The War Zone. Your daily source for military, defense, and geopolitics coverage.

Navy Super Hornet adversary F/A-18E F/A-18E/F

F/A-18 Super Hornets Eyed To Replace Navy’s Remaining F-5 Adversaries

Swapping dated F-5s for F/A-18E/Fs would give the Navy a more threat representative adversary fleet to emulate advanced enemies, like China.

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Ukraine has a voracious appetite for ground drones.
Ukraine

Inside The Effort To Build Ukraine’s Ground Robot Arsenal

Ukraine has a voracious demand for ground drones as they increasingly perform logistics, rescue and combat operations.

Concept artwork of the NGF future fighter. Dassault Aviation
Europe

Airbus Looks To Sweden’s Saab As Europe’s Sixth-Gen Fighter Plans Unravel

As FCAS tensions deepen, Airbus is exploring alternatives with Saab, raising the prospect of a shakeup in Europe’s future air combat plans.

Members of Congress are looking to block the U.S. Navy from starting construction of the first nuclear-powered Trump class battleship until the service provides assurances that key weapon systems are "sufficiently mature."
U.S. Navy

Congress Moves To Block Trump Class Battleship Work Until Its Key Weapons Are Mature

Such a delay could end the battleship program before it really starts, and the House Armed Services Committee is also demanding answers on the new frigate.

Israeli troops are turning to fishing nets for protection against Hezbollah FPV drones.
Israel

Israeli Troops Turn To Fishing Nets For Protection Against Hezbollah FPV Drones

Fishing nets, a staple of the Sea of Galilee going back to biblical times, are now providing protection on the modern battlefield.

The cost to connect each of the U.S. military's Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) one-way attack drones to SpaceX's Starshield communications network is approximately $25,000 a month, according to a new report.
Drones

Cost To Link LUCAS Kamikaze Drones To Starlink Highlights Pentagon’s Ever-Growing Dependence On SpaceX

The Pentagon has pushed back on reports of a massive upcharge in fees, but SpaceX’s products have become largely essential to U.S. operations.

Where are the aircraft carriers?
Carrier Tracker

Where Are The Carriers As Of May 26, 2026: Nimitz Arrives In The Caribbean

Meanwhile, USS George Washington departed Yokosuka, Japan, amid heightened Chinese naval activity in the Western Pacific.

The officer in charge of SOCOM's Lethality program gives us exclusive insights into the command's future machine guns and rifles.
M16/AR15/M4 Pattern

Inside SOCOM’s Search For New Machine Guns, Rifles And Ammo

Lt. Col. Alan Wood, SOCOM’s Program Manager for Lethality, offers some exclusive insights into the future of SOCOM small arms.

Two MH-47G Chinook helicopters assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), refuel mid-air during Arctic Edge 24 over the Arctic Ocean, Mar. 9, 2024. During AE24, more than 400 joint and allied Special Operators trained in extreme cold conditions to sharpen SOF readiness across unique specialties like long range fires and movements, special reconnaissance, rapid resupply, personnel recovery, and medical care in the austere Arctic environment. AE24 is a NORAD and U.S. Northern Command-led homeland defense exercise demonstrating the U.S. military’s capabilities in extreme cold weather, joint force readiness, and U.S. military commitment to mutual strategic security interests in the Arctic region.
MH-47

Night Stalker MH-47 Chinooks May Get Aerial Refueling Tanker Role

Special ops MH-47 Chinooks that could refuel other aircraft midair would give the Night Stalkers their own organic tanker capability.

Shield AI, the defense-tech company building state-of-the-art autonomy software and aircraft, today announced that the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSW R&E) has selected Shield AI to integrate its Hivemind autonomy software onto the Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS), a new class of low-cost, one-way attack drones often referred to as kamikaze drones designed to operate in large numbers.
Drones

U.S. Military’s Shahed-136 Kamikaze Drone Clone Is Getting Hivemind Swarming Capability

Shield AI is providing the software to unlock the combat-proven LUCAS’s cooperative swarming potential, which could drastically increase its lethality.

Another battle-damaged KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling jet arrived at RAF Mildenhall.
Iran

Another Battle Damaged KC-135 Tanker Seen Passing Through RAF Mildenhall

The images of the shrapnel-peppered KC-135 are another example of the damage inflicted by Iran during the now-paused war.

