China
Lead AnalysisMaritime//John Hendricks//September 25, 2026
Ukraine Is Fighting Russia in Africa
Kyiv is using drone expertise to expand its reach from Libya’s coast to northern Mali, while operations against Russia bring diplomatic costs.
Read the Analysis →IMAGE //Smoke rises from the damaged Russian LNG carrier Arctic Metagaz in the Mediterranean, March 3, 2026. Credit: Hellenic Navy via NOELREPORTS and ntv.
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+ Dispatches
- 01Satellite Images Show Fire Damage at Saudi Pipeline Pumping StationSeptember 11, 2026
- 02US Navy tests robotic refueling for unmanned vessels at seaSeptember 8, 2026
- 03Ukraine Strikes St. PetersburgJune 3, 2026
- 04Hormuz Closure Strands Gulf Fertilizer Past the Spring Planting WindowJune 3, 2026
- 05Europe Moved to Block Starlink the Same Day the Pentagon Made It the Backbone of US Military CommsMay 27, 2026
China//September 21, 2026
Ukraine Keeps Striking Russia’s Antenna Plant While the Main Shahed Factory Buys From China
Alabuga is adding defenses and reportedly assembling Chinese-origin antennas on site, giving the factory an antenna supply route outside Cheboksary.
John Hendricks
China
A Chinese Satellite Tied to Iran Passed Near the Jordan Base Days Before the Strike
US officials linked the Jordan strike to imagery from Chinese entities. Global Recon reconstructed four midday passes near the base by a satellite reportedly acquired by Iran. Its role in supplying that imagery remains unconfirmed.
Iran
Saudi Arabia’s Oil Bypass Is Under Attack
A pipeline strike from Iraq and Houthi pressure on Red Sea shipping expose the limits of Saudi Arabia’s alternative to Hormuz.
+ Start HereThree investigations that show how this desk works
Three investigations that show how this desk works
Iran
The Magazine Math
The Iran campaign did not empty the Pacific arsenal. It emptied the shelf slowest to restock, and the plan to refill it from another direction runs through a supply line Beijing can shut.
Russia
The Drone Does Not Have to Be Steered
Russia’s advantage on NATO’s eastern flank is not control of every drone. It is the political crisis created when no one can prove why the drone crossed.
Russia
The Same Corridor
Belarus turned its frontier into a multi-use pressure system. Migrants, tunnels, drones, balloons, and saboteurs are different payloads moving through the same operating space.
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Iran
The Houthis Are Advancing on the Red Sea’s Southern Exit
Their coastal gains could deepen pressure on Saudi Arabia’s oil bypass, whose cargoes already reroute through Egypt when the strait is too risky.
September 10, 2026
Iran
America Is Sinking Tankers That Also Carry Russian Oil
Three of the eight hulls hit since September 5 sit in a Treasury-listed pool that loads in the Baltic as well as the Gulf.
September 10, 2026
Maritime
The Houthis’ Red Sea War Has a Land Front
The fighting west of Taiz is testing whether Yemen’s government can keep its coastal foothold connected to the interior.
September 9, 2026
Russia
Russia Built an Arctic Oil Port Before It Built the Ships
The pipeline is rated for 100 million tonnes a year. The one tanker at the berth that can work it in winter can move, by one analyst’s estimate, about eight percent of phase one.
September 8, 2026