News & Features (Page 27)

Latest in News & Features

A huge explosion has rocked the Tver region, in the west of Russia, with initial reports indicating that Ukrainian long-range attack drones targeted an ammunition depot there. Videos and pictures on social media from the scene show an initial explosion, with a very large fireball, followed by a significant visible shockwave, then several minutes’ worth of secondary explosions illuminating the night sky.
Russia

Massive Russian Weapons Depot Still Burning After Ukrainian Drone Attack

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Sep 18, 2024

Lockheed Martin's losing entry in the first increment of the U.S. Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drone program was a very stealthy design, the head of the famed Skunk Works advanced projects division has disclosed. The company is now expecting future CCA increments to revolve around proposals that might lean closer to not just being lower-cost, but maybe even expendable, to support a concept of operations that requires tolerance for very high losses.
Drones

Skunk Works’ Losing Loyal Wingman Drone Was Very Stealthy “Gold Plated” Design

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 18, 2024

General Atomics CCA
Drones

General Atomics Says Its Collaborative Combat Aircraft Is Like A Bic Lighter

By Tyler Rogoway, Jamie Hunter

Posted on Sep 17, 2024

Hezbollah pager
Middle East

Hezbollah’s Exploding Pagers Could Be As Monumental A Cyber-Espionage Operation As Stuxnet

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Sep 17, 2024

The U.S. Air Force has no plans to acquire stealthy uncrewed combat air vehicles (UCAV) capable of operating with very high degrees of autonomy independently of crewed aircraft, at least in the near term publicly, despite surging Chinese developments in this domain.
China

No Flying Wing UCAVs Being Developed By U.S. Air Force While China Surges Ahead

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 17, 2024

Military vehicles drive down a road past a sign indicating that the border to Russia is approaching north of Sumy on August 15th 2024, in Sumy Region, Ukraine. Ukraines's incursion into Russia's Kursk has continued into a second week.
Russia

38,000 Russian Troops Committed To Kursk Counteroffensive: Report

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Sep 16, 2024

The U.S. Air Force's still evolving requirements for a next-generation aerial refueling 'system of systems' will directly impact the service's reassessment of plans for a new sixth-generation stealth 'fighter.' The Next-Generation Air-Refueling System (NGAS) effort will also inform work on a second tranche of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones.
U.S. Homeland

Future Stealth Tanker Plans Tied To NGAD 6th Generation Fighter’s Fate

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 16, 2024

August 10, 2018. Long corridors form a labyrinth that leads to the different rooms of the anti-atomic shelter in Avdeevka, Ukraine. Photo by Gaelle Girbes/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 Sep 14, 2024

Russia's Kursk counteroffensive is fully underway.
Russia

Russia’s Kursk Counteroffensive Fully Underway

By Howard Altman

Posted on Sep 14, 2024

Russia putting tires on top of bombers and other aircraft was about confusing seekers with image-matching capability on incoming munitions, a senior U.S. military technologist has confirmed.
Russia

Russia Covering Aircraft With Tires Is About Confusing Image-Matching Missile Seekers U.S. Military Confirms

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Sep 13, 2024

MQ-9 showcases capabilities to Joint Force during first-time Valiant Shield participation.
South China Sea

MQ-9 Reapers Gathered In Florida, Simulated Fighting Over South China Sea

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Sep 13, 2024

What appears to be one of the first looks at members of the German armed forces with new 5.56x45mm Heckler & Koch HK416 A8 rifles, also known as G95A1s, has come from an unexpected source: the U.S. Army. With help from the U.S. Army, the Germans have been stress-testing the guns in very hot and humid conditions at a facility in Panama and in the Arizona desert.
Germany

Germany’s New HK416 Service Rifles Appear At Panama Test Site

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 13, 2024

Israel raid
Iran

Israeli Commando Raid In Syria Sends A Message To Iran That Its Underground Bases Are Not Untouchable

