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USS Harry Truman Was Evading Houthi Attack When F/A-18 Super Hornet Rolled Off Its Deck
Red Sea

USS Harry Truman Was Evading Houthi Attack When F/A-18 Super Hornet Rolled Off Its Deck

The F/A-18E's loss is the latest in a string of incidents to befall the Truman, including a collision and friendly fire shootdown, as combat ops grind on.

The U.S. Army could be in line to get nearly $640 million in extra funding for new medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM), including ones capable of hitting ships at sea.
U.S. Army

Bringing Back Medium Range Ballistic Missiles Fast Tracked Under Proposed $150B Defense Boost

Congress wants to speed up work on the Army's first MRBMs since the Cold War, which will offer new ways to strike land targets and ships.

The U.K. Royal Air Force officer in charge of defining requirements for the Tempest future fighter says the program’s top priority is a large payload — roughly twice that of the F-35A stealth fighter. The same officer is eyeing “really extreme range” for the new aircraft, with potentially enough internal fuel to fly across the Atlantic without refueling. These requirements provide some more idea about the size and capabilities of the sixth-generation stealth fighter and also parallel similar concerns that have driven the development of the U.S. Air Force’s Boeing F-47 under the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) initiative.
Royal Air Force

Tempest Future Fighter Aims For “Really Extreme Range,” Twice F-35 Payload

We're getting a clearer picture of what the Global Combat Air Program 'fighter' will be capable of, including acting as a flying computer server.

North Korea Frigate
Air

North Korea’s New Frigate Has Ballistic Missile Launchers

North Korea just unveiled its new air warfare frigate and the ship has a whopping 74 vertical launch cells, some of which could launch cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as SAMs.

Abandoned bunker on an abandoned soviet military ground in the forests of Brandenburg State, Germany. Rumors say, that this bunkers was also a storage for nuclear missiles.
Bunker Talk

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

Yikes! I think we need to change the air filter in here guys...

U.S. carrier-based F-35C Joint Strike Fighters have been shooting down Houthi drones in the course of recent operations over and around the Red Sea, in addition to striking targets in Yemen, according to a U.S. official.
F-35C

F-35C Naval Joint Strike Fighters Have Been Shooting Down Houthi Drones

F-35Cs are also striking targets in Yemen, with their stealth being of unique importance as the Houthi air defense threat comes into the spotlight.

Wreckage of a GBU-53/B StormBreaker glide bomb, also known as the Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II), has appeared in Yemen. The weapon, which was only recently confirmed as being used in combat, offers some notably advanced capabilities, especially over the GBU-39/B SDB I, and the technological risk of the remains of the still relatively intact weapon falling into an adversary’s hands are not insignificant.
Small Diameter Bomb (SDB)/Stormbreaker

StormBreaker Advanced Glide Bomb Lands In Yemen Largely Intact

The cutting-edge StormBreaker was only recently confirmed as being used in combat and could be of major intelligence value to an adversary.

We now have more clarity on the U.S. Air Force’s plans for its second tranche of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones, known as Increment 2. This includes the likelihood of a lower-cost CCA Increment 2 as well as the drone’s integration with assets in addition to fighters, including the B-21 stealth bomber and E-7 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft.
NGAD

Air Force’s Next Batch Of Collaborative Combat Drones Could Be Less ‘Exquisite,’ Cheaper

The Air Force also confirms it is looking at teaming CCAs with platforms other than fighters, including the B-21 stealth bomber and E-7 radar plane.

India and Pakistan are inching toward a conflict in the wake of a deadly terror attack in Kashmir.
India

India-Pakistan Tensions On Verge Of Erupting After Deadly Terror Attack

The two nuclear-armed nations last fought in 2019, with tit-for-tat airstrikes following another terror attack in Kashmir.

The U.S. Air Force is firmly of the view that its new F-47 6th generation stealth fighters are key to "how we win" in future fights, according to the service's top general in charge of force structure planning.
F-47

F-47 6th Generation Fighter Future Force Size Questions Emerge

How many F-47s the Air Force thinks it needs is an open question amid a changing vision of what achieving air superiority will entail.

