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The U.S. Air Force quietly fixed a problem with the integration of the 30,000-pound class GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bomb onto the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber last year. As part of the integration work, the service also conducted an important test of a new "smart fuze" for the MOP to help improve the weapon's effectiveness, even when the exact depth and positioning of the buried target are not definitively known. Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP)

Massive Ordnance Penetrator Bunker Buster Grows More Potent

A new “smart fuze” for the GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator has been tested and an issue tied to the B-2 stealth bomber has been fixed.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave U.S. President Donald Trump a golden pager commemorating last September's Israeli attack on Hezbollah using thousands of exploding pagers and walkie-talkies.

Trump Receives Golden Pager Gift From Netanyahu

The strange-looking gift commemorates Israel’s attack on Hezbollah operatives last fall using thousands of explosive pagers and walkie-talkies.

A Mirage 2000-5 jet fighter takes off at the aerial military base 126 - Capitaine Preziosi aka Solenzara base, in Ventiseri, on the French Mediterranean island Corsica, for a mission in Libya on March 24, 2011. Blasts and anti-aircraft fire rattled the Libyan capital for the sixth day as France hailed the allied air raids against Moamer Kadhafi's forces and promised they would go on indefinitely.

First Mirage 2000 Fighter Has Arrived In Ukraine

Less than a year after the transfer was announced, the first of the French-made delta-wing jets has now arrived in Ukraine.

Ukraine has trillions in mineral resources that Donald Trump wants in exchange for U.S. arms. However, a good chunk of that land is held by Russia or too close to the front to mine.

Ukrainian Minerals For Arms Deal Complicated By Russian Control Of Key Territories

Ukraine Situation Report: More than half of the trillions of dollars in mineral resources is on land controlled by Russia.

New information about serious and potentially dangerous deficiencies with the emergency ejection system on the U.S. Air Force's new T-7A Red Hawk jet trainer has been released.

New Details About T-7A Red Hawk Jet Trainer Ejection System Woes Emerge

Work to fix the T-7's ejection system and other issues is underway, but new problems have also been uncovered during environmental tests.

Airbus Defense and Space has begun a risk-assessment study for France’s future maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), to be based on an Airbus A321 airliner platform. Billed as a “flying frigate” by the company, the new MPA is intended to replace the French Navy’s Dassault Atlantique 2 fleet but arrives at a time when NATO nations are increasingly adopting the in-production Boeing P-8 Poseidon for their maritime patrol requirements.

Airbus A321 Airliners To Be Modified Into “Flying Frigate” Patrol Jets By France

The maritime patrol jet is intended to replace the French Navy’s aging Dassault Atlantique 2s and comes as Boeing’s P-8 gobbles up market share.

Dual Band radar still had problems prior to USS Ford's first deployment.

USS Gerald R. Ford Was Still Struggling With Its Dual Band Radar Prior To Deployment

The Ford is the only ship to have the full Dual Band Radar suite installed, and the Navy plans to replace it in the future.

Russia’s Modernized Nuclear Battlecruiser Finally Powers Up Its Reactors: Report

Russia’s Modernized Nuclear Battlecruiser Finally Powers Up Its Reactors: Report

Reports from Russia suggest that sea trials for the Admiral Nakhimov could begin this summer, after many years of delays, but take that with a big grain of salt.

Rivet joint flew off Mexico.

RC-135 Rivet Joint Surveillance Jet Just Flew Unprecedented Mission Off Mexico

An RC-135V flew two sorties in the past 48 hours over the tight confines of the Gulf of California that sits adjacent to a notorious cartel hot spot.

The U.S. Department of Defense has disclosed that it’s still unclear about the lethal effects of the hypersonic missile that’s at the center of the Army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) Dark Eagle and which will arm the Navy’s Zumwalt class stealth destroyers and future Block V Virginia class submarines. The surprising knowledge gap comes after the Army achieved the long-delayed first test-firing of a Dark Eagle missile from its trailer-based launcher, something you can read more about here.

Pentagon Still Unsure About Lethality Of Dark Eagle Hypersonic Missile

Limited test data means the Pentagon is still unsure about the lethal effects and survivability of its key new common hypersonic missile.

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US military going after cartels?

How Trump Could Use Military Force Against Cartels In Mexico

While using the U.S. military to directly attack the cartels would be unprecedented, there are potential options for doing so.

Bunker Talk: Let’s Talk About All The Things We Did And Didn’t Cover This Week

Bunker Talk: Let’s Talk About All The Things We Did And Didn’t Cover This Week

The bunker will protect you from what's outside… but it won't protect you from what's INSIDE!

Ukrainian Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) disputes claims that North Korean troops have fled the front lines in Kursk.

