I - On Defense Podcast
Probably the best defense commentary in the world. Top military and defense industry analysis in 45 minutes or less.
Episodes
546 episodes
President Trump Announces Security Agreement with Greenland & Denmark + Houthis Target Riyadh Airport with Missiles and Drones + Germany Receives First F-35 Fighter; Pilot Training Begins in Fall; First Warplanes to Arrive in Germany in late-2027
For review:1. Yemen’s Houthis said on Saturday that they launched strikes targeting “sensitive sites” in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh and oil facilities in the kingdom’s port city of Yanbu.2. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not amon...
President Trump Weighs Decision on Further Iran Attacks + Report: Iranian Reconstruction on Parchin Complex; Activity at the Taleghan 2 Facility + US Representatives Meet With Houthis in Muscat
For review:1. US officials met representatives of Yemen’s Houthis in Oman over the weekend, five sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday, days after the Iran-backed militia seized a strategic stretch of the Red Sea coast in a swe...
President Trump Voices Support for Irish Unification + US CENTCOM Commander Hosts Middle East Military Chiefs in Germany; Discussed Opportunities for Security Cooperation + IDF Kills Rafah Brigade Commander in Gaza Strike
For review:1. The leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland called Monday for the British government to "prepare for, plan and facilitate" constitutional change that could lead to the breakup of the United Kingdom, with the remarks...
Report: Chinese Assets Assisted Iran With Target Information for Strike on US Base in Jordan + Report: US - Cuba Energy Deal Collapsed After Negotiations + Poland to Develop Starlink-Type Military Satellite System
For review:1. Report: The Trump administration secretly explored an energy deal with Cuba earlier this year that would have provided US oil and investment to the island in exchange for major economic and political changes, according to m...
IDF Destroys Subterranean Complex Beneath Ali Taher Ridge + Houthis Seize Key Islands in Bab el-Mandeb Strait + IAEA Reports Construction Activity at Iran's Pickaxe Mountain
For review:1. Using 1,100 tons of explosives, the Israeli military said on Thursday that it had demolished a “strategic” underground facility belonging to the Hezbollah terror group beneath a mountainous ridge in southern Lebanon....
US Destroys Five More Iranian Tankers + Iran Claims Capture of US Navy Underwater Drone + IDF to Create Fourth Branch: Unmanned Systems & Artificial Intelligence Branch
For review:1. A group of eight Muslim-majority countries, including Israel’s ally the United Arab Emirates, praised the United Kingdom on Wednesday for announcing that it will impose sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and...
US Envoys Witkoff / Kushner Travel to Moscow & Kyiv + Iran to Announce a "Prohibited Zone" Outside the Strait of Hormuz + Sweden to Procure US-Made M142 HIMARS; Croatia to Procure S. Korean-made K239 Chunmoo Systems
For review:1, The new head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on Sunday said Tehran plans to announce a “prohibited zone” outside the Strait of Hormuz aimed at vessels it believes are attempting to transit the waterway.2....
US CENTCOM Forces Attack 3 x Iranian Crude Carriers + US Developing Post-Iran War Middle East Strategy; Expands Abraham Accords; Alignment of Allies Against Iran + Israeli PM Netanyahu: Toppling Iran Regime "Within Reach"
For review:1. The US military said Saturday it had struck and destroyed three oil tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after the Iranian military organization fired on American warships.2. The navy of Iran’s Isl...
Israel: IDF Controls Strategic Ali Taher Ridge in S. Lebanon; Underground Site Cleared; Working to Demolish + Russian President Putin: Chance of Settlement to End Conflict + New US Sanctions on Cuba
For review:1. The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday night that it had finished clearing a “strategic” underground facility belonging to the Hezbollah terror group beneath a mountainous ridge in southern Lebanon in recent weeks.T...
US Resumes Strikes on Iran Tuesday; Targets Radar Systems, Air Defense Sites, Mine-laying Capabilities + Iran Responds; Jordan Intercepts Iranian Missiles; No Casualties + US Army Looks for New Tracked 155mm Howitzer
For review:1. The US military hit targets in Iran on Tuesday, and Tehran fired missiles and drones in response, as hostilities flared once again.2. Jordan’s army says it has intercepted 10 ballistic missiles launched from Iran whi...
US Attacks Iran in Strait of Hormuz; IRGC Attempted to Launch Rockets with Sea Mines + Iran Retaliates; Launches Ballistic Missiles at US Bases in Jordan; No Report of Casualties
For review:1. The U.S. military struck Iranian military targets to prevent the deployment of sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. official said.2. Jordan’s army says it intercepted eight missiles, shortly after Iran’s Islamic...
President Trump Orders Creation of US Space Academy; Modeled after USMA at West Point + CIA Director Ratcliffe Visits Moscow + Russia Warns UK & France Over Ukraine's Use of Storm Shadow - SCALP Missiles; Playing With Fire
For review:1. CIA Director John Ratcliffe was in Moscow, Russia, for meetings on Tuesday, sources familiar with the situation told CBS News.2. Russia warned on Thursday that it could strike British military targets inside and out...
