The War Zone. Your daily source for military, defense, and geopolitics coverage.
MQ-28
MQ-28 Ghost Bat Now Flying Over The Pacific From U.S. Navy Base
Boeing says tests off California are about showing the Australian-born MQ-28's maturity and promoting sales, which could include ones to the Pentagon.
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New Counter-Drone Optimized Pantsir Air Defense System Being Deployed Atop Skyscrapers In Moscow
A video showing a Pantsir-SMD-E being airlifted onto a skyscraper underscores Russian attempts to shield Moscow from increasing Ukrainian drone attacks.
Army Wants More Sensor-Laden Surveillance Balloons Over The Pacific
High-altitude balloons are an increasingly critical part of the Army’s future combat strategy, from providing networking to sensing to delivering kinetic effects.
Severity Of America’s Depleted Advanced Weapons Stockpiles Detailed In New Report
America’s stockpile of critical standoff and air and missile defense weapons is now a strategic vulnerability foes could take advantage of.
Ukrainian Gripen Fighters To Arrive In 2027, Long-Range Meteor Missiles Claimed To Be Included
Sweden’s transfer of Gripens will give Ukraine more than a new fighter, pairing its trademark dispersed operations with Meteor missiles and radar planes.
Search For New 5.56mm “Flyweight” Special Operations Machine Gun To Kick Off Soon
The Flyweight Assault Machine Gun will provide a replacement for a lightweight special operations-specific version of the M249 SAW.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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 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.
Bunker Talk: Memorial Day Weekend Edition
This weekend, we remember those who gave their lives so we could live our’s.
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.
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-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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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….
