The War Zone

Two U.S. troops were killed in action and one remains missing in Jordan on Friday while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks , U.S. Central Command announced on X. Another “four American service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals. They have sinc...

Welcome to Bunker Talk. This is a weekend open discussion post for the best commenting crew on the net, in which we can chat about all the stuff that went on this week that we didn’t cover. We can also talk about the stuff we did or whatever else grabs your interest. In other words, it’s an off-t...

As renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran has entered a seventh day with no signs of letting up, the Pentagon appears to be sending more forces to the region. The move comes as the conflict took a sharp turn overnight, with both sides carrying through on threats to hit infrastructure targets ...

The U.S. Navy expects the stealthy destroyer USS Zumwalt , with its new launchers for Intermediate-Range Conventional Prompt Strike (IRCPS) hypersonic missiles , to be formally returned to service by September. Upgrade work on the ship, which started back in 2023, is some 10 months behind schedul...

The Australian Army has shared photos showing one of its M1A2 Abrams outfitted as a surrogate enemy platform, specifically to represent a People’s Liberation Army main battle tank. Vehicles meant to visually reflect an adversarial platform are a regular feature of exercises involving an Opposing ...

Saronic, the company that makes the first sea drones ever to be used as kinetic weapons by American forces, announced it will build a big new shipyard in Brownsville, Texas where they plan to construct an array of crewed and uncrewed ships as big as 850 feet. It is a big step for a company whose ...

A very large and interesting-looking vessel is taking shape at a shipyard in southeastern China. What can be seen of it so far points strongly to it being the largest naval resupply ship anywhere in the world. A vessel like this would be valuable for supporting the Chinese People’s Liberati...

Faced with the ubiquitous threat from small attack drones , military forces around the world are resorting to the use of large amounts of mesh netting for protection, something TWZ was among the first to highlight . Now it appears the U.S. Marine Corps may be employing this defensive measure as w...

The U.K. Royal Air Force has launched a new collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) program, named Storm Fighter, reviving a British push into the autonomous ‘loyal wingman’ arena as the service seeks to build what officials describe as “Europe’s first sixth-generation air force.” The announcement, m...

The U.S. Navy is envisioning a future force of carrier-based uncrewed aircraft capable of attacking enemy forces at least 1,000 nautical miles away from the ship. They would also have to be able to do this without needing to refuel in mid-air, though tankers could further extend their reach. This...

The State Department has approved a possible $2 billion deal to sell up to 20,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS II) laser guidance kits to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The approval for these munitions comes as Iran is increasing attacks on nations hosting U.S. troops in the Middle ...

Following hints last week and an announcement on Monday by President Donald Trump, the U.S. blockade of Iran is back on in full force. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), in its latest update , stated that two commercial vessels were redirected and one was kinetically disabled in the first 24 hours. ...

The United Kingdom’s surprising decision to buy a dozen conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) F-35A fighters has taken another turn. According to a U.K. Royal Air Force official, “We did not buy those aircraft for their dual [nuclear] capability, we bought them for our conversion unit. At the s...

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Wednesday unleashed a new wave of strikes on Iranian targets. The attacks, on Iran’s Greater Tunb Island, came as the newly restored blockade on Iranian ports entered its first full day and the command began ordering ships headed to Iran to turn around. Meanwhile...

Anduril’s YFQ-44A Fury Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) has live-fired a munition at a simulated target for the first time in a test conducted from Edwards Air Force Base in California. The launch of the AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) is also a first for any U.S. CCA...

China’s mysterious next-generation combat aircraft have dominated headlines since a pair of sixth-generation designs broke cover in late 2024 . But while those aircraft understandably command attention, the single most important fighter in the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) is arguabl...

The Pentagon has reached new framework agreements with three defense contractors as part of a strategy to acquire thousands of lower-cost air-launched cruise missiles in the coming years. The deals are directly in support of the U.S. Air Force’s Family of Affordable Mass Missiles (FAMM) pro...

