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Sunday, June 15, 2025

Spy Satellite Uncovers Massive Stealth Flying Wing At Secretive Chinese Base

China is well aware that Western spy satellites, including those operated by the U.S., maintain constant overhead surveillance of high-value military assets, such as bases and research facilities.

The deliberate exposure of a previously unseen, large, low-observable flying-wing HALE (High-Altitude Long-Endurance) unmanned aerial vehicle at the Malan test facility may not have been an accident.

Instead, it appears to be a deliberate act of signaling by Beijing to the Trump administration, highlighting the rapid acceleration of China's next-generation air combat capabilities at a time when the global security environment is rapidly deteriorating.

With the war in Ukraine ongoing and tensions in the Middle East escalating into a hot crisis, Beijing's timing suggests an intent to assert technological parity and deterrence against the U.S. Broadly speaking, the world is entering a more dangerous and unstable era — a shift from a unipolar world with the U.S. in control to a bipolar geopolitical order, where volatility is expected to intensify throughout the 2030s.

The War Zone's Tyler Rogoway cited new satellite spy images via Planet Labs that show the previously unseen HALE drone at a secretive test base near Malan in Xinjiang province.

Massive Stealth Flying Wing Emerges At Secretive Chinese Base

This appears to be China's largest high-altitude, long-endurance drone, and one that has clear low observable qualities.

Exclusive: https://t.co/NNbs6SyxCq
— Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) June 15, 2025

"Specifically, the craft was parked outside of a sprawling new facility that was built very recently to the east of the base, connected to it by a very long taxiway leading to a security gate," Rogoway said.

Rogoway pointed out the drone's design resembles that of the B-21 Raider and possibly the U.S. RQ-180, with clipped wingtips, a domed center section (likely housing engines or systems), and possibly small vertical stabilizers to aid flight stability.

This drone may mark a significant leap in China's next-generation drone combat ecosystem, possibly supporting or integrating with other platforms, such as the H-20 bomber, J-36, and smaller tactical drones — mirroring the U.S. approach.

https://www.zerohedge.com/military/spy-satellites-uncover-massive-stealth-flying-wing-secretive-chinese-base

'In Axing mRNA Contract, Trump Delivers New Blow to Biosecurity, Former Officials Say'

The Trump administration's cancellation of $766 million

opens in a new tab or window in contracts to develop mRNA vaccines against potential pandemic flu viruses is the latest blow to national defense, former health security officials said. They warned that the U.S. could be at the mercy of other countries in the next pandemic.

"The administration's actions are gutting our deterrence from biological threats," said Beth Cameron, PhD, a senior adviser to the Brown University Pandemic Center and a former director at the White House National Security Council. "Canceling this investment is a signal that we are changing our posture on pandemic preparedness," she added, "and that is not good for the American people."

Flu pandemics killed up to 103 million peopleopens in a new tab or window worldwide last century, researchers estimate.

In anticipation of the next big one, the U.S. government began bolstering the nation's pandemic flu defenses during the George W. Bush administration. These strategies were designed by the security council and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), among other agencies. The plans rely on rolling out vaccines rapidly in a pandemic. Moving fast hinges on producing vaccines domestically, ensuring their safety, and getting them into arms across the nation through the public health system.

The Trump administration is undermining each of these steps as it guts health agencies, cuts research and health budgets, and issues perplexing policy changes, health security observers said.

Since President Trump took office, at least half of the security council's staff have been laid off or left, and the future of BARDA is murky. The nation's top vaccine adviser, Peter Marks, MD, PhD, resigned under pressureopens in a new tab or window in March, citing "the unprecedented assault on scientific truth."

Most recently, Trump's clawback of funds for mRNA vaccine development put Americans on shakier ground in the next pandemic. "When the need hits and we aren't ready, no other country will come to our rescue and we will suffer greatly," said Rick Bright, PhD, an immunologist and a former BARDA director.

Countries that produced their own vaccines in the COVID-19 pandemic had first dibsopens in a new tab or window on the shots. While the U.S., home to Moderna and Pfizer, rolled out second doses of mRNA vaccines in 2021, hundreds of thousands of people in countries that didn't manufacture vaccines died waiting for them.

The most pertinent pandemic threat today is the bird flu virus H5N1. Researchers around the world were alarmedopens in a new tab or window when it began spreading among cattle in the U.S. last year. Cows are closer to humans biologically than birds, indicating that the virus had evolved to thrive in cells like our own.

As hundreds of herds and dozens of people were infected in the U.S., the Biden administration funded Moderna to develop bird flu vaccines using mRNA technology. As part of the agreement, the U.S. government stipulated it could purchase doses in advance of a pandemic. That no longer stands.

Researchers can make bird flu vaccines in other ways, but mRNA vaccines are developed much more quickly because they don't rely on finicky biological processes, such as growing elements of vaccines in chicken eggs or cells kept alive in laboratory tanks.

Time matters because flu viruses mutate constantly, and vaccines work better when they match whatever variant is circulating.

Developing vaccines within eggs or cells can take 10 months after the genetic sequence of a variant is known, Bright said. And relying on eggs presents an additional risk when it comes to bird flu because a pandemic could wipe out billions of chickens, crashing egg suppliesopens in a new tab or window.

Decades-old methods that rely on inactivated flu viruses are riskier for researchers and time-consuming. Still the Trump administration invested $500 millionopens in a new tab or window into this approach, which was largely abandoned by the 1980s after it caused seizures in children.

"This politicized regression is baffling," Bright said.

A bird flu pandemic may begin quietly in the U.S. if the virus evolves to spread between people but no one is testedopens in a new tab or window at first. Indeed, the CDC's dashboard suggests that only 10 farmworkers have been tested for bird flu since March. Because of their close contact with cattle and poultry, farmworkers are at highest risk of infection.

As with many diseases, only a fraction of people with bird flu become severely sick. So the first sign that the virus is widespread might be a surge in hospital cases.

"We'd need to immediately make vaccines," said Angela Rasmussen, PhD, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.

The U.S. government could scale up production of existing bird flu vaccinesopens in a new tab or window developed in eggs or cells. However, these vaccines target an older strain of H5N1 and their efficacy against the virus circulating now is unknown.

In addition to the months it takes to develop an updated version within eggs or cells, Rasmussen questioned the ability of the government to rapidly test and license updated shots, with a quarter of HHS staff goneopens in a new tab or window. If the Senate approves Trump's proposed budget, the agency faces about $32 billion in cuts.

Further, the Trump administration's cuts to biomedical research and its push to slash grant money for overhead costs could undermine academic hospitals, rendering them unable to conduct large clinical trials. And its cuts to the CDC and to public health funds to states mean that fewer health officials will be available in an emergency.

"You can't just turn this all back on," Rasmussen said. "The longer it takes to respond, the more people die."

Researchers suggest other countries would produce bird flu vaccines first. "The U.S. may be on the receiving end like India was, where everyone -- rich people, too -- got vaccines late," said Achal Prabhala, a public health researcher in India at medicines access group AccessIBSA.

He sits on the board of a World Health Organization initiativeopens in a new tab or window to improve access to mRNA vaccines in the next pandemic. A member of the initiative, the company Sinergium Biotech in Argentina, is testing an mRNA vaccine against the bird flu. If it works, Sinergium will share the intellectual property behind the vaccine with about a dozen other groups in the program from middle-income countries so they can produce it.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), an international partnership headquartered in Norway, is providing funds to research groups developing rapid-response vaccine technology, including mRNA, in South Korea, Singapore, and France. And CEPI committed up to $20 million to efforts to prepare for a bird flu pandemic. This year, the Indian government issued a call for grant applications to develop mRNA vaccines for the bird flu, warning it "poses a grave public health risk."

Pharmaceutical companies are investing in mRNA vaccines for the bird flu as well. However, Prabhala says private capital isn't sufficient to bring early-stage vaccines through clinical trials and large-scale manufacturing. That's because there's no market for bird flu vaccines until a pandemic hits.

Limited supplies means the U.S. would have to wait in line for mRNA vaccines made abroad. States and cities may compete against one another for deals with outside governments and companies, like they did for medical equipment at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I fear we will once again see the kind of hunger games we saw in 2020," Cameron said.

In an email response to queries, HHS communications director Andrew Nixon said, "We concluded that continued investment in Moderna's H5N1 mRNA vaccine was not scientifically or ethically justifiable." He added, "The decision reflects broader concerns about the use of mRNA platforms -- particularly in light of mounting evidence of adverse events associated with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines."

https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/birdflu/116043

Tel Aviv Stock Market Rebounds After Initial Drop Amid Tensions

The Tel Aviv stock market experienced volatility following missile attacks between both sides last week. On its first trading day, the market initially saw significant declines but managed to recover and close with modest gains. Specifically, the benchmark TA-35 index closed up by 0.5% after an early plunge of 2.1%. Similarly, the TA-125 index rebounded from a 2% drop to finish the day up by 0.4%.

https://www.gurufocus.com/news/2927580/tel-aviv-stock-market-rebounds-after-initial-drop-amid-tensions

Nearly 1 million illegal immigrants have ‘self deported’ under Trump, led to higher wages

While ICE arrests and deportations have grabbed headlines, President Trump is also running a separate but complementary “mass deportation” program — one that encourages aliens here unlawfully to go home voluntarily.

And if reports are correct, that plan is more successful than anyone could have imagined.

Based on government data, my organization, the Center for Immigration Studies, has conservatively estimated there are about 15.4 million illegal aliens in the United States, a 50% increase over the four tumultuous years of the Biden administration.

That’s no surprise, given how Biden and his Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ignored congressional detention mandates and ushered millions of illegal migrants into the United States.

Trump rode a wave of concerns about the costs those migrants are imposing on schools, hospitals, housing, and essential government services in cities and towns across the United States to a second term.

Now that he’s back in the Oval Office, it’s up to him, “border czar” Tom Homan, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to drive the unauthorized population down and restore credibility to our immigration system.

They’ve implemented a two-track plan to tackle this onerous task.

One of those tracks relies on arrests and deportations of aliens unlawfully here, which at the outset has focused mainly on criminals (the “worst first” strategy).

The other track is more subtle but also cheaper for taxpayers and arguably much more effective —encouraging illegal migrants here to self-deport.

It began with an Inauguration Day Trump directive requiring DHS to ensure all aliens present in the United States — legal and otherwise — have registered with the federal government, and to prosecute those who don’t comply.

By late February, Noem had implemented that registration program.

DHS next launched a multi-million-dollar ad campaign warning migrants not to enter illegally or, alternatively, to leave voluntarily now and possibly “have an opportunity to return and enjoy our freedom and live the American Dream.”

Noem also rebranded the notorious CBP One app — which the Biden administration used to funnel hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants into our country — as “CBP Home,” which aliens can use to “notify the U.S. Government of their intent to depart”.

That rebranding coincided with an offer of financial incentives for aliens who leave voluntarily, a stipend of $1,000. That’s in lieu of costly physical deportation, which can cost taxpayers $17,100 per person on average.

How effective has self-deportation been?

One way to track the program is by checking employment numbers. One financial wiz cited by the Wall Street Journal calculated a decline in the immigrant population of 773,000 in the first four months of Trump II.

The Washington Post claims “a million foreign-born workers have exited the workforce since March.” The Post frames this as “a sign of the weakening labor supply.” Yet the paper also notes, “Average hourly wages accelerated, rising by 0.4 percent over the month, to $36.24 in May, as earnings continue to beat inflation in a boost to workers’ spending power.”

In other words, with fewer illegal immigrants, businesses had to raise wages to attract workers.

But aliens will only leave if they believe Trump and Homan are serious about arrests, and employers know the feds are targeting shady businesses.

This voluntary exodus shouldn’t be surprising. When President Eisenhower launched his deportation round-up in 1954, nearly 10 aliens left voluntarily for each one arrested. A post-9/11 registration program also drove self-deportations.

DHS can’t arrest and deport 15.4 million illegal aliens, but if it simply enforces the law, many aliens will get the message and leave on their own — as hundreds of thousands apparently already have.

Andrew Arthur is the fellow in law and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies.

https://nypost.com/2025/06/15/opinion/nearly-1-million-illegal-immigrants-have-self-deported-under-trump-which-has-led-to-higher-wages/

Netanyahu: ‘we will not have a second Holocaust,’ ‘clear’ intel warned Iran was on verge of nuke

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was adamant that the intelligence was “absolutely clear” that Iran was on the verge of obtaining a nuclear weapon — and described himself as President Trump’s “junior partner” while defending the preemptive strikes.

