415: US & Russian Officials to Meet in Saudi Arabia to Discuss Peace in Ukraine + Three Israeli Hostages Released after 498 Days in Captivity + Indonesia to Procure Bayraktar TB3 Drones + More

For review:

1. Three Israeli Hostages Released after 498 Days in Captivity. In exchange for the three Hostages, Israel released 369 Palestinian detainees and security prisoners, including 36 terrorists serving life sentences for murder.  

2. Per Washington Post report- President Donald Trump and PM Benjamin Netanyahu discussed US support for a potential Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites during the Israeli leader's visit to Washington D.C. last week.

3. IDF strikes a prominent member of Unit 127- the Hezbollah formation in S. Lebanon responsible for aerial drone attack and surveillance flights over Israel.

4. Lebanon arrests 25 for attack on UNIFIL Convoy that wounded two Peacekeepers. UNIFIL = UN Interim Force in Lebanon.

5. From Politico: US & Russian Officials to Meet in Saudi Arabia to Discuss Peace in Ukraine. Representing the US are the National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Steve Witkoff, the president’s Middle East Envoy. A spokesperson for the Ukrainian government and the State Department didn’t respond to a request for comment.

6. On Friday, US Secretary of Defense Hegseth visited Poland where he held talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, the country’s defense minister. Secretary Hegseth: "We see Poland as the model ally on the continent, willing to invest not just in their defense, but in our shared defense, and the defense of the continent.”

7. Due to long lead times for Lockheed Martin-made M142 HIMARS, Estonia is considering other long-range fires options for a second tranche order. Rocketsan’s Khan, from Turkey; the Elbit Precise and Universal Launching System (PULS), out of Israel; and South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace-made K239 Chunmoo- are said to be in the running for selection. 

8.  Indonesia to Procure Bayraktar TB3 Drones. Turkish drone maker Baykar will supply Indonesia with 60 Bayraktar TB3 armed drones and nine Akinci surveillance drones, according to Indonesian firm Republikorp. 

9. US Army to deploy the ATHENA - R (Army Theater level High Altitude Expeditionary Next Airborne ISR- Radar) to South Korea for a four-month Operational Test and Evaluation. The ATHENA effort is in support of the US Army's High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) program- that is also integrated on the Bombardier Global 6500 business jet.