Read the latest articles from The War Zone (Page 82)

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is moving to buy non-lethal distraction devices to mount on small hand-launched drones.
Unmanned

FBI Fielding Drones That Fire Off Deafening Bangs

Highly maneuverable drones with less-than-lethal concussion devices offer a new and indirect way to stun individuals.

The U.S. Coast Guard Healy Class Icebreaker HEALY (WAGB 20) sits in the ice, about 100 miles north of Barrow, Alaska, in order to allow scientists onboard to take core samples from the floor of the Arctic Ocean on June 18, 2005. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Public Affairs Specialist 2nd Class NyxoLyno Cangemi) (Released)
U.S. Coast Guard

On Thin Ice: Another Fire Aboard A Coast Guard Icebreaker Underscores Glaring Capability Gap

The fire forced USCGC Healy to abandon its summer Arctic patrol, and with the only other in dry dock, the service is left with no serviceable icebreakers.

The Ukrainian Air Force has released a video offering the best look to date of one of the country's MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters employing French-made AASM-250 Hammer precision-guided bombs.
MiG-29

Best Look Yet At Ukrainian MiG-29 Releasing Hammer Rocket-Assisted Bombs

The video shows a now deceased Ukrainian MiG-29 pilot executing a toss release of the French-made weapons.

As Ukrainian forces push north in Kursk Oblast, Russia is building trenches to blunt their offensive.
Around The Globe

Russia Building Trenches In Kursk To Defend Against Ukrainian Advances

As Ukrainian forces in Kursk push northward, Russia is adding trenches in addition to troops to defend its territory.

Half a century ago today, the first prototype of the Panavia Tornado prototype, aircraft P-01, was recorded at Manching in West Germany, with test pilots Paul Millet from British Aerospace and Nils Meister of Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) at the controls.
Royal Air Force

Panavia Tornado Swing-Wing Combat Jet’s Ten Most Unusual Variants

The Panavia Tornado officially turns 50 years old today, so let's look back at some of its most obscure iterations.

Air National Guard F-16 Viper fighters pretending to be enemy cruise missiles together with tiny JSX-2 microjets mimicking cruise missiles and drones replicated complex threat scenarios during a recent large-scale exercise.
Air Combat Exercises

F-16s Team With JSX-2 Microjets To Replicate Complex Cruise Missile And Drone Attacks

Attacks involving waves of cruise missiles and drones are becoming increasingly commonplace and present major complications for defenders.

An explosion near the Savasleyka airfield in Russia after a drone strike.
Russia

Ukrainian Drone Seen Slamming Into Russian Air Base In Large-Scale Strikes On Multiple Installations

Three Russian air bases were apparently struck in what may well have been the biggest Ukrainian drone strike of its kind so far.

Captain hill on how his tweets would have needed to change if the ship was hit.
Red Sea

Carrier Captain On How His Up-Beat Tweets Would Have Needed To Change If Houthi Missiles Struck His Ship

Navy Captain Chris "Chowdah" Hill opens up about the triumphs and tribulations of tweeting while in command of a supercarrier in combat.

Lessons learned from Ukraine's failed counteroffensive last year informed its invasion of Kursk says a retired high-ranking Ukrainian officer.
Russia

Kursk Invasion Plan Developed By Lessons Learned From Failed Counteroffensive: Retired Ukrainian Officer

A retired high-ranking officer's thoughts on how Ukraine changed its tactics for the Kursk invasion and the goals of the operation.

Secretive ultra-quiet special operations drones, now designated RQ-29s, that have been operating in the Middle East for years might now be headed for the Pacific.
Special Operations Aviation

Super Quiet Special Operations Drones May Migrate To Pacific Theater

The RQ-29 also looks like a civilian light sport aircraft and could discreetly surveil everything from Chinese forces to terror targets.

A new Russian design for a ‘loyal wingman’-type supersonic drone has been unveiled, marking the country’s latest foray into unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs). Interestingly, the Kronshtadt company that designed the Grom (meaning Thunder) previously displayed another UCAV under the same name. The new version of the Grom is very different, however, stressing performance and simplicity over low-observable features and other advanced technologies.
S-70 Okhotnik-B

Russia’s Aspirational Grom Combat Drone’s Design Totally Changes, Ditches Stealth For Speed

The design of the original Grom ‘loyal wingman’ was a very different animal than what was just unveiled outside of Moscow.

