Free Republic

President Trump posted several mock-up images of the “drone port” he hopes to build at the top of the proposed White House ballroom over the weekend — while taking a jab at the judge who is trying to delay construction. “The DronePort at the White House Ballroom will be, perhaps, the most sophisticated anywhere in the World!” Trump boasted on Truth Social. “It will safeguard our Nation’s Capital, Washington, D.C., long into the future. “Judge Richard Leon should stop playing games with America’s Security! If anything happens, he will be held responsible for the Death and Destruction caused to our...

In some parts of Europe, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine can feel like a distant threat. But in Romania, that war is right next door and increasingly dangerous.In Galati, there is an apartment block with a hole in the roof that proves it.Residents have just begun returning to check on their homes, after an attack drone slammed into the building early on Friday as dozens of people slept.It sparked a fire and panic.We climbed 11 floors up to the roof on Saturday to see where the drone punched through the concrete. There's a jagged hole, a couple of metres wide,...

Lavrov spoke with Rubio over the phone and, according to a readout, drew Rubio’s attention to the Russian Foreign Ministry statement advising the United States and other countries with representative offices in Kyiv to “ensure the evacuation of their diplomatic personnel and other citizens from the capital of Ukraine.”

An Australian drone show descended into chaos when technical failures caused nearly 90 drones to plummet into the waters of Darling Harbour in Sydney on Monday night. According to news reports citing drone operator SkyMagic, 89 drones landed in the water due to an “unforeseen change in the radio frequency.” “This anomaly caused a number of drones in the fleet to enact failsafe landing procedures in response to compromised positional accuracy,” SkyMagic said in a statement. The failsafe involved some of the drones forming a cluster before descending. “No vehicle escaped the safety boundary of the show parameters, and the...

"Russia is considering limiting exports of diesel and jet fuel," Bloomberg and other sources reported Tuesday, "as refinery run rates fall to multi-year lows amid Ukraine’s escalating attacks." An Interfax source claimed that the decision to ban exports is at "an advanced stage," but no date has been set. If it comes to pass, that would be bad for diesel prices and inflation right here at home, but worse for Moscow's finances. Just the fact that the Kremlin is considering an export ban is more evidence that Kyiv's drone campaign is increasingly effective — against Russia's energy production at home,...

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said Monday that his country has no "aggressive plans or intentions" to attack any country including the United States – following a news report that the Communist-run island nation has acquired over 300 drones with possible plans to use them to attack American military vessels, the U.S. military base at Guantanomo Bay, Cuba, and possibly Key West, Florida. According to Axios, which based its report on classified intelligence that was shared by a U.S. official, the findings could become a pretext for U.S. military action against Cuba. The official said that the proximity of the...

Cuba’s blood-soaked communist dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel lashed out Monday, warning that any U.S. military action against his crumbling island prison would unleash a “bloodbath with incalculable consequences.” The thug-in-chief, who has spent years crushing dissent, jailing protesters, and turning Cuba into a starving socialist dumpster fire, took to X to spew his hollow threats after explosive reports revealed his regime has been quietly amassing over 300 military drones from Russia and Iran. Just days ago, reports emerged that the Trump administration was weighing aggressive options amid growing national security concerns surrounding Cuba, while CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly warned Havana...

In recent weeks, Cuba has increased its hostility towards the United States, and it appears that hostility has heightened. A classified intelligence report that was obtained by Axios reveals the Cuban government has bought more than 300 military drones and has begun discussions on possibly using them against the United States. The new report comes as President Trump has warned on several occasions that the United States will “take over Cuba.” Read Axios‘ exclusive report here: Cuba has acquired more than 300 military drones and recently began discussing plans to use them to attack the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay,...

A surge in missile and rocket production tied to rising global conflicts is transforming smaller U.S. manufacturing hubs into critical parts of the American defense supply chain, as weapons makers race to expand capacity and hire thousands of workers, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. Defense contractors including Lockheed Martin (LMT), L3Harris (LHX) and RTX (RTX) have significantly expanded operations in Camden, Arkansas, following increased Pentagon demand for missile systems, rocket launchers and artillery ammunition after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The investment wave has fueled rapid hiring and factory expansion across the region. Aerospace and defense employment in...

President Donald Trump is back from China with a very clear message to the Iranian regime. “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!” - President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/33gyF0c0O5 — The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 17, 2026 “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!” Before Trump left for China, it was clear that his patience with the Iranian regime was wearing thin. So if...

