News & Features (Page 16)

Latest in News & Features

Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov told us that Ukraine used drone-boat AIM-9 missiles to down two Russian SU-30 Flankers over the Black Sea.
Ukraine

Two Russian Su-30 Flankers Downed By AIM-9s Fired From Drone Boats: Ukrainian Intel Boss

By Howard Altman

Posted on May 4, 2025

The Marines are investigating the use of the REGENT Viceroy sea glider to deliver troops, cargo and perform other functions in contested areas.
Indo-Pacific

Seaglider Aims To Deliver Small Groups Of Marines Low Over The Waves

By Howard Altman

Posted on May 3, 2025

NANTWICH, ENGLAND - MAY 24: The nuclear strike mapping room view inside the former RAF Hack Green secret nuclear bunker on May 24, 2023 in Nantwich, England. Hack Green played a central role in the defence of Britain for almost sixty years. It was chosen during WW2 to protect the land between Birmingham and Liverpool from hostile attack and as a location for the new RADAR equipment. The bunker went on to be used for shelter and protection during the Cold War. As relations between East and West thawed many of the UK's nuclear bunkers were sold off. The Secret Bunker is now privately owned by the Siebert family and is run as a museum trust. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Bunker Talk

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

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on May 3, 2025

Procurement of the MQ-1C Gray Eagle for the U.S. Army may end, with the drone being among the platforms that the service could lose under a wide-ranging force-structure overhaul. The development comes as the drone’s manufacturer continues to develop modernized versions of the Gray Eagle, as well as add new equipment and capabilities.
Drones

Stop Buying MQ-1C Gray Eagle Drones Army’s Top Leadership Decrees

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on May 2, 2025

Marine AH-1Z Attack Helicopter’s Mystery Missiles Identified
Drones

Marine AH-1Z Attack Helicopter’s Mystery Missiles Identified

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on May 1, 2025

The U.S. Air Force and Anduril have offered what appears to be the first look at a "production representative" example of the YFQ-44A drone, also known as Fury.
News & Features

Our First Look At The YFQ-44A ‘Fighter Drone’ Collaborative Combat Aircraft

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on May 1, 2025

F-16 Fighting Falcons sit in the boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. on Jul. 30, 2010. The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group is converting F-16s into usable manned or drone targets allowing Air Force to train and test new weapons platforms in the process. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Desiree N. Palacios)
Ukraine

F-16s Pulled From U.S. Boneyard Are Being Delivered To Ukraine For Spare Parts

By Thomas Newdick, Howard Altman

Posted on May 1, 2025

Future versions of the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) short-range ballistic missile for the U.S. Army could carry Coyote drones or Hatchet miniature glide bombs, according to Lockheed Martin.
News & Features

PrSM Ballistic Missiles Loaded With Coyote Drones, Hatchet Mini Smart Bombs Eyed By Army

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on May 1, 2025

Making Sure Wingman Drones Don’t Hit Their Crewed Companions Still A Challenge Marines Say
Drones

Making Sure Wingman Drones Don’t Hit Their Crewed Companions Still A Challenge Marines Say

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 30, 2025

Imagery has emerged showing North Korea’s heavily armed new frigate, the Choi Hyon, firing a variety of weapons from its huge array of vertical launch system (VLS) cells. The missiles seen appear to include a previously unknown air defense missile and a possible new supersonic cruise missile.
North Korea

North Korea’s New Frigate Tests Its Weapons Days After Commissioning

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 30, 2025

Lumberjack strike munition from Northrop Grumman
Drones

Lumberjack Jet-Powered One-Way Attack Munition Can Drop Its Own Precision Bomblets (Updated)

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Apr 30, 2025

The U.S. Marine Corps has received an Expeditionary Directed Energy Counter-Swarm (ExDECS) weapon in order to facilitate experimentation with the use of high-power microwave (HPM) technology in the increasingly volatile low altitude air defense (LAAD) role. This kind of counter-drone system is increasingly seen as a critical layer in force protection and urgently needed to enhance current and future ground-based air defense (GBAD) capabilities.
High Powered Microwaves

Marines Get Their First High Power Microwave Weapon For Taking On Drone Swarms

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 29, 2025

Aurora Flight Sciences has provided new details about the demonstrator design it is working on for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Liberty Lifter X-plane program.
News & Features

Liberty Lifter Ekranoplan Demonstrator Aims To Lift C-130-Sized Payloads

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 29, 2025

USS Harry Truman Was Evading Houthi Attack When F/A-18 Super Hornet Rolled Off Its Deck
Red Sea

USS Harry Truman Was Evading Houthi Attack When F/A-18 Super Hornet Rolled Off Its Deck

