News & Features(Page 8)

Latest in News & Features

Mysterious M60 Machine Gun Contract Awarded By U.S. Army

Mysterious M60 Machine Gun Contract Awarded By U.S. Army

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 30, 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
Russia is training on using helicopters to launch FPV drones to attack Ukrainian sea drones.

Russia Training To Launch FPV Drones From Helicopters To Counter Sea Drones

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway
Posted 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
Petra Reuter, owner of the Bundesbank Bunker Museum, walks past storage rooms for the substitute currency in the former vault of the bunker museum in Cochem, western Germany on February 8, 2022. The Bundesbank Bunker was a bunker of the German Federal Bank in Cochem for the storage of an emergency currency. From 1964 to 1988, up to 15 billion marks were stored in the top-secret facility to protect Germany from a national economic crisis in the event of hyperinflation caused by the Cold War. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP) (Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)

Bunker Talk: Let’s Talk About All The Things We Did And Didn’t Cover This Week

By Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Sep 28, 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
The mysterious incident at China’s Wuchang Shipyard in the spring of this year resulted in the sinking of the country’s latest nuclear-powered attack submarine, according to U.S. officials.

China’s New Nuclear Submarine Sank During Mysterious Incident In Wuhan: Report

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
After Hezbollah fired a ballistic missile at Tel Aviv, Israel's top commander told his forces to be prepared to invade Lebanon.

Israel’s Potential Invasion Of Southern Lebanon Looms Larger

By Howard Altman
Posted on Sep 25, 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
For the first time in more than four decades, China has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) out in the Western Pacific, ostensibly for training purposes.

First Chinese ICBM Test Into The Pacific In Decades Is A Big Deal (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick
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
Dutch missile ship

New Dutch Navy Support Vessels Will Be Missile-Toting Wingmen To Frigates

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Sep 25, 2024
The Ukrainian town of Vulhedar is about to fall to Russian forces.

Russia Poised To Capture Key Eastern Ukraine City

By Howard Altman
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
The USNS oiler Big Horn suffered a mishap at sea in the 5th Fleet region, raising logistics concerns for the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group

Navy Resupply Ship Mishap Could Have Big Impact On Mid-East Deployed Carrier Group

By Howard Altman
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
In a cloud of smoke the Russian destroyer Admiral Levchenko leaves Portsmouth for operation FRUKUS.

Russian Destroyer Fired Warning Shots At Norwegian Fishing Boat: Report

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Sep 24, 2024
Satellite Images Show Massive Devastation At Russian Ammo Storage Sites Struck By Ukrainian Drones

Satellite Images Show Massive Devastation At Russian Ammo Storage Sites Struck By Ukrainian Drones

By Howard Altman
Updated on Sep 24, 2024
China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, arrives in Hong Kong waters on July 7, 2017.

All Three Chinese Aircraft Carriers Were At Sea For The First Time

By Thomas Newdick
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
A private group bomb shelters, dug into San Francisco's seven hills by house-holders and apartment owners, came into realistic use as air raids and blackouts entered the city's life, December 11, 1941. Bettmann via Getty Images.

Bunker Talk: Let’s Talk About All The Things We Did And Didn’t Cover This Week

By Tyler Rogoway
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
A man holds an Icom walkie talkie device after he removed the battery during the funeral of persons killed when hundreds of paging devices exploded in a deadly wave across Lebanon the previous day, in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 18, 2024. Hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded across Lebanon on September 17, killing at least nine people and wounding around 2,800 in blasts the Iran-backed militant group blamed on Israel.

How Israel Turned Hezbollah’s Pagers Into Exploding Trojan Horses

By Thomas Newdick
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
Walkie Talkie exploded in Lebanon

More Electronics Explode In Lebanon As Israel Declares ‘New Phase’ Of War

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Sep 18, 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
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
Hezbollah pager

Hezbollah’s Exploding Pagers Could Be As Monumental A Cyber-Espionage Operation As Stuxnet

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway
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
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
August 10, 2018. Long corridors form a labyrinth that leads to the different rooms of the anti-atomic shelter in Avdeevka, Ukraine. Photo by Gaelle Girbes/Getty Images.

Bunker Talk: Let’s Talk About All The Things We Did And Didn’t Cover This Week

By Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Sep 14, 2024
Russia's Kursk counteroffensive is fully underway.

Russia’s Kursk Counteroffensive Fully Underway

By Howard Altman
Posted on Sep 14, 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
What appears to be one of the first looks at members of the German armed forces with new 5.56x45mm Heckler & Koch HK416 A8 rifles, also known as G95A1s, has come from an unexpected source: the U.S. Army. With help from the U.S. Army, the Germans have been stress-testing the guns in very hot and humid conditions at a facility in Panama and in the Arizona desert.

Germany’s New HK416 Service Rifles Appear At Panama Test Site

By Joseph Trevithick
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
BAE Systems has launched its new uncrewed ground vehicle, or UGV, the Autonomous Tactical Light Armor System (ATLAS) Collaborative Combat Variant (CCV), a roughly 11-ton 8x8 vehicle that’s being pitched as a “combat wingman” with the potential for a high degree of autonomy. The powerfully armed vehicle is the latest addition to a growing number of UGVs that are designed to provide more flexibility to ground forces’ commanders, primarily by reducing the risks that personnel are exposed to on the battlefield.

ATLAS Uncrewed “Combat Wingman” Fighting Vehicle Unveiled

By Thomas Newdick
Updated 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
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
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
The head of the House Foreign Affairs Committe says he was told by Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the U.S. will give Ukraine the green light to use ATACMS in Russia.

Ukraine Using ATACMS Missiles To Strike Inside Russia Now On The Table

By Howard Altman
Posted on Sep 10, 2024
Captain of the USS Dwight D Eisenhower tells us what really went on during the ship's Red Sea combat cruise.

Carrier Captain In Combat: Our Video Interview With Christopher “Chowdah” Hill

By Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Sep 10, 2024
Ukraine has unleashed the heaviest drone attack so far against Moscow. The overnight raid on the Russian capital killed at least one person and caused widespread damage and disruption. The long-range strikes come as Ukrainian officials are increasingly frustrated by Western restrictions on using weapons that they have supplied to hit targets deep within Russia.

Moscow Hit By Unprecedented Ukrainian Drone Barrage

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Sep 10, 2024
The Piasecki Aircraft Corporation's Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System Demonstration Vehicle (ARES-DV), a vertical takeoff and landing capable tilt-rotor drone designed to carry interchangeable payload modules, has left the ground for the first time.

Tilt-Ducted Fan ARES Drone Designed To Carry Modular Payloads Has Finally Lifted Off

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 10, 2024
We have just gotten our clearest view so far of a Chinese J-20 stealth fighter powered by the definitive WS-15 domestically produced engines. While the appearance of the photo at this point raises a number of questions, it’s meanwhile clear that the significant shortcoming of the J-20 — its powerplant — appears to have now been addressed.

Our Best Look Yet At China’s J-20A Fighter With WS-15 Engines 

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Sep 9, 2024
JAS39C Gripen Ukraine

Sweden’s JAS-39 Gripen Fighters Still On The Table For Ukraine

By Howard Altman
Posted on Sep 9, 2024
The U.S. Army has renewed interest in new longer-range artillery shells, such as ramjet-powered types, following its axing of plans to buy a next-generation tracked self-propelled 155mm howitzer.

Focus Grows On Longer-Range Artillery Shells After Army Axes Next-Gen Howitzer

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 9, 2024