The Pentagon is exploring cheap, long-range drone options that may eventually replace the MQ-9 Reaper. The search comes after dozens of MQ-9s were swatted out of the sky during the Iran war, according to a May 13 Congressional Research Service report. With the Air Force currently possessing about 135 Reapers — which cost approximately $30 million apiece — such a loss rate is not sustainable, especially against a force like Iran, whose air defenses are less sophisticated than those of China or Russia. “The Joint Force’s reliance on low-density, high-value ‘exquisite’ (>$30 million) manned and unmanned aircraft is unsustainable against adversaries utilizing layered defenses enabled by increasingly low-cost antiaircraft capabilities,” warned the Defense Innovation Unit solicitation for a new drone, which the Pentagon wants to “execute missions that the MQ-9A performs today.” Rather than build a better Reaper, DIU is opting for an expendable replacement. The Massed Modular Aircraft, or MMA, project aims to develop a UAV designed to operate in such large numbers that it can absorb heavy losses and still overwhelm enemy defenses. Particularly of interest is the size of the MMA. Drone swarms may be the next big thing in unmanned warfare, but generally those hordes are…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! “The View” co-host Joy Behar was cornered by the show’s producer, Brian Teta, on Tuesday over her frustration with voters who supported President Donald Trump amid Graham Platner’s latest scandal as he faces mounting calls to exit the race.Behar brought up the late Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy during the “Behind the Table” podcast, hosted by Teta, and said, “Teddy Kennedy had that had that whole thing with Chappaquiddick, and yet people still wanted him in Congress. Why? Because he voted correctly.””Unfortunately, this is the world we live in,” she added.’THE VIEW’ EASED UP ON POLITICAL CANDIDATE BOOKINGS AMID FCC INQUIRY, REPORT SAYS Teta pushed back, saying, “Just to be fair about it though, because for years on this show, you and others have said, you were frustrated with people that turned a blind eye to things that you think that Donald Trump did wrong.”Behar acknowledged her feelings toward Trump voters, as Teta noted people voted for him anyway.”And that made you crazy, so by that context, because people were voting for him because they wanted the Supreme Court to go a separate way, or they wanted tax cuts,” he said.Behar noted that…

ANKARA — President Donald Trump threw a summit of NATO leaders into disarray on Wednesday as he demanded the United States cut trade ties with Spain and made renewed claims on Greenland, irking another NATO ally Denmark.Speaking in the Turkish capital Ankara, Trump called Madrid a “terrible partner” in NATO as he railed against allies for not supporting the war on Iran and ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to halt all trade with Spain.Trump’s remarks, also declaring the fragile ceasefire with Iran to be over, overshadowed a summit that European leaders had hoped would project unity and support for Ukraine and cap a series of rows that have threatened to tear the military alliance apart.Trump spoke alongside NATO Secretary Mark Rutte, who has assiduously tried to assuage his concerns over defense spending, Iran and Greenland, while lavishing praise on the president for bringing such issues to the fore.They also undercut the carefully crafted pre-summit messaging that European NATO countries had stepped up to the plate on military spending, which saw at least $50 billion in defense initiatives unveiled on Tuesday.Washington and Madrid have been at loggerheads, with Spain explicitly rejecting Trump’s demands for European countries to sharply increase military spending…

The idea of a car gun, especially a dedicated car holster, is very tempting. After all, carrying a defensive pistol with you means adding at least a pound of metal (and possibly plastic) on your waistband everyday, metal which weighs down on your belt and pokes and prods you in many different and uncomfortable ways. Securely having a gun with you when you drive is a good idea. Is securely having a gun with you all the time, even when you’re not driving, even better? Car holsters come in two flavors: Secure, lockable containers which can be affixed to your vehicle and are a great way to store your firearm if you’re walking into someplace where legally concealed carry is not permitted. Then there is the other kind. These are pieces of angled aluminum or plastic which are designed to be secured inside the passenger compartment of your vehicle and (in theory) provide you fast, easy access to your gun in the event of a lethal force encounter. Remember those words “in theory,” because they’ll be important later on. Right (or Wrong) Move? These “car holsters” are usually made of plastic or a lightweight metal of some kind and are…

