Air (Page 7)

Updated on Jun 26, 2025

B-2 hawaii diverted during decoy operation

B-2

B-2 Used As Decoy For Iran Strike Mission Is Stuck In Hawaii

Posted on Jun 25, 2025

F-35A

Royal Air Force Goes Nuclear With F-35A

Posted on Jun 25, 2025

The U.S. Air Force's first combat employment of 30,000-pound GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bunker buster bombs in recent strikes on Iranian nuclear sites draws new attention to work toward a successor.

B-2

GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator Successor In The Works

Posted on Jun 24, 2025

Satellite imagery shows clear evidence that Iran took steps to seal off its nuclear enrichment facility at Fordow in the days leading up to the U.S. strikes, which would have helped shield it against a potential ground raid.

B-2

Iran’s Fordow Nuclear Site Likely Sealed Up Before B-2 Strikes

Updated on Jun 24, 2025

The Israeli military said it had struck command centers belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and other domestic security forces responsible for “maintaining the regime’s stability.”

Israel Strikes Key Iranian Command And Control Sites In Tehran (Updated)

Updated on Jun 23, 2025

US base in qatar attacked by iranian ballistic missiles

U.S. Air Force

Iran Launches Ballistic Missile Revenge Strike On Al Udeid Air Base In Qatar (Updated)

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Jun 23, 2025

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Air Force Gen. Dan "Razin" Caine have now briefed TWZ and other reporters on the historic strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last night, dubbed Operation Might Hammer.

B-2

B-2 Strikes On Iran: What We Know About Operation Midnight Hammer (Updated)

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Jun 22, 2025

B-2

U.S. Has Attacked Iran’s Nuclear Facilities (Updated)

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Jun 22, 2025

At least two separate groups of B-2 Spirit stealth bombers are currently heading westward across the Pacific Ocean, but their exact final destination is currently unclear.

B-2

B-2 Bombers Head West Across Pacific Amidst Iran Crisis

Updated on Jun 21, 2025

Residents of the Tucson, Arizona area were startled earlier this week by a group of helicopters, including at least one Russian-made Mi-17 Hip, making very low nighttime flights as part of what turned out to be a U.S. military exercise.

Mi8/Mi-17

Secretive Russian-Made Mi-17 Helicopter Makes Unusual Appearance In Tucson

People's Liberation Army Air Force (China)

Posted on Jun 20, 2025

A new photo provides our best view so far of the Shenyang J-35, China’s next-generation carrier-based fighter. It’s part of a relative flurry of imagery showing some of China’s latest military aircraft. In sharp contrast to the blurry or heavily edited shots we have become familiar with out of China in the past, these various higher-quality images provide a fascinating snapshot of the breadth of developments taking place right now in China’s military aerospace realm.

China’s J-35 Naval Stealth Fighter Seen Like Never Before

Posted on Jun 20, 2025

At least one Iranian ballistic missile impacted the port city of Haifa in northern Israel.

Iranian Ballistic Missiles Hit “Strategic Points” In Israeli Port City Of Haifa (Updated)

Updated on Jun 20, 2025

U.S. Decision On Striking Iran To Be Made In “Next Two Weeks” (Updated)

Updated on Jun 19, 2025

North Korea is reportedly sending 25,000 workers to Russia to build and learn how to operate drones.

Unmanned

North Korea Sending Russia Thousand Of Workers To Build Shahed Drones: Report

Posted on Jun 19, 2025

MQ-28

MQ-28 Ghost Bats Controlled From E-7 Wedgetail In Loyal Wingman Test

Posted on Jun 19, 2025

C-130

Could Israeli C-130s Drop GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator Bunker Busters?

Posted on Jun 18, 2025

As Israel's campaign of strikes on Iran continues, a question emerges about whether some level of additional action may be required on the ground to meet the stated goal of preventing the regime in Tehran from being able to acquire nuclear weapons.

Special Operations Aviation

Loose Nukes In Iran Is A Scenario U.S. Special Operators Have Been Training For

Posted on Jun 18, 2025

Thirteen C-17 aircraft fly over the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia during low-level tactical training Dec. 20, 2005. The C-17s, assigned to the 437th and 315th Airlift Wings at Charleston AFB, demonstrated the Air Force's strategic airdrop capability.

