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Mexican cartel members have been fighting in Ukraine to learn how to use FPV drones against their rivals.
Ukraine

Ukraine’s FPV Drone Obstacle Course Teaches How To Chase Vehicles, Fly Into Windows

Weaving through tank hatches and chasing down trucks is harder than it looks and realistic training is key.

Life in an underground shelter during World War II, Paris, March 1940
Bunker Talk

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

Catch up with friends old and new.

The U.S., Canada and Finland announced a plan to create an icebreaker shipbuilding program to compete with China and Russia.
U.S. Coast Guard

Allied Pact Aims To Close Yawning Icebreaker Gap With Adversaries

The U.S., Canada and Finland have a new plan to boost production of icebreakers critical in the increasingly important Arctic region.

F-35 deliveries will resume with a limited TR-3 software load.
F-35

F-35 Deliveries Finally Cleared To Resume, New Jets Will Be Limited To Training

After a yearlong hiatus, production F-35 deliveries are resuming, but the long-awaited Block 4 upgrades will have to wait.

The Army says it hopes to begin fielding a new air and missile defense system based around an 155mm cannon firing hypervelocity projectiles by the end of the decade.
Cannons

Railgun Ammo-Firing Air Defense Artillery Cannon Plans Laid Out By Army

The Army plans to field a highly mobile 155mm cannon firing hyper-velocity projectiles to provide a lower-cost air and missile defense.

Retired Marine Col. Charles Del Pizzo offered his version of the 2023 mishap in which his F-35B stealth fighter kept flying for 12 minutes after he ejected.
F-35B

F-35B Pilot Seen Leaping From Jet In Japan

An F-35B pilot based out of MCAS Iwakuni in Japan had to get away from their jet as fast as possible as crash crews approached.

The US Air Force has revealed that development of a new relatively low-cost stand-off precision-guided munition is for Ukraine.
U.S. Air Force

Air Force’s Cheap And Fast To Produce Long-Range Missile Is Being Built For Ukraine

The Extended Range Attack Munition aims to give Ukraine a badly needed capability boost in its ability to strike over hundreds of miles.

Ukraine apparently carried out a long-range drone strike on the Russian Kapustin Yar nuclear missile test site.
Russia

Ukraine Situation Report: Russian Strategic Missile Testing Facility Attacked

The attack on the Kapustin Yar site 400 miles from the front lines appears to be another in a string of Ukrainian strikes on Russian strategic military assets.

The Senate Armed Services Committee has directed the US Navy to look at other missile-armed ship options in response to major delays with the Constellation class frigate program.
U.S. Navy

Navy To Explore Arming Other Ships With Missiles Amid Constellation Frigate Woes

Congress wants the Navy to look at turning large uncrewed vessels into crewed missile ships, arming cargo ships, or buying something new.

Russia says it will respond to the United States’ decision to dramatically increase its long-range fire capabilities in Europe starting in 2026. The United States will deploy to Germany a range of advanced ground-launched weapons, including the Typhon (firing both SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles) and “developmental hypersonic weapons” — a reference to the yet-to-be-fielded Dark Eagle.
Germany

U.S. Long-Range Missiles Headed To Germany As Arms Race Escalates

After a decades-long hiatus, American long-range missiles will return to Europe as the standoff between Moscow and NATO grows.

Northrop Grumman has offer a new and interesting look at its secretive XRQ-73 drone.
U.S. Air Force

Our Best Look Yet At The XRQ-73 Hybrid-Electric Stealthy Flying Wing Drone

A new photo of the XRQ-73 SHEPARD sheds a little more light on the enigmatic drone, which is due to fly this year.

Private aerospace firm Metrea has bought France's entire fleet of KC-135 tanker in a major new bet on contractor aerial refueling services.
KC-135

All Of France’s KC-135 Tankers Bought By Private Aerial Refueling Company Metrea

Metrea now boasts the fifth-largest tanker fleet on Earth as it bets big on new U.S. military and foreign air force opportunities.

There is no official replacement for the F-22 Raptor, says the head of Air Combat Command. That could be another blow to the withering Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.
F-22

Air Force Now Says It Has No Official F-22 Raptor Replacement

A sixth-generation fighter being developed under the Air Force Next Generation Air Dominance program was supposed to supplant the Raptor but its future is increasingly uncertain.

AIM-9 Shorads system which could be similar to FrankenSAM.
Around The Globe

Ukraine’s FrankenSAM Air Defense Concept Could Be Used To Protect USAF Bases

Rapidly developed to meet an urgent Ukrainian requirement, the FrankenSAM concept is now being eyed for the U.S. military.

The Senate Armed Services Committee has directed the Pentagon to look into the possibility of transferring retired A-10 Warthog ground attack jets to Jordan.
A-10

Surplus A-10 Warthogs Could End Up In The Jordanian Air Force

If Jordan is truly interested in the A-10s it would boost its ground-attack capacity and it could open the door to transfers elsewhere.

The transfer of F-16s from Denmark and The Netherlands to Ukraine is now underway, U.S., Danish and Dutch officials say.
NATO

Transfer Of F-16s To Ukraine Is Now Underway

The expectation is that the fourth-generation fighters, donated by Denmark and the Netherlands, will be operational over the skies of Ukraine this summer.

The latest episode of Jay Leno's Garage features the "Beast" presidential limousine used to transport the President of the United States.
Presidential Transport

What We Just Learned About The “Beast” Presidential Limousine From Jay Leno’s Garage

The Secret Service shared some interesting details about one of the world's most secretive cars with the former Tonight Show host.

Chinese soldiers are taking part in maneuvers in Belarus, adding another new dynamic to the security situation in Eastern Europe, dominated by Russia’s war in Ukraine and the fallout surrounding it. While Belarus has been a staunch ally of Russia it has, more recently, made overtures toward China, with the aim of building closer relations with it, including in the military sphere.
China

Chinese Troops Begin Drills Along Poland’s Border In Belarus

Already a lockstep military ally of Russia, Belarus is now deepening relations with China, including training with PLA troops near NATO borders.

Air Force special operations aviators are now training on AT-802U aircraft ahead of the arrival of their first OA-1K Sky warden light attack planes while questions grow about the program's future.
Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC)

AT-802U Trainers Arrive To Prepare USAF Aviators For A Murky Light Attack Future

The first OA-1K light attack planes are set to be delivered this year as attention shifts away from the operations they were designed for.

A video has emerged showing a Greek warship knocking out a Houthi drone, in one of the latest such incidents in an ongoing campaign that has been waged by the Iranian-backed rebel group since last November, in the wake of the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. In this encounter, the Greek Navy frigate apparently used its 127mm main gun, reinforcing the utility of these weapons against drones, while the drone itself was seen adjusting its flight altitude to make it harder to intercept.
Frigates

Greek Warship Guns-Down Houthi Drone In New Video

The Hydra class frigate used its deck gun and possibly non-kinetic measures to bring down two Houthi drones as hostilities off Yemen's coast continue.