TYB
when worlds collide
Sean Parnell
@SeanParnellASW
Department of War Publishes Fifth Release of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Files
Statement Attributable to Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs and Chief Pentagon Spokesman @SeanParnellASW:
Today, the Department of War is publishing the fifth release of declassified and historical Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) files as part of the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE).
The collection continues to be housed on WAR.GOV/UFO, and the Department will release additional files on a rolling basis.
The Department of War and our agency partners are actively working on the next release of UAP files. The fifth release of UAP files is available now on WAR.GOV/UFO
5:09 AM · Aug 7, 2026
https://x.com/SeanParnellASW/status/2085699853821038889
https://x.com/wow36932525/status/2085694102553731381
https://x.com/UAPRAD/status/2085728359208661268
https://x.com/Cortex_Zero/status/2085718730948903158
https://x.com/Thekingofufos/status/2085708961341198383
https://www.war.gov/UFO/?releaseDate=Release+05&release=05
https://www.dvidshub.net/search/?q=uap&view=grid&sort=publishdate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_D1-JGxz8Y (That UFO Podcast: JUST RELEASED: 16 NEW U.S. Government UFO Videos | DROP 5)
https://www.youtube.com/live/kUMrCsGTS-I (Vetted: Live Tranche 5)
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
August 7, 2026
Rubin's COSMOS field
There are more than half a million galaxies in the central panel of this image from the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. This is the COSMOS field, a patch of sky several times larger than the full moon, first observed by Hubble. It has also been observed by Webb and other telescopes because it contains comparatively few bright stars from our own galaxy, offering a relatively unimpeded view of other galaxies outside the Milky Way. The outer panels, numbered 1-10, show zoomed-in views of the corresponding small regions highlighted in the central panel. The variety of galaxy shapes and sizes is astonishing. Some of them are so far away that their light has traveled for billions of years before reaching Earth. Rubin will come back every couple of days to the COSMOS field as part of its ten-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time. It will allow a dynamic view of the COSMOS field and how the sky changes over time.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2YZxvwOW9A
This Storm Threat Keeps Coming BACK… Ryan Hall Y'all and frens
Aug 6, 2026
A storm corridor is locking in over the Midwest and Great Lakes, and it may reload day after day.
Strong to severe storms fire Friday from Iowa through Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, then a possible damaging-wind MCS rolls from Nebraska into Iowa Saturday, with more rounds sweeping the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, and Ohio Valley into next week.
As the front stalls, the threat flips from wind to water with a growing heavy-rain and flash-flood signal. Plus, Friday storms hit the Northeast over ground already soaked by this week's flooding, and the Southwest monsoon stays active into next week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=terzInS3oGY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9Al8hnK_Vw (SpaceWeatherDaily: Sun & Space Weather Today: Aurora, Solar Flares, Solar Wind — Aug 6, 2026)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O018qFMxQXQ (On the Puulse with Silki: WE NEED to TALK - THIS is ESCALATING ! Spokane Fire Controversy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyO49qiANjE (EarthMaster: More Earthquakes around Southern End of the Cascadia.. A more in depth look… Thursday Night EQS)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjERb_bAOTc (MrMBB333: Millions of people COULD be impacted!)
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solar
https://nso.edu/press-release/nsf-inouye-solar-telescope-enables-major-discovery-of-a-hidden-solar-process/
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-physicists-solar-outbursts-historic-mother.html
https://keeptrack.space/deep-dive/starlink-solar-storm-loss
-
storms and floods
https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/another-round-storms-threatens-east-coast-heavy-rain-flooding
https://www.accuweather.com/en/severe-weather/thundery-downpours-severe-storms-to-aggravate-eastern-and-central-us/1919696
https://www.the-independent.com/asia/east-asia/typhoon-dolphin-japan-evacuation-flights-landfall-china-b3029070.html
https://watchers.news/2026/08/07/typhoon-dolphin-strengthens-near-okinawa-5-injured-china-braces-for-landfall/
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/monsoon-rains-nancy-guthrie-case-1813044
https://www.channelstv.com/2026/08/07/floods-in-indias-northeast-kill-nearly-100/
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wildfires
https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/fire-breathing-dragon-clouds-when-smoke-wildfires-more-dangerous-flames
https://www.wtvq.com/man-charged-with-arson-in-washington-told-police-he-planned-wildfire-for-weeks/
https://seattlered.com/washington-state/bob-ferguson-expresses-gratitude-to-trump-administration-for-wildfire-assistance-in-letter-to-the-white-house/4119732
https://weather.com/2026/08/07/forecast/wildfire-smoke-air-quality-heat-maps-tracker
https://azdailysun.com/news/local/wildfire-southwest-of-flagstaff-creating-visible-smoke/article_0ec5d22e-9452-480a-8b85-7bf9c678bfc0.html
https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article316800569.html
https://www.9news.com/video/news/local/wildfire/evacuations-ordered-for-wildfire-burning-in-western-colorado/73-ab34139e-4cfe-4207-8018-cc0427f5ccf8
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tornadoes
https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/weather/2026/08/pennsylvania-adds-another-tornado-to-its-record-setting-2026-list.html
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earthquakes
https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/california/earthquakes/article316801385.html
https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2026/08/07/one-killed-as-magnitude-49-earthquake-hits-southwestern-china
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/39992705/surgeons-cling-patient-operating-table-earthquake-strikes/
https://www.asiaone.com/asia/magnitude-58-earthquake-strikes-western-philippines-tremors-felt-capital
https://www.surfer.com/news/alaska-earthquake-tsunami-simulation-video
https://www.azosensors.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=3346
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volcanoes
https://www.wearethemighty.com/history/why-the-us-military-resorted-to-bombing-a-volcano-in-hawaii-after-it-erupted/
https://watchers.news/2026/08/07/etna-volcano-new-vent-valle-del-bove-intense-lava-fountaining-ash-disrupts-catania-airport-italy-august-7-2026/
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dailys
https://schumannresonance.today/
https://www.weatherbug.com/news/Severe%20Storms%20Fire%20Up%20Across%20The%20Northeast%20and%20Mid-Atlantic
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/
https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/nfn
https://fire.airnow.gov/
https://www.tornadohq.com/
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquakes-volcanoes/news/322951/Volcano-earthquake-report-for-Friday-7-Aug-2026.html
https://www.spaceweather.gov/
https://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=07&month=08&year=2026
Whistleblower Dylan Boreland said on the Jesse Michels podcast this week that there is cell phone footage of triangular craft that 'ends all discussion'.
