Modern Day Marine 2025

Modern Day Marine 2025

Continued Coverage

Airman 1st Class Alexandra Ayub walks through a blast door to deliver a meal to the missileers manning the launch control center which is approximately 60 feet beneath the missile alert facility. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Andrew Lee)
Bunker Talk

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

The food won’t last forever.

The U.S. Navy has chosen the LST-100 from Dutch shipbuilder Damen to be the basis of a new class of Medium Landing Ships, or LSMs.
U.S. Navy

This Will Be The Navy’s New Medium Landing Ship

The Navy hopes to have the first Medium Landing Ship built by 2029 and avoid chronic issues that have plagued its recent shipbuilding efforts.

French authorities reportedly took defensive measures against five drones flying over an extremely sensitive base that is home to the nuclear submarines that make up the nation's second-strike deterrent force.
Europe

Nuclear Submarine Base Drone Incursion Prompts French Military Response

The drone incursion over the base in France is the latest in a string of incidents around sensitive facilities in Europe.

APKWS are now flying on Ukraine's F-16s.
Laser Guided Rockets

Ukrainian F-16s Appear To Be Armed With Laser-Guided Rockets In New Photos

Ukraine has a massive need for the low-cost, high-volume anti-air capability APKWS II paired with the F-16 offers against drones and some cruise missiles.

Ticonderoga class firing SM-2
F/A-18E/F

How USS Gettysburg Ended Up Shooting Down A Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet

New details paint a troubled picture aboard the USS Gettysburg prior to it shooting down a Super Hornet and nearly another.

European missile house MBDA has, for the first time, shown an example of its Thundart surface-to-surface rocket, the result of a rapid development program as France looks to significantly expand the range of its land-based strike capabilities. Billed as a domestically produced alternative to the U.S.-made Army High Mobility Rocket System (HIMARS), Thundart reflects growing interest, especially in Europe, in long-range precision fires.
NATO

French Thundart Rocket Unveiled As Longer-Range Alternative To HIMARS

Due to be tested next year, the Thundart is one of two options for a new sovereign guided artillery rocket for the French Army.

In an apparent first since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a Russian MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter has been destroyed, in a drone strike, according to Ukrainian reports.
MiG-29

First Russian MiG-29 Claimed Destroyed In Ukraine, But That May Not Be The Whole Story

There remain questions about what a MiG-29 was doing on the Crimean airfield of Kacha, which is not equipped for fighter operations.

A Royal Australian Army Tiger helicopter performs during the Australian International Airshow at the Avalon Airfield near Lara southwest of Melbourne on February 24, 2015. Some 180,000 patrons were expected through the gates over the duration of the event.
Australia

Australia’s Unwanted Tiger Attack Helicopters May Go To Ukraine: Reports

After rejecting its request for MRH90 battlefield support helicopters, the Australian government is weighing up sending Tiger ARHs to Ukraine.

The Navy released findings of investigation into four mishaps aboard the USS Truman supercarrier
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75)

F/A-18 Super Hornet Shot Down By Navy Cruiser Investigation Findings Released (Updated)

The Navy has also released its conclusions on investigations into other F/A-18 losses and a collision during the Truman’s problem-plagued combat cruise.

Northrop Grumman has unveiled their new CCA.
Drones

Talon Emerges From The Shadows (Updated)

Northrop Grumman’s new Collaborative Combat Aircraft offering has just been revealed.

A Thunderbirds F-16C FIghting Falcon crashed in California, the pilot survived.
U.S. Homeland

Thunderbirds F-16C Fighting Falcon Crashes in California

The jet’s pilot safely ejected and was transported to an area hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker offloads fuel to a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet, assigned to the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, April 8, 2025. The KC-135 Stratotanker is the backbone of U.S. Air Forces Central's global reach aerial refueling capability and delivers critical support to joint and coalition aircraft in order to guarantee war-winning airpower throughout the CENTCOM AOR.
F/A-18E/F

Super Hornet Seen With Rare SLAM-ER Missile Loadout On Yemen Mission

The highly accurate AGM-84H/K was among the varied collection of precision-guided munitions used during U.S. operations against Houthi targets earlier this year.

We have gotten our best look so far at China’ mysterious, trimaran-hulled vessel, the purpose of which remains unknown.
People's Liberation Army Navy (China)

China’s Mysterious Submarine-Ship Hybrid Breaks Cover

The first widely circulated image of the bizarre-looking trimaran point to it being just as much submarine as surface vessel.

US is deploying Shahed-136 clones to the Middle East.
Middle East

U.S. Deploys Shahed-136 Clones To Middle East As A Warning To Iran

The U.S. possessing long-range one-way attack drones at all is a major development, but deploying them “to flip the script on Iran” is even a bigger deal.

YFQ-42 undergoing testing an production run-up.

General Atomics’ Boss Gives CCA Test And Export Market Update At Dubai Airshow

Branded Content: The latest on the YFQ-42A as mission systems testing and production ramps up.

U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (Nov. 23, 2025) Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones are positioned on the tarmac at a base in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) operating area, Nov. 23. The LUCAS platforms are part of a one-way attack drone squadron CENTCOM recently deployed to the Middle East to strengthen regional security and deterrence. (Courtesy Photo)
Iran

American Shahed-136 Clones Sent To Middle East Have Satellite Datalinks, Swarming Capabilities

Images of the LUCAS drones sent to “flip the script” on Iran give insights into their advanced capabilities.

The Pentagon announced a new plan to purchase hundreds of thousands of drones for $1 billion.
U.S. Homeland

Pentagon Launches $1B Program To Rapidly Buy Hundreds Of Thousands Of Kamikaze Drones

The plan calls for these drones to be delivered in four phases ending in early 2028.

