former NASA flight surgeons, the APEX fellowship based at Banner Health in Phoenix and the University of Florida.
With its expanding capabilities, SAM is positioned to serve as a primary test site for commercial space companies, government agencies and academic institutions interested in validating new tools, rovers, medical systems and life-support hardware.
Its integration with the Mars yard makes it a natural training environment for teams preparing missions that require realistic operational testing.
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CSO, CMSSF celebrate newest Guardians, engage BMT training staff
Feb. 20, 2026
U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman and Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force John Bentivenga presided over a Basic Military Training graduation ceremony, engaging with military training instructors and the service's newest Guardians throughout the visit to Joint Base San Antonio, Feb. 17 through 19.
Earlier in the week, Bentivenga participated in a BMT graduation "Patching Ceremony," personally applying U.S. Space Force patches to graduates' uniforms, as a symbolic moment to mark each trainee's transition to Guardian, before he addressed the graduates on the importance of their mission to dominate the space domain and secure the nation's future.
On Feb. 18, Bentivenga led the newest Guardians in the "Airman and Guardian's Run," a one-and-a-half-mile run that celebrates the culmination of Air Force and Space Force BMT.
The event gave families and guests their first glimpse of their trainee-turned-graduate in seven-and-a-half weeks.
Saltzman and Bentivenga later sat down with MTIs over lunch to discuss the future of BMT training, strategies to recruit and retain quality instructors, and the critical role MTIs play in shaping, training and inspiring Guardians with the foundation to deliver the world's premier space power.
At the graduation ceremony, Saltzman spoke directly to the newest class of Airmen and Guardians about the challenges ahead.
"You are joining our military at a time unlike we've seen in generations, and our world will continue to evolve," Saltzman said.
"The threats we face in the air and in space will only grow more complex, and our adversaries are sharpening their own swords every day."
Saltzman was quick to follow with a message of confidence in the graduating class. "But I'm not worried," Saltzman continued. "Each of you has proven yourself.
I know you have the courage to challenge the status quo, the innovative spirit to stay a step ahead of our adversaries and the warrior mindset to meet anything the nation demands of you."
Saltzman closed his remarks on a personal note.
"I'm incredibly proud of each and every one of you, and I'm confident that no matter the challenges we may face in the future, you have what it takes to fight and win, for your families and for our nation," Saltzman said.
Space Force Guardians complete BMT alongside Air Force recruits at JBSA-Lackland, the sole BMT installation for both services.
The Space Force, established in December 2019, continues to shape its culture, identity and training standards as the nation's newest military branch.
https://www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4410492/cso-cmssf-celebrate-newest-guardians-engage-bmt-training-staff/
Russian planes escorted out of air space near Alaska
Feb. 20, 2026 / 10:18 AM
Five Russian planes flew into the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone and were escorted out by U.S. planes on Thursday.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command detected the two Tu-95s, two Su-35s, and one A-50 and tracked them in the ADIZ, a NORAD press release said.
NORAD launched two F-16s, two F-35s, one E-3, and four KC-135s to intercept, identify and escort the planes until they left the Alaskan ADIZ.
The Russian military aircraft stayed in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian airspace. This activity in the Alaskan ADIZ happens regularly and isn't seen as a threat, NORAD said.
An ADIZ is a defined stretch of international airspace that requires the identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security.
NORAD uses a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter planes to detect and track aircraft, the release said.
A similar event happened in September near Alaska, as it did in August two days in a row. The August event drew attention because it happened soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Alaska to meet with President Donald Trump.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/02/20/russian-planes-escorted-air-space-alaska-adiz/5501771599663/
Stolen ambulance crashes into DHS office space in Idaho
Feb. 19, 2026, 4:15 PM EST
Investigators were searching Thursday for a person who stole an ambulance and crashed it into an Idaho office building leased by the Department of Homeland Security in what authorities called a targeted attack.
Someone stole a Canyon County Paramedics ambulance from St. Luke’s Medical Center in Meridian, just west of Boise, around 12:30 a.m., according to authorities. No one else was in the ambulance.
