On Tuesday, December 16, the U.S. Navy conducted the first-ever launch of a new one-way attack drone—modeled on Iran’s Shahed-136—from the flight deck of the Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Santa Barbara (LCS-32) while transiting the Arabian Sea. The drone, known as the Low-Cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS), was launched and operated by Task Force 59 under Task Force Scorpion Strike, a one-way attack drone unit recently deployed to the Middle East.

Footage appears to show ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles being launched from U.S. Army M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) during tonight’s large-scale retaliatory strikes on ISIS-affiliated targets in northern and central Syria.

U.S. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle announced today that, less than a month after canceling the Constellation-class frigate program being built by Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Wisconsin, the Navy has chosen the U.S. Coast Guard’s Legend-class cutter as the foundation for a new class of frigates. The ships will be constructed by Huntington Ingalls Industries in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Huntington Ingalls Industries recently ended production of the Legend-class National Security Cutter for the U.S. Coast Guard after completing ten vessels. Due to significant ongoing delays and a substantial construction backlog at HII, the first frigate based on the NSC design is not expected to be completed until 2030 or later.

A Russian Orlan-10 surveillance drone has been found intact in the İzmit District of Kocaeli Province in northwestern Turkey, about 50 miles east of Istanbul and more than 350 miles from Russian-occupied Crimea and mainland Russia, in what appears to be another significant violation of NATO and Turkish airspace.

US Ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker: Ukraine should also be prepared to fight in 2026.