More from Joseph Trevithick (Page 9)

Posted on Oct 8, 2024

Iran looks to have fielded a Chinese laser directed energy weapon capable of 'dazzling' drones or even destroying them in certain circumstances.

Counter-Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (C-UAS)

Chinese Laser Anti-Drone System Spotted In Iran

Posted on Oct 8, 2024

Israel marks the first anniversary of Hamas' infamous terrorist attacks last year, which touched off what the country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has now described as a "war of resurrection."

Iran

Israel Expands Ground Operation In Lebanon As World Braces For Retaliation Against Iran

Posted on Oct 7, 2024

Machine Guns

Mysterious M60 Machine Gun Contract Awarded By U.S. Army

Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC)

Posted on Sep 30, 2024

Plans To Axe Special Operations Surveillance Planes Come Under The Microscope

Posted on Sep 27, 2024

Imagery said to show the aftermath of a highly targeted air strike on a car in Lebanon has prompted questions about whether a previously unknown miniature munition designed to produce extremely little collateral damage may have been employed.

Was A Mini “Sword Bomb” Just Used To Strike A Car In Lebanon?

Updated on Sep 27, 2024

The U.S. Marine Corps says it has demonstrated new capabilities for operating future drones with high degrees of autonomy in expeditionary operations with another test flight of one of its stealthy XQ-58 Valkyries.

XQ-58

Third Marine XQ-58 Valkyrie Flight Test Uses Link 16 For Control

Posted on Sep 26, 2024

For the first time in more than four decades, China has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) out in the Western Pacific, ostensibly for training purposes.

ICBMs

First Chinese ICBM Test Into The Pacific In Decades Is A Big Deal (Updated)

Posted on Sep 25, 2024

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is looking to explore concepts for a new drone capable of lugging around up to 70,000 pounds of cargo, roughly twice what the U.S. Marine Corps' CH-53K King Stallion helicopter can lift.

CH-53K

Search For Cargo Drone That Can Lift Twice As Much As A CH-53K King Stallion Kicks Off

Posted on Sep 25, 2024

Canadian authorities have released an image of an unidentified object that was shot down over the country's Yukon Territory by a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighter in February 2023.

F-22

First Look At Mystery Object Shot Down Over Canada By F-22 Raptor Last Year

Posted on Sep 25, 2024

The U.S. Air Force is interested in adding an active electronically-scanned array (AESA) radar to its X-62A test jet. The radar is part of larger plans to acquire a new modular sensor suite for the uniquely modified F-16 specifically to help expand its ability to support advanced autonomy developments.

New Radar Sought To Help X-62A Test Jet Take Next Leap In Autonomy Testing

Posted on Sep 24, 2024

Plans to slash F-16 aggressors at Nellis Air Force Base highlight broader questions about the future of the Air Force Viper fleets.

F-16

Aggressor F-16 Fleet Set To Be Slashed By Air Force

Posted on Sep 23, 2024

Collins Aerospace has put forward a vision for what a high-end air combat engagement between the U.S. and Chinese armed forces, with the American side employing crewed fighters and Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drone wingmen, could look like in the future.

What American Fighters And Their Drone Wingmen Fighting Chinese Jets Might Look Like

Posted on Sep 20, 2024

The U.S. Air Force says the once-secretive Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS) drone program has been fully folded into the service's Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) effort. General Atomics has already disclosed that its current CCA design is derived from the XQ-67 drone it developed for OBSS.

Collaborative Combat Aircraft Program ‘Ingesting’ Modular Chassis Concept Pioneered By XQ-67 Drone

Updated on Sep 20, 2024

AC-130

AC-130J Ghostrider Gunships Will Keep Their 105mm Howitzers, For Now

Posted on Sep 19, 2024

The U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman have expanded testing of the B-21 thanks to two ground test articles, which are being used to evaluate the bomber's core construction and the time it takes before certain parts break. The tempo of flight testing of the initial pre-production Raider is also growing, with the jet now sometimes taking to the skies twice a week.

B-21

B-21 Ground Test Airframes Join Flying Pre-Production Raider

Posted on Sep 19, 2024

The U.S. Air Force has released new video footage of its first pre-production B-21 Raider stealth bomber undergoing flight testing.

