News & Features(Page 9)

Latest in News & Features

Iranian-made Shahed-136 'Kamikaze' drone flies over the sky of Kermanshah, Iran on March 7, 2024. Iran fired over 100 drones and ballistic missiles on Saturday, April 13, 2024, in retaliation to an attack on a building attached to the country's consular annex in Damascus that killed the guards, and two generals of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on April 01, 2024. Iran has blamed Israel for the attack on April 5, 2024 in Tehran.

Russian Shahed Kamikaze Drone Crashes In Latvia

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Sep 9, 2024
Iranian ground-to-ground Sajil missile launches at an undisclosed location in Iran on November 12, 2008.

Iranian Ballistic Missiles Have Arrived In Russia: Reports

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Sep 7, 2024
The Control Room at the York Bunker which was used at the height of the Cold War following its construction in 1961. (Photo by John Giles - PA Images/PA Images 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 7, 2024
Navy Capt. Chris "Chowdah" Hill, commander of the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, opens up about the carrier group's recent dangerous and grueling deployment to the Middle East.

Carrier Captain In Combat: What Went On During 7 Months Under Fire Around The Red Sea

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Sep 7, 2024
A Boeing 737 carrying Senator J.D. Vance, former President Donald Trump's running mate for Vice President, and others, inadvertently intruded briefly into some of the most restricted airspace on the planet earlier this week as it left Washington, D.C.'s Reagan National Airport.

J.D. Vance’s Campaign Jet Inadvertently Buzzed The Washington Monument

By Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman
Posted on Sep 6, 2024
F-16 belonging to VFC-13, flying over Carson Valley, NV.

Navy Tried To Buy Greek F-16s To Turn Them Into Adversaries

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Sep 6, 2024
A video has emerged showing a Ukrainian Su-24M Fencer swing-wing combat jet carrying what is said to be new air-launched guided munition.

Mystery Munition Appears Under Ukrainian Su-24 Fencer Attack Jet’s Wing

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 6, 2024
Satellite imagery and videos offer new evidence of a surge in the development of the stealthy flying-wing uncrewed combat air vehicles in China, especially with regard to the GJ-11 Sharp Sword.

Chinese Flying Wing UCAV Testing Accelerating Based On Satellite Imagery, Videos

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 5, 2024
Dutch Decide To Bring Back Main Battle Tanks

Dutch Decide To Bring Back Main Battle Tanks

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Sep 5, 2024
The U.S. Space Force second-in-command has provided updates on plans for the service’s introduction of space-based ground moving-target indicator and air moving-target indicator (GMTI/AMTI) capabilities.

U.S. To Track Moving Air And Ground Targets Via Space By 2030, But Aircraft Will Still Play A Part

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Sep 5, 2024
The use of thermite-dispersing drones by Ukraine has proliferated.

Thermite-Spewing ‘Dragon’ Drones Are Ukraine’s Newest Battlefield Innovation

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Sep 4, 2024
The U.S. Air Force is re-examining the very core of its requirements for a new sixth-generation stealth combat jet as part of its ongoing review of that element of the larger Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) initiative.

Air Force “Starting At The Beginning” With NGAD 6th Gen Fighter Requirements Review

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 4, 2024
Kursk incursion a bargainin chip says Zelensky

Kursk Invasion A Bargaining Chip Zelensky Says

By Howard Altman
Posted on Sep 4, 2024
Above All Else JASSM Would Give Ukraine A Steady Supply Of Cruise Missiles

Above All Else JASSM Would Give Ukraine A Steady Supply Of Cruise Missiles

By Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Sep 3, 2024
Ukraine has developed a balloon-carried electronic warfare system designed to detect enemy drone operators, which can then be targeted, offering a more comprehensive solution than tackling individual drones. While the status of the system, known as Aero Azimuth, is unclear, its unveiling points to a resurgence in interest in elevated sensors, especially mounted of aerostats.

Balloon-Based Sensor That Pinpoints Location Of Drone Operators Emerges In Ukraine

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Sep 3, 2024
The U.S. Air Force recently awarded contracts to two companies for work on SHARK 'buddy store' podded aerial refueling systems able to work with aircraft that use the boom method to get gas in flight.

Aerial Refueling Boom Pods That Could Go On F-15s In The Works

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Sep 3, 2024
Ukraine is advancing slowly eastward to a key town in Russia's Kursk Oblast

Ukraine Pushing Slowly West In Russia Towards Key Kursk City

By Howard Altman
Posted on Aug 31, 2024
AC-130

The Future Of The AC-130 Gunship: Evolve Or Die

By Tyler Rogoway
Updated on Aug 31, 2024
Families walk down the driveway while touring a model site home with a concrete basement fallout shelter, Texas, 1961. Photo by Shel Hershorn/Getty Images.

