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Aurora Flight Sciences has released new renderings of an uncrewed fan-in-wing vertical take-off-and-landing capable demonstrator aircraft it is currently working on, as well as of a revised vision for a scaled-up stealthy cargo aircraft based on the same technology.

New Vision For Lift Fan Aircraft Family Grows From Special Operations X-Plane Program

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Oct 9, 2024
Roadrunner Anduril

Anduril’s Roadrunner Drone Hunting Drone Gets Expanded Order From Pentagon

By Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Oct 8, 2024
France has unveiled plans to develop a new uncrewed combat air vehicle (UCAV) that will complement the forthcoming Rafale F5 crewed fighter, as part of a new-look French Air and Space Force. The industrial side of the drone program will be headed up by Dassault Aviation, drawing upon its previous nEUROn UCAV demonstrator, which has already been used in trials with crewed combat aircraft.

Stealthy Uncrewed Combat Air Vehicle To Work Alongside Future French Rafale Fighters

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Oct 8, 2024
A French Mirage 2000 prepares to receive fuel from a U.S. Marine Corps KC-130J Super Hercules assigned to the Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252 (VMGR 252) over Djibouti Dec. 14, 2022. The refueling unit is deployed from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, and supports the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa by providing aerial refueling, airdrop and rescue capabilities to the area of operations.

France Confirms Upgraded Mirage 2000s Heading To Ukraine In Early 2025

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Oct 8, 2024
KOSTYANTYNIVKA, UKRAINE - OCTOBER 5: Ukrainian servicemen examine the wreckage of a downed Russian aircraft, likely a Sukhoi S-70 "stealth" heavy unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), which crashed in a residential area, setting a house on fire on October 5, 2024 in Kostyantynivka, Ukraine.

Russia’s S-70 Hunter Drone Was Armed When Shot Down By Friendly Fighter Over Ukraine

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Oct 7, 2024
Israel marks the first anniversary of Hamas' infamous terrorist attacks last year, which touched off what the country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has now described as a "war of resurrection."

Israel Expands Ground Operation In Lebanon As World Braces For Retaliation Against Iran

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Oct 7, 2024
S-70 Hunter Drone shot down over Ukraine by SU-57

Why Did Russia Just Shoot Down Its Own Fighter-Sized S-70 Hunter Drone Over Ukraine?

By Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Oct 5, 2024
Iranian attack on Israeli airbase shows some damage but nothing widespread

Clearer Picture Of Damage To Israeli Airbase From Iranian Ballistic Missiles Emerges

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Oct 4, 2024
Solo turk jet display F-16 close call

Watch Turkey’s ‘Solo Turk’ F-16 Demo Jet’s Close Call During A Recent Airshow

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Oct 4, 2024
The U.S. Navy expects its sixth-generation fighter to enter service in the 2030s, bringing with it the ability to operate alongside drones and fly missions at long ranges — capabilities seen as essential for future conflict with China, for example. The Navy’s ambitions, if realized, mean that the service may introduce its next-generation crewed fighter before the U.S. Air Force, which is now re-examining requirements for its new stealth combat jet, with the program on temporary hold.

Navy Making Final Selection For F/A-XX Stealth Fighter, Plans For 2030s Service Entry

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Oct 3, 2024
Popping China's Anti-access bubble with the AIM-174

How The Navy’s New Very Long-Range AIM-174 Missile Could Pierce China’s Anti-Access Bubble

By Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Oct 3, 2024
Israel apparently conducted strikes on the Syrian coast this morning, with explosions reported in the vicinity of the Russian-operated Khmeimim Air Base, near the city of Latakia. At this stage, it’s unclear if the Russian airbase was actually hit, deliberately or otherwise. Either way, however the attacks represent a notable escalation in terms of Israel’s willingness to prosecute targets close to Russian interests in Syria.

Claims Swirl Around Israeli Strikes Very Near Russia’s Air Base In Syria

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Oct 3, 2024
AH64 firing hellfire at drone

AH-64 Apaches Practice Shooting Down Drones With Hellfire Missiles In Saudi Arabia

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Oct 3, 2024
An Air Force B-52H Stratofortress was recently spotted rocking day-glo orange highlights.

B-52 Emerges In Striking Retro Orange Paint Scheme

By Howard Altman
Updated on Oct 1, 2024
Ballistic missile attack from Iran on israel

Iranian Ballistic Missiles Rain Down On Israel (Updated)

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway, Howard Altman
Updated on Oct 1, 2024
Israel’s “limited” ground campaign in Lebanon has entered its second day, now named Operation Northern Arrows. The area around the border in southern Lebanon has been subject to heavy artillery shelling, while the Israeli Air Force (IAF) has again struck targets in Beirut, the Lebanese capital.

