Read the latest articles from The War Zone (Page 35)

The U.S. Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) tiltrotors will be designated MV-75s, the service announced today at the Army Aviation Association of America's annual Mission Solutions Summit.
FLRAA

MV-75 Official Designation Given To Future U.S. Army Tiltrotor Assault Aircraft (Updated)

The Army is now pushing to speed up delivery of its baseline MV-75s, with special operations versions also on the horizon.

The future of the Navy NGAD crewed aircraft program remains in limbo.
Loyal Wingman

Fate Of Navy’s F/A-XX Future Fighter Is In Limbo (Updated)

Major delays could be on the horizon for the F/A-XX stealth fighter, which the Navy wants to replace its aging Super Hornets and Growlers.

F-35 was nearly downed by Houthi air defenses.
F-16

How The Houthis’ Rickety Air Defenses Threaten Even The F-35

Highly mobile Houthi SAM systems and ones that use passive infrared sensors present a vexing problem for even advanced U.S. combat aircraft.

F-47 has a range of 1,000+ nautical miles.
F-47

F-47 Now Has An Officially Stated Combat Radius Of 1,000+ Nautical Miles

We have gotten our first official basic specifications for the Air Force's Next Generation F-47 fighter and its accompanying drones.

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.
F-35

F-35 Had To Maneuver To Evade Houthi Surface-To-Air Missile: U.S. Official

The incident took place during Operation Rough Rider, the enhanced bombing campaign against the Houthis launched by Trump on March 15.

Russia is taking a page out of Ukraine's play book and creating Naval drone regiments
Russian Navy

Ukraine Situation Report: Russian Navy Creating New Drone Regiments In Wake Of Enemy Successes

The Russian Navy is applying lessons learned from Ukraine's multi-pronged drone campaigns to reinvent parts of its own force.

Ukraine has, apparently for the first time, released a video showing its use of the Soviet-era S-200 (SA-5 Gammon) long-range surface-to-air missile, a weapon that was apparently reinstated to service only after the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022.
Air

Our Best Look At Ukraine’s Reactivated S-200 Long-Range Surface-To-Air Missiles In Action

Ukraine’s shadowy SA-5 Gammon surface-to-air missile systems have been connected with some high-profile Russian aircraft shootdowns.

General Atomics Long shot drone.
Loyal Wingman

Air-Launched ‘Fighter Drone’ Collaborative Combat Aircraft Being Eyed By Air Force

Air-launching Collaborative Combat Aircraft could reduce runway dependence and open up new tactical dilemmas for the enemy, but there are also drawbacks.

Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt General Rajiv Ghai with Air Marshal AK Bharti, Vice Admiral AN Pramod during a press conference on 'Operation Sindoor' at National Media Centre, on May 12, 2025 in New Delhi, India. Senior officers from the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force addressed the nation, revealing details of Operation Sindoor, a coordinated military strike carried out on May 7 targeting terror bases in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Punjab province. Officers confirmed that over 100 terrorists were killed during the operation. The strikes were launched in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 people.
Indian Air Force

Claims Swirl As India And Pakistan Assess Results Of Latest Conflict

Both sides are proclaiming the successes of their respective militaries as the dust settles on a brief but intense conflict.

U.S. President Donald Trump again justified accepting a gifted 747-8 from Qatar to serve as a temporary Air Force One, but can it meet safety and security requirements?
Air Force One

Turning Qatar’s Gifted 747 Into Air Force One Will Be Anything But Free

Trump rightly said only "a stupid person" would turn down the free Qatari jet, but transforming it into Air Force One for a few years of service doesn't appear realistic.

KC-130T Hercules tanker/transports belonging to the U.S. Navy's Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 30 (VX-30), the “Bloodhounds,” are gaining the ability to link up to the Starlink satellite constellation to help with long-range missile and other test work out in the Pacific.
KC-130

Starlink-Equipped Navy C-130s Offer Communication Boost For Pacific Missile Tests

KC-130Ts with Starlink will get test data where it needs to go rapidly, a new example of the military's growing use of commercial satellite constellations.

