Pentagon

The US State Department approved a possible sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine on Friday, valued at an estimated $2.1 billion. Partner countries Canada, Germany and Norway are funding the purchase through the JUMPSTART program, alongside Ukrainian national funds backed by the EU Ukraine Support Loan, with no US money involved. Lockheed Martin would be the main contractor. The sale still requires approval from the US Congress. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had waited almost a month for the approval, and said it currently receives about 12 Patriot missiles a month. Officials said Russian strikes killed at least 14 people in Dnipro on Thursday and one person in Kyiv on Oct 30.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed Army Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia as head of strategy, plans and policy on the Joint Chiefs of Staff on 28 Oct, with no replacement named. Officials told the Straits Times and Al-Monitor the move followed accusations of leaking classified information, which Sylvia has not publicly answered. Sylvia's predecessor, Joseph McGee, was also pushed out. Separately, U.S. officials have told some Middle Eastern partners to prepare for possible renewed military action against Iran after the 3 Nov midterm elections, and a third aircraft carrier and thousands of troops are heading to the region.