Read the latest articles from The War Zone (Page 27)

U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) recently awarded a contract for new rifles chambered to fire the 6.5mm Creedmoor round to Lewis Machine & Tool (LMT).
Assault Rifles

New Rifles Chambered In 6.5mm Creedmoor Heading To U.S. Special Operations Armories

The new Mid-Range Gas Gun-Assault will give U.S. special operators a rifle option for greater reach, accuracy, and ballistic performance.

A suspected Ukrainian drone explosion in Estonia highlights growing concerns about long-range weapons raising the danger of collateral damage outside the war zone.
Unmanned

Stray Drone Striking Estonia Highlights Dangers Of Rapidly Expanding Long-Range War

Longer-range weapons and far more frequent attacks increase the risk that those weapons stray outside the conflict zone.

Ice buildup in the landing gear of a U.S. Air Force F-35A was the root cause of a crash at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska in January, according to a recently released report on the mishap.
F-35A

Dramatic F-35 Crash At Alaskan Air Base Caused By Iced-Up Landing Gear

Ice in the F-35's landing gear led the jet's flight computer to think it was on the ground when it wasn't.

A short-range air defense (SHORAD) vehicle that can be loaded with up to 96 small interceptors at a time has been spotted amid ongoing preparations for a huge Chinese military parade in the country's capital, Beijing, next week.
Counter-Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (C-UAS)

Check Out China’s Short-Range Air Defense Vehicle Capable Of Packing A Whopping 96 Mini Interceptors

The FK-3000 offers big point air defense capacity in a self contained, highly-mobile package.

Three nozzle binding incidents have cost the Air Force nearly $27 million.
KC-46

KC-46’s Refueling Boom “Nozzle Binding” Issues Are Costing The USAF Tens Of Millions In Damage

The KC-46 continues to expand its role, but its many unresolved issues vex the fleet, with stiff boom and other maladies causing problems.

Washington has approved the transfer of thousands of Extended Range Attack Munitions (ERAM) to Ukraine, which will provide the country with a powerful new and relatively low-cost standoff strike capability, it has been reported. However, it’s unclear whether Kyiv will be able to use the new air-launched weapon to strike targets deep within Russia, with unnamed U.S. officials telling the Wall Street Journal that these are off-limits, at least for the U.S.-donated Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS).
Ukrainian Air Force

Ukraine Will Receive First Of Thousands Of New U.S. Made Standoff Missiles In The Coming Weeks

Intended to be relatively cheap and quick to produce, the Pentagon’s Extended Range Attack Munition will give Ukraine a major standoff strike boost.

U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Daniel Cheever, commonly referred to as the service's "Air Boss," is still "eagerly awaiting" a new F/A-XX next-generation carrier-based fighter despite the uncertainty now swirling around that program.
F/A-XX

F/A-XX Next Generation Naval Fighter Selection Could Still Happen

The Navy's Air Boss says he is still "eagerly awaiting" a decision about moving ahead with F/A-XX.

The Air Force Global Strike Command has reinstated the M18 pistol after a pause following the death of an airman.
U.S. Army

Sig M18 Pistol Returned To Service By Air Force Global Strike Command

Use of the Sig Sauer M18 pistol was paused after the death of an Airman at F.E. Warren Air Force Base.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense has said it will seek to buy two more Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tankers from the United States, as it invests in its fleet of inflight refueling tankers, heavily utilized in the recent campaign against Iran, as well as for other long-range combat missions. While Israel has already committed to buying four KC-46s, it currently relies on a dwindling fleet of veteran Boeing 707 tankers. The 12-day war against Iran earlier this year, in particular, led to questions about Israeli Air Force (IAF) aerial refueling capacity and the U.S. government was forced to deny that it had provided additional tanker support for the operation.
KC-46

Israel Wants More KC-46 Pegasus Tankers To Boost Overworked Aerial Refueling Fleet

Israel is stepping up its procurement of KC-46s after a campaign of long-range strikes on Iran that relied heavily on its geriatric 707 tankers.