Ukraine is testing an AI-assisted laser system designed to destroy Shahed drones and protect key infrastructure. Image of the Ukrainian Tryzub laser system. Military NYI Ukraine’s Celebra Tech is edging closer to deploying its Tryzub anti-drone laser weapon in Ukraine, the company reports. According to Celebra, the system is now entering its final testing phase before battlefield deployment. Colloquially called “Trident,” the system has been designed to give Ukrainian forces a cheap and rapid deployable counter to massed Russian first-person-view (FPV) drone and reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations. This could be game-changing, as Russia has made use of large...

The Ardal ground robot had a specific mission: cross open ground, reach the Novoselivka village bridge in Donetsk, and lay an anti-tank mine before Russian forces could use it. It was a basic operation for Ukraine’s elite K-2 Brigade, based four miles away. But when they saw three Russian soldiers on their screen, they did not hesitate to change the objective, detonating the mine and taking the enemy – and the robot – with it. The loss of hardware was not a difficult call. Ukraine is on course to make 25,000 unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) in the first half of...

A spokesman for Iran’s terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) condemned the United States on Friday for conducting what U.S. Central Command referred to as “self-defense strikes” to protect American assets in the region, claiming that it had responded and caused “significant damage.” Central Command (CENTCOM), the wing of the American armed forces responsible for operations in the Middle East, revealed on Thursday that it had “intercepted unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes,” destroying the Iranian assets used in the attack. CENTCOM described a flurry of “missiles, drones, and small boats approaching American naval assets and attacking, but...

Nearly $870,000 worth of industrial drones capable of dispersing large amounts of liquid chemicals were stolen from a New Jersey company in what could become a "nightmare scenario," according to a new report. Fifteen Ceres Air C31 drones were stolen from CAC International in Harrison, N.J., on March 24, according to The High Side Substack. The drones were allegedly stolen by a delivery driver who duped the company, the report said. The New Jersey State Police recovered the drones on Monday, the agency said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "On April 27th, the New Jersey State Police Cargo...

Fifteen agricultural spray drones were stolen from a New Jersey location last month in what the FBI is treating as a sophisticated, possibly coordinated theft, according to reporting by national security journalists Jack Murphy and Sean D. Naylor at The High Side. The case is unsolved. Retired FBI agent Steve Lazarus told the outlet the bureau is “freaked out for a good reason,” warning that the machines are “industrial sprayers designed to carry and disperse significant amounts of liquid quickly and with precision.”

Someone stole 15 giant agricultural drones in New Jersey — and experts fear a “nightmare scenario” if they end up in the hands of terrorists. The fleet of Ceres Air C31 drones, which are about the size of an ATV, were ripped off March 24 by a bogus delivery driver who duped shipping and logistics company CAC International in Harrison, according to The High Side substack. The four-armed flyers can carry and spray up to 40 gallons of liquid chemicals, such as fertilizers and pesticides, and unleash the payload over a 15-acre span in just seven minutes. The Ceres Air...

According to the report, air defense activity, including sounds of explosions and anti-aircraft fire, was heard in several districts of the city. Iranian media described the response as intercepting incoming threats. Iran’s state-run Mehr News Agency reported Thursday evening that Iranian air defense systems were actively engaging what it described as “hostile targets” in parts of the capital, Tehran. What We Know So Far Mehr News and other semi-official outlets (including Nour News) confirmed the activation of air defenses. Eyewitness videos circulating on social media show flashes in the night sky, plumes of smoke, and what appears to be ground-based...

The U.S. military, which has been responding to Iran’s loitering drone attacks, has finally adopted Ukraine’s air defense technology. As low-cost drones continued to damage high-value military assets, it is interpreted that the U.S. has deployed Ukraine’s combat-proven response system at key Middle Eastern bases. On the 22nd, Reuters reported, citing multiple sources, that the U.S. has deployed Ukraine’s command and control platform at Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia, a key military asset in the Middle East, to defend against Iranian drones.… Ukrainian military officers are reported to have visited the base over recent weeks to train U.S. forces...

“A glamorous Iranian woman living a lavish life in Los Angeles was arrested for allegedly trafficking deadly drones and bombs for Tehran. Shamim Mafi, 44, was taken into custody at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday night and charged with allegedly brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition to be sold to Sudan, the US Attorney for the Central District of California said on Sunday. Mafi left Iran in 2013 and became a permanent US resident in 2016 under the Obama administration, officials stated. The Woodland Hills resident allegedly used Atlas International Business,...

The U.S. military recently published photos of Marines in a unit headed to the Middle East equipped with an advanced optic designed to help them shoot down small drones. The April 4 photos show members of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, or MEU, using a smart scope optic mounted on their M4 carbines as part of training against small drones. Roughly 2,500 Marines in the unit are currently embarked on the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, which deployed in March to support operations in the Middle East. When the photos were taken, the Marines were aboard a ship in the Pacific...