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KHARKIV REGION, UKRAINE - MAY 18:  A mortar unit with a 120 mm mortar prepares to perform a combat mission on May 18, 2024 in the Kharkiv region, near the border with Russia. Ukrainian soldiers from the 92nd assault brigade were involved in holding back the Russians on the border with Russia. In recent days Russian forces have gained ground around the Kharkiv region, which Ukraine had largely reclaimed in the months following Russia's initial large-scale invasion in February 2022.
Russia

Ukraine Situation Report: Russia Advances On Vovchansk

Russian forces are pressing home attacks on the border town as they seek to build on the momentum of their offensive in the Kharkiv region.

Personnel from China's PLA engage in counter FPV-drone training
China

Chinese Soldiers Train To Fend Off FPV Drones

Footage from China underscores the trend of militaries scrambling to defend against FPV drones, while also harnessing their deadly abilities.

Lockheed Martin, in cooperation with elements of the US Department of Defense, has successfully shot down a mock cruise missile with a PAC-3 MSE interceptor fired from a Mk 70 launcher derived from the Mk 41 Vertical Launch System.
U.S. Navy

Successful Patriot Interceptor Test From Naval Vertical Launcher Is A Big Deal

The test launch of a PAC-3 MSE interceptor from a Mk 41 vertical launcher is a step toward seeing Patriot missiles aboard U.S. Navy ships.

While the situation is clearly still confused, multiple reports suggest that one or perhaps two Russian Navy vessels have been seriously damaged or destroyed in the latest Ukrainian attack on the Black Sea Fleet. The two vessels in question are the Project 22800 Karakurt class missile corvette Tsiklon and the Project 266M Akvamarin class minesweeper Kovrovets.
Ukraine

Rumors Swirl Around Attacks On Russian Black Sea Fleet Warships (Updated)

A corvette and a minesweeper are reportedly the latest victims of the Ukrainian campaign targeting the Russian Navy in and around Crimea.

Flourescent light and two metal doors - concrete bunker style. Lausanne Switzerland
Bunker Talk

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

Care to share?

Private jet registration can be hidden by FAA based on new bill.
U.S. Homeland

Congress Has Made Fully Obscuring Aircraft Ownership Information A Reality

The FAA re-authorization bill will make it harder to learn who owns different aircraft and track where they fly to.

F-35B from VMX-1 in formation.
Air

The Marine Unit Charged With Digitally Connecting Everything Over The Battlefield

A new department within Marine Operational Test Squadron One (VMX-1) is tasked with connecting the digital dots over tomorrow's battlefield.

Ukraine has launched large-scale drone attacks against Russia.
Russia

Ukraine Situation Report: Kyiv Launches Massive Drone Attack On Russia

A highly coordinated Ukrainian onslaught by kamikaze drones targeted oil infrastructure inside Russian borders as well as targets in occupied Crimea.

US Army Green Berets are getting specialized drone training ahead of a rotational deployment that could include temporary training stint in Ukraine.
Ukraine

Green Beret A-Teams Training On FPV Drones Being Driven By War In Ukraine

Green Beret FPV drone training is the latest example of a growing uncrewed future, and the U.S. lag in fielding its own capabilities.

Defense officials say a notice to airmen was issued for a Russian space launch booster, not a military exercise.
Launch Vehicles

Russian Rocket Booster, Not Military Exercise, Prompts Airspace Warning Off California

Warnings to avoid a "Russian Federation rocket firing impact area" sparked concerns about possible Russian activities near the U.S. mainland.

The War Zone has now obtained additional high-resolution imagery better showing the extent of the destruction at Russia's Belbek Air Base from recent Ukrainian strikes.
Russia

MiG-31 Foxhounds Confirmed Destroyed In New Imagery Of Belbek Air Base

New satellite imagery confirms the loss of two MiG-31 interceptors and other significant damage at Belbek after recent Ukrainian strikes.

Sailors aboard Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) guide training ordnance into the ship’s forward vertical launch system (VLS) cells during a proof-of-concept evolution in San Diego, Oct. 4. MV Ocean Valor conducted its first at-sea vertical launch system reload with Spruance, demonstrating the ability of the U.S. Navy to re-arm surface vessels who employ VLS.
U.S. Navy

Eying China Threat, Congress Pushes Navy On At-Sea Rearming

The Navy's inability to reload its surface combatants at sea with fresh missiles has become a glaring risk.

Satellite imagery of Russia's Belbek Air Base on the occupied Crimean Peninsula shows damage from Ukrainian strikes earlier this week.
Russia

Damage To Russia’s Belbek Air Base In Crimea Seen After Ukrainian Strikes

Ukrainian attacks this week targeted a portion of the flightline at Belbek Air Base where Russian MiG-31 interceptors regularly park.

The US military has finished installing a floating pier for the Gaza Strip. It means officials are now poised to begin ferrying badly needed humanitarian aid into the enclave besieged over seven months of intense fighting in the Israel-Hamas war.
U.S. Navy

U.S. Navy Completes Gaza Aid Pier, Deliveries Imminent (Updated)

Delayed by bad weather, the Joint Logistics Over-The-Shore capability will provide much-needed aid for an increasingly desperate population.

A Navy Growler electronic attack jet now sports a Hind helicopter "kill mark"
Mi-24

Navy EA-18G Growler Sports Puzzling Mi-24 Hind Kill Mark Overseas

The electronic warfare jet with the mark belongs to the "Zappers" of VAQ-130, which is attached to the USS Eisenhower.

A picture emerging on social media of a Patriot mock-up sparked conspiracy theories about Ukraine selling a system to China.
MIM-104 Patriot

Mock-Up Patriot System Sparks China-Ukraine Conspiracy Theories

An image of an apparent Patriot missile launcher being hauled on a truck in Asia has stirred up unsupported claims.

Heckler & Koch is looking at selling versions of its existing product line chambered in Soviet-designed cartridges, driven in part by the conflict in Ukraine.
Small Arms

Heckler & Koch Eyes Adapting Its Rifles To Fire Soviet-Designed Ammo

The war in Ukraine is helping drive HK's interest in guns that fire Soviet rounds, but it could open doors to many other markets.

NASA's DC-8 airborne science laboratory banks low over the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., upon arrival Nov. 8, 2007.
Air

NASA’s DC-8 Flying Lab Flies Into Retirement, Making The Type Nearly Extinct

After 37 years of NASA service, the agency will replace its highly modified DC-8 Airborne Science Laboratory with a 777.

Wreckage of S-400 engagement radar at airbase of Belbek in Crimea, May 15, 2024.
Russia

Russia’s Belbek Airbase In Crimea Hammered By Ukrainian Long-Range Strike (Updated)

Elements of a long-range air defense system were destroyed in an attack that reportedly involved U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles.

The Viper Demo team has painted their jet in the YF-16's scheme to commemorate the type's 50th anniversary.
F-16

Viper Demo Team Secretly Painted Jet In YF-16 Scheme To Celebrate Type’s 50th Anniversary

The USAF's F-16 single-ship demo team set out on a secret mission to paint their jet just like the first F-16 that ever flew.