B-21

New Look At B-21 Raider Stealth Bomber Flight Testing Released

Posted on Sep 18, 2024

KC-135

Work Toward KC-135 Tankers That Fly Themselves, Uncrewed Cargo Aircraft Pressing Ahead

Posted on Sep 18, 2024

Lockheed Martin's losing entry in the first increment of the U.S. Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drone program was a very stealthy design, the head of the famed Skunk Works advanced projects division has disclosed. The company is now expecting future CCA increments to revolve around proposals that might lean closer to not just being lower-cost, but maybe even expendable, to support a concept of operations that requires tolerance for very high losses.

Skunk Works’ Losing Loyal Wingman Drone Was Very Stealthy “Gold Plated” Design

Posted on Sep 18, 2024

The U.S. Air Force has no plans to acquire stealthy uncrewed combat air vehicles (UCAV) capable of operating with very high degrees of autonomy independently of crewed aircraft, at least in the near term publicly, despite surging Chinese developments in this domain.

UCAVs

No Flying Wing UCAVs Being Developed By U.S. Air Force While China Surges Ahead

Posted on Sep 17, 2024

The U.S. Air Force's still evolving requirements for a next-generation aerial refueling 'system of systems' will directly impact the service's reassessment of plans for a new sixth-generation stealth 'fighter.' The Next-Generation Air-Refueling System (NGAS) effort will also inform work on a second tranche of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones.

Future Stealth Tanker Plans Tied To NGAD 6th Generation Fighter’s Fate

Posted on Sep 16, 2024

Russia putting tires on top of bombers and other aircraft was about confusing seekers with image-matching capability on incoming munitions, a senior U.S. military technologist has confirmed.

Russia Covering Aircraft With Tires Is About Confusing Image-Matching Missile Seekers U.S. Military Confirms

Updated on Sep 13, 2024

What appears to be one of the first looks at members of the German armed forces with new 5.56x45mm Heckler & Koch HK416 A8 rifles, also known as G95A1s, has come from an unexpected source: the U.S. Army. With help from the U.S. Army, the Germans have been stress-testing the guns in very hot and humid conditions at a facility in Panama and in the Arizona desert.

Around The Globe

Germany’s New HK416 Service Rifles Appear At Panama Test Site

Posted on Sep 13, 2024

Iran

Israeli Commando Raid In Syria Sends A Message To Iran That Its Underground Bases Are Not Untouchable

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Sep 13, 2024

The U.S. Marine Corps legacy F/A-18C/D Hornets are getting a major boost in stand-off strike capability in the form of AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) cruise missiles

F/A-18A-D

Marine Legacy F/A-18 Hornets Getting Major Firepower Boost With JASSM Cruise Missiles

Posted on Sep 12, 2024

Defense contractor Anduril has unveiled Barracuda, a new family of what it is calling "expandable autonomous air vehicles" that are scalable, highly modular, and already being flight-tested. The company is heavily focused now on "M" versions configured as relatively low-cost air-breathing precision munitions that could be launched from helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, as well as maritime and ground platforms.

Anduril Introduces Barracuda-M That Aims To Disrupt The Cruise Missile Market

Posted on Sep 12, 2024

China has offered a new and closer look at the catapults on its newest aircraft carrier, the Fujian. We also now have what appears to be the first look inside the retractable enclosed control station built into the flight deck that catapult officers on the ship will use to launch planes.

People's Liberation Army Navy (China)

New Chinese Aircraft Carrier’s Catapult Control ‘Bubble’ Looks Very Familiar

Posted on Sep 11, 2024

The Piasecki Aircraft Corporation's Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System Demonstration Vehicle (ARES-DV), a vertical takeoff and landing capable tilt-rotor drone designed to carry interchangeable payload modules, has left the ground for the first time.

U.S. Air Force

Tilt-Ducted Fan ARES Drone Designed To Carry Modular Payloads Has Finally Lifted Off

Posted on Sep 10, 2024

The U.S. Army has renewed interest in new longer-range artillery shells, such as ramjet-powered types, following its axing of plans to buy a next-generation tracked self-propelled 155mm howitzer.

M109 155mm Self-Propelled Howitzer

Focus Grows On Longer-Range Artillery Shells After Army Axes Next-Gen Howitzer

Posted on Sep 9, 2024

A Boeing 737 carrying Senator J.D. Vance, former President Donald Trump's running mate for Vice President, and others, inadvertently intruded briefly into some of the most restricted airspace on the planet earlier this week as it left Washington, D.C.'s Reagan National Airport.