Bunker Talk: Labor Day Weekend Edition

By Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Aug 31, 2024
The War Zone delved into the digital engineer and advanced manufacturer techniques behind the stealthy Model 437 Vanguard aircraft, and more, an interview with Colin Miller, Vice President for Engineering within Northrop Grumman's aeronautics sector.

Everything We Just Learned About The Model 437 Vanguard Technology Demonstrator Jet

By Tyler Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Aug 30, 2024
Alternatively known as the Y-9LG, the Y-8GX-12 is another ECM version based on the Y-8 Category III Platform. It was first identified in satellite imagery in late 2017. Surprisingly, considering its assumed role, the Y-8GX-12 has a ‘balance beam’ radar antenna above its fuselage, as found on the KJ-200 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. It is believed, however, that the radar aboard the Y-8GX-12 is instead used for long-range jamming, using its powerful electronically scanned radar beams to suppress enemy radar signals.

Our Best Look Yet At China’s New Standoff Electronic Warfare Plane

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Aug 30, 2024
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky fired his Air Force commander days after a fatal F-16 crash.

Zelensky Fires Air Force Commander As Claims Swirl Around Fatal F-16 Loss

By Howard Altman
Posted on Aug 30, 2024
Russian troops are now eight miles from the key Ukrainian logistics hub of Pokrovsk.

Fall Of Key Ukrainian City To Russia Could Be An “Operational Catastrophe”

By Howard Altman
Updated on Aug 30, 2024
India has reportedly introduced to service its second nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, or SSBN, INS Arighat, marking a significant development in the country’s burgeoning strategic nuclear capability. The new submarine, armed with indigenously developed ballistic missiles, is understood to incorporate improvements over its predecessor, although India’s SSBN fleet, and its nuclear forces in general, continue to be hugely outstripped by those of China, its main strategic rival.

India’s Improved Nuclear Ballistic Missile Submarine Enters Service

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Aug 29, 2024
U.S. Army Green Berets covertly hijacking a WiFi network to disable a building's security systems so their companions can sneak inside, grab intel, and leave after using electronic warfare gear to conceal they were ever there sounds like the opening scene to a Mission Impossible movie or Call of Duty video game. Very real Army Special Forces soldiers executed this exact scenario during a training exercise in Sweden earlier this year.

Green Berets Hijacked WiFi To Control Home Security System Then Vanish In Mock Raid

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Aug 29, 2024
The first known prototype of the Model 437 from Northrop Grumman subsidiary Scaled Composites has flown.

Stealthy High-Tech Model 437 Vanguard Jet Has Flown For The First Time (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Aug 29, 2024
Reports from the United States suggest that Ukraine has lost its first F-16 fighter, and one of its pilots, in a crash during a combat mission earlier this week. If true, and there are some questions about the accuracy of the reports, it would be a significant blow for the Ukrainian Air Force, which has so far only received a small number of the jets and has only a handful of combat-qualified pilots.

Ukrainian Pilot Killed In First F-16 Loss

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Aug 29, 2024
The U.S. Coast Guard's heavy icebreaker USCGC Polar Star has returned to its home port of Seattle, Washington, after a major service life-extending overhaul – and not a moment too soon.

U.S. Coast Guard Has A Working Heavy Icebreaker Again

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Aug 29, 2024
Ukraine is targeting the Key E38 highway with drones to slow down Russian logistics.

Ukraine Bracketing Key Kursk Highway With Drones To Slow Russian Logistics

By Howard Altman
Posted on Aug 29, 2024
A new photo has emerged of China’s mysterious stealthy Chinese corvette or light frigate, an intriguing design, with apparent low-observable features, which you can read more about here. In fact, the latest photo raises more questions than it answers, in particular the presumed HQ-10 surface-to-air missile launcher at the rear of the vessel apparently being something else entirely.

Our Best Look At China’s Stealthy Experimental Corvette

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Aug 28, 2024
Ukraine struck Russia's Kirov Oblast, 700 miles from the border, for the first time as part of its ongoing campaign against Moscow's fuel infrastructure.

Russian Region 700 Miles From The Border Struck For First Time By Ukrainian Drones

By Howard Altman
Posted on Aug 28, 2024
The U.S. Army has awarded a massive contract valued at close to $1 billion to AeroVironment for Switchblade-series loitering munitions, also known as kamikaze drones, over the next five years.

Army Just Signed $1B Deal For Massive Order Of Switchblade Kamikaze Drones

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Aug 28, 2024
Poland’s first F-35A stealth fighter — locally named Husarz, or hussar — was officially rolled out today in a glitzy ceremony at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas plant.

