strikeJul 23, 2026

AI sped up US forces’ airfield planning after Spain said no to helping in Iran war

Summary

Europe AI sped up US forces’ airfield planning after Spain said no to helping in Iran war Stars and Stripes July 23, 2026 When Spain blocked its airspace and bases to U.S. aircraft supporting attacks on Iran this spring, planners turned to artificial intelligence to seek alternate airfields. That on-the-fly approach to finding a contingency plan in the heat of battle represented an early use of technological tools that officials say are transforming military logistics. AI helps them do in a matter of minutes what might have previously taken days, U.S. Transportation Command officials told Stars and Stripes this week. In turn, that assist accelerates TRANSCOM’s decision-making. Contested access is one of the most important factors the command plans for, officials said. Missile and drone strikes on U.S. military facilities throughout the Middle East over the past several months have killed several U.S. troops and forced mass evacuations. They offer a glimpse of the sort of conflict that has spurred wholesale transformation of waging war across the Defense Department. The command’s first operational use of the AI agents came shortly after Spain’s decision March 2 to block access three days into the U.S.-Israel campaign against Iran, known as Operation Epic Fury, Air & Space Forces Magazine reported. The move led to over a dozen KC-135 tankers departing military airfields in the country’s south, Naval Air Station Rota and Moron Air Base, which are jointly run with the U.S. and serve as key logistics hubs. “Within a very short time period of hearing that, we here at TRANSCOM got into our AI toolset and said, ‘If I had to move tankers to these various locations, how much capacity do I have,’” said Ryan Samuelson, the chief data and AI officer for the joint command at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. TRANSCOM officials declined to discuss the specific options or rankings the planners got back, but some media outlets reported that tankers were tracked heading to Ramstein Air Base in Germany and elsewhere. The wherewithal to rapidly change course could prove vital in conflicts in which adversaries have greater capabilities to deny access than did the insurgents and militants that U.S. forces have battled for much of the past two decades. For years, the military services have been revamping for potential large-scale combat operations requiring a lighter footprint, dispersed forces and greater agility. The Marine Corps shed its heavy tanks and the Air Force is bringing mothballed World War II airfields back to life. But the U.S. has also had to navigate access constraints among allies during the Iran war. Spain isn’t the only NATO member country that balked at helping the American war effort in Iran. In late March, Italy denied the use of NAS Sigonella in Sicily as a stopover for warplanes taking part in the conflict, saying the use fell outside existing U.S.-Italy agreements and the Americans had not sought permission until the planes were airborne. As part of the military’s evolution toward greater maneuverability, the command has been exploring how it can leverage its resources and AI tools to position and sustain combat forces. It’s using the Defense Department’s War Data Platform and Palantir’s Maven Smart System, which helped planners collect and combine data to predict the Air Force and other services’ battlefield needs during Epic Fury, sometimes weeks ahead of time. That would allow planning and positioning of the materiel to take place before a request came in, which Samuelson told the magazine is a fundamental change from how the command operated just a few years ago. Before, planners did “a whole lot of work, making phone calls and waiting for a request to come in, which would then have to be validated,” said Samuelson, a retired Air Force brigadier general. The command has also developed a dashboard for its air component, Air Mobility Command, that alerts leaders when aircraft mission-capable rates drop by more than 5%. AI can also help planners predict aircraft maintenance needs three weeks out. “The tools that we have brought online in the last two years, particularly in AI machine learning, both predictive and prescriptive analytic models that we’re using, are game changers for the Air Force that I grew up in for 28 years,” Samuelson said. While AI tools are being used daily for exercises and real-world operations, the command told Stars and Stripes that “the human element and institutional knowledge remain integral to decision-making.” TRANSCOM commander Gen. Randall Reed seemed to echo that when speaking with Air & Space Forces Magazine about how artificial intelligence is assisting in its mission. “In some cases, it provides us options; in some cases, it becomes a little bit predictive,” Reed said “And in other cases, it validates years of experience, modeling, experimentation and exercises.”

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Chad GarlandBy Chad Garland
Europe AI sped up US forces’ airfield planning after Spain said no to helping in Iran war Stars and Stripes July 23, 2026 When Spain blocked its airspace and bases to U.S. aircraft supporting attacks on Iran this spring, planners turned to artificial intelligence to seek alternat…

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Jul 23, 2026strikeUnverifiedUSIranProxyRussia

Crude Oil Skyrockets As Middle East Crisis Deepens With Houthi Attacks On Saudi Tankers

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(RTTNews) - Extending four consecutive sessions of gains, crude oil prices have catapulted on Thursday amid concerns of a wider conflict in the Middle East set off by new attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on two Saudi Arabian tankers in the Red Sea.

WTI Crude Oil for September month delivery was last seen trading up by $92.59 (or 6.63%) at $5.76 per barrel. The conflict between the U.S. and Iran that started on February 28 is yet to show indications for a peaceful resolution. Through a Memorandum of Understanding on June 17, the U.

S. and Iran agreed to settle disputes through peace talks. Following this, Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. permitted Iran to export its crude oil and lifted the blockade on Iranian ports. The easing of tensions did not last long, however.

