Roll Tide.

The inert cannonballs, which were — naturally — wrapped in paper towels, were discovered during the baggage screening process at Alabama’s Gulf Shores International Airport and later determined by police to have been stolen from the nearby coastal stronghold Fort Morgan.

“My first thought was, ‘I couldn’t see a fuse and need to get some help quick,’” TSA officer Justin Dupree recalled in a release. “I couldn’t see the entire item but was scared I might have been holding a live explosive.”

Dupree noted the antique artillery projectiles ranged in size, with the largest comparable to a grapefruit.

“I had never seen anything quite this unique,” Dupree said. “I’ve seen inert grenades and training munitions but never an Indiana Jones-esque stolen artifact-type situation.”

A TSA explosives specialist and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office were subsequently notified and determined that the cannonballs posed no threat.

Law enforcement investigating the incident stated the passenger claimed to be unaware of how the projectiles were acquired. The cannonballs were later returned to Fort Morgan, the release added.

Passenger attempts to transport illegal items, including outlandish weaponry, through the screening process are, of course, nothing new.

In a more glaring example from 2019, a Florida man traveling through Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley International Airport set off alarms after his bag was found to contain a disassembled rocket-propelled grenade.

The individual was subsequently taken into an inspection area, where he told airport security he was under the impression he could bring the checked RPG on the plane, CBS Philadelphia reported.

Inspection of the weapon itself revealed that the launcher was not in working order, and the grenade was a realistic replica.

The items were confiscated by security, and, miraculously, the individual boarded his flight on time.

The contract, the largest interagency lodging acquisition in the history of the Guard, comes as part of ongoing support for the Trump administration’s “Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful” executive order.

The length of the D.C. task force’s mission, which kicked off in August 2025, has made current lodging arrangements unsustainable, a Guard release stated. Mobilized troops have been staying in hotels throughout the region.

The Guard is hoping a long-term housing remedy will improve overall quality of life and flexibility for those mobilized while reducing taxpayer expenses, the release stated. The acquisition process was reportedly completed in under three months, “despite an agency-level vendor protest, which was reviewed and denied.”

“This contract delivers stable, secure housing for our soldiers and airmen while achieving significant cost savings for the government,” Monica Williams, executive director of acquisitions and head of contracting activity for the National Guard Bureau, said in the release. “We were able to move quickly to meet mission requirements and provide a long-term solution for deployed personnel.”

The contract pricing, according to Guard and GSA figures, is “about 49% below projected short-term commercial hotel costs and 27% below standard GSA schedule pricing for lodging and housekeeping services.”

The new arrangement comes on the heels of a May 28 report, meanwhile, that assessed that the 2,000-plus National Guard troops to have participated in the D.C. task force have had “no measurable effect on violent crime.”

The report, published by the Niskanen Center, described the Guard deployments as “an expensive tool” used in “the wrong places for the wrong types of crime.”

Researchers cited the $607 average daily cost per Guard member in the nation’s capital, compared with $384 in pay for Metropolitan Police Department officers.

Robbery and other violent crime rates in the D.C. area had also decreased prior to the Guard deployment, the report said. Those numbers were not impacted by the military operation.

Still, the report’s authors stopped short of calling the deployment a waste, noting that there was a 24% decline in opportunistic property crime recorded in the first six months of the operation.

“We brought 2,500 Guardsmen in from 15 states and the District of Columbia, and you all have done an amazing job,” Gen. Steve Nordhaus, chief of the National Guard Bureau, told troops in D.C. in July. “[Since arriving] you saved over 235 lives. You’ve done over 530 medical assistances to personnel, you restored children back to their families 27 times, and you have done amazing things in support of law enforcement to make sure we reduce crime.”

Sgt. Darilyn C. Duong, a DI with the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, was found in her apartment in Port Royal, just north of the installation. She was 25 years old.

The cause of death is currently under investigation, Marine spokesperson 2nd Lt. Joshua Hartley said in a statement.

