On COI #101, Will and Kyle update stories on Iran, Afghanistan, Ukraine and the problem-plagued F-35 fighter jet.

The F-35 program’s executive officer admitted to lawmakers last week that a major system upgrade had been placed on a “strategic pause” as developers struggle to transition to new tech. The “pause” follows countless previous delays, repeat cost overruns and a string of performance failures for the $1 trillion-plus jet.

The US Senate is advancing a bill that would hand $300 million more in lethal military aid to the Ukrainian government, added atop another $250 million already set aside in the 2021 NDAA. The legislation was introduced amid ramped up tensions between Kiev and separatist forces in Eastern Ukraine, with renewed fighting risking a wider regional war that draws in Moscow and Washington.

Though talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal saw progress over the last week, the two sides are still struggling to find a path back to the agreement, while Biden’s pledge to leave Afghanistan may fall short of a full-scale withdrawal, as the future of American military contractors stationed in the country remains in limbo.