TOPSHOT - An employee handles 155 mm caliber shells after the manufacturing process at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant (SCAAP) in Scranton, Pennsylvania on April 16, 2024. In brick buildings that are more than a century old, nearly in the heart of Joe Biden's Rust Belt hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, dated machinery churns artillery for modern conflicts, especially the war in Ukraine. The Scranton Army Ammunition Plant (SCAAP) is making steel tubes for 155 mm caliber shells, which are crucial to Kyiv's efforts to face down Moscow's invasion. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP) (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
Cannons

Shell Game: Inside The Worldwide TNT Shortage

We talk to a major U.S. artillery shell maker about how ongoing conflicts have severely strained the global supply of critical explosive compounds.

Ukraine’s military intelligence service has released details of a new Russian cruise missile, the S8000 Banderol, which it claims makes extensive use of components sourced from foreign manufacturers, including in the United States. Unusually, the missile was apparently developed for launch from drones and has reportedly already been used in combat in the war in Ukraine.
Russian Air Force

New Small Russian Cruise Missile Captured By Ukrainian Intelligence

Lightweight, low cost, and reportedly full of foreign components, Russia's Banderol cruise missile has emerged on the battlefield in Ukraine.

BRDY MILITARY BASE, CZECH REPUBLIC - MARCH 28: A part of the abandoned bunker complex that formerly belonged to the Soviet military on the Brdy reservation near Mirosov on March 28, 2007 near Plzen, Czech Republic. The site which was visited by US experts, may become the new location of an American radar installation that will be used for the pupose of anti-missile defense. (Photo by Kurt Vinion/Getty Images)
Bunker Talk

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

That's not snow pal...

Chinese-Made PL-15 Air-To-Air Missile Components Came Down Intact Inside India
Air-To-Air

Chinese-Made PL-15 Air-To-Air Missile Components Came Down Intact Inside India

Pakistani use of PL-15Es against Indian fighters opens up a new vector for intelligence exploitation on one of China's most threatening missiles.

The U.S. Air Force’s new Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones are being developed around fundamentally different understandings of maintenance, logistics, and sustainment, with a heavier focus on commercial-off-the-shelf components, than the service’s existing crewed and uncrewed platforms.
Loyal Wingman

USAF Wants Collaborative Aircraft Fleet To Stress Parts Commonality For Forward Operations

In order to make CCA work, a high degree of component commonality needs to exist even across drastically different airframes.

Two new drone designs, Apollo and Athena, are in development at Kratos with a particular focus on collaborative operations with other crewed and uncrewed aircraft, and an eye toward sales in Europe.
Loyal Wingman

Two Secretive Loyal Wingman Drones Aimed At European Market In Development From Kratos

Apollo and Athena drones will focus on performance over range, and could be very valuable when paired with third and fourth generation fighters.

AV introduced its new Kraken3 uncrewed surface vessel at the SOF Week conference in Tampa
Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs)

New Drone Boat Unveiled At Special Operations Conference In Afterglow Of Ukrainian Success

The Kraken3 Scout Medium is designed for one-way attacks, counter-drone missions and cargo and personnel delivery.

The U.S. Army has incorporated special operations-specific requirements into the design of its Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) tiltrotor, which has led to an unspecified increase in gross weight.
160th SOAR "Nightstalkers"

Army’s Future Tiltrotor Gets Heavier So It Can Rapidly Convert Into Special Ops Variant

Turning UH-60s into Night Stalker MH-60s is a complicated process, and the hope is to avoid that with the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft.

Satellite imagery indicates that there are now 10 U.S. heavy bombers – six stealthy B-2s and four B-52s – on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
B-2

B-52s Join B-2s On Diego Garcia,10 Bombers Now At Indian Ocean Island

This is the most bombers seen at Diego Garcia for many years, but it's very likely that at least some of the B-2s will rotate back home soon.