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A portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is pictured with its frame broken, in a Syrian regime's Political Security Branch facility on the outskirts of the central city of Hama, following the capture of the area by anti-government forces, on December 7, 2024. Syria's embattled government said on December 7 it was setting up a ring of steel around Damascus, state media reported, as rebels on a lightning advance said they were bearing down on the city. The leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist group which has headed the assault, told fighters to prepare to take Damascus, just over a week into a renewed offensive in the long dormant conflict. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images)
Iran

The Assad Regime Has Fallen, Claims Swirl Around Possible Crash Of His Escape Jet (Updated)

In a stunning 12-day blitz, anti-regime forces have ousted Bashar al-Assad from Syrian rule.

Storage-tunnel for nuclear missiles at an abandoned soviet military in Brandenburg State, Germany
Bunker Talk

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

Better late than never!

The USS Zumwalt's hypersonic missile launchers are now installed.
U.S. Navy

USS Zumwalt Returns To The Water With A Hypersonic Missile Launcher Upgrade

It's hoped that the tiny and hugely expensive Zumwalt class might find new utility with its hypersonic missile launch capability.

F-35 CCA under trump admin
F-35

Former Trump Acting SECDEF Talks About The Future Of Big Ticket Defense Programs

Chris Miller offered some insights into how the next Trump administration could approach defense procurement.

Gen. Bussiere said the number and speed of delivery of the B-21 is a “valid discussion” to have “based on the age of the B-1 and B-2” and the advancing strategic capabilities of Russia and China.
B-21

B-21 Raider Numbers Could Be Boosted With Existing Production Capacity

As the Air Force grapples with questions over B-21 force size, the head of Global Strike Command says the capacity exists to ramp up production.

Homs, Syria.s third-largest city, is close to being captured by rebels opposed to Bashar Al-Assad.
Iran

Syrian Rebels Closing In On Homs, Cutting Off Damascus From Coast An Imminent Possibility (Updated)

Homs is the last major city on anti-Assad forces' road to Damascus and its capture would put them 75 miles north of the city.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised the possibility of forward deploying new conventionally-armed Oreshnik missiles capable of carrying multiple warheads in neighboring Belarus in the latter half of next year.
MRBMs/IRBMs

Experimental Ballistic Missile Russia Used On Ukraine Could Be Headed To Belarus

The broader ramifications of the secretive Oreshnik missile only continue to grow after its emergence in an unprecedented attack on Ukraine.

5 inch Mark 45 deck gun firing.
U.S. Navy

USS Carney’s Red Sea Operations Highlight 5-inch Deck Gun’s Anti-Air Capability

USS Carney executed a whopping 51 engagements of Houthi drones and missiles during its deployment to the Red Sea.

The Pentagon has released a summary of a new classified strategy to guide efforts to protect American forces abroad and across the U.S. homeland from growing drone threats.
Unmanned

This Is The New ‘Counter-Drone Strategy’ Just Unveiled By Pentagon

The new Pentagon strategy is an important acknowledgment of growing drone threats, but also highlights long-standing lag in addressing them.

Ngad punted to trump adminstration
NGAD

Future Of NGAD Fighter Punted To Trump Administration

While the Air Force continues its deep review into the NGAD future crewed fighter, a final decision on its fate will be taken by the Trump administration.

An anti-government fighter remotely fires rockets against regime forces, in the northern outskirts of Syria's west-central city of Hama on December 4, 2024. Syrian government forces pressed a counterattack against Islamist-led rebels around the key city of Hama on December 4 after suffering a string of staggering losses further north, a war monitor said.
Iran

Anti-Assad Forces’ Capture Of Strategic Hama A Critical Stop On Road To Damascus

Hama, a critical post on the road to the Syrian capital, is the latest city to fall to the rebels’ fast-moving offensive.

Bell has released a rendering showing updated design concepts for vertical takeoff and landing-capable crewed and uncrewed aircraft that feature wingtip rotors that fold away during level flight.
Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC)

Revised Fold-Away Rotor Aircraft Concepts Emerge From Special Operations X-Plane Program

Fast-flying runway-independent aircraft with folding rotors, crewed and uncrewed, could perform more than just special operations missions.

Russia is massing for a possible attack across the Dnipro River to draw in Ukrainian troops.
Russia

Russia Massing For Possible Cross-River Offensive In South Ukraine

Ukraine Situation Report: Russia is increasing attacks across Dnipro River to draw Ukraine's troops away from other areas of the front.

A recent drill by the Russian Armed Forces in the Mediterranean has provided us with a more detailed view of the shadowy Zircon hypersonic missile, a weapon that has only been glimpsed in the past and shown up in the form of fragments after being combat tested in Ukraine. The maneuvers come as Russia’s position in Syria — home to its two major Mediterranean bases — increasingly looks to be under threat, as rebels continue their rapid advance south, threatening the rule of Bashar al-Assad, a key Kremlin ally.
Russian Navy

Our Best Look At Russia’s Shadowy Zircon Hypersonic Missile

The Russian Navy launched the Zircon cruise missile as part of a large-scale live-fire exercise in the Mediterranean.

Recent satellite imagery shows a curious white-colored object at the end of the runway at a remote airstrip in northwestern China.
X-37B

Mysterious Object Appears At Remote Chinese Airfield Linked To Spaceplane Program

The remote airstrip with one of the longest runways in the world is where at least one Chinese spaceplane flight looks to have concluded in 2020.

The Pentagon says more tests are required to verify that the 25mm automatic cannon mounted internally on the F-35A variant of the Joint Strike Fighter is indeed now an effective weapon.
F-35A

F-35A’s 25mm Gun Still Needs Tests To Verify It Works

The internal 25mm cannon on the F-35A has been beset by serious problems over the years that left it unable to shoot straight.

An advanced Russian air defense radar system is among the equipment captured by anti-regime forces in Syria as they continue their rapid push south, with the potential for serious repercussions in the wider region. The Podlet-K1 radar system, also known by the designation 48Ya6-K1, is one of the more modern pieces of equipment in its class and would be a significant intelligence windfall if it finds its way into Western hands.
S-300

Russia’s Advanced Podlet-1K Radar Captured By Anti-Assad Forces In Syria

Among many pieces of equipment now in anti-regime forces' hands, the modern air defense radar system may well be the most prized.

USS Boxer at sea. (U.S. Nav)
Amphibious Vehicles

The Navy’s Amphibious Fleet Is In Really Bad Shape

The 'Gator Navy' is facing a major readiness crisis with no near-term relief in sight, according to a scathing report from the Government Accountability Office.

Russian fighter base in Syria
Russian Air Force

Russia’s Prized Bases Along The Mediterranean In Syria Could Be At Risk

With Russia's resources being poured into its war in Ukraine, defending its naval base and airfield in Syria would be more of a challenge than three years ago.

The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) recently commissioned the first of its new KDX-III Batch 2 destroyers, also known as the Sejong Daewang class. Among the many advanced features incorporated in these warships, especially striking is the latest version of the Korean Vertical Launch System — KVLS-II — which is initially planned to hold surface-to-air missiles, but which could well also add land attack cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.
South Korea

South Korea’s New Destroyer Is Designed To Fire Ballistic Missiles

South Korea's Jeongjo the Great destroyer is the first of a group of warships fitted with supersized vertical launch system cells.