Read the latest articles from The War Zone (Page 109)

F-35Bs are armed on a flight line
F-35

F-35 Cleared For Full-Rate Production 17 Years After Its First Flight

The F-35 has been cleared for full-rate production, although there are lingering issues with preparations for its critical Block 4 upgrade.

CIWS costs $3,500 in ammo a second to fire
U.S. Navy

Phalanx CIWS Costs $3,500 Per Second In Ammo To Fire

The Navy's Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems spit out 75 tungsten-cored rounds every second at $46 a pop, which is still a comparative bargain.

Shahed-136 fitted with camera
Russia

Russian Shahed-136 With Camera, Cellular Modem Could Be A Big Problem For Ukraine

Giving Shaheds the ability to provide real-time visual intel deep inside Ukrainian territory would plug a notorious gap for Russian forces.

The Air Force says it will bring its Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon program later this year, but the service has refused to rule out future work on this or another similar hypersonic weapon design.
ARRW

Signs ARRW Hypersonic Missile Follow-On May Be In The Works

The Air Force is set to close out its Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon program this year, but a successor could be on the horizon.

There are now multiple reports of an attempted incursion into Russia from across the Ukrainian border. The Russian Ministry of Defense has said that its forces prevented the incursion, while at least two separate Ukraine-based groups have claimed responsibility for the operation: both the Freedom of Russia Legion and the Siberian Battalion claim to be made up of Russians opposed to the Kremlin.
Russia

Ukraine Situation Report: Claims Swirl Around Cross-Border Raids Into Russia

Pro-Ukraine forces claim they launched cross-border raids today, while Kyiv subjected Russian energy infrastructure to a major drone attack.

Replenishing Missiles Used To Down Houthi Threats Will Require Extra Funding
Israel

Replenishing Missiles Used To Down Houthi Threats Will Require Extra Funding

The Navy's need to restock missiles it has fired to protect ships in and around the Red Sea underscores larger cost and capacity concerns.

Russian SDB-like glide bomb appears in Ukraine.
Russian Air Force

Russian Small Diameter Bomb-Like Glide Weapon Appears In Ukraine

Russia appears to have introduced a small glide bomb that may be capable of air and ground launch, which could be a major issue for Ukraine.

The proposed Fiscal Year 2025 budgets for the US Air Force and US Navy contain significant developments for their respective sixth-generation combat jet programs.
F/A-XX

USAF Seeks NGAD Fighter Boost, Navy F/A-XX Investment Slows In New Budget

The Air Force and Navy appear to have prioritized their next generation fighter programs differently in the Pentagon's 2025 budget request.

Stratolaunch's Roc supporting the first powered flight of the company's TA-1 hypersonic vehicle.
Hypersonics Aircraft

Stratolaunch’s Hypersonic Talon-A Makes First Powered Flight

Launched from the company's giant Roc jet, Stratolaunch's Talon-A ignited its engine and rocketed off California's Coast for 200 seconds.

Kherson Russian Tanker blown up
Russia

Ukraine Situation Report: Grounded Ship Being Used As Russian Base Blown Up

The ship has an interesting past and had been sitting on the south bank of the Dnipro since the Nova Kakhovka Dam was destroyed.

The Air Force's proposed Fiscal Year 2025 budget includes a cut to the total planned size of the F-15EX fleet from 104 to 98 jets.
F-15

F-15EX Fleet To Be Cut Down To 98 Jets In New Air Force Budget

The USAF is still trying to get a handle on how many F-15EXs it actually wants, but how many it really needs is another question.

US and allied forces shot down at least 28 drones launched by Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen today.
Royal Navy

Red Sea Turkey Shoot: Allied Warships Down Dozens Of Drones Within Hours

Allied warships and aircraft repulsed a mass drone attack in the Red Sea, but it's still an ominous sign that the Houthis aren't backing down.

F-35 drops B61-12 during a test at Edwards AFB
F-35A

F-35A Is Officially Certified For Nuclear Strike

Confirmation that the F-35A is cleared to carry B61-12 nuclear bombs has come — a revelation that will complicate Russia's defensive planning.

The Pentagon has provided new details about a sensor system called Gremlin that it is developed specifically to collect data on so-called unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs.
U.S. Homeland

DoD To Deploy ‘Gremlin’ Sensors To Collect Intel On Unidentified Flying Objects

New deployable hyperspectral sensors will be able to collect data across multiple bands and help the military assess unidentified objects.

A photo taken on February 8, 2022 shows an underground passage in the former vault of the Bundesbank Bunker Museum in Cochem, western Germany. The Bundesbank Bunker was a bunker of the German Bundesbank in Cochem for the storage of an emergency currency. From 1964 to 1988, up to 15 billion marks were stored in the top-secret facility to protect Germany from a national economic crisis in the event of hyperinflation caused by the Cold War.
Bunker Talk

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

What's been on your mind?

A close-up shot of part of a T-72 tank track, produced by Cook Defence Systems
Cold War

Tank Museum In U.K. Playing Big Role In Keeping Ukraine’s Armor On Track

The Tank Museum has opened its archives to reverse-engineer Soviet-era tank and armored vehicle tracks in order to bolster Ukrainian stocks.

An intriguing video has been doing the rounds on social media recently, showing the wind-tunnel testing of a French future fighter concept, a tailless jet fitted with prominent leading-edge vortex controllers, or LEVCONs.
Su-57

Su-57 Felon Feature Appears On French Future Tailless Fighter Concept

Leading-edge vortex controllers, or LEVCONs are one option to boost the agility of a future European tailless combat aircraft.

Russia appears to have started using first-person view-type kamikaze drones using a physical control line instead of a wireless link.
Loitering Munitions

Russia Now Looks To Be Using Wire-Guided Kamikaze Drones In Ukraine

A drone with a wired control link would be immune to jamming, among other advantages, but this configuration could also present limitations.

The grounding of all US military V-22 Ospreys following a crash in November 2023 has been lifted.
CV-22

V-22 Osprey Finally Cleared To Fly After Three Month Grounding

The crash that led to the grounding is still under investigation and returning fully to regular V-22 operations will take time.

Expeditionary transfer docks and JLOTS could be used to support a Gaza mission but not with risks.
U.S. Navy

This Is How The U.S. Could Set Up A Gaza Beachhead, But Not Without Risks

The U.S. military has capabilities that could provide access to Gaza's coastline for aid transfers, but none are without significant risks.