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

Drones launched from ships offshore is a highly plausible mode of attack that TWZ has been drawing direct attention to for years now as the United States continues to play catch-up in establishing domestic defenses against the dangers posed by drones. U.S. Homeland

Drone Attacks On U.S. From The Sea Are A Known Possibility

An FBI alert about the possibility of armed drones launched from a ship reflects real dangers even if the immediate threat is not credible.

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CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION, Colo.—Runners participating in the North American Aerospace Defense Command 5k Tunnel Run exit the Cheyenne Mountain Complex through the north portal at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colorado, May 10, 2018. The run was open to all local military personnel, friends and family and was held to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of NORAD and the U.S. Canadian binational NORAD agreement.. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Dennis Hoffman)
Bunker Talk

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

Should have gotten a Generac!

Amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) departs Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., April 7, 2022. Tripoli completed flight deck operations with 20 F-35B Lightning II jets from Marine Fighter Attack Squadrons 211 and 225, Marine Aircraft Group 13, and 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, as well as Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1, as part of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Lightning carrier concept demonstration. The Lightning carrier concept demonstration shows Tripoli and other amphibious assault ships are capable of operating as dedicated fixed-wing strike platforms when needed, capable of bringing fifth generation Short Takeoff/Vertical Landing aircraft wherever they are required. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Samuel Ruiz)
Iran

Marine Expeditionary Unit Deploying To The Middle East: Report (Updated)

The flotilla of Navy ships with Marines and their vehicles packed aboard will bring a very flexible set of capabilities to Operation Epic Fury.

Despite widespread interest across the Middle East in the wake of Iranian Shahed attacks, Ukrainian companies still can't export them.
Ukraine

Ukrainian Companies Prohibited From Exporting Shahed Interceptor Drones

Waves of Iranian Shahed drone attacks across the Middle East have spurred widespread interest in Ukrainian interceptors.

A submarine is among the Iranian naval vessels that U.S. forces have struck with Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) short-range ballistic missiles.
Iran

Iranian Submarine Sunk By ATACMS Short Range Ballistic Missile

ATACMS and PrSM ballistic missiles have played a key role in destroying Iran’s Navy from afar.

A KC-135 refueling tanker crashed in Iraq, according to CENTCOM.
Iran

KC-135 Tanker Crashes In Iraq During Operation Epic Fury Sortie (Updated)

U.S. Central Command says two aircraft were involved in the incident and that a search and rescue effort is currently underway.

Iran continues its campaign against commercial tankers, with another two vessels apparently set ablaze earlier today in Iraqi waters. Now, the U.S. government is looking at providing protective escorts.
Iran

U.S. Navy Won’t Be Ready To Escort Tankers Through Hormuz For Weeks (Updated)

Escorting oil tankers in the strait is an incredibly high-risk mission, and might not even be enough to ensure their safe passage.

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KC-135 refueling B-21 over the Mojave Desert.

B-21 Raider Photographed Aerial Refueling For The First Time

The B-21 is said to be making quick progress in testing as the USAF accelerates production ahead of its 2027 entry into service.

In a surprising development, Serbia has emerged as an operator of the Chinese-made CM-400 air-launched supersonic missile. The weapon has been integrated into Serbia’s Soviet-era MiG-29 Fulcrums, which have undergone various upgrades.

Serbian MiG-29 Appears Armed With Chinese Supersonic Standoff Missiles

Previously only known to be in Pakistani service, the Chinese-made CM-400 air-to-ground missile has now appeared on Serbian MiG-29 jets.

An Australian E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control plane is headed for the Persian Gulf.

Massive Leap In Ability To Spot Iranian Drones Headed To Persian Gulf

The E-7A Wedgetail is arguably the best aircraft anywhere in the world for spotting low-flying Iranian drones and cruise missiles.

The latest addition to the legendary X-plane family is Bell Textron’s demonstrator for the Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) program. The chosen X-76 designation (for the year 1776) is intended to reflect the 250th anniversary of the United States. Meanwhile, there is much hope that HSVTOL could eventually provide the U.S. military, and potentially other operators, with a high-speed, runway-independent special operations airlifter.

Bell’s X-76 Fold-Away Rotor Aircraft Is DARPA’s Newest X-Plane

Planned to fly in 2028, the X-76 will explore technologies for fast-flying runway-independent aircraft with folding rotors, crewed and uncrewed.

