Manned ISR

Latest in Manned ISR

Army officials have shared new details about plans to launch extremely long-range drones from the service's forthcoming ME-11B High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) surveillance and reconnaissance planes.
E-11

Air-Launched Drones Key To Keeping New Army Surveillance Jets Out Of Harms Way

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 18, 2026

A front view of an SR-71 aircraft assigned to Detachment 4, 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, as it prepares for takeoff.
SR-71

SR-71 Blackbird Crews Had These Custom Smith & Wesson Pistols Built For Them

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 3, 2026

A photographer on a flight over Greenville, Texas, captured an especially good look at one of the U.S. Air Force's RC-135V/W Rivet Joint aircraft with its usual paint scheme completely stripped off.
RC-135

RC-135 Rivet Joint Surveillance Jet Caught ‘In The Nude’ In Texas

By Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 2, 2026

E-3 sentry seen destroyed after Iranian attack in Saudi Arabia.
E-3

Images Show E-3 Sentry Totally Destroyed From Iranian Strike (Updated)

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Mar 29, 2026

The move is a somewhat rare one for the E-2 community, but it's extremely logical, and likely highly urgent, considering what is going on in the Middle East.
E-2

Navy E-2D Hawkeyes Appear To Be Rushing To The Middle East

By Joseph Trevithick, Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Mar 17, 2026

An Australian E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control plane is headed for the Persian Gulf.
E-7

Massive Leap In Ability To Spot Iranian Drones Headed To Persian Gulf

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 10, 2026

In the past two days, the U.S. Air Force has sent six of its 16 E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) radar planes to bases in Europe.
E-3

Major Deployment Of Rickety E-3 Sentry Fleet For Iran Crisis Highlights Worrisome Gaps

By Joseph Trevithick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Feb 18, 2026

A U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry, airborne warning and control system (AWACS).
E-3

Final Pieces Moving Into Place For Potential Attack On Iran

By Howard Altman

Updated on Feb 17, 2026

The Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Delbert D. Black and an Air Force spy plane joined a growing for in the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran.
RC-135

Destroyer, Electronic Surveillance Jet Joins U.S. Forces Massing In Middle East

By Howard Altman

Posted on Jan 28, 2026

A new draft defense spending bill making its way through Congress seeks to boost funding for the U.S. Air Force's E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft to $1.1 billion for the current fiscal year.
E-7

E-7 Wedgetail Radar Jet The Pentagon Tried To Cancel Gets Over $1B In New Defense Bill

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jan 21, 2026

Congress has taken a new step toward blocking the Pentagon from axing the acquisition of new E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft.
E-7

E-7 Wedgetail Radar Jet Program Cancellation Reversal Advances In Congress

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Dec 9, 2025

A Ukrainian attack on the aircraft manufacturer Beriev’s facility in Taganrog in southwestern Russia overnight appears to have struck a unique laser testbed, the A-60.
A-50/A-100

Unique Russian A-60 Laser Testbed Jet Destroyed In Ukrainian Attack

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Nov 25, 2025

U.S. tactical aircraft flying near Venezuela is part of a pressure campaign aimed at that nation's embattled leader, Nicolas Maduro
RC-135

RC-135 Accompanied By Fighters Off Venezuela Testing Maduro’s Air Defenses: U.S. Official

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Nov 21, 2025

The Dutch Ministry of Defense has announced that NATO nations have dropped their plan to buy Boeing E-7A Wedgetail as its next airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platform. The decision comes after South Korea rejected the E-7 for its own AEW&C program and would appear to open the door to Saab’s rival GlobalEye, which France has already said it intends to buy.
E-3

E-7 Wedgetail Radar Jet Procurement Plans Axed By NATO

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Nov 13, 2025

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

Last Special Operations MC-12W Surveillance Planes Retired

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 15, 2025

A 9th Reconnaissance Wing TU-2S Dragon Lady piloted by Cory “ULTRALORD” Bartholomew, 1st Reconnaissance Squadron (RS) assigned flight safety officer and U-2 instructor pilot, and Lt. Col. “JETHRO”, 1st RS instructor pilot and U-2 chief pilot, lands at Beale Air Force Base (AFB), California, Aug. 1st, 2025. “ULTRALORD” and “JETHRO”’s flight took place on the 70th anniversary of the U-2’s first flight and broke the endurance records for the U-2, flying longer than 14 hours and traveled over 6,000 nautical miles. This flight tested the capabilities of the U-2 and its pilots to its limit and showcased Beale AFB’s capacity as a power projection platform to rapidly respond to adversary actions anywhere in the world. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Frederick A. Brown)
U-2

U-2 Pilot On What It Took To Make Record-Setting 14-Hour Flight A Reality

By Howard Altman

Updated on Aug 6, 2025