Poland’s First F-35A “Hussar” Stealth Fighter Rolled Out

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Aug 28, 2024
Saab Gets Big XM919 Shoulder-Fired Anti-Armor Launcher Order From The U.S. Army (Updated)

Saab Gets Big XM919 Shoulder-Fired Anti-Armor Launcher Order From The U.S. Army (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Aug 28, 2024
Ukraine's invasion of Kursk Oblast has entered its third week

Pace of Ukraine Advance Slowing As Kursk Invasion Hits Three-Week Mark

By Howard Altman
Posted on Aug 27, 2024
Thailand looks to have provided the Saab Gripen E/F program with a major vote of confidence, with reports that its air force has selected the Swedish-made jet as its next fighter. While the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) already operates earlier Gripen C/D aircraft, the Gripen E/F brings with it significant advances in capability, the extent of which make it almost an entirely new aircraft compared to its predecessor.

Thailand Chooses Gripen E/F As Its New Fighter

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Aug 27, 2024
Not for the first time, the commitment of the United Kingdom to the F-35B Lightning stealth fighter is under scrutiny, amid reports that the new government could make cuts to it as it grapples with financial woes. With the British government seemingly committed to the next-generation Tempest fighter, the ability to pay for two separate advanced combat aircraft programs is being questioned, while continued problems integrating new weapons on the F-35B also pose a threat to its long-term security.

United Kingdom’s F-35B Fleet Plans Under Threat As Defense Cuts Loom

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Aug 27, 2024
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that his country has conducted the first successful test of a new domestically-developed ballistic missile.

Ukraine Says It Has Tested A New Domestically-Designed Ballistic Missile

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Aug 27, 2024
Ukraine suffered the largest Russian aerial bombardment of the war.

Largest Russian Aerial Attack Of The War Wreaks Havoc On Ukraine’s Beleaguered Power Grid

By Howard Altman
Posted on Aug 27, 2024
Before the Ukrainian Air Force received its first batch of F-16 Viper fighters, the U.S. Air Force helped optimize electronic warfare (EW) systems on those jets against Russian threats.

Electronic Warfare Systems On Ukraine’s F-16s Getting Specially Tuned To Russian Threats By USAF

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Aug 27, 2024
The security alert at Geilenkirchen Air Base in Germany last week, which you can read more about here, was due to fears of a possible Russian drone attack, according to multiple German media reports. The latest development comes amid growing fears of Russian-inspired aggression against Germany, including drones, but also various other ‘hybrid warfare’ tactics. As the main operating base for NATO’s fleet of E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), the base plays a critical role for the alliance — including around Ukraine.

Fears Of Russian-Inspired Drone Attack Led To German Air Base Alert: Reports

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Aug 26, 2024
Japan reports that a Chinese Y-9Z surveillance aircraft violated its airspace in what it says is the first time such an incident has taken place.

Chinese Electronic Intelligence Plane Makes Unprecedented Incursion Into Japanese Airspace

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Aug 26, 2024
North Korea has revealed two new kamikaze drones that look to be virtual copies, at least externally, of the Israeli-made Harop and Hero-400.

North Korea Unveils Clones of Israeli Kamikaze Drones

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Aug 26, 2024
412th Test Wing photographers Christian Turner, Todd Schannuth, and Richard Gonzales on the ramp with their F-16D chase jet.

The Flight Test Photographers Of Edwards Air Force Base

By Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Aug 26, 2024
This photo taken from a position in northern Israel shows an Israeli Air Force fighter jet firing flares as it flies to intercept a hostile aircraft that launched from Lebanon over the border area with south Lebanon on August 25, 2024. The Israeli military announced early August 25, 2024 that it was conducting pre-emptive strikes in Lebanon after detecting preparations for "large-scale" attacks by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Hezbollah said August 25, 2024 it had launched more than 320 rockets at Israel overnight, targeting a string of military positions, even as Israel's military said it was carrying out pre-emptive strikes against the group. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel Launches Preemptive Strikes In Lebanon Just Before Hezbollah Carried Out Retribution Barrage (Updated)

By Howard Altman
Posted on Aug 25, 2024
Underground Cold War-era vault

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

By Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Aug 24, 2024
All eyes were on presidential candidate and sitting Vice President Kamala Harris this week as the Democratic National Convention kicked off. One clip of Harris's movements, in particular, got a lot of attention from those interested in military technology — the Vice President boarding an MV-22 tiltrotor on a short trip to the convention hall.

