The existence of a top-secret Israeli drone, referred to as RA-01 and used for covert missions, has emerged from an unauthorized disclosure of U.S. intelligence documents which have now been posted all over social media. Air

The Existence Of Israel’s Secret Stealth Drone Should Come As No Surprise

The apparent existence of such an aircraft points to a highly logical capability requirement, especially in regard to Israel’s long stand-off with Iran.

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Oct 22, 2024 7:46 PM EDT

Latest Articles

The spy plane at the center of one of the most notorious post-Cold War Today air incidents, a U.S. Navy EP-3E Aries II, has arrived at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona, for future public display. The EP-3E’s journey to get to the museum has been a long one, starting with the dramatic collision with a Chinese fighter in the so-called Hainan Island incident in 2001.

EP-3E Aries II Spy Plane That Collided With Chinese Fighter Is Going On Display

The badly damaged EP-3 involved in the Hainan Island Incident ended up flying operationally for decades after being returned by China.

By Thomas Newdick
Oct 23 1:04 PM EDT
German Navy P-8

German P-8s To Fly From U.K. To Help Counter Russian Submarine Threat

The future deployment of German sub-hunting planes to the United Kingdom is part of a much broader defense agreement signed today.

By Thomas Newdick
Oct 23 12:50 PM EDT
As if it didn’t have a distinctive enough look already, Boeing’s remarkable 757 Flying Test Bed — better known as “The Catfish” due to its unique and highly modified nose profile — has got some striking new colors. The red, white, and blue scheme is a direct reference to the livery this very same aircraft originally wore, as the prototype for the 757 family.

Boeing’s 757 ‘Catfish’ Flying F-22 Avionics Testbed Emerges With Retro Look

Retro colors recall that the famous Catfish began life as the very first of Boeing’s 757 narrow-body airliners.

By Thomas Newdick
Oct 22 6:19 PM EDT
South Korea may send advisors and weapons to Ukraine in response to North Korea's troop deployment to Russia.

South Korea Could Send Advisors, Weapons To Ukraine Over North Korean Troop Movements

The first North Korean troops are expected to arrive in Russia's Kursk region tomorrow, Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Director told us.

By Howard Altman
Oct 22 2:58 PM EDT
BF-19, Lt Cdr Nicholas Baker RN, Flight 633, Test 808, Arrival JS KAGA for beginning of DT Sea Trails, 20 October 2024

Japan Expands Carrier Capabilities With F-35B, Drones Could Be Next

Japan will have two amphibious assault ships modified as fixed-wing fighter carriers, and uncrewed shipborne aircraft may be the next step.

By Thomas Newdick
Oct 22 2:07 PM EDT
Smarter MQ-1C Gray Eagle Is Getting Mojave’s Short Field Capabilities

Smarter MQ-1C Gray Eagle Is Getting Mojave’s Short Field Capabilities

Gray Eagle STOL will pack the latest 25M suite of upgrades along with short takeoff and landing capabilities, allowing for rough field and carrier ops.

By Thomas Newdick
Oct 21 7:11 PM EDT
IAF F-16 Iran

Israel Trades Increasingly Bellicose Threats With Iran As Retaliation Operation Looms

The threats come as the U.S. says it is very concerned about an unauthorized release of documents pertaining to Israel's attack plan.

By Howard Altman
Oct 21 5:15 PM EDT
Satellite view of the island of Guam plus Mk 41 VLS from Aegis Ashore air defense system.

Our First Look At Land-Based Aegis Missile Defense System In Guam

Elements of the land-based version of the Aegis system are now in Guam, but they are just part of a very ambitious air defense upgrade for the island.

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway
Oct 21 3:23 PM EDT
The nuclear family. October 21, 1980. Phyllis Millet and her daughters Roberta and Katie (right) having breakfast in their underground nuclear shelter during a five-day trial. Photo by Graham Turner/Keystone/Getty Images.

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

Talk amongst yourselves.

By Tyler Rogoway
Oct 18 9:30 PM EDT

Latest Videos
Captain of the USS Dwight D Eisenhower tells us what really went on during the ship's Red Sea combat cruise.

Carrier Captain In Combat: Our Video Interview With Christopher “Chowdah” Hill

By Tyler Rogoway
Sep 10 5:08 PM EDT
AC-130

The Future Of The AC-130 Gunship: Evolve Or Die

By Tyler Rogoway
Aug 31 7:05 PM EDT
Ukraine's F-16s arrived with self protection pods

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

By Tyler Rogoway
Aug 8 6:57 PM EDT

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AUSA ’24

The U.S. Army is looking to give its still-in-development anti-tank guided 155mm artillery shells the ability to 'collaborate' with each other to help find their targets and otherwise be more effective.
AUSA '24

Army Wants Its New Tank-Busting 155mm Artillery Shells To Work Cooperatively To Find Their Targets

The baseline 155mm XM1180 anti-armor round will offer Army artillery units a valuable new way to hit enemy tanks, even if they are moving.

