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

F/A-XX Northrop Grumman F/A-XX

F/A-XX Next Gen Naval Fighter Concept Video Emerges From Northrop Grumman

We see a lot more of Northrop Grumman's F/A-XX tailless naval fighter concept in the new video, including some interesting features.

Latest News

The U.S. Navy has disclosed the test of an AeroVironment LOCUST laser counter-drone system aboard the Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush.
USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77)

Navy Fires Drone-Frying LOCUST Laser From Supercarrier USS George H.W. Bush

Lasers remain very limited in their range and how fast they can down targets, but they still can be an important layer in a warship’s defenses.

Spruance fires on iranian ship
Iran

Iran Peace Talks Hanging By A Thread After Tumultuous Weekend Near The Strait (Updated)

Trump said peace talks are on while Iranians say they aren’t after both the U.S. and Iran fired on vessels over the weekend.

A U.S. Marine Corps XQ-58A Valkyrie, highly autonomous, low-cost tactical unmanned air vehicle, conducts its second test flight with two U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft assigned to 33rd Fighter Wing, 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Feb. 23, 2023. The XQ-58A Valkyrie test flight and the data collected inform future requirements for the Marine Corps in a rapidly evolving security environment, while successfully fueling joint innovation and experimentation opportunities. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. John McRell)
XQ-58

F-35s Quarterbacking Drones Seen As Gateway To USMC’s 6th Gen Fighter

Collaborative Combat Aircraft will “bridge” the Marines to a family of new capabilities that could include a new stealth fighter based on F/A-XX.

Ukraine has begun testing a new homegrown armored personnel carrier, a tracked vehicle named Skif (Scythian, an ancient warrior tribe who also lived in parts of modern Ukraine). The development underscores the fact that, despite extensive losses of legacy tracked APCs, this is a class of vehicle that the Ukrainian Armed Forces still prioritizes at it tries to hold off the Russian invasion.
Ukraine

Ukraine’s M113-Inspired Armored Personnel Carrier In Testing

Ukraine is working to provide its own APC solution after years of war have eroded its donated and original fleets.

SNC Gives Details Of Its Clean-Sheet Freedom Trainer Offering To The U.S. Navy

SNC Gives Details Of Its Clean-Sheet Freedom Trainer Offering To The U.S. Navy

Branded Content: New trainer designed as a “no-compromise” solution that aims to save significant money for U.S. Navy aviator training.

Armed Black Hawk is shown off with new wings and weapons.
H-60

The H-60 Black Hawk Gunship Evolves With New Wings And Weapons

We get a close-up look and tour of the next armed H-60 Black Hawk evolution.

U.S. Army officials say the modular design of the service's new MV-75A Cheyenne II tiltrotor will make it easier to reconfigure baseline versions for the medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) mission.
MV-75

MV-75 Will Be Reconfigurable For Medevac Mission Via Kit, Not Purpose-Built Like HH-60

The Cheyenne II’s speed and range will usher in a major leap in the U.S. Army’s “dustoff” medical evacuation capability.

The U.S. shipped 10,000 Merops interceptor drones to the Middle East to take on Iranian Shahed drones.
U.S. Army

Cheap Interceptor Drones Proven In Ukraine Protected U.S. Troops Against Iranian Shaheds

The Army’s top official lauded the Merops drone’s performance defending against Iranian long-range kamikaze drones.

MAYHEM 10 is an autonomous, multi-role launched effect designed to deliver coordinated non-kinetic and kinetic effects at standoff. Employable from air, ground, and maritime platforms, it combines advanced collaborative autonomy with modular payloads to operate effectively in contested environments.
Loitering Munitions

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.

F/A-XX Stealth Fighter Selection To Finally Come By August: Navy’s Top Admiral
F/A-XX

F/A-XX Stealth Fighter Selection To Finally Come By August: Navy’s Top Admiral

After being stalled in procurement purgatory, the Navy is set to move forward with its carrier-based 6th generation fighter.

A Navy F/A-18 carries the new Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) Long Range (LR) variant during a test event in early April off the coast of California (U.S. Navy photo/released)
Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM)

Jet-Powered JDAM Tested From Navy Super Hornet

F/A-18s have trialed the JDAM-LR, a powered evolution of the JDAM that offers a relatively cheap cruise missile-like standoff strike capability.

