Ongoing US military operations center on sustained airstrikes against al-Shabaab and ISIS in Somalia, renewed strikes on Iranian targets in October amid Operation Epic Fury follow-on actions, and counternarcotics strikes plus troop deployments supporting partners in Colombia, Panama, and Honduras. Prior actions in Venezuela and limited involvement in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen-related threats round out the current count of distinct countries. With roughly ten weeks left in 2026 and no major new theaters opened, trader consensus on 8 or 9 reflects the contained scope of existing campaigns, the focus on non-state actors in the Western Hemisphere, and limited likelihood of rapid expansion absent further escalation in the Middle East or Africa.