Ukraine’s Intel Chief Disputes Claim That North Koreans Have Fled The Russian Front

Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov told us that 8,000 North Koreans are still fighting on the front lines in Kursk, but at a reduced capacity.

A caucasian uniformed pilot in the cockpit of a small, modern private single engine propeller aircraft landing at night with runway lights visible.

Here’s What Air Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems Can And Can’t Do

While the Traffic Collision Avoidance System, or TCAS, was introduced as a backup to help prevent mid-air collisions, it has its limitations.

A commercial airliner collided with a Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River.

Chilling Air Traffic Control Audio From H-60 Collision With CRJ700 Over Potomac River (Updated)

Air traffic at Ronald Reagan National Airport has been halted while rescuers are on the scene looking for survivors.

Ukraine's Magyar Birds drone unit is now using a system to counter Russian fiber-optic-controlled FPV drones.

Ukraine Discloses New Method To Defeat Russian Fiber-Optic-Controlled FPV Drones

One Ukrainian military drone unit is using mobile radars to track enemy FPV drones which are then destroyed by friendly ones.

200702-N-SB299-1015 SAN DIEGO (July 2, 2020) The guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) arrives at its homeport of Naval Base San Diego following more than two years of restoration and modernization at Huntington Ingalls Industries - Ingalls Shipbuilding Division's Pascagoula, Mississippi shipyard. The ship was damaged during a 2017 collision that claimed the lives of seven Sailors. While in San Diego, the crew will complete extensive training and certifications through Basic, Advanced, and Integrated phases of training. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Alex Millar/Released)

Destroyer Has Become First U.S. Navy Ship To Deploy Artificial Intelligence System

The destroyer USS Fitzgerald embarked an AI-enabled monitoring system that helps the crew spot maintenance needs before they metastasize into bigger problems.

A U.S. Army UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter has completed initial ground runs with two of the new T901 Improved Turbine Engines. Developed under the Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP), the T901 was planned to power the now-canceled Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) but will instead now make its way into the UH-60 and the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.

UH-60 Black Hawk Begins Ground Tests With Far More Powerful T901 Engines

The Improved Turbine Engine has powered a Black Hawk for the first time and is also due to be installed in AH-64 attack helicopters.

Dozens Of Israeli Patriot Missiles Sent To Ukraine

Dozens Of Israeli Patriot Missiles Sent To Ukraine

The retired Israeli Patriot PAC-2 interceptors are badly needed in Ukraine and more missiles, and even surplus missile batteries, could follow.

F-35 Alaska

F-35 Caught On Video Tumbling Vertically Into The Runway At Alaskan Air Base

The F-35A crashed at its home field, Eielson AFB, this afternoon and its dramatic last moments were caught on video from the flightline.

Denmark will spend more than $2 billion on new ships, aircraft and drones to patrol Greenland.

Denmark To Boost Greenland Military Presence Amid Trump’s Quest To Obtain Island

The $2 billion effort aims to purchase three new Arctic patrol boats, two new long-range drones and additional maritime patrol aircraft.

DDG missile firing. (U.S. Navy)

What Red Sea Battles Have Taught The Navy About A Future China Fight

The past 15 months in the Red Sea have provided the Navy with a real-world stress test of its systems, platforms and people.

The first supersonic flight of the Boom Supersonic XB-1.

Boom! The XB-1 Demonstrator Jet Has Gone Supersonic

Hitting the Mach 1 milestone is an important development and makes Boom Aerospace the first private company to fly a supersonic civil jet.

The U.S. Air Force has dramatically plussed-up contracts with General Electric and Pratt & Whitney, both of which now have a ceiling of $3.5 billion, to continue work on prototype next-generation jet engines.

Billions For Next Generation Fighter Jet Engines Greenlit By Air Force

The USAF just accelerated funding for advanced engine work primarily for its sixth-generation tactical jet, the future of which is now uncertain.

A Congolese army tank heads towards the front line near Kibumba in the area surrounding the North Kivu city of Goma on May 25, 2022 during clashes between the Congolese army and M23 rebels. - DR Congo soldiers fought M23 militiamen on several fronts in the troubled east of the country Wednesday, military and local officials said, with the government appearing to implicate Rwanda in the violent flare-up.

Rebel Troops Claim Capture Of Congo Border City Stoking Fears Of Wider Conflict

War-torn and mineral-rich, the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been rocked by its latest insurgency.

An Air Force C-32A VIP transport jet, on a special mission for President Donald Trump, had to delay its landing at Joint Base Andrews because F-16C Vipers were scrambled to intercept a drone.

C-32 Forced To Delay Landing After F-16s Scrambled To Intercept Drone Near Capital

The incident took place as President Donald Trump has vowed to provide more details about mysterious drones.

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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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