A new and not immediately recognizable launcher has emerged on the U.S. Navy's Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Carl M. Levin.
Arleigh Burke Class

U.S. Navy Destroyer Equipped With New Launcher For Unknown Weapons

The Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Carl M. Levin has received an interesting new addition to its aft upper deck.

Image of Spitfire “K5054”, seen here alongside two F35 Lightning II Jets from RAF Marham as they transit to RAF Coningsby in the UK. The first flight of the eagerly anticipated commemorative Spitfire90 tour has successfully landed at RAF Coningsby. The nine flights have been organised to celebrate 90 years since the Supermarine Spitfire’s maiden flight. Departing from Southampton International Airport earlier today, the very site where Captain Joseph ‘Mutt’ Summers piloted the original Spitfire prototype K5054 on 5th March 1936, the specially painted two-seat Spitfire, replicating the original K5054, was escorted by the Dakota and Spitfire AB910 belonging to the Royal Air Force’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) as it made its way to RAF Coningsby, the home of the BBMF. During the flight, "K5054" was also joined in the vicinity of RAF Marham by two F35 Lightning II aircraft.
F-35B

Spitfire Completes Unique Formation Flights With Royal Air Force

To mark the 90th anniversary of the first flight of the legendary fighter, a Spitfire took to the skies with various frontline British aircraft.

Army officials have shared new details about plans to launch extremely long-range drones from the service's forthcoming ME-11B High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) surveillance and reconnaissance planes.
E-11

Air-Launched Drones Key To Keeping New Army Surveillance Jets Out Of Harms Way

The Army also sees drones launched from ME-11Bs offering a major boost in its ability to peer deep into hostile territory.

The Qatari-donated 747-8i jet envisioned as a presidential airlifter, had a recent test flight.
U.S. Air Force

Qatari 747-8i Gifted To Trump For Interim Air Force One Is Undergoing Test Flights

The 747 is being rushed into service and the Air Force now says it is expected to be delivered this summer.

TWZ’s weekly carrier tracker monitoring America’s flattop fleet, including deployed Carrier Strike Groups (CSG) and Amphibious Ready Groups (ARG), using publicly available open-source information.
Carrier Tracker

Carrier Tracker As of April 20, 2026

Second American carrier strike group enters Central Command area of responsibility, third en route.

Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz but the U.S. blockade of Iran remains in effect.
Iran

Iran Reopens Strait Of Hormuz, U.S. Blockade Continues (Updated)

These moves come as Trump claims the U.S. is helping Iran remove mines from the Strait.

U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technicians board an MH-60R Sea Hawk, assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 14, from the flight deck of Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) on Jan. 1, 2026. Frank E. Petersen Jr. is underway conducting routine operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. Units assigned to 7th Fleet conduct regular Indo-Pacific patrols to deter aggression, strengthen alliances and partnerships, and advance peace through strength. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Christian Kibler)
Iran

U.S. Pursuing Iranian-Linked Ships All Over The World In Addition To Its Blockade (Updated)

The Joint Chiefs Chairman said the U.S. now has a global effort for going after ships related to supporting Iran.

More Latest News

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

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

“I shall look forward personally to exterminating you, Mr. Bond.”

The U.S. Army has given us our first glimpse at what the new MV-75A Cheyenne II tiltrotor will look like in its special operations configuration.

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.

U.S. President Donald Trump downplayed China's concerns over how the war is affecting its oil supplies.

Trump Downplays Chinese Concerns Over Iran War’s Impact On Its Oil Supplies (Updated)

The friction between the U.S. and China over disruption in energy shipments the war with Iran has caused remains a major issue.

The German military has revealed details of tests in which its Wiesel armored personnel carrier has been airdropped under parachutes from A400M transport aircraft. While the diminutive Wiesel (German for weasel) is already notably mobile, including fitting into a CH-53 helicopter, this appears to be the first time that it has been airdropped, marking a significant new capability for Germany’s airborne forces.

Germany Is Now Airdropping Its Tiny Wiesel ‘Tankettes’

Already known for its agility and small size, dropping the Wiesel from A400M transports gives Germany’s airborne forces a new way of rapidly placing firepower forward.

Boeing has provided details on its future plans for the venerable H-47 Chinook, including adding launched effects and creating a path toward an uncrewed version of the helicopter.

CH-47 Chinook Air-Launching Swarms Of Drones Touted As Future Feature

Boeing also identifies growing interest in an optimally crewed version of the Chinook.