According to Meridian Chief of Police Tracy Basterrechea, the suspect “retrieved gas cans stashed around vegetation.” The suspect then drove the ambulance into a nearby building leased for DHS, including workspace associated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Meridian authorities said the suspect tried but failed to light the accelerant and ignite the gas cans. Gasoline appeared to be poured in and outside of the ambulance, but the suspect appeared to be scared off by first responders and fled the scene.
During a news conference Thursday afternoon, authorities said they believe this was a targeted attack on DHS property.
Staff from the Seattle field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene.
https://www.ms.now/news/stolen-ambulance-crashes-into-dhs-office-space-in-idaho
Zelensky resorts to f-bombs and insults to rally Western hawks (VIDEO)
20 Feb, 2026 01:31
Vladimir Zelensky is increasingly resorting to insults and unhinged rants while trying to rally pro-Ukraine hawks in the West.
Zelensky used profanites on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference last week and later continued in the same style in interviews with outlets including Axios and Piers Morgan Uncensored.
RT’s Roman Kosarev explains that Zelensky’s tactic is aimed to undermine Western politicians seeking a diplomatic resolution to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
https://www.rt.com/russia/632804-zelensky-new-unhinged-interviews/
Ukrainian army disappearing – Russian general
20 Feb, 2026 10:34
Kiev’s ability to supply fresh soldiers to the front line has significantly diminished, putting the Ukrainian army on a downward spiral, a senior Russian military planner has said. The Ukrainian army’s strength is being sapped by mass desertion and public resistance to mandatory conscription.
The Russian military estimates Ukrainian military casualties at over 520,000 in 2025 and 1.5 million since the conflict escalated in 2022, Gen. Sergey Rudskoy, head of operations at the Russian General Staff, said in an interview published Friday.
“Presently, the Kiev regime has largely lost the ability to replenish its units through obligatory mobilization.
The number of recruitments per month has dropped by about two times,” Rudskoy told Krasnaya Zvezda, the Russian armed forces’ official newspaper. “A trend is forming for the decrease of the Ukrainian army’s strength.”
During his nomination hearings last month, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov told lawmakers that two million potential recruits were on a wanted list for draft evasion and 200,000 troops had deserted.
This month, human rights ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets reported a sharp rise in complaints against mobilization enforcers, calling it a “systemic crisis.”
New videos of violent confrontations between conscription patrols and civilians are published by Ukrainian media almost daily, even as authorities claim most such footage is fabricated.
In the interview, Rudskoy also discussed Russian battlefield progress and how technological changes are affecting military planning. Modern warfare demands faster AI-assisted decision-making and broad deployment of robotic systems, he said.
Mass use of drones in the Ukraine conflict has made them comparable to artillery in terms of damage inflicted, Rudskoy added. Drones have also redefined front lines, creating a “zone of blanket kinetic action” extending up to 15 kilometers from friendly positions.
https://www.rt.com/russia/632808-ukraine-manpower-shortages-rudskoy/
other RT
https://www.rt.com/news/632816-ukraine-corruption-us-zelensky/
https://www.rt.com/russia/632820-fsb-stravropol-terrorist-plot/
Ukrainian drones hit Tamanneftegaz oil terminal, destroy workshop and tanks
February 20, 2026, 06:03 AM
Ukrainian drone strikes seriously damaged the Tamanneftegaz oil terminal in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, destroying a production facility and hitting multiple storage tanks, open-source intelligence analysts reported on Feb. 20.
Analysts from the OSINT project CyberBoroshno published images of the aftermath, writing that “the specialized fats production and packaging workshop was completely destroyed” as a result of the attack.
Separately, OSINT analysts from Exilenova+ released images showing damage to storage tanks at the Tamanneftegaz facility.
“One tank was completely destroyed, another burned out, and a third sustained damage,” the post said.
On Feb. 17, sources told NV within Ukraine’s SBU Security Service that drones from the Alpha Special Operations Center of the agency had struck infrastructure at the Tamanneftegaz oil terminal in Krasnodar Krai for the second time in the past month.
They noted that the port of Taman is one of the largest in the Black Sea region and handles the transshipment of oil, gas and ammonia. Its storage facilities for petroleum products and liquefied gas exceed 1 million cubic meters.
