Read the latest articles from The War Zone (Page 66)

The Biden Administration will allow Ukraine to use ATACMS deep inside Russia.
North Korea

Ukraine Now Allowed To Use Long-Range Missiles Deep Into Russia: Reports

This represents a major policy change two months before Donald Trump takes office.

The US Army has been exploring options for years now for a highly computerized 30mm Precision Grenadier System (PGS) that soldiers could use to engage targets ranging from enemy personnel behind cover to light armored vehicles to drones in the sky.
Rocket And Grenade Launchers

One Of These Futuristic Grenade Launchers Could Succeed Where The Army’s ‘Punisher’ Failed

Two front-runners have emerged in the Army's quest for a new Precision Grenadier System able to engage personnel, light vehicles, and even drones.

ROME, ITALY - APRIL 4: The interiors of the air raid shelter and Mussolini's Bunker at Villa Torlonia set up with blow-ups of daily life under the bombings of Rome, historical videos, artefacts and photos of Benito Mussolini, on April 4, 2024 in Rome, Italy. After a careful restoration and the creation of a new multimedia itinerary, Mussolini's air raid shelter and bunker at Villa Torlonia reopen to the public. Villa Torlonia served as the Roman residence for Benito Mussolini and his family from 1929 to 1943. As Italy entered the war in 1940, in response to the looming threat of aerial bombings, the Duce commissioned the construction of three underground shelters beneath the Casino Nobile for protection. (Photo by Simona Granati - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
Bunker Talk

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

Enjoy the weekend with some good convos.

F-15E Drone hunting Iranian attack
F-15

F-15E Pilot Recounts Having To Switch To Guns After Missiles Ran Dry During Iranian Drone Barrage

The F-15E crew's story is one of many that night, with the type swatting down more than 70 Iranian drones in a matter of hours.

German Navy warships were once nearly armed with gun turrets taken from land-based PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers. The installation was tested in experiments around a decade ago, with some positive results. Although it was ultimately considered too complex an undertaking, it reflected a broader focus on increasing the range and accuracy of naval guns, efforts which continue today.
Frigates

The Time Germany Grafted An Army Howitzer Turret Onto A Frigate

The bizarre-looking modification installed the turret of a PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzer onto the frigate Hamburg.

The search for clues after a U.S. Air Force F-16 Viper fighter brought down a still-unidentified object over Lake Huron In February 2023 did result in the recovery of debris it has been disclosed. However, it remains unclear whether or not the wreckage was from that shootdown.
U.S. Air Force

Details About Search For Mystery Object Shot Down Over Lake Huron Disclosed

No information about anything retrieved in searches after three still unidentified objects were downed over the U.S. and Canada has previously emerged.

North Koran drones
Loitering Munitions

North Korea’s Kim Orders Mass Production Of Kamikaze Drones

North Korea will be getting a first-hand and brutal look at the game-changing nature of loitering munition technology as it fights Ukraine on behalf of Russia.

GREMLIN AARO
Unmanned

Military’s UFO-Hunting Aerial Surveillance System Detailed In Report

A GREMLIN system is first being used to establish baseline data of aerial activity around a sensitive site so that anomalies can be better spotted in the future.

The U.S. Air Force is accelerating work on low-cost air vehicles that could evolve into relatively cheap cruise missiles, and plans to scale up production of selected designs, with the help of the Pentagon's Replicator initiative.
U.S. Air Force

‘Cheap’ Cruise Missile Program To Speed Up With Replicator Initiative Help

Scale production could be in the future for one or more of the designs already in development as part of the Enterprise Test Vehicle program.

Taiwan experts tell us what the next Trump presidency could mean for U.S. relations with the Island nation.
China

Taiwan Experts On Chances Of Chinese Invasion Under New Trump Administration

We asked top experts how the new Trump presidency will affect growing tensions between China and Taiwan.