Wiggle it, just a little bit.
Astronauts Complete Spacewalk for Solar Array Modifications
August 6, 2026 3:10PM
NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Anil Menon concluded their spacewalk outside the International Space Station at 3 p.m. EDT. It was Menon’s first spacewalk and Meir’s sixth.
During the 6-hour, 27-minute spacewalk, Meir and Menon completed their primary objectives, which included preparing the 3B power channel.
This work will enable the future installation of roll-out solar arrays, called IROSA, to provide additional power for the orbiting laboratory, supporting critical systems and the safe, controlled deorbit of the space station.
This was the 281st spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/08/06/astronauts-complete-spacewalk-for-solar-array-modifications/
moar NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/johnson/nasas-lunar-development-and-test-facility-prepares-artemis-hardware-for-moon/
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/i-am-artemis/i-am-artemis-tom-percy/
https://science.nasa.gov/helio-and-you-studying-eclipses-near-and-far/
https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/nasa-grants-voyager-2-probe-another-year-of-power-with-risky-big-bang-maneuver-now-will-it-work-for-voyager-1
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-tests-featherweight-radar-antenna-for-skyfall-mars-helicopters/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC084vuSVbY
moar extra
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/taking-flight-to-prepare-for-space/
https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/antenna-testing-for-nasas-skyfall-mission/
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/multimedia/e-books/hubble-focus-gravitational-lenses/
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/sensing-the-poles-hidden-heat/
NASA Tests Featherweight Radar Antenna for SkyFall Mars Helicopters
Aug. 6, 2026
The hardware will enable the SkyFall mission’s trio of planetary rotorcraft to use ground-penetrating radar to study the Martian subsurface.
When the trio of NASA’s SkyFall helicopters takes to the Martian skies, one of their tasks will be to hunt for frozen water — a critical resource for future astronauts — using ground-penetrating radar.
For that radar to work, each rotorcraft will carry a flexible, fabric-based antenna that will need to extend below the aircraft without interfering with landings or breaking upon impact. It is a specialized design for the mission, and it recently cleared a round of testing at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
Although orbiting spacecraft can map the thick Martian ice deposits tens of yards below the surface, they’re effectively blind to the top several yards of regolith, or broken rock and dust.
This shallow zone is what will matter most for future astronauts, who will need to easily reach and process ice for water, oxygen, and fuel.
“The only way to detect shallow subsurface ice remotely is to fly close to the ground,” said Adrian Tang, SkyFall’s ground-penetrating radar lead instrument scientist at JPL.
“By flying low and slow, a SkyFall helicopter could capture radar images that resolve the fine layering where dry soil gives way to ice, detecting its presence and mapping its extent.”
Composed for Mars
To peer beneath the Martian surface, SkyFall’s ground-penetrating radar will use an ultra-wide frequency range — from 500 to 2,500 megahertz — corresponding to wavelengths of about 24 to 5 inches (60 to 12 centimeters).
The longest wavelengths can penetrate several yards below the surface. The shorter wavelengths provide finer detail about the uppermost layers and surface texture.
This is where the unique antenna design comes in.
A traditional antenna operating in that part of the electromagnetic spectrum would need to be 19 inches (48.3 centimeters) long and have a clear view of the ground, but the minimum clearance between Mars’ surface and the base of the helicopter’s fuselage is only about 6 inches (15.2 centimeters). The team needed an antenna that wouldn’t interfere with or be damaged by landing.
After an extensive search for the right antenna, the SkyFall team zeroed in on the Vivaldi because it can transmit and receive signals across a large, continuous range of radio frequencies, and because its flat, lightweight profile can be easily cut into flexible, metalized fabrics.
The curvilinear antenna was named by its inventor, Peter Gibson, who felt its sweeping lines resembled a violin, an instrument associated with composer Antonio Vivaldi.
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While the standard Vivaldi footprint was efficient and robust, it was still too large to work with SkyFall’s ground clearance.
Fortunately, SkyFall’s ground-penetrating radar can be further miniaturized because it is designed specifically for shallow surveying (under 16 feet, or 5 meters) in the dry Martian regolith, which blocks radio waves far less than Earth’s soil.
The team developed techniques to reduce the antenna’s size even more without sacrificing sensitivity.
“Although we managed to shrink the antenna quite a bit, it is about 1½ times longer than the helicopter’s legs,” said Christine Gebara, SkyFall ground-penetrating radar mechanical lead at JPL.
“That means during landing, the Vivaldi has to bend out of the way — and if it lands on a rock, it bends even further. But when the helicopter takes off again, the antenna must spring back into place for data collection.