Israel Waits For Possible Iranian Strikes As Commando Raids Into Lebanon Continue

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Oct 1, 2024
Israeli soldiers work on the maintenance of tanks deployed in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on September 29, 2024. Israel said on September 29 that it was carrying out new air raids against "dozens" of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, after killing the Iran-backed group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Israel has also raised the prospect of a ground operation against Hezbollah, prompting widespread international concern.

Israeli Ground Operation In Lebanon Has Begun

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Oct 1, 2024
KC-707 IAF remote vision system

Israeli 707 Tanker’s Secretive Remote Vision System Revealed In Long-Range Yemen Raid

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Sep 30, 2024
NORAD F-16 and SU-35

Russian Su-35 Shown ‘Headbutting’ American F-16 At Very Close Range Off Alaska

By Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Sep 30, 2024
Bunker Strike IDF lebanon

Israel Executes Massive Bunker Buster Strike On Hezbollah Command Headquarters In Beirut (Updated)

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Sep 27, 2024
Russians pushing toward Kharkiv Oblast city Ukraine liberated in 2022

Russians Advancing On Kharkiv Region City Ukraine Liberated In 2022

By Howard Altman
Posted on Sep 27, 2024
U-28 retirement

Plans To Axe Special Operations Surveillance Planes Come Under The Microscope

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 27, 2024
After almost 45 years of service, including multiple combat deployments, the F-16 was formally retired today by the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF). At the same time, the service announced that the F-35A had attained full operational capability, with the stealth fighter now responsible for the full spectrum of missions previously handled by the Viper, including nuclear strike.

The Last Viper Commander: Dutch Squadron Boss On Today’s Retirement Of The F-16

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Sep 27, 2024
Imagery said to show the aftermath of a highly targeted air strike on a car in Lebanon has prompted questions about whether a previously unknown miniature munition designed to produce extremely little collateral damage may have been employed.

Was A Mini “Sword Bomb” Just Used To Strike A Car In Lebanon?

By Joseph Trevithick
Updated on Sep 27, 2024
KC-10 Extender tail #86-0036 performs its final mission as it heads of to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., following a July 13 ceremony at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., that marked the first retirement of 59 Extenders intended for eventual replacement by the KC-46A Pegasus. A total of three KC-10s from the Air Force’s Backup-Aircraft Inventory were congressionally approved for retirement during Fiscal Year 2020. As KC-10s are retired, the 309th AMARG will continue to support the remaining Extenders with spare parts as they are flown for several years while the KC-46A Pegasus is integrated into Air Mobility Command’s Total Force tanker enterprise. For nearly four decades, the KC-10 has helped secure global reach for America, providing in- flight refueling to U.S. and coalition aircraft, from Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm to Operation Inherent Resolve. The KC- 10 is flown from JBMDL by both the 305th AMW and its associate Air Force Reserve unit, the 514th AMW.

Final KC-10 Extender Tanker Flies Into Retirement

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Sep 26, 2024
The U.S. Marine Corps says it has demonstrated new capabilities for operating future drones with high degrees of autonomy in expeditionary operations with another test flight of one of its stealthy XQ-58 Valkyries.

Third Marine XQ-58 Valkyrie Flight Test Uses Link 16 For Control

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 26, 2024
AGM-154 JSOW for Ukraine's F-16

Biden Surging $8B In Aid To Ukraine That Includes AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapons For F-16s

By Howard Altman
Updated on Sep 26, 2024
Top Aces F-16

World’s Only Private Company With F-16 Aggressors Talks Rapidly Evolving Their Capabilities

By Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Sep 25, 2024
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is looking to explore concepts for a new drone capable of lugging around up to 70,000 pounds of cargo, roughly twice what the U.S. Marine Corps' CH-53K King Stallion helicopter can lift.

Search For Cargo Drone That Can Lift Twice As Much As A CH-53K King Stallion Kicks Off

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 25, 2024
Canadian authorities have released an image of an unidentified object that was shot down over the country's Yukon Territory by a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighter in February 2023.

First Look At Mystery Object Shot Down Over Canada By F-22 Raptor Last Year

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 25, 2024
An F-35 Lightning II test pilot conducts flight test Sept. 10 to certify the carrier variant of the fighter aircraft for carrying the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM). As part of ongoing integration efforts, the Pax River F-35 Integrated Test Force (Pax ITF) team flew two days of test flights to evaluate flutter, loads, and flying qualities with two AGM-158 loaded on external stations. LRASM is a defined near-term solution for the Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare (OASuW) air-launch capability gap that will provide flexible, long-range, advanced, anti-surface capability against high-threat maritime targets. The Pax River ITF’s mission is to effectively plan, coordinate, and conduct safe, secure, and efficient flight test for F-35B and C variants, and provide necessary and timely data to support program verification / certification and fleet operational requirements.

