Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

Did you know that the 34th season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), coached by UFC Hall of Famers Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping, is currently airing on Paramount+ every Tuesday?Well, if not, I got you covered.In the eighth episode, Bisping’s No. 1 overall men’s pick and former Contender Series veteran Xavier Franklin scored a brutal first-round knockout win over the Dominican Republic’s Micaias Urena in the final quarterfinal matchup inside Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.And for a few moments, it looked controversial … at least according to Cormier.Urena actually started the fight perfectly. He stayed just out of range,…

For thirty years, Army modernization has pursued increasingly capable weapon systems. But capability is not combat power. Combat power is capability that survives contact with war. Until modernization initiatives measure availability as aggressively as they measure lethality, the Army will continue buying systems that look increasingly dominant on a PowerPoint slide while becoming progressively less resilient on the battlefield. A platform unavailable because it cannot be repaired, sustained, or regenerated contributes no more combat power than one destroyed by enemy fire. A weapon system’s real value on the battlefield can be expressed simply: capability × availability = combat power. A…

In the Pacific War, the U.S. Navy’s underwater demolition teams prepared the way for U.S. and allied amphibious landings on enemy-held islands. Through beach reconnaissance, obstacle breaching, mine clearance, and other missions, these teams paved paths for the first waves of amphibious assaults conducted by naval task forces and subsequent landings by marines and soldiers throughout the island hopping campaign.  These critical first steps of an amphibious operation were incredibly risky in World War II. And the underwater demolition teams, which were the predecessors of the Navy SEALs, were understandably proud of their work. The Marine Corps prided itself on being first to hit the beach. And when marines did hit the beach, they often…

Former UFC title challenger Anthony Smith faces 3 felony charges, including domestic violence, after he was arrested in Nebraska. Sarpy County (Nebraska) authorities arrested former UFC title challenger Anthony Smith on Monday night on terroristic threats, first-degree false imprisonment, and domestic violence felony charges. TMZ was the first to report the news of Smith’s arrest. As of this writing, the exact details surrounding Smith’s arrest in Nebraska haven’t been publicized. If convicted, Smith faces up to 20 years in prison. Anthony Smith is the latest former UFC standout to run into legal trouble Smith retired from the UFC following a…

Congress made its desire for a massive torpedo inventory and production review known in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2027, with the goal of supporting undersea weaponry quantities sufficient to maintain two major regional conflicts simultaneously. The NDAA instructs Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Hung Cao to implement the initiative within 90 days of the NDAA’s enactment, which will expand to cover, “torpedo modernization, testing, production, and inventory sufficiency.” The first major component is the establishment of inventory floors for all of America’s torpedoes including the MK-48 Advanced Capability (ADCAP) heavyweight torpedoes, MK-54 lightweight torpedoes, advanced…

FORT IRWIN, Calif. — Army data scientists designed an experimental AI-powered platform that could transform the military decision-making planning process, to compress planning timelines from days or hours to seconds and to enable rapid, adaptable decision-making on the future battlefield. As part of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM, Army Research Laboratory, which is the Army’s sole fundamental laboratory, the Course Of Action Generative Pre-trained Transformer, or COA-GPT, is part of the U.S. Army’s largest experiment exercise at Project Convergence Capstone 6 at Fort Irwin, Calif., from July 17-29. The COA-GPT is a scientific platform designed to accelerate mission planning and provide an adaptable and decisive framework for planning, intelligence and command to solve critical human-AI integration challenges, “By fusing generative AI with hard-won military expertise and doctrine, COA-GPT provides Army leaders and warfighters, the ability to generate and compare innovative workflow options,” said Dr. Amar Marathe, DEVCOM ARL COA-GPT program manager. “We are not replacing Soldiers with AI—we are arming them with…

The long-awaited Defence Investment Plan (DIP) published at the end of June this year was supposed to implement the recommendations of the UK Government’s 2025 Strategic Defence Review’s vision for UK defence, but three weeks later all that changed. The UK had a new Prime Minister and a new Defence Minister, whose predecessor, John Healey, had resigned over what he saw as the lack of funding for a sustainable DIP. Healy is now the holder of the UK’s purse as the Chancellor of the Exchequer who will oversee Britain’s defence budget click on image to enlarge This was seen by…

Water disputes can directly drive conflict, but more often, water scarcity acts as a catalyst — one that, combined with other pressures, raises the risk of conflict. This is nothing new; water has shaped human conflict for millennia. What’s changed is the accumulation of stress, as climate change, population growth, human migration, and the intensive demands of agriculture and industry are converging to strain water systems in ways that threaten to exacerbate instability. However, examples of governments cooperating to manage scarce resources also suggest that conflict over water is not inevitable.Water scarcity contributes to the risk of conflict in many…

An unexplained catastrophe has left an entire continent trapped beneath an eternal winter. Against that frozen setting, mercenaries, corporations, and powerful figures compete for influence in Dreamsend: Wintersong, a newly announced 2.5D strategy RPG from solo developer Anthony Nguyen. The project combines turn-based tactical combat with elaborate character kits inspired by both classic RPGs and MOBAs. Battles will let players combine multiple abilities, passives, status effects, and environmental interactions during the same turn. Dreamsend: Wintersong is currently in development, with its Steam page now open for wishlisting. A Mercenary Story Set in an Eternal Winter The story takes place in…

Credit: Defense FeedsDefense Feeds, London – MGI Engineering unveils T022 Vortex autonomous combat aircraft, introducing a new unmanned platform designed to support the United Kingdom’s vision for next-generation air combat under the Stormfighter concept.The aircraft reflects growing interest in integrating autonomous systems with crewed fighters to expand operational flexibility, improve mission effectiveness and reduce risks in contested airspace.The unveiling comes as air forces around the world accelerate the development of collaborative combat aircraft capable of operating alongside manned platforms during increasingly complex military operations.Credit: MGI EngineeringMGI Engineering Unveils T022 Vortex Autonomous Combat AircraftThe announcement that MGI Engineering unveils T022 Vortex…