US Bombs, Declares Ceasefire, in 73 Hours
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The day after Saturday night’s Operation Midnight Hammer, when the US military hit three nuclear facilities in Iran, American officials said Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities sustained “severe damage and destruction,” but it’s unclear if they were fully taken out of commission, reports Task & Purpose.
The next day, Monday, in retaliation, Iran launched a limited missile attack on a US military base in Qatar, but indicated it was prepared to step back from escalating tensions in the region, reports Defense News.
Most defense stocks rose Monday as investors reacted to the strikes. Shares in Lockheed Martin climbed 0.4%, Northrop Grumman rose 0.3%, and General Dynamics added 1.3%. L3Harris Technologies gained 0.6%. RTX was an outlier, down 0.6%, reports MSN. But shares traded lower late in the day in reaction to the ease of deflecting Iran’s retaliation. Brent crude prices dropped almost 6%, signaling that the market didn’t expect a lengthy battle between the US and Iran.
During Tuesday’s hearing on his nomination to Commander of Central Command, VADM Brad Cooper said Iran still has “considerable” abilities to threaten American forces and other interests in the Middle East, reports Military.com. “At the tactical level, I think they’ve been degraded. I think the degree to which that degradation has taken place, particularly in the last 12 days, is best discussed in a classified forum.”
A US intelligence assessment has found the US strikes only set Iran’s nuclear weapons program back by a few months, reports NextGov. The Trump administration has taken umbrage with the leaking of this report to CNN, which broke the story. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the assessment “flat-out wrong,” in a statement to CNN. “Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.”
US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was in effect, although the deal initially faltered, reports AP News. Trump told reporters, in his view, both sides had violated the nascent agreement. He had particularly strong words for Israel, a close ally, while suggesting Iran may have fired on the country by mistake.
Israel had struck the most notorious jail for political prisoners in Tehran on Monday in a potent demonstration that it was expanding its targets beyond military and nuclear sites to aim squarely at the pillars of Iran’s ruling system, Reuters reported.
En route to The Hague on Air Force One, Trump told reporters that the ceasefire was back on, after, he said, Israel “turned back” military planes at his request, according to a Trump timeline compiled by The Washington Post of the 73 hours between the bomb strikes to announcing Iran’s and Israel’s during the flight to a NATO summit at The Hague.
The US Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, USS Gerald Ford, will deploy next week to the US 6th Fleet area of operations that encompasses the Mediterranean Sea and surrounding areas, reports Military Times. The approximate positions of the US’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups are compiled by USNI News, updated here to June 24, 2025.
Airlines were weighing how long to suspend Middle East flights when escalating tensions started affecting airlines beyond the Middle East. Air India announced on Monday suspension of flights to and from eastern North America and Europe, routes using a narrowing path to the Indian subcontinent. Reuters reports, international carriers’ cancellations are increasing in recent days to typically resilient aviation hubs such as Dubai, the world’s busiest international airport, and Qatar’s Doha as concerns grow.
Iraq reopened its airspace Tuesday, 12 days after closing it amid the Iran-Israel war, Barrons reports from Agence France-Presse.
Despite Russia expanding its offensive in Ukraine, unprecedented US bombing strikes, and European anticipation of a reduction of the 80,000 US forces on the continent, at this week’s summit, NATO officials hope to showcase a massive spending pledge of 3.5% of GDP to defense plus 1.5% to other security-related areas, far outpacing NATO’s current 2% floor. The action satisfies a key demand of President Trump, reports Defense News.
The United Kingdom announced it will buy “at least” 12 F-35As and will use the jets to “join NATO’s dual capable nuclear mission” in what it called a “major boost” for the alliance’s security, reports Breaking Defense.
Boeing failed to provide adequate training, guidance, and oversight to prevent a midair cabin panel blowout of a new 737 MAX 9 flight in January 2024, the National Transportation Safety Board has found. Aljazeera reports, the board on Tuesday harshly criticized Boeing’s safety culture and its failure to install four key bolts in a new Alaska Airlines MAX 9 during production, as well as the ineffective oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Although DefSec Pete Hegseth praised the work of “our boys in those bombers,” Military.com reports at least one B-2 bomber was piloted by a female and women were on a guided missile submarine crew that launched more than two dozen cruise missiles at the Iranian nuclear sites.
Following the 2022 removal of commanders from the process, military domestic violence convictions have skyrocketed against service members, including an increasing share of senior ranking officers. Military.com reports, 43 soldiers in the Army were convicted of domestic violence in 2021. That number more than doubled in 2024 to at least 101. The Marine Corps saw roughly 24 convictions for domestic violence in 2024, double the total number from 2019 through 2021, according to records posted online. The Navy, had three convictions in 2021 and 2022, and 16 in 2024, while the Air Force, with 10 convictions in 2021, had 21 in 2024.
