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

F-35 made emergency landing after Iran claims it struck one with a SAM. F-35B

USAF F-35 Makes Emergency Landing After Allegedly Being Hit by Iranian Fire

The F-35 was flying a combat mission over Iran when it was forced to divert to a U.S. airbase.

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Venerable A-10 Warthog attack jets are helping dismantle Iran's Navy. Though the A-10 is most commonly associated with missions over land, the jets have a long-standing, if often obscure, maritime role.
Iran

A-10 Warthogs Are Prowling For Iranian Boats In The Strait Of Hormuz

A-10s are executing one of the lesser-known missions they’ve trained to do for decades, hunting down Iranian fast attack boats and mine layers in the strait.

Spotters in Greece have caught an especially good look at what very much appears to be a very stealthy, long-range, high-altitude intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance drone commonly referred to as the RQ-180, or an evolution of that design.
RQ-180

RQ-180 Secret Stealth Drone Appears To Have Made An Emergency Landing At A Greek Air Base (Updated)

Spotters in Greece have caught an especially good look at what appears to be a particularly secretive drone.

The South Pars gas field was attacked by Israel, raising the stakes in the Middle East energy war.
Iran

Iran’s Energy Infrastructure Is Now On The Targeting List (Updated)

The attack on the South Pars gas field puts Iran’s energy production, which is critical to funding the Iranian government, in the crosshairs.

In a follow-up to our recent story about a pair of U.S. Navy Independence class Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) configured for minesweeping appearing in the Pacific, those vessels have now moved further east from Malaysia to Singapore.
Iran

U.S. Navy Minesweepers Stationed In Middle East Are Now In Singapore

Two of three Littoral Combat Ships assigned to Middle Eastern minesweeping duties have made another move in the opposite direction.

The U.S. Air Force has confirmed that it has, for the first time, used its new 5,000-pound-class GBU-72/B bunker-buster bomb in combat.
Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM)

U.S. Used Its New 5,000-Pound Bunker Busters To Hit Iranian Anti-Ship Missile Sites: Reports

The GBU-72/B sits between the common 2,000lb bunker buster and the far more powerful 30,000lb GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator.

The aircraf carrier USS Nimitz has recently seen its service life extended, a sign of stress on the fleet.
USS Nimitz (CVN-68)

Navy Juggles Its Aircraft Carrier Plans To Stay Afloat (Updated)

One carrier was already tired before it had a fire, another saw its service life extended for the second time, while the delivery of a third is delayed.

A submarine is among the Iranian naval vessels that U.S. forces have struck with Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) short-range ballistic missiles.
Iran

Iranian Submarine Sunk By ATACMS Short Range Ballistic Missile

ATACMS and PrSM ballistic missiles have played a key role in destroying Iran’s Navy from afar.

The U.S. military has employed new Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) short-range ballistic missiles as part of ongoing operations against Iran.
Iran

America’s New PrSM Ballistic Missile Just Made Its Combat Debut

PrSM struck targets in Iran and can fly hundreds of miles further than its predecessor ATACMS.

The U.S. Army has confirmed to TWZ that it plans to start fielding its new MV-75 tiltrotors in 2027.
Future Vertical Lift

Army Punches Its MV-75 Tiltrotor Program Into Overdrive

The Army wants to start fielding its first MV-75 tiltrotors in 2027, years earlier than originally planned.

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Trump no longer asking allies to help open the strait of hormuz.

Trump No Longer Wants Allies To Send Warships To Open The Strait Of Hormuz (Updated)

A day after allies pushed back on his demand they send warships to the strait, Trump declared “WE DO NOT NEED HELP FROM ANYONE!”

There appears to be no end in sight as the war in Iran enters its 16th day.

Israeli And U.S. Officials Indicate War Could Go On For Another Three Weeks (Updated)

Trump says he’s not ready to make a deal while Israel says it still has thousands of targets to hit.

CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION, Colo.—Runners participating in the North American Aerospace Defense Command 5k Tunnel Run exit the Cheyenne Mountain Complex through the north portal at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colorado, May 10, 2018. The run was open to all local military personnel, friends and family and was held to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of NORAD and the U.S. Canadian binational NORAD agreement.. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Dennis Hoffman)

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

Should have gotten a Generac!

Drones launched from ships offshore is a highly plausible mode of attack that TWZ has been drawing direct attention to for years now as the United States continues to play catch-up in establishing domestic defenses against the dangers posed by drones.

Drone Attacks On U.S. From The Sea Are A Known Possibility

An FBI alert about the possibility of armed drones launched from a ship reflects real dangers even if the immediate threat is not credible.

