The Defender Dome

31 Mar 2025 07:41

The U.S. Army M88A2 “Hercules” Armored-Recovery Vehicle (ARV) and the bodies of 4 American Soldiers with the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team (1ABCT), 3rd Infantry Division, who sunk over 16ft into a swamp during a military exercise last Tuesday in eastern Lithuania, have been recovered following an extensive 6-day search-and-recovery operation by the Lithuanian and U.S. Armed Forces, with assistance from Poland and other countries within NATO. Investigators are now on-site, checking over both the vehicle and nearby swamp, as we await details about the accident and the identities of the 4 Soldiers.

The Defender Dome

31 Mar 2025 05:55

A major airlift by the U.S. Air Force’s Air Mobility Command (AMC) appears to be ongoing between Osan Air Base in South Korea and Isa Air Base in Bahrain; with several C-17s over the last few days observed flying between the bases, likely transporting MIM-104 “Patriot” surface-to-air missile batteries as well as other air-defense systems and munitions to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). Only just yesterday, Iran threatened to attack the U.S-U.K joint base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, as well as military bases in Turkey and Middle East, if the United States launches an attack against Iran.

Credit goes to @TheIntelFrog for the flight tracking.

The Defender Dome

31 Mar 2025 02:35

U.S. President Donald J. Trump played golf yesterday with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, alongside Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and former House Representative Trey Gowdy, discussing a strengthening of relations between the United States and Finland. Stubb, who spent two days last week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, is said to have talked with President Trump about both Ukraine and Russia as well its President, Vladimir Putin, who Stubb says Trump is “losing patience with” claiming that Putin appears to be directly stalling a ceasefire in in order to gain additional ground and leverage in eastern Ukraine. This appears to align with today’s interview by Trump with NBC News, where he stated he was “pissed off” with Putin, threatening to impose secondary tariffs on Russia’s oil industry if they continue to delay a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine; with the current ceasefire proposal reported to have agreed upon now by the United States, Ukraine and Europe, but still not Russia.

The Defender Dome

30 Mar 2025 23:04

U.S. Army Europe and Africa has announced that U.S. Navy Seabee Divers with Commander Task Force (CTF-68) have managed to attach the second cable to the M88A2 “Hercules” Armored-Recovery Vehicle (ARV) at the Pabradė Training Ground in eastern Lithuania; with winching operations to begin soon, though this is expected to take significant time and effort.

The Defender Dome

30 Mar 2025 21:39

Taking a break from close to a week now of continuous search-and-rescue/recovery operations in eastern Lithuania, U.S. military officials in Europe, alongside military leaders and servicemembers from Lithuania, Poland and a dozen other nations across NATO who are assisting with the recovery efforts, attended a Catholic Mass this morning led by Archbishop Gintaras Grušas at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Stanislaus and St. Ladislaus of Vilnius, praying for the recovery of the 4 U.S. Soldiers.

The Defender Dome

30 Mar 2025 10:36

The Israel Defense Force confirms that a long-range ballistic missile fired by the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist group in Yemen was successfully intercepted earlier outside of Israeli Airspace.

The Defender Dome

30 Mar 2025 08:47

Lithuanian dredgers and water pumps are continuing to clear mud away from the site of the sunken U.S. Army M88A2 “Hercules” Armored-Recovery Vehicle (ARV) at the Pabradė Training Ground in eastern Lithuania, as recovery operations continue for the bodies of 4 American Soldiers with the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team (1ABCT), 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart, Georgia. Polish and U.S. dive teams from Spain are currently preparing to dive down over 16ft into the muddy water to reach the ARV, where they will attach hooks to eventually extract the M88 and the bodies of its crew.

The Defender Dome

29 Mar 2025 16:01

The Russian point-of-view has now been released from the recent interception of a Ilyushin Il-38N “Dolphin” Maritime Patrol and Surveillance Aircraft with the Russian Navy, which was filmed last week flying low past the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) during a joint-naval exercise with Japan and South Korea in the East China Sea, being escorted by a U.S. Navy F/A-18F and F-35C.

The Defender Dome

29 Mar 2025 05:13

After being ordered to the U.S. Central Command’s (CENTCOM) Area-of-Responsibility earlier this week by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) departed today from Guam heading towards the Middle East, expected to arrive in the region sometime in mid to late April.

