Air (Page 5)

Posted on Sep 27, 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

The giant WindRunner cargo jet concept was shown off for the Air Force.

An-124

Giant WindRunner Cargo Jet Concept Shown Off To USAF

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Sep 26, 2025

MiG-21

India’s Iconic MiG-21 Blasts Off Into Retirement

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

J-XDS

Is This Our Best Look At China’s Tailless J-XDS Stealth Fighter?

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Sep 25, 2025

German defense startup Helsing has unveiled a new uncrewed combat air vehicle (UCAV), the CA-1 Europa. The company is targeting a first flight in 2027 for the UCAV, which looks very similar to the MQ-28 Ghost Bat. Boeing’s Australian subsidiary developed Ghost Bat first as a ‘loyal wingman’ drone for the Royal Australian Air Force, under the Airpower Teaming System. The U.S. Air Force has also now acquired at least one example ostensibly to support research and development and test and evaluation efforts.

MQ-28

Helsing’s CA-1 Drone Is An MQ-28 Ghost Bat Lookalike

Posted on Sep 25, 2025

War Secretary Pete Hegseth has summed top military leaders to an emergency meeting next week.

U.S. Air Force

War Secretary’s Emergency Meeting A Mystery To Hundreds Of Top Officers Ordered To Attend

Posted on Sep 25, 2025

U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Maurielle Pankau, a 183rd Air Component Operations Squadron intelligence analyst planner, participates in the Shadow Operations Center-Nellis Experiment 3 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, June 13, 2025. Experiment participants were challenged to use human-machine teaming to deliver decision advantage in scenarios marked by complexity, speed, and uncertainty. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jennifer Nesbitt)

Air Force AI Targeting Tests Show Promise, Despite Hallucinations

By Hope Hodge Seck

Posted on Sep 25, 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

Closing Kill Chains Before The Battle Begins

By Jamie Hunter

Posted on Sep 24, 2025

Update from General Atomics from the show floor of Air, Space & Cyber 2025

We Talk YFQ-42A, LongShot, And 9M Flight Hours With General Atomics

By The War Zone staff

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

Leidos has raised the possibility of eventually integrating its Black Arrow, also known as the Small Cruise Missile, in the MQ-9 Reaper drone and the OA-1K Skyraider II light attack aircraft. The roughly 200-pound munition has, so far, been tested from C-130 variants but offers the kinds of capabilities that U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is increasingly looking at harnessing.

Q-9

Tiny Black Arrow Cruise Missile Demonstrates A Whopping 400-Mile Range

By Thomas Newdick, Howard Altman

Updated 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

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Matthew Olde, the F-15 director of programs and operations at Defense Contract Management Agency Boeing St. Louis, exits an F-15EX Eagle II aircraft at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan, June 11, 2025. Olde brought the aircraft to the base as part of a site activation task force visit, one of the initial steps to ensure that when both the F-15EX and KC-46 Pegasus missions arrive at Selfridge ANGB, the 127th Wing will be fully prepared with the right infrastructure, personnel, and support to stand them up and operate them effectively.

Air

New APG-82(V)X Radar For F-15EX Announced By Raytheon

Posted on Sep 23, 2025

Tankers

Despite Setbacks, Embraer Still Pitching KC-390 As Air Force ACE Tanker Of Choice

By Hope Hodge Seck

Posted on Sep 23, 2025

The Danish police are seen at Copenhagen Airport, in Kastrup near Copenhagen, on September 22, 2025. Danish police said on September 23, 2025 they did not know who was responsible for flying drones over Copenhagen airport the previous evening, but that they appeared to have been knowledgeable. "The number, size, flight patterns, time over the airport. All this together ... indicates that it is a capable actor. Which capable actor, I do not know," police inspector Jens Jespersen told reporters. The airport was closed for several hours before reopening early Tuesday, causing numerous delays and travel disruptions to 20,000 passengers, airport officials said.

