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

With the U.S. at the precipice of war with Iran, we break down the glaring questions surround such an operation and the reasoning for it. Iran

The Massive Questions Surrounding A Major American Air War Against Iran

With the U.S. at the precipice of war with Iran, we break down the glaring questions surrounding such an operation and the reasoning for it.

Latest News

U.S. Airmen assigned to the Florida Air National Guard’s 125th Fighter Wing arrive for Agile Combat Employment (ACE) training at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, Feb. 10, 2026. The 125th Fighter Wing accelerated its readiness timeframe ahead of a mission conversion deadline by deploying eight F-35A Lightning II aircraft, establishing joint-component interoperability with two active-duty U.S. Air Force units under the ACE concept.
F-35A

Former Air Force Fighter Pilot And F-35 Instructor Charged With Training Chinese Military 

The ex-U.S. Air Force combat pilot also worked as a contractor F-35 instructor before allegedly providing expertise to China.

A top U.S. Space Force general sees a clear need to be able to attack threats in space, not just to protect friendly satellites, but to challenge China's dramatically expanded surveillance capabilities in orbit.
China

China’s Growing Armada Of Spy Satellites Is Pushing Space Force To Go On The Offensive

“You can’t run away from a bully forever. Sometimes you got to turn around and punch,” Space Force Combat Forces boss says.

A U.S. Air Force F-15EX Eagle II flies over the Gulf of America, September 16, 2025. The F-15EX, from the 40th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is one of the first F-15EXs in the Air Force, and is going through developmental and operational test series at Eglin to prepare the platform to be delivered to the warfighter.  
U.S. Air Force

General Running Air Force Reserve Wants Surplus F-15E Strike Eagles, New F-15EX Eagle IIs

The chief of the Air Force Reserve Command wants to overturn the depressing trend of aircraft divestments without getting new planes to replace them.

Whether or not the U.S. Air Force's new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) will carry multiple warheads remains to be seen now that a key arms control treaty has expired, but the service is otherwise hopeful that the Sentinel program is now on the right track.
LGM-30 Minuteman III

Number Of Nuclear Warheads New Sentinel ICBMs Will Carry Now An Open Question

We now know much more about the USAF’s sprawling plans for new Sentinel ICBM silos with features not found on Minuteman III.

As well as a second aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors have also arrived in theater, according to multiple reports. The stealth jets took off from RAF Lakenheath in England yesterday, confirmed by open-source flight tracking data and aircraft spotters, and are now at an Israeli Air Force base in the south of Israel.
Iran

F-16s Arrive To Protect Diego Garcia, F-22s Forward Deploy To Israel

It appears that much will depend on the result of the next round of nuclear talks in Geneva as U.S. combat capabilities continue to amass.

Newly teamed-up Northrop Grumman and Embraer are hoping that a boom refueling system-equipped version of the latter's KC-390 Millennium twin jet engine tanker-transport will catch the eye of the U.S. Air Force.
Tankers

KC-390 With A Refueling Boom Seems Like A Perfect Fit For The USAF’s Agile Tanker Needs, But Will It Bite?

The idea of a KC-390 with a boom has gotten a new breath of life, and could be ideal for bringing fuel to far-flung edges of the battlespace.

MQ-9 being turned into cruise missile truck.

General Atomics Is Turning The MQ-9 Reaper Family Of Drones Into “Cruise Missile Trucks”

Branded content: Giving MQ-9’s the ability to reach out over vast distances to launch standoff strikes after loitering for hours on its own is a unique capability for a tactical asset.

Lockheed Martin has presented a scale model of the new-look F-22 Raptor fitted with stealthy external fuel tanks and underwing infrared sensor pods. Up to this point, the fuel tanks had been seen in renderings as well as at least one long-distance photo that revealed little in the way of details. The sensor pods had previously been seen at closer quarters during flight testing, as you can read about here.
U.S. Air Force

Upgraded F-22 “Raptor 2.0” Details Seen In New Model

A scale model of the new-look F-22 Raptor reveals details of its new stealthy external fuel tanks and underwing infrared sensor pods.

The official target size of the future B-21 Raider fleet remains 100 aircraft, despite an announcement that production of the stealth bomber is expanding, a U.S. Air Force official has confirmed to TWZ.
U.S. Air Force

100 B-21 Stealth Bomber Fleet Size Target Unchanged For Now Despite Production Acceleration

The main goal of expanded B-21 production right now is getting the first Raiders fielded in 2027.

More Latest News

Four C-17 Globemaster III aircraft assigned to the 911th Airlift Wing perform an elephant walk at the Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station, Pennsylvania, July 18, 2023. Elephant walks demonstrate the teamwork and capability of the 911th AW to perform rapid large-force to defend, mobilize and fight. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Jeffrey Grossi)

Straight Talk On State Of U.S. Airlift Capabilities From General Who Ran Air Mobility Command

General Minihan’s frankness about the China threat ended his career, but now as a civilian, he has much more to say.