“The Marine Corps extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends and fellow Marines affected by this loss,” Hartley said. “At this time, it would be premature to speculate on the circumstances or results of the investigation. … Out of respect for the Marine’s family and loved ones, no additional details will be released at this time.”

A native of Winnebago, Nebraska, Duong is the second drill instructor assigned to Parris Island to be found dead in as many months.

On May 30, Sgt. Albert Haynes II, 24, was found dead in a hotel room in Starke, Florida, where he was staying while attending a poolee function with U.S. Marine Corps Recruiting Station-Jacksonville.

Duong, who was single with no dependents, enlisted in the Marine Corps as a Food Service Specialist before becoming a drill instructor.

Her awards include the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, two Sea Service Deployment Ribbons, two Good Conduct Medals and the National Defense Service Medal.

The New Mexico-based firm this week pulled the curtain back on Buckler, an interceptor designed to kill Group 3 drones — UAS weighing up to 1,320 pounds and flying below 18,000 feet at under 250 knots — for a cost of under $100,000 per unit.

Buckler is designed to knock out UAS at supersonic speeds, according to a company release, and is assembled with an airframe and propulsion system manufactured entirely at X-Bow factories, thus eliminating a production bottleneck that has plagued myriad high-priced systems reliant on multi-company components. Axios first reported about the X-Bow Buckler.

The unveiling at London’s 2026 Farnborough Airshow this week is the latest push by U.S. industry to solve an interceptor enigma that has become increasingly glaring as the nation’s war with Iran drags on.

U.S. troops in the military’s Central Command area of operations have continued to face the onerous task of leaning on exorbitantly priced interceptors to contend with Iran’s vastly cheaper, mass-produced Shahed attack drones.

The use of a single PAC-3 interceptor to knock one Shahed-136 out of the sky comes with a $4 million to $35,000 tradeoff, or a 114-1 cost-per-kill ratio.

“You can’t win a war of attrition trading million-dollar interceptors against thousand-dollar threats,” X-Bow founder and chief executive officer Jason Hundley said in a release. “Buckler has flown, it comes in under $100,000, and we build its airframe and propulsion ourselves — the part of the industrial base that is so stressed by today’s munitions demands. This is our answer to the call from the U.S. and its allies: affordable capability, at scale.”

X-Bow’s announcement comes after the firm’s recent test of the Buckler munition — one that derives its name, as TWZ noted, from a Medieval era shield — that demonstrated its propulsion and flight performance, the company announced.

Following a similar theme at Farnborough, Lockheed Martin on Monday introduced what it hopes will be another low cost per kill solution to the ever-evolving unmanned threat.

The defense giant this week introduced the Morfius X-Rotor, a ground-launched “one-to-many” airborne high power microwave counter-UAS system the company says can “neutralize more than 50 enemy drones in a single flight.”

Morfius is built, most notably, to be recovered and reused.

Lockheed also introduced a cheaper Patriot interceptor.

Such has been the case at London’s 2026 Farnborough Airshow, where Lockheed Martin on Monday introduced what it hopes will be a low cost per kill solution to the ever-evolving unmanned threat.

The Morfius X-Rotor is a ground-launched “one-to-many” airborne high power microwave, or HPM, counter-UAS system the company says can “neutralize more than 50 enemy drones in a single flight.”

Built, notably, to be recovered and reused, the Morfius is capable of using any command and control system and does not rely on any unique sensor or fire control radars, the company announced.

Morfius “sets a new benchmark for counter-drone capability — delivering a high kill rate while keeping the cost per kill low,” Randy Crites, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Advanced Programs, said in a release. “By leveraging a lightweight, field reusable high-power microwave architecture, we provide the most effective, low-cost solution on the market today.”

The company announced it is accelerating prototype production of both the drone and its HPM payload in the interest of getting it into the hands of frontline troops.

The system was recently flight-tested in Arizona, California and Oklahoma, the company stated, where it also demonstrated interception and lethal capabilities. Additional tests are slated in the months ahead.

