AFA Symposium 2025

AFA Warfare Symposium 2025

Continued Coverage

U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Tom Wilcox II, center, Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center commander, talks with Airmen at the 423rd Security Forces Squadron bunker shoot house training location at Royal Air Force Molesworth, England, Sept. 29, 2021. The AFIMSC leadership visited the 501st Combat Support Wing and its mission partners at the U.S. European Command Joint Intelligence Operations Center Europe Analytic Center at RAF Molesworth, England. The AFIMSC provides base communications, civil engineering, security forces and logistics support that assist the 501st CSW in fulfilling its mission. (U.S. Air Force photos by Senior Airman Jennifer Zima)
Bunker Talk

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

That was our last can of Pringles…

President Trump lifted the blockade on Iranian ports.
Iran

Trump Declares He Is Lifting The Naval Blockade On Iran (Updated)

Why the blockade would be lifted without a deal being signed isn’t clear and Iranian media is pushing back against his claims.

The U.S. Space Force has awarded SpaceX a $4.16B deal to help accelerate work on what could be a game-changing space-based air moving-target indicator (AMTI) sensor network.
U.S. Space Force

Pentagon’s Plans To Track Aircraft From Orbit Accelerated With New $4B SpaceX Deal

A satellite network to track aircraft could offer unprecedented ability to surveil the skies globally and make AEW&C aircraft redundant.

Police and forensic investigators examine the location of impact after a Russian drone struck an apartment building in Galati, eastern Romania. A Russian drone wounded two people as it struck an apartment building in NATO-member Romania, its defence ministry said on May 29, 2026, the latest spillover from the four-year war into neighbouring states.
Ukraine

Russian Drone Impacts Apartment Building In NATO State Romania, Injuring Civilians

The incident raises fresh questions about NATO’s ability to counter even very small volumes of Russian drones.

Members of Congress are moving to push the U.S. Navy to develop a containerized version of its High-Energy Laser with Integrated Optical Dazzler and Surveillance (HELIOS) system.
Lasers

Containerized Variant Of Navy’s Drone-Swatting HELIOS Laser Being Pushed By Congress

HELIOS is the only laser able to down drones installed on an active Navy warship, and putting it in a container would open up new deployment possibilities.

Boeing is now conducting test flights of its MQ-28 Ghost Bat drone out over the Pacific from the U.S. Navy's base in Point Mugu, California.
MQ-28

MQ-28 Ghost Bat Now Flying Over The Pacific From U.S. Navy Base

Boeing says tests off California are about showing the Australian-born MQ-28’s maturity and promoting sales, which could include ones to the Pentagon.

A recent video out of Russia once again highlights the drastic efforts being taken to provide Moscow with additional air defense coverage against the threat of long-range Ukrainian drones. While we have seen examples of the Pantsir short-range air defense system installed on buildings in Moscow before now, the footage shows the counter-drone-optimized SMD-E variant being lifted on top of a skyscraper by helicopter.
Russia

New Counter-Drone Optimized Pantsir Air Defense System Being Deployed Atop Skyscrapers In Moscow

A video showing a Pantsir-SMD-E being airlifted onto a skyscraper underscores Russian attempts to shield Moscow from increasing Ukrainian drone attacks.

The use of high-altitude balloons is becoming ever-more routine for U.S. Army units in the Pacific.
Indo-Pacific

Army Wants More Sensor-Laden Surveillance Balloons Over The Pacific

High-altitude balloons are an increasingly critical part of the Army’s future combat strategy, from providing networking to sensing to delivering kinetic effects.

It will take years to replace several advanced weapons systems used in the Iran war, according to a new report.
Iran

Severity Of America’s Depleted Advanced Weapons Stockpiles Detailed In New Report

America’s stockpile of critical standoff and air and missile defense weapons is now a strategic vulnerability foes could take advantage of.

A timeline has been provided a timeline for the arrival of Saab Gripen fighters in Ukraine, with the first jets to be delivered early next year. Significantly, as well as getting another modern Western combat jet, Ukraine expects to receive highly capable Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced.
Meteor

Ukrainian Gripen Fighters To Arrive In 2027, Long-Range Meteor Missiles Claimed To Be Included

Sweden’s transfer of Gripens will give Ukraine more than a new fighter, pairing its trademark dispersed operations with Meteor missiles and radar planes.

U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is about to kick off the search for what it is calling a Flyweight Assault Machine Gun (FAMG).
Machine Guns

Search For New 5.56mm “Flyweight” Special Operations Machine Gun To Kick Off Soon

The Flyweight Assault Machine Gun will provide a replacement for a lightweight special operations-specific version of the M249 SAW.

Ukraine has a voracious appetite for ground drones.
Ukraine

Inside The Effort To Build Ukraine’s Ground Robot Arsenal

Ukraine has a voracious demand for ground drones as they increasingly perform logistics, rescue and combat operations.

Concept artwork of the NGF future fighter. Dassault Aviation
Europe

Airbus Looks To Sweden’s Saab As Europe’s Sixth-Gen Fighter Plans Unravel

As FCAS tensions deepen, Airbus is exploring alternatives with Saab, raising the prospect of a shakeup in Europe’s future air combat plans.

Members of Congress are looking to block the U.S. Navy from starting construction of the first nuclear-powered Trump class battleship until the service provides assurances that key weapon systems are "sufficiently mature."
U.S. Navy

Congress Moves To Block Trump Class Battleship Work Until Its Key Weapons Are Mature

Such a delay could end the battleship program before it really starts, and the House Armed Services Committee is also demanding answers on the new frigate.

Navy Super Hornet adversary F/A-18E
F/A-18E/F

F/A-18 Super Hornets Eyed To Replace Navy’s Remaining F-5 Adversaries

Swapping dated F-5s for F/A-18E/Fs would give the Navy a more threat representative adversary fleet to emulate advanced enemies, like China.

