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

A-10 warthog has had its life extended but actually supporting it to its out of service date is a different reality. A-10

A Disciplined Case For The A-10 The Air Force Won’t Make

Opinion: The USAF says the A-10's service is extended to 2030, but funding and planning doesn't really reflect that, which has to change and fast.

Latest News

New footage confirms the R6000 uncrewed tiltrotor has moved into a new and more demanding phase of flight testing.
China

China’s Big R6000 Tiltrotor Drone Has Entered Full Flight Testing

New footage confirms the R6000 uncrewed tiltrotor has moved on from tethered hover trials.

Russian warship fires warning shot at yacht that came near it in English Channel.
United Kingdom

U.K. MoD Investigating Reports Of Russian Warship Firing Warning Shots In English Channel

The alleged incident involved a yacht and a Russian Navy ship sailing south of the Isle of Wight.

Fincantieri Marine Group CEO George Moutafis opens up about what went wrong with the troubled Constellation class frigate program.
U.S. Navy

Fincantieri CEO Opens Up About The Constellation Class Frigate Debacle

Fincantieri Marine Group CEO George Moutafis gives us exclusive insights into what sunk the frigate and what needs to change because of it.

B-52 Bomber Crashes At Edwards Air Force Base In California (Updated)
B-52

B-52 Bomber Crashes At Edwards Air Force Base In California (Updated)

A massive tower of black smoke emanated from near the main runway at Edwards AFB which we now know was caused by the crash of a B-52.

America's aircraft carriers and deployed big-deck amphibious assault ships are as of June 15, 2026 by TWZ
Carrier Tracker

America’s Naval Force Posture Largely Unchanged With Iran Ceasefire Deal On The Horizon

Here’s where America’s aircraft carriers and big-deck amphibious assault ships are as of June 15, 2026.

The U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports will remain in effect until at least Friday, a source familiar with the process told us.
Iran

U.S. Naval Blockade On Iran Will Remain In Place Until At Least Friday

The blockade that went into effect on April 13 will continue until the U.S. and Iran sign an agreement.

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.

The U.S. military wants to see if it can enhance the capabilities of the 2,000-pound-class Joint Direct Attack Munition-Extended Range (JDAM-ER) precision-guided bomb as a bunker-busting munition.
Bunker Busters

Bunker Busters With Winged JDAM-ER Kits Could Allow For Near Horizontal Strikes On Fortified Targets

With their pop-out wings, JDAM-ERs already offer valuable extra reach that helps keep launching aircraft further away from threats.

Russia's Defence Ministry said the Tu-22M3 crashed while making an approach to land in the Irkutsk Region during what it described as a routine training flight.
Tu-22

Russian Tu-22M3 Swing-Wing Bomber Seen Plunging Into The Ground

The dramatic accident, captured in multiple videos, removes another precious aircraft from Russia’s long-range bomber fleet.

A-10C Thunderbolt II close-support jets with kill marking were seen at RAF Lakenheath.
Iran

A-10 Warthogs Arrive In England Festooned With Nose Art And Mission Markings From Epic Fury

The markings on the A-10s seen at RAF Lakenheath today offer an indication of what they did during the fight against Iran.

Boeing has decided not to pursue a bid for the U.S. Navy's Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) competition.
T-7

Boeing Drops Out Of Navy’s T-45 Jet Trainer Replacement Competition

The field of competitors to design and build the Navy’s next jet trainer has narrowed to just two teams, and both are putting forward twin-engine designs.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has confirmed a Saronic Corsair was the uncrewed surface vessel (USV) that rescued the crew of a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache out of the Gulf of Oman overnight.
Iran

This Is The Corsair Drone Boat That Plucked The Downed Apache Crew Out Of The Gulf Of Oman

The U.S. Navy’s top drone task force in the Middle East only started operating the Corsair uncrewed surface vessels in March.

AH-64 went down into the gulf of Oman with drone boat recovering the crew.
Iran

AH-64 Apache Crew Rescued By Drone Boat After Going Down Near Strait Of Hormuz (Updated)

This is the first known use of an uncrewed surface vessel to recover downed aircrew and is major sign of what’s to come.

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FEB 19 1981, FEB 21 1981, FEB 22 1981; U. S. - Federal Emergency Management Agency (Underground Bunker At Den Fed CTR); (Photo By Dave Buresh/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
Bunker Talk

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

Everyday is like Sunday…

NATO and Russia are building up a presence in the high north.
NATO

Russia Building New Infrastructure For Major Troop Deployments Along NATO’s Northern Flank

As Russia builds facilities for tens of thousands of troops, NATO is also bolstering its defenses with a new Arctic combat force to act as a deterrent.

A screencap from an Airbus video showing a notional future fighter working with remote-carrier-type drones.
Fighters

Germany And Spain Launch ‘Team Gen 6’ After Europe’s Next-Gen Fighter Effort Collapses

The emerging coalition could reshape Europe’s future fighter landscape, but it still needs political backing, lots of funding, and likely more partners.