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Apr 28, 2025

The U.K. Royal Air Force officer in charge of defining requirements for the Tempest future fighter says the program’s top priority is a large payload — roughly twice that of the F-35A stealth fighter. The same officer is eyeing “really extreme range” for the new aircraft, with potentially enough internal fuel to fly across the Atlantic without refueling. These requirements provide some more idea about the size and capabilities of the sixth-generation stealth fighter and also parallel similar concerns that have driven the development of the U.S. Air Force’s Boeing F-47 under the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) initiative.
United Kingdom

Tempest Future Fighter Aims For “Really Extreme Range,” Twice F-35 Payload

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 28, 2025

North Korea Frigate
North Korea

North Korea’s New Frigate Has Ballistic Missile Launchers

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Apr 27, 2025

Abandoned bunker on an abandoned soviet military ground in the forests of Brandenburg State, Germany. Rumors say, that this bunkers was also a storage for nuclear missiles.
Bunker Talk

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

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Apr 25, 2025

U.S. carrier-based F-35C Joint Strike Fighters have been shooting down Houthi drones in the course of recent operations over and around the Red Sea, in addition to striking targets in Yemen, according to a U.S. official.
Yemen

F-35C Naval Joint Strike Fighters Have Been Shooting Down Houthi Drones

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 25, 2025

Wreckage of a GBU-53/B StormBreaker glide bomb, also known as the Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II), has appeared in Yemen. The weapon, which was only recently confirmed as being used in combat, offers some notably advanced capabilities, especially over the GBU-39/B SDB I, and the technological risk of the remains of the still relatively intact weapon falling into an adversary’s hands are not insignificant.
Yemen

StormBreaker Advanced Glide Bomb Lands In Yemen Largely Intact

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 25, 2025

We now have more clarity on the U.S. Air Force’s plans for its second tranche of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones, known as Increment 2. This includes the likelihood of a lower-cost CCA Increment 2 as well as the drone’s integration with assets in addition to fighters, including the B-21 stealth bomber and E-7 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft.
Drones

Air Force’s Next Batch Of Collaborative Combat Drones Could Be Less ‘Exquisite,’ Cheaper

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 24, 2025

India and Pakistan are inching toward a conflict in the wake of a deadly terror attack in Kashmir.
India

India-Pakistan Tensions On Verge Of Erupting After Deadly Terror Attack

By Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 24, 2025

The U.S. Air Force is firmly of the view that its new F-47 6th generation stealth fighters are key to "how we win" in future fights, according to the service's top general in charge of force structure planning.
News & Features

F-47 6th Generation Fighter Future Force Size Questions Emerge

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 24, 2025

New Views Of China’s Next Generation Fighters
China

New Views Of China’s Next Generation Fighters

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 24, 2025

Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have put a huge strain on global TNT and propellant supplies.
Russia

Ukraine Situation Report: U.S. Peace Plan Stumbles After Tumultuous Day

By Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 23, 2025

What actually are the Houthis' air defense capabilities? That's a clear question with at best a murky answer, but here is what we know.
Red Sea

What Air Defenses Do The Houthis In Yemen Actually Have?

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 23, 2025

French Air and Space Force Rafale fighters from a nuclear-strike-tasked unit are among the aircraft taking part in a power-projection exercise including operations over Sweden, which joined NATO a little over a year ago. The latest edition of the Pégase (Pegasus) drill comes as European NATO members look at bolstering their nuclear deterrence capabilities independent of the United States, with France very much at the center of these discussions. Notably, the maneuvers are being also accompanied by an exercise in which French military aircraft were rapidly dispersed to alternative airfields, something that would be required in a large-scale conflict with Russia.
NATO

French Rafale Fighters Project Power Forward To Sweden

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 23, 2025

An AFRICOM airstrike on a boat smuggling advanced arms to al-Shabaab highlights the new authorities given to commanders.
Africa

Rapid Strike On Smuggling Ship Off Africa Highlights Increased Authorities Given To Commanders

By Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 22, 2025

An example of the Ukrainian BMP-55 heavy infantry fighting vehicle, a radically reworked T-55 tank converted to transport soldiers across the battlefield, has appeared somewhere in Ukraine. While it’s unclear when or where the imagery was taken, this seems to be the first time a BMP-55 has been sighted in an apparently operational context, with suggestions that only one example of these vehicles was ever completed making its appearance all the more remarkable.
Ukraine

Extremely Rare Ukrainian Heavy Infantry Fighting Vehicle Appears On Battlefield

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 22, 2025

A U.S. F-35 stealth fighter had to take evasive action to avoid being hit by a Houthi SAM, a U.S. official told The War Zone.
News & Features

Giving F-35 “NASCAR Upgrade” Can Deliver 80% Of F-47 Capabilities At Half Cost: Lockheed

