Guy D. McCardle

Ukraine isn’t nibbling at the edges anymore—they’re punching Moscow in the teeth and daring them to bite back.

A $400 drone knocking out Russia’s $300 million Mainstay isn’t just an underdog victory—it’s the battlefield equivalent of David launching a Bluetooth-guided stone straight into Goliath’s night-vision goggles.

When Ukraine launched Operation Spiderweb, it didn’t just cross into Russian airspace—it rewrote the whole playbook and sent Moscow scrambling to find the pages.

James P. Fleming didn’t fly into danger for medals or headlines—he did it because six men needed saving and he was the last man left who could do it.

On June 1, 2025, as Ukraine’s drones torched Russian bombers deep in Siberia, Israeli gunfire tore through desperate civilians at a U.S.-backed aid site in Gaza, and Britain doubled down on Cold War-style defense spending—all three flashpoints showing just how fast the world is sliding toward a new era of open confrontation. Welcome to the Evening Brief.

U.S. pushes Iran and Hamas on high-stakes proposals as India confirms jet losses in Pakistan clash and Minnesota’s governor warns Democrats could become “roadkill” without reconnecting with working-class voters. Welcome to SOFREP’s Early Brief for Sunday June 1, 2025.

As fentanyl seizures fall sharply at the border, SpaceX rockets a GPS satellite into orbit at record speed, a hacker uses AI to mimic Trump’s chief of staff, and the Pentagon slashes PCS moves to ease the burden on military families—all in a week that proves national security isn’t slowing down, it’s shifting gears. Welcome to SOFREP’s Evening Brief for May 31st, 2025.

SECDEF Hegseth didn’t bring a scalpel to Singapore—he brought a sledgehammer, and made sure Beijing heard it hit the floor.

As tensions mount in the Indo-Pacific, Gaza, Ukraine, and global trade, the U.S. is stepping up pressure on China and Russia through defense commitments, ceasefire diplomacy, bipartisan sanctions, and steep tariff hikes aimed at protecting American industry and global stability. Welcome to Saturday May 31st, 2025.

When Palmer Luckey and Mark Zuckerberg bury the hatchet to strap AI-powered battle visors on U.S. troops, you know the future of warfare isn’t coming—it’s already kicking down the door.

Somewhere between the Kremlin’s dramatic drone dogfight and Kyiv’s radio silence lies a half-buried truth, twisted by propaganda and shrouded in the fog of modern war.

Behind vault doors and black budgets, there’s a Starbucks where the foam is classified, the espresso’s top secret, and even your cappuccino comes with plausible deniability.