Less than a year after we got our first proper look at China’s wing-in-ground effect (WIG) craft, dubbed the ‘Bohai Sea Monster,’ the aircraft has appeared again, with evidence that it has a combat role, likely including launching weapons. We can also confirm that, contrary to some earlier assessments, the craft is powered by four turboprop engines, rather than turbofans. The possibility of propeller engines is something that we had raised in previous coverage.
South China Sea

China’s “Bohai Sea Monster” Reappears With Apparent Weapons Hardpoints

New details add weight to the idea that the “Bohai Sea Monster” has a kinetic role to play, although the general concept could be supersized for other missions.

The U.S. Air Force plans to send a new version of the glider-like Unmanned Long-endurance Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft (ULTRA) drone with a turbocharged engine to the Middle East for an operational evaluation.
U.S. Air Force

USAF’s New Turbocharged ULTRA Surveillance Drones Are Heading To The Middle East

The persistent surveillance capabilities the glider-like ULTRA offers are in high demand, especially amid MQ-9 losses in fighting with Iran.

A new flare-up of tensions in the Strait of Hormuz is threatening peace talks.
Iran

Another Day Of Uncertainty In The Strait After U.S. Claims Strikes On Iranian Minelayers

Negotiations to end the war drag on as the crisis in the Strait continues to evolve.

South Korea has confirmed plans to develop a new class of nuclear-powered submarines, the Jang Bogo N Project. These will put South Korea in an exclusive class of nations operating nuclear-powered subs, with currently only China, France, India, Russia, the United Kingdom, and United States having them in active service.
South Korea

South Korea Getting Nuclear Submarines Is A Huge Deal

Nuclear propulsion will give South Korea more capable subs, but it will also lay the groundwork for a future sea-based nuclear deterrent option.

This summer, the U.S. Navy will demonstrate the ability of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, with its two A1B nuclear reactors, to power a base on land.
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)

Supercarrier USS Gerald R. Ford To Act As Floating Nuclear Power Plant For Facilities On Land

The Pentagon is exploring ways to keep the power on at critical bases after attacks or natural disasters, and there’s a history of ships acting in this role.

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On the 80th anniversary of the first flight of the de Havilland Canada Chipmunk basic trainer, an aircraft that generations of British military pilots learned to fly, it’s worth recalling perhaps the most unusual episodes of its career. Between 1956 and 1989, a handful of these propeller-driven trainers kept watch on Warsaw Pact forces in the divided and heavily fortified city of Berlin — a front line of the Cold War.
Royal Air Force

The Tiny Chipmunk Trainer Was The Cold War’s Most Unlikely Spyplane

The humble Chipmunk propeller trainer spent decades spying on Soviet forces in and around divided Berlin.

4th July 1944: An American soldier takes a drink of captured German Cognac, while clearing out a German gun emplacement at Cherbourg. (Photo by Fred Ramage/Keystone/Getty Images)
Bunker Talk

Bunker Talk: Memorial Day Weekend Edition

This weekend, we remember those who gave their lives so we could live our’s.

Iran is working to cement its control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran

Iran Now Trying To Cement Long-Term Control Over Strait Via Fees

Iran’s move to impose service fees on ships transiting the Strait comes as Pakistani and Qatari negotiators are in Tehran trying to get a deal to officially end the war.

The U.S. military has finally released video footage said to show an Air National Guard F-16 shooting down an unidentified object over Lake Huron back in 2023.
F-16

We Finally See The Mysterious Object Shot Down By F-16s Over Lake Huron

This is one of a trio of objects fighters shot down over the U.S. and Canada in a three-day period following the Chinese spy balloon flap.

A U.S. Air Force A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft approaches an HC-130J Combat King II aircraft for aerial refueling in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, May 9, 2026.
A-10

A-10 Warthog’s New Aerial Refueling Probe Is Now Operational In The Middle East

In just six weeks, the probe went from its first flight to being deployed to a place where fighting could erupt again at any moment.