MV-22 Ospreys Have Actually Been Flying The Vice President For Years

By Tyler Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman
Posted on Aug 24, 2024
Sabotage at norwegian airbase

Sabotage Confirmed At Norwegian Air Base

By Thomas Newdick
Updated on Aug 23, 2024
The destruction of a ship carrying fuel tank cars will affect supplies to troops and the Crimean peninsula.

Fuel Supplies To Russian Troops, Crimea Strangled By Destruction Of Ship

By Howard Altman
Posted on Aug 23, 2024
KC-46 and F-15E had an incident resulting in the loss of the tanker's boom

Audio Reveals Details Of KC-46 And F-15E Refueling Incident That Broke The Tanker’s Boom Off

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Aug 23, 2024
The War Zone has learned new details about the Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle in an interview with Dr. Shane Arnott, Senior Vice President for Engineering at Anduril and the company's maritime lead.

Everything We Just Learned About The Ghost Shark Uncrewed Submarine

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Aug 23, 2024
The U.S. Army has chosen the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) to lead the conversion of Bombardier Global 6500 business jets into new High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) aircraft.

Army’s HADES Surveillance Bizjet Program Moves Forward With Sierra Nevada Corp. Deal

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Aug 23, 2024
Images taken after a Ukrainian drone strike on an airbase deep inside Russia Russia shows several combat aircraft were damaged.

Russian Jets Damaged In Ukrainian Long-Range Drone Attack On Air Base

By Howard Altman
Posted on Aug 23, 2024
A Czech company has unveiled an inflatable decoy of the F-16 fighter, notably wearing Ukrainian Air Force markings. The inflatable fighter, from a firm that is already known to be providing Kyiv with decoys of other items of military equipment, appears only a matter of weeks after it was confirmed that the first real F-16s had arrived in Ukraine.

Inflatable Ukrainian F-16 Decoy Emerges At Defense Show

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Aug 22, 2024
A Ukrainian missile struck and sunk a vessel full of fuel train cars.

Ship Full Of Fuel Train Cars Detonates In Russian Port, Ukrainian Neptune Missile Suspected (Updated)

By Howard Altman
Posted on Aug 22, 2024
Ukraine's probing near a Kursk border town may protend a larger attack in that sector.

Ukraine Testing Advance In Kursk Toward Russian Troops Trapped By Blown Bridges

By Howard Altman
Posted on Aug 21, 2024
A newly emerged photo provides our best look so far at the unusual layout of Iran’s intriguing drone-carrier ship, the IRGC Shahid Bagheri, including its angled flight deck. Converted from an existing commercial vessel, this so-called “forward base ship” design is definitely topical considering the kind of anti-shipping campaign currently being waged by Iranian proxies in the Red Sea and, according to the U.S., by Iran, increasingly further afield.

Iran’s Bizarre ‘Aircraft Carrier’ Seen In New Detail

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Aug 21, 2024
Ostafyevo air base

Signals Intelligence Center Targeted In Drone Attack On Moscow: Ukraine’s Intel Chief

By Howard Altman
Posted on Aug 21, 2024
Secret Service’s “Ground Force One” Presidential Armored Bus Emerges Wrapped For Harris-Walz Campaign

Secret Service’s “Ground Force One” Presidential Armored Bus Emerges Wrapped For Harris-Walz Campaign

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Aug 21, 2024
A notional light fighter concept has been presented by the U.S. Air Force’s senior uniformed officer, providing a thought-provoking insight on one direction that the service’s future combat fleet could take. The concept emerges as Air Force officials are increasingly questioning the requirements for the crewed sixth-generation stealth combat jet being developed as part of its Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) initiative.

Air Force Floats Light Stealth Fighter Concept As Its Heavy Fighter Program May Be In Jeopardy

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Aug 20, 2024
A tank simulator built for online war gaming

Guy Built This Fully-Crewed Tank Simulator That Uses Empty Soda Bottles For Shells

By Oliver Parken
Posted on Aug 20, 2024
Thousands of Russian troops are likely trapped in a pocket of Kursk Oblast after Ukraine destroyed three bridges over the Seim River.

Thousands Of Russian Troops In Kursk Likely Trapped By Blown Bridges

By Howard Altman
Posted on Aug 20, 2024
A drone scare around the U.S. Air Force's Plant 42 in California, a major hub for advanced aerospace development work, including highly classified military programs, has led to revelations about a real wave of mysterious drone incursions in recent months.

Palmdale UFO Scare Leads To Revelations About Mystery Drone Incursions Over Secretive Plant 42

By Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman
Posted on Aug 20, 2024
Ukrainian troops are pushing westward in Russia's Kursk Oblast as part of an effort to crea

Ukraine Pushing Westward In Kursk To Create A “Buffer Zone”

By Howard Altman
Posted on Aug 19, 2024