The Defender Dome

29 Mar 2025 02:57

Soldiers and Strykers with the 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team (2SBCT), attached to U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Task Force-Southern Border (JTF-SB), keep watch on a section of the U.S-Mexico Border in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, alongside agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The Defender Dome

29 Mar 2025 00:04

Houthi-affiliated media in Yemen is reporting that General Abd al-Khaliq al-Houthi, the brother of Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi as well as Commander of the Republican Guard and several other units with the Houthi Ministry of Defense, was killed in a recent U.S. precision-strike alongside Houthi Chief of General Staff, Major General Muhammad Abdul Karim Al-Ghamari and several other senior leaders and officers in the Houthi Defense Ministry.

The Defender Dome

28 Mar 2025 21:58

The Israeli Air Force launched a wave of airstrikes earlier today on Hezbollah military sites in Lebanon, in response to the launch of two rockets earlier today at Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel. The sites targeted in the strikes included Hezbollah command-and-control centers, terrorist infrastructure sites, launchers, and terrorists, in addition to a drone storage facility in the Dahieh suburb of Beirut.

The Defender Dome

28 Mar 2025 21:28

U.S. Vice-President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance depart from Greenland aboard Air Force Two, after spending less than 4 hours in the country all at Pituffik Space Base.

The Defender Dome

28 Mar 2025 19:16

Recovery efforts continue at the Pabradė Training Ground in eastern Lithuania, for a U.S. Army M88A2 “Hercules” Armored-Recovery Vehicle (ARV) and the bodies of 4 American Soldiers with the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team (1ABCT), 3rd Infantry Division, who sunk over 16ft into the thick mud of a swamp during a training exercise on Tuesday. Heavy equipment is continuing to arrive at the site, including Lithuania’s heaviest dredger and several industrial water pumps, which plan to pump enough water onto the site to eventually allow the dredger to extract the mud-water mixture and reach the M88A2.

The Defender Dome

28 Mar 2025 18:40

While visiting American Airmen and Guardians today at Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, U.S. Vice-President JD Vance enters a room filled with servicemembers and remarks, “It’s cold as shit here, nobody told me.”

The Defender Dome

31 Mar 2025 06:29

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced the appointment of Major General Eli Sharvit, the Commander of the Israeli Navy from 2016-2021, to the position of Director of the Israeli Security Agency (ISA), also known as Shin Bet. Sharvit’s appointment follows a recent vote by the Israeli Cabinet on the removal of Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, at the request of Prime Minister Netanyahu, whose office is currently being investigated by the ISA and other agencies for taking payments from lobbyists of the Qatari Government.

The Defender Dome

31 Mar 2025 03:25

Footage of ongoing recovery efforts by U.S, Lithuanian, Polish and other NATO militaries at the Pabradė Training Ground in eastern Lithuania, as they continue operations to recover a U.S. Army M88A2 “Hercules” Armored-Recovery Vehicle (ARV) and the bodies of 4 American Soldiers with the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team (1ABCT), 3rd Infantry Division, who sunk over 16ft into the swamp during an exercise last Tuesday.

The Defender Dome

31 Mar 2025 00:07

After Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated earlier today that Iran has rejected any kind of direct negotiations with the United States regarding its nuclear program, while adding they were open to future indirect negotiations through countries like Oman; U.S. President Donald J. Trump has threatened Iran with secondary tariffs and bombings if they did not come to an agreement, stating during an interview today with NBC News, “If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing. It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”

The Defender Dome

30 Mar 2025 21:55

In a phone interview earlier today with NBC News, U.S. President Donald J. Trump stated that he was “very angry” and “pissed off” with Russian President Vladimir Putin criticizing the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. President Trump added that if the war in Ukraine continues and a ceasefire is not achieved at the fault of Russia, he will impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil production, placing 25-50% tariffs on any country that continues to buy oil products from Russia.

The Defender Dome

30 Mar 2025 21:21

Despite a landslide this morning causing mud to refill the basin that had already been emptied over the last day, as well as an unsuccessful dive earlier by U.S. and Polish divers to reach the vehicle. A major breakthrough has just occurred at the recovery site for a U.S. Army M88A2 “Hercules” Armored-Recovery Vehicle (ARV) and the bodies of 4 American Soldiers with the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team (1ABCT), 3rd Infantry Division, who sunk over 16ft into the swamp during an exercise last Tuesday at the Pabradė Training Ground in eastern Lithuania; as U.S. Navy Seabee Divers, part of an Underwater Construction Team (UCT) stationed at Naval Station Rota in Spain, have managed to attach one hook to the M88, after blindly diving into the muddy water below. One more hook must be attached before attempts to remove the ARV from the swamp can begin, though more dredging and excavation will also be required due to this morning’s landslide.