F-15IA sale approved by state department.
F-15

Israel Officially Cleared To Buy 50 New F-15IAs, Upgrade 25 F-15Is

The deal would revitalize Israel's F-15 fleet, potentially replacing its rapidly aging F-15 Bazs and upgrading its F-15I Ra'ams to a more modern standard.

Ukraine is eyeing expanding its Kursk invasion despite Russian reinforcements.
Russia

Ukraine Eyeing Expansion Of Kursk Invasion Despite Russian Reinforcements

Despite Russian efforts to contain Ukraine's eight-day-old invasion of Kursk, Kyiv's forces are still seeking ways to capture more territory.

Russia has unveiled a new gunless version of its Pantsir air defense system it says is ideally suited to protecting critical infrastructure from drones using small short-range interceptors.
Short-Range Air Defense Systems (SHORADS)

Pantsir Packed With Drone-Intercepting Mini Missiles Unveiled By Russia

Russia says the gunless Pantsir-SMD-E is ideal for shielding critical sites against drone attacks like the ones Ukraine routinely launches.

The Ohio-class, guided-missile submarine USS Georgia (SSGN 729) transits with the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Port Royal (CG 73) and the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), not shown, on the Strait of Hormuz, Dec. 21. Philippine Sea is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and Pacific through the Western Indian Ocean and three critical chokepoints to the free flow of global commerce.
Ohio Class (SSGN variant)

U.S. Navy Rushes To Further Bolster Presence In Middle East

An Ohio class guided-missile submarine is headed to the Middle East, while two carriers strike groups and an amphibious strike group will soon be on station in the region.

Ukraine said it captured 1.000 kilometers of Russian territory.
Russia

Ukraine Expands Area Of Fighting But Finding Advances Increasingly Blocked

Ukraine has finally provided details of its push into Russian territory as Moscow vows to retake what it's lost.

The legendary Martin Mars flying boat Hawaii Mars has made a spectacular final flight, taking it from its long-time home on Sproat Lake in British Columbia, Canada, to see out its retirement in a museum in the same state. Originally developed for the U.S. Navy and the war in the Pacific, the huge aircraft found a niche as a water bomber with Coulson Aviation but had not flown in this role since 2015.
Air

Giant Hawaii Mars Flying Boat Made Its Final Glorious Flight

One of the last two examples of the U.S. Navy’s largest flying boat, famed as a water bomber, has flown into retirement.

Chinese drone maker Tengden says it has conducted the first flight of a new cargo drone with a multi-metric-ton cargo capacity.
People's Liberation Army Air Force (China)

Chinese Cargo Drone Capable Of Carrying Two Tons Has Flown

Large cargo drones like the new Tengden design could help China keep its remote outposts supplied, especially during a conflict.

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV - JULY 14: A resort employee passes by the Hotel Blast Door, which weighs 18 tons and serves as an entrance to a former government relocation facility, also know as "the bunker," at Greenbrier Resort July 14, 2006 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. The bunker, codenamed "Project Greek Island" and planned by the Eisenhower Administration, was a 112,000 square-foot shelter constructed beneath the Greenbrier Resort's West Virginia Wing, to serve as a relocation site for members of the U.S. Congress and associated staff in the event of a nuclear attack on the U.S. soil. The facility was built between 1958 and 1961 and was maintained in a state of operational readiness until the government terminated the lease with the resort in 1995. The bunker will be reopened for public tours on August 20 after a two-year-long renovation. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Bunker Talk

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

Sit back, relax, discuss!

The Ukrainian invasion of Kursk continues despite increasing Russian reinforcements.
Russia

Russia Racing Troops To Kursk In Hopes Of Booting Ukraine’s Invasion Forces

Four days into Ukraine's invasion of Russian territory, Moscow is trying to get a handle on an increasingly perilous situation.