The U.K. Ministry of Defense has confirmed that the Royal Navy’s forthcoming Type 26 City class frigates will be armed with the Stratus missiles, being developed under the Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon (FC/ASW) program. The missiles will provide an important boost to the Royal Navy’s standoff land-attack and anti-surface warfare capabilities from the early 2030s. However, for the time being, the Royal Navy frigates will use only the low-observable version of the missile, rather than the supersonic one.
United Kingdom

Royal Navy’s Type 26 Frigates Will Be Armed With Stratus Stealth Cruise Missile

The next class of Royal Navy frigates will get the low-observable version of the Stratus, and its high-speed cousin could follow.

Celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the Korean People’s Air Force (KPAF) provided an apparent first look at three new types of air-launched weapon, intended to arm the KPAF’s Su-25 Frogfoot ground-attack aircraft, and potentially others. The event also yielded a better look at the country’s ‘copycat’ drones, the Saetbyol-4 and Saetbyol-9 that are almost exact visual copies of the U.S.-made RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-9 Reaper, respectively.
MiG-29

Analyzing North Korea’s New Air-Launched Guided Weapons

An apparent new cruise missile, short-range anti-tank missile, and air-to-air missile were presented to Kim Jong Un by the North Korean Air Force.

Turkey and Russia say the Midvolga-2 oil tanker was attacked in the southern Black Sea while Ukraine denies involvement.
Russia

Russian Oil Tanker Struck In Aerial Attack Hundreds Of Miles From Ukraine

Ukraine denies involvement in the third reported attack on Russian-connected tankers in the Black Sea since Friday, but has claimed responsibility for the rest.

U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged a phone call with Venezuela dictator Nicolas Maduro, but offered few details.
South America

Trump Confirms Phone Call With Maduro

Now the White House has also confirmed that a second strike on a suspected drug boat did occur, but insists it does not constitute a war crime.

Russia has fielded a new version of the Shahed-136 kamikaze drone armed with a single R-60 air-to-air missile.
Russia

Russian Shahed-136 Kamikaze Drones Now Armed With Air-To-Air Missiles

The appearance of a Shahed-136 carrying an air-to-air missile creates a new threat, and a deterrent, for aircrews trying to intercept them.

Turkish industry and media alike have heralded the recent live-fire test in which a Kizilelma uncrewed combat air vehicle (UCAV) used a Turkish-made air-to-air missile to destroy a target drone. Turkey claims the test marks the first occasion a UCAV has launched a radar-guided air-to-air missile. But, while undoubtedly impressive, there are unanswered questions about how the engagement actually played out, especially to what degree the UCAV was being controlled by crewed fighter jets.
Turkey

Turkey’s Fighter-Like Kizilelma Drone Shot Down Aerial Target With Radar-Guided Missile

The Kizilelma appears to be the first advanced drone to launch a radar-guided air-to-air missile, but details of how the engagement took place are scarce.

U.S. M1A2 Abrams assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Task Force Iron, maneuver to get on line with the Apache helicopters assigned to 1st Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Task Force Iron, during Iron Defender-25 at Orzysz Training Area in Orzysz, Poland, Sept. 17, 2025. The Apache helicopters provided cover fire while the Abrams advanced. The purpose of large scale training events like Iron Defender-25 is to prove the Polish Armed Forces and their NATO allies’ ability to deter and effectively defend the territory of Poland. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Pfc. Andre Gremillion Jr.)
AH-64

U.S. Army AH-64E Apache’s Counter-Drone Capability Rapidly Matures

Apaches scored 13 drone kills out of 14 engagements during Operation Flyswatter, reflecting the AH-64’s evolving counter-UAS capabilities.

NANTWICH, ENGLAND - MAY 24: A general view inside the former RAF Hack Green secret nuclear bunker on May 24, 2023 in Nantwich, England. Hack Green played a central role in the defence of Britain for almost sixty years. It was chosen during WW2 to protect the land between Birmingham and Liverpool from hostile attack and as a location for the new RADAR equipment. The bunker went on to be used for shelter and protection during the Cold War. As relations between East and West thawed many of the UK's nuclear bunkers were sold off. The Secret Bunker is now privately owned by the Siebert family and is run as a museum trust. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Bunker Talk

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

Second Bunker Talk in one week. It’s like Thanksgiving leftovers that taste even better the next day!

Celebrate The Air Force’s Newest ‘Flying Dorito’ With This T-Shirt
News & Features

Celebrate The Air Force’s Newest ‘Flying Dorito’ With This T-Shirt

The B-21 Raider and America’s most popular heavily-seasoned tortilla chip collide to make this “Waritos” tribute t-shirt.

SBX has no radome in Pearl Harbor.
Naval Radars

The Massive SBX-1 Looks Straight Out Of Star Wars Without Its Dome

The already imposing Sea-Based X-Band Radar looks even more like one of The Empire’s super weapons without its trademark ‘golf ball’ radome.

An aerial starboard bow view of the Soviet Krivak I Class guided missile frigate 959 at anchor.
Russia

The Real-Life Hunt For Red October Happened 50 Years Ago

The mutiny aboard a Soviet warship in November 1975 led to a chase across the Baltic Sea, involving everything the Soviets had available. 

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

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

Pass the stuffing.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth has arrived in the Caribbean as Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro rattles his sabre.
South America

Maduro Literally Rattles His Saber As Hegseth Arrives In Caribbean

As many of the puzzle pieces have fallen into place for the U.S. to strike Venezuela, Trump’s intentions remain unclear.