U.S. Department of Defense

New Capabilities

In active procurement talks for Ukrainian interceptor drones

Russia began bombing Ukrainian cities with Iranian-made Shahed drones in October 2022. Three and a half years later, Ukraine has turned that onslaught into an exportable advantage: low-cost interceptor drones, costing as little as $2,100 apiece, that now account for more than 70 percent of Shahed kills — and that the Pentagon, Gulf states, and NATO allies all want to buy. On March 5, 2026, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine would provide 'necessary resources' to counter Iranian drones in the Middle East, following reports that the Pentagon and at least one Gulf government were in active procurement talks for Ukrainian interceptors.

Updated Mar 6

Force in Play

Implements hemispheric military posture and anti‑cartel strikes

On December 5, 2025, the Trump administration released a 33‑page National Security Strategy (NSS) that formally revives a 19th‑century idea of the Western Hemisphere as a U.S. sphere of influence, declaring a Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine and promising to reassert American preeminence across the Americas. The document codifies a shift already visible in 2025 military operations: air and missile strikes on alleged drug‑trafficking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that had killed at least 115 people in 35 strikes by year‑end, the designation of major cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and naval deployments around Venezuela. This campaign, formally named Operation Southern Spear on November 13, 2025, culminated on January 3, 2026, when U.S. forces launched Operation Absolute Resolve, a large‑scale military strike on Caracas that captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, placing them in U.S. custody on narco‑terrorism charges—the first forcible regime change under the Trump Corollary.

Updated Jan 4

Force in Play

Backstopping interdiction threat with ships, aircraft, and regional deployments.

Trump’s Venezuela “blockade” threat is no longer just rhetoric—it’s being scaffolded by fresh Treasury actions and a widening target universe. Since the blockade announcement, Washington has added new Venezuela-linked sanctions and separately hit Iran’s shadow-fleet network, expanding the pool of already-sanctioned vessels that could be swept into real-world stop-and-search enforcement if they touch Venezuela’s trade.

Updated Dec 20, 2025