Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned a large drone attack by Russia that hit a key government building and killed at least two people in Kyiv. Russia attacked Ukraine with 810 drones and decoys—the largest aerial attack on the country since the war began, Ukraine's Air Force said.
Israel expanded its preparations for a full-scale assault on Gaza City on Sept. 5 and destroyed a high-rise building that was a prominent local landmark, a day after a military spokesman said it was in control of almost half the city.
China is undertaking a large-scale build-out of infrastructure along its eastern coast, including air and naval sites that show its growing readiness for a potential conflict over Taiwan. Satellite images and other open-source material examined by The Wall Street Journal illustrate how these facilities would strengthen China’s hand if it launched an invasion of the island democracy. Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory and has pledged to take it, by force if necessary.
President Donald Trump is expected to unilaterally reinterpret a 38-year-old arms control treaty to sell sophisticated "Reaper" style and other advanced military drones abroad, according to a U.S. official and four people familiar with the plan.
President Donald Trump has nominated Army Lt. Gen. Michele Bredenkamp to lead the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon announced Sept. 5. NGA is both a principal member of the U.S. intelligence community and a Pentagon combat support agency. Its personnel supply the military, IC and first responders with data and intel to address their analytical and operational needs.
“President Trump signed an order on Sept. 5 to restyle the Pentagon as the Department of War, and the press has been preoccupied with the nomenclature. What should really worry Americans is whether Mr. Trump’s military can win the next major war, no matter what the sign outside the door says,” writes the editorial board.
The Trump administration should expand the United States’ weapons arsenal, international partnerships and signaling to counter China’s rising influence globally and deter the People’s Liberation Army as its 2027 deadline for being ready to invade Taiwan approaches, U.S. analysts and a lawmaker said this week. Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted one of his nation’s largest-ever military parades on Sept. 3 in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, to commemorate 80 years since Imperial Japan’s surrender in World War II.
Heather “Lucky” Penney talks to our team about what a new Chief of Staff of the Air Force will mean for the service and the broader defense environment. We also discuss the CCA’s first plight, plus ACC’s focus on readiness. The conversation evaluates spacepower developments—everything from the most recent Starship launch to the X-37B mission and NTS-3. Added to that, there are also a lot of issues going on with our partners and allies—quite a few are boosting their defense budgets, but some are calling into question buying U.S. systems. What does this mean for the defense ecosystem? We wrap looking at where the Sentinel program is headed these days and consider the latest with B-21 and B-52 modernization efforts.
The U.S. Navy has awarded contracts to four major aerospace prime contractors—Anduril, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and General Atomics—for “conceptual designs” for a carrier-based autonomous combat drone, according to a Navy document obtained by Breaking Defense. Additionally, Lockheed Martin is under contract for the drone’s “common control,” according to a slide on Collaborative Combat Aircraft from the Navy’s program executive office for unmanned aviation and strike weapons, dated Aug. 20.
The former commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command urged the U.S. to become more resilient when it comes to protecting the homeland. America’s expansive global military commitments are placing tremendous pressure on that effort, he said.
A Vietnam War-era UH-1N Huey made its final landing Sept. 5 at Yokota Air Base, marking the retirement of the type from the 459th Airlift Squadron after decades of service.
Chris Gordon, the Pentagon editor for Air & Space Forces Magazine, discusses why the initial decision was made in the 1940s to rename the Department of War the Department of Defense.
