More from Joseph Trevithick (Page 2)

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has banned virtually all helicopter flights around Reagan National Airport and parts of the surrounding Potomac River. This comes in the tragic collision of a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines CRJ700 airliner above the river on Tuesday night.

Nearly All Helicopter Traffic Around Reagan National Airport Has Been Shut Down

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Feb 1, 2025
A relatively low-cost cruise missile that the U.S. Air Force is now developing could transform into an air-launched counter-drone weapon.

Cheap Cruise Missile Program Set To Evolve Into Air-To-Air Drone Interceptor

By Joseph Trevithick
Updated on Jan 31, 2025
The crew of a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter involved in a mid-air collision over the Potomac River last night were training for what is known as a continuity of government mission.

Mid-Air Collision Shines Light On Doomsday Plans For Nation’s Capital

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 30, 2025
A commercial airliner collided with a Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River.

Chilling Air Traffic Control Audio From H-60 Collision With CRJ700 Over Potomac River (Updated)

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick
Updated on Jan 30, 2025
U.S. Navy officials have laid out several priorities they say are key to ensuring the service's carrier air wings will be able to succeed in future conflicts, especially a high-end fight in the Pacific.

Carrier Air Wing’s Key Priorities To Win In Future Pacific Fight Laid Out By Navy

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 30, 2025
U.S. Air Force F-16 Vipers have been using 70mm laser-guided rockets to down Houthi drones during operations in and around the Red Sea in the past year.

F-16s Have Been Using Laser-Guided Rockets To Shoot Down Houthi Drones

By Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Jan 29, 2025
President Donald Trump has laid out a vision for a new Iron Dome air and missile defense system to shield the U.S. homeland, which directly hearkens back to the Reagan-era Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI).

Weaponizing Space Key To Trump’s Iron Dome Missile Defense Shield Vision

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 28, 2025
The U.S. Air Force has dramatically plussed-up contracts with General Electric and Pratt & Whitney, both of which now have a ceiling of $3.5 billion, to continue work on prototype next-generation jet engines.

Billions For Next Generation Fighter Jet Engines Greenlit By Air Force

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 28, 2025
Satellite imagery shows clear indications that Russia's increasingly anticipated withdrawal of forces from its Tartus naval base in Syria has finally started.

Russian Withdrawal From Prized Syrian Naval Base Now Underway

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 27, 2025
The U.S. Air Force's XQ-67A drone is set to receive modifications and upgrades to demonstrate its ability to perform certain missions as part of a program called Demon Ape.

XQ-67 Getting Overhauled With New Capabilities As Part Of Demon Ape Program

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 24, 2025
F-35 AI-Enabled Drone Controller Capability Successfully Demonstrated

F-35 AI-Enabled Drone Controller Capability Successfully Demonstrated

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 23, 2025
F-22 Raptor To Get Distributed Infrared Search And Track System

F-22 Raptor To Get Distributed Infrared Search And Track System

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 22, 2025
Cheap Cruise Missile Paired With Affordable Seeker From Ship-Killing Smart Bomb Eyed By USAF

Cheap Cruise Missile Paired With Affordable Seeker From Ship-Killing Smart Bomb Eyed By USAF

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 22, 2025
The U.S. Army is moving to establish a second production source for barrels for 155mm M777 towed howitzers in response to what it calls "unprecedented demand" from Ukraine.

Ukraine Is Burning Through 155mm M777 Howitzer Barrels So Fast The U.S. Army Can’t Keep Up

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 21, 2025
The U.S. Navy's use of expendable Nulka decoys in combat has highlighted the need to expand the ability of its ships to launch off-board decoying electronic attacks, including ones lasting tens of minutes or more.

Nulka Combat Use Shows Warships Need Longer-Lasting Electronic Warfare-Enabled Decoys

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 20, 2025
Littoral Combat Ship Can Now Rapidly Shoot Down Aerial Drones With Hellfire Missiles

Littoral Combat Ship Can Now Rapidly Shoot Down Aerial Drones With Hellfire Missiles

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 17, 2025
Newly released pictures offer the first real look at the four new large launch tubes for firing Intermediate-Range Conventional Prompt Strike (IRCPS) hypersonic missiles now installed on the U.S. Navy's stealth destroyer USS Zumwalt.

