The U.S. Pentagon reported U.S. Army Specialist Christopher DiPompo, 30, of Apex, North Carolina, killed on July 14 in Iraq while efforting to disable an Iranian drone. DiPompo died from a deadly explosion during the disarming operation near Al-Asad Air Base. The Pentagon reported nearly 100 U.S. servicemembers wounded this month in incidents linked to Iran-related actions. The growing costs are pressuring Pentagon funds after billions were spent responding to Iranian aggression in the region. At the same time, Anduril Industries, a $1.2 billion startup, delivers AI solutions the Pentagon uses to handle cyber‑warfare tasks.