Karen Brazell, a senior adviser to VA SEC Doug Collins, has been nominated to head the Veterans Benefits Administration — the section of the VA that manages $189 billion in benefits for nearly six million veterans and family members, reports Military.com.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress is pushing for phone-free classrooms in the Pentagon’s 161 schools worldwide, calling smartphones harmful to mental health and disruptive to education. Bills in both the Senate and House armed services committees would require the DoD Education Activity to prohibit students from using or possessing phones during school hours, removing control from individual schools, reports Stars and Stripes.
Two Mexican citizens pleaded guilty to a violation of defense property security regulations and trespassing on military property — misdemeanor charges that can carry up to a year in prison and/or fines, the US Attorney’s Office in New Mexico announced Thursday. These are some of the first convictions against migrants who crossed into newly created military zones along the southern border — a tactic by the Trump administration to deter crossings and increase legal penalties, reports Military.com. The men were also convicted of reentry after deportation.
Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman said the six months of DOGE cuts across the federal government have had almost the same effect in Maryland as two years of cuts under sequestration a decade ago. More than 5,300 state residents have lost their jobs with the federal government, with contractors in the state also hit hard, according to Route-Fifty.
Contracts:
Agile Decision Sciences LLC, Huntsville, Alabama, has been awarded a $20,343,772.91 option exercise modification (P00006) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (HS0021-23-C-0012) for the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA). This modification exercises Option Period Two to continue to provide cybersecurity support services to DCSA’s Program Executive Office. Work will be performed in Quantico, Virginia; and Hanover, Maryland, with an estimated completion of June 28, 2027 (with options). Fiscal 2025 DCSA working capital funds in the amount of $11,997,272 were obligated at the time of award. The cumulative face value of the contract to date is $87,294,593. DCSA Contracting and Procurement Office, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Aleut O&M Services LLC, Colorado Springs, Colorado, was awarded a $25,900,127 firm-fixed-price contract for base operation support services. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of March. 31, 2026. Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $6,760,491 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Field Directorate Office, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W5168W-25-C-A003). (Awarded June 20, 2025)
BILT Inc., Grapevine, Texas, was awarded a $14,999,050 firm-fixed-price contract for 3D/XR training and support for the Air Combat Command Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection Directorate. This contract provides for improved training, maintenance, and operational procedures for the BILT application. Work will be performed at Grapevine, Texas; and Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2029. The contract was a sole source acquisition through a Small Business Innovation Research Phase 2 direct award selection. Fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,110,362 are being obligated at the time of award. The 82nd Contracting Squadron, Sheppard AFB, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA3020-25-C-0005).
General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Connecticut, is awarded a $57,800,000 undefinitized contract action under previously awarded contract (N00024-24-C-2124) in support of procurement for two Subsafe hull and back up valves. Work will be performed in Annapolis, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by December 2028. Fiscal 2025 research development test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,410,939 (9%) will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Supervisor of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair, Groton, Connecticut, is the contracting activity.
Colossal Contracting LLC, Annapolis, Maryland (FA8501-25-D-0001); DISYS Solutions Inc., Ashburn, Virginia (FA8501-25-D-0002); FedData Technology Solutions LLC, Annapolis Junction, Maryland (FA8501-25-D-0003); GovSmart Inc., Charlottesville, Virginia (FA8501-25-D-0004); and Sterling Computers Corp., North Sioux City, South Dakota (FA8501-25-D-0005), have been awarded a ceiling $84,556,394 firm-fixed-price, multiple award, indefinite‐delivery/indefinite‐quantity contracts for the purchase of infrastructure hardware and any incidental warranty services for the installation, sustainment, development, and expansion of Robins Air Force Base NIPR/SIPR infrastructure and its facilities. The contract provides for supporting the deployment of new technology within the Robins AFB NIPR/SIPR infrastructure. Work will be performed at Robins AFB, Georgia, and is expected to be completed by June 24, 2030. These contracts were a competitive acquisition and five offers were received. Fiscal 2025 working capital funds in the amount of $745,257 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Sustainment Center, Operational Contracting Branch, Robins AFB, Georgia, is the contracting activity.
Marine Hydraulics International LLC – MHI Ship Repair & Service, Norfolk, Virginia, is being awarded an $11,488,745 modification to exercise options on a previously awarded contract (N00024-25-C-4431) for the USS New York (LPD 21) fiscal 2025 selected restricted availability. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by September 2026. Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance, (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,967,356 (96%); fiscal 2025 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $274,550 (2%); and fiscal 2025 working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $246,839 (2%), will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Mid Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
