News & Features

Latest in News & Features

F-16 intercept
U.S. Homeland

F-16s Find Balloons, Not UFOs, After Sunday Scramble: NORAD

By Howard Altman

Posted 16 Hours Ago

AH-64 has tested APEX proximity fuse rounds
Drones

AH-64 Apache Is Getting Proximity Fuzed 30mm Cannon Ammo For Swatting Down Drones

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted 18 Hours Ago

Last year, the U.S. government was able to reverse engineer a critical subcomponent for the 30,000-pound GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bunker buster bomb by leveraging technology from the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) short-range ballistic missile.
News & Features

New GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator Parts Reverse Engineered From ATACMS Ballistic Missile Tech

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated 20 Hours Ago

The F-35's 'computer brain,' including its cloud-based components, could be cracked to accept third-party software updates, just like 'jailbreaking' a cellphone, according to the Dutch Defense Minister.
Europe

F-35 Software Could Be Jailbreaked Like An iPhone: Dutch Defense Secretary

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated Yesterday

U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Lucas Keka, left, munitions operations technician assigned to the 726th Expeditionary Mission Support Squadron, and Staff Sgt. Daryc Fliginger, 726th EMSS Munitions Flight production supervisor, secure a munitions storage bunker at Chabelley Airfield, Djibouti, Aug. 25, 2023. The 726th EMSS provides security forces, satellite communications, munitions support, vehicle management, contracting, finance and logistics in support of USAF personnel in East Africa. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Dhruv Gopinath)
Bunker Talk

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

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Feb 13, 2026

The U.S. Air Force is exploring new ways to protect aerial refueling tankers and other high-value support aircraft by physically defeating incoming threats rather than trying to jam them or otherwise throw them off course.
News & Features

Mini Missiles Used To Shoot Down Incoming Missiles Eyed For USAF Tanker Fleet

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Feb 13, 2026

The USS Ford was ordered to the Middle East after CNO expressed concerns about the ships and crew after months at sea.
Iran

Navy’s Top Admiral Previously Said He Would “Push Back” Against Extending USS Gerald R. Ford’s Deployment

By Howard Altman

Updated on Feb 13, 2026

U.S. Marine Corps legacy F/A-18C/D Hornets are in line to add air-to-air optimized versions of the 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) rocket to their arsenal.
News & Features

USMC’s Old F/A-18 Hornets To Get Drone Swatting Laser Guided Rockets

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Feb 13, 2026

The recent use of a laser directed energy weapon to take down an aerial object in Texas highlights policy challenges in protecting U.S. skies.
U.S. Homeland

Airspace Closure Over Laser Weapon Use A Glaring Example Of Drone Defense Policy Struggles

By Howard Altman

Updated on Feb 13, 2026

The U.S. Air Force has now denied taking delivery of any F-35A Joint Strike Fighters from the latest Lot 17 production batch without radars installed.
News & Features

Air Force Now Denies Receiving F-35s Without Radars

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Feb 13, 2026

An AeroVironment LOCUST laser directed energy weapon owned by the U.S. Army was central to the chain of events that led to the recent shutdown of airspace around El Paso, Texas, according to Reuters.
Lasers

This Is The LOCUST Laser That Reportedly Prompted Closing El Paso’s Airspace

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Feb 12, 2026

The Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Truxtun collided with the support ship USNS Supply while the two were conducting an at-sea replenishment yesterday, U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) has confirmed.
Americas

Destroyer USS Truxton Collides With Support Ship During At-Sea Resupply

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Feb 12, 2026

The USS George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group conducts a simulated strait transit in the Atlantic Ocean, Dec. 10, 2025. The George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group is underway for Group Sail, its first integrated at-sea training phase. This event is designed to increase the Strike Group’s tactical proficiency and lethality across all domains, meeting Navy and Joint warfighting requirements. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class John R. Farren)
Iran

Second Carrier Strike Group Ordered To Spin-Up For Deployment To Middle East: Report

By Howard Altman

Posted on Feb 12, 2026

U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command says it is prepared to load more warheads onto Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and restore nuclear weapons capability to the entire B-52 bomber fleet, if called upon to do so.
News & Features

USAF Ready To Make All B-52s Nuclear-Capable, Load ICBMs With Multiple Warheads If Directed

By Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman

Posted on Feb 12, 2026

The F-35 Joint Program Office has declined to confirm or deny a report that Joint Strike Fighters are being delivered to the U.S. military without radars due to chronic issues with a key upgrade program.
News & Features

Are F-35s Being Delivered To The USAF Without Radars? (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick, Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Feb 11, 2026

Drones operated by Mexican drug cartels flying across the border prompted a major clampdown in air traffic over El Paso, Texas, earlier today, a Trump administration official has told TWZ.
U.S. Homeland

Claims Swirl Around Government’s Response To Cartel Drone Threat That Prompted El Paso Airspace Closure

By Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman

Updated on Feb 11, 2026