First Look At Stealth Destroyer’s Hypersonic Missile Launchers

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 16, 2025
General Atomics has offered a look at a new air-to-surface missile it is developing.

New Air-Launched Cruise Missile Teased By General Atomics

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 15, 2025
An image has appeared showing a Chinese commercial roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) ferry linked to a temporary pier via a barge with jack-up supports. This follows the emergence of satellite imagery showing multiple similar, but different jack-up barges in various stages of construction at a shipyard in southeastern China.

Chinese Barge Usable For Potential Taiwan Beach Landings Seen In Action In New Image

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 15, 2025
Chinese SAM Launch

Air Force Predicts Enemy Anti-Air Missiles With 1,000-Mile Range By 2050

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 14, 2025
A greater focus on long range strike capabilities is among the alternatives the U.S. Air Force is considering to a costly new crewed sixth-generation stealth combat jet as part of its Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) family of systems. A lower-cost design focused primarily on acting as a 'quarterback' for Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones is also still on the table.

$20 Billion Price Tag To Complete Development Of USAF’s Next Generation Fighter (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 13, 2025
The second tranche of U.S. Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones could be between 20 to 30 percent more expensive per airframe than those in the first batch.

Second Batch Of Air Force CCA Drones Could Be 20 To 30 Percent Pricier Than The First

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 10, 2025
The U.S. Navy's Ohio class guided missile submarine USS Michigan made notable use of uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUV) in the course of operations between October 2022 and January 2024 it has emerged. During that time, the boat and its crew completed at least three secretive "national security" missions, as well as ones involving special operations forces, "in hostile and challenging environments."

Ohio Class Guided Missile Submarine Deployed Underwater Drones On Award Winning Secret Missions

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 9, 2025
The arsenals of the U.S. Air Force's F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15EX Eagle II combat jets look set to grow with the addition of stealthy AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASM).

Stealthy AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles To Arm F-15EX, F-15E

By Joseph Trevithick
Updated on Jan 9, 2025
A new independent report says that U.S. airbases have been left worryingly vulnerable, especially in the Indo-Pacific region, by a lack of investment in new hardened aircraft shelters, or even unhardened ones.

Lack Of Hardened Aircraft Shelters Leaves U.S. Airbases Vulnerable To China New Report Warns

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 8, 2025
More new variants of the B61 nuclear gravity bomb could be on the horizon for the U.S. military.

Hints At More B61 Nuclear Bomb Variants In The U.S. Military’s Future

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 7, 2025
A recent satellite image shows what looks to be yet another fighter-esque airframe or test article at Shenyang's main plant in the city of the same name in China.

Tailless Fighter-Like Airframe Appears At Chinese Jet Manufacturer Shenyang’s Main Plant

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 7, 2025
The U.S. Navy is now officially using "Murder Hornet" to refer to F/A-18E/F fighters armed with five AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and four AIM-9X Sidewinder.

Murder Hornet Nickname For F/A-18s Equipped With Nine Air-To-Air Missiles Now Official

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 6, 2025
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has reportedly acquired a version of the 6.8x51mm M250 light machine gun that Sig Sauer developed for the U.S. Army, but chambered to fire the NATO-standard 7.62x51mm round.

Israel Buys 7.62x51mm Version Of U.S. Army’s New Sig Sauer M250 Light Machine Gun: Report

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 3, 2025
Chinese Underwater Sea Glider Drone Caught By Fisherman In The Philippines

Chinese Underwater Sea Glider Drone Caught By Fisherman In The Philippines

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jan 2, 2025
The U.S. Air Force sent at least 39 A-10s to the boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona this year, more than double the number of Warthogs it sent into mothballs in 2023.

39 A-10 Warthogs Went To The Boneyard This Year, More Than Double Over Prior Year

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 31, 2024
Signs Russian Fighter Jets Still At Syrian Base, Top Rebel Leader Pushes Back On Total Exit For Moscow

Signs Russian Fighter Jets Still At Syrian Base, Top Rebel Leader Pushes Back On Total Exit For Moscow

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 30, 2024
Pictures have emerged of what looks to be the first known example of a new Chinese airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft based on the four-engine Y-20 cargo plane commonly referred to as the KJ-3000.