Israeli troops are turning to fishing nets for protection against Hezbollah FPV drones.
Israel

Israeli Troops Turn To Fishing Nets For Protection Against Hezbollah FPV Drones

Fishing nets, a staple of the Sea of Galilee going back to biblical times, are now providing protection on the modern battlefield.

The cost to connect each of the U.S. military's Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) one-way attack drones to SpaceX's Starshield communications network is approximately $25,000 a month, according to a new report.
Drones

Cost To Link LUCAS Kamikaze Drones To Starlink Highlights Pentagon’s Ever-Growing Dependence On SpaceX

The Pentagon has pushed back on reports of a massive upcharge in fees, but SpaceX’s products have become largely essential to U.S. operations.

Where are the aircraft carriers?
Carrier Tracker

Where Are The Carriers As Of May 26, 2026: Nimitz Arrives In The Caribbean

Meanwhile, USS George Washington departed Yokosuka, Japan, amid heightened Chinese naval activity in the Western Pacific.

A new flare-up of tensions in the Strait of Hormuz is threatening peace talks.
Iran

Another Day Of Uncertainty In The Strait After U.S. Claims Strikes On Iranian Minelayers

Negotiations to end the war drag on as the crisis in the Strait continues to evolve.

South Korea has confirmed plans to develop a new class of nuclear-powered submarines, the Jang Bogo N Project. These will put South Korea in an exclusive class of nations operating nuclear-powered subs, with currently only China, France, India, Russia, the United Kingdom, and United States having them in active service.
South Korea

South Korea Getting Nuclear Submarines Is A Huge Deal

Nuclear propulsion will give South Korea more capable subs, but it will also lay the groundwork for a future sea-based nuclear deterrent option.

Another battle-damaged KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling jet arrived at RAF Mildenhall.
Iran

Another Battle Damaged KC-135 Tanker Seen Passing Through RAF Mildenhall

The images of the shrapnel-peppered KC-135 are another example of the damage inflicted by Iran during the now-paused war.

Less than a year after we got our first proper look at China’s wing-in-ground effect (WIG) craft, dubbed the ‘Bohai Sea Monster,’ the aircraft has appeared again, with evidence that it has a combat role, likely including launching weapons. We can also confirm that, contrary to some earlier assessments, the craft is powered by four turboprop engines, rather than turbofans. The possibility of propeller engines is something that we had raised in previous coverage.
South China Sea

China’s “Bohai Sea Monster” Reappears With Apparent Weapons Hardpoints

New details add weight to the idea that the “Bohai Sea Monster” has a kinetic role to play, although the general concept could be supersized for other missions.

The U.S. Air Force plans to send a new version of the glider-like Unmanned Long-endurance Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft (ULTRA) drone with a turbocharged engine to the Middle East for an operational evaluation.
U.S. Air Force

USAF’s New Turbocharged ULTRA Surveillance Drones Are Heading To The Middle East

The persistent surveillance capabilities the glider-like ULTRA offers are in high demand, especially amid MQ-9 losses in fighting with Iran.

This summer, the U.S. Navy will demonstrate the ability of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, with its two A1B nuclear reactors, to power a base on land.
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)

Supercarrier USS Gerald R. Ford To Act As Floating Nuclear Power Plant For Facilities On Land

The Pentagon is exploring ways to keep the power on at critical bases after attacks or natural disasters, and there’s a history of ships acting in this role.

On the 80th anniversary of the first flight of the de Havilland Canada Chipmunk basic trainer, an aircraft that generations of British military pilots learned to fly, it’s worth recalling perhaps the most unusual episodes of its career. Between 1956 and 1989, a handful of these propeller-driven trainers kept watch on Warsaw Pact forces in the divided and heavily fortified city of Berlin — a front line of the Cold War.
Royal Air Force

The Tiny Chipmunk Trainer Was The Cold War’s Most Unlikely Spyplane

The humble Chipmunk propeller trainer spent decades spying on Soviet forces in and around divided Berlin.

4th July 1944: An American soldier takes a drink of captured German Cognac, while clearing out a German gun emplacement at Cherbourg. (Photo by Fred Ramage/Keystone/Getty Images)
Bunker Talk

Bunker Talk: Memorial Day Weekend Edition

This weekend, we remember those who gave their lives so we could live our’s.

Iran is working to cement its control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran

Iran Now Trying To Cement Long-Term Control Over Strait Via Fees

Iran’s move to impose service fees on ships transiting the Strait comes as Pakistani and Qatari negotiators are in Tehran trying to get a deal to officially end the war.

The U.S. military has finally released video footage said to show an Air National Guard F-16 shooting down an unidentified object over Lake Huron back in 2023.
U.S. Air Force

We Finally See The Mysterious Object Shot Down By F-16s Over Lake Huron

This is one of a trio of objects fighters shot down over the U.S. and Canada in a three-day period following the Chinese spy balloon flap.

A U.S. Air Force A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft approaches an HC-130J Combat King II aircraft for aerial refueling in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, May 9, 2026.
U.S. Air Force

A-10 Warthog’s New Aerial Refueling Probe Is Now Operational In The Middle East

In just six weeks, the probe went from its first flight to being deployed to a place where fighting could erupt again at any moment.

The officer in charge of SOCOM's Lethality program gives us exclusive insights into the command's future machine guns and rifles.
M16/AR15/M4 Pattern

Inside SOCOM’s Search For New Machine Guns, Rifles And Ammo

Lt. Col. Alan Wood, SOCOM’s Program Manager for Lethality, offers some exclusive insights into the future of SOCOM small arms.