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Oct 18, 2024 11:41 AM EDT

A CH-47 Chinook from B Co "Big Windy," 1-214th General Support Aviation Battalion lifts a 173rd Airborne Brigade tactical vehicle during Saber Junction 20 at Grafenwöhr Training on Aug. 5.

Army Confirms It’s Exploring Requirements For A New Heavy-Lift Helicopter To Replace Chinook

By Thomas Newdick
Oct 17 4:29 PM EDT
The secretive Phoenix Ghost kamikaze drone developed by the U.S. Air Force to support Ukraine in its ongoing fight against Russia, has finally emerged from the shadows.

Secretive Phoenix Ghost Kamikaze Drones Rushed To Ukraine Finally Come Out Of The Shadows

By Thomas Newdick, Rachel S. Cohen, Joseph Trevithick
Oct 17 1:00 PM EDT
General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) has unveiled a new Mission Command On The Move (MCOTM) concept and its supporting hardware centered on a hybrid-electric Stryker-based vehicle.

Command Center Stryker Teamed With Uncrewed Ground Vehicle ‘Wingmen’ A Sign Of Things To Come

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway
Oct 16 8:42 PM EDT
The U.S. Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) tiltrotor is shaping up to be significantly different from the V-280 Valor from which it is derived, from its drive train to its fuselage design to the configuration of the seats inside the main cabin.

Army’s Future Vertical Lift Tiltrotor Will Differ Significantly From V-280 Valor It’s Based On

By Joseph Trevithick
Oct 16 4:22 PM EDT
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Air

A B-2 Spirit from the 509th Bomb Wing, 13th Bomb Squadron Whiteman Air Force Base, Miss., prepares to be refueled by a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 434th Air Refueling Wing at Grissom Air Reserve Base, Ind. during a nighttime aerial refueling mission.
Air

Questions Linger Over Australia’s Role In B-2 Spirit Strikes On Yemen

We now know that Australian air bases were used to support the Yemen strikes, although officials are tight-lipped about which aircraft types used them and how.

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Oct 18, 2024 4:35 PM EDT

B-2 MOP Yemen iran

B-2 Spirits Just Sent A Very Ominous Message To Iran

By Tyler Rogoway
Oct 17 3:02 AM EDT
P550 aerovironment drone can fly 5 hours on a single charge.

Aerovironment’s New P550 Flies Five Hours On A Charge, Drops Two-Pound Guided Bombs

By Rachel S. Cohen
Oct 16 2:34 PM EDT
Shield AI Firejet artwork

Shield AI Looks To Unleash Its Hivemind Autonomy Software On Multiple Platforms

By Jamie Hunter
Oct 16 12:49 PM EDT
V280 valor long range assaults

Army Already Preparing For V-280 Valor To Dramatically Transform Air Assaults

By Thomas Newdick
Oct 15 6:29 PM EDT
View All in Air

Sea

The U.S. Army is already interested in scaling down its new Typhon ground-based missile system, if possible, to help make it easier to deploy and operate.
Sea

Army Looking To Shrink Typhon Missile System After Lessons Learned From First Deployment

Typhon, which can fire Tomahawk and SM-6 missiles, currently makes use of large tractor-trailer launchers.

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Oct 15, 2024 7:08 PM EDT

USS Chosen VLS resupply at sea test off San Diego.

Navy Just Reloaded A Vertical Launch System For The First Time While Underway At Sea

By Tyler Rogoway
Oct 12 3:50 PM EDT
The Amiral Ronarc’h (hull number D 660) officially started sea trials earlier this week, setting sail from the Naval Group’s Lorient shipyard, in Brittany, northern France, on October 7.

France’s Radical-Looking New Frigate Has Gone To Sea

By Thomas Newdick
Oct 11 3:37 PM EDT
Bolt-M drone

Bolt-M Aims To Make Kamikaze Drone Attacks More User Friendly, Effective

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway
Oct 10 5:58 PM EDT
A TV screen shows an image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a ceremony on September 6 to celebrate the launch of a newly built "tactical nuclear attack submarine" during a news program at the Yongsanl Railway Station. North Korea has launched a newly built "tactical nuclear attack submarine" capable of carrying out an underwater nuclear attack, with leader Kim Jong Un vowing to "further strengthen the state nuclear deterrence," the North's state media said on September 8. (

Signs Point To North Korea Building A Nuclear-Powered Submarine: South Korean Intel