China’s New Domestically Developed Y-20 Airborne Early Warning Jet Spotted

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 27, 2024
China has held a launch ceremony for its first super-sized Type 076 amphibious assault ship, now named Sichuan, but the vessel does not look to have gone into the water yet. Chinese Internet capture via X

China’s Monster Type 076 Amphibious Assault Ship Seen Like Never Before At Launch Ceremony

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 27, 2024
Russian forces have begun using improvised counter-drone buggies each armed with a weapon made up of 24 barrels that fire shotgun-like ammunition, as well as six AK-series infantry rifles on a single mount.

Anti-Drone Weapon With 24 Barrels Firing Buckshot-Like Rounds Emerges On Russian Buggies

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 26, 2024
The construction of the first Polar Security Cutter (PSC) heavy icebreaker for the U.S. Coast Guard is now formally proceeding. Though the milestone is important, it also underscores the PSC program's already massive delays.

New Coast Guard Heavy Icebreaker Construction Finally Underway

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 24, 2024
F/A-18F Was Shot Down By Friendly Fire As Jets Were About To Land On The Carrier

F/A-18F Was Shot Down By Friendly Fire As Jets Were About To Land On The Carrier

By Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Dec 24, 2024
The U.S. Army says it is planning to award a sole-source contract to BAE Systems to produce a prototype self-propelled 155mm howitzer for use as a novel air defense system.

Railgun Ammo-Firing 155mm Air Defense Cannon Set To Be Awarded To BAE Systems

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 24, 2024
A U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet was conducting a refueling mission over the Red Sea when it was downed in a friendly fire incident this past weekend.

F/A-18F Shot Down By Friendly Cruiser Was In The Middle Of A Refueling Mission

By Joseph Trevithick, Geoff Ziezulewicz, Howard Altman
Posted on Dec 23, 2024
Recent satellite imagery of Belbek Air Base, near Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea, shows new hardened aircraft shelters and additional construction to help shield aircraft from drone attacks and other indirect fire.

Russia’s Belbek Air Base In Crimea Is Getting Hardened Aircraft Shelters

By Thomas Newdick, Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 20, 2024
Substantial differences in the designs of the B and C variants of the F-35 mean that they each require variant-specific 25mm gun pods.

F-35B And F-35C Use Different 25mm Gun Pods Unique To Each Variant

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 20, 2024
In the face of post-Cold War drawdowns, the U.S. Air Force pushed ahead with buying the famously expensive F-22 Raptor stealth fighter in part because of a perhaps unexpected reason: concerns about Syrian air defenses.

Syria’s Air Defenses Helped Make The F-22A Raptor A Reality

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 20, 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted today that his country is still exploring its options for retaining a pair of bases in Syria that have uniquely strategic value following the fall of longtime ally Bashar Al Assad.

Putin Claims No Final Decision Yet On Russia’s Bases In Syria Despite Withdrawals

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 19, 2024
Navy’s Future E-130J TACAMO ‘Doomsday Plane’ Seen In New Rendering

Navy’s Future E-130J TACAMO ‘Doomsday Plane’ Seen In New Rendering

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 19, 2024
China’s H-20 Stealth Bomber Unlikely To ‘Debut’ Until 2030s, According To U.S. Intel

China’s H-20 Stealth Bomber Unlikely To ‘Debut’ Until 2030s, According To U.S. Intel

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 18, 2024
New satellite imagery shows the continued withdrawal of Russian forces from its Khmeimim Air Base in Syria. Russia is also massing units at its Tartus naval base in the country, which also points to plans for their impending departure.

Satellite Imagery Shows Ramp-Up In Russian Forces Massing At Bases In Syria For Withdrawal

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 17, 2024
A new targeted strike involving the use of the secretive AGM-114R9X Hellfire missile, which features an array of pop-out sword-like blades rather than a traditional high-explosive warhead, looks to have occurred in northwestern Syria.

Secretive Bladed AGM-114R9X Hellfire Missile Looks To Have Reemerged In New Syria Strike

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 17, 2024
There is growing, but still circumstantial evidence that a Syrian Airlines Il-76 Candid cargo plane currently at Russia's Khmeimim Air Base in Syria is one that appeared to go missing in the final chaotic moments of Bashar Al Assad's regime.