F-35 Shown Carrying Stealthy Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles For The First Time

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Sep 24, 2024
NGAD Lite

What Would A Far Cheaper Next Generation Air Dominance Fighter Actually Look Like?

By Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Sep 24, 2024
The U.S. Air Force is interested in adding an active electronically-scanned array (AESA) radar to its X-62A test jet. The radar is part of larger plans to acquire a new modular sensor suite for the uniquely modified F-16 specifically to help expand its ability to support advanced autonomy developments.

New Radar Sought To Help X-62A Test Jet Take Next Leap In Autonomy Testing

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 24, 2024
Plans to slash F-16 aggressors at Nellis Air Force Base highlight broader questions about the future of the Air Force Viper fleets.

Aggressor F-16 Fleet Set To Be Slashed By Air Force

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 23, 2024
Tu-143 Hezbollah

Hezbollah Converted Soviet Tu-143 Jet Recon Drone Into Cruise Missile Says IDF, Just Like Ukraine

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Sep 23, 2024
JSOW Ukraine

AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon To Equip Ukraine’s F-16s: Report

By Howard Altman
Posted on Sep 21, 2024
Collins Aerospace has put forward a vision for what a high-end air combat engagement between the U.S. and Chinese armed forces, with the American side employing crewed fighters and Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drone wingmen, could look like in the future.

What American Fighters And Their Drone Wingmen Fighting Chinese Jets Might Look Like

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 20, 2024
An Israeli F-16I fighter jet taking off at an unidentified location.

Israeli Airstrikes In Lebanon Intensify

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Sep 20, 2024
Future offensive electronic warfare

How EA-18G Growler’s Next Generation Jammer Actually Works And The Future Of Offensive Electronic Warfare

By Howard Altman
Updated on Sep 20, 2024
The U.S. Air Force says the once-secretive Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS) drone program has been fully folded into the service's Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) effort. General Atomics has already disclosed that its current CCA design is derived from the XQ-67 drone it developed for OBSS.

Collaborative Combat Aircraft Program “Ingesting” Modular Chassis Concept Pioneered By XQ-67 Drone

By Joseph Trevithick
Updated on Sep 20, 2024
The U.S. Air Force's top special operations officer says AC-130J Ghostriders will continue being armed with 105mm howitzers for the foreseeable future despite the gunships evolving to as focus shifts to preparing for high-end fights.

AC-130J Ghostrider Gunships Will Keep Their 105mm Howitzers, For Now

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 19, 2024
The U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman have expanded testing of the B-21 thanks to two ground test articles, which are being used to evaluate the bomber's core construction and the time it takes before certain parts break. The tempo of flight testing of the initial pre-production Raider is also growing, with the jet now sometimes taking to the skies twice a week.

B-21 Ground Test Airframes Join Flying Pre-Production Raider

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 19, 2024
The U.S. Air Force has released new video footage of its first pre-production B-21 Raider stealth bomber undergoing flight testing.

New Look At B-21 Raider Stealth Bomber Flight Testing Released

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 18, 2024
The U.S. Air Force is pushing ahead with experimentation that could lead to the transformation of KC-135 tankers into optionally crewed aircraft, as well as the development of other autonomous aerial refueling capabilities. U.S. military interest in autonomous airlifters, an area where China has been notably surging forward in the past few years, is also growing.

Work Toward KC-135 Tankers That Fly Themselves, Uncrewed Cargo Aircraft Pressing Ahead

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 18, 2024
A huge explosion has rocked the Tver region, in the west of Russia, with initial reports indicating that Ukrainian long-range attack drones targeted an ammunition depot there. Videos and pictures on social media from the scene show an initial explosion, with a very large fireball, followed by a significant visible shockwave, then several minutes’ worth of secondary explosions illuminating the night sky.

Massive Russian Weapons Depot Still Burning After Ukrainian Drone Attack

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Sep 18, 2024
Lockheed Martin's losing entry in the first increment of the U.S. Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drone program was a very stealthy design, the head of the famed Skunk Works advanced projects division has disclosed. The company is now expecting future CCA increments to revolve around proposals that might lean closer to not just being lower-cost, but maybe even expendable, to support a concept of operations that requires tolerance for very high losses.

Skunk Works’ Losing Loyal Wingman Drone Was Very Stealthy “Gold Plated” Design

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 18, 2024
The U.S. Space Development Agency, or SDA has outlined the progress made so far in demonstrating a satellite-based Link 16 network to transmit data directly from space, as well as the potential of laser communications to connect satellites together, and to use those same satellites to conduct missile tracking from low Earth orbit (LEO).