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Sep 13, 2024

Russia is now using thermite-spewing dragon drones in Ukraine.
Russia

Russia Now Using Thermite-Spewing ‘Dragon Drones’ To Torch Ukrainian Positions

By Howard Altman

Posted on Sep 12, 2024

BAE Systems has launched its new uncrewed ground vehicle, or UGV, the Autonomous Tactical Light Armor System (ATLAS) Collaborative Combat Variant (CCV), a roughly 11-ton 8x8 vehicle that’s being pitched as a “combat wingman” with the potential for a high degree of autonomy. The powerfully armed vehicle is the latest addition to a growing number of UGVs that are designed to provide more flexibility to ground forces’ commanders, primarily by reducing the risks that personnel are exposed to on the battlefield.
Australia

ATLAS Uncrewed “Combat Wingman” Fighting Vehicle Unveiled

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Sep 12, 2024

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has published a video showing the purported destruction of a Russian Su-30SM Flanker multirole fighter, which it claims was brought down by a shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile over the Black Sea.
Ukraine

Russian Su-30SM Flanker Crashes In Black Sea, Ukraine Says They Shot It Down With MANPADS

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Sep 12, 2024

Storm Shadow
Russia

Increasing Indications Storm Shadow Missiles Will Be Cleared For Use Inside Russia

By Howard Altman

Updated on Sep 12, 2024

A Russian military correspondent narrowlly avoided being killed by a drone hunting him down in a house.
Ukraine

This Ukrainian Drone Hunting A Russian Inside A Building Has Big Horror Movie Vibes

By Howard Altman

Posted on Sep 11, 2024

China has offered a new and closer look at the catapults on its newest aircraft carrier, the Fujian. We also now have what appears to be the first look inside the retractable enclosed control station built into the flight deck that catapult officers on the ship will use to launch planes.
China

New Chinese Aircraft Carrier’s Catapult Control ‘Bubble’ Looks Very Familiar

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 11, 2024

It’s the turn of the Royal Australian Navy to provide us with a spectacular view of airborne infrared countermeasures in action, with a recent video showing a demonstration by one of its MH-60R Seahawk multi-mission maritime helicopters. In the past, TWZ has taken examined some remarkable air-launched countermeasures action, including extreme close-ups, mass drops, airshow routines, and flare ‘dumps’ from heavyweight transports. This may be the first time we’ve seen a helicopter perform this kind of pyrotechnical feat so close to a warship.
Australia

Australian MH-60R Helicopter Executes Stunning Flare Dump Off Stern Of Destroyer

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Sep 10, 2024

The head of the House Foreign Affairs Committe says he was told by Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the U.S. will give Ukraine the green light to use ATACMS in Russia.
Russia

Ukraine Using ATACMS Missiles To Strike Inside Russia Now On The Table

By Howard Altman

Posted on Sep 10, 2024

Captain of the USS Dwight D Eisenhower tells us what really went on during the ship's Red Sea combat cruise.
Red Sea

Carrier Captain In Combat: Our Video Interview With Christopher “Chowdah” Hill

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Sep 10, 2024

Ukraine has unleashed the heaviest drone attack so far against Moscow. The overnight raid on the Russian capital killed at least one person and caused widespread damage and disruption. The long-range strikes come as Ukrainian officials are increasingly frustrated by Western restrictions on using weapons that they have supplied to hit targets deep within Russia.
Russia

Moscow Hit By Unprecedented Ukrainian Drone Barrage

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Sep 10, 2024

The Piasecki Aircraft Corporation's Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System Demonstration Vehicle (ARES-DV), a vertical takeoff and landing capable tilt-rotor drone designed to carry interchangeable payload modules, has left the ground for the first time.
Drones

Tilt-Ducted Fan ARES Drone Designed To Carry Modular Payloads Has Finally Lifted Off

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 10, 2024

We have just gotten our clearest view so far of a Chinese J-20 stealth fighter powered by the definitive WS-15 domestically produced engines. While the appearance of the photo at this point raises a number of questions, it’s meanwhile clear that the significant shortcoming of the J-20 — its powerplant — appears to have now been addressed.
China

