The War Zone. Your daily source for military, defense, and geopolitics coverage.
AC-130
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.
Latest News
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.
Sweden Chooses Unusual French Design For Its New Frigates
The security situation in Europe led Sweden to choose the in-production FDI design, but it will be packed with Swedish weapon systems.
BlitzBox Packs 100 Weaponized Drones Into An Unassuming Container
DZYNE’s BlitzBox is the kind of containerized drone launcher the U.S. military is now very actively pursuing.
B-1B’s Future Armament According To Its Test Pilot
The Bone is getting set to spend the last decade of its career with a whole set of new arrows in its quiver.
Plan To Test OA-1K Skyraider II’s Rapid Deployability Outlined By Air Force Special Ops Command
The Air Force also plans to add laser-guided rockets to the OA-1K’s armament as it works toward operational capability amid relevance concerns.
Trump Claims He Called Off Imminent Iran Bombing Campaign At Behest Of Allies (Updated)
The president says the strikes were set for tomorrow, but it’s one of many times Trump made grand threats then supposedly pulled back at the last moment.
Coast Guard Creates Its Own Special Operations Command
The Coast Guard is putting all of its specialized forces under a single headquarters as demand for their services is at an all-time high.
Super-Adaptable Mayhem 10 Swarming Drone Evolved From The Switchblade
AeroVironment’s Mayhem 10 is highly-modular and can seek and destroy enemy radars, jam comms, reconnoiter, strike armor and more.
First Look At What A Night Stalker MV-75 Cheyenne Will Look Like
A new rendering shows an MV-75 with special operations-specific features like a radar, other sensors, and in-flight refueling capability.
Marine Amphibious Combat Vehicles To Get Missile-Swatting Active Protection Systems
Active Protection Systems will give Marine ACVs a critical new layer of defense against anti-armor threats that could also help down incoming drones.
Confidence In CH-53K King Stallion Grows Ahead Of First Operational Deployment
Going to sea with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit is a prelude to the CH-53K hitting full-rate production, planned for FY 2029.
China is America’s Military Equal Now And In Any Future Fight, Marine General Warns
Faced with the rapidly growing China threat, the U.S. has to start hardening its bases now, said Marine Lt. Gen. Stephen Sklenka.
Two-Seat Variant Of Russia’s Su-57 Felon Fighter Materializes
The apparent emergence of a two-seat Su-57 points to unmanned teaming and may also indicate a revived export drive.
Ukraine’s Homegrown Glide Bomb Breaks Cover
Ukraine is in urgent need of additional air-launched standoff munitions, especially ones free of foreign supply chains and use restrictions.
Navy EA-18G Growlers Collide At Idaho Air Show (Updated)
All four crew members ejected as the aircraft became entangled and plummeted to the ground.
Where Are The Carriers As Of May 17, 2026: Ford Is Finally Home
The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group arrived home in Norfolk after a grueling, record-setting 326-day deployment.
Nuclear-Powered Trump Class Battleships Will Reverse One Of The Navy’s “Largest Mistakes”: Navy Boss
The Chief of Naval Operations says giving up on nuclear-powered surface combatants was one of the worst decisions his service has ever made.
IRGC Navy Claims Vast Expansion In Its Definition Of Strait Of Hormuz (Updated)
It remains unclear how the IRGC will enforce its tenfold increase in what it considers the Strait.
More Latest News
Mysterious Chinese SUV With Massive Roof Featured In Trump Motorcade In Beijing
The bizarre-looking high-top SUVs were among several notable vehicles spotted in President Trump’s motorcade during his recent trip to China.
Bunker Talk: Let’s Talk About All The Things We Did And Didn’t Cover This Week
The water tastes metallic.
Argentina Retires Its A-4 Fightinghawks
After six decades of service, the A-4’s first export operator has finally stood down its Skyhawks as it introduces its first F-16s.
Secretive AIM-260 Air-To-Air Missile Finally Breaks Cover
The AIM-260 has been in development for years as a much-needed longer-range successor to the venerable AIM-120 AMRAAM.
CENTCOM Commander Dismisses Reports That Iran Retains Most Of Its Missile And Drone Arsenal (Updated)
Admiral Brad Cooper said that “the numbers that I’ve seen in open source are not accurate” as reports mount that most of Iran’s arsenal is intact.
Israel’s F-35s Are Getting External Fuel Tanks
Fresh off extensive combat operations against Iran, Israel is boosting the F-35I Adir’s endurance with external fuel tanks that will also reduce dependence on tanker aircraft.
UAE Building Massive ‘Cope Cages’ To Protect Energy Facilities From Iranian Drone Attacks
The move comes after the UAE has been hit by thousands of Iranian missiles and drones that have heavily damaged parts of its oil and gas infrastructure.
Pentagon’s Mindset On E-7 Radar Aircraft It Tried To Axe Has Completely Changed: Hegseth
E-7s to replace the Air Force’s dwindling and aging fleet of E-3s are even more sorely needed now after one of the latter was lost to an Iranian attack.
Drone-Hunting M28 Skytruck In The Works For Poland
With the Ukrainian An-28 reportedly highly effective in the role, Poland is converting its similar M28 for the counter-drone mission.
New Version Of Bomber-Launched ARRW Hypersonic Missile Is A Ship Killer
The USAF is moving to start work on a new ARRW variant able to hit moving targets with an eye toward future fights in the Pacific.
U.S. Air Force Special Operations Aircraft Accused Of Austrian Airspace Incursion
Austria says it scrambled Eurofighters two days in a row to intercept U.S. military aircraft, likely U-28As operated by Air Force Special Operations Command.
Possibility Of Operation To Retrieve Iran’s Enriched Uranium Appears To Rise As Negotiations Sputter (Updated)
Both Trump and Netanyahu made comments in the last 24 hours that point to a possible high-risk operation to snatch Iran’s nuclear material.
Anti-Drone “Cope Cage” Appears On Russian Patrol Boat
Ukrainian drone attacks on naval targets are driving the development of new defenses, but overhead screens alone have dwindling efficacy.
C-5 Galaxies Now Slated To Keep Flying Until 2050 As Readiness Plummets To 37 Percent
Nothing in the USAF’s inventory can do what a C-5 can, but even after costly upgrades, they remain extremely temperamental.
Where Are The Carriers As Of May 11, 2026: 20 Warships Enforce Iran Blockade
Meanwhile, USS Nimitz has made a stop in Rio as part of its circumnavigation of South America and repositioning cruise to Norfolk.
Drone Swarms Packed Into Unassuming Containers Sought By DARPA
Remotely triggered containerized drone swarms, potentially placed behind enemy lines, create a hard-to-defend-against threat from pretty much everywhere.
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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….
