Modern Day Marine 2025

Modern Day Marine 2025

Continued Coverage

French authorities have provided the first real look at the latest version of the Air-Sol Moyenne Portee (ASMP; or Medium-Range Air-to-Surface) ramjet-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile.
Rafale

France’s New Nuclear-Armed Supersonic Cruise Missile Seen Clearly For The First Time

French Navy Rafale M fighters have also now joined their Air Force counterparts as launch platforms for the updated nuclear-tipped ASMPA-R.

Russia has created a new military branch, called the Unmanned Systems Forces, to oversee drone operations, development and testing.
Ukraine

Russia Creates New Military Branch Dedicated To Drone Warfare

The new Unmanned Systems Forces was created to oversee Russia’s drone operations, development, testing and training.

Japan’s Acquisition Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) has offered the first look at damage to a target ship after it was hit by projectiles fired from a prototype electromagnetic railgun in testing earlier this year.
Japan

Railgun Damage To Japanese Target Ship Seen For The First Time

Japan has shared new details about its continued pursuit of naval railguns, a capability the U.S. Navy halted work on years ago.

The Dutch Ministry of Defense has announced that NATO nations have dropped their plan to buy Boeing E-7A Wedgetail as its next airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platform. The decision comes after South Korea rejected the E-7 for its own AEW&C program and would appear to open the door to Saab’s rival GlobalEye, which France has already said it intends to buy.
NATO

E-7 Wedgetail Radar Jet Procurement Plans Axed By NATO

With a requirement to replace NATO’s geriatric E-3 AWACS planes by 2035, the path could now be clear for the Saab GlobalEye.

Anduril Unveils Omen Hybrid-Electric Vertical Takeoff And Landing Drone
Unmanned

Anduril Unveils Omen Hybrid-Electric Vertical Takeoff And Landing Drone

Anduril thinks Omen, now in co-development with a company in the UAE, will take on long endurance missions performed by much larger aircraft.

Current and future operators of A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft could use them to shoot down incoming drones, according to manufacturer Embraer.
Laser Guided Rockets

A-29 Super Tucano Light Attack Aircraft Being Pitched As Drone Hunter

The A-29’s chief competitor, the AT-6 Wolverine, is also getting the same treatment as the aerial drone defense market explodes.

A battlefield commander in Ukraine gives. us exclusive insights into the fighting in Pokrvosk and its effect elsewhere on the battlefield.
Ukraine

Battlefield Commander In Ukraine Details Russia’s Increasing Frontline Pressure

The commander, whose troops are fighting in Pokrovsk, offers exclusive insights about the bloody battle there and its impact on Ukraine’s defenses elsewhere.

Recent imagery indicates that China is progressing work on a new aircraft carrier, its fourth, which is widely expected to introduce nuclear propulsion. The development comes just a week after the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) commissioned its first domestically produced carrier, the Fujian. Meanwhile, there are signs that Beijing may also still be working on at least one more conventionally powered carrier, too.
People's Liberation Army Navy (China)

Strong Evidence That China’s Next Carrier Will Be Nuclear Emerges In Shipyard Photo

Nuclear propulsion for China’s ‘Type 004’ aircraft carrier would represent a leap in naval capability and another step toward parity with the U.S.

The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford has joined the SOUTHCOM fight against drug traffickers and pressure campaign against Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro.
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)

Supercarrier USS Gerald R. Ford Enters U.S. Southern Command’s Area Of Responsibility

America’s newest carrier has now joined Fourth Fleet for the counter-drug effort that is also aimed to put pressure on Venezuela’s dictator.

A month after the emergence of satellite imagery that showed GJ-11 Sharp Sword stealthy flying-wing uncrewed combat air vehicles (UCAV) in an apparently semi-operational state, China has released the first air-to-air video of the drone. China also revealed that the official People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) name for the GJ-11 is Mysterious Dragon.
UCAVs

China’s Stealthy GJ-11 ‘Mysterious Dragon’ Soars Out Of The Shadows

The GJ-11 unmanned combat air vehicle has a new name and has been officially shown flying alongside J-20 and J-16D fighters.

Videos show a Turkish Air Force C-130E Hercules cargo plane falling in multiple pieces from the sky earlier today.
Turkey

Detached Wings From Doomed Turkish C-130 Seen Spiraling Into The Ground (Updated)

The Turkish Air Force C-130E went down in the country of Georgia as it was returning home from Azerbaijan.

Iran is ramping up its missile production as it eyes a potential future conflict with Israel.
Israel

Iran Ramping Up Missile Production As Another Potential War With Israel Looms

Building on lessons learned from the 12-Day War, Iran is working to be ready to overwhelm Israeli defenses in a future conflict.

The planned delivery of three AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters to the Indian Army has taken an unusual turn. The Antonov Airlines An-124 cargo aircraft carrying the rotorcraft to India returned to the United States with the Apaches still onboard, with a Boeing spokesperson telling TWZ that it was looking into “logistical issues” that they said had interrupted the transportation.
India

AH-64 Apaches Make Mysterious Return To U.S. On Their Delivery Flight To India

Undisclosed “logistical issues” meant that the An-124 airlifter transporting the attack helicopters only made it as far as England before turning back.

The U.S. Air Force has put out a new call for concepts for a future anti-air missile that costs no more than $500,000 and that could be built at a rate of at least 1,000 per year.
U.S. Air Force

USAF’s New Low-Cost Anti-Air Missile Program Aims For $500K Target Price

The missile will be both ground and air-launched and will leverage lessons from previous ‘cheap’ cruise missile efforts.