Our Best Look Yet At China’s J-20A Fighter With WS-15 Engines 

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Sep 9, 2024

JAS39C Gripen Ukraine
Ukraine

Sweden’s JAS-39 Gripen Fighters Still On The Table For Ukraine

By Howard Altman

Posted on Sep 9, 2024

The U.S. Army has renewed interest in new longer-range artillery shells, such as ramjet-powered types, following its axing of plans to buy a next-generation tracked self-propelled 155mm howitzer.
Procurement

Focus Grows On Longer-Range Artillery Shells After Army Axes Next-Gen Howitzer

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 9, 2024

Iranian-made Shahed-136 'Kamikaze' drone flies over the sky of Kermanshah, Iran on March 7, 2024. Iran fired over 100 drones and ballistic missiles on Saturday, April 13, 2024, in retaliation to an attack on a building attached to the country's consular annex in Damascus that killed the guards, and two generals of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on April 01, 2024. Iran has blamed Israel for the attack on April 5, 2024 in Tehran.
Baltic Sea

Russian Shahed Kamikaze Drone Crashes In Latvia

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Sep 9, 2024

Iranian ground-to-ground Sajil missile launches at an undisclosed location in Iran on November 12, 2008.
Iran

Iranian Ballistic Missiles Have Arrived In Russia: Reports

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Sep 7, 2024

The Control Room at the York Bunker which was used at the height of the Cold War following its construction in 1961. (Photo by John Giles - PA Images/PA Images 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 Sep 7, 2024

Navy Capt. Chris "Chowdah" Hill, commander of the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, opens up about the carrier group's recent dangerous and grueling deployment to the Middle East.
Red Sea

Carrier Captain In Combat: What Went On During 7 Months Under Fire Around The Red Sea

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Sep 7, 2024

A Boeing 737 carrying Senator J.D. Vance, former President Donald Trump's running mate for Vice President, and others, inadvertently intruded briefly into some of the most restricted airspace on the planet earlier this week as it left Washington, D.C.'s Reagan National Airport.
U.S. Homeland

J.D. Vance’s Campaign Jet Inadvertently Buzzed The Washington Monument

By Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman

Posted on Sep 6, 2024

F-16 belonging to VFC-13, flying over Carson Valley, NV.
Procurement

Navy Tried To Buy Greek F-16s To Turn Them Into Adversaries

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Sep 6, 2024

A video has emerged showing a Ukrainian Su-24M Fencer swing-wing combat jet carrying what is said to be new air-launched guided munition.
Russia

Mystery Munition Appears Under Ukrainian Su-24 Fencer Attack Jet’s Wing

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 6, 2024

Satellite imagery and videos offer new evidence of a surge in the development of the stealthy flying-wing uncrewed combat air vehicles in China, especially with regard to the GJ-11 Sharp Sword.
China

Chinese Flying Wing UCAV Testing Accelerating Based On Satellite Imagery, Videos

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 5, 2024

Dutch Decide To Bring Back Main Battle Tanks
Europe

Dutch Decide To Bring Back Main Battle Tanks

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Sep 5, 2024

The U.S. Space Force second-in-command has provided updates on plans for the service’s introduction of space-based ground moving-target indicator and air moving-target indicator (GMTI/AMTI) capabilities.
U.S. Homeland

U.S. To Track Moving Air And Ground Targets Via Space By 2030, But Aircraft Will Still Play A Part

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Sep 5, 2024

The use of thermite-dispersing drones by Ukraine has proliferated.
Ukraine

Thermite-Spewing ‘Dragon’ Drones Are Ukraine’s Newest Battlefield Innovation

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Sep 4, 2024

The U.S. Air Force is re-examining the very core of its requirements for a new sixth-generation stealth combat jet as part of its ongoing review of that element of the larger Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) initiative.
U.S. Homeland

