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

A10 is being tested with an aerial refueling probe. A-10

A-10 Warthog Being Tested With Aerial Refueling Probe

Beyond a win for the A-10, putting refueling probes on USAF tactical jets could be a boon of the service's Agile Combat Employment strategy.

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Iran claims it shot down a fighter over Iran showing wreckage on an F-15E.
Iran

F-15E Down In Iran, Rescue Operation Ongoing (Updated)

The F-15E went down under unknown circumstances and U.S. combat search and rescue assets have been seen deep in Iran.

Col. William C. Hannan, Jr., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Division commander, examines innovative design feature updates on the U.S. Army Central’s Bunker Retrofit project, designed to increase protection for service members throughout the U.S. Central Command’s area of operations, prior to the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Phase II Live-fire Experiment at Fort Polk, La., Mar. 10.
Bunker Talk

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

Just two more weeks… Hopefully?

A front view of an SR-71 aircraft assigned to Detachment 4, 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, as it prepares for takeoff.
U.S. Air Force

SR-71 Blackbird Crews Had These Custom Smith & Wesson Pistols Built For Them

Back in the 1960s, the Air Force ordered a small batch of special Model 41 pistols for SR-71 Blackbird aircrew survival kits.

Where are the carriers graphic.
Carriers

Carrier Tracker As Of April 3, 2026

Third American carrier strike group deployed this week in support of Operation Epic Fury

US and Israeli forces struck the B1 bridge connecting Tehran to western regions, hitting Iran’s highest bridge linking Tehran and Karaj, a major transport artery opened earlier this year.
Persian Gulf

Key Iranian Bridge Severed By Airstrikes (Updated)

The bridge near Tehran, a critical artery and source of pride for Iran, was taken out soon after Trump’s threat to bomb the country “back to the Stone Ages.”

A former who commando who fought in Iraq offers candid insights into the Iranian-backed militia attacks there since Epic Fury.
Iraq

Iran Is Losing Its Grip On Iraqi Militias

A former tier one operator in Iraq offers candid insights into the spike in attacks against U.S. interests by Iranian-backed militias.

A photographer on a flight over Greenville, Texas, captured an especially good look at one of the U.S. Air Force's RC-135V/W Rivet Joint aircraft with its usual paint scheme completely stripped off.
U.S. Air Force

RC-135 Rivet Joint Surveillance Jet Caught ‘In The Nude’ In Texas

It’s not common to see America’s workhorse electronic intelligence collection jet stripped of its gray-and-white paint scheme.

The U.S. Air Force's highly secretive NT-43A radar cross-section measurement platform is supporting the launch of NASA's Artemis II space mission, and this reflects the start of an entirely new stage in the career of the notoriously shy aircraft.
U.S. Air Force

Secretive 737 Radar Jet ‘RAT55’ Has Begun “The Next Phase Of Its Career”

Making a peculiar appearance supporting NASA’s Artemis II launch is just the beginning of what comes next for RAT55, the world’s most secretive 737.

The U.S. Air Force Materiel Command’s highly secretive NT-43A has been spotted in Florida, apparently taking part in the preparations for the launch of NASA's long-delayed Artemis II lunar space mission.
Airborne Radar

World’s Most Secretive 737 Is Supporting NASA’s Historic Artemis II Launch

It is rare to see the unique NT-43A aircraft at all, let alone flying over Florida ahead of the first crewed lunar space mission in decades.

Operation Aspides, the European naval task force charged with protecting Red Sea shipping, is eyeing a potential Houthi resumption of hostilities in the waterway.
Red Sea

Amid Fears Houthis Could Close Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Red Sea Task Force Ready For Attacks

Concerns grow that the Iranian-backed rebels could close the waterway, drastically exacerbating the global oil crisis and opening a new front.

Tomahawks running low in war with Iran.
Iran

U.S. Is Burning Through Tomahawk Cruise Missile Stockpile At An Alarming Rate: Report

The four-week conflict with Iran has so far consumed more than a whopping 850 Tomahawk missiles, officials have stated.

Iran says the US is dropping mines from the air on its missile facilities.
Iran

Is The U.S. Dropping Mines To Stop Iranian Missile Launchers?

Scattering mines around remote missile facilities and launch points would make sense in order to further degrade Iranian launches.

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A-4 landing

Ian Ellis-Jones Has Touched Down At TWZ

A letter from the editor as TWZ’s team and mission expands.

A U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning II assigned to the 6th Weapons Squadron takes flight during Red Flag-Nellis 26-1 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Feb. 3, 2026. Red Flag increases interoperability between partner nations and across the Joint Forces as Airman and Guardians train together in high-end, realistic scenarios. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Lauren Clevenger)

F-35 Crashes In The Nevada Test And Training Range Complex (Updated)

The aircraft went down in the range complex north of Las Vegas earlier today, with the pilot safely ejecting.

Rapidly fielding more hardened shelters to better protect U.S. forces at bases in the Middle East is a top priority, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

Bunkers For U.S. Bases In Middle East Now A Top Priority For Pentagon

A rush to harden bases in the Middle East should finally be a much needed wake-up call to glaring gaps globally.