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 19: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media alongside posters of his proposed White House ballroom amid construction at the White House on May 19, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Senate parliamentarian ruled this week that taxpayer funds in the budget reconciliation package cannot be used for a $1 billion provision intended to fund security for Trump’s White House ballroom. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The White House Ballroom Is A Deep Fortress In Disguise (Updated)

We now know the building goes six floors underground and will have “the greatest drone empire you’ve ever seen that’s going to protect Washington” on its roof.

Plans for a new tranche of upgrades for U.S. Army special operations MH-60M Black Hawk helicopters are heavily tied to continued progress, or lack thereof, on an improved engine.
160th SOAR "Nightstalkers"

New Engines Key To Night Stalker MH-60M Black Hawk Upgrade Plans

The Army’s Improved Turbine Engine Program has promised a major boost in performance for Black Hawk helicopters, but its future is murky.

The U.S. Navy sees a future in which uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUV) work together with submersibles loaded with SEALs.
Navy SEALs

Navy SEALs In Mini-Submarines Teamed With Underwater Drones In The Works

Pairing uncrewed underwater vehicles and SEALs in submersibles opens the door to new operational possibilities, but there are challenges.

An Eurofighter (back) and a Taurus are seen during the Defence Summit 2026 at Airbus Defence and Space GmbH in Manching, Bavaria, southern Germany, on May 20, 2026.
Typhoon

Germany Unveils Latest Tranche 4 Eurofighter

With an advanced radar and other upgrades, the Tranche 4 Eurofighter is increasingly central to Berlin’s airpower plans.

The destroyers and their locations that have laser weapons.
U.S. Navy

These American Destroyers Are Equipped With Laser Weapons

The U.S. Navy has placed directed energy systems on nine surface combatants and is looking to expand testing and deployment of similar systems across the fleet.

U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is in the early stages of the search for a replacement for the C-146 Wolfhound cargo plane.
Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC)

Hunt For C-146 Wolfhound Special Ops Transport Plane Replacement Underway

On any given day, C-146s are criss-crossing the globe to far-flung locales, but they are increasingly difficult to sustain.

U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is moving to demonstrate a new, fully integrated extended-range strike capability for the AC-130J Ghostrider gunship.
AC-130

AC-130J Gunship With Mini Cruise Missiles Paired With AESA Radar To Undergo Tests

The plan is to demonstrate a fully integrated, longer-range strike capability that could keep the AC-130 relevant in high-end conflicts.

Su57 two seat model seen in first official images during its first flight.
Su-57

Russia’s New Two-Seat Su-57 Felon Takes Its First Flight

Official imagery confirms that the two-seat Su-57D version of the Russian fighter has begun flight testing.

Naval Group: We are very honoured by the choice of the Swedish Ministry of Defence to select the #FDI to provide the Royal Swedish Navy with 4 latest-generation 1st rank frigates.
Frigates

Sweden Chooses Unusual French Design For Its New Frigates

The security situation in Europe led Sweden to choose the in-production FDI design, but it will be packed with Swedish weapon systems.

B-1B weapons
B-1

B-1B’s Future Armament According To Its Test Pilot

The Bone is getting set to spend the last decade of its career with a whole set of new arrows in its quiver.

An OA-1K Skyraider II comes in for a landing on a dirt path July 10 on the Eglin Air Force Base, Florida range. The new Air Force Special Operations Command aircraft continues developmental testing with the 96th Test Wing and the U.S. Special Operations Command at Eglin.
Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC)

Plan To Test OA-1K Skyraider II’s Rapid Deployability Outlined By Air Force Special Ops Command

The Air Force also plans to add laser-guided rockets to the OA-1K’s armament as it works toward operational capability amid relevance concerns.

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Cold War

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We Talk Everything S-97 Raider And SB>1 Defiant With Sikorsky’s Top Program Officials

F-15

F-15SA Bristles With A Dozen AIM-120 Missiles During Star Wars Canyon Run

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The War Zone — also known by the shorthand TWZ — has become an essential resource for the defense industry, the national security community, and the interested public at large since it was launched in 2016.

 

From its early beginnings to the present day, TWZ’s purpose remains the same.

 

The site stands at the nexus of military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. As a full-spectrum defense news and analysis website, TWZ covers the air, sea, land, space, and cyber domains of warfare, with an infusion of geopolitical context and technological analysis to offer readers deeper, yet easy-to-consume, insights than what they will find anywhere else….

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