TWZ. Where the cutting-edge of military technology, tactics, strategy, and geopolitics collide.
Collaborative Combat Aircraft
Fleet Of At Least 500 Collaborative Combat Aircraft By 2032 Now In USAF’s Plans
500 CCAs is a step up from recently stated USAF plans, and the service also now wants 500 more new drones to succeed its MQ-9s.
Latest News
Anduril’s YFQ-44A Fury CCA Has Flown Alongside F-35s
The YFQ-44 Fury has already taken to the skies alongside fifth-gen fighters as the company works toward a true crewed-uncrewed teaming demonstration.
Airmen Under Fire: Stories From Iranian Barrages On U.S. Bases
Air Force Chief Of Staff Gen. Wilsbach offered vignettes of airmen performing under punishing Iranian attacks.
Saudi Arabia Appears To Have Used Its Secretive Stash Of Ballistic Missiles For The First Time
The use of a Chinese-made DF-15A missile in Yemen would mark a major development for Riyadh’s shy ballistic missile arsenal.
Cheaper Reaper? Swarm Aero Unveils Gamera
Swarm Aero’s Gamera is designed to be inexpensive but pack major range and the ability to be adapted to many missions beyond standoff strike.
U.S. Nuclear Control Mission Could Dramatically Evolve Under Looking Glass-Next
Branded Content: Modernizing command, control, and communications network is critical for the future nuclear era.
Everything We Just Learned About The Vectis Collaborative Combat Aircraft From The Skunk Works
We have new details on Lockheed’s tailless CCA, including about its exotic “submerged” air inlet and how its design puts a premium on survivability.
USAF Wants MQ-9 Reaper Successor At A Fraction Of The Cost At $10M Each
The USAF has aggressive cost and schedule goals for new drones to succeed the MQ-9 fleet that has suffered major losses.
EA-37B Flew Along Kaliningrad Border As Part Of “Specialized” Recon, EW Flight Package
The USAF’s new EA-37B Compass Call electronic warfare jet was part of a larger NATO package that flew along the doorstep of Russia’s strategic military outpost.
Air Force Wants Family Of Expendable Target Drones That Can Mimic Everything From Stealth Fighters To UAV Swarms
With rapidly evolving threats around the globe, the USAF’s target drones need to start making leaps to catch up and a new family of systems is wanted for this.
One Of These Missiles Is Set To Be The Army’s Next Mid-Tier Anti-Air Interceptor
The new Enduring Shield system paired with AIM-9X Sidewinders already gives the Army its first mid-range air defense capability in decades.
Army Now Testing Anthem Long-Range Strike Weapon Built for Mass Production
Serial production of the relatively crude but cheap weapon is slated to begin in Texas next year, with plans to also build the weapon in Germany and Israel.
Site Expansions Underpin Lockheed Martin’s Munitions Production Ramp
Branded Content: Bigger sites, advanced manufacturing techniques, and boosting the workforce are key industry commitments to increased munitions production.
France Accelerates Rafale F5 Upgrade After Collapse Of FCAS Next-Gen Fighter Project
France is investing in a new Rafale configuration, along with drone wingmen, that aim to carry French tactical aviation deep into the 2030s.
Work At Underground Test Site A New Indicator Of Possible Strikes On Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain Bunker
Pickaxe Mountain presents immense targeting challenges and that’s where a key test range in New Mexico comes in to play, just as it did for Midnight Hammer.
Operational F-15EXs Drop Live Bombs For The First Time
The first unit to get the F-15EX is already moving away from its exclusive air-to-air mission roots.
First-Ever Kill Of A Drone Boat By Another Drone Boat Claimed By Ukraine
The machine gun attack of one drone boat on another is the latest milestone in uncrewed surface vessel warfare.
Navy Destroyer Packs New ‘Piggy-Backed’ Point Defense System That Combines 30mm And .50 Cal Guns
The Mk 38 Mod 4 offers a major capability boost, especially against drones, and is now installed on at least one destroyer.
Where Are The Aircraft Carriers?: September 9, 2026
The Navy is applying lessons learned from recent marathon carrier cruises to the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which conducted an unreported maintenance availability ahead of deployment.
TWZ YouTube
Check out the latest on all things defense from TWZ’s YouTube channel.
More Latest News
The Outlook Is Getting Grimmer By The Day For Oil Exports From The Red Sea
Iraqi militias strike a pipeline that’s the remaining lifeline to Middle East oil and the Houthis move into a better position to control the Bab al-Mandab Strait than ever.
Bunker Talk: Let’s Talk About All The Things We Did And Didn’t Cover This Week
Has it really been 25 years since that terrible morning?
Adversaries Using Claude AI To Target Americans And Develop Missiles Is A Sign Of What’s To Come
A new report from Anthropic presents a stark picture of how malign actors are using commercially available U.S. AI services despite safeguards.
Houthis’ Stranglehold On Strategic Bab Al-Mandab Strait Grows Stronger
The capture of the port of Mokha and possibly the islands of Perim and Zuqar can give the Houthis key points of control over the Red Sea and the Strait.
Ukraine Carried Out Its Deepest Drone Strike On Russia Ever
The strike hit an energy processing plant 1,700 miles from the Ukrainian border in Russia’s gas-rich Arctic region.
Hermeus Unveils Air-Launched Ramjet Test Vehicle for High-Speed Experiments
The ramjet-powered vehicle could give researchers and developers a new way to put hardware into sustained high-Mach flight environments.
Everything We Know About The U.S. Navy’s Submersible Drone Iran Just Captured
Anduril’s Dive-LD uncrewed underwater vehicle falling into Iranian hands is significant, but the system was designed to be risked in contested waters.
Saudi’s Remaining Energy Lifeline To The World Under Threat After Successful Houthi Strikes (Updated)
Having the Strait of Hormuz and energy exports via the Red Sea shut down at the same time has long been a top fear for global oil markets.
Trump Threatens Canadian Jets At The Center Of Army Aerial Surveillance Plans
Threatening to block Bombardier sales in the U.S. is different than actually following through with it, but Canada also has a vote.
Russia’s New Stealthy Lower-Cost Air-Launched Standoff Weapons On Display In Egypt
Moscow is pitching a new generation of precision weapons abroad, even as the war that produced them complicates their export prospects.
USS Abraham Lincoln Is Getting A Badly Needed Scrubbing While In Thailand
The ship pulled into Thailand earlier this week caked in rust and algae after 286 days at sea.
China’s Huge WZ-X Stealth Drone’s Strange Wing Configuration Confirmed
New photos of the WZ-X airborne give us a clearer view of the aircraft’s unique wing design.
How Russian Drones Forced Ukraine To Park Its M1 Abrams Tanks
After two costly operations, Ukraine’s 425th “Skala” Regiment stopped deploying its M1A1s, but they have not lost all faith in the main battle tank.
The Three Foreign Frigates Being Studied For Possible U.S. Navy Service
Modern Japanese, South Korean, and Turkish frigate designs have emerged as possible contenders to meet increasingly urgent Navy demands.
Ukrainian Sea Drones Strike Russian Black Sea Resort Town Of Sochi For The First Time
Ukraine Situation Report: The strike on Sochi’s port highlights the increasing reach of Kyiv’s drone boat attack campaign.
TWZ — previously known as The War Zone — 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….