A photo has emerged showing examples of the North Korean-made self-propelled artillery system under transport in Russia, the clearest suggestion so far that Pyongyang is also now providing Moscow with these kinds of weapons for its war in Ukraine. That would hardly be a surprise at this point, with North Korea having supplied Russia with huge amounts of weaponry, as well as having committed to the deployment of thousands of troops for the conflict.
Cannons

North Korean Long-Range Self-Propelled Artillery Appears In Russia

With North Korean troops now fighting Ukrainians and considering Russia’s massive appetite for artillery, the M1989 Koksan’s arrival makes sense.

Giant Uncrewed Submarine Put Forward By Chinese Shipbuilder, Possibly Linked To Existing Design
Diesel-Electric Submarines

Giant Uncrewed Submarine Put Forward By Chinese Shipbuilder, Possibly Linked To Existing Design

The new uncrewed underwater vehicle concept, which is as big as some crewed types, could be tied to a still-mysterious submarine that previously emerged in China.

SB>1 Defiant at the Army Aviation Museum at Fort Novosel.
Future Vertical Lift

SB>1 Defiant High-Speed Helicopter Put To Rest In A Museum

The Sikorsky-Boeing SB>1 Defiant lost to Bell's V-280 Valor for the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft tender, but its underlying X2 technology lives on.

A new palletized ground-based launcher concept that can be loaded with up to two dozen 227mm guided artillery rockets at a time – four times what an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) can pack at once – recently broke cover.
MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS)

Mobile Launcher That Can Fire Four Times More Weapons Than HIMARS Emerges

Lockheed Martin says its new launcher could fire surface-to-air interceptors, as well as ballistic missiles and artillery rockets.

Flight Test Boss Details How China Threat Is Rapidly Changing Operations At Edwards AFB

Flight Test Boss Details How China Threat Is Rapidly Changing Operations At Edwards AFB

The USAF says it’s out of time on China, which has kicked flight testing into overdrive with a focus on harnessing artificial intelligence for a major tactical edge.

The General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) Gray Eagle STOL drone has undertaken its first experimental operations from a warship, taking off from the deck of the South Korean amphibious assault ship Dokdo. Gray Eagle STOL — which we have discussed in depth in the past — incorporates technology first demonstrated on the company’s Mojave, which was specifically developed with the ability to perform short takeoffs and landings, including from rough fields, with minimal support. The latest development adds to the aviation-capable warships that the wider family of Q-1 lineage drones have now operated from.
Republic of Korea Air Force

Gray Eagle STOL Drone Flies From South Korean Amphibious Assault Ship

The latest iteration of the General Atomics family of short takeoff and landing drones went to sea aboard the South Korean amphibious assault ship Dokdo.

Mosfilm, Russia's largest film studio, donated dozens of ancient tanks to the military last year.
Russian Army

Russia’s Largest Film Studio Donated Antique Tanks To The Military

Russia has lost at least 3,500 tanks so far in its all-out invasion of Ukraine and has been pulling increasingly older types from various sources.

Boeing is pushing ahead with plans for future upgrades to the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter. While the scope of what is tentatively known as the modernized Apache have been scaled back somewhat compared to how it once looked, the company is considering the lessons of the war in Ukraine as it seeks to optimize the AH-64 so that it can continue to serve the U.S. Army into the 2060s.
AH-64

Boeing’s Plan For Modernized AH-64 Apaches Serving Into The 2060s

The AH-64 is more critical than ever to the Army after the cancellation of FARA, but the relevance of attack helicopters is also increasingly being questioned.

U.S. Marine Corps F-35C Joint Strike Fighters took part in recent strikes on Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, the Pentagon has disclosed.
F-35C

F-35C Naval Joint Strike Fighters Fly Combat Missions Against Houthis In Yemen

It isn't clear if this is the 'combat debut' of the carrier-capable F-35C, but that milestone has already come for its A and B model counterparts.

France will have sent Ukraine 600 Hammer bombs by the end of the year.
MiG-29

Ukraine Will Have Received 600 French Hammer Bombs By End Of Year

Ukraine Situation Report: Meanwhile, political shifts in Germany could result in a very different weapons delivery policy for Ukraine.