Because SkyFall is expected to make dozens of flights exploring Mars, we needed an antenna that could repeatedly handle those pressures without losing its shape in flight.”
To ensure their downsized Vivaldi could withstand flight operations, the team sheathed it in a polyester and then layers of Vectran — the same flexible, superstrong material used for the landing airbags containing NASA’s Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers.
To help the antenna maintain shape while airborne, engineers added flexible fiberglass tape springs and a lightweight magnesium mounting structure. The entire setup weighs about 5 ounces (150 grams), slightly more than two violin bows.
Testing Vivaldi
Testing space hardware concepts with paper designs and mathematical models can get a mission only so far. The team needed to prove their antenna prototype could survive a full mission’s worth of intense temperature swings and space radiation.
Working in JPL’s Environmental Test Laboratory, engineers bent the antenna to simulate one possible orientation after a SkyFall flight at Mars. Then they ran it through dramatic thermal shifts to simulate the Martian day-night cycle, during which temperatures can swing by as much as 170 degrees Fahrenheit (94 degrees Celsius). Next, they repeatedly flexed the antenna as if it had gone through dozens of landings. Along the way, they paused six times to carry the hardware to an electromagnetic test chamber to verify that its ability to beam and receive radar signals hadn’t diminished.
During radiofrequency testing, the team inverted the antenna so that the bottom pointed up — a setup that stresses the structure more than Mars’ one-third gravity ever would — and tested signal performance.
By the end of the test campaign, the antenna had withstood 200 Mars landings, more than double what would be required for a successful prime mission, with no loss of performance.
“This test checked every box it was supposed to and answered our biggest technical questions,” said Tang. “While we still have work ahead of us before the antenna is fully flight-qualified, this was a major milestone, and the hardware performed exactly as expected.”
With the antenna’s first big test campaign behind it, the ground-penetrating radar team is building an engineering model that will endure vibration testing, deployment in a simulated Martian environment, signal testing, and outdoor trials at JPL’s Mars Yard.
Equipped with four instruments each, the three SkyFall aircraft follow in the footsteps of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which flew 72 times over nearly three years, proving that powered, controlled flight is possible in the rarefied Martian atmosphere.
It also demonstrated how an aerial perspective can generate valuable data by helping NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover team plan time-saving routes and choose locations for science-gathering.
SkyFall is expected to launch aboard NASA’s Space Reactor-1 Freedom in late 2028.
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https://phys.org/news/2026-08-plasma-gun-technology-space-laundry.html
extra moar
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5661/
https://science.nasa.gov/learning-resources/science-activation/educators-teens-get-hands-on-with-tempo-data-to-help-investigate-local-air-quality/
https://www.nasa.gov/kennedy/partnerships/faqs/
https://x.com/NASA/status/2085462611575857621
'Plasma gun' technology could transform space laundry and sanitation for future missions
August 7, 2026
Researchers at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), part of The University of Alabama System, are developing plasma-based technology to help astronauts stay healthier during missions to the moon and Mars by sanitizing clothing, bedding and other fabrics without water or traditional cleaning chemicals.
The researchers have devised a special "laundry gun" that blasts cold plasma into fabrics to reduce harmful bacteria during long-duration spaceflight, lessening the need for water-intensive laundry while maintaining cleaner living quarters, spacesuits and equipment.
Led by Dr. Gabe Xu, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UAH, the effort is a collaboration with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC).
"The purpose of the laundry gun is to sanitize soft materials, such as fabrics on couches, bedding and clothes, in enclosed space habitats like the International Space Station or on lunar and Mars expeditions," Xu explains.
"This will reduce the microbial load and keep clothes and other soft surfaces clean, at least microbially, for astronaut health. It could also be used to sterilize spacesuits and tools before they leave the habitat and step foot on Mars.
To be clear, though, this won't remove coffee or grass stains (though we haven't tried that). So, it won't make your clothes less dirty, just remove bacteria."
Instead of relying on detergents or disinfectants, the lab prototype generates plasma from helium, air and water vapor. The charged particles produced create reactive oxygen species that destroy bacteria by damaging their cell membranes.
"Species" refers to a specific chemical form—such as a molecule, ion or radical—that drives chemical reactions, including the reactive compounds responsible for oxidation, a process that can break down, destroy or transform target substances like pollutants or bacteria by chemically attacking them.
How the plasma kills bacteria
"The plasma is made of positively charged ions and energetic free electrons," Xu notes.
"The electrons in particular collide with other gas molecules such as H2O and O2 to create reactive oxygen species such as O3 and OH. These species are biologically active, meaning cells can absorb them and then affect cell components.
"For example, bacteria have lipid membranes that can be oxidized by these species, leading to membrane damage and cell death. Oxidation of the cell membrane is how other antimicrobial methods work as well, like peroxide and parts of bleach. But with the plasma, we can directly generate the necessary oxidizing species from air and/or water vapor."
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From planetary protection to habitat hygiene
The project grew from efforts to improve planetary protection by sanitizing spacesuits and tools before they are used on other worlds.
Researchers soon recognized the broader challenge of maintaining clean, comfortable habitats during months-long missions where water is limited and conventional cleaning chemicals are unsuitable for enclosed environments.
"This experiment has been a partnership between my lab at UAH and Dr. Chelsi Cassilly at NASA's MSFC," Xu says. "We have been looking at plasma for sanitization for planetary protection for a couple of years, with UAH providing the plasma science and engineering.
Plasma can contribute not only to planetary protection by killing bacteria but also to increased growth of plants for space agriculture and the breakdown of waste for waste processing for human spaceflight."