US Shifts to Economic Pressure on Iran; Diplomats Returning to Middle East Embassies + Israeli Defense Minister Visits IDF Troops in S. Syria; IDF to Remain in Buffer Zone + Russia & N. Korea Border Road Construction Almost Complete
For review:1. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday lamented what he called a “humanitarian crisis” in Iran, saying it “must be stopped,” as he accused the Tehran regime of killing protesters and failing to pay its armed forces.“Th...
US Treasury Secretary Bessent Announces Additional Sanctions Against Iran; Dubbed Operation Economic Outcast + Pakistan's Army Chief Travels to Tehran + US Removes Syria from List of State Sponsors of Terrorism
For review:1. Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel blamed the United States for the country’s severe crisis in an interview, saying his government will not make any concessions to the Trump administration, has “no alternative but to resist,” a...
Report: Bombed Syrian Air Base Was Planned Location for Turkish Air Defense System + US Adds New Sanctions Against Cuba + US to Announce "Toughest Sanctions in History" Against Iran on Monday
For review:1. The United States tightened sanctions on Cuba on Thursday, blacklisting three officials tied to a state-run organization that promotes Cuba's ties with foreign solidarity activists, along with nine state entities in the m...
Israel Confirms Attack on Syrian Air Base; Cites Violation of Security Status Quo; Syria Repeatedly Warned + President Trump Declares "Economic D-Day" Against Iran + Aircraft Carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) Arrives in CENTCOM AOR
For review:1. Israel confirmed late Tuesday that it was behind overnight strikes against a Sysrian military airport, where it claimed Turkey was planning to deploy forces.2. Turkey’s Defense Ministry denied Thursday that a Turkish...
President Trump Reduces Combined Military Exercise with S. Korea + Unknown Warplanes Strike Airbase in N.W. Syria; Israeli Jets Suspected + US Army Selects Hanwha to Deliver 155mm K9 Mobile Tactical Cannon Prototypes
For review:1. South Korea on Monday expressed hopes for resumption of diplomacy between the U.S. and North Korea to ease animosities on the Korean Peninsula, as President Trump reduces exercises with South Korea.2. The runway of a...
President Trump Envoy Kushner Meets with Hamas Chief in Egypt + Report: Israel Eyes Strategic Ali Taher Ridge in Lebanon + US CENTCOM & UAE AI Task Force
For review:1. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and top aide Jared Kushner met with Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya in the Egyptian coastal city of El-Alamein on Sunday, an Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel.2. The White Hous...
US CENTCOM Commander Meets with Saudi Arabia's Prince Mohammed bin Salman + Russia Questions US on Alleged Support to Ukraine Strikes + US Army M1E3 & XM30 Prototypes
For review:1. Russia believes the United States is deeply involved in Ukrainian attacks against it and has raised the issue with Washington, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in comments broadcast on Friday.He said that the al...
Report: Iranian Assassination Threat Against President Trump at Ankara NATO Summit Forced Plane Transfer + US To Withdraw Forces from Iraq by 30 Sep + Houthis Attack Commercial Vessel in Bab el-Mandeb
For review:1.Israel told the United States about the Iranian assassination threat that prompted the US Secret Service to take President Donald Trump off Air Force One and
President Trump: Iran Financially "in Bad Shape" + Board of Peace Mladenov Interview: Plan Not Built on Trust; Everything Will Be Verified + US Secretary of State: More Economic Pressure on Cuba
For review:1. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the administration of President Donald Trump is escalating economic pressure on Cuba with an unprecedented sanctions campaign and warned that "there are no escape valves."2...
Saudi Arabia - Turkey - Pakistan Sign Joint Defense Agreement in Mecca; Agreement Defensive in Nature; Potential for Egypt to Join + USAF / USN Long-Range JDAM
For review:1. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed a joint defense agreement in Mecca on Friday.The agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression and stipulates that an armed attack ag...
No Deal Yet on Hormuz Strait + US Triples Patriot and Quadruples THAAD Interceptor Production
For review:1. Report: Mossad chief removes 2 senior officials behind aborted Iran regime-change plan 2. Iran’s foreign ministry said Wednesday that Iran and Oman have agreed on a route for ships transiting the Strait of Hormu...
Iran / Oman Strait of Hormuz Plan + Gaza Board of Peace Head Meets with Israeli PM; No IDF Withdrawal Until Full Disarmament + Former AFU Chief: Ukraine Will Never Join NATO
For review:1. US President Donald Trump held a phone call earlier today with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani during which the pair discussed “efforts to deescalate tensions between the US and Iran,” the latter’s office says.2...
President Trump On Iran's Denial of Talks: "Iranian Leadership is Duplicitous" + Ukraine Armed Forces New Commander in Chief
For review:1. US President Donald Trump on Monday said that Washington and Tehran were currently engaged in talks, pushing back on Iranian claims to the contrary and accusing the Islamic Republic of being “unbelievably duplicitous....