C-17

Boeing In Talks To Restart C-17 Production

Posted on Jun 18, 2025

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that one of its drones had been downed by a surface-to-air missile while operating over Iran, AFP reports. An army statement said the drone “fell in Iran. No injuries were reported and there is no risk of an information breach.”

Israeli Hermes Drone Shot Down In Iran, Trump Ramps Up Threats To Tehran

Posted on Jun 18, 2025

Iran's primary presidential plane and two other government airliners have touched down in the Omani capital Muscat.

Iranian Air Force

Iranian Government Aircraft Make Mysterious Dash To Oman

Updated on Jun 18, 2025

ONE WAY EFFECTOR represents a trade-off between the need for mass and performance at lower cost to meet the challenges faced by armed forces in a high-intensity context. ONE WAY EFFECTOR is a new attrition proposition based on feedback from the armed forces, particularly from the conflict in Ukraine.

Air

Inspired By Ukraine War, Europe Is Developing Shahed-Style One-Way Attack Drones

Posted on Jun 17, 2025

F-35A

U.S. Air Force Fighters Deploy To Reinforce Middle East

Posted on Jun 17, 2025

The latest addition to General Atomics' MQ-9B medium-altitude long-endurance drone family is set to be an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) configured version.

Q-9

MQ-9B Airborne Early Warning Variant Could Fill Major Aerial Surveillance Gaps

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Jun 17, 2025

28 tankers were sent out over the Atlantic heading east tonight.

KC-135

Armada Of USAF Tankers Just Deployed East Over Atlantic Spurring Speculation (Updated)

Updated on Jun 16, 2025

The U.S. Navy is sending the supercarrier USS Nimitz and the rest of its strike group to the Middle East amid a new buildup of forces in the region ostensibly for defensive purposes, U.S. officials have told TWZ.

KC-135

Major U.S. Middle East-Focused Buildup Confirmed (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman

Posted on Jun 16, 2025

F-14

Iranian F-14 ‘Persian Tomcats’ Obliterated In Israeli Airstrike

Posted on Jun 16, 2025

The Israeli military claims it has destroyed one third of Iran’s long-range surface-to-surface missile launchers since the start of the conflict. For now, however, Iran is still launching missile strikes against Israel, with overnight attacks having killed at least eight people, according to Israeli sources.

One Third Of Iran’s Long-Range Missile Launchers Destroyed, Israel Claims (Updated)

By Thomas Newdick, Howard Altman

Posted on Jun 16, 2025

Iran and Israel continue to trade blows late on Saturday and into Sunday. On the Israeli side, the strikes constitute the latest phase of Operation Rising Lion, a campaign designed to destroy Iran’s nuclear capability and long-range weapons capacity. For its part, Tehran continues to launch barrage of retaliatory missile strikes at Israel, with reportedly killed at least 10 people and injured more than 100 overnight.

Air

IAF Destroys Iranian Aerial Tanker 1,400 miles From Israel, Farthest Strike Yet (Updated)

Updated on Jun 15, 2025

Israel is now attacking Iranian energy facilities after warning it would if Iran didn't stop hitting Israeli urban areas.

Israel Escalates To Attacking Iranian Energy Targets After Ballistic Missiles Hit Tel Aviv (Updated)

Updated on Jun 15, 2025

Mysterious chinese flying wing aircraft that could be the H-20 bomber appears in satellite image.

B-21

Massive Stealth Flying Wing Emerges At Secretive Chinese Base

Updated on Jun 14, 2025

Israeli officials are warning that the strikes that began to be launched against Iran overnight are just the start phase of a wider operation.

Israel’s Operation To Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Program Enters New Phase (Updated)

Updated on Jun 13, 2025

Israel Launches Operation Rising Lion To Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Program (Updated)

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Jun 13, 2025

Israel hand commando teams inside Iran attack air defenses

Air

Israeli Commandos Attacked Iranian Air Defenses With Drones From Inside The Country: Report

Updated on Jun 13, 2025

C-130

Choice Of C-130 For New Navy ‘Doomsday Plane’ Questioned In Watchdog Report

Updated on Jun 12, 2025

Rafale

Rafale Reemerges With Conformal Fuel Tanks

Posted on Jun 12, 2025

A Prediator-B drone, most likely operated by Customs and Border Protection, flew deep into Mexico on Wednesday.

