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

The MQ-1C Gray Eagle Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) addresses the need for a long-endurance, armed (up to four HELLFIRE missiles), UAS that offers greater range, altitude, and payload flexibility. AGM-114 Hellfire

MQ-1C Gray Eagle Is Shooting Down Drones With Hellfire Missiles In Tests

Using the MQ-1C as a drone-hunter is a new development, and there are plans for new kinetic and laser weapons for the Gray Eagle.

Latest News

The Fenden home showing panels from the control unit used fire missiles. The missile silo was transformed into a private home.(Photo by Najlah Feanny/Corbis via Getty Images)
Bunker Talk

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

Close the door, you are letting the radioactive dust in!

U.S. Soldiers from the 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company, 1/163rd Combined Arms Battalion, , make an M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles operationally ready in northeast Syria on Feb. 1, 2022. The BFVs provide increased force protection for Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve and their partner forces as they continue to ensure the enduring defeat of Daesh. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. William Gore)
Syria

U.S. Troop Drawdown In Syria Officially Announced By Pentagon

The notice confirms our previous reporting that the U.S. troop levels in Syria will drop by about half.

Post strike image of US attack on Houthi fuel port.
Israel

Destruction From U.S. Attack On Houthi Port Shown In Satellite Imagery

A key fuel transfer facility on the Red Sea has been wiped out by U.S. airpower, as shown in new satellite imagery.

The Japan Self-Defense Forces have offered an official look at the turret-mounted electromagnetic railgun now installed on the test ship JS Asuka.
Japan

Railgun Installed On Japanese Warship Testbed

Japan is now pushing ahead with naval electromagnetic railguns, which the U.S. Navy has shelved.

A Russian mechanized assault in Zaporizhzhia oblast might be the vanguard of a new front.
Ukraine

Ukraine Situation Report: Russia Launches New Southern Assault

A Russian mechanized attack in Zaporizhzhia Oblast could be the vanguard of a new offensive.

A U.S. Air Force B1-Lancer assigned to the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron sits on a runway during post-flight maintenance in support of Pacific Air Forces’ Bomber Task Force mission at Misawa Air Base, Feb. 20, 2025. Through combined training, the U.S. and intercontinental defense forces work together to promote interoperability, thus furthering our investments and strengthening our relationships.
China

B-1B Bones Make Unprecedented Bomber Task Force Deployment To Japan

U.S. long-range bombers haven’t been stationed in Japan for any extended period since the Vietnam War.

The U.S. military says it has destroyed the Houthi-controlled port of Ras Isa in Yemen, ostensibly to prevent the group from benefiting from the movement of various kinds of fuel through its facilities.
Yemen

American Forces Destroy Key Houthi-Controlled Fuel Port In Yemen

U.S. Central Command says it targeted Ras Isa to stop Iranian-backed Houthi militants from benefiting from the fuel trade through the port.

The British Army has, for the first time, used a directed-energy weapon to bring down a swarm of drones during trials. The Radiofrequency Directed Energy Weapon demonstrator, or RF DEW, reflects a fast-growing trend to harness news ways of neutralizing the drone threat, both on the battlefield and for homeland defense.
United Kingdom

British High-Power Microwave Weapon Successfully Tested Against Drone Swarms

The Radiofrequency Directed Energy Weapon demonstrator, or RF DEW, uses an intense beam of RF energy to rapidly neutralize close-in drone threats.

Lockheed Pitches Containerized Launchers To Help Close Australia’s Air And Missile Defense Gaps
Australia

Lockheed Pitches Containerized Launchers To Help Close Australia’s Air And Missile Defense Gaps

Australia is seeking to acquire longer-range air and missile defenses to work with its new battle management system that’s under development.

