340: IDF Pounds Hezbollah Rocket & Missiles Sites in S. Lebanon + US Carrier Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) Departs Norfolk for CENTCOM AOR + Australia Repurposes Armored Unit into Experimental Force + More

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For review:
1. IDF Pounds Hezbollah Rocket & Missiles Sites in S. Lebanon.
The IDF said it struck some 1,600 targets across Lebanon on Monday, including many homes it said housed weapons directly threatening Israel.
2. Monday IDF airstrike in Beirut targets Senior Hezbollah Commander.
An Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Monday evening targeted Hezbollah commander Ali Karaki, fueling speculation as to whether the senior terror leader had been killed in the attack.
3. Iranian President accuses Israel of instigating a wider war after recent kinetic operations in Lebanon.
Masoud Pezeshkian told media representatives that Iran does not want to see the current war in Gaza and airstrikes across the Israeli-Lebanon border expanded, saying that while Israel insists it does not want a wider war, it is taking actions that show otherwise.
4. US Carrier Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) Departs Norfolk for CENTCOM AOR.
The Harry S. Truman Strike Group deployment follows the departure of the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group from the Middle East.
5. Japan lodges protest after Russian Aircraft violates airspace.
Japanese Defense Minister: “We confirmed today that a Russian Il-38 patrol aircraft has violated our airspace over our territorial waters north of Rebun Island, Hokkaido, on three occasions,” he said.
6. Australian Army's unmanned aircraft system strategy.
The Army has combined various efforts under the umbrella program DEF 129, divided into four size categories: nano-UAS, small drones (SUAS), SUAS-plus, and tactical drones (TUAS).
7. Australian Army Repurposes Armored Unit into Experimental Force.
LTC Jake Penley, its commanding officer, told Defense News that the unit will hand in its M1A1 Abrams tanks later this year, before achieving an initial operational capability in the experimentation mission on 1 Feb 2025.
The unit's mission is to evaluate new technologies such as unmanned ground vehicles (UGV), drones, robotics and counter-drone systems.