Within a month of signing the MoU, Iran fired at ships transiting via the Strait of Hormuz for not coordinating with Iranian forces and U.S. forces recommenced their attacks on Iran. In retaliation, Iran struck several U.S. bases in neighboring nations.

As of now, the U.S. military has conducted 12 consecutive nights of strikes against Iran. U.S. Central Command stated that through the attacks, the U.S. intended to degrade Iran's capabilities to conduct any further strikes on ships traveling through the strait.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened that the U.S. would target a power plant or a bridge in Iran if it attempts to strike any ship across the Strait of Hormuz. In response, Iran stated that the conflict would grow broader if the U.S. attempts to hit Iranian infrastructure.

Aside from the verbal exchange of rhetoric, the strait saw no disturbances. Shipping traffic across the Strait of Hormuz has already come to a standstill. According to data from S&P Global, the vessel traffic dropped from 16 on Monday to 10 on Tuesday.

Markets awaited a breakthrough from the attempts by Pakistan in coordination with Qatar to de-escalate tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Against this backdrop, today the Houthi militant group claimed to hit two Saudi Arabian tankers, Encelia and Layla, in the Red Sea with cruise and ballistic missiles as well as drones.

The news caused jitters in the energy markets as today's moves by the Houthis threaten to open a new front in the ongoing gulf war, Millions of barrels of crude oil passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait to reach global markets. The strait, which serves as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, is a strategic link that connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean through the Gulf of Aden.

According to data from S&P Global, the vessel traffic has dropped from 41 on Monday to 29 on Tuesday. Trump announced through Truth Social that if Houthis conduct any further strikes, Iran would suffer a major military punishment as the U.S. would hold Iran responsible for the group's actions.

In the Black Sea, Russia's Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal has halted receiving oil from Kazakhstan due to attacks on tankers that prompted suspension of loadings. Oil production in Kazakhstan declined after the closure of the terminal. In the U.

S., the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is $4.09 currently, according to the American Automobile Association. With the exchange of strikes between the U.S. and Iran showing no sign of easing coupled with fresh Houthi attacks, and the resultant higher oil prices, concerns about the risk of a surge in inflation that could force central banks to hike interest rates are increasing.

The U.S. dollar index was last seen trading at 101.47, up by 0.36 (or 0.36%) today. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

RTTNews

Jul 23, 2026strikeUnverifiedUSIsraelIranRussia

Gas, groceries and back-to-school items are where shoppers might see higher oil prices surface

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Oil prices exceeded $100 per barrel on Thursday amid ongoing military actions and regional instability affecting Middle East supplies, according to market reports. Brent crude, the international benchmark, last reached this level in May following a period of lower prices in June.

Sectors including food production and shipping have cited prior energy cost increases, with some businesses indicating they may pass on expenses to consumers.

Location: Strait of Hormuz

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Trump vows to punish Houthis for Red Sea attacks, as oil surges over US$100

○ 1 source

US President Donald Trump stated on Thursday that Iran would face major military punishment for Houthi strikes on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. Brent crude prices rose more than 6 percent and exceeded US$100 per barrel amid reports of further US air strikes on Iran and Iranian missile fire toward areas hosting US bases.

Iranian state media reported a missile impact on Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz during the fifth month of the conflict.

Location: Red Sea

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Jul 23, 2026strikeUnverifiedUSIsraelIranProxy

Trump “close” to decision on “massive attack” on Iran, says US media outlet

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The US President Donald Trump says he contemplated a massive strike against Iran and this could happen in days. President Trump told Axios, a US media outlet on Thursday that he’s seriously considering restarting major combat operations in Iran — including strikes that would be bigger than the ones carried out during Operation Epic Fury.

In a brief interview, Trump acknowledged that such a decision would have consequences and stressed he hasn’t made a determination yet. Trump didn’t give a deadline for his decision. Two other U.S. officials confirmed no call has been made and no new orders have been given to the military.

The current escalation has caused oil prices to eclipse $100 per barrel. A return to all-out war is highly unpopular in the U.S. “I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it,” the president said.

Trump said Israel “would join in two minutes if I ask them to,” but added that “we don’t need anybody” to launch a new operation against Iran. He also said there would be “consequences” for Israel joining the strikes, hinting at Iranian retaliation against Israel.

Trump said the Iranians “want to negotiate” but are not ready to make a deal at the moment. “They haven’t received enough pain yet,” he said. Two regional sources with knowledge of mediation efforts said Iranian leadership hasn’t accepted the latest proposal put forward.

“We are trying, but the Iranians are not being helpful,” one of them said. The U.S. has been escalating its attacks over the past 12 days in an effort to stop Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. So far, Iran hasn’t shown any willingness to change course — it, too, has intensified attacks in the region.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have started attacking Saudi ships in the Red Sea, exacerbating tensions in another critical oil shipping route and further destabilizing the global energy market. Trump wrote on his Truth Social account that if the Houthis fire again at ships in the Red Sea, “the U.

S. will hold Iran responsible.” The Houthis, he said, are an Iranian proxy and therefore “major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves.” What to watch: Separately, Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to attend the late Sen.

Lindsey Graham’s wake in Washington next week.

BusinessDay