By Thomas Newdick
Oct 9 12:49 PM EDT
View All in Sea
Directed-Energy Counter-Drone Stryker
Land

Here’s What Leonardo DRS’ Laser-Equipped Counter-Drone Stryker Armored Vehicle Is Capable Of

By Jamie Hunter
Oct 16 5:58 PM EDT

Australia To Send M1 Abrams Tanks To Ukraine (Updated)

By Thomas Newdick
Oct 16 12:09 PM EDT

Oshkosh Talks Its 30mm Cannon-Wielding Medium Caliber Weapon System On The Army’s New Strykers

By Jamie Hunter
Oct 15 3:20 PM EDT
View all in Land
One of America's secretive X-37Bs is set to perform a series of maneuvers called aerobraking that will significantly change its orbit, which is said to be a first-of-its-kind event for the mini-space shuttle.
Space

Secretive X-37B Spaceplane To Use Aerobraking Maneuvers To Rapidly Change Orbit

By Joseph Trevithick
Oct 10 1:08 PM EDT

Link 16 Coverage From Space, Laser Communications Relays Make Major Advances

By Thomas Newdick
Sep 17 6:27 PM EDT

U.S. To Track Moving Air And Ground Targets Via Space By 2030, But Aircraft Will Still Play A Part

By Thomas Newdick
Sep 4 8:24 PM EDT
View all in Space
Recreation of early nuclear age plutonium pit
Nuclear

First Plutonium Pit For Nuclear Warhead Produced In The U.S. In 35 Years Is Now “Weapon-Ready”

By Howard Altman
Oct 4 1:13 PM EDT

First Chinese ICBM Test Into The Pacific In Decades Is A Big Deal (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick
Sep 25 5:16 PM EDT

Israeli Commando Raid In Syria Sends A Message To Iran That Its Underground Bases Are Not Untouchable

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick
Sep 12 9:28 PM EDT
View all in Nuclear
Trash-carrying balloons launched across the border by North Korea are seen floating in the sky above Seoul on October 4, 2024. Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with Pyongyang ramping up weapons tests and bombarding the South with balloons carrying rubbish, and Seoul suspending a military deal and resuming propaganda broadcasts in response.
Unmanned

North Korea Sending GPS-Equipped Balloons Across The Border

By Thomas Newdick
Oct 14 1:28 PM EDT

Experimental Fly-By-Wire UH-60M Black Hawk To Become Autonomy Testbed

By Joseph Trevithick
Oct 14 12:41 PM EDT

Drones Penetrate North Korean Air Defenses To Drop Propaganda Leaflets On Pyongyang

By Thomas Newdick
Oct 11 6:55 PM EDT
View all in Unmanned

More Latest News

South Korean intelligence has offered a new assessment about North Korea's military presence in Ruussia.

South Korea Intelligence Offers Assessment Of North Korean Troops Fighting For Russia (Updated)

North Korea's greatest resource is manpower and with a huge army it could export large numbers of troops to fight for Russia in Ukraine.

By Howard Altman
Oct 18 3:43 PM EDT
Nearly 11,000 North Korean Troops In Russia Preparing To Enter The Fight Says Ukraine’s Spy Boss

Nearly 11,000 North Korean Troops In Russia Preparing To Enter The Fight Says Ukraine’s Spy Boss

Ukraine Situation Report: Lt. Gen. Budanov claims the first 2.600 North Korean troops will help Russia's attempt to defeat the Kursk invasion.

By Howard Altman
Oct 17 8:14 PM EDT
Thousands of North Korean troops are training to help Russia fight Ukraine.

Thousands Of North Korean Troops To Help Russia Fight Ukraine: Reports

North Korean troops would help Russia make up for mounting losses, but just how effective they could be remains to be seen.

By Howard Altman
Oct 15 3:59 PM EDT
.Two major defense players from Italy and Germany have teamed up to build tanks, and infantry fighting vehicles, initially for the Italian Army, but potentially also for other customers, as armored warfare makes a resurgence in Europe and elsewhere.

Joint German-Italian Battle Tank Venture Could Shake Up European Armor Landscape

German and Italian manufacturers are teaming up to provide Italy with new KF51 Panther main battle tanks and KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicles.

By Thomas Newdick
Oct 15 1:16 PM EDT
The U.S. Army is no longer pursuing a new interceptor for its Patriot surface-to-air missile systems. The disclosure as the service has also said it wants to reduce reliance on the highly in demand and heavily strained Patriot force and look more at tailored air defense force packages leveraging its Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) network.

New Patriot Missile Interceptor Axed By Army

The Army is now looking at improving the PAC-3 MSE interceptor and using new networks to make better use of its strained Patriot force.

