More from Joseph Trevithick (Page 2)

Posted on Nov 13, 2025

Japan’s Acquisition Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) has offered the first look at damage to a target ship after it was hit by projectiles fired from a prototype electromagnetic railgun in testing earlier this year.

Naval Gun Systems

Railgun Damage To Japanese Target Ship Seen For The First Time

Posted on Nov 13, 2025

Anduril Unveils Omen Hybrid-Electric Vertical Takeoff And Landing Drone

Updated on Nov 13, 2025

Current and future operators of A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft could use them to shoot down incoming drones, according to manufacturer Embraer.

Light Air Support

A-29 Super Tucano Light Attack Aircraft Being Pitched As Drone Hunter

Posted on Nov 12, 2025

C-130

Detached Wings From Doomed Turkish C-130 Seen Spiraling Into The Ground (Updated)

Posted on Nov 11, 2025

U.S. Air Force

USAF’s New Low-Cost Anti-Air Missile Program Aims For $500K Target Price

Posted on Nov 10, 2025

The U.S. Army has set a goal of buying one million new drones of all types over the next two to three years.

Army Sets Out To Buy A Million Drones By 2028

Posted on Nov 8, 2025

China has now formally commissioned its first catapult-equipped aircraft carrier, the Fujian, into service.

People's Liberation Army Navy (China)

China Commissions Newest Aircraft Carrier With Its Electromagnetic Catapults Front And Center

Posted on Nov 7, 2025

A key aspect of the Trump administration's Golden Dome missile defense initiative is ensuring America's ability to launch retaliatory nuclear strikes, the nominee to become the next head of U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) has stressed.

Nuclear Policy

Golden Dome Missile Shield Key To Ensuring Nuclear Second Strike Capability: U.S. Admiral

Posted on Nov 6, 2025

General Atomics' Gambit family of drones, with its common modular core ‘chassis’ concept, now has a sixth member optimized for air-to-surface missions, such as attacking hostile air defenses or enemy ships.

Strike Variant Joins Gambit Family Of Autonomous Air Combat Drones

Posted on Nov 6, 2025

People's Liberation Army Navy (China)

Chinese ‘Mini Drone Carrier’ Seen Being Used As Test Ship

Posted on Nov 5, 2025

B-21

Single Pilot B-21 Raider Operations Hint At Advanced AI Capabilities

By Joseph Trevithick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Nov 5, 2025

We now have the first known commercial satellite imagery of the two Chinese sixth-generation stealth fighter designs that emerged nearly a year ago.

Fighters

China’s New Tailless Stealth Fighters Both Appear At Secretive Test Base

Updated on Nov 4, 2025

Loyal Wingman

Anduril’s YFQ-44 Fury ‘Fighter’ Drone Has Flown (Updated)

Updated on Oct 31, 2025

President Donald Trump has come out in support of a future fleet of South Korean nuclear-powered submarines.

Nuclear Attack Submarines (SSNs)

South Korea’s Nuclear Submarine Ambitions Take Major Step Forward

Posted on Oct 31, 2025

For the first time, Sikorsky's optionally-piloted UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter performed parachute drops, hovered on its own while sling loads were attached, and flew a simulated medical evacuation mission at the direction of an untrained individual onboard.

H-60

Pilot-Optional UH-60 Black Hawk Put To The Test In U.S. Military Exercise

Posted on Oct 30, 2025

A recent Northrop Grumman video montage includes a brief clip showing an aircraft fuselage section that does not readily appear to be from any design the company has developed or is otherwise involved in the production of, at least that is publicly known.

Air

Mysterious Fuselage Section Appears In Northrop Grumman Video

Posted on Oct 30, 2025

Satellite imagery shows China has been building at least two facilities featuring hardened shelters with retractable roofs along its heavily disputed border with India.

Surface-To-Air Missile Systems

China Building SAM Sites That Allow Missiles To Be Fired From Within Bunkers

Posted on Oct 29, 2025

President Donald Trump says he plans to sign an executive order that would compel the U.S. Navy to use steam-powered catapults and hydraulic elevators on new aircraft carriers.