North Atlantic Treaty Organization member the Netherlands has officially run out of opportunities to supply Ukraine with weapons. According to Defense Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, the Netherlands has been an active supporter of Kiev in its conflict with Moscow until now. The Netherlands helped Ukraine in several ways, including by supplying United States-made F-16 fighter jets as part of a scheme with Belgium, Denmark, and Norway. “We don’t have opportunities anymore as the Netherlands because we have done so much,” Yesilgoz-Zegerius told Bloomberg on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Türkiye, on Tuesday. “We are at our limit,” she said when asked whether the Netherlands could provide more US-made Patriot missiles to Kiev. Denmark Delivered More F-16s To Ukraine The Netherlands has spent €9.1 billion ($10.4 billion) on military assistance to Ukraine and pledged €11.6 billion more, according to Bloomberg estimates. It is not the only country spending a massive amount of money on helping Ukraine in a war it cannot possibly win. Ukrainian ruler Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly demanded that Western nations send Kiev more weapons while claiming that they are not doing enough. He continues to act like a petulant child, demanding more from allies, while increasingly treading…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Entering the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the darling of the United States Men’s National Team, the public has done a 180 on Christian Pulisic.The 27-year-old AC Milan star has been the face of USA soccer since at least the turn of the decade, but the fact is that he was a major disappointment throughout the tournament.Sure, it did not help that he re-aggravated a calf injury in the opener, which led to him missing the equivalent of roughly two full games, but even when he was on the pitch, he did not make much of a difference. Pulisic then rolled his ankle in the Round of 16 and was subbed out in the second half. Following the match, Pulisic said he could now “get some rest,” which did not go over well with Americans. That prompted USMNT legend Tim Howard to give him some obvious advice.”I hope for his sake he isn’t on social media for the foreseeable future,” he said on his “Unfiltered Soccer” podcast with Landon Donovan, followed by a cryptic comment.”He deserves a rest. Go on holiday…. What I would say about him is when someone shows you…

ANKARA — President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States will give a license to Ukraine for Patriot missiles as he said both Russia and Ukraine want to see the war settled.“We’re going to give a license to you to make Patriots. That’s pretty cool. This way, you can’t complain that we’re not giving ‘em enough,” Trump said at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the NATO summit in Ankara.“It’s a defensive weapon, which I like better than an offensive weapon,” Trump said.The U.S. president’s comments were quickly picked up by Russian state media, which keeps a keen eye on all news coming out of the NATO summit in Ankara.Initial reporting was factual and brief, relaying the American president’s decision verbatim. State-aligned media had previously panned the idea as reckless and amplified Western skeptical voices calling the move a risk to U.S. national security over concerns the technology could fall into Russian hands.U.S. President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alongside the NATO leaders summit at the Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, Turkey, July 8, 2026. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)Russia’s foreign ministry has criticized the Trump administration for continuing to back Ukraine, with…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! PROVO, Utah — In an emotional moment in the gallery during the second day of a preliminary hearing for Charlie Kirk’s accused assassin Tyler Robinson in a Utah courthouse Tuesday, the victim’s widow Erika Kirk reached forward to hand a tissue to a crying woman in the row in front of her.Over the course of the hearing, the Kirk family has been given permission to come and go to avoid painful testimony.At one point Tuesday, as defense attorney Richard Novak cross-examined the case’s lead investigator, David Hull, the Kirk family left the room as the testimony turned to the fatal gunshot.TYLER ROBINSON’S AND LANCE TWIGG’S DNA BOTH ALLEGEDLY FOUND ON KEY EVIDENCE IN CHARLIE KIRK’S ASSASSINATION That’s just who Erika is. She’s good. They returned about 10 minutes later when the topic had changed, with Erika Kirk leaning on her mother-in-law, Kathy Kirk.CHARLIE KIRK’S FAMILY COMES FACE TO FACE WITH ACCUSED ASSASSIN FOR FIRST TIME As they took their seats, Erika Kirk leaned forward and handed a tissues to a woman, Denae Branch, who was seated in the row ahead of her.”I went thinking I was going to support Erika, and at…

After years of development and nearly $2 billion in investments, the Army is finally calling time of death on its much-hyped Integrated Visual Augmentation System – at least in its current form.That’s according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office, which found that three versions of the augmented-reality “all-weather fighting goggle” developed between 2018 and 2025 were deemed not ready for fielding and will stay in a warehouse rather than ever reaching soldiers.The news, tucked within the GAO’s annual weapons systems assessment, was first reported this month by Task and Purpose. The watchdog agency did note that the vision of IVAS is not completely dead; the prototype will be transitioned to a separate effort with similar goals related to improving soldier awareness, and development will begin again. But that leaves almost 10,000 pricey headsets that appear bound for shelf real estate next to the Ark of the Covenant.“An Army evaluation reported that soldiers found the headsets difficult to wear and noted that they did not perform better than existing equipment,” the GAO report said. “As a result, the nearly 10,000 units that were produced are obsolete and will remain in storage.”Those 10,000 units include versions 1.0 and 1.1…

This article was originally published by Willow Tohi at Natural News.  Iran announced service fees for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, with “special considerations” for China and other friendly nations Tehran rejected an Omani plan for a southern shipping route that would have been overseen by the United States The strait was closed by Iran after the U.S.-Israeli war began Feb. 28, and remains a critical chokepoint for global energy supplies Iran attacked a Singaporean ship attempting the southern route, causing the International Maritime Organization to abandon the plan Iran and Oman have since reached an agreement on joint management of the waterway, though tensions persist The Strait of Hormuz: Iran’s strategic leverage Iran’s ambassador to China announced on July 4 that the Islamic Republic would impose service fees on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, with “special considerations” for China and other friendly nations, marking a significant escalation in Tehran’s post-war control of the strategic waterway. Ambassador Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli made the declaration during the World Peace Forum in Beijing, as negotiations continue with the United States over a permanent settlement to the conflict that began Feb. 28. The announcement comes amid Iran’s rejection of an Omani plan…