The War Zone. Your daily source for military, defense, and geopolitics coverage.
U.S. Navy
Trump Class Battleships Will Be Nuclear Powered
Equipping the Trump class with nuclear propulsion presents benefits, but also massive challenges, and Navy officials had been pushing back against the idea.
Latest News
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.
MQ-9 Reaper Fires Laser-Guided Rockets In Tests
The MQ-9 successfully tested APKWS rockets against air and ground targets, as the demand for lower-cost counter-drone weapons surges.
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.
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.
USAF Is Going To Explore What Will Finally Replace The B-52
The USAF plans to keep its B-52s until they are nearly a century old, but they cannot fly forever, and costs are already skyrocketing on key upgrades.
My God… The F-14 Tomcat May Actually Fly Again Over The United States (Updated)
Long regarded as a flight of fancy, the “Maverick Act” could put an F-14 back into operation in the U.S. for the first time in 20 years.
Camouflaged F-15E Painted To Mark F-111’s Libya Raid Blasts Through Mach Loop On First Flight
Hauling eight inert GBU-12 laser-guided bombs, the F-15E painted for the anniversary of Operation El Dorado Canyon made a low-level flight through Wales.
F/A-18 Super Hornet Drops Bombs Down Smokestacks Of Iranian Tankers Running Blockade (Updated)
The attack comes as the UAE claims it was struck again by Iran and hours after the U.S. and Iran exchanged blows.
F/A-18 Super Hornet Blasts Blockade-Running Iranian Ship’s Rudder With 20mm Cannon (Updated)
The Super Hornet strafing the ship is the latest instance where the Navy used direct fire to disable Iranian ships trying to run the blockade.
Missiles Clobber Target Ship In Highly Strategic Luzon Strait
The ex-Philippine Navy warship was sent to the bottom during high-profile Luzon Strait drills and amid rising Indo-Pacific tensions.
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More Latest News
Bunker Talk: Let’s Talk About All The Things We Did And Didn’t Cover This Week
Concrete is the new black.
The Newly Released Government UFO Archives Will Leave You Shrugging
The latest release of records follows years of muddled messaging and controversial claims on a topic with real national security implications.
U.S. Just Struck Iranian Targets Around The Strait Of Hormuz (Updated)
U.S. Central Command says it carried out the strikes in retaliation to Iranian attacks on its forces.
B-1B “Apocalypse II” Out Of The Boneyard And Back In Service
After nearly two years of work, the Bone once known as Rage has completed its journey out of the desert and back to active service.
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.
New Iranian Attacks On UAE As Ceasefire Holds By A Thread (Updated)
Joint Chiefs Chairman says Iran attacked U.S. forces 10 times during the ceasefire.
Smaller AIM-9X Sidewinder For Stealthy Weapons Bays Is In Development
More compact AIM-9Xs will allow aircraft to carry more at once and make them easier to fit at all inside the weapons bays of future drones.
Navy’s Unwanted Sea Base Ship Will Test At-Sea Rearming Of Warships
At-sea reloading demonstrated by USNS Montford Point could be key in a future fight in the Pacific and give these ships a new lease on life.
Turkey Developing Its Own Bladed ‘Ginsu’ Precision Guided Munition
Turkey is offering a derivative of its MAM-L lightweight munition with the same pop-out, sword-like blades as used on the AGM-114R9X Hellfire.
Letter From The Editor: 10 Years And 11,000 Articles Later
TWZ was launched 10 years ago today and we are still here and growing thanks to all of you.
U.S. AH-64 Apache, MH-60 Seahawk Helicopters Sink Six Iranian Boats (Updated)
Commercial vessels and American warships are coming under Iranian attack around the Strait of Hormuz as a new U.S. maritime protection plan has kicked off.
Israel’s First KC-46 Tanker Is Now Flying
The first new tanker is set to arrive in Israel in around a month and will help relieve pressure on the IAF’s tiny and very old KC-707 tanker force.
First B-52 To Arrive For Re-Engining At Boeing Plant Later This Year (Updated)
New Rolls-Royce F130 engines are a critical upgrade for Air Force B-52s, but work has been beset by delays and growing costs.
Where Are The Carriers As Of May 3, 2026: Ford Finally Heads Home
Two carrier strike groups remain in the Middle East as President Trump announces Project Freedom to get trapped ships out of the Persian Gulf.
Israel To Buy Extra F-15IA And F-35I Squadrons
After years of high-tempo operations in the Middle East, Israel has locked in plans to further expand its airpower with new F-15IA and F-35I fighters.
New VC-25B Air Force One “Bridge” Aircraft Now Fully Modified And Flight Tested
The ex-Qatari royal flight aircraft is scheduled to be delivered to the Presidential Airlift Group this summer after a warp speed modifications and testing regime.
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….
