Russia said more than 100 Ukrainian drones targeted Moscow and various parts of the country on July 17, less than two weeks after President Trump asked Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, whether Kyiv could strike the Russian capital and St. Petersburg, the country’s second-largest city.
As China girds for a deepening global rivalry with the United States, Beijing is testing how far its navy can operate from home, and how well its warships can work together on the open seas. In recent exercises involving two aircraft carriers, China gave a bold display of how it seeks to assert dominance in the western Pacific.
“In a world increasingly shaped by the hard edges of power, the most dangerous illusion is the belief that the United States can deter, compete, and win in future conflicts without major reinvestment in its military. Yet that is exactly the illusion perpetuated by President Trump’s proposed fiscal 2026 defense budget. Despite the rhetoric of rebuilding our armed forces, President Trump’s budget is smaller than that of his predecessor,” writes retired Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, dean of AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
Iran’s deeply buried nuclear enrichment plant at Fordo was badly damaged, and potentially destroyed, by the 12 massive bombs that U.S. Air Force B-2 bombers dropped on it last month, according to a new American intelligence assessment.
U.S. officials have told the Swiss government that Patriot air defense systems in the production pipeline for the alpine country would be diverted to help defend Ukraine, according to a Swiss announcement.
The Air Force’s next-gen engine protype effort is facing a two-year delay and will not complete before fiscal 2030, the service confirmed today to Breaking Defense. Under the Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion (NGAP) program, engine makers GE Aerospace and RTX subsidiary Pratt & Whitney are currently fabricating dueling engine designs.
Commercial satellite imagery, autonomy, and Golden Dome would all get a big boost under the version of the National Defense Authorization Act passed by the House on Tuesday night. The policy bill also seeks more congressional oversight for how the Pentagon handles less formal contracts and outreach to tech firms, and bolsters U.S. forces in Europe and support for Ukraine.
NATO’s top commander said he is under guidance to move as quickly as possible in transferring more Patriot air and missile defense systems to Ukraine. “I won’t go into a ton of details on any of that, I’m not going to tell the Russians or anyone else the exact numbers of weapons that we’re transferring or when those will happen,” U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said at the Association of the U.S. Army’s inaugural LandEuro conference in Wiesbaden, Germany, July 17.
A first rendering has been released showing the new fighter demonstrator being built in the United Kingdom as part of the Tempest next-generation air combat program. The crewed flight test vehicle bears a notable resemblance to the Lockheed Martin F-35, apart from its lack of horizontal stabilizers and a number of smaller differences.
Base commanders will have more authority to approve the drones troops train with, giving them access to a variety of small drones, under recent policy changes. The changes come after a memo issued by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth last week, which focuses on expanding the number and role of small drones across the services.
The United States Air Force Academy has introduced new “Space Force” uniforms across multiple sports for this upcoming season. Per the school, “All Air Force teams will wear a Space Force alternate uniform for a game or series to honor the service. The Space Force is partnering with Air Force Athletics to provide the uniforms for each team.”
