The Pentagon is condemning a December Iranian live-fire exercise that took place in the Strait of Hormuz near the carrier USS Harry S. Truman. The Navy on Jan. 9 released a video showing an Iranian ship firing live missiles near commercial craft and the carrier during a Dec. 26 exercise. The video was released following a Freedom of Information Act Request from Military Times. Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis on Monday said the test was “unprofessional” and that the proximity of the live firing to other craft was unusual. The test fire happened within about 1,500 yards of the carrier and even closer to an apparent oil tanker. Davis said the test is “not something responsible countries do.”
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.