The Defender Dome

30 Mar 2025 09:44

Sirens now sounding across Central Israel including Tel-Aviv, following the launch yet again of a long-range ballistic missile by the Houthis in Yemen.

The Defender Dome

30 Mar 2025 06:06

According to an article today from The Telegraph, a senior Iranian military official has stated that Iran will attack the U.S-U.K joint base at Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia, roughly 2,000 miles from Iran in the Indian Ocean, with ballistic missiles and drones in response to any kind of strike launched from the base by the United States.

This comes following the deployment of between 5 and 9 B-2 “Spirit” Long-Range Strategic Stealth Bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to Diego Garcia over the past week, as rumors fly about possible future strikes against Iran’s nuclear and long-range missile facilities, after a letter earlier this month by U.S. President Donald J. Trump gave Iran a “two-month deadline” to make a new nuclear deal with the United States.

The Iranian official further added to the threat to attack Diego Garcia by also threatening to attack Turkey and countries hosting U.S. bases in the Middle East, stating, “There will be no distinction in targeting British or American forces if Iran is attacked from any base in the region or within the range of Iranian missiles. When the time comes, it won’t matter whether you’re an American, British, or Turkish soldier – you will be targeted if your base is used by Americans.”

The Defender Dome

29 Mar 2025 07:24

Taiwan’s Deputy Minister of National Defense (Policy), Po Horng-huei as well as other senior officials attended Lockheed Martin’s Taiwan F-16 Delivery Ceremony today in Greenville, South Carolina, celebrating the delivery of the first of 66 F-16V “Viper” Block 70s to the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF).

The Defender Dome

29 Mar 2025 03:50

U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced tonight that he would be appointing conservative journalist and Fox News contributor Sara A. Carter to Director of Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), unofficially known as the “Drug Czar” who oversees both international and domestic anti-drug efforts by the White House. President Trump added in his announcement, “Sara is an Award Winning Journalist, who has been on the front lines of this International Fight for decades — as our next Drug Czar, Sara will lead the charge to protect our Nation, and save our children from the scourge of drugs.”

The Defender Dome

29 Mar 2025 01:48

Russia tonight launched a major terror bombing against the city of Dnipro in eastern Ukraine, with dozens of Iranian-manufactured “Shahed” attack drones targeting residential neighborhoods, shopping centers and hotels, including the Bartolomeo Best River Resort on the Dnipro River. Casualties from the attack currently sit at 4 dead and over 30 injured, though search-and-rescue and firefighting operations are still ongoing across the city.

The Defender Dome

28 Mar 2025 23:22

The building targeted in the footage released earlier by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) appears to be the Houthi Command & Staff Complex in the capital of Sanaa, which was reportedly struck on March 16th before being further targeted last night by the U.S. Navy.

The Defender Dome

28 Mar 2025 21:42

Footage released by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), showing a recent strike against the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist group in western Yemen, as the U.S. Navy and Air Force continue their ongoing strike campaign against the Houthis, to halt their attacks against international shipping in the region and the launch of ballistic missiles at Israel.

The Defender Dome

28 Mar 2025 19:30

A task force of 50 soldiers and heavy equipment with the Polish Armed Forces, including sappers, divers, an engineering reconnaissance and evacuation team, as well as technical support, from the 16th Sapper Regiment as well as elements of the 16th Mechanized Division, crossed the border today into Lithuania, in order to assist with the ongoing search-and-recovery operation for a U.S. Army M88A2 “Hercules” Armored-Recovery Vehicle (ARV) and its crew in a swamp at Pabradė Training Ground in eastern Lithuania.

The Defender Dome

28 Mar 2025 18:54

Satellite imagery captured today by @MT_Anderson shows that there are now at least 5 B-2 “Spirit” Long-Range Strategic Stealth Bombers at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, with 5 seen on the tarmac and possibly 4 others inside of clamshell-style hangers specifically meant for B-2 “Spirits” deployed to Diego Garcia, totaling a possible 9 stealth bombers at the base, which is nearly half of the U.S. Air Force’s active inventory of B-2s.

The Defender Dome

28 Mar 2025 18:32

U.S. Vice-President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance landed earlier today in Greenland, in order to visit troops at Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base, which operates jointly under NATO through the 1951 Greenland Defense Agreement signed between the United States and Denmark. Vice-President Vance was originally meant to attend several events in Greenland during his visit, though most have been cancelled in protest of continued “aggressive rhetoric” by U.S. President Trump and his Administration in attempting to claim the country as part of the United States.