Members of Congress are again moving to block the U.S. Air Force from retiring all of its U-2S Dragon Lady spy planes. This time, legislators also want to compel the service to "fully restore" a quartet of the iconic aircraft through depot maintenance.
U-2

Four U-2S Spy Planes Would Be Restored In Bill That Would Save The Dragon Lady Fleet

Congress is moving again to block the Air Force from retiring the U-2 amid continued questions about capability gaps.

Boeing’s 757 Flying Test Bed was recently spotted carrying a stealthy underwing infrared sensor pod under its fuselage.
F-22

F-22’s ‘Catfish’ 757 Testbed Spotted Carrying Raptor’s New Infrared Sensor Pod

The Catfish 757 has spent decades supporting the F-22 program, and that work now extends to testing external stores.

Kharg Island being threatened again by President Trump.
Iran

What It Would Take To Seize Iran’s Kharg Island, According To Top Former Military Leaders

Kharg Island, the epicenter of Iran’s energy exports, is in the news again today after Trump declared he would seize it, before changing his tune.

Boeing “Encouraged” By C-17 Production Restart Discussions
C-17

Boeing “Encouraged” By C-17 Production Restart Discussions

Congress recently asked the USAF for a briefing on the feasibility of buying new C-17s and allies have interest too.

A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon taxis on the flightline at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The F-16 is carrying a Family of Affordable Mass Munition – Lugged weapon as part of a rapid test series performed by the 96th Test Wing and 53rd Wing.
F-16

Kongsberg Bets On High-Low Cruise Missile Mix With JSM And Rusty Dagger

The low-cost Rusty Dagger is being combined with the more capable and expensive Joint Strike Missile in a tiered standoff strike portfolio.

Trump says the apache that crashed into the sea of Oman was shot down.
Iran

AH-64 Apache Shot Down By Iran, U.S. Will Retaliate: Trump (Updated)

The AH-64 crashed into the Gulf of Oman and its crew was rescued by a drone boat, and now Trump says it was due to enemy action.

The U.S. Air Force has confirmed that the so-called VC-25B Bridge aircraft is now wearing its new red, white, and blue livery and undergoing final preparations for its official delivery.
Air Force One

VC-25B Air Force One “Bridge” Aircraft Now Wears Trump’s Preferred Red, White, and Blue Paint Job

The VC-25B “Bridge” jet is also undergoing a final round of modifications before its official debut this summer.

TWZ’s weekly carrier tracker monitoring America’s flattop fleet, including Carrier Strike Groups (CSG) and Amphibious Ready Groups (ARG)
Carrier Tracker

Iwo Jima Completes Deployment, Nimitz Heading Back To The United States

Here’s where America’s aircraft carriers and big-deck amphibious assault ships are as of June 8, 2026.

Germany and France have failed to reconcile competing military requirements, bringing Europe’s flagship fighter jet program to an abrupt end.
French Air Force

Franco-German Future Fighter Effort Collapses Over Irreconcilable Differences

Germany and France failed to come to terms on requirements, apparently bringing Europe’s flagship next gen fighter program to an end.

A U.S. Air Force KC-135 tanker appeared in the United Kingdom this weekend with a new large antenna on top of the rear of the fuselage.
KC-135

KC-135 Tanker Spotted With New Satellite Communications Antenna

The USAF says improved connectivity is critical for the survivability and effectiveness of the KC-135 fleet.

Israel and Iran are looking for an off-ramp to a recent escalation in fighting.
Iran

Iran And Israel Step Back From The Brink

After a flurry of tit-for-tat strikes, Israel and Iran pulled back from entering into yet another all-out war.

U-145 helicopter drone.
Helicopters

Airbus Unveils U145 Uncrewed Cargo Helicopter

The U145 transforms one of Europe’s most successful helicopters into an uncrewed aircraft optimized for risky cargo missions.

The French Air and Space Force confirmed that its Rafales, currently deployed in neighboring Lithuania, were scrambled in response to the drone incursion. The drone was identified before one of the fighters shot it down over an uninhabited area.
Rafale

Video Captures Rafale Fighter’s Drone Kill Over Baltic

What appears to be the first footage of an engagement of this kind in Europe underscores the growing challenge drones pose to NATO air policing.

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Fighters

Blending Live Enemies With Virtual Ones Is Transforming The Way Fighter Pilots Train

F-117

Pocket Force Of Stealthy Avenger Drones May Have Made Returning F-117s To Service Unnecessary

MC-130

Check Out The Crazy Radar That Lies Beneath The MC-130H Combat Talon II’s Gonzo Nose

B-2

The B-2’s Little-Known GAM Weapon Was The First Satellite-Guided Bomb

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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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