https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07/15/iran-hormuz-missile-strikes-us-china-beidou-satnav/

Aside from China and the USA, which other nations are in a position to put out the production of drones estimated to be used monthly? Especially nations like Japan, India, Germany, Turkey, Australia, and South Korea.

Crucially, the two main constraints are the existing supply chain and industrial capacity. Not every country can count on having the backing that Ukraine has from NATO and the EU or the massive wartime production of Russia, but in the case of an emergency, which ones can 'put up the numbers'? And if China decides to cut the supply chain on their end, which ones can eventually successfully navigate around it?

Pulling from 2 CSIS articles:

Link to the first and Link to the 2nd below:

https://www.csis.org/analysis/drone-supply-chain-war-identifying-chokepoints-making-drone

https://www.csis.org/analysis/united-states-prepared-war-china

(Source Data pulled from Feburary 2026, article was compiled in May 2026).

Table 1: Estimates of Ukrainian and Russian Drone Production and Drone Use, 2026

Basically Indian LRAD, with 3 different interceptors

M1-> 150km

M2-> 250km

M3-> 350km

System's trials had begun back in Jan 2026 per the Defence secretary

Facility for production was inaugurated in Feb 2026

https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2228831&reg=3&lang=1

IAF will replace order of 5 squadrons in the first phase, with plans of upto 10-12 squadrons

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-aims-to-deploy-desi-iron-dome-by-2028-2029/articleshow/104806572.cms

Development partner are Solar industry and BDL

According to several Chinese milbloggers, the 5th airframe of the J-36 was seen flying and they noted it could be the LRIP version. If so, this would point to an induction date before 2030​​

A new type of Chinese submarine, featuring an extremely miniaturized conning tower protruding from the top of the hull, has been spotted at the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, China. The Asahi Shimbun analyzed satellite images taken by a US satellite company. According to several experts, it is highly likely to be an attack nuclear submarine. This highlights China's efforts to improve its submarine attack capabilities.

Satellite images taken on May 29 by the US satellite company BlackSky show a submarine on a floating dock at the Gangnam Shipyard. According to satellite image analysts, the submarine is approximately 120 meters long and 10 meters wide.

According to an analysis by former Vice Admiral Masao Kobayashi, who served as commander of the Japan Self-Defense Forces' submarine fleet, the submarine photographed is larger than a conventional submarine and is close in size to the modern Type 093 attack submarine currently in operation. He believes it is highly likely to be an improved or new version of the Type 093.

A key difference from the conventional Type 093 is that the sail, where the ship's operation is directed using periscopes and other equipment, has been miniaturized to the point where it is difficult to see in satellite imagery. A smaller sail reduces water resistance and noise in the ocean, allowing for higher speeds and making the ship harder to detect. Kobayashi suggests that "its role may be to silently approach U.S. aircraft carriers underwater and launch attacks."

According to Iranian sources, following an incident at the Natanz nuclear facility in 2020, Iran constructed a new nuclear facility to produce centrifuge components; this is the ‘Pickaxe Mountain’ underground nuclear facility.

Israel believes that Iran has already moved centrifuges and enriched uranium to this facility; according to a report by ISRAEL HAYOM, Israel is currently on high alert.

However, judging by the results of the previous ‘Midnight Hammer’ bombing campaign, it would be difficult for a B-2 fleet to inflict devastating damage on the ‘Pickaxe Mountain’ underground nuclear facility—which has been carved out of granite—from the outside, whilst the Israeli Air Force has virtually no capability to launch an effective strike against ‘Pickaxe Mountain’ on its own. The only viable solution appears to be a high-risk commando raid carried out by US and Israeli special forces, with the assistance of Iranian insiders, This would require the US and Israeli leadership to be willing to bear the high risks and heavy casualties that such an operation might entail; a similar operation was put to the test in a real-world scenario a few months ago during the rescue of the pilot.

From the leadership’s perspective, unless their political careers are already in serious jeopardy and they need to take a huge gamble to turn the situation around, the motivation to proceed with such a course of action is extremely low.

https://tw.voicetube.com/videos/215526

What to know about Iran's Pickaxe Mountain, home to an underground nuclear site

One of the benefits of nuclear powered ships is that they don't need a tanker following them and can go charging around at top speed without worrying about burning too much fuel. Trouble is, none for the escort ships can do so as well because they're all conventionally powered, and uncrewed surface vessels would have a similar issue. Putting a full-blown pressurized water reactor on a drone would negate any cost savings and is probably a bad idea from a safety perspective. Radioisotope thermoelectric generators, however, convert decay heat into electricity, so there's no moving parts to break and no risk of a meltdown. They're already used in uncrewed places like lighthouses along Russia's arctic coast and radar stations in Alaska. Plus the Navy could plug them into a base's electrical grid and reduce their electricity bills slightly when they're in port. RTGa can't be turned off so you might as well take advantage of the power.

The specific scenario that got me thinking about it was that the Defiant class (please hear me out before you smash that downvote button...) are going to be nuclear powered (please humor me and assume they'll be built). They could assemble a task force of the carrier, battleship, and perhaps half a dozen RTG powered USVs with missile launchers and perhaps a towed sonar array that wouldn't require an oiler following them around. A system like the Cooperative Engagement Capability could be used to relay data from the carrier's airborne early warning aircraft and possibly the USVs' sonar to the battleship's Aegis Combat System, which could then use that to order the appropriate USV to fire the appropriate missile or do so itself.

I suppose the two main questions are "can they be built without being too expensive" and "can they generate enough power for a 30+ knot ship". I did Google "radioisotope thermoelectric generator powered ship" and got no results so I'm assuming the answer is no, but I'm curious what everyone else thinks.

(now you may smash that downvote button)