US & Iran to Meet in Oman on Friday + Russia & Ukraine Agree to Prisoner Exchange + US & Russia Reestablish Military Communication + US Navy CCA Program

For review:1. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei “should be very worried” in the wake of reports that suggested that planned nuclear talks set for the end of the week were unravelling.A White House official confirmed to The Times of Israel that nuclear talks with Iran would be held Friday in Muscat.2. Iran’s army spokesperson said Thursday that the military is ready for a conflict, if that is what the US wants, Commenting on the addition of 1,000 drones to the Iranian military, Iranian Brig. Gen. Mohammad Akraminia said Thursday: “We have always announced that we are ready to confront any option and any scenario that the enemy considers, and if the enemy chooses the option of war, we are ready for any option in war conditions.”3. Trilateral talks between American, Ukrainian and Russian negotiators concluded in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, with Moscow and Kyiv exchanging hundreds of prisoners of war.4. The ‍US and Russia have agreed to reestablish high level military-to-military ​dialogue, following ‍talks in Abu Dhabi, more than ​four years after suspension, according to the US military.5. The Kremlin said Thursday it regretted the expiration of the last remaining nuclear arms pact between Russia and the United States, while U.S. President Donald Trump declared he was against keeping its limits and wants a better deal.New START restricted each side to no more than 1,550 nuclear warheads on no more than 700 missiles and bombers — deployed and ready for use.6. Boeing’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) will gain internal weapons bays along with an increased wingspan, the global program director announced during this week’s Singapore Airshow.Boeing is currently developing the Ghost Bat in Australia for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), which has ordered seven aircraft for delivery in 2028.7. Two aviation companies under contract to develop armed, unmanned aircraft and control systems for the U.S. Navy teased what they are working on this week during the Singapore Air Show.Anduril’s YFQ-44 Fury, under development for the Air Force’s CCA program, is in competition with the General Atomics YFQ-42A.The Navy wants its own version of the “uncrewed, modular, interoperable, interchangeable and versatile platforms” that it can field from an aircraft carrier.8. Aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) is back at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division after wrapping up builder’s trials, the company said Wednesday.John F. Kennedy, the second in the Ford class of aircraft carriers, is slated to deliver to the Navy in March 2027.