The War Zone. Your daily source for military, defense, and geopolitics coverage.
U.S. Air Force
B-52 Re-Engining Plan Comes Into Sharper Focus
Re-engining all 76 B-52 bombers is now planned for by 2036, 15 years after contract award.
Latest News
Balloon-Launched Drone To Intercept Long Range Kamikaze Drones Emerges In Ukraine
The aerostat-mounted drone interceptor system is another example of the resurgence of interest in using balloons in modern conflicts.
Tomahawk Cruise Missile Fired By Dutch Navy Frigate For First Time
The first launch from a De Zeven Provinciën class frigate puts the Netherlands in the elite Tomahawk users club.
Machine Gun With Longer Reach Sought By U.S. Army
A machine gun in .338 Norma Magnum caliber would give Army units significantly greater range than they have now with their 7.62x51mm M240s.
Ukraine On Verge Of Losing Key City In Russia’s Kursk Region
The fall of Sudzha would represent a huge blow to Ukraine’s efforts to hold onto its Kursk salient.
Green Berets Looking For FPV Drones To Help Them Clear Hostile Cave Complexes
SOCOM says these drones would be safer and more effective in some ways than relying soley on military working dogs.
You Don’t Need A Kill Switch To Hobble Exported F-35s
The U.S. doesn’t have to rely on a kill switch to rapidly degrade and soon end a foreign country’s ability to use its F-35s.
Space Force Chief “Enamored By Systems That Deny, Disrupt, And Degrade” Satellites
Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman alluded to the kinds of counter-space capabilities that the U.S. Space Force is now prioritizing.
U.S.-Ukraine Reach Agreement On Terms For Total Ceasefire With Russia
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will now present this plan to the Russians for their approval.
Drones Rained Down On Moscow Ahead Of Ukraine Peace Talks
The large-scale drone attack was a clear show of force ahead of high-stakes talks with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia.
AI-Enabled Cognitive Electronic Warfare Capability Plugs Into F-16’s Existing Radar Warning Receiver
We get the lowdown on what CADS is supposed to do and how it pairs with existing AN/ALQ-69 radar warning receivers.
X-37B Returns To Earth, Space Force Won’t Commit To Buying More
The Orbital Test Vehicle-7 mission included several novelties, including a highly elliptical orbit for the X-37B that allowed for unpredictable changes in its path.
B-21 Aerial Refueling Demands Further Point To It Being A Stealthy Flying Gas Can
How the Air Force plans to use the B-21’s extremely long endurance capabilities has created new requirements for its tanker fleets.
Secretive AIM-260 Air-To-Air Missile Live-Fire Testing Surged Last Year With Navy Help
The Navy has also confirmed the development of the AIM-174B air-launched version of the SM-6 missile was tied to a Pacific Fleet requirement.
Tanker That Exploded In North Sea Collision One Of 10 In U.S. Fuel Delivery Program
The Stena Immaculate, loaded with Jet-A fuel, suffered multiple explosions after a cargo ship collided with it.
More Latest News
Russia’s Air Base In Syria Has Become Refuge From Fierce Sectarian Violence
Syrians flocked to Khmeimim Air Base after hundreds were reportedly executed during fighting between Assad loyalists and the new government.
Bunker Talk: Let’s Talk About All The Things We Did And Didn’t Cover This Week
“Shall we play a game?”
Ukraine Feeling Impact Of U.S. Arms, Intel Pause
Ukraine Situation Report: Russia is making advances in Kursk and launched a massive missile and drone barrage on energy targets last night.
NATO Operations Chief’s Five Lessons Learned From War In Ukraine
NATO is taking note of opportunities and glaring deficiencies in its ability to wage war, some of which are harder to capitalize on than others.
F-15’s New EPAWSS Electronic Warfare Suite Already Has Successor In Development
The EPAWSSv2 boasts improved processing power and will be able to handle a greater number of threats to keep pace with developments in air defense.
Lockheed’s Low-Cost Cruise Missile ‘Truck’ Is Now In Testing
The modular Common Multi-Mission Truck is now being proposed for launch from both air and ground platforms to carry out a wide range of mission sets.
F-22 Raptor Pilots Finally Getting Helmet Mounted Displays
Beyond equipping Hawaii-based F-22s, Thale’s Scorpion will now be standard on all F-16s in the USAF’s fleet.
Next Generation Fighter Critical To Future Air Superiority, Key USAF Study Concluded
We now know the key findings of a deep review of the USAF’s paused Next Generation Air Dominance combat jet program.
Rotating Detonation Engine For Future High-Performance Missiles Successfully Tested
Operationalizing the RDE would be a breakthrough for low-cost, high-supersonic, long-range air-to-ground strike weapons.
F-22 Raptors Completed Six Test Flights For New Sensor Upgrades
F-22s could now serve into the 2040s with the help of key upgrades, including new infrared search and track systems.
Private F-16 Aggressors Getting Ability To Insert Synthetic Bandits Into Live Training
Top Aces’ new constructive wingman initiative will make it appear that another aggressor is in the air to enemies and friends alike.
QF-16 Zombie Vipers To Keep Flying And Dying Into The 2030s
QF-16s will keep providing the USAF with valuable full-size targets to shoot missiles at as the search for a stealthy replacement grinds on.
Cracks In KC-46 Tankers Halt All Deliveries
The USAF is inspecting its fleet of 89 KC-46s to see if the problem is systemic while Boeing works to figure out a fix.
Bunker Talk: Let’s Talk About All The Things We Did And Didn’t Cover This Week
Make sure to turn the crank regularly to circulate the air.
Washington-Kyiv Relations Implode Spectacularly (Updated)
A planned Oval Office press event to talk about a U.S.-Ukraine mineral deal deteriorated dramatically, which could have far-reaching ramifications.
F-35B Has Flown With Meteor Long-Range Air-To-Air Missile
The Meteor has begun flight trials on the F-35B at Pax River, with plans to integrate the missile on British and Italian Joint Strike Fighters.
The War Zone — also known by the shorthand TWZ — has become an essential resource for the defense industry, the national security community, and the interested public at large since it was launched in 2016.
From its early beginnings to the present day, TWZ’s purpose remains the same.
The site stands at the nexus of military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. As a full-spectrum defense news and analysis website, TWZ covers the air, sea, land, space, and cyber domains of warfare, with an infusion of geopolitical context and technological analysis to offer readers deeper, yet easy-to-consume, insights than what they will find anywhere else….
