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Russia said its troops had started the second stage of drills to practise the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons alongside Belarusian troops after what Moscow said were threats from western powers. The ministry said the drills were aimed at ensuring that the two countries’ military personnel and equipment were ready to protect their sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Ukraine Situation Report: Russia Resumes Tactical Nuke Drills

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Jun 11, 2024
A USAF F-15EX takes off carrying 12 AIM-120 AMRAAMs.

What It’s Like To Fly The F-15EX According To A Boeing Test Pilot

By Jamie Hunter
Posted on Jun 11, 2024
U.S. Army Officer Confirms Russian A-50 Radar Jet Was Shot Down With Patriot Missile

U.S. Army Officer Confirms Russian A-50 Radar Jet Was Shot Down With Patriot Missile

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Jun 10, 2024
The US Army's new Precision Strike Missile might provide the United States a ready path to acquiring an air-launched ballistic missile, a type of weapon that is seeing a renaissance around the world.

Army’s New PrSM Ballistic Missile Should Be Adapted Into An Air Launched Weapon

By Tyler Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jun 10, 2024
Ukraine’s battle-worn fleet of Su-25 Frogfoot ground-attack aircraft has run out of unguided munitions, a reflection of the huge number of sorties and prolific range of targets these jets are being tasked against. Meanwhile, the aircraft are now relying on Western-provided precision-guided weapons, a reflection of the demands of the war that are driving innovation in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This is among the revelations from a senior Ukrainian Air Force official, interviewed recently, which provide some fascinating insights into the air war with Russia.

Ukrainian Su-25 Frogfoots Now Using French Hammer Guided Bombs After Exhausting Rocket Stocks

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Jun 10, 2024
SU-57 satellite photo attack imagery

Su-57 Felon Targeted In Ukraine Strike Seen In New Higher-Resolution Satellite Images

By Howard Altman
Posted on Jun 10, 2024
Both Ukrainian and Russian sources say an Su-57 Felon new-generation fighter was struck for the first time.

Su-57 Felon Struck Deep Inside Russia, Ukraine’s Spy Agency Claims (Updated)

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Jun 9, 2024
CH-53K King Stallion arrives in Yuma to join VMX-1.

CH-53K King Stallion Has Arrived At MCAS Yuma To Join VMX-1 Testers

By James Deboer
Posted on Jun 7, 2024
South Korea, one of only four nations that still operated the classic F-4 Phantom, formally retired the Cold War-era fighter today. The decommissioning ceremony saw the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) provide an “honorable discharge” for its last Phantoms, which had helped defend the nation for 55 years. The event also saw the air force looking to the future, with involvement from the F-4’s successors, including the F-35A stealth fighter. Ultimately, the Phantom will also be superseded by the locally developed KF-21.

F-4 Phantom Vanishes Into Retirement After 55 Years Of South Korean Service

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Jun 7, 2024
France has formally announced plans to transfer Mirage 2000-5 fighters to Ukraine and to try pilots to fly them.

Mirage 2000 Fighters To Be Sent To Ukraine From France

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jun 6, 2024
A USN EA-18G took out an Mi-24 with an AARGM.

EA-18G Growler Killed A Houthi Mi-24 Hind With An AGM-88E Anti-Radiation Missile

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Jun 6, 2024
Soviet-era An-22 landing

Russia’s An-22, The Biggest Turboprop Plane Ever Flown, Heads For Retirement

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Jun 6, 2024
The Oregon Air National Guard has received its first F-15EX Eagle II fighter, marking the first delivery of one of these jets to an operational unit.

The F-15EX Eagle II Has Arrived In Portland

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jun 6, 2024
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) today officially unveiled an air-launched version of its LORA (Long Range Artillery), a short-range ballistic missile originally developed for ground launch. The new weapon joins an expanding armory of ballistic missile designs adapted for air launch, including the Israel Military Industries (IMI) Rampage, also based on a long-range artillery munition.

Air LORA, Israel’s Biggest Air-Launched Ballistic Missile, Emerges From The Shadows

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Jun 6, 2024
The US Navy's P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol planes are one step closer to getting new self-protection pods with towed decoys and other electronic warfare capabilities.

Towed Decoy Pods Will Protect P-8 Poseidons From Radar-Guided Threats

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jun 6, 2024
The Navy has been eying the possibility of arming its ships and submarines, as well as aircraft, with a new air-breathing hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile.