Monday’s announcement comes as the U.S. looks to reduce dependence on cost-prohibitive interceptors to defend against cheaper munitions, a juxtaposition that has come under increased scrutiny as U.S. forces have quickly expended interceptor stockpiles to combat Iranian missiles and Shahed drones.

Lockheed Martin on Monday also introduced a cheaper Patriot interceptor as a potential off ramp to the reliance on exorbitantly priced interceptors.

Anduril started the 2026 Farnborough Airshow with a splash on Monday when it unveiled an autonomous attack rotorcraft, dubbed Thunder, designed to operate with current and next-generation crewed attack helicopter platforms.

Developed in partnership with Archer Aviation as a vertical take-off and landing aircraft, Anduril’s military edition is a Group 5 autonomous attack rotorcraft built with a series hybrid-electric powertrain system and tilt rotors that allow it to operate in any environment while keeping up, when needed, with faster rotary aircraft like the Apache and Cheyenne II.

“The proliferation of drones in land warfare has brought maneuver to a stalemate, extracting a significant toll in terms of both man and machine,” a company release stated. “Attack helicopters and their crews, long the lifeblood of maneuver warfare, are increasingly held at risk by a combination of loitering munitions, cheap air defenses, and ubiquitous persistent ISR platforms that have rendered the near-surface domain one of the most lethal places on the battlefield.”

Anduril officials said the Thunder, which has been in development since 2024, will provide much-needed relief to that toll courtesy of its ability “to fight alongside crewed aircraft, as part of an autonomous formation, or independently across missions.”

The Thunder’s mission suite will include long range mass effects delivery; fire support; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; maritime patrol; anti-submarine warfare; search and rescue; and contested cargo and logistics.

On its weapons side, modular internal main and nose payload module bays will allow the Thunder to be armed with everything from precision munitions and electronic warfare payloads to air-launched effects, rockets and counter-drone munitions.

Citing configurable payload examples, Anduril officials said one Thunder operating on the battlefield could carry 10 air-to-ground missiles, 16 launched effects or 76 70mm rockets, in addition to a dozen counter-UAS munitions.

“Teaming multiplies the mass that Thunder brings to the fight,” the Anduril release stated. “By pairing multiple Thunder aircraft with a single crewed platform, commanders can achieve a step-change in combat mass that enables formations to defeat more targets, sustain operations longer, and keep crews farther from the most lethal threats.”

The Thunder aircraft will operate using Anduril’s core Lattice for Mission Autonomy software to inform flight formation behaviors and separation management for safety around crewed aircraft, the release said, thus eliminating the need for pilot control of the drones and freeing crews to focus solely on the mission.

The aircraft, meanwhile, is also easily transportable, with configuration that allows it to be packed into a standard shipping container.

The company has not yet listed a price point for the Thunder. Anduril is targeting a first flight in 2027.

The unexploded ordnance was from a “downed Iranian one-way attack drone,” Central Command said in a statement released Sunday.

The death of the U.S. service member in Iraq follows in the wake of two U.S. service members killed in action on Friday in an Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack on U.S. and partner forces in Jordan, U.S. Central Command announced.

Four more troops had to be medically evacuated to hospitals in Jordan.

Those four service members have since been discharged, the command added.

“Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty,” the release stated.

U.S. Central Command originally noted that a third U.S. service member was missing, however, CENTCOM announced today that “After a thorough search, U.S. military personnel found unidentified remains at the location earlier today. An examination process to verify the remains is ongoing.”

U.S. Central Command is withholding the identities of the dead until 24 hours after the service members’ next of kin have been notified.

Additional information about the exact location of the attack had not been provided as of publication.

The latest casualties bring the toll of American troops killed in the war with Iran to 18.

Most recently, the commanding officer of the Navy’s Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5, Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards, was killed on July 1 when the MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter he was aboard went down in the Arabian Sea. Three other sailors were rescued following the emergency landing.

