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AC-130 Air

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

The AC-130 is at a crossroads as the focus shifts away from counter-insurgency and counter-terror operations in permissive airspace to peer-state conflicts, especially one in a hotly-contested Pacific.

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Ukraine is advancing slowly eastward to a key town in Russia's Kursk Oblast

Ukraine Pushing Slowly West In Russia Towards Key Kursk City

The town of Glushkovo is the last bastion for an estimated 3,000 Russian troops trapped south of the Seim River in Kursk.

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

What's on your mind?

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

We talked to one of Northrop Grumman's top engineers all about their Model 437 and the Digital Pathfinder program that made it happen.

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

The Y-9LG is the latest in a line of Chinese airborne standoff jammers, part of a huge investment in electronic warfare platforms.

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

Ukrainian Air Force Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleschuk was replaced after the destruction of one of Ukraine's prized F-16s that also killed a well-known pilot.

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”

Russian forces are only about eight miles away from Pokrovsk which is a key logistics hub for Ukraine.

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

The second Indian nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine is the latest development in a project to field a viable second-strike capability.

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

Green Berets also used electronic warfare gear to eliminate evidence of their activities during the realistic infiltration and raiding exercise.

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)

The first publicly known example of the Model 437 drone emerged earlier this month with a notable design change, a cockpit.

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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

Ukraine has been targeting the key E38 Highway from miles away with drones to impede Russia's ability to reinforce Kursk Oblast.

Ukraine's invasion of Kursk Oblast has entered its third week

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

As Ukraine continues to fight inside Russia, the fate of a key city in Donetsk remains precarious.

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

After repeated losses in international fighter competitions, the Swedish Gripen E/F just got a major boost.

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

Faced with defense budget constraints, a tough choice may need to be made between the F-35 and the Tempest stealth fighter program.

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

Ukraine getting a new ballistic missile free from use restrictions could be a major advance in the country's long-range strike capabilities.

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

The attack by more than 120 missiles and more than 100 one-way drones largely targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

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

The U.S. is using its highly classified threat library to improve the chances of survival for Ukraine's F-16 and to gather critical intel in return.

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

Intelligence pointing to a potential drone attack on the home of NATO's AWACS fleet comes as Germany finds itself increasingly under threat from ‘hybrid warfare.’

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

Japan says this is the first time that a Chinese military aircraft has entered its territorial airspace unauthorized.

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

We go in-depth with the flying photographers that play a key role in the development of the Air Force's most advanced weaponry.

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)

Hezbollah says this was phase one of a multi-part retaliation campaign for an assassinated of one of its commanders.

Underground Cold War-era vault

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

Anyone for a Bunker?

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

VP Harris's ride aboard the Osprey during the Democratic National Convention drew a lot of interest, with many wondering if her trip was a first.

Sabotage at norwegian airbase

Sabotage Confirmed At Norwegian Air Base

A cut cable at the Norwegian airfield was announced amid fears of sabotage at military bases and concerning drone activity in Germany.

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

The Conro Trader was the last of three vessels that ferry large quantities of fuel across the Kerch Strait.

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

The incident occurred while F-15Es from Mountain Home AFB were providing patrols over California for President Biden vacationing there.

Must Read Features

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

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

Inflatable Ukrainian F-16 Decoy Emerges At Defense Show

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

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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….

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