Fighters

Denmark Says Drone Incursions Were A Deliberate “Attack”

Posted on Sep 23, 2025

The Navy’s SM-6 missile has become an all-star of multi-role capability and a shining example of how repackaging existing systems with some new tech can garner grand results. The missile can shoot down air-breathing threats like aircraft and cruise missiles, it can swat incoming ballistic missiles in the terminal phases of flight, it can attack sea targets, and it even has a latent land attack potential. It is also network enabled and can engage targets well beyond the sensor reach of its launch platform using telemetry data-linked from a third-party platform, like a jet fighter. It does all this over long ranges, reaching out over 150 miles from its vertical launch cell aboard American destroyers and cruisers.

Air

Germany To Build Uncrewed Missile-Toting Arsenal Ships For Its Frigates

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

In what it claims is the first such attack in history, Ukraine has used drones to strike a pair of Russian Navy Be-12 twin-turboprop amphibians. The raid appears to have destroyed two of the extremely scarce amphibians, potentially halving the number of airworthy airframes available to Russia and leaving a question mark over its future service.

Air

Ukrainian Drones Strike Russia’s Rare Be-12 Flying Boats

Posted on Sep 22, 2025

A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor assigned to the 433rd Weapons Squadron, U.S. Air Force Weapons School, takes off for a training mission at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Aug. 21, 2025. The USAFWS provides academic and advisory support to numerous units, enhancing air combat training for Airmen from the Air Force, Department of Defense and U.S. allied services each year.

F-22

Lockheed Eyes Upgrades For Oldest F-22 Raptors

Posted 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

Air

China’s Aircraft Carrier Capability Just Made A Stunning Leap Forward

Posted on Sep 22, 2025

Stealth

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

Posted on Sep 21, 2025

Among the highlights of the recent Defense and Security Equipment International (DSEI) 2025 exhibition held in London was a new tank destroyer from Lockheed Martin and Germany’s Rheinmetall. The Fuchs JAGM, based on a well-established 6×6 armored vehicle, and armed with no fewer than 24 missiles, reflects a growing interest in anti-tank warfare, spurred in part by lessons of the war in Ukraine.

AGM-114 Hellfire

Fuchs JAGM Tank Destroyer Packs 24 Missiles Into A Single Vehicle

Posted on Sep 20, 2025

Three Russian MiG-31 Foxhounds intruded into Estonian airspace.

Russian Air Force

Russian MiG-31s Busting Estonian Airspace Has Eastern Europe On Edge

Posted on Sep 19, 2025

Spectacular imagery showing military aircraft punching out flares is, by now, fairly familiar, but no less worth looking at. Much rarer, however, is to see a civilian airliner design doing the same thing. In this case, the Boeing 737 jetliner is in Polish Air Force service, but the captures are certainly highly unusual and bring attention to a lesser-known aspect of this aircraft, and other governmental and privately owned jets that are similarly outfitted with self-protection systems.

Boeing 737 Countermeasure Flare Release Captured In Stunning Photos

Posted on Sep 19, 2025

Cracks seem to be appearing in the pan-European Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program, at the heart of which will be crewed New Generation Fighter (NGF). Reports now suggest that Germany, one of the two major partners in FCAS, is looking at how it might kick France out of the program, amid long-running misgivings over workshare arrangements.

Fighters

Germany Considers Split From France On Next Generation Fighter

Posted on Sep 19, 2025

A new Quick Reaction Force has been created to help counter drone incursions at U.S. military bases

New Quick Reaction Force Will Counter Military Base Drone Incursions

Posted on Sep 18, 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

Updated on Sep 18, 2025

Plane spotters in Fort Worth, Texas, caught a glimpse of something rare yesterday, one of the U.S. Air Force's four E-4B Nightwatch jets flying completely stripped of paint and with much of its skin covered in a green zinc chromate coating.

E-4

Rare ‘Naked’ E-4B ‘Doomsday Plane’ Spotted Flying In Texas

Posted on Sep 18, 2025

NATO is testing an airship to see if it can provide maritime domain awareness.

Airborne Sensors

Bus-Sized Uncrewed Airship Being Tested By NATO As Maritime Surveillance Platform

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Sep 18, 2025

Spain recently launched the first of its new F110 class frigates, also known as the Bonifaz class. This impressive warship is notable for its combination of high-end anti-submarine warfare and anti-air warfare functions on what is a relatively small hull. As such, it makes a very interesting comparison with the U.S. Navy’s troubled Constellation class, which has grown in weight, amid questions about the level of capabilities that it offers.