Air Force “Starting At The Beginning” With NGAD 6th Gen Fighter Requirements Review

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 4, 2024

Kursk incursion a bargainin chip says Zelensky
Russia

Kursk Invasion A Bargaining Chip Zelensky Says

By Howard Altman

Posted on Sep 4, 2024

Above All Else JASSM Would Give Ukraine A Steady Supply Of Cruise Missiles
Ukraine

Above All Else JASSM Would Give Ukraine A Steady Supply Of Cruise Missiles

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Sep 3, 2024

Ukraine has developed a balloon-carried electronic warfare system designed to detect enemy drone operators, which can then be targeted, offering a more comprehensive solution than tackling individual drones. While the status of the system, known as Aero Azimuth, is unclear, its unveiling points to a resurgence in interest in elevated sensors, especially mounted of aerostats.
Ukraine

Balloon-Based Sensor That Pinpoints Location Of Drone Operators Emerges In Ukraine

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Sep 3, 2024

The U.S. Air Force recently awarded contracts to two companies for work on SHARK 'buddy store' podded aerial refueling systems able to work with aircraft that use the boom method to get gas in flight.
Drones

Aerial Refueling Boom Pods That Could Go On F-15s In The Works

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 3, 2024

Ukraine is advancing slowly eastward to a key town in Russia's Kursk Oblast
Russia

Ukraine Pushing Slowly West In Russia Towards Key Kursk City

By Howard Altman

Posted on Aug 31, 2024

AC-130
Indo-Pacific

The Future Of The AC-130 Gunship: Evolve Or Die

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Aug 31, 2024

Families walk down the driveway while touring a model site home with a concrete basement fallout shelter, Texas, 1961. Photo by Shel Hershorn/Getty Images.
Bunker Talk

Bunker Talk: Labor Day Weekend Edition

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Aug 31, 2024

The War Zone delved into the digital engineer and advanced manufacturer techniques behind the stealthy Model 437 Vanguard aircraft, and more, an interview with Colin Miller, Vice President for Engineering within Northrop Grumman's aeronautics sector.
U.S. Homeland

Everything We Just Learned About The Model 437 Vanguard Technology Demonstrator Jet

By Tyler Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Aug 30, 2024

Alternatively known as the Y-9LG, the Y-8GX-12 is another ECM version based on the Y-8 Category III Platform. It was first identified in satellite imagery in late 2017. Surprisingly, considering its assumed role, the Y-8GX-12 has a ‘balance beam’ radar antenna above its fuselage, as found on the KJ-200 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. It is believed, however, that the radar aboard the Y-8GX-12 is instead used for long-range jamming, using its powerful electronically scanned radar beams to suppress enemy radar signals.
South China Sea

Our Best Look Yet At China’s New Standoff Electronic Warfare Plane

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Aug 30, 2024

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky fired his Air Force commander days after a fatal F-16 crash.
Russia

Zelensky Fires Air Force Commander As Claims Swirl Around Fatal F-16 Loss

By Howard Altman

Posted on Aug 30, 2024

Russian troops are now eight miles from the key Ukrainian logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
Russia

Fall Of Key Ukrainian City To Russia Could Be An “Operational Catastrophe”

By Howard Altman

Updated on Aug 30, 2024

India has reportedly introduced to service its second nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, or SSBN, INS Arighat, marking a significant development in the country’s burgeoning strategic nuclear capability. The new submarine, armed with indigenously developed ballistic missiles, is understood to incorporate improvements over its predecessor, although India’s SSBN fleet, and its nuclear forces in general, continue to be hugely outstripped by those of China, its main strategic rival.
India

India’s Improved Nuclear Ballistic Missile Submarine Enters Service

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Aug 29, 2024

U.S. Army Green Berets covertly hijacking a WiFi network to disable a building's security systems so their companions can sneak inside, grab intel, and leave after using electronic warfare gear to conceal they were ever there sounds like the opening scene to a Mission Impossible movie or Call of Duty video game. Very real Army Special Forces soldiers executed this exact scenario during a training exercise in Sweden earlier this year.
Cyber Warfare