Q-9

Department Of Homeland Security Predator B Drones Are Orbiting Over Los Angeles

By Howard Altman, Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Jun 11, 2025

More details have emerged about the problems the U.S. Navy is facing with its ill-starred podded Infrared Search And Track System, or IRST, an important capability planned for its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters. The latest issues to be highlighted come after TWZ previously reported on delays caused by production quality issues with the system and a Pentagon assessment of “significant reliability problems during operational testing,” which emerged earlier this year.

F/A-18E/F

New Details On F/A-18 Super Hornet’s Troubled IRST Pod

Posted on Jun 11, 2025

APKWS rockets were kept from Ukraine to be used to defend US in the Middle East.

F-15

Counter-Drone Weapons Diverted From Ukraine To Middle East Amid Rising Tensions, Hegseth Confirms

Posted on Jun 11, 2025

The proven and in-production E-7 Wedgetail, based on the Boeing 737 and serving with multiple allies, was supposed to bridge the gap between the E-3's retirement and pushing the mission to space-based distributed satellite constellations. Now, if the administration gets its wish, that won't happen. The E-7 will be cancelled and the Navy's E-2D Hawkeye will step in to fill the gap.

E-2

E-2 Hawkeye Replaces USAF E-3 Sentry, E-7 Cancelled In New Budget

By Tyler Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jun 11, 2025

Gripen

Saab’s Gripen Tests AI In Long-Range Air-To-Air Engagements

Updated on Jun 11, 2025

An artist's rendering of the Long Range Standoff Weapon is shown.

B-21

First Glimpse Of Air Force’s New Stealth Nuclear Cruise Missile

Updated on Jun 11, 2025

Newly emerged video footage purportedly shows the destruction of a Ukrainian drilling rig in the Black Sea by a supersonic cruise missile launched by a Russian Tu-22M3 Backfire-C bomber.

Tu-22

Russian Cruise Missile Strikes Ukrainian-Controlled Black Sea Drilling Platform

By Thomas Newdick, Howard Altman

Updated on Jun 10, 2025

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has released photos showing two of its aircraft carriers operating simultaneously for the first time beyond the so-called First Island Chain in the western Pacific.

Flankers

Two Chinese Aircraft Carriers Are Operating Beyond The First Island Chain For The First Time

Posted on Jun 10, 2025

Newly released footage records the unique formation flight over Nevada’s Nellis Air Force Air Base last November, which brought together U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighters and Soviet-era MiG-21 and MiG-29 jets. The four-ship took to the skies to mark the passing of Col. Gail Peck (ret.), the former commander of the legendary 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron “Red Eagles” that conducted highly classified missions using Soviet combat jets in the late 1970s and 1980s.

MiG-29

F-22s Fly Alongside MiGs To Commemorate Founder Of America’s Secret Soviet Fighter Squadron

Posted on Jun 9, 2025

F-16

Claims Swirl Around Russian Su-35S Flanker Shootdown

Posted on Jun 9, 2025

A new image appearing to show China’s ‘J-36’ 6th generation tactical jet parked on the ground has emerged online. If legitimate, this would be the best front view of the aircraft to date, notably providing clear proof of the canopy design and further confirmation of a side-by-side seating arrangement.

J-36

This Could Be Our Best View Yet Of China’s J-36 Very Heavy Stealth Tactical Jet

By Joseph Trevithick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Jun 6, 2025

The Submarine Dismantling Project (SDP) finally started at Rosyth in December 2016, around 15 years behind schedule.

Air

A Royal Navy Nuclear Submarine Is Being Scrapped For The First Time

Posted on Jun 6, 2025

F-35A

German F-35s Will Be Armed With Stealthy Joint Strike Missiles

Posted on Jun 5, 2025

The U.S. Navy has quietly awarded Northrop Grumman a contract to strip useful parts from an ex-Royal Air Force (RAF) E-3D Sentry airborne early warning and control aircraft before disposing of it.

