297: Financial Times Report: Israeli Patriot Air Defense Systems to Ukraine? + Russia Prepares Response to US Black Sea Drone Operations + European Combined Development of Long-Range Strike Capability + More

For review:1. US Military raises security alert level of bases in European Command.  2. Israeli Defense Minister (Yoav Gallant) visits Rafah. Defense Minister Gallant vowed the IDF will “continue and push until we reach a situation where we choke [Hamas’s] windpipe, and do not allow it to rebuild its strength. This is the goal of this operation.”3. IDF locates and destroys the largest underground production site for long-range rockets site in the Tel-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah.4. Financial Times Report: Unnamed sources say that the United States, Israel and Ukraine are in talks to provide Kyiv with up to eight Patriot missile air defense systems- currently owned and employed by Israel.5. Russia Prepares Response to US Black Sea Drone Operations.The Russian Defense Ministry noted a recent “increased intensity” of U.S. drones over the Black Sea, saying they “conduct intelligence and targeting for precision weapons supplied to the Ukrainian military by Western countries for strikes on Russian facilities.”6. European Combined Development of Long-Range Strike Capability. A letter of intent is expected to be signed during the 09-10 July NATO Summit, laying the foundation of the European Long Strike Approach (ELSA).7. Former top Estonian General (Martin Herem), describes the purpose and objective of the future Baltic defensive project that will consist of bunkers, obstacles, and fighting positions in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. “So the idea is actually to shape [the invasion]...in order to strike the Kremlin’s forces wherever they’re funneled".8. Defense News (Stephen Losey) interview with USAF Secretary Frank Kendall concerning the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Fighter Platform. Secretary Kendall:  “I can tell you that we are looking at the NGAD platform design concept to see if it’s the right concept or not. … We’re looking at whether we can do something that’s less expensive and do some trade-offs there.”