Green Berets Hijacked WiFi To Control Home Security System Then Vanish In Mock Raid

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Aug 29, 2024

The first known prototype of the Model 437 from Northrop Grumman subsidiary Scaled Composites has flown.
U.S. Homeland

Stealthy High-Tech Model 437 Vanguard Jet Has Flown For The First Time (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Aug 29, 2024

Ukraine lost its third F-16 Viper, however the pilot survived.
Ukraine

Ukrainian Pilot Killed In First F-16 Loss

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Aug 29, 2024

The U.S. Coast Guard's heavy icebreaker USCGC Polar Star has returned to its home port of Seattle, Washington, after a major service life-extending overhaul – and not a moment too soon.
China

U.S. Coast Guard Has A Working Heavy Icebreaker Again

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Aug 29, 2024

Ukraine is targeting the Key E38 highway with drones to slow down Russian logistics.
Russia

Ukraine Bracketing Key Kursk Highway With Drones To Slow Russian Logistics

By Howard Altman

Posted on Aug 29, 2024

A new photo has emerged of China’s mysterious stealthy Chinese corvette or light frigate, an intriguing design, with apparent low-observable features, which you can read more about here. In fact, the latest photo raises more questions than it answers, in particular the presumed HQ-10 surface-to-air missile launcher at the rear of the vessel apparently being something else entirely.
China

Our Best Look At China’s Stealthy Experimental Corvette

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Aug 28, 2024

Ukraine struck Russia's Kirov Oblast, 700 miles from the border, for the first time as part of its ongoing campaign against Moscow's fuel infrastructure.
Russia

Russian Region 700 Miles From The Border Struck For First Time By Ukrainian Drones

By Howard Altman

Posted on Aug 28, 2024

The U.S. Army has awarded a massive contract valued at close to $1 billion to AeroVironment for Switchblade-series loitering munitions, also known as kamikaze drones, over the next five years.
Drones

Army Just Signed $1B Deal For Massive Order Of Switchblade Kamikaze Drones

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Aug 28, 2024

Poland’s first F-35A stealth fighter — locally named Husarz, or hussar — was officially rolled out today in a glitzy ceremony at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas plant.
Eastern Europe

Poland’s First F-35A “Hussar” Stealth Fighter Rolled Out

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Aug 28, 2024

Saab Gets Big XM919 Shoulder-Fired Anti-Armor Launcher Order From The U.S. Army (Updated)
Procurement

Saab Gets Big XM919 Shoulder-Fired Anti-Armor Launcher Order From The U.S. Army (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Aug 28, 2024

Ukraine's invasion of Kursk Oblast has entered its third week
Russia

Pace of Ukraine Advance Slowing As Kursk Invasion Hits Three-Week Mark

By Howard Altman

Posted on Aug 27, 2024

Thailand looks to have provided the Saab Gripen E/F program with a major vote of confidence, with reports that its air force has selected the Swedish-made jet as its next fighter. While the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) already operates earlier Gripen C/D aircraft, the Gripen E/F brings with it significant advances in capability, the extent of which make it almost an entirely new aircraft compared to its predecessor.
Indo-Pacific

Thailand Chooses Gripen E/F As Its New Fighter

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Aug 27, 2024

Not for the first time, the commitment of the United Kingdom to the F-35B Lightning stealth fighter is under scrutiny, amid reports that the new government could make cuts to it as it grapples with financial woes. With the British government seemingly committed to the next-generation Tempest fighter, the ability to pay for two separate advanced combat aircraft programs is being questioned, while continued problems integrating new weapons on the F-35B also pose a threat to its long-term security.
United Kingdom

United Kingdom’s F-35B Fleet Plans Under Threat As Defense Cuts Loom

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Aug 27, 2024