A KC-135 refueling tanker crashed in Iraq, according to CENTCOM.

KC-135 Tanker Crashes In Iraq During Operation Epic Fury Sortie (Updated)

U.S. Central Command says two aircraft were involved in the incident and that a search and rescue effort is currently underway.

F-35B ready to carry out defensive counter-air sortie operations across the Middle East. British jets are protecting UK personnel and allied nations across the Middle East. These operations form part of the UK’s broader commitment to regional security and an active commitment to protect our personnel and allies. ** Some blurring has been applied for operational security reasons **

UK Grows Its Defensive Posture Abroad In Response To Iran Conflict

The British Armed Forces have bolstered their air defense presence in the region, but it has also shown cracks in readiness.

B-1B takeoff at night in afterburner

B-1B Being Loaded With Bunker Busters In England A Sign Of Increasing Air Supremacy Over Iran

There are now 15 American bombers that are flying strike missions against Iran from RAF Fairford.

Satellite imagery from Vantor shows at least two, and more likely three, swing-wing F-14 Tomcat fighters, as well as at least 10 other aircraft destroyed on the ground following strikes on an Iranian airbase in Isfahan.

Iranian F-14 Tomcats Meet Their Doom In Israeli Airstrikes

Iran’s Tomcats may have used up the last of their nine lives as the U.S. and Israel seek to neuter the country’s air force.

KC-135 refueling B-21 over the Mojave Desert.

B-21 Raider Photographed Aerial Refueling For The First Time

The B-21 is said to be making quick progress in testing as the USAF accelerates production ahead of its 2027 entry into service.

In a surprising development, Serbia has emerged as an operator of the Chinese-made CM-400 air-launched supersonic missile. The weapon has been integrated into Serbia’s Soviet-era MiG-29 Fulcrums, which have undergone various upgrades.

Serbian MiG-29 Appears Armed With Chinese Supersonic Standoff Missiles

Previously only known to be in Pakistani service, the Chinese-made CM-400 air-to-ground missile has now appeared on Serbian MiG-29 jets.

An Australian E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control plane is headed for the Persian Gulf.

Massive Leap In Ability To Spot Iranian Drones Headed To Persian Gulf

The E-7A Wedgetail is arguably the best aircraft anywhere in the world for spotting low-flying Iranian drones and cruise missiles.

The latest addition to the legendary X-plane family is Bell Textron’s demonstrator for the Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) program. The chosen X-76 designation (for the year 1776) is intended to reflect the 250th anniversary of the United States. Meanwhile, there is much hope that HSVTOL could eventually provide the U.S. military, and potentially other operators, with a high-speed, runway-independent special operations airlifter.

Bell’s X-76 Fold-Away Rotor Aircraft Is DARPA’s Newest X-Plane

Planned to fly in 2028, the X-76 will explore technologies for fast-flying runway-independent aircraft with folding rotors, crewed and uncrewed.

The irony that lower-end long-range kamikaze drones are perhaps the biggest threat to extremely advanced radars capable of providing telemetry for intercepting targets traveling at hypersonic speeds, sometimes in space, is glaring. The losses of the radars should finally serve as a stark wake-up call regarding the vulnerability of these critical but largely static assets.

Iranian Attacks On Prized Missile Defense Radars Are A Wake-Up Call

Iran’s successful targeting of critical missile defense radars in the Middle East highlights global vulnerabilities.

Aircrew members board a B-52H Stratofortress prior to taking off in support of Operation Epic Fury, March 4, 2026. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Air War Against Iran Enters Week Two (Updated)

Iran continues to target its neighbors’ oil production as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is nearly at a stand still.

Less than a week into Operation Epic Fury, we have seen a wide variety of munitions used by the U.S. and Israeli military and have previously looked at how their employment has involved as the conflict has progressed. We have also gotten a look at an apparently mysterious version of the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) in Israeli Air Force (IAF) service.

Israeli F-16 Appears Carrying A Mysterious Precision Bomb

Distinct markings on the bomb suggest it may be filled with an incendiary payload.

First Lt. Pamela Blanco-Coca, 319th Missile Squadron missile combat crew commander, and 2nd Lt. John Anderson, 319th MS deputy missile combat crew commander, conduct pre-operational checks at a launch control center in the F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., missile complex Feb. 9, 2016. The missileers worked heavily in conjunction with missile maintainers to conduct a test of Minuteman III weapon system components in a test known as the Simulated Electronic Launch-Minuteman. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jason Wiese)

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

It’s been a really, REALLY long week, guys…

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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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