Navy’s HALO Hypersonic Anti-Ship Missile Planned For Ships, Submarines, As Well As Jets

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jun 5, 2024
German contractor Diehl Defense has unveiled a new “remote carrier” — a long-range effector that can be launched from aircraft, as well as from land and sea platforms. The missile-like store, known as FEANIX, which stands for Future Effector — Adaptable, Networked, Intelligent, eXpendable, is being pitched as an adjunct to the pan-European Future Combat Air System (FCAS) next-generation air combat program, as well as for the in-service Eurofighter Typhoon.

FEANIX ‘Remote Carrier’ Aims To Be The Ultra-Adaptable Missile Of The Future

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Jun 5, 2024
The Airbus Wingman concept aircraft, which broke cover earlier this week, was formally unveiled at the ILA Berlin aerospace show today. More details have now also come to light about the program, which Airbus leadership says should provide a unit cost that’s equivalent to one third that of a modern crewed fighter.

The Airbus Wingman Stealth Drone: What We Learned In Berlin

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Jun 5, 2024
DONETSK OBLAST, UKRAINE - MAY 1: A drone operator, a Ukrainian soldier of the 56th Motorized Brigade with the call sign "Indianets", prepares a combat FPV drone in the Bakhmut area on May 1, 2024 in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Ukrainian drones operators of the 56th Motorized Brigade are using combat FPV drones to destroy enemy targets and conduct round-the-clock reconnaissance in the Bakhmut area. (Photo by Yevhenii Vasyliev/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Competition To Supply Ukraine With FPV Drones Gets Underway

By Oliver Parken
Posted on Jun 4, 2024
Congress is moving to block the Air Force from retiring or preparing to retire any U-2 spy planes in the next fiscal year.

U-2 Retirement Reprieve Emerges In Proposed Defense Spending Bill

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jun 4, 2024
South Korea will resume military drills near the border in the wake of Kim Jong-un's poop balloon incursion.

South Korea To End Long Pause In Drills Near DMZ After Poop Balloon Incursions

By Howard Altman
Posted on Jun 4, 2024
A USAF Boeing F-15EX flies at low level in Nevada.

How 50 Years Of Eagle Experience Has Shaped The Advanced F-15

By Jamie Hunter
Posted on Jun 4, 2024
Photos have emerged showing a U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet carrying what appears to be an air-launched version of the RIM-174 SM-6 missile, a weapon that can counter aerial threats at long ranges, as well as ground and surface targets.

Super Hornet Armed With SM-6 Missile Spotted Over California

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Jun 4, 2024
European aviation consortium Airbus has unveiled a new stealthy fighter-sized loyal wingman-type drone concept

Stealthy Fighter-Like Wingman Drone Concept Unveiled By Airbus (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick, Oliver Parken
Posted on Jun 4, 2024
The Defense Innovation Unit and the US Air Force have picked four different companies design, build, and flight test new low-cost cruise missile concepts.

‘Cheap’ Long-Range Cruise Missile Designs To Be Tested By Air Force

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jun 3, 2024
The US Air Force has awarded its first contract for the purchase of production Joint Strike Missiles which are set to give its F-35A Joint Strike Fighters a new and capable stand-off strike option against targets on land and at sea.

USAF F-35s Are Officially Getting Joint Strike Cruise Missiles That Fit In Their Bays

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jun 1, 2024
Testing at the Upside-Down Air Force, RADC

The Fascinating Story Of The USAF’s “Upside-Down Air Force”

By Oliver Parken
Posted on May 31, 2024
Progressively clearer photos of one of Shenyang’s prototype fighters seems to reveal key features different to those found on the carrier-based J-35, as well as on the earlier FC-31 prototypes. This raises questions about China’s own plans for a potential land-based variant, as well as future export plans, with Pakistan known to have made official plans to acquire a version of the jet.

Land-Based Variant Of China’s J-35 Naval Stealth Fighter Makes Sense

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on May 31, 2024
A U.S. B-2A Spirit bomber assigned to the 509th Bomb Wing and a Royal Netherlands air force F-35A conduct aerial operations in support of Bomber Task Force Europe 20-2 over the North Sea March 18, 2020. Bomber missions provide opportunities to train and work with NATO allies and theater partners in combined and joint operations and exercises.