The Cold War-era Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne might have been bugged my multiple issues, but there’s no doubt it was the world’s most advanced attack helicopter of its day. But so radical was the AH-56, and its revolutionary features so far ahead of their time, that it’s a very suitable moniker for the U.S. Army’s highly anticipated MV-75 tiltrotor, rolled out today, and officially named Cheyenne II.

Army Names Its New MV-75 Tiltrotor Cheyenne II

First applied to a failed cutting-edge attack helicopter, the Cheyenne name returns for what is perhaps the Army’s most ambitious rotorcraft program yet.

U.S. Army UH-60M Black Hawk Tour And Mission Brief With Its Pilots

U.S. Army UH-60M Black Hawk Tour And Mission Brief With Its Pilots

Branded Content: The UH-60M is a workhorse of the U.S. Army that can perform many duties, soon to include uncrewed battlefield support.

KC-135 from Edwards air force base refueling a B-21 for the first time.

B-21 Raider Seen From Above For The First Time

A new image of aerial refueling trials gives us our first full overhead look at the B-21 and a glimpse at some very interesting features.

While several ships have transited the Strait of Hormuz, CENTCOM says its blockade is working.

Navy Turns Around Ships Trying To Run Blockade Of Iran (Updated)

Meanwhile, CENTCOM says the blockade is working as communications between Washington and Tehran continue in hopes of more in-person talks.

An F-35A Lightning II from Eglin Air Force Base flies with a KC-135 Stratotanker from the 121st Air Refueling Wing, June 16, 2024, before the Columbus Air Show. This year’s event featured more than 20 military and civilian planes, including a KC-135 Stratotanker from the 121st Air Refueling Wing, which served as the base of operations for military aircraft participating in the show.

Air Guard Warns Of Dire Consequences If At Least 72 Fighters Aren’t Bought Annually

Air National Guard leaders have called upon Congress to approve multiyear funding for 72 to 100 new fighters annually.

The US Air Force has been work working to improve the ability of HC-130J Combat King II combat search and rescue aircraft carrying Angry Kitten pods to receive reprogramming updates in near-real-time via satellite.

Angry Kitten Jamming Pod Testing On HC-130J Focuses On Receiving Threat Updates Via Satellite

Being able to rapidly reprogram Angry Kitten pods remotely based on the real-time threat environment would be hugely valuable.

A new Ukrainian surface-to-air missile appears to have made its first public appearance. The weapon is apparently an example of the Koral (also sometimes spelled Coral), the development of which has been known about for some time, as part of an effort to field homegrown ground-based air defense systems, something that the head of Ukraine’s Brave1 defense tech incubator discussed with TWZ in the past.

This May Be Our Best Look At Ukraine’s Secretive New Surface-To-Air Missile

The Koral surface-to-air missile apparently made its public debut as part of a recent lineup of homegrown weapon systems.

A flurry of activity by American minesweeping vessels in the Pacific comes as the U.S. military has said it is sending additional forces to help clear Iranian mines from the Strait of Hormuz.

Flurry Of Navy Minesweepers Appear To Be Heading Toward The Middle East

The migration of U.S. Navy minesweeping assets west from the Pacific indicates preparations are underway for a major de-mining operation.

The Marines are keeping an eye on the progress of a seaglider drone.

Regent Squire Wing-In-Ground Effect Drone Demonstrator Makes First Flight

Squire is designed to take on multiple roles and the Marines say they are monitoring the aircraft’s progress.

KC-135 seen with battle damage repairs landing at RAF Midlenhall.

KC-135 Tanker Covered In Shrapnel Patches Seen Landing In UK

A KC-135 damaged in an Iranian strike has made its way to RAF Mildenhall in the UK thanks to field repairs.

TWZ Carrier Tracker as of April 12 2026 monitoring American carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups.

Carrier Tracker As of April 12, 2026

Trump orders U.S. Navy to blockade Strait of Hormuz as a third carrier strike group steams towards the CENTCOM area of responsibility.

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Must Read Features

The Amazing Story Of How This Nazi Recon Plane Ended Up Being Tested In The U.S. During WWII

The Amazing Story Of How This Nazi Recon Plane Ended Up Being Tested In The U.S. During WWII

Nothing But Images Of Precision Guided Weapons Taken Just Before They Obliterate Their Targets

SR-71’s “R2-D2” Could Be The Key To Winning Future Fights In GPS Denied Environments

Watch This UH-60 Black Hawk Pounce On An Unsuspecting Speedboat And Then Go Vertical

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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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