The previous attack on the terminal took place on Jan. 22, 2026, when it was likewise targeted by SBU drones.
According to the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, a fire broke out across an area of about 6,200 square meters at the site following the strike.
Three storage tanks with a capacity of 10,000 cubic meters each were damaged. Estimated losses amounted to about $50 million.
https://english.nv.ua/nation/ukrainian-drones-heavily-damage-tamanneftegaz-oil-terminal-in-krasnodar-krai-50585679.html
https://news.ssbcrack.com/ukrainian-drones-successfully-strike-russian-oil-depot-despite-anti-drone-nets/
other Russia and Ukraine
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/70460
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/70448
https://english.nv.ua/russian-war/russian-drone-strike-hits-industrial-site-in-poltava-oblast-50585641.html
https://unn.ua/en/news/russian-drone-attacked-white-angels-car-in-kharkiv-region-two-policemen-killed
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/ukraine-s-battlefield-lessons-push-nato-to-1771592106.html
https://united24media.com/latest-news/single-ukrainian-unit-reports-shooting-down-200-russian-drones-in-one-month-video-16112
https://english.nv.ua/nation/zelenskyy-offers-japan-naval-drone-tech-that-crippled-russia-s-fleet-50585612.html
somebody get this dude on Joe Rogan or Shawn Ryan
IDF strikes Hamas command center in Lebanon; 3 reported dead
February 20, 2026
The IDF said it struck a Hamas command center in Lebanon used to plan attacks on Israel; Lebanese reports said three people were killed and 12 wounded in Ain al-Hilweh near Sidon, where two missiles hit a building that once housed Palestinian security forces
Lior Ben Ari, Yoav Zitun|08:57
The IDF said it struck Friday a compound used by Hamas operatives in the area of the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh near Sidon in southern Lebanon.
According to the military, the site had recently been used to prepare attacks against Israeli forces operating in Lebanon and to conduct training aimed at advancing various terror plots against the IDF and the State of Israel.
Lebanese reports said three people were killed and 12 wounded in the strike.
“The infrastructure that was struck was embedded in the heart of a civilian population, cynically exploiting village residents to advance the organization’s terror objectives and using them as human shields,” the IDF said.
“The activity of the operatives at the compound constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon and posed a threat to the State of Israel.”
Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that two missiles hit a building that had previously been used by the Joint Palestinian Security Forces operating in refugee camps in Lebanon and had “recently been rented by a certain party to serve as a kitchen for distributing food portions.”
According to the report, the targeted building and nearby structures were damaged. A Palestinian source told Lebanon’s LBCI that a Hamas office in Ain al-Hilweh was struck and that there were casualties.
Lebanese media reported Monday on a timeline set by the Lebanese army to complete the second phase of consolidating weapons in the country’s south.
According to army commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, disarming Hezbollah north of the Litani River will take four to eight months.
Haykal made the remarks while presenting the Lebanese government with the monthly report on the weapons consolidation plan, and one report said an extension is also possible.
Lebanese military sources told the Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Haykal “did not set a deadline for consolidating weapons north of the Litani but stressed the need to complete it quickly.”
The comments came about a month after the Lebanese army announced it had completed the process of dismantling Hezbollah’s weapons south of the Litani, a claim Israel rejected.
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1qexfi00wl
https://vinnews.com/2026/02/20/idf-eliminates-hamas-command-center-in-ain-al-hilweh-used-to-plot-terror-attacks-on-israel/
other Israel
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/amid-iran-tensions-idf-says-no-change-in-guidelines-to-public/
https://www.jns.org/idf-arrests-terrorists-in-nablus-area-raid/
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-887345
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/gaza-hospitals-msf-evacuation-9.7097935
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/422720
https://www.iranintl.com/en/liveblog/202602154712
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/trump-says-he-is-considering-limited-strike-on-iran-to-pressure-it-into-deal-11113906
other Iran
https://www.dailysabah.com/world/mid-east/iran-dismisses-trumps-reported-ultimatum-on-nuclear-talks
https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-charges-engineers-with-sending-google-trade-secrets-to-iran/
Trump weighs Iran strike as report points to possible regime change plans
February 20, 2026
Summary
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US President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday he may be "considering" a limited strike on Iran.