Sea Air Space 2025

Lockheed Martin has confirmed Sweden's Visby class corvettes will use three-cell Extensible Launching System (ExLS) launchers to fire their forthcoming Common Anti-air Modular Missiles (CAMM).
Northern Europe

Sweden’s Stealthy Visby Corvettes Getting Mk 41 Based Vertical Launch Systems For Air Defense Missiles

Lockheed Martin’s Extensible Launching System will give Sweden the option of adding other missiles and decoys to the Visby class arsenal.

The U.S. Navy has halted plans to acquire an air-launched, air-breathing hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile, citing cost and industrial base factors.
Air-launched hypersonic cruise missiles

Navy Axes Its Hypersonic Anti-Ship Cruise Missile Plans

The Navy has said for years that the HALO program is essential, but now it is reevaluating its plans based on cost concerns.

Defiant Drone Ship Gets Closer To Months-Long DARPA At Sea Demonstration
U.S. Navy

Defiant Drone Ship Gets Closer To Months-Long DARPA At Sea Demonstration

USX-1 Defiant, which will sail without humans onboard and is designed for mass production, is undergoing trials ahead of its long-endurance cruise.

More Latest News

Iniochos 2025 will involve a large number of HAF assets, such as fighters, Air Defence Systems, helicopters, transport and training aircraft. Additionally, Hellenic Army and Navy assets and personnel will contribute significantly to the creation of complex and realistic scenarios across the exercise areas which spread over the Greek mainland and sea.

This Greek Air Combat Exercise Was A Low-Level Fighter Flying Paradise

The biggest iteration of the Iniohos exercise brought together a very diverse range of aircraft types and nations in western Greece.

Australia is pushing back on a report that Russia asked to base its long-range bombers at an Indonesian airbase.

Australia Casts Doubt On Russia Basing Bombers At Indonesian Air Base

Australian officials are pushing back on a report claiming Moscow has asked Jakarta to base bombers at an Indonesian air base about 850 miles from Darwin.

Russia has made few gains in its new offensive in Ukraine.

New Russian Offensive Has Gained Little Ground So Far

Ukraine Situation Report: Russia is trying to create a ‘buffer zone’ in Sumy as both sides jockey for territory ahead of possible negotiations.

Photograph of an armoury of a night bombing squadron on the British front in France. Scrupulous care was taken of their guns and pistols. Dated 1942 (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty images)

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

Get cozy, we may not be going out for a while.

KC-10 for sale

KC-10 Extender Tankers Are Up For Auction

The government has begun selling off the mothballed KC-10 fleet, which could present an opportunity for private aerial refueling companies.

The first two American F-35A Lightning II fighter jets land in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, on May 23, 2016. The F-35 program is an international effort where the United States works with eight other partner nations, including the Netherlands, to design and develop the F-35.

Dutch F-35s Provide Targeting For Rocket Artillery

Dutch F-35s recently used a new system called Keystone to provide targeting data to cue Israeli-made artillery.

When the U.S. wanted to shift a Patriot battery from the Pacific to the Middle East, it took 73 C-17 flights to do so, highlighting sustainment concerns.

It Took 73 C-17 Loads To Move Patriot Battalion From Pacific To Middle East

Alarm bells grow louder in regard to major deficiencies in sustained U.S. military logistics support needed for a Pacific fight.

The French Air and Space Force has officially reintroduced the modernized Mirage 2000D strike aircraft, the service has confirmed. By the end of this year, the force will have 50 upgraded examples of the delta-wing jet, which, despite its relative age, remains a highly capable long-range conventional strike and close air support asset.

Deeply Upgraded Mirage 2000DRMV Strike Jet Enters French Service

A workhorse of the French Air and Space Force, the modernized Mirage 2000D is set to serve with new weapons until at least 2035.

Satellite imagery has confirmed the presence of the Su-35 Flanker-M multirole fighter in Algerian service, indicating that at least some of these aircraft have been transferred to the country, a new customer for the type. The Su-35 is almost certainly from a batch of aircraft originally built for Egypt, but never delivered, and then repeatedly connected with a sale to Iran. Algeria had also previously been reported as the first export customer for the Su-57 Felon next-generation fighter, as you can read about here.