Air

All You Need To Know About Spain’s New F110 Frigate

Posted on Sep 17, 2025

Poland Investigating Whether Its F-16’s AIM-120 Missile Destroyed A Home

Updated on Sep 17, 2025

U.S. military aircraft employed GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs (SDB) and laser-guided 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) rockets as part of the operation to strike Iranian nuclear facilities earlier this year.

F-22

Pentagon Moves To Replace Weapons It Used In Operation Midnight Hammer

Updated on Sep 17, 2025

The Chinese aviation industry has been developing an expanding array of flying-wing uncrewed aircraft, including as uncrewed combat air vehicles (UCAV) and high-altitude intelligence-gathering platforms, often in cooperation with state-run research institutions.

New Chinese Flying Wing Drone Design Emerges

Posted on Sep 16, 2025

Peru has received approval to buy 12 F-16C/D Block 70 jets, which would make it the fourth South American operator of the Lockheed Martin fighter. If the acquisition goes ahead, it will also confirm the Peruvian Air Force’s move away from Russian-made combat aircraft, which currently make up a significant proportion of its fleet. These aircraft are now increasingly hard to support and, in general, Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has had a serious impact on its arms exports.

F-16

F-16 Cleared To Be Peru’s Next Fighter

Posted on Sep 16, 2025

A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor has achieved what is, according to missile manufacturer Raytheon, the longest known AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) shot. Exactly how far away the fighter was from its target when it fired the radar-guided is unclear, but the milestone points both to the continued development of the AMRAAM’s capabilities as well as the growing focus, across the U.S. military, on extended-range air-to-air missiles to keep pace with developments in China and Russia.

F-22

F-22 Raptor Scores “Longest Known” AIM-120 AMRAAM Shot

Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC)

Posted on Sep 16, 2025

Image of a Royal Air Force Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, seen here flying over RAF Lossiemouth. In a training flight conducted over the Moray Firth a Poseidon (P-8A) aircraft operated by 120 Sqn, based at RAF Lossiemouth, dropped a recoverable exercise variant of the Mark 54 Lightweight Torpedo, simulating an attack on a submarine. At just under 3m long and 32cm in diameter, the Mk 54 torpedo is small and light enough that five can be carried in the Poseidon's internal weapons bay. the high-explosive warheads on the live torpedoes pack a devastating punch sufficient to destroy enemy submarines that the Poseidon crew can locate and track using state-of-the-art equipment. The successful release of a torpedo is the latest milestone in the rapid development of the Poseidon in RAF service. Five Poseidon MRA1s are based at RAF Lossiemouth with a further four set to be delivered by the end of this year. The station, which is situated in close proximity to one of the aircraft's most frequent area of operations, is benefiting from a multi-million pound investment programme bringing significant economic benefits to the Highlands & Islands and Morayshire communities. The Poseidon is fitted with advanced, state-of-the-art, Anti-Submarine Warfare and Anti-Surface Warfare sensors which will provide global protection to UK, NATO and our Allies' submarines and warships in an increasingly dangerous world.

P-8

British P-8 Poseidon Flies Unusual Overland Mission Along Polish Border

By Thomas Newdick, Howard Altman

Posted on Sep 15, 2025

The last MC-12W Liberty turboprop surveillance aircraft under U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command's (AFSOC) umbrella have been retired.

Last Special Operations MC-12W Surveillance Planes Retired

Posted on Sep 15, 2025

The U.S. Army’s Typhon ground-based missile system has, for the first time, been deployed in Japan, in what’s being seen as a clear message to China. The system, which can fire Tomahawk cruise missiles and SM-6 multi-purpose missile, is a growing feature of U.S. military activities in the Indo-Pacific region, with a first live-fire exercise having taken place in Australia in July, as you can read about here.

Air

Army Deploys Typhon Missile System To Japan For The First Time

Posted on Sep 15, 2025

F-35B

F-35s Arrive In Puerto Rico For Counter-Drug Operation

Updated on Sep 14, 2025

Air

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

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Sep 12, 2025

Royal Danish Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons fly off the wing of a U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress, assigned to the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, during a Bomber Task Force Europe 25-1 mission over the U.S. European Command area of responsibility, Nov. 15, 2024. Multinational exercises enhance interoperability with NATO forces, strengthening the collective ability to respond to global threats.

