A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force mid-range multi-purpose missile is fired during a live-fire exercise at the East Fuji Maneuver Area on June 7, 2026, in Gotemba, Japan. (Getty Images)
The flag used by the Taliban's interim government is seen over Afghanistan’s embassy in Moscow on July 4, 2025, after Russia officially recognized the Taliban government in Afghanistan. (Getty Images)
A People's Liberation Army Air Force WZ-7 high-altitude reconnaissance drone in Guangdong, China, on September 27, 2021. (Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images)
A US Air Force pilot takes off in an F-22 Raptor as part of the mission to shoot down the Chinese surveillance balloon that crossed into US airspace at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia on February 4, 2023. (US Air Force photo by Mikaela Smith)
Leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa at the BRICS Summit in Xiamen, China, on September 4, 2017. (Kenzaburo Fukuhara/AFP via Getty Images)
Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover the Chinese surveillance balloon that flew over the continental US in the Atlantic Ocean on January 5, 2023. (US Navy Photo by Tyler Thompson)