A retired Air Force tanker pilot and wing commander offers insights into what it will take to fight China

Former KC-135 Wing Commander On What It Will Take To Fuel A Fight Against China

Retired Air Force Col. Troy Pananon offers candid insights into the strain a fight with China would put on the tanker fleet.

A-10 on a strafing run.

A-10 Warthogs Are Doing Bizarrely Long Strafing Runs In Iraq

A-10s making nine-second-long gun runs is absolutely not normal.

The Israeli Air Force has released a picture of F-16I Sufa fighters taking part in strikes on Iran, and the jets appear to be carrying cluster munitions.

Israeli F-16s Appear To Be Carrying Cluster Munitions

The cluster munitions likely have a very particular purpose aimed at neutering Iran’s ability to launch long-range ballistic missiles.

E-3 sentry seen destroyed after Iranian attack in Saudi Arabia.

Images Show E-3 Sentry Totally Destroyed From Iranian Strike (Updated)

A loss of an E-3 is a major blow for the dwindling fleet of increasingly rickety airframes and points to other capability and defensive gaps.

A field medical laboratory belonging to the 512th Field Hospital sits inside an old Soviet-era bunker as part of Exercise Dynamic Employment of Forces to Europe for NATO Deterrence and Enhanced Readiness (DEFENDER) 2025, Vepriai Rocket Base, Lithuania, May 12, 2025. During Swift Response, the initial phase of DEFENDER 25, the Defense Health Agency’s Force Health Protection team is providing essential support and expertise to U.S. Army medical providers assigned to the 512th Field Hospital, 519th Hospital Center, 30th Medical Brigade, and 68th Theater Medical Command. As part of DHA’s Operational Medical Systems Program Management Office, FHP works with combatant commands and regulatory experts across the globe to rapidly provide a treatment, diagnostic, or preventive medical countermeasure against high-consequence threats to the Warfighter when a Food and Drug Administration-approved product is not available. (Defense Health Agency Photo by T. T. Parish/Released)

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

Remember what sunlight felt like?

CENTCOM is seeking an underground hardened facility at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

Hardened Underground Facilities Now Being Sought For Al Udeid Air Base

Iranian attacks highlight the glaring need for hardened infrastructure and shelters to protect troops and military assets.

F-5AT is TacAir adversary fighter that replicates up to 4.5 get threats.

Private F-5 Adversary Jets Taking The Fight To Navy Fighter Pilots

TWZ Special Access: We visited TacAir to learn about their heavily upgraded F-5AT fighters and how they replicate enemy aircraft to keep U.S. fighter aircrews sharp.

Super Hornet has a near miss with a SAM near the short of the Gulf Of Oman.

Navy F/A-18’s Close Call With An Iranian SAM Highlights Remaining Risks To Epic Fury Aviators (Updated)

Even in lower-threat coastal areas, MANPADS are a real risk to lower-flying aircraft, and true air supremacy across Iran still isn’t a reality.

KC-135 is being used heavily in Operation Epic Fury.

Veteran KC-135 Base Commander’s View Of Epic Fury’s Strain On The Tanker Force

Retired Colonel Troy Pananon knows just how big a toll Epic Fury is taking on the fleet, its maintainers, and aircrews.

The U.S. Navy has unveiled a "marketplace" model for acquiring future fleets of uncrewed surface vessels (USV), which could be owned and/or operated by the service or contractors.

Navy’s Drone Ship Plans Get Shaken Up Again

The Navy wants to spend less time prototyping and focus on fielding already mature uncrewed vessel designs, which contractors might operate.

Iran has rejected U.S. peace plans.

After Nearly A Month Of Epic Fury There’s No Off-Ramp In Clear Sight

Rejected proposals from the U.S. and Iran show how far off the parties are on any negotiated ceasefire.

South Korea today rolled out the first series-produced example of its homegrown KF-21 fighter. This major milestone in the program also underscores just how quickly the program has progressed, with the rollout coming a little over five years since the first prototype of the fighter was unveiled. The development schedule is especially impressive when compared with other new-generation fighter programs, although Seoul has taken some notable shortcuts to meet this aggressive timeline.

First Series-Produced KF-21 Fighter Rolled Out In South Korea

Taking a less-orthodox approach to developing a new fighter means that Seoul’s KF-21 has made rapid progress.

Kamikaze drones operated by an Iran-backed militia in Iraq appear to have struck a U.S. military Black Hawk helicopter and an air defense radar at an American base in Iraq.

Drone Attack On Parked U.S. Army Black Hawk In Iraq A Harbinger Of What’s To Come

The ballooning threat from FPV drones pose a major risk to American aircraft parked on ramps in war zones and in the United States.

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This One Navy F-16N Aggressor Had An Electronic Warfare Suite Only Found On Israeli Jets

This One Navy F-16N Aggressor Had An Electronic Warfare Suite Only Found On Israeli Jets

Explore Thousands Of FAA Drone And Unidentified Aircraft Incident Reports With Our Interactive Tool

Check Out This Stunning Photo Of The Qatari-British Typhoon Squadron In Action

The Complicated Legacy Of The V-2 Rocket And Its Designer

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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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