Engineering hurdles before launch
While the concept has shown promise in laboratory testing, significant engineering work remains before it is ready for spaceflight.
Researchers are now designing a larger handheld device capable of treating broader fabric surfaces while safely removing ozone produced during the sanitization process.
"The use of plasma treatment could significantly reduce the mass of goods needed for a human mission, especially one to Mars where resupply is difficult," Xu points out.
"With just electricity, air, water and perhaps other gases, the plasma could help tackle sanitization, space crops, water purification, air revitalization, waste processing and even regolith treatment [lunar or Martian soil].
Of course, those applications are also in the early stages, and focused efforts will be needed to bring this technology to flight."
Plasma's wider role in deep space
Beyond fabric sanitization, Xu's research highlights the versatility of plasma technology as NASA looks toward sustained human exploration beyond low Earth orbit.
Future applications could include supporting life-support systems, improving space agriculture, processing waste and helping astronauts live and work more safely on the lunar surface and Mars.
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NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman reposted
Senator Katie Boyd Britt
@SenKatieBritt
Today, we honor the brave men and women who were wounded or made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation. Their courage, selflessness, and unwavering devotion to duty will never be forgotten.
I’m proud to honor my grandfather, who earned the Purple Heart while serving our nation in the Korean War. I remain forever grateful to him and to every Purple Heart recipient for their sacrifice.
7:26 AM · Aug 7, 2026
https://x.com/SenKatieBritt/status/2085734384150229284
NASA Isaacman and frens
https://x.com/NASA/status/2085745531163218083
https://x.com/NASAJPL/status/2085463194852798719
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2085528798846652706
https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/2085546297298239712
Tesla and SpaceX will invest $16.8B to start building ‘Terafab’ chip factory in Texas
8:21 AM PDT · August 6, 2026
Tesla and SpaceX said Thursday that “Terafab,” the advanced chip factory they are jointly developing, will be built in Grimes County, Texas, outside Houston, and that they will make an initial investment of $16.8 billion in the project.
The factory will be “the largest and most valuable building on Earth by far,” Elon Musk, CEO of both companies, wrote in a post on Thursday. More than 100 million square feet of manufacturing space is planned for the facility, according to SpaceX.
The companies say the facility will employ at least 3,000 people from Grimes and nearby Brazos County.
“The facility will be an advanced semiconductor fab that will bridge the divide between current global chip supply and the compute demand of the future,” a post on SpaceX’s website reads.
The animus behind Terafab is that Musk’s vision of the future — one where millions of robots take over human jobs, robotaxis do all the driving, and satellites become data centers for AI training and inference — requires a phenomenal amount of computing power, far more than what current production rates support.
SpaceX alone has suggested in filings that it may spend as much as $119 billion on the project across a “multi-phase” construction plan — although the company didn’t talk about Terafab at all on its first earnings call earlier this week.
Intel has said it will contribute to the Terafab project, although it’s been cagey about its exact contributions.
“Terafab will be epic in both its mission and in its sheer size, designed to build new compute at an unprecedented scale and speed.
A vertically integrated factory with more than 100 million square feet of manufacturing space is planned. This facility will house the manufacturing, packaging, and testing of advanced logic and memory devices,” SpaceX writes on its website.
“Bringing these aspects together in one location will enable fast, recursive improvements and accelerate new compute deployed.
Terafab will produce chips optimized for edge computing and inference for use in hardware like Tesla’s Optimus robots and self-driving Cybercabs, along with high-power chips designed for operating SpaceX’s space-based data centers,” the company wrote.
SpaceX said in its post that it is “committing to the use of” water from the local Gibbons Creek Reservoir instead of local groundwater.
The announcement followed a heavily attended county meeting on Wednesday where hundreds of residents attended and raised concerns about millions of dollars in tax breaks awarded to the project, as well as a lack of transparency.
“We believe this agreement will strengthen our district, expand opportunities, and better prepare our students for their future,” Anderson-Shiro Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Sarah Borowicz said in a statement released by the Texas Governor’s office.
“There are defining moments in the life of a school district, and this is one of those moments. Our commitment now is to ensure that every opportunity created through this agreement is managed wisely, transparently, and always with students at the center of every decision.”
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/06/tesla-and-spacex-will-invest-16-8b-to-start-building-terafab-chip-factory-in-texas/
https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-spacex-expansion-in-grimes-county
https://www.spacex.com/updates#terafab
https://terafab.ai/
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2085510570753556940
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2085530890759749760
Schiess confirmed as new Chief of Space Operations
Aug. 7, 2026
The Senate, Aug. 6, confirmed Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess to serve as the next Chief of Space Operations as the domain becomes increasingly contested and critical to national security.
Schiess, who currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, will succeed Gen. Chance Saltzman as the top officer in charge of the U.S. Space Force and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"It will be the honor of my professional career to lead the Guardians of the United States Space Force," Schiess told the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing on July 16.
"I will work tirelessly to ensure our Guardians are ready, our capabilities are resilient, our partnerships remain strong, and our service is worthy of the trust placed in us by the American people."
Following the Senate's vote, Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink expressed strong support for Schiess.
"I am incredibly pleased with the Senate's confirmation of Lieutenant General Doug Schiess as our next Chief of Space Operations," Meink said.
"General Schiess is a visionary leader who will ensure the Space Force remains equipped and our Guardians remain trained to deter conflict while accelerating the delivery of next-generation capabilities that keep the nation ahead of evolving threats."
Saltzman, who is preparing for retirement after a 35-year military career, offered a similar assessment.