More than 400 U.S. troops have been wounded in the campaign, which began Feb. 28.

A third U.S. service member is missing, the command release added, while four more troops had to be medically evacuated to hospitals in Jordan.

Those four service members have since been discharged, the command added.

“Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty,” the release stated.

U.S. Central Command is withholding the identities of the dead until 24 hours after the service members’ next of kin have been notified.

Additional information about the exact location of the attack had not been provided as of publication.

The casualties in Friday’s attack bring the toll of American troops killed in the war with Iran to 16.

Most recently, the commanding officer of the Navy’s Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5, Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards, was killed on July 1 when the MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter he was aboard went down in the Arabian Sea. Three other sailors were rescued following the emergency landing.

More than 400 U.S. troops have been wounded in the campaign, which began Feb. 28.

The two systems, NMESIS and MADIS, were welcomed by personnel from the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, as key pieces in those threat recalibration efforts.

The NMESIS is a ground-based ship-killing missile system designed to be deployed in sea denial operations near coastlines.

The system features a Naval Strike Missile system — fixed to a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle — that can operate through both semi-autonomous and fully autonomous launches.

The short-range, surface-to-air defense capabilities of the MADIS make the highly mobile platform especially potent for low altitude air defense personnel taking on helicopters, fixed wing aircraft and small unmanned aircraft systems, or sUAS.

Mounted aboard two 4×4 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, MADIS operates as a complementary duo, with one vehicle primarily performing the role of counter-sUAS detection and elimination — via 360-degree radar, a command-and-control suite and an electronic warfare system — while the second vehicle combats fixed wing and rotary aircraft courtesy of a multi-Stinger missile pod, 30mm cannon and electronic warfare capabilities.

The 3rd Marine Division’s Hawaii-based 3rd MLR was the first unit to receive the NMESIS and MADIS. Since then, the Marine Corps has pushed to field the new tech across the Indo-Pacific to match the rapid evolution of regional threats.

Marines with the 3rd MLR in May deployed the NMESIS across multiple islands, as part of the Balikatan 26 exercise, after hitching rides aboard Air Force C-130Js and Army LCU-2000 landing craft.

Operating for three days in the Batanes Islands archipelago, Marines ran through a series of dry fire missions in which they practiced denying warships access to the Luzon Strait.

Days earlier, Marines in Zambales demonstrated the capabilities of the MADIS in knocking quad-copters and fixed-wing drones out of the sky.

The aircraft, assigned to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing’s Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 224 (VMFA-224), became the service’s first to deploy to the Scandinavian country as part of the NATO-led Exercise Ramstein Flag 2026, according to a release.

The June 8-12 exercise featured 19 nations operating out of 15 locations, with the highway air operations involving the U.S. F-35s, Spanish EF-18s and Polish F-16s, according to the release. Finnish air force F/A-18 Hornets were also pictured on the roadway.

“Our mission is to ensure the joint force can fight and win,” Maj. Gen. Daniel Shipley, the commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa, said in the release. “Our participation in Ramstein Flag enhances the lethality of the Marine Corps, enables NATO success and guarantees our ability to deter and defeat sophisticated aerial threats.”

Elements of the 2nd MAW were previously slated to participate in the Norway-based Arctic warfare exercise Cold Response 2026 in March, but were pulled back amid concerns over the conflict with Iran.

The non-traditional Finnish highway operation was designed to test combat adaptability in an increasingly contested Arctic, the service said, with air command and control of the highway operations — and other air missions — coordinated from NATO’s Combined Air Operations Center in Bodo, Norway.

“This iteration of Ramstein Flag stretches from the northernmost parts of Norway to the southern reaches of Spain, showcasing Allied Airpower’s 360-degree approach to defend every inch of NATO territory,” U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Jason T. Hinds, commander of Allied Air Command, said in the release. “The scale of this exercise is a testament to NATO’s determination to counter modern and emerging threats through distributed operations across NATO’s Joint Operations Areas.”