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US President Donald Trump’s 10–15 day deadline for Iran to reach a nuclear deal coincides with a March 2 IAEA board meeting that may censure Tehran, Bloomberg reported, noting Israel launched strikes within 24 hours of an agency censure in June.
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Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that the United States had not demanded zero uranium enrichment in nuclear talks and that discussions in Geneva had focused on ensuring Iran’s program remains peaceful through diplomacy.
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Amnesty International said at least 30 people, including children, were at risk of execution in Iran over alleged links to the January uprising, warning that several had been sentenced to death after what it described as unfair trials and reports of torture.
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US President Donald Trump on Thursday signaled a nearly two-week deadline for Iran to reach a nuclear deal, warning that an agreement would be achieved “one way or the other” if diplomacy fails.
47 minutes ago
Bipartisan US lawmakers oppose Iran war powers resolution
Two bipartisan lawmakers announced on Friday they oppose a congressional bid to limit the use of force against Iran, arguing the measure would constrain Washington’s ability to respond to what they described as an evolving threat from Tehran.
In a joint statement, Representatives Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from New Jersey, and Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York, said they would oppose the bipartisan Massie-Khanna War Powers Resolution, which seeks to require explicit congressional authorization for military action against Iran.
The lawmakers framed their stance around security concerns, saying the United States must retain operational flexibility. “This resolution would restrict the flexibility needed to respond to real and evolving threats and risks signaling weakness at a dangerous moment.”
Continue reading
1 hour ago
No talks with those linked to ‘prostitution island,’ Khamenei envoy urges
"Joining and shaking hands with figures whose corruption record is like a prostitution island is unacceptable," said Ahmad Alamolhoda, a representative of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, during a Friday sermon in Mashhad.
He said if talks result in what he described as a “wrong and foolish” outcome, their course must be tightly defined.
1 hour ago
Araghchi says Iran counterproposal ready in days, talks possible within week
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told MS NOW on Friday that his draft counterproposal could be ready within the next two to three days for review by senior Iranian officials, with further US-Iran talks possible in about a week.
2 hours ago
US planning on Iran includes potential regime-change scenarios - Reuters
The US military planning on Iran has reached an advanced stage, with options including targeting individuals as part of an attack and even pursuing regime change in Tehran, if ordered by Trump, Reuters reported citing two US officials.
The officials did not offer further details on which individuals could be targeted or how the US military could attempt to carry out regime change without a large ground force, the report added.
2 hours ago
Iran lawmaker says US carrier proximity not necessarily sign of war
A member of the Iranian parliament's national security commission said the approach of US aircraft carriers toward Iran does not automatically indicate an imminent conflict.
Salar Velayatmadar said that whenever an American carrier moved to within roughly 700 to 800 kilometers of Iran, officials would even grant leave to forces because they did not expect war.
“When the US carrier gets that close, it is effectively like an easy target within our range, and no rational actor would take such a risk,” he said.
Velayatmadar added that the situation should be viewed as more serious when US naval forces increase their distance from Iran.
3 hours ago
Trump says he may be considering limited strikes on Iran
US President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday he may be "considering" a limited strike on Iran.
"I guess I can say I am considering that," he said when asked about such a military campaign.
The Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported the Trump administration is weighing an initial limited military strike on Iran to force it to meet his demands for a nuclear deal.
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3 hours ago
US pulls fighter jets from NATO exercise in Norway over Iran tensions
The United States is withdrawing much of its planned air power, including F-35 fighter jets, from the NATO exercise Cold Response in northern Norway due to rising tensions with Iran, Norwegian newspaper Fremover reported.
Norway’s armed forces confirmed to Fremover that some US forces would not take part and would be deployed elsewhere.
The move comes as Washington builds up military assets in the Middle East amid the risk of a wider conflict with Iran. The exercise will continue with remaining forces, according to the report.
4 hours ago
UN experts urge Iran to disclose detainees’ fate, halt executions
UN human rights experts urged Iranian authorities on Friday to disclose the fate and whereabouts of people detained, forcibly disappeared or missing after nationwide protests and to halt all death sentences and executions linked to the demonstrations.