WASSENAAR, NETHERLANDS - MAY 5: The remains of a communication room are visible as the Seyss-Inquart bunker opens its doors to the public on Liberation Day for a special "Freedom Meal" on May 5, 2025 in Wassenaar, Netherlands. The holiday marks the Netherlands' liberation from Nazi occupation 80 years ago. The bunker is named after Arthur Seyss-Inquart, a prominent Nazi official who served as Reich Commissioner during the German occupation of the Netherlands.He was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg Trials and subsequently executed. After the war, the bunker, concealed beneath a structure resembling a traditional Dutch farmhouse, was repurposed by the Dutch armed forces during the Cold War and served as a site for NATO military exercises. (Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty Images)

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

Concrete is so hot right now…

A group of Block 52 F-16CJ Vipers belonging to the South Carolina Air National Guard was recently spotted heading east across the Atlantic as part of a huge build-up of U.S. forces ahead of potential strikes on Iran.

F-16s Heading To Middle East Equipped With Angry Kitten Electronic Warfare Pods

The Angry Kitten pods will give the fourth-generation fighters often tasked with the Wild Weasel missions much-needed extra protection.

A decision by the U.K. to block U.S. access to two key bases for an attack on Iran could impact President Donald Trump's plans.

U.K. Denying U.S. Use Of Key Bases Would Impact Bombers’ Role In Iran Air Campaign

The U.K. is reportedly preventing the U.S. from using Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford to attack Iran.

Top Aces F-16s have gotten a major series of upgrades.

Private F-16 Aggressors Just Brought A Huge Upgrade To The Fight

Top Aces’ advanced aggressor F-16 features an AESA, IRST, helmet mounted display, open architecture mission system and now Link 16 to tie it all together.

Russia is working on a balloon-borne communications network as SpaceX has cut off its use of Starlink.

Russia Eyes Balloon Communications System To Fill Massive Gap Left After Losing Starlink

SpaceX has cut off Russia’s access to Starlink and now Moscow is scrambling to find a replacement.

Iran is hosting a joint naval exercise with China and Russia amid ongoing tensions between Washington and Tehran

What Iran’s Naval Exercise With China And Russia In The Strait Of Hormuz Actually Means

The Maritime Security Belt 2026 exercise comes as the U.S. is flowing forces to the Middle East ahead of a possible attack on Iran.

In the past two days, the U.S. Air Force has sent six of its 16 E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) radar planes to bases in Europe.

Major Deployment Of Rickety E-3 Sentry Fleet For Iran Crisis Highlights Worrisome Gaps

The shrunken E-3 fleet isn’t getting any younger, and a replacement is still far off while demand for its services would be far greater in the Pacific.

A U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry, airborne warning and control system (AWACS).

Final Pieces Moving Into Place For Potential Attack On Iran

The latest flurry of U.S. assets heading to the Middle East includes many of the missing capabilities needed for a sustained air campaign.

One of the U.S. Air Force's C-32A VIP aircraft has re-emerged wearing a new red, white, and blue paint scheme.

C-32A ‘Air Force Two’ Jet Emerges Wearing Trump’s New Air Force One Paint Job (Updated)

Donald Trump’s controversial Air Force One livery has made it onto its first Air Force executive aircraft.

F-16 intercept

F-16s Find Balloons, Not UFOs, After Sunday Scramble: NORAD

Alert F-16s out of California scrambled to hunt down mysterious targets over Nevada and California twice on Sunday.

AH-64 has tested APEX proximity fuse rounds

AH-64 Apache Is Getting Proximity Fuzed 30mm Cannon Ammo For Swatting Down Drones

The XM1225 APEX ammo will offer another arrow in the Apache’s growing anti-drone quiver.

The F-35's 'computer brain,' including its cloud-based components, could be cracked to accept third-party software updates, just like 'jailbreaking' a cellphone, according to the Dutch Defense Minister.

F-35 Software Could Be Jailbreaked Like An iPhone: Dutch Defense Secretary

The F-35’s vendor locked software is becoming a greater concern as relations between the U.S. and longtime allies falter.

U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Lucas Keka, left, munitions operations technician assigned to the 726th Expeditionary Mission Support Squadron, and Staff Sgt. Daryc Fliginger, 726th EMSS Munitions Flight production supervisor, secure a munitions storage bunker at Chabelley Airfield, Djibouti, Aug. 25, 2023. The 726th EMSS provides security forces, satellite communications, munitions support, vehicle management, contracting, finance and logistics in support of USAF personnel in East Africa. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Dhruv Gopinath)

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

We should have brought more DVDs man…

The U.S. Air Force is exploring new ways to protect aerial refueling tankers and other high-value support aircraft by physically defeating incoming threats rather than trying to jam them or otherwise throw them off course.

Mini Missiles Used To Shoot Down Incoming Missiles Eyed For USAF Tanker Fleet

Tankers are increasingly vulnerable as enemy long-range missiles evolve, leading the USAF to explore ‘hard kill’ solutions.

The USS Ford was ordered to the Middle East after CNO expressed concerns about the ships and crew after months at sea.

Navy’s Top Admiral Previously Said He Would “Push Back” Against Extending USS Gerald R. Ford’s Deployment

The admiral said keeping the carrier, which was just sent to the Middle East, at sea could result in big maintenance repercussions and crew strain.

See More

Must Read Features

Feel The Speed In These Incredible Photos From The Air Force’s Rocket Sled Track

Feel The Speed In These Incredible Photos From The Air Force’s Rocket Sled Track

Is the European Meteor Air-To-Air Missile Really the Best in the World?

Missile Defense Agency Seeking A High-Flying Drone For “Airborne Laser 2.0”

Britain’s Shackleton Radar Plane Was Born As An Already Antiquated Cold War Dinosaur

SEE MORE

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….

More About Us

The TWZ Team