Less than a week into Operation Epic Fury, we have seen a wide variety of munitions used by the U.S. and Israeli military and have previously looked at how their employment has involved as the conflict has progressed. We have also gotten a look at an apparently mysterious version of the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) in Israeli Air Force (IAF) service.

Israeli F-16 Appears Carrying A Mysterious Precision Bomb

Distinct markings on the bomb suggest it may be filled with an incendiary payload.

First Lt. Pamela Blanco-Coca, 319th Missile Squadron missile combat crew commander, and 2nd Lt. John Anderson, 319th MS deputy missile combat crew commander, conduct pre-operational checks at a launch control center in the F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., missile complex Feb. 9, 2016. The missileers worked heavily in conjunction with missile maintainers to conduct a test of Minuteman III weapon system components in a test known as the Simulated Electronic Launch-Minuteman. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jason Wiese)

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

It’s been a really, REALLY long week, guys…

U.S. President Donald Trump says he is unwilling to negotiate with Iran unless it surrenders unconditionally.

Trump Demands “Unconditional Surrender,” Iran Says Bring On The Ground Invasion (Updated)

Trump wants to pick the country’s new leader, while Israel continues to strike at what’s left of Iran’s current leadership in Tehran.

Kuwait F/A-18 shoot down up for debate.

Kuwaiti F/A-18’s Triple Friendly Fire Shootdown Gets Stranger By The Day

Questions mount over the bizarre blue-on-blue incident over Kuwait that resulted in the loss of three U.S. Air Force F-15Es.

F-15E Strike Eagle are operating over Iran.

The Misconception That Air Supremacy Has Been Achieved Over Iran

While there are areas where air superiority exists over Iran, total air supremacy has not been achieved, which should be no surprise.

For more than three weeks, Ukraine was left with only “a handful” of U.S.-made AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles for its F-16 fleet, after the supply of the weapons dried up. This is the conclusion of a Reuters report, citing three sources, all of whom are said to have direct knowledge of the situation. It also comes as Kyiv is increasingly in competition with the U.S. military and its Gulf allies as they come under continued pressure from Iranian drones and missiles in the Middle East.

Ukrainian F-16s Had Only A Handful Of Sidewinder Missiles Available: Report

The conflict in the Middle East is now also driving up demand for and increasing scarcity of various kinds of air-defense effectors.

Iran’s ability to launch missiles and drones at U.S., Israeli, and other allied targets in the Middle East has been severely degraded, two top American military leaders said Wednesday morning.

Strikes Hobble Iranian Missile Threat As Concerns Over Interceptor Stockpile Mount (Updated)

There is a war of attrition ongoing between Iran’s stockpiles of standoff weapons and the U.S. and its allies’ supplies of interceptors.

Now we are seeing footage of one of Iran's strangest and most advanced warships, the Shahid Soleimani class IRIS Shahid Sayyad Shirazi (FS313-03), being struck and set ablaze.

One Of Iran’s Most Advanced Wacky Catamaran Warships Sunk In Epic Fury

The Shahid Soleimani class warship is now on the list of ships the U.S. has sunk, with the Iranian Navy looking more like a memory than anything else at this point.

For the first time, an F-35 has shot down a crewed aircraft in combat. According to the Israeli military, an Israeli Air Force (IAF) F-35I Adir brought down an Iranian Yak-130 Mitten combat trainer over Tehran.

Israeli Air Force First To Claim F-35 Air-To-Air Kill Of A Crewed Aircraft

The Iranian Yak-130 combat trainer was shot down while flying over Tehran.

U.S. Navy Submarine Torpedoes Iranian Frigate In Indian Ocean

U.S. Navy Submarine Torpedoes Iranian Frigate In Indian Ocean

This is the first sinking of an enemy ship by a U.S. submarine since World War II.

Kuwaiti Hornet shot down F-15Es: REPORT

Kuwaiti F/A-18 Hornet Responsible For Shooting Down Three USAF F-15E Strike Eagles: Report

The bizarre friendly fire incident resulted in the total loss of all three Strike Eagles, but their crews survived.

U.S. Navy warships could soon be escorting commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, according to President Donald Trump.

Trump’s Plan To Escort Ships Through Strait Of Hormuz Would Put U.S. Navy Warships In The Crosshairs

U.S. Navy’s surface combatants would be tasked with sailing repeatedly through a super weapons engagement zone to get ship traffic moving.

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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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