New Views Of China’s Next Generation Fighters
J-20

New Views Of China’s Next Generation Fighters

We are seeing increasingly detailed imagery of Beijing's two new stealth fighter designs as other potential curious fighter-like objects have emerged out of China.

Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have put a huge strain on global TNT and propellant supplies.
Russia

Ukraine Situation Report: U.S. Peace Plan Stumbles After Tumultuous Day

Top U.S. diplomats pulled out of a peace conference today as Trump scolded Zelensky, and Vance made it clear that Ukraine will need to accept Russia's seizure of its land.

What actually are the Houthis' air defense capabilities? That's a clear question with at best a murky answer, but here is what we know.
Red Sea

What Air Defenses Do The Houthis In Yemen Actually Have?

The loss of nearly 20 MQ-9 Reapers, increasing use of standoff munitions, and the deployment of B-2 bombers point to the Houthis' air defenses being a real problem.

French Air and Space Force Rafale fighters from a nuclear-strike-tasked unit are among the aircraft taking part in a power-projection exercise including operations over Sweden, which joined NATO a little over a year ago. The latest edition of the Pégase (Pegasus) drill comes as European NATO members look at bolstering their nuclear deterrence capabilities independent of the United States, with France very much at the center of these discussions. Notably, the maneuvers are being also accompanied by an exercise in which French military aircraft were rapidly dispersed to alternative airfields, something that would be required in a large-scale conflict with Russia.
Rafale

French Rafale Fighters Project Power Forward To Sweden

For the first time, France is deploying Rafales, including nuclear-capable ones, on maneuvers in Sweden, while practicing the rapid dispersal of fighters on its own territory.

An AFRICOM airstrike on a boat smuggling advanced arms to al-Shabaab highlights the new authorities given to commanders.
Air-To-Ground

Rapid Strike On Smuggling Ship Off Africa Highlights Increased Authorities Given To Commanders

Giving military leaders in the field more agency to make critical decisions is an initiative of the new Trump administration.

An example of the Ukrainian BMP-55 heavy infantry fighting vehicle, a radically reworked T-55 tank converted to transport soldiers across the battlefield, has appeared somewhere in Ukraine. While it’s unclear when or where the imagery was taken, this seems to be the first time a BMP-55 has been sighted in an apparently operational context, with suggestions that only one example of these vehicles was ever completed making its appearance all the more remarkable.
Ukrainian Army

Extremely Rare Ukrainian Heavy Infantry Fighting Vehicle Appears On Battlefield

This may well be the only example of a BMP-55 heavy infantry fighting vehicle, based on a T-55 tank, to have been completed.

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-22

Giving F-35 “NASCAR Upgrade” Can Deliver 80% Of F-47 Capabilities At Half Cost: Lockheed

Lockheed doubles down on the Joint Strike Fighter after its F-47 loss with plans to inject 6th generation capabilities into the F-35's 'chassis.'

Northrop Grumman has blamed higher manufacturing costs for its B-21 Raider stealth bomber for a 49 percent drop in first-quarter profit. This is not the first financial hit for the B-21, with the manufacturer having disclosed a loss of nearly $1.2 billion on the program early last year. The latest news comes as U.S. Air Force officials state a need for 145 of the stealth bombers to cope with increasing threats to U.S. security.
B-21

Rising B-21 Raider Stealth Bomber Costs Hit Northrop Grumman

The firm says that the losses are front-loaded and the B-21 will be profitable once production hits high gear.

J-10C Egypt
MiG-29

China Deploys J-10 Fighters To Egypt

The air combat exercises between Egypt and China serve multiple purposes, but Beijing's eye on Africa is highlighted by the drills.

Naval Strike Missile launch from NMESIS
Air

USMC Anti-Ship Missile Deployment To Highly Strategic Luzon Strait Is Unprecedented

From the Batanes Islands, Naval Strike Missiles would be able to engage any surface vessel transiting the channel between Taiwan and the Philippines.