"Lieutenant General Schiess is an exceptional leader and brings the experience and vision needed to guide the service into its next chapter," Saltzman said. "I look forward to watching the Space Force continue to thrive under his leadership."
During his confirmation testimony, Schiess outlined his strategic vision for the Space Force, focusing on deterrence and foreign technological advancements.
"The space domain is increasingly contested and vital to modern warfare," Schiess testified. "Our purpose is not confrontation, but deterrence, ensuring no adversary believes aggression against the United States will succeed."
Schiess detailed a three-part mandate for how the service branch must organize, train and equip its forces to support the broader military.
"We must defend our nation’s space capabilities so that the Joint Force can project power; we must protect the Joint Force from space-enabled attack; and we must deliver the capabilities that the Joint Force needs to prosecute the full range of its missions," Schiess said.
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4556403/schiess-confirmed-as-new-chief-of-space-operations/
https://x.com/USSpaceForce/status/2085703643978776933
https://x.com/SpaceForceCSO/status/2085725928110309666
moar Space Force
https://www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4565871/guardian-arena-iv-qualifiers-kick-off/
https://www.patrick.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4565593/space-launch-delta-45-partners-with-florida-national-guard-to-strengthen-hazmat/
https://x.com/USSpaceForce/status/2085382957309505558
‘We want them too’: Trump rebuffs Zelensky’s request for missiles
7 Aug, 2026 00:35 | Updated 7 Aug, 2026 06:15
US President Donald Trump has dismissed Ukraine’s plea for more Patriot anti-air missiles following widespread reports that interceptor stockpiles have been significantly depleted by the war with Iran.
Vladimir Zelensky has warned that Ukraine is running out of Western-supplied interceptors to fend off Russian strikes. On Wednesday, Ukrainian forces failed to intercept a single missile during an overnight barrage on Kiev.
“The United States knows exactly what we need and that this is not about something abstract,” Zelensky said in a video address on Thursday.
Asked by a reporter in the Oval Office later that day about Ukraine’s request, Trump replied: “Well, I mean, we want missiles too.”
He added that his predecessor, Joe Biden, had provided Kiev with $300 billion worth of ammunition “free of charge,” at the expense of US stockpiles.
“When I left [the presidency in 2021], it was full. And he gave a lot of it away. And now we are rebuilding it,” Trump said. He added, however, that the stockpiles were “in good shape” and bragged about an “unlimited supply” of weapons.
“We are not involved [in the Ukraine conflict]. We are separated by an ocean,” Trump said in response to a question about Russian strikes on Ukraine.
Last week, Trump denied that he had agreed to grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriots, backtracking on a statement he made several weeks earlier following a meeting with Zelensky.
Multiple news outlets have reported in recent months that the Pentagon is grappling with shortages of both interceptors and precision-strike munitions.
CNN cited sources this week as saying that the US has exhausted nearly 80% of the interceptors available for its THAAD missile defense system compared with pre-war levels.
Trump reportedly clashed over the issue with US War Secretary Pete Hegseth, who, according to media reports, denied misleading the president about depleted stockpiles.
Both Trump and Hegseth have publicly denied the shortages and scolded the media for spreading “fake news.”
Russia has intensified its bombardment of Kiev and Ukraine’s Black Sea ports in recent weeks following strikes on Russian cargo ships, energy facilities, and warehouses belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s equivalent of Amazon.
Moscow has said its campaign is focused on military and dual-use sites, including factories and drone-parts storage facilities, as well as ships transporting military equipment.
https://www.rt.com/news/643961-trump-ukraine-interceptors-denied/
extra RT
https://www.rt.com/russia/643987-yalta-ukrainian-naval-drone/
https://www.rt.com/russia/643963-ukraine-zelensky-election-zaluzhny/
https://www.rt.com/news/643979-trump-washington-compost-treasonous-hegseth/
Ukraine hits Russia's ground relay stations and drone launch site in Crimea and occupied territories
7 August, 11:55
Ukraine's defence forces attacked a number of Russian military targets on temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories and in Crimea on the night of 6-7 August, including a radar station, ground relay stations for drone control, a drone storage and launch site, a fuel and lubricants depot and a repair unit.
Quote: "On the night of 6-7 August… as part of efforts to reduce the offensive potential of the Russian aggressor, units of Ukraine's defence forces struck an early warning radar station near Olenivka and a site for the storage, preparation and launch of strike UAVs in the area of Hvardіiske (Crimea)."
Details: The General Staff also confirmed strikes on two ground relay stations for the control of Shahed-type loitering munitions in Olenivka in Crimea and in Zaliznyi Port in Kherson Oblast.
In addition, Ukraine struck a Russian fuel and lubricants depot in the area of Melitopol and a repair unit of the Russian occupation forces near Yakymivka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
As the General Staff notes, ground relay stations provide stable communications and transmission of commands between operators and strike drones, extending their range and effectiveness.
Background: Local Telegram channels reported explosions followed by a major fire at the Hvardіiske military airfield in Crimea on the night of 7 August.
