Windward and Vantor have integrated Vantor's space-based Sentry monitoring system with Windward's Maritime AI platform, targeting a persistent gap in maritime domain awareness (MDA) where fragmented sensors force analysts to manually correlate automatic identification system (AIS), radio frequency (RF), synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and electro-optical (EO) data across disconnected systems. The result is a continuous intelligence layer linking vessel detection, identity, and behavior into a single operational picture.

Sentry is an automated multi-satellite system that automatically tasks EO imaging when radar detects a target and uses AI-powered vessel fingerprinting to generate a unique identity for each ship based on imagery-derived characteristics. This enables persistent tracking across sensors, time, and geography, even when vessels disable their AIS transponders to evade detection.

The integrated system targets defense agencies, law enforcement, and commercial operators operating in contested maritime environments, including the Indo-Pacific and Arctic, where adversaries have exploited gaps in disconnected sensor architectures. Vantor frames the Sentry integration as closing the orchestration and identity layer that has historically separated raw detection from continuous, actionable maritime intelligence.

Belgian arms maker FN Herstal unveiled the FN PUREVIEW, a micro red dot sight that uses nanostructured glass to generate a holographic reticle that remains functional even when the optic is physically damaged, thanks to its ImageGuide technology. The flat glass architecture also reduces housing weight by approximately 25 percent and eliminates the visual distortion common to traditional optic designs.

The system includes 14 automatic brightness settings and night-vision modes, is rated to function underwater to a depth of 35 meters and across extreme temperature ranges, and has passed repeated 1.8-meter drop tests and live-fire trials with high-powered in-service ammunition, with no reported damage.

FN PUREVIEW is compatible as a primary sight on pistols, submachine guns, shotguns, and select carbines, and as a secondary optic on sniper platforms; the system is designed specifically for battlefield conditions where optic damage is a realistic outcome and is set to make its public debut at EUROSATORY in Paris this June.

The U.S. military seized an oil tanker transporting Iranian crude in the Indian Ocean on Thursday, a day after Iran attacked three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and seized two of them. Brent crude crossed $100 per barrel as the ongoing impasse disrupted shipping through the strait, a chokepoint handling roughly a fifth of global crude oil and natural gas.

Iran dismissed Trump's indefinite ceasefire extension as meaningless, stating the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports violates the deal and demanding its removal before returning to negotiations. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said it has directed 31 vessels to change course since the blockade began, and Trump separately stated he had ordered the Navy to shoot any boat found laying mines in the strait.

Lebanon and Israel held a second round of ambassador-level talks in Washington on Thursday, seeking to extend their fragile ceasefire, as Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon the prior day killed at least five people, including Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil. Hezbollah stated it maintained its right to resist Israeli forces, while Lebanon's prime minister accused Israel of systematically targeting journalists.

The U.S. Navy has selected Shield AI as a contractor-owned, contractor-operated (COCO) intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) provider under a new naval initiative to expand and modernize ISR capabilities, where the company will compete for up to $800 million in task orders alongside other selected industry partners. Shield AI plans to deliver persistent ISR using its V-BAT vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) uncrewed aircraft system (UAS).

V-BAT is a Group 3 VTOL UAS with a ducted-fan, single-engine enclosed-rotor design offering more than 12 hours of endurance on a heavy-fuel engine; it is already operating at sea and from land-based sites with the U.S. Coast Guard and Marine Corps, including deployments from Navy ships. Its configuration enables unassisted launch and recovery from ship decks and austere locations with a minimal logistics footprint.

Shield AI co-founder Brandon Tseng highlighted the V-BAT's operational record, citing interdiction of over 100,000 pounds of narcotics in the Caribbean and Pacific, hundreds of targeting operations in Ukraine under GPS and comms jamming, and outcomes in the Middle East. The COCO model positions Shield AI as a contracted operational capability provider rather than simply a hardware vendor, integrating field expertise directly alongside the platform.

Navy Secretary John Phelan was dismissed effective immediately, according to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, with no public reason given for the departure. The firing came one day after Phelan delivered the keynote address at the Sea-Air-Space symposium, where he promoted the administration's next-generation battleship program.

Undersecretary of the Navy Hung Cao, a Naval Academy graduate and former special operations officer serving as the service's No. 2 civilian and chief management officer for IT modernization, will step in as acting Secretary of the Navy. Phelan's exit adds him to a list of over 30 Pentagon officials removed since Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took office.

Phelan, a billionaire investor with no prior naval service, oversaw the Navy's budget, personnel, and shipbuilding programs but was not responsible for day-to-day Middle East operations. His removal follows that of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George earlier this month and continues a pattern of senior Pentagon departures the Trump administration has not explained publicly.

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