Su-35s Once Expected To Arm Iran Are Now In Algeria

Originally built for Egypt, the Su-35s now being transferred to Algeria had long been expected to bolster Iran’s decrepit air arm.

M346N Navy trainer

M-346N Pitched To Replace Navy’s T-45 Goshawk Jet Trainers

The Navy has meanwhile decided that its new jet trainer will not have to operate from aircraft carriers.

We now have our first look at a new version of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) 70mm guided rocket with an infrared seeker on top of the existing laser guidance capability.

Infrared Seeker For APKWS Guided 70mm Rockets Unveiled

Adding infrared guidance to APKWS II rockets allows for multiple targets to be engaged more rapidly, especially in the air-to-air role.

For Lockheed Martin, combining PAC-3 MSE with the Mk 41 presents a potential way to break Raytheon’s long-standing lock on naval missile sales.

Patriot PAC-3 Missile Puts Crosshairs On Replacing Navy’s Long-Serving SM-2

Putting the proven PAC-3 MSE missile on warships could fill a notable niche, and possibly a looming supply gap, in the Navy’s layered air defenses.

A senior Navy aviation officer says the three-month-long grounding of virtually all Osprey tiltrotors worldwide following the fatal crash of a U.S. Air Force CV-22B off the coast of Japan in 2023 sent serious ripples through his service.

CMV-22 Grounding Was “Wakeup Call” For Navy, Stakes Higher With C-2 Gone Next Year

The Navy says it is confident in the CMV-22B to provide critical support to carriers at sea, but that its readiness and reliability need to be improved.

200925-N-PL200-0001 PHILIPPINE SEA (Sept. 25, 2020) From left, USNS Sacagawea (T-AKE 2), USS Germantown (LSD 42), USNS John Ericsson (T-AO 194), USS Antietam (CG 54), USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), USS America (LHA 6), USS Shiloh (CG 67), USS New Orleans (LPD 18), and USS Comstock (LSD 45) steam in formation while E/A-18G Growlers, FA-18E Super Hornets and an E-2D Hawkeye from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 fly over in support of Valiant Shield 2020. Valiant Shield is a U.S. only, biennial field training exercise (FTX) with a focus on integration of joint training in a blue-water environment among U.S. forces. This training enables real-world proficiency in sustaining joint forces through detecting, locating, tracking and engaging units at sea, in the air, on land and in cyberspace in response to a range of mission areas. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Lauren Chatmas)

Navy Is About To Go Big On Massive Joint War Training Across The Pacific

Huge exercises will stress test U.S. armed forces and they will also reveal what requirements are most pressing to make such a massive joint fight a reality.

CCAs and super hornet

Navy Won’t Scramble To Field Loyal Wingman Drones Like The Air Force

The admiral in charge of the Navy’s Air Warfare Division made it clear his service is taking a wait and see approach to Collaborative Combat Aircraft.

The U.S. Navy expects its future F/A-XX sixth-generation stealth fighters to offer just a 25 percent increase in range over the existing tactical combat jets in its carrier air wings.

F/A-XX Will Have Just 25% More Range Than Existing Navy Fighters

FA-XX will have much less range than some may have hoped for, even though extending the carrier strike group’s reach is a top Navy priority.

Must Read Features

Photographer Hikes Sequoia National Forest To Get Insane Shots Of Fighter Jets Blasting By

Photographer Hikes Sequoia National Forest To Get Insane Shots Of Fighter Jets Blasting By

Veteran Flight Tester On How The YA-7F Strikefighter Was Really A Jet Recycling Program

The Time A Navy Sub Hunter Found A Lost B-58 Hustler In Great Salt Lake

Royal Navy Once Created A ‘Franken-Ship’ From Two Destroyers

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