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Boeing has provided a new rendering for its F/A-XX proposal and it’s remarkably similar to concept artwork that has already been released for its F-47, selected for the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) ‘fighter’ initiative. While it’s important to not read too much into the final appearance of either of those aircraft, based on these concepts, the new rendering does, at least, correspond with Boeing’s previous suggestions that the F/A-XX and F-47 would incorporate some commonality. F/A-XX

Boeing’s New F/A-XX Next Gen Naval Fighter Concept Looks Familiar

Boeing’s official art showing its F/A-XX contender is unsurprisingly similar to the F-47, which the company is building for the Air Force.

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Yak52 drone hunters
Russia

Although only small in number, the propeller-driven trainers and their crews’ World War I tactics are claimed to be enjoying success in bringing down Russian drones.

Get smart bunkerU
Bunker Talk

“Missed it by THAT much!”

The Pentagon has created a new task force to speed up delivery of counter-small drone systems, but regulatory impediments remain.
Unmanned

The DoD’s new task force will speed delivery of counter-small drone systems and coordinate the military’s response to the threat, but regulatory hurdles remain.

Kratos has confirmed it is working together with Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) on a derivative of its jet-powered MQM-178 Firejet target drone called the Chien Feng IV.
Taiwan

The Chien Feng IV, derived from Kratos’ MQM-178 Firejet target drone, could offer major boost to Taiwan’s standoff strike arsenal.

A second Ukrainian military unit is now operating M1 Abrams tanks, most likely donated by Australia.
Russia

The infusion of new armor, most likely from Australia, comes as most of Ukraine’s U.S.-donated Abrams tanks have been lost.

The U.S. Air Force is hoping to finally kick off flight testing of the new AN/APQ-188 radar for the B-52 shortly.
U.S. Air Force

Serious delays and cost growth had prompted a review of the B-52 Radar Modernization Program’s core requirements.

Russia reportedly carried out its first drone boat attack on a Ukrainian Navy ship.
Russia

The attack certainly marks a confirmed change in tactics for Russia, but Ukraine’s Navy has very few targets to strike.

UK MOD invites industry to attend the industry day to provide feedback on the proposed NIGHTFALL requirement.
NATO

The United Kingdom wants to field a short-range ballistic missile that is low-cost and can be rapidly produced on demand.

Individuals training to become U.S. Navy tactical jet pilots are no longer required to take off and land from aircraft carriers before being winged as Naval Aviators.
T-45

The change in carrier qualification requirements is a huge watershed moment that has ramifications for the Navy’s future jet trainer plans.

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A short-range air defense (SHORAD) vehicle that can be loaded with up to 96 small interceptors at a time has been spotted amid ongoing preparations for a huge Chinese military parade in the country's capital, Beijing, next week.

The FK-3000 offers big point air defense capacity in a self contained, highly-mobile package.

Three nozzle binding incidents have cost the Air Force nearly $27 million.

The KC-46 continues to expand its role, but its many unresolved issues vex the fleet, with stiff boom and other maladies causing problems.

Washington has approved the transfer of thousands of Extended Range Attack Munitions (ERAM) to Ukraine, which will provide the country with a powerful new and relatively low-cost standoff strike capability, it has been reported. However, it’s unclear whether Kyiv will be able to use the new air-launched weapon to strike targets deep within Russia, with unnamed U.S. officials telling the Wall Street Journal that these are off-limits, at least for the U.S.-donated Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS).

Intended to be relatively cheap and quick to produce, the Pentagon’s Extended Range Attack Munition will give Ukraine a major standoff strike boost.

The Air Force Global Strike Command has reinstated the M18 pistol after a pause following the death of an airman.

Use of the Sig Sauer M18 pistol was paused after the death of an Airman at F.E. Warren Air Force Base.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense has said it will seek to buy two more Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tankers from the United States, as it invests in its fleet of inflight refueling tankers, heavily utilized in the recent campaign against Iran, as well as for other long-range combat missions. While Israel has already committed to buying four KC-46s, it currently relies on a dwindling fleet of veteran Boeing 707 tankers. The 12-day war against Iran earlier this year, in particular, led to questions about Israeli Air Force (IAF) aerial refueling capacity and the U.S. government was forced to deny that it had provided additional tanker support for the operation.

Israel is stepping up its procurement of KC-46s after a campaign of long-range strikes on Iran that relied heavily on its geriatric 707 tankers.

GREAT FALLS, MONTANA, 2014 - Missile combat crew member 1st Lt. Katie Grimley slides a large floppy disk into a 60's era communication module inside the launch control center of a missile alert facility at Malmstrom Air Force Base. The U.S. govt. is embarking on a $400 billion modernization to its nuclear weapons arsenal. (Photo by Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Bust out the Monopoly, sh@t’s about to get real…

Newly published footage shows an ADM-160 Miniature Air Launched Decoy (MALD) fitted to a Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 Flanker fighter. The video confirms that the store is used by both this and Ukraine’s MiG-29 Fulcrum jets and also that it is carried on the same specially adapted underwing pylon that is used for various Western-supplied guided munitions.

The rarely seen but highly valuable MALD helps Ukrainian-operated standoff weapons like Storm Shadow make it to their targets.

A former high-ranking FAA and White House official offers his take on the Jersey Drone scare.

A former UAP Task Force Member and high-ranking National Security Council official tells us what he knows about the New Jersey drone scare.

Ukraine is hoping to see production of its Flamingo ground-launched long-range cruise missile, which just broke cover this past weekend, ramp up significantly by the end of the year.

The new Flamingo cruise missile could put targets deep in Russia in Ukraine’s crosshairs like never before.

S-97 Raider clone flying in China

China’s new helicopter with its coaxial main rotors and pusher propeller looks almost identical to the U.S.-made Sikorsky S-97 Raider.

The U.S. Navy's San Antonio class amphibious warfare ship USS New Orleans suffered a fire today while it was anchored off White Beach in Uruma City on the Japanese island of Okinawa.

The crew, with the aid of firefighting tugs, responded to the blaze, which began while the amphibious warship was off Okinawa’s White Beach.

A recently emerged image shows a very large, low-observable, flying-wing aircraft flying in China. While the identity of the aircraft cannot be definitively established, it matches, in many respects, the appearance of the huge drone that TWZ was first to identify in satellite imagery dating from earlier this summer, and which you can read more about here.

The mysterious low-observable flying-wing aircraft bears a distinct resemblance to a huge drone that appeared in satellite imagery earlier this year.

A bevy of previously unseen missiles has been capturing particular attention as China prepares for a huge military parade on September 3, 2025.

Multiple previously unseen advanced missile designs are among the capabilities China will showcase at its huge upcoming military parade in Beijing.

F-22 Ukraine

Trump left the door open to supplying airborne capabilities, especially those unique to the U.S., to keep Russia in check after a peace deal.

The U.S. Army has opened the door to potentially acquiring new types of 70mm rockets that are similar, but different from the Hydra-70 family it employs today.

Tens of thousands of Hydra-70s are fired each year in combat and training, with the anti-air role against drones putting extra pressure on supplies.

For the first time since 1997, the Russian Navy’s nuclear-powered battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov is finally back in the water and moving under its own power, after years of repair work and modernization. The milestone comes after the 28,000-ton battlecruiser’s two nuclear reactors went back online earlier this year and the warship is now expected to become the future flagship of the Russian fleet, superseding sister vessel the Pyotr Veliky.

The deeply refitted Kirov class battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov is expected to become the new flagship of the Russian Navy.

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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.

 

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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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