For several months, Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport was so packed with U.S. Air Force aerial refueling tankers deployed for the fight against Iran that officials in Jerusalem complained about the toll that presence was taking on airport operations. The issue came to a head on Tuesday, when Isra...

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened a strike on a very hardened Iranian facility known as Pickaxe Mountain, saying it is ripe for “nice big fat shot right in the front door.” Trump’s comments underscore the challenges involved in holding this extremely deeply-buried site,...

South Korea will further boost its airborne electronic warfare capabilities, buying another two platforms based on the Bombardier Global 6500 bizjet. These will eventually complement the four Global 6500-based airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft that Seoul has already ordered,...

The inability of a munitions plant in Mesquite, Texas, to build a key part set back the U.S. Army’s plans for ramping up production of 155mm shells to 100,000 rounds per month, according to a scathing new report by the War Department’s Office of Inspector General (DOWIG). Despite receiving ...

Here’s TWZ’s weekly carrier tracker monitoring America’s flattop fleet, including deployed Carrier Strike Groups (CSG) and Amphibious Ready Groups (ARG), using publicly available open-source information. Check out last week’s report here . The U.S. blockade is back on beginning tomorrow. “W...

French President Emmanuel Macron says Ukraine is in line to get a license to produce Aster 30 missiles domestically. Aster 30 is the anti-air interceptor used in the SAMP/T surface-to-air missile system, examples of which are already in Ukrainian service. The Franco-Italian SAMP/T is often descri...

France has conducted live-fire tests of laser-guided rockets from its Rafale fighter, adding a low-cost anti-drone capability to the jet. Following the United States and the United Kingdom, this reflects a broader trend in modern air warfare, as air forces increasingly recognize that they need la...

The U.S. Army has announced that its future fleet of ME-11B High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) aircraft will be based at Fort Hood in Texas. The service says it will also establish a first-of-its-kind operational drone battalion at this base as part of a larger consolidation ...

A robotic boat glides through the darkness, reaches an occupied shoreline, and releases an armed ground robot that rolls inland to fight without a single soldier setting foot on the beach. While this sounds like a scene from a future war, it recently played out in southern Ukraine, reflecting Kyi...

For the first time in U.S. military history, uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) were used as a strike weapon in combat. The use of Saronic Corsair USVs took place July 12 during a series of attacks against “dozens” of Iranian targets, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) . It came as the U.S....

Ukraine claims that 28 Russian vessels were hit by aerial drones in the Sea of Azov on Saturday. The strikes are the latest in a campaign that Ukrainian authorities assert has resulted in nearly 80 Russian vessels, mostly so-called shadow fleet oil tankers, being attacked in that body of water on...

Welcome to Bunker Talk. This is a weekend open discussion post for the best commenting crew on the net, in which we can chat about all the stuff that went on this week that we didn’t cover. We can also talk about the stuff we did or whatever else grabs your interest. In other words, it’s an off-t...

The U.S. Air Force has officially decided that the B-21 Raider will be flown by a crew consisting of two pilots, just like the B-2 is today. The service had previously considered operating the bomber with just one pilot alongside a weapon systems officer (WSO), or ‘wizzo.’ The plan is now t...

Individuals training to become U.S. Navy tactical jet pilots can still get in carrier qualifications in T-45 Goshawk jet trainers , even though it is no longer a graduation requirement . If there is time and space available, they can join future E-2 Hawkeye pilots , as well as foreign student avi...

The Kremlin today confirmed it’s in contact with Turkey over the fate of Ankara’s Russian-made S-400 air defense systems. Reports have emerged that Turkey could soon transfer the controversial missiles to an unnamed Gulf state in a move aimed at convincing Washington to lift sanctions and clear t...

Ten U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors arrived at RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom Friday morning local time from Ovda Air Base in Israel. As we previously reported , the jets, from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, had been deployed to Ovda since late February to take part in attacks on...

