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The War Zone delved into the digital engineer and advanced manufacturer techniques behind the stealthy Model 437 Vanguard aircraft, and more, an interview with Colin Miller, Vice President for Engineering within Northrop Grumman's aeronautics sector.
Loyal Wingman

Everything We Just Learned About The Model 437 Vanguard Technology Demonstrator Jet

We talked to one of Northrop Grumman's top engineers all about their Model 437 and the Digital Pathfinder program that made it happen.

Alternatively known as the Y-9LG, the Y-8GX-12 is another ECM version based on the Y-8 Category III Platform. It was first identified in satellite imagery in late 2017. Surprisingly, considering its assumed role, the Y-8GX-12 has a ‘balance beam’ radar antenna above its fuselage, as found on the KJ-200 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. It is believed, however, that the radar aboard the Y-8GX-12 is instead used for long-range jamming, using its powerful electronically scanned radar beams to suppress enemy radar signals.
Airborne Radar

Our Best Look Yet At China’s New Standoff Electronic Warfare Plane

The Y-9LG is the latest in a line of Chinese airborne standoff jammers, part of a huge investment in electronic warfare platforms.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky fired his Air Force commander days after a fatal F-16 crash.
MiG-29

Zelensky Fires Air Force Commander As Claims Swirl Around Fatal F-16 Loss

Ukrainian Air Force Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleschuk was replaced after the destruction of one of Ukraine's prized F-16s that also killed a well-known pilot.

Russian troops are now eight miles from the key Ukrainian logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
Russia

Fall Of Key Ukrainian City To Russia Could Be An “Operational Catastrophe”

Russian forces are only about eight miles away from Pokrovsk which is a key logistics hub for Ukraine.

India has reportedly introduced to service its second nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, or SSBN, INS Arighat, marking a significant development in the country’s burgeoning strategic nuclear capability. The new submarine, armed with indigenously developed ballistic missiles, is understood to incorporate improvements over its predecessor, although India’s SSBN fleet, and its nuclear forces in general, continue to be hugely outstripped by those of China, its main strategic rival.
SLBMs

India’s Improved Nuclear Ballistic Missile Submarine Enters Service

The second Indian nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine is the latest development in a project to field a viable second-strike capability.

U.S. Army Green Berets covertly hijacking a WiFi network to disable a building's security systems so their companions can sneak inside, grab intel, and leave after using electronic warfare gear to conceal they were ever there sounds like the opening scene to a Mission Impossible movie or Call of Duty video game. Very real Army Special Forces soldiers executed this exact scenario during a training exercise in Sweden earlier this year.
Green Berets

Green Berets Hijacked WiFi To Control Home Security System Then Vanish In Mock Raid

Green Berets also used electronic warfare gear to eliminate evidence of their activities during the realistic infiltration and raiding exercise.

The first known prototype of the Model 437 from Northrop Grumman subsidiary Scaled Composites has flown.
Loyal Wingman

Stealthy High-Tech Model 437 Vanguard Jet Has Flown For The First Time (Updated)

The first publicly known example of the Model 437 drone emerged earlier this month with a notable design change, a cockpit.

Ukraine lost its third F-16 Viper, however the pilot survived.
F-16

Ukrainian Pilot Killed In First F-16 Loss

Only six F-16s and a similar number of pilots were available to Ukraine as the type just entered service weeks ago.

The U.S. Coast Guard's heavy icebreaker USCGC Polar Star has returned to its home port of Seattle, Washington, after a major service life-extending overhaul – and not a moment too soon.
China

U.S. Coast Guard Has A Working Heavy Icebreaker Again

USCGC Polar Star returns to service amid a glaring U.S. icebreaker capacity gap that was made worse by a recent fire.

Ukraine is targeting the Key E38 highway with drones to slow down Russian logistics.
Russia

Ukraine Bracketing Key Kursk Highway With Drones To Slow Russian Logistics

Ukraine has been targeting the key E38 Highway from miles away with drones to impede Russia's ability to reinforce Kursk Oblast.

