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A comprehensive visual detailing the American aircraft damaged or destroyed during operations in the Middle East. Air Forces

Every American Aircraft Lost Or Damaged During The Iran War, Visualized

New reports from the Pentagon and CBO, combined with open-source intel, paint the most complete picture yet of the damage Iran has inflicted on U.S. airpower.

Latest News

Iran

U.K. Sending Voyager Tanker To Help Defend Saudi Airspace, Trump Tells UN Iran Deal Likely After Election

The tanker deployment will support Saudi Arabia’s defense against Houthi missiles and drones.

French Navy

France’s Modular Rampart Point Defense Launcher Has Gone To Sea

The launcher that can fire laser-guided rockets, small missiles, and more has emerged on a Mistral class amphibious assault ship.

North Korea

North Korea Tests New Hwasong-11Ma Hypersonic Missile

The new missile and launcher was shown in action, but just how close it is to being anywhere near a usable weapon is highly questionable.

U.S. Navy

Torpedo Fired From Uncrewed Submarine For The First Time By U.S., U.K.

Uncrewed underwater vehicles that can launch attacks on other vessels open up new tactical possibilities and could help fill gaps in traditional submarine coverage.

Germany

USAF F-16 Crashes At Spangdahlem Air Base In Germany

The base is home of U.S. Air Force F-16CMs that specialize in the ‘wild weasel’ mission set.

China

Chinese Next-Generation Submarine Developments Spotted In New Satellite Imagery

A Chinese submarine now taking shape at Bohai Shipyard has a number of significant features and offers new insights into China’s undersea ambitions.

U.S. Air Force

New Details About Secretive RQ-170 Sentinel Drone Squadron Shared With New Award

The 30th Reconnaissance Squadron is one of two units known to operate RQ-170s, and it is very rare to hear any details about its activities.

AIM-260

Pentagon Cuts New AIM-260 Air-To-Air Missile Production Deal, Testing Accelerating

The AIM-260 was originally slated to enter service years ago and it is seen as critical to counter China’s PL-15 air-to-air missile.

Iran

How The Air Force Patched Up A Shrapnel-Damaged KC-135

In addition, pushing advanced repair work closer to the front lines was critical in keeping as many airframes supporting the mission as possible.

U.S. Air Force

New-Build F-16s For The USAF Is An Idea That Won’t Go Away, For Good Reason

Lockheed’s F-16G pitch could be part of the answer to the Air Force’s problem of trying to grow its increasingly geriatric fighter fleet.

AGM-158 Joint Air-To-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM)

Lockheed Flexes To Modular AGM-158 JASSM Missile Concept

FLEX aims to give the JASSM missile family modular weapons architecture spanning longer-range, anti-ship, and new launch configurations.

U.S. Army

One Of These Missiles Is Set To Be The Army’s Next Mid-Tier Anti-Air Interceptor

The new Enduring Shield system paired with AIM-9X Sidewinders already gives the Army its first mid-range air defense capability in decades.

Miniature Air-Launched Decoy (MALD)

ADM-160 Miniature Air Launched Decoy Wreckage A Reminder Of Ongoing Spying On Iran’s Air Defenses

The U.S. and Israel need to keep a close eye on the status of Iran’s battered air defenses.

VH-92

Marine One VH-92A Makes First Operational Use Of New White House Helipad

The event also marked the first time the VH-92 carried out its core mission of transporting the president to and from the White House grounds.

U.S. Air Force

General Atomics FQ-42A Vengeance CCA Now Flying Together With USAF Fighters

CCAs are participating in ever-more realistic demonstrations, including with crewed counterparts, as actual teaming trials are on the horizon.

Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs)

Marine Colonel Who Led Mideast Combat Deployment Wants His Own Drone Boats

“If the first thing you’re putting through the breach isn’t a robot, something’s wrong.”

Nuclear Attack Submarines (SSNs)

Japan Opens The Door To Acquiring Nuclear-Powered Submarines

Japan’s naval capabilities are evolving rapidly in the face of growing threats and so are its undersea requirements.

Iran

USMC Used Its Expeditionary Operations Playbook In Combat For First Time During Epic Fury

The USMC set up remote forward refueling and rearming points for F-35Bs and other aircraft, as well as sensing locations during the war with Iran.

More Latest News

NATO

Alarm Bells Ring Across Europe As Security Situation With Russia Deteriorates At Accelerating Pace

Russia is making some very concerning moves at a time when hybrid attacks are at an all-time high, stoking fear across Europe.

Bunker Talk

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

Tee Gee Eye Eff.

Baltic Sea

German Forces Surge Onto Baltic Island In First-Of-Its-Kind NATO Drill

Exercise Silver Wotan tests how quickly allied troops, ships, aircraft, and weapons can reach the strategically vital island of Gotland.

F-16

F-16 Crashes In Michigan

Dramatic ATC audio of the incident has emerged.

F-35

F-35 Sale To Saudi Arabia Approved By State Department

The proposed $24 billion stealth fighter deal has major ramifications across the Middle East.

C-17

USAF Assessing Feasibility Of Restarting C-17 Production As Part Of Its Future Airlift Vision

The USAF is about to kick off a larger review of next-generation airlift options, and is still refining requirements for new tankers.

F-15

Houthis Claim Saudi F-15 Kill Over Yemen

The incident is another reminder that the Houthis’ patchwork of air defenses remains a credible and deadly threat.

F-35

Israel Is Bringing SPICE 1000 Standoff Weapon To The F-35

The standoff weapon could eventually give other F-35 operators a new path to a long-range precision strike capability.

F-47

Industrial Base Concerns Over Building F/A-XX And F-47 Remain: Top Pentagon Procurement Officer

Gen. Dale White says while the F-47 will fly by 2028, doing F/A-XX at the same time is concerning, but that’s not unique to just next gen fighters.

FQ-42 Vengeance Fighter Drone Program Update

Branded Content: The latest from General Atomics on FQ-42 Vengeance and the company’s new Wildfire MQ-9 replacement platform.

Collaborative Combat Aircraft

USAF’s Fighter Drones To Make Debut In A Large Scale Exercise

Exercise Emerald Flag will give the USAF a completely new opportunity to test how its CCA drones work together with crewed assets.

U.S. Air Force

NATO Air Commander Details Thinking Behind The Alliance’s New Air Defense Plan

With alarming incursions into NATO territory by Russian drones and missiles, and the possibility that worse is on the horizon, NATO is adapting its air defense playbook.

Collaborative Combat Aircraft

YFQ-44A Fury Has Been Fit Checked With Air-To-Ground Munitions

New imagery highlights potential air-to-ground weapons integration on Fury, pointing to the possibility of a broader strike capability for production FQ-44s.

U.S. Air Force

Air Force Announces New Plans To Take Over Defending Its Own Bases From Aerial Attack

The Air Force’s top officer acknowledged that a lack of organic base defense was a factor in the destruction caused by Iran.

Collaborative Combat Aircraft

Anduril’s YFQ-44A Fury CCA Has Flown Alongside F-35s

The YFQ-44 Fury has already taken to the skies alongside fifth-gen fighters as the company works toward a true crewed-uncrewed teaming demonstration.

F-15

Airmen Under Fire: Stories From Iranian Barrages On U.S. Bases

Air Force Chief Of Staff Gen. Wilsbach offered vignettes of airmen performing under punishing Iranian attacks.

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TWZ — previously known as The War Zone — 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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