USS George Washington (CVN-73)

Executive Order To Go Back To Steam Catapults On New Aircraft Carriers Coming: Trump

Posted on Oct 28, 2025

A contract the U.S. Navy recently awarded to defense startup Castelion may point to its pursuit of a new, lower-cost, air-launched hypersonic strike weapon.

Air-Launched Hypersonic Missiles

U.S. Navy Air-Launched Version Of ‘Cheap’ Blackbeard Hypersonic Missile Hinted At

Posted on Oct 27, 2025

The U.S. Navy's supercarrier USS Gerald R. Ford and at least a portion of the rest of its strike group have been ordered to Latin American waters.

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)

Supercarrier USS Ford Being Pulled From Europe And Ordered To Caribbean

Posted on Oct 24, 2025

The U.S. Coast Guard is in line to get a new version of the H-60 helicopter based on the MH-60R Seahawk, which is in service with the U.S. Navy and other armed forces globally.

HH-60

Coast Guard Will Get A New MH-60 Variant To Replace MH-65 Helicopters

Posted on Oct 24, 2025

B-1

B-1 Bombers Fly Off Venezuela’s Coast

Posted on Oct 23, 2025

U.S. Army

AeroVironment’s Freedom Eagle-1 Picked As New Counter-Drone Interceptor For U.S. Army

Posted on Oct 22, 2025

General Atomics recently showed what it says is a rendering of an MQ-20 Avenger drone armed with a laser directed energy weapon.

MQ-20 Avenger Depicted With Laser Weapon In Its Nose A Sign Of What’s To Come

Posted on Oct 22, 2025

Shield AI has unveiled X-BAT, a stealthy jet-powered 'autonomous fighter' designed to take off vertically and land the same way, tail first, after completing its mission.

Loyal Wingman

The Rise Of X-BAT

By Tyler Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Oct 21, 2025

Lockheed Martin is aiming to conduct an on-orbit demonstration of at least one space-based anti-missile interceptor design no later than 2028.

U.S. Space Force

Lockheed To Test Golden Dome Space-Based Missile Interceptor In Orbit By 2028

Posted on Oct 21, 2025

Lockheed Martin has received a new full-rate production contract, valued at $233 million, for Block II IRST21 infrared search and track sensors to go into pods for U.S. Navy and U.S. Air National Guard fighters.

F/A-18E/F

Troubled Infrared Pod For Navy Super Hornets Gets New Vote Of Confidence

Posted on Oct 20, 2025

The U.S. Army is in the very early stages of formulating a vision for fleets of advanced and highly autonomous drones in a similar vein to the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) that the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Navy are now developing.

Loyal Wingman

U.S. Army’s Vision For Loyal Wingman Drones To Fly With Its Helicopters Is Taking Shape

Posted on Oct 17, 2025

U.S. Army

New Surface-To-Air Missile Enters Army Mid-Tier Air Defense Competition

Posted on Oct 16, 2025

A trio of U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers was tracked flying orbits in international airspace off the coast of Venezuela earlier today.

B-52

B-52 Bombers Just Flew For Hours Off Venezuela’s Coast (Updated)

Posted on Oct 15, 2025

The U.S. Army is pushing to get a very early prototype of the next-generation iteration of the Abrams tank, or M1E3, before the end of the year.

M1 Abrams

M1E3 Abrams Next-Gen Tank “Pre-Prototype” To Be Delivered By End Of Year

Posted on Oct 15, 2025

The U.S. Army's elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), better known as the Night Stalkers, has been exploring ways to ensure it can operate in more heavily defended airspace in the future.