By Joseph Trevithick
Oct 15 12:50 PM EDT
China has revealed a new tiltrotor drone concept, the Zhang Ying UR6000, that has clear military potential, despite initially being pitched for civilian missions.

China’s Large Tiltrotor Drone Breaks Cover

The UR6000 appears to be China's first foray into the large tiltrotor segment and such a craft could have significant military applications.

By Thomas Newdick
Oct 14 8:26 PM EDT
A new miniature electronic warfare jammer that is small and relatively low-cost enough to be a payload on loyal wingman-type drones and even expandable loitering munitions has hit the market from defense contractor Leonardo.

BriteStorm Miniature Electronic Warfare System Can Allow Small Drones To Create Big Ghost Formations

Leonardo's BriteStorm is designed to be small and cheap enough to be installed in various drones and other platforms, even expendables ones.

By Joseph Trevithick
Oct 14 7:05 PM EDT
THAAD being sent to Israel

Emergency THAAD Deployment To Israel Heightens Concerns On Strain To U.S. Air Defenses

The U.S. is sending one of its prized THAAD batteries and support troops to Israel as another Iranian barrage could come in response to Israel's retaliation.

By Howard Altman
Oct 14 6:11 PM EDT
The Dallison family leave their Anderson shelter to view the wreckage caused by a nearby bomb explosion the night before, January 1, 1940. Photo by Keystone Features/Getty Images.

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

The bunker is open!

By Tyler Rogoway
Oct 11 9:30 PM EDT
A new counter-drone focused variant of the 8x8 Stryker light armored vehicle armed with a laser directed energy weapon, laser-guided 70mm rockets, a 30mm automatic cannon, radars and other sensors has broken cover.

Counter-Drone Stryker Armored Vehicle Armed With Lasers, Rockets, Guns Unveiled

The new Stryker aims to offer the Army another layer of highly mobile lower-tier air defense capability to help rebuff drone attacks.

By Joseph Trevithick
Oct 11 6:19 PM EDT
Search For Barrett .50 Caliber Sniper Rifle Replacement Halted By SOCOM

Search For Barrett .50 Caliber Sniper Rifle Replacement Halted By SOCOM

The Extreme Long Range Sniper Rifle was also being eyed as a replacement for .50 caliber Mk 15 bolt-action rifles in U.S. special operations inventory.

By Joseph Trevithick
Oct 11 12:53 PM EDT
The US Air Force's Chief Scientist reportedly described the AGM-183A missile as the service's "most mature" hypersonic weapon, prompting new questions about whether that program's future.

ARRW Hypersonic Missile Program Gets New Funding Despite Signs Of Cancellation

The curious $13 million infusion of cash into the ARRW program comes amid continued questions about its future.

By Joseph Trevithick
Oct 10 7:34 PM EDT
North Korea is wading deeper into the Ukraine war on behalf of Russia

North Korea Wading Deeper Into Russia’s War Against Ukraine

Ukraine Situation Report: North Korea is sending troops to assist Russia with attacks on Ukrainian cities while Ukraine strikes back against weapons storage areas.

By Howard Altman
Oct 10 4:22 PM EDT
Orphaned A-29 Super Tucano Attack Planes Join USAF Test Pilot School Fleet

Orphaned A-29 Super Tucano Attack Planes Join USAF Test Pilot School Fleet

The close air support aircraft without a mission struggled to find a new home before the Test Pilot School stepped in.

By Thomas Newdick, Joseph Trevithick
Oct 9 6:06 PM EDT
U.S. Air Force officials at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia are looking at installing anti-drone nets to help protect F-22 Raptor stealth fighters on the flightline.

Protective Nets To Shield F-22s Eyed For Airbase Swarmed By Mystery Drones

Langley Air Force Base experienced weeks of still-unexplained drone incursions in December 2023 highlighting a critical for new defenses.

By Joseph Trevithick
Oct 9 4:05 PM EDT
Aerial photo taken of MacDill Air Force Base on January 29, 2021. MacDill AFB includes 28 associate units from all brances of service to include U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command and the 927th Air Refueling Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Tiffany Emery)

Hurricane Milton Could Be Sum Of All Weather Fears For MacDill Air Force Base

The home of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command could see record-breaking storm surge potentially swamping much of the low-lying base.

By Howard Altman
Oct 9 2:25 PM EDT

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The War Zone — also known by the shorthand TWZ — has become an essential resource for the defense industry, the national security community, and the interested public at large since it was launched in 2016.

 

From its early beginnings to the present day, TWZ’s purpose remains the same.

 

The site stands at the nexus of military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. As a full-spectrum defense news and analysis website, TWZ covers the air, sea, land, space, and cyber domains of warfare, with an infusion of geopolitical context and technological analysis to offer readers deeper, yet easy-to-consume, insights than what they will find anywhere else….

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