The U.S. Navy’s Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has been underway for 210 straight days – well over half a year – in support of Operation Epic Fury and the subsequent blockade of Iran. This looks to be a record-setting milestone. Lincoln , the flagship of Carrier Strike Gr...

An image has appeared, apparently for the first time, showing a Chinese J-15T carrier-based fighter launching while carrying four anti-ship missiles. The photo offers the clearest indication yet that China’s rapidly evolving carrier force is overcoming one of its longstanding operational constrai...

Much discussion and debate continue to surround a video said to have been taken near Area 51 that went viral after it was released last month. The footage shows an exotic aircraft that still looks likely to be a progenitor of Boeing’s F-47 sixth-generation fighter for the U.S. Air Force. It...

Berlin says it has agreed a deal with the United States to buy U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missiles , providing a significant boost to Germany’s long-range strike capabilities. The move comes after the United States appeared to renege on its plan to deploy a long-range fires battalion in Germany, a...

The U.S. Embassy in Jordan on Thursday warned Americans about “missiles, drones, or rockets …in Jordanian airspace.” The warning came as the U.S. and Iran reportedly exchanged fire amid resumed hostilities that have entered a third day. This latest round of fighting was touched off Tuesday when I...

Two days after Ukraine said it couldn’t down any Russian ballistic missiles because of a dearth of Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) interceptors, President Donald Trump on Wednesday told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he would provide Kyiv with a license to build its own.  T...

Anti-drone nets and cages are rapidly becoming as ubiquitous as the drones they are meant to stop, appearing on today’s battlefields, over roads , around buildings , atop armored vehicles , and even protecting naval vessels . One recent example comes from Taiwan, where anti-aircraft guns have bee...

President Donald Trump has left Turkey on an older VC-25A Air Force One jet. The U.S. Air Force’s new VC-25B Bridge aircraft had brought Trump to that country yesterday for the NATO Summit, but left without him on board earlier today. Trump had earlier confirmed that he would head from Turkey to ...

In his latest spat with a fellow NATO member, U.S. President Donald Trump condemned Spain as a “wasted cause” and “terrible partner” in the alliance. Speaking at the NATO Summit in Ankara, as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte looked on, Trump said he wanted to cut off all trade relations with Spa...

The prospects for a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran have reached the most perilous point since the two warring parties agreed to a ceasefire in April . A day after ordering the most intense wave of airstrikes on Iran since that agreement went into effect, President Donald Trump on Wedne...

The United Kingdom and the Netherlands will jointly develop a new fleet of amphibious transport ships under a maritime partnership announced by the British government. Each country will operate four vessels, strengthening NATO’s amphibious capabilities and improving the alliance’s ability to resp...

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says low availability of unnamed “legacy” aircraft has created hurdles for flight testing of the new AGM-181A Long-Range Standoff (LRSO) nuclear-armed cruise missile. The B-52 is the only platform known to be involved in this effort. The flee...

Here’s TWZ’s weekly carrier tracker monitoring America’s flattop fleet, including deployed Carrier Strike Groups (CSG) and Amphibious Ready Groups (ARG), using publicly available open-source information. Check out last week’s report here . Amphibious assault ship USS Boxer finally arrived in the ...

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that its forces have launched “a series of powerful strikes against Iran to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway.” The U.S. strikes “are in response to Iranian attacks ...

Somali pirate attacks on shipping in the Gulf of Aden region are on the rise, according to the U.N ., a naval task force and a joint naval communications operation . The spike comes amid ongoing tensions in the Persian Gulf between the U.S. and Iran, and one regional military task force tells us ...

Satellite imagery shows China has built what looks to be a new pattern of hardened structures with retractable roofs at a key missile test and training base in Inner Mongolia. Since the late 2010s, this base has also played a key role in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) dr...

The next NATO airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platform will be Saab’s GlobalEye , as announced today during the alliance’s summit in Ankara, Turkey. The decision to buy up to 10 GlobalEyes for NATO comes after Sweden, France, and Canada all selected the platform, and amid a flurry ...