Helicopters

How The Night Stalkers Are Planning To Survive In Future High-End Fights

Posted on Oct 15, 2025

U.S. Army Sgt. Hunter Moody, a drone operator assigned to Bravo Company, 2nd Infantry Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, in support of Task Force Pegasus, raises his drone at the Nursipalu Training Area near Camp Taara, Estonia, Nov. 13, 2024. Drone operations are an essential component of modern tactics. Task Force Pegasus’ mission is to engage in multinational training and exercises across the continent, strengthening interoperability with NATO allies and regional security partners, which provides competent and ready forces to V Corps, America’s forward-deployed corps in Europe. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Rose Di Trolio)

Counter-Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (C-UAS)

U.S. Army General In Europe Admits “We’re Behind” On Drones

Updated on Oct 14, 2025

AeroVironment has unveiled a new member of its Switchblade family of loitering munitions, the Switchblade 400.

Tank-Busting Switchblade 400 Joins AeroVironment’s Family Of Kamikaze Drones

Posted on Oct 14, 2025

Assault Rifles

Sig Sauer’s M7 Rifle For The Army Is Now Lighter After Controversy

Posted on Oct 13, 2025

H-60

UH-60 Black Hawk Cargo Drone With Clamshell Nose Breaks Cover (Updated)

Posted on Oct 13, 2025

UCAVs

China’s Stealth Sharp Sword Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles Deployed To Operational Airbase

Posted on Oct 10, 2025

Northrop Grumman has been doing detailed design work that lays a path to air-launching its Lumberjack loitering one-way attack drone from Kratos' stealthy XQ-58 Valkyrie uncrewed aircraft.

Loitering Munitions

Lumberjack Jet-Powered Modular Munition Eyed As Armament For XQ-58 Valkyrie Drones

Posted on Oct 9, 2025

C-130

C-130H Eight-Bladed NP2000 Prop Upgrade Plans Cut Short By USAF

Posted on Oct 8, 2025

The American subsidiary of Belgian gunmaker Fabrique Nationale (FN) has delivered new prototype rifles and machine guns chambered to fire the 6.5x43mm Lightweight Intermediate Caliber Cartridge (LICC) to the U.S. military.

Assault Rifles

FN America Delivers Guns Chambered In 6.5mm LICC For U.S. Military Testing

Updated on Oct 8, 2025

Rocket And Grenade Launchers

New Northrop-Colt 25mm Grenade Launcher Builds On Lessons From Failed XM25 “Punisher”

Posted on Oct 7, 2025

Ukraine

New ‘Bulged’ Neptune Cruise Missile Variant Emerges In Ukraine

Posted on Oct 7, 2025

U.S. Air Force

Mysterious Aircraft Crash Near Area 51 Just Got Weirder

Land-Based Conventional Hypersonic Weapons

Posted on Oct 7, 2025

North Korea has unveiled what it says is a new hypersonic missile dubbed Hwasong-11Ma, designed to be fired from a 10-wheeled transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) that can carry two of the weapons at once.

New North Korean Hypersonic Missile Unveiled At Pyongyang Arms Expo

Posted on Oct 6, 2025

A company in China recently unveiled a containerized system it says is capable of quickly launching and recovering thousands of small quadcopter-type drones at the touch of a button.

Swarms

China’s New ‘Drone Light Show In A Box’ Massive Swarm Launcher Speaks To Evolving Threats

By Joseph Trevithick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Oct 3, 2025

Amphibious Vehicles

USMC’s Amphibious Assault Vehicle Retired After Over 50 Years Of Service

Posted on Oct 3, 2025

The U.S. Army has handed the American division of the Belgian gunmaker Fabrique Nationale (FN) a contract for further development of its semi-automatic Multi-Purpose Tactical Launcher-30mm (MTL-30).

Rocket And Grenade Launchers

FN America’s Futuristic MTL-30 Grenade Launcher Moves Forward With New Army Contract

Posted on Oct 2, 2025

U.S. Navy

Is Trump’s Call For Putting Battleships Back In The Navy’s Fleet Even Feasible?

By Joseph Trevithick, Tyler Rogoway, Howard Altman

Updated on Oct 1, 2025

A design of a patch for the F-47 System Management Office (SMO) that has been circulating on social media was indeed created by members of that organization, but is still being refined and hasn't been formalized, the Air Force has confirmed.

