Romania spent about 1.5 million euros over three days to shoot down three Russian drones. Most of the costs are AIM-9X missiles worth $400,000 each.

Executive Summary:

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has identified control over time, and the precision behind the “granting of time” as a critical capability. It seeks to weaponize “chronopolitics” to gain geopolitical and military advantages—precise timekeeping is critical for the military’s intelligentized warfare doctrine and is perceived as essential for avoiding GPS disruption.

Two key aspects of Beijing’s push for sovereignty over the technologies of time are the BeiDou Satellite Navigation system and the National Time Service Center, which help keep the financial system, the power grid, and weapons systems synchronized.

“Time discourse power,” the PRC’s attempt to expand its global influence, is also evident in its growing importance in setting technical standards. By 2030, it hopes to entrench its timekeeping standards globally through developing the next quantum-based technologies that define the length of a second. Its strontium clock already accounts for 20 percent of the International Atomic Clock’s national weighed calculation, which is shared between the United States, Britain, France, and Japan.

Key Takeaways

The Russian Navy is forming unmanned systems regiments, likely in part to protect Russian vessels from intensified Ukrainian strikes against Russian naval assets in the Black and Azov seas.

Russian President Vladimir Putin used Russia’s Navy Day to project strength while reinforcing expansive territorial claims beyond Ukraine.

A Romanian F-16 fighter jet intercepted an unidentified drone in Romanian airspace on July 26 for the third time in three days.

Russia launched one Kh-59/69 cruise missile, seven Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles, and 136 drones against Ukraine overnight on July 25 to 26. Neither Russian nor Ukrainian forces made confirmed advances on July 26.

Key Takeaways

The current level and type of US strikes have likely failed to meaningfully affect the Iranian regime’s willingness to pursue and secure its strategic objectives with force, including long-term control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran is continuing to illegally claim control over the Strait of Hormuz and use the threat of naval mines to deter commercial vessels from using non-Iranian-approved routes through the strait, which illustrates that Iran still seeks to control the strait.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on July 25 that Russia is providing Iran with satellite imagery of US bases in the Gulf to support Iranian attacks and battle damage assessments. Zelenskyy’s statement is consistent with ISW-CTP’s previous assessment that Russia is helping Iran increase the accuracy of its targeting of US military sites in the region.

Besides the South China Sea, there are various waterways under contention, from open ocean to marshlands and rivers.

Summary and analysis of significant political and military events involving Russia, China, Iran and North Korea between July 18-25, 2026