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Apr 22, 2025

J-10C Egypt
Egypt

China Deploys J-10 Fighters To Egypt

By Howard Altman

Updated on Apr 21, 2025

Naval Strike Missile launch from NMESIS
Indo-Pacific

USMC Anti-Ship Missile Deployment To Highly Strategic Luzon Strait Is Unprecedented

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Apr 21, 2025

Imagery has emerged of a very rarely seen EA-18G Growler loadout involving four examples of the AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM), during ongoing operations against Houthi targets in Yemen. While we know very little about Houthi air defenses, and their associated radars and sensors, the imagery underscores the continued threat that these present.
Yemen

EA-18G Bristles With Rare Four Anti-Radiation Missile Loadout On Yemen Mission

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 21, 2025

The Fenden home showing panels from the control unit used fire missiles. The missile silo was transformed into a private home.(Photo by Najlah Feanny/Corbis via Getty Images)
Bunker Talk

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

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Apr 18, 2025

U.S. Soldiers from the 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company, 1/163rd Combined Arms Battalion, , make an M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles operationally ready in northeast Syria on Feb. 1, 2022. The BFVs provide increased force protection for Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve and their partner forces as they continue to ensure the enduring defeat of Daesh. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. William Gore)
Syria

U.S. Troop Drawdown In Syria Officially Announced By Pentagon

By Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 18, 2025

The MQ-1C Gray Eagle Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) addresses the need for a long-endurance, armed (up to four HELLFIRE missiles), UAS that offers greater range, altitude, and payload flexibility.
Drones

MQ-1C Gray Eagle Is Shooting Down Drones With Hellfire Missiles In Tests

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 18, 2025

Post strike image of US attack on Houthi fuel port.
Israel

Destruction From U.S. Attack On Houthi Port Shown In Satellite Imagery

By Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 18, 2025

The Japan Self-Defense Forces have offered an official look at the turret-mounted electromagnetic railgun now installed on the test ship JS Asuka.
Japan

Railgun Installed On Japanese Warship Testbed

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 18, 2025

A Russian mechanized assault in Zaporizhzhia oblast might be the vanguard of a new front.
Russia

Ukraine Situation Report: Russia Launches New Southern Assault

By Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 17, 2025

A U.S. Air Force B1-Lancer assigned to the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron sits on a runway during post-flight maintenance in support of Pacific Air Forces’ Bomber Task Force mission at Misawa Air Base, Feb. 20, 2025. Through combined training, the U.S. and intercontinental defense forces work together to promote interoperability, thus furthering our investments and strengthening our relationships.
China

B-1B Bones Make Unprecedented Bomber Task Force Deployment To Japan

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 17, 2025

The U.S. military says it has destroyed the Houthi-controlled port of Ras Isa in Yemen, ostensibly to prevent the group from benefiting from the movement of various kinds of fuel through its facilities.
Yemen

American Forces Destroy Key Houthi-Controlled Fuel Port In Yemen

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 17, 2025

The British Army has, for the first time, used a directed-energy weapon to bring down a swarm of drones during trials. The Radiofrequency Directed Energy Weapon demonstrator, or RF DEW, reflects a fast-growing trend to harness news ways of neutralizing the drone threat, both on the battlefield and for homeland defense.
United Kingdom

British High-Power Microwave Weapon Successfully Tested Against Drone Swarms

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 17, 2025

Lockheed Pitches Containerized Launchers To Help Close Australia’s Air And Missile Defense Gaps
Australia

Lockheed Pitches Containerized Launchers To Help Close Australia’s Air And Missile Defense Gaps

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 17, 2025

U.S. Air Force B-2 stealth bombers have not dropped any GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bunker buster bombs on Yemen's Houthis since the Trump administration launched a renewed aerial campaign against them, two U.S. officials have told TWZ.
Iran

B-2s Have Not Dropped Massive Ordnance Penetrators On Yemen During Diego Garcia Missions: Officials

By Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman

Updated on Apr 17, 2025

The U.S. will reduce by half its 2,000-troop presence in Syria.
Israel

U.S. Cutting Forces In Syria By Half, Possible Ripple Effects In Region

By Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 16, 2025

J-50 tailless fighter's canopy seen for first time.
China

Canopy Seen Clearly On China’s Next Gen Tailless Stealth Fighter For First Time

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Apr 16, 2025

China’s full-size aircraft carrier test facility, a key part of the country’s path toward establishing a carrier fleet and associated air wings, has been modified once again. The latest reworking suggests that the aircraft carrier mockup is now intended to represent a layout similar to the U.S. Navy’s Ford class. This may well point to the configuration of China’s next homegrown carrier design, or at least one of the configurations now under study.
China

