The Associated Press
In July, Saudi Arabia and the United States bombed Iran-backed militias in Iraq after blaming them for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities that had been claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, another Iranian ally. Now, regional officials tell The Associated Press that the Houthis helped the Iraqi militias plan and execute the two-day swarm attack, showing a new level of coordination.
NBC News
In an alert published Sept. 8, the FBI, the National Security Agency, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said top Chinese AI companies have systematically mined cutting-edge AI models from American companies since 2024, including Anthropic’s Claude, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and xAI’s Grok, to build their own.
Aviation Week
High-speed aircraft maker Hermeus has revealed a ramjet-powered test vehicle that can be launched from under the wing of its supersonic Quarterhorse aircraft. The unveiling of the Ramjet-X concept reveals a low-cost, expendable vehicle capable of high-speed flight to complement the reusable, Pratt & Whitney F100-229-powered Quarterhorse.
Breaking Defense
The Pentagon has requested permission from Congress to reroute about $1.5 billion in funds from fiscal 2026 and 2025 to fund a “high-priority” AI initiative, keep a new Army helicopter program aloft, and shift funds related to programs affected by Iran operations.
Breaking Defense
The three-star chief of the Pentagon’s ambitious drone development task force said Sept. 9 he didn’t know if his Defense Autonomous Working Group would get the nearly $54 billion the Trump administration has requested from lawmakers—and warned the program could stumble if it didn’t get “something.”
Defense News
Saab has received a new contract worth approximately SEK 2.9 billion (roughly $303 million) from Sweden’s Defense Materiel Administration, FMV, to continue conceptual work on the country’s future fighter system, the company announced in a statement Sept. 9.
Marvin Test Solutions
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Defense One
The Pentagon is finding ever more uses for the AI-powered command-and-control system called Maven Smart System, including logistics, force readiness, supply chain, and budgeting data, the Defense Department’s AI chief said Sept. 8.
DefenseScoop
Pentagon officials are sorting through a flood of industry feedback about the controversial Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program as the department weighs next steps for reform efforts, Defense Department CIO Kirsten Davies said Sept. 9.
The Wall Street Journal
Testing with fusion reactors helps ensure America’s nuclear weapons still work after decades in storage, components are reliable and that new designs will have the desired effect, without resuming the explosive nuclear tests of decades prior.
The War Zone
A Russian gas plant more than 1,700 miles from the Ukrainian border was attacked by a drone on Sept. 9, Ukrainian and Russian officials said. This is reportedly the longest-distance Ukrainian strike of the war and comes as Kyiv continues to target Moscow’s energy infrastructure.
One More Thing
ABC News
An inflatable slide deployed on President Donald Trump's Qatari-gifted Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews on Sept. 9 before he was set to board it to head to the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas.