Dutch F-35s Take On A Full Nuclear Role

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on May 31, 2024
Officials at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina are looking into the possibility of erecting physical barriers to protect F-15E Strike Eagles there from drones.

Enclosures To Defend F-15Es From Drone Attacks Eyed At Seymour Johnson AFB

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on May 30, 2024
Tamir air-o-air variant

The Case For Arming Drone-Hunting Fighters With Iron Dome’s Tamir Missile

By Tyler Rogoway
Posted on May 30, 2024
Martin baker 75 years of ejections

Martin-Baker Ejection Seat Made Its First Of 7,722 Saves 75 Years Ago Today

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on May 30, 2024
New video purports to show the first Russian FPV drone attack on a Ukrainian sea drone.

Russian FPV Drone Seen Attacking Ukrainian Uncrewed Surface Vessel For The First Time

By Howard Altman
Posted on May 30, 2024
North Korea sent hundreds of balloons, many filled with manure, into South Korea.

Poop-Filled North Korean Balloons Descend On The South Stoking Fears Of Deadlier Payloads

By Howard Altman
Posted on May 29, 2024
Experimental Alpha Draco hypersonic boost-glide vehicle preparing for launch, 1959.

Alpha Draco Paved The Way In The Late 1950s For Future Hypersonic Boost-Glide Vehicles

By Oliver Parken
Posted on May 29, 2024
In a major new development for the Ukrainian military, Sweden is to donate it Saab 340 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft equipped with Erieye radar. The aircraft is being provided as part of Sweden’s biggest military aid package for Ukraine so far and they will bring an entirely new capability for the Ukrainian Air Force, providing much enhanced air and sea surveillance and working together with its forthcoming F-16 fighters.

Ukraine Getting Swedish Airborne Early Warning Radar Planes Is A Big Deal

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway
Posted on May 29, 2024
F-16 Belgium ukraine

Ukraine Situation Report: First Of 30 Belgian F-16s To Be Delivered “This Year”

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on May 28, 2024
An F-35 Joint Strike Fighter crashed in Albuquerque New Mexico.

F-35 Crashes In New Mexico (Updated)

By Howard Altman
Posted on May 28, 2024
How the A-10's Avenger cannon went from terrible to terrifying.

How The A-10’s Avenger Cannon Went From Terrible To Terrifying

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on May 28, 2024
Black Flag 24-1, out of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, run by the Air Force’s 53rd Wing.

Massive China-Focused Black Flag Test Exercise Flies Deep Into The Virtual Realm

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on May 28, 2024
Taiwan under threat during second day of Chinese drills.

China Stages Mock Strikes On Taiwan In Day 2 Of “Punishment” Exercise

By Howard Altman
Posted on May 24, 2024
Ukraine is one of three countries, along with Bulgaria and Japan, that will recieve a new tranche of Small Diameter Bombs under a $6.9 billion contract with Boeing.

Ukraine Situation Report: Kyiv Says It’s Using Air-Launched Small Diameter Bombs

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on May 24, 2024
Nearly 50 warplanes, along with ships and assets ashore, took part in the first day of what Chinese authorities have dubbed "punishment" drills encircling Taiwan following the inauguration of the island's latest President.

China’s “Punishment” Drills Around Taiwan: Day One

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on May 24, 2024
B-2/B-21 comparison

B-21, B-2 Comparison Image Shows Just How Weird The Raider’s Windows Really Are

By Tyler Rogoway
Posted on May 23, 2024
Su-34 launches new glide bombs

Russia’s Small Diameter Bomb-Like Weapon Seen In Action For The First Time

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on May 23, 2024
Exercise TARTAN SPIRIT has tested, trained and integrated critical capabilities to ensure they are ready for any operational missions. From scenario driven training to Tactical Landing Zones, this Exercise takes personnel from RAF Brize Norton, the RAF’s largest station and home to the UK’s Air Mobility Force, Prestwick Airport is the Deployable Operating Base and West Freugh the Forward Operating base. II Squadron RAF Regiment deployed alongside the Air Mobility Force to further strengthen their tactics, training and techniques alongside various aircraft. These skills are essential for ensuring RAF aircraft can operate safely across the globe. By training together we continue to provide integrated and scaleable Air Force Protection capability whilst preparing all RAF personnel for the rigours of operations, providing them with critical skills to survive, operate and maintain their operational edge.