“The true scale of the violent crackdown on Iranian protesters remains impossible to determine at this point,” the experts said in a statement, citing discrepancies between official figures and estimates by rights groups.
Iran International has reported that more than 36,500 people were killed in a two-day crackdown in January and that tens of thousands were arrested.
The experts called on Iran to release those arbitrarily detained, restore full internet access and ensure independent investigations into alleged violations, warning that without transparency “we will assume the worst.”
5 hours ago
USS Gerald R. Ford reaches Mediterranean amid military buildup - Kan
The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier has reached the Mediterranean Sea, Kan public broadcaster reported on Friday, as the United States increases its military presence in the region.
Kan said the accompanying warship USS Mahan transmitted signals near the Strait of Gibraltar, indicating the carrier’s progress toward the eastern Mediterranean.
5 hours ago
Amnesty says children among 30 at risk of death penalty in Iran
Amnesty International said at least 30 people, including two children, are at risk of the death penalty in Iran over alleged offences linked to the January uprising.
The rights group said eight people were sentenced to death in February following what it described as fast-tracked and grossly unfair trials, and warned that others face capital charges including “enmity against God.”
Amnesty said some of those at risk reported torture and forced confessions, and called on Iranian authorities to quash the death sentences and halt further executions.
5 hours ago
Araghchi says US has not sought zero enrichment in nuclear talks
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that the United States has not asked Tehran to permanently stop uranium enrichment, pushing back on reports that Washington was demanding zero enrichment.
Speaking on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Araghchi said recent talks in Geneva had been constructive and that both sides had agreed on guiding principles for a possible deal.
“The US side has not asked for zero enrichment,” he said, adding that Iran had not offered to suspend enrichment either.
“What we are now talking about is how to make sure that Iran’s nuclear program, including enrichment, is peaceful and would remain peaceful forever,” he said.
Araghchi said there was “no military solution” to Iran’s nuclear program and that the only path forward was diplomacy, adding that Iran was prepared for both negotiation and war.
He said technical measures were under discussion to ensure the program remains peaceful, and noted that International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi had played a constructive role in recent negotiations.
He also said the two sides had agreed to prepare a draft framework for a possible agreement and would begin negotiating its language at their next meeting, calling the process “a normal way of any international negotiations.”
Araghchi said Iran was ready for diplomacy but warned that if attacked again, it would defend itself, adding that after the previous 12-day conflict its “enemies had no way but to ask for an unconditional ceasefire.”
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Sudan
15 Children Killed in Drone Strike on Displacement Camp in Sudan
Fri 20 Feb 2026 | 12:16 PM
At least 15 children were killed and several others injured in a drone strike on a displacement camp in West Kordofan, Sudan, according to UNICEF.
In a statement issued late Wednesday and reported by Agence France-Presse, UNICEF said preliminary reports indicate that at least 15 children were killed and 10 others wounded in the attack, which targeted a camp for internally displaced people in the city of Al Sunut on Monday.
The agency did not specify who was responsible for the strike.
Communications remain largely cut off in West Kordofan, where the Rapid Support Forces control most areas. Residents have limited access to communication services, relying intermittently on satellite internet connections such as Starlink.
Kordofan, a region rich in oil reserves and agricultural land, serves as a strategic corridor linking Darfur in the west, largely under Rapid Support Forces control, to Khartoum and eastern Sudan, where the national army maintains authority.
Sudan has been engulfed in conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces since April 2023.
The fighting has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced more than 11 million people, creating what the United Nations describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
https://see.news/15-children-killed-in-drone-strike-on-displacement-camp-in-sudan
Three Killed as Drone Attack Targets Humanitarian Convoy in Sudan
Friday, February 20, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Three people lost their lives and four aid workers sustained injuries Thursday when drones targeted a humanitarian convoy transporting essential supplies through Sudan’s conflict-torn Kordofan region, according to medical monitoring groups.
The Sudan Doctors Network reported on social media that the vehicles were delivering food and emergency aid to Kadugli city and Dilling town in South Kordofan when the attack occurred in the Kartala area.