The Mystery Of The Syrian IL-76 Cargo Jet That Went Missing As Assad Fled

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 17, 2024
A video and pictures have emerged showing testing of Chinese high-flying and high-speed uncrewed air vehicles related to a design called MD-22, including aerial releases from a TB-001 drone and a high-altitude balloon.

China Launches Hypersonic Test Planes From Drones, Balloons

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 16, 2024
Russian Forces Appear To Be Pulling Out Of Prized Syrian Air Base

Russian Forces Appear To Be Pulling Out Of Prized Syrian Air Base

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 13, 2024
The U.S. Army has finally test-fired its Dark Eagle hypersonic missile from its trailer-based launcher after attempting to do so for some two years.

Army’s Dark Eagle Hypersonic Missile Finally Blasts Out Of Its Launcher

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 13, 2024
Federal, state, and local authorities have not been able to corroborate any claimed visual sightings of mysterious drones in the skies over New Jersey, according to a top White House spokesperson.

None Of The New Jersey Visual Drone Sightings Have Been Corroborated: White House

By Joseph Trevithick
Updated on Dec 13, 2024
Apparent drones spotted in the skies over New Jersey, some as big as six feet across, look to be operating in a coordinated manner not consistent with hobbyists, according to state and local officials.

Drones Over New Jersey Show Signs Of Coordination, Elude Helicopters: State Officials

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 12, 2024
Any plans the Air Force might have for new hardened aircraft shelters or other physical defenses at bases are prominently absent from a new infrastructure modernization strategy rolled out today.

Plans For New Hardened Aircraft Shelters Notably Absent From New USAF Base Modernization Strategy

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 12, 2024
he U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy could soon be tasked with exploring whether extending the range of existing AIM-120 and AIM-9 air-to-air missiles is one path to help right-size stocks of those weapons.

Extended Range AIM-120s, AIM-9s Eyed To Meet Future Air-to-Air Missile Demands

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 11, 2024
Mk 41 launcher MDA Guam

Tilting Mark 41 Launcher Emerges During Guam’s First Aegis Ashore Missile Defense Test

By Geoff Ziezulewicz, Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 10, 2024
Pictures and videos have now emerged of the aftermath of Israeli strikes on the Syrian port of Latakia overnight, which destroyed at least six Soviet-era Osa II class missile boats.

Israel Lays Waste To Syria’s Missile Boats (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 10, 2024
What will happen to highly strategic Russian air and naval bases in Syria is now very much now an open question following the downfall of long-time strongman Bashar Al Assad and his flight to Moscow.

Fate Of Russia’s Prized Syria Bases: What We Know

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 10, 2024
Ukraine’s Drone Boats Are Now Shooting Machine Guns At Russian Helicopters, Boats

Ukraine’s Drone Boats Are Now Shooting Machine Guns At Russian Helicopters, Boats

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 9, 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised the possibility of forward deploying new conventionally-armed Oreshnik missiles capable of carrying multiple warheads in neighboring Belarus in the latter half of next year.

Experimental Ballistic Missile Russia Used On Ukraine Could Be Headed To Belarus

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 6, 2024
The Pentagon has released a summary of a new classified strategy to guide efforts to protect American forces abroad and across the U.S. homeland from growing drone threats.

This Is The New ‘Counter-Drone Strategy’ Just Unveiled By Pentagon

By Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman
Posted on Dec 5, 2024
Bell has released a rendering showing updated design concepts for vertical takeoff and landing-capable crewed and uncrewed aircraft that feature wingtip rotors that fold away during level flight.

Revised Fold-Away Rotor Aircraft Concepts Emerge From Special Operations X-Plane Program

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 5, 2024
Recent satellite imagery shows a curious white-colored object at the end of the runway at a remote airstrip in northwestern China.

Mysterious Object Appears At Remote Chinese Airfield Linked To Spaceplane Program

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 4, 2024
The Pentagon says more tests are required to verify that the 25mm automatic cannon mounted internally on the F-35A variant of the Joint Strike Fighter is indeed now an effective weapon.

F-35A’s 25mm Gun Still Needs Tests To Verify It Works

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Dec 4, 2024