Confessions Of A C-130 Hercules Pilot

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on May 23, 2024
Everything We Learned About The Next Doomsday Planes For The Air Force

Everything We Learned About The Next Doomsday Planes For The Air Force

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on May 23, 2024
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has chosen designs from Northrop Grumman and Sikorsky for the next phase of its AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY) autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) X-plane demonstration program. The effort aims to develop and test in flight an X-plane that will offer long endurance and the ability to launch and recover from ship flight decks and small austere land locations in adverse weather without additional infrastructure equipment. It’s part of an increasing focus on expeditionary deployments of the kind that will be required in a future conflict in the Pacific.

DARPA’s Naval VTOL X-Plane Drone Program Narrows Down To Two Designs

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on May 22, 2024
An uncrewed ground vehicle launching quadcopter

Army Tests Quadcopter Swarm-Launching Uncrewed Ground Vehicle For Clearing Mines

By Oliver Parken
Posted on May 22, 2024
B-21 raider first air-to-air image

First Aerial View Of B-21 Raider Offers New Insights

By Tyler Rogoway
Posted on May 22, 2024
U-2's new radar is going to the Army's HADES surveillance jet.

Radar Developed For U-2 To Go On Army Intel-Gathering BizJets

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on May 22, 2024
Aurora Flight Sciences has unveiled a new uncrewed fan-in-wing aircraft concept as part of ongoing work for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Revised Lift Fan Aircraft Concept Emerges From Special Ops X-Plane Program

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on May 21, 2024
The quiet closing out of the Air Force's SHiELD program and issues the Army has been having with is laser-armed DE M-SHORAD variants of the 8x8 Stryker reflect broader hurdles facing directed energy weapons of this type.

U.S. Military Laser Weapon Programs Are Facing A Reality Check

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on May 21, 2024
Airbus’ UH-72 Unmanned Logistics Connector Sets Its Sights On The USMC’s Future Fleet Requirements

Airbus’ UH-72 Unmanned Logistics Connector Sets Its Sights On The USMC’s Future Fleet Requirements

By The War Zone
Posted on May 21, 2024
ADM-160 MALD seen on MIG-29 in Ukraine for the first time.

ADM-160 Miniature Air Launched Decoy Spotted On Ukrainian MiG-29

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on May 21, 2024
Personnel from China's PLA engage in counter FPV-drone training

Chinese Soldiers Train To Fend Off FPV Drones

By Oliver Parken, Tyler Rogoway
Updated on May 20, 2024
F-35B from VMX-1 in formation.

The Marine Unit Charged With Digitally Connecting Everything Over The Battlefield

By James Deboer
Posted on May 17, 2024
Ukraine has launched large-scale drone attacks against Russia.

Ukraine Situation Report: Kyiv Launches Massive Drone Attack On Russia

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on May 17, 2024
The War Zone has now obtained additional high-resolution imagery better showing the extent of the destruction at Russia's Belbek Air Base from recent Ukrainian strikes.

MiG-31 Foxhounds Confirmed Destroyed In New Imagery Of Belbek Air Base

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on May 17, 2024
A Navy Growler electronic attack jet now sports a Hind helicopter "kill mark"

Navy EA-18G Growler Sports Puzzling Mi-24 Hind Kill Mark Overseas

By Howard Altman, Joseph Trevithick, Tyler Rogoway
Posted on May 16, 2024
NASA's DC-8 airborne science laboratory banks low over the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., upon arrival Nov. 8, 2007.

NASA’s DC-8 Flying Lab Flies Into Retirement, Making The Type Nearly Extinct

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on May 15, 2024
The Viper Demo team has painted their jet in the YF-16's scheme to commemorate the type's 50th anniversary.

Viper Demo Team Secretly Painted Jet In YF-16 Scheme To Celebrate Type’s 50th Anniversary

By Tyler Rogoway
Posted on May 15, 2024
An uncrewed version of the UH-72B Lakota helicopter is among the types now in the running to become of the Marine Corps' next logistics drones.

UH-72 Lakota Drone In The Running To Haul Cargo For The USMC

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on May 14, 2024
Congress says the Navy's CMV-22B Ospreys can only fly 30 minutes from a divert airfield, limiting their ability to provide carrier onboard delivery services.

Navy CMV-22B Ospreys Only Allowed To Fly 30 Minutes From A Divert Airfield: Congress

By Howard Altman
Posted on May 14, 2024