The medical group attributed the drone assault to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), though the specific aid organization operating the convoy remains unknown.
Sudan has been engulfed in civil war since April 2023, with fighting between the RSF and government military forces spreading nationwide.
The World Health Organization reports that the conflict has claimed at least 40,000 lives and forced 12 million people from their homes. Aid organizations warn the actual casualty count may be significantly higher due to limited access to remote combat zones.
The Kordofan region has become the latest battleground, where humanitarian groups and security analysts document increasing drone attacks that disrupt relief efforts and harm civilians.
This occurs despite military claims of regaining control and lifting sieges in Kadugli and Dilling. February alone saw 77 civilian deaths from drone warfare across Kordofan.
United Nations agencies announced Wednesday that a convoy successfully reached Dilling and Kadugli with assistance for over 130,000 residents – marking the first substantial aid delivery in three months.
Nevertheless, relief workers express growing alarm over the intensifying violence.
This marks the second assault on humanitarian convoys within a month, the Sudan Doctors Network noted. Earlier in the month, attackers struck a World Food Program convoy in North Kordofan.
Meanwhile, a UN-supported investigative team released findings Thursday concluding that RSF actions in el-Fasher, North Darfur’s capital, during late October displayed “hallmarks of genocide.”
In response to these findings, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on three RSF commanders involved in el-Fasher operations and demanded the group agree to an immediate ceasefire.
https://www.finedayradio.com/news/tv-delmarva-channel-33/three-killed-as-drone-attack-targets-humanitarian-convoy-in-sudan/
Five European powers plan joint drone push to counter Russian threat and bolster Nato security
February 20, 2026, 17:14:23 IST
Europe’s five leading military powers are preparing to roll out a joint initiative focused on investing in military drones as part of broader efforts to strengthen the continent’s defence industry against the backdrop of Russia’s war in Ukraine and rising questions over the United States’ long-term commitment to Nato.
A document reviewed by Reuters, along with confirmation from a Polish defence ministry official, indicates that the five nations plan to collaborate on the development of autonomous drones.
The conflict in Ukraine has highlighted the effectiveness of autonomous interceptor drones, which have emerged as a lower-cost alternative to expensive air-defence missile systems.
European partners backing Kyiv are now looking to incorporate lessons learned from the battlefield into their own defence strategies.
The European Group of Five Defence Ministers comprising France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Britain is scheduled to meet in Krakow, Poland, on Friday. The grouping includes Europe’s largest defence spenders.
The talks come as European governments seek to reinforce their defence capabilities amid growing doubts across the continent about Washington’s readiness to uphold its security commitments through the Nato alliance.
A draft statement viewed by Reuters, which remains subject to revision, notes that the ministers “support a real increase in the production capacity of the European defence industrial base” and “welcome the EU’s commitment to providing Member states with increased fiscal flexibility for defence spending and to create lending instruments”.
At the same time, the document emphasises that while the European Union can play a supportive role, defence capabilities continue to rest primarily with individual member states at the national level.
The ministers also pledge to work together within Nato and the EU to counter Russian hybrid threats, and to continue supporting Ukraine and efforts to find peace, the statement said.
”We agree to launch the Low-Cost Effectors and Autonomous Platforms (LEAP) initiative,” the statement seen by Reuters said. It said the aim was ”to increase our cooperation on the development and procurement of low-cost effectors and autonomous platforms to deliver military effect.”
In military terminology, ”effectors” are the components of a system which produce a physical effect, while ”autonomous platforms” are unmanned systems capable of independent decision-making.
https://www.firstpost.com/world/france-germany-uk-italy-and-poland-plan-joint-military-drone-push-to-counter-russian-threat-and-bolster-nato-security-ws-e-13982021.html
https://thefederalist.com/2026/02/20/cartel-and-chinese-drones-demand-immediate-faa-action/
https://inews.co.uk/news/world/brutal-cartels-scaling-up-drone-threat-us-struggling-fight-back-4236287
Cartel and Chinese Drones Demand Immediate FAA Action
February 20, 2026
Drones are increasingly violating American airspace. We know that tens of thousands of drone sightings on our southern border are connected with the Mexican drug and human trafficking cartels.
But dozens of other drone sightings at sensitive military installations suggest hostile nation-state actors, most likely China.
As drone operations in Russia’s war on Ukraine show, the threat is no longer hypothetical — it is active and escalating. Unfortunately, a dangerous combination of bureaucratic inertia and misplaced priorities has left our borders and military installations vulnerable.
In December 2023, Langley Air Force Base in Virginia endured 17 consecutive nights of drone incursions, some involving craft up to 20 feet in length.
Despite clear sightings and briefings that reached the White House, proposals to jam signals, deploy directed energy weapons, or shoot the drones down were rejected as “too risky.”
To this day, no official explanation has been provided, and no one has been held accountable.
In New Jersey, 11 months later, drones were reported over Picatinny Arsenal, a 6,400-acre U.S. Army research and manufacturing facility, as well as over Naval Weapons Station Earle.
After weeks of public alarm and official confusion, then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said, “I want to assure the American public that we in the federal government have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology to assist the New Jersey State Police in addressing the drone sightings.”
He went on to ambiguously remark, “Some of those drone sightings are, in fact, drones …”
By Dec. 16, five weeks before Donald J. Trump was sworn in for his second term, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Aviation Administration, and Department of Defense issued a statement, disclaiming any threat, noting that the sitings were of “… lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and stars mistakenly reported as drones.”
Yet Stewart International Airport, 60 miles north of New York City, shut down due to the perceived drone threat, while the FAA issued temporary flight restrictions over Picatinny Arsenal and Bedminster, New Jersey, suggesting that something was amiss.
Eventually, federal officials attributed most incidents to lawful commercial drones and misidentified aircraft. Public fears subsided.
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But along the southern border, the threat is clear and continuous. Cartels operate thousands of drones annually — estimates exceed 60,000 sightings along or over the border, all in the latter half of 2024.
The cartels operate the drones for four main purposes: surveillance, drug smuggling, counter-surveillance, and airspace denial — as drone swarms can prevent U.S. government helicopters from safely operating in the vicinity.
Some cartel operatives have reportedly traveled to Ukraine to study advanced drone warfare, tactics now being turned against U.S. Border Patrol agents as well as rival cartels.
The sudden airspace closure over El Paso on Feb. 11 happened because someone finally decided to act. Depending on reports, U.S. forces neutralized at least one cartel drone — or an errant party balloon.
Eyewitness accounts reported to the Daily Mail described a large hovering object releasing smaller drones near the border around the time of the incident, contradicting claims by some that authorities had merely downed a stray Mylar balloon.
The FAA’s initial response — a 10-day shutdown imposed without advance notice to the White House, Pentagon, or local officials — suggested less a safety measure than an act of bureaucratic retaliation in the form of malicious compliance.
At the heart of the problem lies the Federal Aviation Administration’s singular focus on civilian air travel safety at the expense of national security.
Counter-drone technologies — jammers, lasers, kinetic interceptors — require exhaustive FAA safety certification borne of modern safetyism that demands zero risk.
These demands are effectively impossible to meet; endless testing and risk assessments guarantee delay. When disputes arise over testing protocols, as reportedly occurred before the El Paso closure, the FAA resorts to drastic measures that aim to punish government rivals rather than protect the American public.
The FAA’s emphasis on airspace safety — heightened after the deadly January 2025 Reagan Washington National Airport midair collision and anti-drone tests in the D.C. area two months later — has fueled caution on counter-drone technologies that risk interfering with manned aircraft systems.
Yet this tragedy is a false analogy, having nothing to do with anti-drone technology, which operates within very clear and predictable parameters.
Langley and the border tell a different story: Persistent threats met with a bureaucratic maze that results in hesitation or inaction.
As a consequence, mystery drones over military bases or crossing the border go unchallenged. Cartels and nation-state adversaries, likely China, exploit our indecision.
America’s skies must not be surrendered to the cartels or hostile operators.
Border Patrol and the military need clear authority to deploy counter-drone systems in sensitive areas without endless FAA vetoes.
Rules of engagement must be streamlined and regulators held accountable to prevent “safety” or process from protecting our airspace.
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