“These [are] people who chant Death to America, try to assassinate President Trump twice, killed 241 of your Marines in Beirut, killed and injured thousands of American soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq, try to bomb a restaurant in Washington, DC, chant ‘Death to America.’ Burn the American flag,” Netanyahu said on a special edition of Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier.”

“Look, they also tried to kill me, but I’m his junior partner,” he later added, referring to Trump. “They fired a missile into my bedroom window. They missed.”

That appears to be a reference to a drone shot fired by Hezbollah that hit Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea last year. The drone did not fully penetrate his house, due to reinforced glass and other protective measures.

The Israeli leader also pledged that he would not allow the Jewish people to suffer a “second Holocaust” from a nuclear-armed Iran.

“That is something that we couldn’t possibly accept. Whether it would be six months or 12 months or 13 months is immaterial. Once they go that route, it’s too late, and we will not have a second Holocaust, a nuclear holocaust,” Netanyahu said.

“We already had one in the previous century,” he added. “Never again is now, and we have to act now.”

Israel had conducted preemptive strikes on Iran late last week, targeting its nuclear facilities, top military brass, missile capability and top scientists, sparking a tit-for-tat conflict between the two adversarial nations.

Back in March, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that Iran “is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003.”

But Netanyahu brushed off that assessment and insisted that Israel had “excellent” intelligence to the contrary.

“The Intel we got and we shared with the United States was absolutely clear — was absolutely clear, that they were working in a secret plan to weaponize the uranium. They were marching very quickly. They would achieve a test device and possibly an initial device within months, and certainly less than a year,” the longstanding Israeli leader claimed.

“We saw enough uranium, enriched uranium for nine bombs,” the Israeli PM later reflected. “It’s like Hitler’s nuclear scientists. Would you leave them? Of course not.”

Iran has quickly retaliated against Israel, with Khamenei vowing that “life will be dark” for Israelis. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared Sunday that “If the aggression stops, naturally our responses will also stop.”

But Netanyahu didn’t seem keen on letting up on Iran, calling Araghchi’s statement “hogwash.” The Israeli prime minister cited two main reasons for the preemptive strikes on Tehran, claiming that the attack was done to “not only protect ourselves, but to protect the world.”

“We were facing an imminent threat, a dual existential threat. One, the threat of Iran rushing to weaponize their enriched uranium to make atomic bombs with a specific and declared intent to destroy us. Second, a rush to increase their ballistic missile arsenal,” the Israeli leader claimed.

Many military analysts believed that a driving factor in Israel’s decision to strike Iran was that the theocratic regime is widely perceived as vulnerable at the moment. Iran’s proxy forces have been battered over the past two years or so.

Israel mounted a pager attack on Hezbollah that wiped out much of the terror group’s top leadership, the Assad regime in Syria collapsed and Hamas has been beaten back significantly.

However, Netanyahu insisted that Israel was forced to act and that it was the “12th hour,” and heavily implied that the threat was imminent.

“Our intel shows that they intend to give these nuclear weapons to their Houthi proxies and others. And that’s nuclear terrorism on a global scale,” Netanyahu warned.

Netanyahu, who has spent some 17 nonconsecutive years as prime minister, also invoked concerns about Iran’s efforts to assassinate President Trump. Last year, it was revealed that the feds foiled an attempt by a Pakistani man who had been collaborating with an Iranian handler to potentially kill Trump. Netanyahu said there was a second attempt as well.

While the Israelis have dramatically diminished Iran’s military and nuclear capabilities, there are looming questions about whether they can get at Iran’s facilities that are buried deep underground, such as the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, which is thought to be about half a mile deep.

Many military observers believe Israel would need American bombers capable of dropping heavy bunker-buster bombs to destroy that facility. Netanyahu declined to delve into the specifics about that conundrum.

“I think we’ve set them back quite a bit. I think they were completely surprised. And, you know, surprise is a great element of success,” Netanyahu mused. ”

The strikes came ahead of previously planned nuclear negotiations between the US and Iran scheduled for Sunday in Oman. Those talks were later cancelled and Netanyahu claimed he gave Iran a chance, “but it was clear they were not serious about it.”

Trump has been bullish that Israel and Iran “will make a deal” and that the strikes could hasten a breakthrough.

https://nypost.com/2025/06/15/world-news/netanyahu-vows-we-will-not-have-a-second-holocaust-says-clear-intel-warned-iran-was-on-verge-of-a-nuclear-weapon/

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