E-3

Plan To Turn Ex-RAF E-3 AWACS Into E-6B ‘Doomsday’ Jet Trainer Abandoned By Navy

Posted on Jun 5, 2025

The U.S. Navy’s F/A-XX sixth-generation combat jet program looks to have hit another setback, with the Pentagon reportedly prioritizing the Air Force’s F-47 stealth fighter, amid concerns about how to run the two efforts simultaneously. Already, the F/A-XX was in limbo, with a U.S. official telling TWZ last month that the future of the program was being reviewed. This came after reports that a contract award for the Navy’s new combat jet could be delayed by as much as three years. Navy officials, meanwhile, continue to stress the importance of the F/A-XX to their future plans.

F/A-18E/F

Pentagon Wants To Shift Funds From Navy F/A-XX To USAF F-47: Report

Posted on Jun 5, 2025

The U.S. Air Force says it has tested a modified 500-pound-class GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM, optimized for use as an anti-ship munition as part of its Quicksink program.

F-15

Smaller Version Of Quicksink Ship-Killing Smart Bomb Tested By USAF

Posted on Jun 4, 2025

New satellite imagery and an official video has revealed more about the scale of destruction and damage inflicted on Russian airfields in Ukraine’s unprecedented covert drone attacks last weekend. Today, the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, which carried out the drone attacks, published previously unreleased drone footage showing the attacks underway.

Tu-22

Confirmed Losses Of Russian Aircraft Mount After Ukrainian Drone Assault

Updated on Jun 4, 2025

Disruptor aircraft company Otto Aviation is aiming to achieve first flight with what could potentially be a revolutionary high-efficiency business jet-type aircraft with a tear-drop-shaped fuselage called the Phantom 3500 by the end of the decade, if not within the next two years or so.

Air

Otto Aviation’s Phantom 3500 Aims To Massively Disrupt Private Jet Market

Posted on Jun 3, 2025

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite imagery that TWZ has exclusively obtained from ICEYE points to multiple Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers having been damaged or destroyed at Belaya Air Base.

A-50/A-100

Latest On Russian Aircraft Loss Assessments From Ukrainian Drone Strikes

Posted on Jun 3, 2025

Royal Navy wants to arm carriers with drones and long-range missiles

Loyal Wingman

Royal Navy To Arm Its Carriers With Long-Range Missiles

Posted on Jun 3, 2025

Hardened aircraft shelters are up for debate as Russia experienced a major attack from Ukrainian drones.

Unmanned

Mass Drone Attack On Exposed Russian Bombers Puts Spotlight On Hardened Aircraft Shelter Debate

Updated on Jun 3, 2025

The future of Russia's bomber fleet after Ukraine's mass drone attack.

Tu-160

What Ukraine’s Unprecedented Drone Attack Means For Russia’s Bomber Force

Updated on Jun 2, 2025

A-50/A-100

Russian Strategic Bombers Destroyed In Unprecedented Wide-Scale Drone Attack (Updated)

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Jun 1, 2025

J-36

China’s J-36 Very Heavy Stealth Tactical Jet Photographed Head-On For First Time

Posted on May 31, 2025

Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) claims it show down a Russian jet target drone converted to be a weapon.

Russian Air Force

Weaponized Russian Jet-Powered Target Drone Shot Down Over Black Sea: Ukraine

Posted on May 30, 2025

We now have a picture showing a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle down-range in the Middle East with an air-to-air loadout that includes six seven-shot 70mm rocket pods, as well as four AIM-9X and four AIM-120 missiles.

F-15

F-15E Armed With Drone Killing Laser-Guided Rockets Appears In Middle East

Posted on May 30, 2025

Boeing’s F-47 sixth-generation stealth fighter has been pitched to Japan by U.S. President Donald Trump, according to reports. The idea of an export-configured F-47 was brought up by Trump when he announced Boeing’s win in the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) manned combat jet initiative. Meanwhile, Japan is apparently also looking at increasing its buy of F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighters, prompted by concerns over the timeline for the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), a sixth-generation combat jet being pursued jointly by Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

F-35

Trump Offers F-47 Sixth-Gen Fighter To Japan: Reports