Maritime Flashpoint: Iran’s IRGC says it destroyed a U.S. Saildrone Explorer spy drone near the Strait of Hormuz, after a prior U.S. underwater drone capture—raising fears of wider disruption to a chokepoint carrying about one-fifth of global oil traffic. Middle East Naval Posture: Acting U.S. Navy leadership admits Iranian strikes severely damaged the Fifth Fleet logistics hub in Bahrain, forcing evacuations and leaving the port access for the USS Abraham Lincoln in question. AI in the Crosshairs: Anthropic reports an Iranian actor used Claude to compile open-source targeting handbooks for U.S. Navy forces, while an AI researcher resignation adds to the safety-and-security alarm around rapid model development. Drone Warfare Escalates: Ukraine claims a “first-ever” Black Sea duel between unmanned surface vessels, as Kyiv and Moscow trade drone and missile hits across regions including Kharkiv and Odesa. Counter-UAS and Disruption: Brussels Airport faced another drone sighting, briefly halting runway operations, while Romania reported a drone crash after cross-border airspace alerts. Iraq–Saudi Pipeline Fallout: Iraq approved a joint probe with Iran over drone-launch platforms tied to Saudi pipeline attacks, seized launch equipment, and closed three Iran border crossings to stop further drone smuggling. Yemen–Saudi Spillover: Houthis claim missile/drone strikes on a Saudi base and warn of deeper retaliation; Yemen’s government forces report heavy strikes on Houthi assets. Defense Industry Watch: Boeing won a $241.3M sole-source Navy contract for F/A-18 and EA-18G repairs, and GE Aerospace agreed to buy CPP for about $12B to tighten precision-casting supply for engines.