Russian military has made some strides in recruiting women to become drone pilots - but with a caveat. My comments in @forbes.com, with info taken from public sources. www.forbes.com/sites/davidh...
US Navy launches new Golden Fleet-era USV program, terminates old one www.militarytimes.com/news/your-na...
I asked Daniel to look into this strike when it first happened because it didn't make sense. He did make sense of the weapon, the hit, and the damage and I believe his assessment that it was possibly targeting error is very likely.🧵⬇️
The crude oil storage tanks in Primorsk, #Russia are still burning today following yesterday morning's drone strikes by #Ukraine; via Zoom Earth #OOTT
www.army.mil/article/2912...
Ukrainian drones hit a shipyard in St Petersburg. Russian Arctic Pr.23550 arctic patrol ship Purga (475) seen leaning over, clearly damaged.
These patrol ships are a major defence investment in Russia.
Awaiting further info.
Russian MOD: The military plans to train more than 70,000 specialists for the Unmanned Systems Forces this year. tass.ru/armiya-i-opk...
An important investigation: Nordsint and The Insider Reveal the Scheme Supplying Russia with Critical Drone Components from China nordsint.org/2026/03/24/g...
A Woman’s Place Is In The Drone War: How Technology Changes Attitudes www.forbes.com/sites/davidh...
Russia Launched Record 948 Drones at Ukraine in a Single Day, 906 Shot Down
militarnyi.com/en/news/russ...
Kharg Island is loading another two Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) supertankers today.
That’s 4 million barrels; worth over $400 million.
#OOTT #Iran #Tankers
Rarely Seen AEGIR-W surface drone (USV) washes up in Black Sea -> www.hisutton.com/AEGIR-W-USV....
The type had not previously been reported in use with Ukraine
....going to need a bigger piece of paper to document Ukrainian USVs
A reminder that if this info is true, the Iranian intelligence remains a capable adversary. Questions remain why would the targeted individual divulge so much secret information... militarnyi.com/en/news/iron...
Ukraine Moves Beyond the Black Sea With New Ocean-Going Drone Fleet, Zelenskyy Says united24media.com/latest-news/...
So likely damaged but clearly not sunk, all four very large Iranian naval vessels still afloat.
Guide pre-war www.hisutton.com/Iran-Navy-IR...
iranian navy mines which could close the Strait of Hormuz
New guide to Iranian naval mines - www.hisutton.com/Iranian-Nava...
#OSINT #Iran #Hormuz
A Russian Project 03160 “Raptor” patrol boat destroyed in a UAV strike near Znamenskoe, Crimea, on March 7, 2026.
After reviewing yesterday’s satellite imagery, we could see that Kharg Island was loading multiple tankers with crude oil. The Iranians were far more cautious during the Twelve Day War, when they only loaded one tanker per day. Ironically, they are now loading more without a navy. #OOTT #Tankers
Sanctions-Compliant Tankers Gone Dark
Of the oil- or fuel-laden, sanctions-compliant tankers situated west of the Strait of Hormuz, the following have been offline from AIS for at least 48 hours:
2 VLCCs
3 Suezmax
1 Panamax
Their stated destinations are China, India, and Japan.
#OOTT
Thank you very much Alaric Nightingale of Bloomberg for citing our research in your latest article!
#OOTT #Tankers #Iran
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Of great interest
Ukraine Intensifies Strikes on Russian Navy Assets Across Black Sea Region
www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...
Just as we have seen in past combat campaigns in #Iran, the #tankers at Kharg Island disperse and head out into various parts of the Iranian EEZ. Yesterday (while the weather was at least decent), we were able to spot and identify most of them. Today is totally cloudy. #OOTT
And finally, "this will be available to all shipping lines" would be an interesting choice by the US as it would imply they would cover ships currently waiting to transit the Strait who are loaded with Iranian oil exports.
None of these preconditions have been met for this plan and it will be far more difficult to meet them in this environment with a government that may not have control over all their assets.
The BSGI was not possible without Ukraine taking back Snake Island and UkriCor is not possible without Ukraine's command of the Western Black Sea due in part to their USV attacks which pushed back the Black Sea Fleet.
Ukraine's Humanitarian Corridor (#UkriCor) works because there was a negotiated, peaceful corridor led by the UN and Türkiye (Black Sea Grain Initiative #BSGI) beforehand that proved the process and gave Ukraine time to learn and secure the area.
A military escort does not ensure safe passage. It has not in the Black Sea and it will not here. This would require intensive ISR and both naval and air support.
Providing military escorts is not easy. I will not go into the details of Ukraine's process in the Black Sea but this is not something you set up overnight, it is manpower intensive and high risk if you are going to do it well. They could copy Ukraine's process.
If you have money it is relatively easy to fund an insurance facility to insure whatever you like. It takes a lot of money and you need the shipping companies to believe you will adhere to your terms which must be reasonable. Let's assume that part goes well.