GREAT FALLS, MONTANA, 2014 - Missile combat crew member 1st Lt. Katie Grimley slides a large floppy disk into a 60's era communication module inside the launch control center of a missile alert facility at Malmstrom Air Force Base. The U.S. govt. is embarking on a $400 billion modernization to its nuclear weapons arsenal. (Photo by Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Bunker Talk

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

Bust out the Monopoly, sh@t's about to get real...

Naval aviators need to be able to trust any future drone wingmen as much as their human counterparts, a U.S. Navy strike fighter tactics instructor has told TWZ.
Loyal Wingman

Navy Fighter Pilots Need To Gain Trust In Pilotless Wingmen By Actually Flying With Them

A Navy strike fighter instructor says naval aviators will need a lot more than virtual training to have faith in their new drone companions.

Columbia lost a UH-60 to a drone attack.
UH-60

Colombian Black Hawk Downed By Drone Is A Glimpse Of What’s To Come (Updated)

Easy to access and employ, weaponized drones pose a rapidly increasing threat to combat helicopters around the globe.

The Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has shared new insights with TWZ into its proposal to replace the U.S. Navy’s T-45 Goshawk jet trainers.
T-45

Everything We Just Learned About SNC’s Freedom Jet Trainer Aiming To Replace Navy T-45s

The Freedom uses a pair of commercially available FJ44 engines and was designed to balance extreme efficiency against raw performance.

Newly published footage shows an ADM-160 Miniature Air Launched Decoy (MALD) fitted to a Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 Flanker fighter. The video confirms that the store is used by both this and Ukraine’s MiG-29 Fulcrum jets and also that it is carried on the same specially adapted underwing pylon that is used for various Western-supplied guided munitions.
Su-27

Ukraine Shows Off ADM-160 Miniature Air Launched Decoy On Su-27

The rarely seen but highly valuable MALD helps Ukrainian-operated standoff weapons like Storm Shadow make it to their targets.

The U.S. Navy says the impacts from a fire that burned for approximately 12 hours aboard the USS New Orleans earlier this week are limited to forward areas of the ship, though a full assessment of the damage is still ongoing.
U.S. Navy

New Details On Status Of USS New Orleans After Fire

The amphibious warship USS New Orleans is now in port after suffering a 12-hour-long blaze off the coast of Japan.

The Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has rolled out a new pitch for a successor to the Navy's T-45 Goshawk jet trainers.
T-45

SNC’s Freedom Jet Enters Race To Replace Navy’s T-45 Goshawk Trainer

SNC is pitching a trainer that is capable of doing carrier touch-and-goes, a requirement the Navy had controversially axed.

A former high-ranking FAA and White House official offers his take on the Jersey Drone scare.
Drones

What Were The New Jersey Drones? Former High-Ranking FAA Official Gives His Take

A former UAP Task Force Member and high-ranking National Security Council official tells us what he knows about the New Jersey drone scare.

Ukraine is hoping to see production of its Flamingo ground-launched long-range cruise missile, which just broke cover this past weekend, ramp up significantly by the end of the year.
Ukraine

Ukraine Aims To Build Thousands Of Flamingo Long-Range Cruise Missiles A Year

The new Flamingo cruise missile could put targets deep in Russia in Ukraine's crosshairs like never before.

S-97 Raider clone flying in China
Helicopters

China Has Cloned Sikorsky’s S-97 Raider High-Speed Helicopter

China's new helicopter with its coaxial main rotors and pusher propeller looks almost identical to the U.S.-made Sikorsky S-97 Raider.

Destroyers heading to Venezuela
U.S. Navy

U.S. Navy Destroyers, Submarine, Amphibious Ships Being Sent Toward Venezuela

The White House calls Venezuelan ruler Maduro a "narco-terrorist" and is deploying ships, planes and Marines in a major show of force.