F-47

F-47 ‘Phoenix’ Patch Authentic, Still A Work In Progress, U.S. Air Force Confirms

Posted on Sep 30, 2025

C-130

Angry Kitten Electronic Warfare Pod Spotted Flying On HC-130J Combat Rescue Plane

Posted on Sep 29, 2025

The U.S. Air Force is working to combine an aerial target designed to simulate ballistic threats and a liquid-fuel rocket motor into a new, lower-cost hypersonic missile dubbed Angry Tortoise.

Air-Launched Hypersonic Missiles

Angry Tortoise Liquid-Fueled Hypersonic Missile In Development For USAF

By Joseph Trevithick, Hope Hodge Seck

Posted on Sep 26, 2025

A business jet converted into a tanker is among the options the U.S. Air Force has been considering as part of plans for a future aerial refueling 'system of systems.'

Tankers

Business Jet Aerial Refueling Tankers Eyed By USAF

Posted on Sep 26, 2025

A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon receives fuel from a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, May 25, 2025. Aerial refueling allows Fighting Falcons to extend their mission and guarantee war-winning airpower throughout the CENTCOM AOR. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Natalie Jones)

F-15

Laser-Guided Rockets Now Primary Anti-Drone Weapon For USAF Jets In Middle East

Posted on Sep 25, 2025

The U.S. military was totally unaware of the unprecedented Israeli airstrike on a Hamas compound in Doha, Qatar, earlier this month, one of its senior leaders has confirmed. In the aftermath of the raid, there had been questions as to why the various highly advanced air defense systems and sensors, both American and Qatari, that would normally provide prior alert to an impending attack on Qatar had apparently not functioned as expected. Now we have a better understanding of what happened, from a U.S. perspective.

Air-Launched Ballistic Missiles

New Info On How U.S. Military Was Caught Off Guard By Israeli Strike On Qatar

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 24, 2025

Renderings from General Atomics offer new looks at how its air-launched LongShot drone might be employed from F-15 fighters, as well as B-52 bombers and C-17 cargo aircraft.

C-17

F-15 Depicted Launching LongShot Air-To-Air Missile Carrier Drone In New Renderings

Posted on Sep 24, 2025

A long-range kamikaze drone that U.S. firm Kratos is working on together with Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) is set to make its maiden flight early next year.

Jet-Powered Kamikaze Drone Kratos Is Developing With Taiwan To Fly Next Year

Posted on Sep 24, 2025

The crew of a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle attempted to take down a long-range kamikaze drone with a Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition (LJDAM) precision-guided bomb after running out of missiles in the frantic midst of an all-out Iranian barrage aimed at Israel.

F-15

F-15Es Tried To Shoot Down Iranian Kamikaze Drones With Laser Guided Bombs

Updated on Sep 24, 2025

The U.S. Air Force is currently looking toward a single next-generation airlifter to supplant both the C-17A Globemaster III and the C-5M Galaxy, starting in the mid-2040s.

C-130

C-17 and C-5 Cargo Planes Will Be Replaced With One Aircraft: USAF

Posted on Sep 23, 2025

When Anduril's YFQ-44A drone flies for the first time, it will do so in a semi-autonomous fashion as part of a broader plan to get the design to an actual operational state as fast as possible.

U.S. Air Force

Anduril’s Fury Will Take Off For The First Time At The Touch Of A Button

Updated on Sep 22, 2025

Boeing has started production of the first F-47 sixth-generation stealth fighter for the U.S. Air Force, ahead of an expected first flight in 2028.

F-47

First F-47 6th Generation Fighter Now Being Built

Posted on Sep 22, 2025

Stealth

Skunk Works Unveils Vectis Air Combat Drone That Puts A Premium On Stealth

Posted on Sep 21, 2025

What looks to be a previously unseen low-observable flying-wing drone variant with a ‘cranked kite’ planform has emerged in a satellite image from China’s secretive test base near Malan in the country's far western Xinjiang province.

Large Stealth Flying Wing Appears At Chinese Test Base