Read the latest articles from The War Zone (Page 39)

The first two American F-35A Lightning II fighter jets land in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, on May 23, 2016. The F-35 program is an international effort where the United States works with eight other partner nations, including the Netherlands, to design and develop the F-35.
F-35A

Dutch F-35s Provide Targeting For Rocket Artillery

Dutch F-35s recently used a new system called Keystone to provide targeting data to cue Israeli-made artillery.

Defiant Drone Ship Gets Closer To Months-Long DARPA At Sea Demonstration
U.S. Navy

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

USX-1 Defiant, which will sail without humans onboard and is designed for mass production, is undergoing trials ahead of its long-endurance cruise.

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.
C-17

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

Alarm bells grow louder in regard to major deficiencies in sustained U.S. military logistics support needed for a Pacific fight.

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.
U.S. Navy

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

The late and over-budget Constellation class design is still in flux, with only 15% commonality with the frigate it's based on, not 85% as planned.

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.
French Air Force

Deeply Upgraded Mirage 2000DRMV Strike Jet Enters French Service

A workhorse of the French Air and Space Force, the modernized Mirage 2000D is set to serve with new weapons until at least 2035.

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

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

General highlights how drones and small guided munitions are about to give each Marine exponentially more reach than the traditional rifle.

Satellite imagery has confirmed the presence of the Su-35 Flanker-M multirole fighter in Algerian service, indicating that at least some of these aircraft have been transferred to the country, a new customer for the type. The Su-35 is almost certainly from a batch of aircraft originally built for Egypt, but never delivered, and then repeatedly connected with a sale to Iran. Algeria had also previously been reported as the first export customer for the Su-57 Felon next-generation fighter, as you can read about here.
Flankers

Su-35s Once Expected To Arm Iran Are Now In Algeria

Originally built for Egypt, the Su-35s now being transferred to Algeria had long been expected to bolster Iran’s decrepit air arm.

M346N Navy trainer
Flight Training

M-346N Pitched To Replace Navy’s T-45 Goshawk Jet Trainers

The Navy has meanwhile decided that its new jet trainer will not have to operate from aircraft carriers.

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.
Infrared Search And Track

Infrared Seeker For APKWS Guided 70mm Rockets Unveiled

Adding infrared guidance to APKWS II rockets allows for multiple targets to be engaged more rapidly, especially in the air-to-air role.

For Lockheed Martin, combining PAC-3 MSE with the Mk 41 presents a potential way to break Raytheon’s long-standing lock on naval missile sales.
U.S. Navy

Patriot PAC-3 Missile Puts Crosshairs On Replacing Navy’s Long-Serving SM-2

Putting the proven PAC-3 MSE missile on warships could fill a notable niche, and possibly a looming supply gap, in the Navy’s layered air defenses.

A senior Navy aviation officer says the three-month-long grounding of virtually all Osprey tiltrotors worldwide following the fatal crash of a U.S. Air Force CV-22B off the coast of Japan in 2023 sent serious ripples through his service.
C-2

CMV-22 Grounding Was “Wakeup Call” For Navy, Stakes Higher With C-2 Gone Next Year

The Navy says it is confident in the CMV-22B to provide critical support to carriers at sea, but that its readiness and reliability need to be improved.

Shield AI V-BAT
Drones

MQ-35 V-BAT’s Capabilities Grow, Micro Guided Munitions Coming Next Year

The combat-proven V-BAT can take off and land virtually anywhere and does the job of larger aircraft. Now it's getting a slew of major enhancements.

200925-N-PL200-0001 PHILIPPINE SEA (Sept. 25, 2020) From left, USNS Sacagawea (T-AKE 2), USS Germantown (LSD 42), USNS John Ericsson (T-AO 194), USS Antietam (CG 54), USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), USS America (LHA 6), USS Shiloh (CG 67), USS New Orleans (LPD 18), and USS Comstock (LSD 45) steam in formation while E/A-18G Growlers, FA-18E Super Hornets and an E-2D Hawkeye from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 fly over in support of Valiant Shield 2020. Valiant Shield is a U.S. only, biennial field training exercise (FTX) with a focus on integration of joint training in a blue-water environment among U.S. forces. This training enables real-world proficiency in sustaining joint forces through detecting, locating, tracking and engaging units at sea, in the air, on land and in cyberspace in response to a range of mission areas. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Lauren Chatmas)
U.S. Navy

Navy Is About To Go Big On Massive Joint War Training Across The Pacific

Huge exercises will stress test U.S. armed forces and they will also reveal what requirements are most pressing to make such a massive joint fight a reality.

Ongoing work on the U.S. Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) tiltrotor is helping the U.S. Navy refine its next-generation Future Vertical Lift-Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) plans.
MV-22

Navy MH-60 Seahawk Replacement Will Leverage Army’s Future Vertical Lift Tiltrotor Plans

The Navy's Future Vertical Lift-Maritime Strike family of systems plan also puts major emphasis on new vertical takeoff and landing drones.

CCAs and super hornet
Loyal Wingman

Navy Won’t Scramble To Field Loyal Wingman Drones Like The Air Force

The admiral in charge of the Navy's Air Warfare Division made it clear his service is taking a wait and see approach to Collaborative Combat Aircraft.

The U.S. Navy expects its future F/A-XX sixth-generation stealth fighters to offer just a 25 percent increase in range over the existing tactical combat jets in its carrier air wings.
MQ-25

F/A-XX Will Have Just 25% More Range Than Existing Navy Fighters

FA-XX will have much less range than some may have hoped for, even though extending the carrier strike group's reach is a top Navy priority.

General Atomics has officially unveiled the new Bullseye standoff precision-guided missile that it’s now working with alongside Israeli defense contractor Rafael. The new weapon leverages Rafael’s existing Ice Breaker missile and is being offered to the U.S. military — and allies — at a time when the Pentagon, in particular, is increasingly focused on procuring affordable standoff weapons that can be rapidly produced en masse, for future contingencies, especially in the Indo-Pacific theater,
Air-To-Ground

Bullseye Standoff Weapon Based On Israeli Cruise Missile Unveiled By General Atomics

The Bullseye standoff precision-guided missile is being offered to the U.S. military as a lower-cost weapon that can be quickly manufactured at scale.

MQ-25 has a lot of potential beyond it's core tanker mission.
MQ-25

MQ-25 Stingray’s Extreme Range Gives It Massive Potential Far Beyond A Tanker

The MQ-25's very long endurance outside of the tanking mission is unprecedented for a carrier-based aircraft and its impact could be far reaching.

J-36 flies over highway
J-36

China’s J-36 Tailless Fighter Zips Over Road On Landing Giving Us Our Best Look Yet

A motorist captured the close-quarters video of the stealthy three-engine heavy tactical jet on approach to its home airfield in Chengdu.

Anduril has rolled out a new family of modular torpedo-like uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUV) called Copperhead.
Submarines

Copperhead Torpedo-Like Underwater Kamikaze Drones Rolled Out By Anduril

Copperheads are designed for low cost and can be configured for other missions, with an eye toward launching from larger submarine drones.