Imagery has been published providing a rare look inside the weapons bays of one of the prototypes of Russia’s Su-57 Felon new-generation fighter. While internal weapons carriage is a key design feature of the Sukhoi jet, the main weapons bays, at least, haven’t been seen in such detail, with weapons loaded. The footage comes as Moscow embarks on another export drive for the Su-57, which has reportedly so far only been ordered by Algeria.
Russia

Su-57 Felon Brandishes Its Loaded Weapons Bays For The First Time

New imagery of Russia’s Su-57 fighter shows it with bays open, packing anti-radiation missiles and short-range air-to-air missiles.

The strong iron gate of the underground warehouse can be used as an air-raid shelter during the war.
Bunker Talk

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

The diesel generators will keep us warm… For now.

The U.S. Army has set a goal of buying one million new drones of all types over the next two to three years.
U.S. Army

Army Sets Out To Buy A Million Drones By 2028

The Secretary of the Army is aiming to finally get this service out from behind the curve when it comes to fielding uncrewed aerial systems.

Though the Trump administration's goals for Venezuela remain unclear, more military assets could be on the way to the Caribbean.
South America

U.S. Examining Sites To Send Additional Military Assets To Caribbean

While it is unknown what Trump’s military plans are for Venezuela, it appears that the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean will continue.

The best images we’ve seen so far of the German Luftwaffe’s PEGASUS signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft reveal key details of the airframe adaptations made to the Bombardier Global 6000 bizjet platform it’s based on. The photos were shared with TWZ by @CorreaPhtgphy, who captured them earlier this year at Abilene, Texas.
Germany

Our Best Look At Germany’s New PEGASUS Surveillance Jet

After abandoning plans to field a Global Hawk-derived signals intelligence platform, Germany will introduce the bizjet-based PEGASUS.

China's growing weapons programs puts pressure on intelligence community.
China

Can U.S. Intel Keep Up With China’s Tsunami Of Weapons Developments?

Experts provide us with insights about the impact of Beijing’s snowballing military technology advances on U.S. intelligence.

China has now formally commissioned its first catapult-equipped aircraft carrier, the Fujian, into service.
China

China Commissions Newest Aircraft Carrier With Its Electromagnetic Catapults Front And Center

Chinese President Xi personally ordered Fujian to have electromagnetic catapults, a technology Trump has railed against on U.S. Navy carriers.

The U.K. Royal Navy flagship, HMS Prince of Wales, is now carrying 24 F-35B fighters — the largest number to go aboard either of the U.K’s two aircraft carriers. This is a significant achievement for the British F-35 force, which has long faced questions about the feasibility of deploying a meaningful number of the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) jets at sea — without U.S. Marine Corps aircraft making up the numbers.
F-35B

British Carrier Hosts Largest Number Of F-35Bs On A Ship Ever

Twenty-four British F-35Bs on the carrier deck clears a major hurdle on the path to full operational capability.

Though ordered to the Caribbean as part of the ongoing counternarcotics mission, the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier is holding off the coast of Africa.
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)

Carrier USS Ford Holding Off Of North Africa As Trump Reportedly Won’t Strike Venezuela

The supercarrier, ordered to the Caribbean by Trump, has not moved significantly toward that area for two days.

A key aspect of the Trump administration's Golden Dome missile defense initiative is ensuring America's ability to launch retaliatory nuclear strikes, the nominee to become the next head of U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) has stressed.
China

Golden Dome Missile Shield Key To Ensuring Nuclear Second Strike Capability: U.S. Admiral

China’s dramatic expansion of its nuclear arsenal has been a key driver behind concerns about future challenges to America’s deterrent.

Arc orbital supply capsule.
Launch Vehicles

Arc Orbital Supply Capsule Aims To Put Military Supplies Anywhere On Earth Within An Hour

Deorbiting small cargo-laden spacecraft on demand to troops in need is the vision of Inversion Space and its Arc spacecraft.

General Atomics' Gambit family of drones, with its common modular core ‘chassis’ concept, now has a sixth member optimized for air-to-surface missions, such as attacking hostile air defenses or enemy ships.
Unmanned

Strike Variant Joins Gambit Family Of Autonomous Air Combat Drones

General Atomics is eyeing sales of its new Gambit 6 in Europe as momentum behind the Collaborative Combat Aircraft concept grows globally.

MOSCOW, RUSSA - SEPTEMBER 02: The warhead cruise missili (1977) on display during an exhibition titled "70 Years of the Atomic Industry: A Chain Reaction of Success" organised by Rosatom agency at Manege Central Exhibition Centre in Moscow, Russia, on September, 02,2015. (Photo by Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Russia

Experts Explain How Long It Would Take Russia To Resume Nuclear Weapons Detonation Tests

After Trump’s comments, Putin ordered his top officials to provide proposals on how to restart Russia’s live nuclear weapons testing program.

Chinese drone test ship seen in action.
China

Chinese ‘Mini Drone Carrier’ Seen Being Used As Test Ship

China has assembled an array of unusual open-decked ships for testing and training purposes in recent years.

An Italian Air Force F-35 Lighting II arrives at an undisclosed location within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, June 30, 2024. The F-35A is an agile, versatile, high-performance, 9g capable multirole fighter that combines stealth, sensor fusion and unprecedented situational awareness. The ITAF stopped in CENTCOM as a part of Operation Indo-Pacific Jump (IPJ) 2024.
F-35A

F-35 Sale To Saudi Arabia Being Mulled By Trump Admin: Report

The deal could see the kingdom acquire up to 48 of the stealthy strike fighters, which only Israel is currently allowed to purchase in the region.

B-21 with a single pilot on board.
B-21

Single Pilot B-21 Raider Operations Hint At Advanced AI Capabilities

Just how automated the B-21 is remains unclear, but officials pushing to fly it with just one pilot points to a breakthrough operational capability.