Fighters, Frigate To Help Defend Poland From Drones Under New NATO Operation

By Thomas Newdick, Howard Altman

Posted on Sep 12, 2025

We now have our first look at the U.S. Air Force's two flying B-21 Raider stealth bombers together at Edwards Air Force Base.

B-21

Two B-21 Raider Stealth Bombers Photographed Together For The First Time

Posted on Sep 12, 2025

The Department of Defense needs to mass produce its own shahed-136 clone.

U.S. Needs To Be Building Tens Of Thousands Of Shahed-136 Clones Right Now

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Sep 12, 2025

Typhoon

Drone-Killing APKWS Laser-Guided Rockets Eyed For Eurofighter Typhoon

Posted on Sep 12, 2025

Poland is closing airspace and said the Russian drone incursion was a test.

Poland Says Russia’s Mass Drone Incursion Was “A Test”

Updated on Sep 11, 2025

Air

Second B-21 Raider Stealth Bomber Has Flown (Updated)

Updated on Sep 11, 2025

The last of the venerable Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter swing-wing strike aircraft in Europe have been officially withdrawn from service. At one time, the Su-22 was a backbone of Warsaw Pact offensive airpower on the continent, with the final examples having been flown by the Polish Air Force, which had flown these impressive jets since the first example was delivered more than 40 years ago.

Poland’s Su-22 Fitter Swing-Wing Strike Jets Pass Into History

Posted on Sep 11, 2025

We now have our first full look at a modified 2,000-pound-class GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM, optimized for use as an anti-ship munition as part of the U.S. Air Force's Quicksink program.

U.S. Air Force

USAF’s Quicksink Ship-Killing Smart Bomb Seen In Detail Like Never Before

Posted on Sep 10, 2025

New satellite images provided by Planet Labs shows the precision of the Israeli strike on the Hamas Qatar compound.

Israeli Air Force

Aftermath Of Israeli Strike On Qatar Compound Targeting Hamas Seen In New Satellite Imagery

Posted on Sep 10, 2025

An air-to-air view of an F-15 Eagle sent to identify an aircraft which is possibly hauling drugs as detected by the Southern Regional Operations Center. The F-15 is part of Coronet Night Hawk, an all-guard mission using F-16s or F-15s on 24-hour alert status.

F-15

Deploying Fighter Jets To Hunt Drug Smugglers In The Caribbean Isn’t New

Updated on Sep 10, 2025

A RAAF P-8A Poseidon supports sea trials for the NUSHIP Hobart in the Gulf St Vincent off the coast of Adelaide.

P-8

P-8 Poseidon Officially Selected By Singapore As Its Next Maritime Patrol Aircraft

Posted on Sep 10, 2025

Authorities in Poland say they have assessed that the incursions were not accidental. Polish and Dutch fighters shot down several of the intruding uncrewed aircraft.

F-35A

After Unprecedented Night Of Downing Drones Over Poland, NATO Reports No Posture Changes (Updated)

Posted on Sep 10, 2025

A member of Congress has shared a video claiming to show an attempt by U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones to intercept an unidentified object in the air off the coast of Yemen last year.

Q-9

Revelation That MQ-9 Reapers Are Now Engaging Aerial Targets Comes From UAP Hearing

Posted on Sep 9, 2025

Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems have teamed up to develop a range of uncrewed air systems (UAS), all based on a common design, for which concept artwork has now been presented. The effort sees two of the world’s biggest defense companies joining forces, and entering a growing field of less expensive and more expendable drones and munitions.

Loitering Munitions

Lockheed Martin Joins Forces With BAE Systems On New Ultra-Adaptable Drone

Posted on Sep 9, 2025

MQ-28

MQ-28 Ghost Bat With Aerial Refueling Capability Hinted At By Boeing

Updated on Sep 8, 2025

AH-64

U.S. Army AH-64 Apaches Fire Spike-NLOS Missiles In Europe For The First Time