A new photo has emerged of China’s mysterious stealthy Chinese corvette or light frigate, an intriguing design, with apparent low-observable features, which you can read more about here. In fact, the latest photo raises more questions than it answers, in particular the presumed HQ-10 surface-to-air missile launcher at the rear of the vessel apparently being something else entirely.
People's Liberation Army Navy (China)

Our Best Look At China’s Stealthy Experimental Corvette

The ship has some puzzling features that point to it being even more experimental in nature than originally thought.

Ukraine struck Russia's Kirov Oblast, 700 miles from the border, for the first time as part of its ongoing campaign against Moscow's fuel infrastructure.
Unmanned

Russian Region 700 Miles From The Border Struck For First Time By Ukrainian Drones

The Zenit oil depot in Kirov Oblast was attacked as part of Ukraine's expanding campaign against Russia's energy infrastructure.

The U.S. Army has awarded a massive contract valued at close to $1 billion to AeroVironment for Switchblade-series loitering munitions, also known as kamikaze drones, over the next five years.
Switchblade

Army Just Signed $1B Deal For Massive Order Of Switchblade Kamikaze Drones

The Army is moving to drastically expand its stocks of one-way attack munitions so infantry can hunt and kill tanks and other targets from the air on a grander scale.

Poland’s first F-35A stealth fighter — locally named Husarz, or hussar — was officially rolled out today in a glitzy ceremony at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas plant.
F-35A

Poland’s First F-35A “Hussar” Stealth Fighter Rolled Out

With growing fears of Russian aggression, the Polish Air Force is modernizing, with the F-35 set to be its cutting edge.

Saab Gets Big XM919 Shoulder-Fired Anti-Armor Launcher Order From The U.S. Army (Updated)
Rocket And Grenade Launchers

Saab Gets Big XM919 Shoulder-Fired Anti-Armor Launcher Order From The U.S. Army (Updated)

The XM919s, also called Individual Assault Munitions, are set to give soldiers a new way to attack light armored vehicles and other targets.

Ukraine's invasion of Kursk Oblast has entered its third week
Air

Pace of Ukraine Advance Slowing As Kursk Invasion Hits Three-Week Mark

As Ukraine continues to fight inside Russia, the fate of a key city in Donetsk remains precarious.

Thailand looks to have provided the Saab Gripen E/F program with a major vote of confidence, with reports that its air force has selected the Swedish-made jet as its next fighter. While the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) already operates earlier Gripen C/D aircraft, the Gripen E/F brings with it significant advances in capability, the extent of which make it almost an entirely new aircraft compared to its predecessor.
F-16

Thailand Chooses Gripen E/F As Its New Fighter

After repeated losses in international fighter competitions, the Swedish Gripen E/F just got a major boost.

Not for the first time, the commitment of the United Kingdom to the F-35B Lightning stealth fighter is under scrutiny, amid reports that the new government could make cuts to it as it grapples with financial woes. With the British government seemingly committed to the next-generation Tempest fighter, the ability to pay for two separate advanced combat aircraft programs is being questioned, while continued problems integrating new weapons on the F-35B also pose a threat to its long-term security.
F-35B

United Kingdom’s F-35B Fleet Plans Under Threat As Defense Cuts Loom

Faced with defense budget constraints, a tough choice may need to be made between the F-35 and the Tempest stealth fighter program.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that his country has conducted the first successful test of a new domestically-developed ballistic missile.
Air

Ukraine Says It Has Tested A New Domestically-Designed Ballistic Missile

Ukraine getting a new ballistic missile free from use restrictions could be a major advance in the country's long-range strike capabilities.

Ukraine suffered the largest Russian aerial bombardment of the war.
Russia

Largest Russian Aerial Attack Of The War Wreaks Havoc On Ukraine’s Beleaguered Power Grid

The attack by more than 120 missiles and more than 100 one-way drones largely targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure.