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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.

Model 407 optionally manned drone Northrop grumman
Loyal Wingman

Northrop’s Stealthy Loyal Wingman Drone Breaks Cover And It Has A Cockpit

The Model 437, which was built by Northrop Grumman's subsidiary Scaled Composites, looks like the concept art aside from one very glaring detail.

Tiny JSX-2 microjets able to act as surrogates for drones and cruise missile threats are supporting the Northern Strike 24-2 exercise.
Air Combat Exercises

Tiny Jets Masquerading As Cruise Missiles Featured In Michigan Airpower Exercise

Tiny and nimble microjets are playing an important role in mimicking cruise missile and drone threats, including those to the homeland.

Two U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons assigned to the 92nd Fighter Squadron, Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, fly alongside a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 91st Air Refueling Squadron over the western United States during Exercise Bamboo Eagle 24-3, Aug. 5, 2024. Through employment of the KC-135 aircraft, the 91st ARS extends U.S. global power and global reach by planning and executing aerial refueling missions for U.S. and allied combat and support aircraft. During Bamboo Eagle, Air Mobility Command assets will support warfighters implementing all-domain combat-power generation from disaggregated basing locations throughout the western part of the U.S., along with distributed command and control, agile logistics, and tactical air-to-air refueling. Bamboo Eagle provides participating units opportunities to reoptimizing for Great Power competition and to focus on mission readiness by to deliver cross-functional and lethal combat capabilities with the speed and agility required to meet pacing challenges. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Cook)
Air Combat Exercises

Massive China-Focused Air Combat Exercise Underway Off California Coast

Playing out over large stretches of the eastern Pacific, the Bamboo Eagle war games are rehearsing for a potential future conflict with China.

US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornets brandishing full loads of nine air-to-air missiles have touched down at a base in Jordan ahead of expected Iranian attacks against Israel.
F/A-18E/F

F/A-18E Super Hornets Fully Loaded With Air-To-Air Missiles Arrive In Jordan

Navy F/A-18Es with impressive air-to-air loadouts based ashore are a potent addition to America's air defense posture ahead of expected Iranian attacks.

Ukraine's F-16s arrived with self protection pods
Ukraine

F-16s Delivered To Ukraine With Advanced Countermeasure Pods For Self-Protection

Ukraine's F-16s came with additional self-protection features that will help them survive a very dangerous battlespace.

Ukraine now has at least 2,000 troops inside Russia and continues to pour more in.
Russia

Ukrainian Forces Make Major Gains Inside Russia On Day Three Of Kursk Invasion (Updated)

Ukraine is continuing to pour troops and equipment into Russia as it sees success in its bold but risky operation in Kursk.

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

Ukrainian MiG-29’s Special Pylon For Hammer Rocket-Boosted Bombs Emerges

A picture of a Hammer-armed Ukrainian MiG-29 shows a previously unseen pylon that is similar to the one used with U.S. JDAM-ER glide bombs.

Defense technology contractor Anduril has announced plans to build a novel “hyperscale” production facility that will be able to churn out significant numbers of different military products, including uncrewed combat aircraft and autonomous underwater vehicles. The project closely aligns with the Pentagon’s aim of securing the ability to manufacture at scale, to meet future demands, especially for uncrewed systems that would be critical in potential peer-state conflicts.
U.S. Air Force

“Hyperscale” Weapons Factory Vision Outlined By Anduril

Anduril aims to change how guided munitions and drones are developed, bought, and produced with the help of its new factory concept.

Kratos, manufacturer of the XQ-58 Valkyrie, has confirmed that a new version of the drone is in the works that will feature built-in landing gear, which points to a larger derivative possibly with greater performance.
XQ-58

New XQ-58 Valkyrie Variant With Built-In Landing Gear To Fly Soon

The addition of internal landing gear points to a bigger and possibly higher-performance version of the Valkyrie now being in development.

Testbed for the Navy's helicopter escape system in the 1960s
Helicopters

Navy’s Cold War-Era Helicopter Crew Escape System Literally Sliced Fuselages Apart

The little-known history of the Navy's wacky escape capsule concept for helicopter crews.

Ukrainian drone operators are increasingly taking the fight to the Russian helicopters operating over and around the battlefield, by launching direct attacks with first-person view (FPV) drones. While there has been one previous report of a Russian rotorcraft successfully being attacked by a drone and several videos showing near-misses, the increasing quantity of such incidents indicates that this is now becoming a more established practice.
Russian Air Force

Russian Mi-28 Havoc Attack Helicopter Engaged In Mid-Air By Ukrainian Drone

Ukraine's use of drones to hunt for and take down enemy helicopters operating near the front is expanding.

Ukraine's incursion into Kursk, Russia.
Around The Globe

Ukrainian Forces Fight Inside Russia For Second Day (Updated)

As the peculiar incursion operation continues, Ukrainian troops still hold territory inside Russia's Kursk region.

A drone-hunting rifle-armed robot dog is being demonstrated at a US Army event dubbed Operation Hard Kill.
Machine Guns

Robot Dog With Gun Turret For Hunting Aerial Drones Being Tested By Army

Growing U.S. military interest in armed robot dogs now extends to potentially using them to help shield friendly forces from drone threats.

A brief video clip of a U.S. Navy E-2D Advanced Hawkeye linking up with an Air Force HC-130J tanker somewhere over in the Middle East calls attention to how this aircraft has become even more of a force multiplier with the added ability to refuel in flight.
E-2

E-2D Refueling From HC-130 Over Middle East Highlights The Hawkeye’s Potential

The E-2D's in-flight refueling capability could help it defend against an Iranian attack and opens up new ways to employ its abilities around the globe.

Russia battled an incursion by Ukraine into Kursk Oblast on Tuesday.
Russian Army

Ukraine Situation Report: Cross-Border Raid Shakes Russia’s Kursk Region

Russia rushed reserve troops and aircraft to the Kursk region to repel a cross-boarder mechanized attack.

Israel and Hezbollah traded attacks as the Lebanese militant group's leader issued a new threat.
Around The Globe

Attacks In Lebanon-Israel Border Region Intensify Ahead Of Anticipated Large-Scale Strikes

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned that a looming massive attack on Israel "will be strong, influential and effective."