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/08/07/8047708/
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/articles/2026/08/07/8047698/
other Russia and Ukraine
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/81876
https://united24media.com/world/fire-erupts-near-reported-gathering-of-russian-officers-after-drone-attack-in-crimea-21467
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/russian-drone-assault-leaves-multiple-impact-1786086513.html
https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/08/07/the-wreckage-russia-collects-from-ukrainian-drone-strikes-may-have-a-second-life-aimed-at-nato-lithuania-warns/
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/08/07/russia-might-use-fake-ukrainian-drones-to-target-baltic-infrastructure-lithuania-warns
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/2026-08-07/live-updates-904841
other Israel
https://www.timesofisrael.com/despite-flare-up-in-violence-us-claims-progress-made-in-israel-lebanon-talks/
https://www.jfeed.com/news-israel/idf-naval-readiness-training
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h10w4cm8fx
https://english.pravda.ru/news/world/167753-artem-kirpichenko-detention/
Live Updates: Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan sign defense pact, Trump faces US munitions concerns
August 7, 2026
Houthis reportedly strike Saudi coalition forces in Hadramawt • Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan ready to sign new defense pact • New UNICEF-led survey challenges Gaza famine claims
August 7, 8:08 PM
Houthi attack kills two, injures 14 in displaced persons camp - report
Yemen's internationally recognized government's Human Rights Ministry condemned what it said was a Houthi attack on a displaced persons camp on Friday in Marib, state-run Saba News Agency reported.
Two civilians were killed and 14 injured, among them women, children, and elderly, according to the ministry.
August 7, 8:08 PM
Iraqi PM, Saudi intelligence chief discuss regional security
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi met Saudi general intelligence chief Khalid al-Humaidan on Friday to discuss coordination over regional security developments, the prime minister's office said.
Zaidi said Iraq would not allow its territory to be used to launch actions or activities targeting any other country, reiterating Baghdad's commitment to protecting its sovereignty and preventing regional escalation, it added.
The meeting came a day after a senior Saudi official said the kingdom expected imminent coordinated attacks by Iraqi militias from the north and Yemen's Houthis from the south, under the supervision of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
August 7, 7:19 PM
Yemen’s navy prevented Houthi attack on Red Sea oil tanker, military says
Yemen’s military thwarted a Houthi attack on an oil tanker in the Red Sea on Friday evening, state-run Saba News Agency reported, citing the country’s Ministry of Defense.
According to the military, naval patrols spotted a Houthi explosive-laden boat approaching the tanker off the coast of Mokha at an abnormal speed. The patrols engaged with and disabled the boat, the military added.
August 7, 5:37 PM
ADNOC says unprovoked attacks significantly impacting its operations
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said on Friday it continued to be significantly impacted by what it described as unprovoked attacks, but was taking measures to protect its people, assets and operations while meeting customer requirements as much as possible.
ADNOC said in a statement that 15 of its vessels had been attacked by missiles and drones while transiting the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the conflict, including three this week, leaving one crew member dead and 20 injured.
August 7, 1:15 PM
Putin discussed situation in the Gulf, Ukraine with UAE president, Kremlin says
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in the Gulf and Ukraine with United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a phone call, the Kremlin said on Friday.
It said Putin had expressed his gratitude to the United Arab Emirates for its role in organizing exchanges of prisoners of war and detainees between Russia and Ukraine.
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August 7, 11:19 AM
Israeli strikes in Syria are threat to stability, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan claims
Israel's attacks against Syria are one of the greatest destabilizing factors for the country, Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan claimed at a joint news conference with Syrian counterpart Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani on Thursday.
"Israel's attacks targeting Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity are among the greatest threats to the country's stability," he said, adding that Syria's stability was a shared responsibility for all the countries in the region.
Fidan also condemned Israel's attacks in Gaza, saying that they "have once again shown that Netanyahu does not want peace," and in the West Bank, calling them "acts of terror."
“Gazans will continue living in Gaza and building their future there," he stated about alleged Israeli plans to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ""Netanyahu will not succeed in this policy."
August 7, 9:57 AM
Iran says Oman shipping deal does not guarantee Strait of Hormuz reopening
Iranian officials said an agreement with Oman on commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz does not guarantee the immediate reopening of the waterway, CNN reported Friday.
The report cited statements by Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi to Iran's state-run news agency IRNA, where he revealed that an agreement was close to being finalized.
August 7, 9:07 AM
Trump angered by disclosures on dwindling US munitions at critical phase of Iran conflict - report
Trump defended US weapons supplies on Thursday as officials warned that depleted air defense stockpiles could complicate further military action against Iran.
US President Donald Trump has privately expressed frustration that information about shrinking US munitions stockpiles has become public, arguing that the disclosures make the United States appear weak as he threatens further military action to pressure Iran into reaching a deal, CNN reported, citing senior US officials.
Trump raised the issue during a cabinet meeting at Camp David last week, according to sources cited by the report, with the president focused on media coverage describing low US munitions stocks.
CNN also reported that Trump had known for months about possible shortages of key US missiles, with his anger instead centered on the timing of the disclosures and the increasingly public debate over the stockpiles while he sought to project US strength.
August 7, 5:18 AM
Saudi Arabia expects coordinated attacks by Houthis, Iraqi militias, official says
Saudi Arabia expects imminent coordinated attacks from the north and south by Iraqi militias and Yemen's Houthis under the supervision of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a senior Saudi official said on Thursday.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said intelligence reports from Saudi Arabia, the United States and other regional countries indicated civilian and economic sites could be targeted, including energy infrastructure, ports and airports.
Saudi Arabia had also observed drones and missiles being moved, suggesting coordinated operations from both directions, the official said.
The official said the reported threats were particularly alarming as Riyadh continued to pursue de-escalation and a negotiated settlement, adding that contacts with all parties, including Iran, and mediation efforts appeared to be moving "in the right direction." The official said the planned attacks could be intended to disrupt those diplomatic efforts.
August 7, 5:18 AM
Trump says Strait of Hormuz is 'sort of open right now,' believes Iran 'can't go much longer'
On Wednesday, the White House refuted reports that Trump and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had argued about a lack of munitions in the wake of the war with Iran.
US President Donald Trump spoke with optimism regarding the end of the war with Iran during the signing of an executive order in the White House on Thursday.
“I think it’s going to end pretty soon," he said, adding that "I don’t think they [Iran] can go much longer.”
Regarding the Strait of Hormuz and a rumored deal to reopen the waterway, Trump said that the strait is "sort of open right now."
"You know, we have a thing called the blockade, headed up by the US Navy, and we control it," he said. "But they can always shoot something."
"They always have something or drop a mine," he warned, "and if you have one mine sitting out there, you sort of mess things up because people don’t want to take their billion-dollar boats and accidentally get hit by a mine.”
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https://dronexl.co/2026/08/07/faa-dfr-waiver-list-1000-agencies/
https://www.faa.gov/uas/public_safety_gov/public_safety_toolkit/Public_Aircraft-Public_Safety_Operation_CoW-COA_FAQ.pdf
other US drones
https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4565502/marines-make-history-with-first-attack-drone-live-fire-series-in-south-korea/
https://www.npr.org/2026/08/07/nx-s1-5921212/el-obeid-sudan-war
FAA Cleared Over 1,000 Agencies for Drone First Responder Flights in 10 Months, and the Full List Is Now Public
August 7, 2026 · 12:12 ET
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved Part 91 waivers for more than 1,000 public safety agencies between April 2025 and February 2026, clearing each of them to fly drones beyond visual line of sight and putting every one of them a short step from a Drone as First Responder (DFR) program. A Freedom of Information Act release published by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) on July 23 names every agency, with approval dates and expiration dates attached.
The baseline makes the number land. An FAA representative told EFF the agency had granted 976 waivers for DFR-style operations in the seven years between the first DFR program in 2018 and April 2025.
The ten months that followed beat the previous seven years combined.
DroneXL has tracked this curve all year, from 400-plus waivers last September to more than 1,100 by March. What’s new is the receipts.
EFF’s report comes with a spreadsheet and a map, and the list reads like a census of American public safety: the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department next to the Seward Police Department in Alaska, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics next to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Boston Fire is on it. If you want to know whether your local department made the list, you can now look it up by name.
One Email to the FAA Started a Land Rush
The waiver behind the surge is the 91.113 Public Aircraft/Public Safety Operations Certificate of Waiver and Authorization, an expedited approval the FAA rolled out in April 2025 that qualifying agencies request by email, working from pre-built checklists instead of the bespoke safety cases that used to take months.
The FAA’s own FAQ lays out the deal. The new waiver replaced the Tactical BVLOS and First Responder BVLOS approvals that DroneXL covered back in 2023, folding flight relief and airspace authorization into one document.
It comes in two tiers: shielded operations at or below 61 meters (200 feet) or close above rooftops and other obstructions, which roughly 87 percent of applicants choose, and a 122-meter (400-foot) tier for the roughly 13 percent that field FAA-acceptable detection and avoidance systems. Approvals run 48 months. Holders file no NOTAMs and owe the FAA no routine activity reports, though incident reporting still applies, and Standard Remote ID is required to fly BVLOS unless the FAA authorizes otherwise in writing.
The spreadsheet shows how fast the machine spun up. The first batch of applications hit the FAA’s inbox on April 15, 2025, and several cleared within two to three days.
One absence stands out: volunteer fire departments and nonprofit search and rescue teams typically fail the public aircraft test, so a near-equivalent Part 107 waiver is their only route.
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The List Measures Interest, Not Drones in the Air
A Part 91 waiver is a regulatory clearance, not a launched program, and the FAA is blunt that no dedicated DFR rulebook exists:
applicants define their own concept of operations and get relief from the see-and-avoid rules written for pilots sitting inside an aircraft. In the agency’s own words, DFR is “a concept, not a special set of flight regulations.”
The expedited waiver also assumes one remote pilot per drone. The one-pilot-to-many-drones model that vendors are selling still requires case-by-case FAA review, which is why the multi-drone waivers held by 14 agencies as of Skydio’s March announcement were news in their own right.
Still, interest at this scale is its own story. When the FAA granted Fort Wayne’s waiver in five weeks under the old system, DroneXL reported that DRONERESPONDERS director Charles Werner saw the agency starting to open the door, and he predicted the DFR field would grow from 40 agencies to 400 within a year. The FOIA list shows reality lapped that forecast. The vendors feel it too: Axon told shareholders in its Q1 2026 letter that counter-drone and DFR were among its fastest-growing categories, estimating that “a DFR mission launches approximately every 30 seconds” in the United States.
EFF Sees a Surveillance Buildout Outrunning the Rules
EFF’s concern is what the same list looks like from the ground: a thousand agencies acquiring aircraft that can watch backyards and windows from angles a patrol car never reaches, before most of their cities have written a single rule about the footage.
The group points to a Government Technology analysis of Chula Vista’s deployment data showing that many flights answer low-level calls: noise complaints, mental health checks, and reports about unhoused people. It points to Flock Safety, which built license plate reading into its response drones, a story DroneXL covered when EFF surfaced the pitch deck last September. And it points to a leak of San Francisco Police Department drone footage, reported by WIRED, that showed how long a drone can linger over people who never know it is there.
EFF’s prescription is process, not prohibition: communities should get a say before acquisition, and agencies should log flights publicly.
California already requires the former under AB 481. The latter has a proof of concept in Chula Vista, the department that invented DFR, which publishes every mission with a flight map and crossed 25,000 flights doing it.
DroneXL’s Take
DroneXL has covered DFR since Chula Vista flew these missions under waivers nobody else had, and six years of that reporting points one direction: this technology earns its keep.