China’s Giant Land-Based Carrier Mockup Grows In Size, Now Resembles Ford Class

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 16, 2025

XQ-58 with landing gear.
Drones

XQ-58 Valkyrie With Built-In Landing Gear Shown In New Rendering

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Apr 16, 2025

FAA drone testing New Jersey
U.S. Homeland

FAA Testing Drone Detection Systems In New Jersey

By Howard Altman

Updated on Apr 16, 2025

Iniochos 2025 will involve a large number of HAF assets, such as fighters, Air Defence Systems, helicopters, transport and training aircraft. Additionally, Hellenic Army and Navy assets and personnel will contribute significantly to the creation of complex and realistic scenarios across the exercise areas which spread over the Greek mainland and sea.
NATO

This Greek Air Combat Exercise Was A Low-Level Fighter Flying Paradise

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 15, 2025

The U.S. Army has expressed interest in the U.S. Marine Corps' new uncrewed 4×4 Tomahawk cruise missile launch vehicle as a possible complement to its larger Typhon system, according to Lockheed Martin.
Indo-Pacific

USMC’s Tomahawk Cruise Missile Launching Drone Truck Eyed By Army

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 15, 2025

Australia is pushing back on a report that Russia asked to base its long-range bombers at an Indonesian airbase.
Australia

Australia Casts Doubt On Russia Basing Bombers At Indonesian Air Base

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Apr 15, 2025

Russia has made few gains in its new offensive in Ukraine.
Russia

New Russian Offensive Has Gained Little Ground So Far

By Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 14, 2025

Lockheed Martin has confirmed Sweden's Visby class corvettes will use three-cell Extensible Launching System (ExLS) launchers to fire their forthcoming Common Anti-air Modular Missiles (CAMM).
Northern Europe

Sweden’s Stealthy Visby Corvettes Getting Mk 41 Based Vertical Launch Systems For Air Defense Missiles

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 14, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump derided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's offer to buy 10 Patriot air defense systems.
Russia

Trump Derides Zelensky’s Request To Buy $15B Worth Of Patriot Air Defense Systems

By Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 14, 2025

We have gotten our best look so far at China’s enigmatic KJ-700 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft in service with the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). This latest addition to China’s rapidly proliferating family of AEW&C platforms remains somewhat mysterious, although multiple accounts suggest that it’s something of a unique ‘dual-mode’ aircraft, combining both airborne radar as well as an array of electro-optical and infrared sensors, likely intended to track stealthy and low-radar-signature targets.
China

China’s New KJ-700 Multi-Intelligence Radar Plane’s Interesting Features

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 14, 2025

An unknown weapon seen being fired from a U.S. Bradley Fighting Vehicle's BGM-71 TOW anti-tank guided missile launcher at a major test event earlier this year has now been identified.
Drones

Mysterious Weapon Fired From M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle Identified

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 14, 2025

Photograph of an armoury of a night bombing squadron on the British front in France. Scrupulous care was taken of their guns and pistols. Dated 1942 (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty images)
Bunker Talk

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

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Apr 11, 2025

The U.S. Navy has halted plans to acquire an air-launched, air-breathing hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile, citing cost and industrial base factors.
News & Features

Navy Axes Its Hypersonic Anti-Ship Cruise Missile Plans

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 11, 2025

Defiant Drone Ship Gets Closer To Months-Long DARPA At Sea Demonstration
Drones

Defiant Drone Ship Gets Closer To Months-Long DARPA At Sea Demonstration

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Apr 11, 2025

When the U.S. wanted to shift a Patriot battery from the Pacific to the Middle East, it took 73 C-17 flights to do so, highlighting sustainment concerns.
Yemen

It Took 73 C-17 Loads To Move Patriot Battalion From Pacific To Middle East

By Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 10, 2025

The first Constellation class frigate for the U.S. Navy is just 10 percent complete more than two years after construction began and nearly five years after the award of the initial contract for the ship.
News & Features

First Constellation Frigate Only 10% Complete, Design Still Being Finalized

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 10, 2025

The French Air and Space Force has officially reintroduced the modernized Mirage 2000D strike aircraft, the service has confirmed. By the end of this year, the force will have 50 upgraded examples of the delta-wing jet, which, despite its relative age, remains a highly capable long-range conventional strike and close air support asset.
NATO

Deeply Upgraded Mirage 2000DRMV Strike Jet Enters French Service

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Apr 10, 2025

Every Marine A Drone Pilot: Individual Lethality To Go From Meters To Kilometers
Drones

Every Marine A Drone Pilot: Individual Lethality To Go From Meters To Kilometers

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 9, 2025

We now have our first look at a new version of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) 70mm guided rocket with an infrared seeker on top of the existing laser guidance capability.
News & Features

Infrared Seeker For APKWS Guided 70mm Rockets Unveiled

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 9, 2025