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

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Sep 17, 2024
General Atomics CCA

General Atomics Says Its Collaborative Combat Aircraft Is Like A Bic Lighter

By Tyler Rogoway, Jamie Hunter
Posted on Sep 17, 2024
The U.S. Air Force has no plans to acquire stealthy uncrewed combat air vehicles (UCAV) capable of operating with very high degrees of autonomy independently of crewed aircraft, at least in the near term publicly, despite surging Chinese developments in this domain.

No Flying Wing UCAVs Being Developed By U.S. Air Force While China Surges Ahead

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 17, 2024
AGM-158 XR

Everything We Just Learned About The Supersized AGM-158 XR Stealth Cruise Missile

By Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Sep 16, 2024
Military vehicles drive down a road past a sign indicating that the border to Russia is approaching north of Sumy on August 15th 2024, in Sumy Region, Ukraine. Ukraines's incursion into Russia's Kursk has continued into a second week.

38,000 Russian Troops Committed To Kursk Counteroffensive: Report

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Sep 16, 2024
The U.S. Air Force's still evolving requirements for a next-generation aerial refueling 'system of systems' will directly impact the service's reassessment of plans for a new sixth-generation stealth 'fighter.' The Next-Generation Air-Refueling System (NGAS) effort will also inform work on a second tranche of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones.

Future Stealth Tanker Plans Tied To NGAD 6th Generation Fighter’s Fate

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 16, 2024
Russia putting tires on top of bombers and other aircraft was about confusing seekers with image-matching capability on incoming munitions, a senior U.S. military technologist has confirmed.

Russia Covering Aircraft With Tires Is About Confusing Image-Matching Missile Seekers U.S. Military Confirms

By Joseph Trevithick
Updated on Sep 13, 2024
MQ-9 showcases capabilities to Joint Force during first-time Valiant Shield participation.

MQ-9 Reapers Gathered In Florida, Simulated Fighting Over South China Sea

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Sep 13, 2024
Israel raid

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

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick
Updated on Sep 13, 2024
Russia is now using thermite-spewing dragon drones in Ukraine.

Russia Now Using Thermite-Spewing ‘Dragon Drones’ To Torch Ukrainian Positions

By Howard Altman
Posted on Sep 12, 2024
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has published a video showing the purported destruction of a Russian Su-30SM Flanker multirole fighter, which it claims was brought down by a shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile over the Black Sea.

Russian Su-30SM Flanker Crashes In Black Sea, Ukraine Says They Shot It Down With MANPADS

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Sep 12, 2024
The U.S. Marine Corps legacy F/A-18C/D Hornets are getting a major boost in stand-off strike capability in the form of AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) cruise missiles

Marine Legacy F/A-18 Hornets Getting Major Firepower Boost With JASSM Cruise Missiles

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 12, 2024
Defense contractor Anduril has unveiled Barracuda, a new family of what it is calling "expandable autonomous air vehicles" that are scalable, highly modular, and already being flight-tested. The company is heavily focused now on "M" versions configured as relatively low-cost air-breathing precision munitions that could be launched from helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, as well as maritime and ground platforms.

Anduril Introduces Barracuda-M That Aims To Disrupt The Cruise Missile Market

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 12, 2024
Storm Shadow

Increasing Indications Storm Shadow Missiles Will Be Cleared For Use Inside Russia

By Howard Altman
Updated on Sep 12, 2024
A Russian military correspondent narrowlly avoided being killed by a drone hunting him down in a house.

This Ukrainian Drone Hunting A Russian Inside A Building Has Big Horror Movie Vibes

By Howard Altman
Posted on Sep 11, 2024
China has offered a new and closer look at the catapults on its newest aircraft carrier, the Fujian. We also now have what appears to be the first look inside the retractable enclosed control station built into the flight deck that catapult officers on the ship will use to launch planes.

New Chinese Aircraft Carrier’s Catapult Control ‘Bubble’ Looks Very Familiar

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 11, 2024
A series of photos have emerged showing a U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet with a remarkable and hitherto unseen air-to-air load-out, including four of the very long-range AIM-174B air-to-air missiles.

F/A-18 Super Hornet Appears With Unprecedented Heavy Air-To-Air Missile Load

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Sep 11, 2024
It’s the turn of the Royal Australian Navy to provide us with a spectacular view of airborne infrared countermeasures in action, with a recent video showing a demonstration by one of its MH-60R Seahawk multi-mission maritime helicopters. In the past, TWZ has taken examined some remarkable air-launched countermeasures action, including extreme close-ups, mass drops, airshow routines, and flare ‘dumps’ from heavyweight transports. This may be the first time we’ve seen a helicopter perform this kind of pyrotechnical feat so close to a warship.

Australian MH-60R Helicopter Executes Stunning Flare Dump Off Stern Of Destroyer

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Sep 10, 2024