A drone that posts a 97-second average response on the calls it reaches first, and clears about one in five calls without a single unit rolling, is the strongest drones-for-good case in American policing.
Which is exactly why the thousand departments on this list should read the FAA’s FAQ as narrowly as the FAA wrote it. The waiver answers one question: whether these flights are safe for the airspace.
It never claimed to answer the second question, what a city does with a permanent camera over its neighborhoods. That one now lands on a thousand communities at once, and the sheet’s own columns say when the bill comes due.
These waivers run 48 months. The first wave expires in the spring of 2029, and every renewal will happen in front of a community that either got a flight portal and a policy, or got surprises.
The programs bolting plate readers onto response drones and flying them to noise complaints are writing the ordinances that will ground everyone else. I want drones finding missing kids and putting eyes on structure fires in 2030, flown by departments that kept the public’s trust.
The pioneer agency logs every flight in public. A department with one dock and ten missions a week can manage the same. Publish the log. All of it. The agencies with nothing to hide have the strongest interest in proving it.
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https://www.npr.org/2026/08/07/nx-s1-5921212/el-obeid-sudan-war
Besieged Sudanese city faces relentless drone strikes and risk of mass atrocities, U.N. warns
Updated August 7, 20269:52 AM ET
Whenever residents of the besieged city of el-Obeid look up at the sky, it is filled with drones — sometimes as many as 40 at a time.
The hum of the unmanned aircraft, which have been conducting deadly strikes on the city for months, has become the soundtrack to their days.
And the drones are indiscriminate.
"You might get hit and killed by a drone while you're asleep at home, or while on the way to school. You could also get hit by a drone in the market," says one 25-year-old resident.
The local aid worker doesn't want to be named because of the risk to her safety, but she says they even hit funerals.
Her uncle was killed in a drone strike while going to bury his neighbor — who'd been killed in a drone strike.
Sudan has been mired in a brutal civil between government forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for more than three years. The war has caused the world's largest humanitarian crisis and displaced millions of people.
El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, sits along a strategic corridor in central Sudan, south of the capital, Khartoum, and on the route to the country's western Darfur region. Its location has made it a critical battleground in the war.
According to data from the International NGO Safety Organisation, North Kordofan has recorded the highest number of drone attacks in Sudan in 2026. Drones have been used by both sides to the conflict.
United Nations experts are now warning of a new risk of large-scale atrocities in el-Obeid, which they say could see a repeat of what happened in the Darfur city of el-Fasher last year, when the RSF slaughtered some 6,000 civilians.
U.N. investigators later declared those crimes bore "the hallmarks of genocide." "This is not a drill. It is a red alert that needs to land on the desks of heads of state and government around the world," he said last month.
"Their phones should be running hot in the coming days and weeks, with ideas on how to prevent atrocity crimes in el-Obeid and in other places in Kordofan."
Already in el-Obeid, a city of about 500,000 people, the RSF is replicating tactics it used in el-Fasher, attacking critical infrastructure, including water distribution points, and causing severe water shortages.
That has left women facing a "deadly gamble" as they go out to collect water, according to U.N. Women East Africa Director Anna Mutavati.
"Under the perception that darkness offers protection from aerial attacks, these women and girls have been harassed, raped and subjected to other forms of sexual violence — all while trying to access water," she said.
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Meanwhile, a deadly cholera outbreak is spreading in parts of the city, with children the worst affected.
"Cholera is tearing through certain communities in the city, with the outbreak being compounded by incessant rains and recent drone strikes that have crippled critical medical facilities and left thousands without access to urgent treatment and life-saving medications," Plan International Sudan Director Mohamed Kamal said this week.
"The situation facing children is particularly dangerous," he said. "They are far more susceptible to disease, some face the prospect of recruitment by armed groups, and they are experiencing lasting psychological trauma."
U.S. senators urge action
Since the war broke out in 2023, at least 59,000 people have been killed, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, a conflict-monitoring group. But the true toll could be much higher.
Sudan's government forces have been buoyed by recent gains against the RSF. Last week, they celebrated retaking a major highway in North Kordofan and several other key positions.
But despite those military advances, Sudan researcher Eric Reeves told NPR this week: "There is no likelihood of a military rescue of el-Obeid."
More than 100,000 displaced people there are now sheltering in camps, and some are facing extreme hunger.
"Many families are struggling to meet their basic needs in IDP camps," Esperanza Santos, Sudan emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders, told NPR.
Aid funding cuts and rising diesel and fertilizer costs linked to the broader disruption caused by the war in Iran are also worsening the situation, according to the World Food Programme, which is distributing food in the city.
"At a time when needs continue to grow, humanitarian resources are shrinking," Derk Segaar, special Sudan envoy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told a U.N. briefing in Geneva this week.
Pressure is mounting on the international community to act. On Tuesday, a group of more than 20 U.S. senators wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging him to take steps to prevent mass atrocities in el-Obeid.
"While we welcome the State Department's expression of concern about the escalating situation in el-Obeid, words are not enough," the letter, signed by Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine, Bernie Sanders and Adam Schiff, said.
"The encirclement and systematic crippling of resources in el-Obeid increasingly parallels el-Fasher," the letter continued.
The senators also urged the administration to stop selling arms to the United Arab Emirates, which has been accused of supporting the RSF.
Reeves agreed that such action from the U.S. is critical. "Until the United Arab Emirates is called out and dissuaded from pursuing its grotesquely destructive policy in Sudan," he told NPR, "we're going to see this war continue."
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