Air

J.D. Vance’s Campaign Jet Inadvertently Buzzed The Washington Monument

By Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman

Posted on Sep 6, 2024

A video has emerged showing a Ukrainian Su-24M Fencer swing-wing combat jet carrying what is said to be new air-launched guided munition.

MiG-29

Mystery Munition Appears Under Ukrainian Su-24 Fencer Attack Jet’s Wing

Posted on Sep 6, 2024

Chiefs aboard the USS Manchester created a huge security risk by setting up a private WifI network.

U.S. Navy

The Story Of Sailors Secretly Installing Starlink On Their Littoral Combat Ship Is Truly Bonkers

By Howard Altman, Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 6, 2024

Satellite imagery and videos offer new evidence of a surge in the development of the stealthy flying-wing uncrewed combat air vehicles in China, especially with regard to the GJ-11 Sharp Sword.

UCAVs

Chinese Flying Wing UCAV Testing Accelerating Based On Satellite Imagery, Videos

Posted on Sep 5, 2024

Adversary air company Top Aces' F-16 Vips, the only ones currently in the hands of a private operator, are now flying with podded infrared search and track (IRST) systems.

F-16

World’s Only Privately Owned F-16 Aggressors Get Infrared Search And Track Pods

Posted on Sep 5, 2024

The U.S. Air Force is re-examining the very core of its requirements for a new sixth-generation stealth combat jet as part of its ongoing review of that element of the larger Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) initiative.

Air Force “Starting At The Beginning” With NGAD 6th Gen Fighter Requirements Review

Posted on Sep 4, 2024

The U.S. Air Force recently awarded contracts to two companies for work on SHARK 'buddy store' podded aerial refueling systems able to work with aircraft that use the boom method to get gas in flight.

Aerial Refueling Boom Pods That Could Go On F-15s In The Works

Posted on Sep 3, 2024

The War Zone delved into the digital engineer and advanced manufacturer techniques behind the stealthy Model 437 Vanguard aircraft, and more, an interview with Colin Miller, Vice President for Engineering within Northrop Grumman's aeronautics sector.

Everything We Just Learned About The Model 437 Vanguard Technology Demonstrator Jet

By Tyler Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Aug 30, 2024

Green Berets

Green Berets Hijacked WiFi To Control Home Security System Then Vanish In Mock Raid

Posted on Aug 29, 2024

The first known prototype of the Model 437 from Northrop Grumman subsidiary Scaled Composites has flown.

Stealthy High-Tech Model 437 Vanguard Jet Has Flown For The First Time (Updated)

Posted on Aug 29, 2024

The U.S. Coast Guard's heavy icebreaker USCGC Polar Star has returned to its home port of Seattle, Washington, after a major service life-extending overhaul – and not a moment too soon.

China

U.S. Coast Guard Has A Working Heavy Icebreaker Again

Posted on Aug 29, 2024

Switchblade

Army Just Signed $1B Deal For Massive Order Of Switchblade Kamikaze Drones

Posted on Aug 28, 2024

Rocket And Grenade Launchers

Saab Gets Big XM919 Shoulder-Fired Anti-Armor Launcher Order From The U.S. Army (Updated)

Posted on Aug 28, 2024

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that his country has conducted the first successful test of a new domestically-developed ballistic missile.

Air

Ukraine Says It Has Tested A New Domestically-Designed Ballistic Missile

Posted on Aug 27, 2024

Before the Ukrainian Air Force received its first batch of F-16 Viper fighters, the U.S. Air Force helped optimize electronic warfare (EW) systems on those jets against Russian threats.

F-16

Electronic Warfare Systems On Ukraine’s F-16s Getting Specially Tuned To Russian Threats By USAF

Posted on Aug 27, 2024

North Korea has revealed two new kamikaze drones that look to be virtual copies, at least externally, of the Israeli-made Harop and Hero-400.

Loitering Munitions

North Korea Unveils Clones of Israeli Kamikaze Drones

Posted on Aug 26, 2024

All eyes were on presidential candidate and sitting Vice President Kamala Harris this week as the Democratic National Convention kicked off. One clip of Harris's movements, in particular, got a lot of attention from those interested in military technology — the Vice President boarding an MV-22 tiltrotor on a short trip to the convention hall.

MV-22

MV-22 Ospreys Have Actually Been Flying The Vice President For Years

By Tyler Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman

Posted on Aug 24, 2024

The War Zone has learned new details about the Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle in an interview with Dr. Shane Arnott, Senior Vice President for Engineering at Anduril and the company's maritime lead.

Australia

Everything We Just Learned About The Ghost Shark Uncrewed Submarine

Posted on Aug 23, 2024

The U.S. Army has chosen the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) to lead the conversion of Bombardier Global 6500 business jets into new High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) aircraft.

Manned ISR

Army’s HADES Surveillance Bizjet Program Moves Forward With Sierra Nevada Corp. Deal

Posted on Aug 23, 2024

Diesel-Electric Submarines

Australia To Help Maintain Visiting U.S. Nuclear Submarine For The First Time

Posted on Aug 22, 2024

The U.S. Navy says it is on the verge of having persistent, reliable, and secure high-speed internet connections across its fleets thanks to a project leveraging commercial satellite constellations like SpaceX's Starlink.

Navies

Starlink Now Being Deployed On U.S. Navy Warships

Posted on Aug 22, 2024

New ‘Cheap’ Cruise Missile Concept Flight Tested By Silicon Valley-Backed Start-Up

Posted on Aug 21, 2024

Presidential Transport

Secret Service’s “Ground Force One” Presidential Armored Bus Emerges Wrapped For Harris-Walz Campaign

Posted on Aug 21, 2024

U.S. Army

U.S. Army Has A Plan For Paragliding Paratroopers

Posted on Aug 20, 2024

U.S. Air Force

Palmdale UFO Scare Leads To Revelations About Mystery Drone Incursions Over Secretive Plant 42

By Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman

Posted on Aug 20, 2024

Next summer, U.S. Air Force units will deploy from bases in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and elsewhere across the United States to forward locations in the Western Pacific as part of a massive new air combat exercise.

Air Combat Exercises

Air Force Units Will Flood The Western Pacific In Huge New Airpower Exercise Next Summer

Posted on Aug 19, 2024

A major fire, which may still be ongoing, has reportedly broken out on the former Soviet Kiev class aircraft carrier Minsk, which has been rotting away in a man-made lagoon just off a stretch of the Yangtze River in China for years now.

Around The Globe

Soviet Aircraft Carrier Turned Failed Chinese Tourist Attraction Is On Fire (Updated)

Updated on Aug 17, 2024

A Cessna Model 208B Grand Caravan converted into a cargo drone was among the participants in a recently concluded U.S. Air Force-led large force air combat exercise focused on preparing for a potential future conflict with China.

Air Combat Exercises

Cessna Caravan Turned Into Cargo Drone Tested At China-Focused Airpower Exercise

Posted on Aug 16, 2024

The USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) is now the first U.S. Navy supercarrier to have a complete dedicated Unmanned Air Warfare Center (UAWC).

MQ-25

Supercarrier USS George H.W. Bush Now Has First Of its Kind Drone Control Center

Posted on Aug 16, 2024

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is moving to buy non-lethal distraction devices to mount on small hand-launched drones.

Unmanned

FBI Fielding Drones That Fire Off Deafening Bangs

Posted on Aug 15, 2024

MiG-29

Best Look Yet At Ukrainian MiG-29 Releasing Hammer Rocket-Assisted Bombs

Posted on Aug 15, 2024

Air National Guard F-16 Viper fighters pretending to be enemy cruise missiles together with tiny JSX-2 microjets mimicking cruise missiles and drones replicated complex threat scenarios during a recent large-scale exercise.

Air Combat Exercises

F-16s Team With JSX-2 Microjets To Replicate Complex Cruise Missile And Drone Attacks

Posted on Aug 14, 2024

Secretive ultra-quiet special operations drones, now designated RQ-29s, that have been operating in the Middle East for years might now be headed for the Pacific.

Special Operations Aviation

Super Quiet Special Operations Drones May Migrate To Pacific Theater

Short-Range Air Defense Systems (SHORADS)

Posted on Aug 14, 2024

Russia has unveiled a new gunless version of its Pantsir air defense system it says is ideally suited to protecting critical infrastructure from drones using small short-range interceptors.

Pantsir Packed With Drone-Intercepting Mini Missiles Unveiled By Russia