Dave Patterson

President Trump has let it be known that he is not putting up with Tehran's negotiating games. In response to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps's (IRGC) surprise attack, launching numerous ballistic missiles at American military facilities in Jordan on Tuesday night (July 28), America's commander-in-chief said the strikes would be answered with ferocity. All incoming missiles were intercepted, and no damage was done, nor were US service members killed or injured. What the attack did accomplish, however, was to motivate the US president to act decisively. As Fox News reported: “The United States resumed airstrikes inside Iran Wednesday night in retaliation for Tehran's attempted surprise ballistic-missile attack on American forces, as an Iran expert warned that the regime has become increasingly willing to test Washington despite its weakened military capabilities.”

A key part of President Donald Trump's comprehensive 20-point peace plan for Gaza was the establishment of the Board of Peace. It appears the international organization has made progress. Trump announced a breakthrough in the negotiations with the terrorist group Hamas on July 30. In what is being called a “landmark agreement,” Hamas and other armed Palestinian factions in Gaza have agreed to complete disarmament.

Tehran wants to force Washington back to the negotiating table. Iran is attempting to coerce Gulf allies into stopping the US from continuing airstrikes.

It is no secret that the Pentagon wants the defense industrial base to turn out weapons and munitions faster. Now, the five-sided building wants the defense industry to develop plans to do that. It's a good idea to have the companies charged with achieving faster weapons fielding develop a way to make that happen. It's clear that when the Department of War has attempted to meet warfighter needs more quickly, the programs have met with limited success.

Historically, the behemoth battleship was a juggernaut. However, after World War II, the operational utility of the huge warship with its sixteen-inch guns seemed anachronistic. US Navy warships needed to be faster and equipped with more accurate and deadly missiles. Furthermore, the upkeep on the existing battleships was becoming prohibitively expensive. The juice just simply wasn't worth the squeeze. Now, President Trump is pushing to have the nuclear Trump-class battleship in the US Navy's fleet of warships.

The US Air Force's forward-thinking initiative to achieve air superiority into the 2030s and beyond is the new Boeing F-47. The new crewed sixth-generation fighter will be the centerpiece of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) family, replacing the aging F-22 Raptor fleet and designed to engage peer adversaries and dominate contested environments.

Forces outside the US continue to attempt to influence Americans' daily life. A growing threat to the US is getting little notice.

Headlines and major stories focus on the Russian offensive in Ukraine, the ongoing conflict in Iran, and what appears to be a growing tariff dispute with Canada. There's another deadly international conflict, however, that the American media has barely covered: the civil war in Sudan. The fighting has been going on for nearly four years and has claimed a reported 59,000 lives – probably an estimate on the low side. Furthermore, secondary consequences include more than 13 million people being displaced and enormous areas of Sudan suffering famine.

As it stands, the US Navy has 291 battle-force ships. China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has more than 370, not counting about 60 Houbei-class missile patrol craft. The Congressional Research Service and the Pentagon have long described the PLAN as the world's largest navy by hull count. It is still growing. Official assessments have projected roughly 395 ships in the near term and 435 by 2030. Until now, quality and capability have offset the numbers gap. There comes a point, however, when “better is better” gives way to “more is better.” That is the problem the Navy's Golden Fleet is meant to address.

In under two hours on one nearly cloudless morning, life in America changed. One hour and 16 minutes changed America forever.