US Fighters, Drones Strike 3 Iranian Oil Tankers After Iran Fires on Navy Ships
The U.S. military struck three Iranian oil tankers on Sept. 5, as the Trump administration and Iran battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Future Airmen to Get Less Sleep, More Stress in Basic Training
The Air Force has begun depriving new trainees of more sleep and will soon ramp up the stress level in Basic Military Training to better prepare Airmen for the increased strain of combat operations such as Epic Fury.
Air Force Speeding Up New Low-Cost Drone Program after Heavy MQ-9 Losses Against Iran
The Air Force is accelerating its plans to field an MQ-9A replacement in the wake of heavy Reaper losses in operations against Iran, top officials said Sept. 3, and they’re targeting a price point of just $10 million per aircraft.
Fresh US Fighter Jets Rotate into Middle East as Trump Tries to Up Pressure on Iran
The U.S. is rotating fresh fighter squadrons to the Middle East to support the Trump administration’s open-ended campaign of economic and military pressure against Iran.
Space Force May Export Launch Lessons to Foreign Partners
As U.S. allies look to establish sovereign military space launch capabilities, the Space Force is exploring ways to transfer lessons learned from its National Security Space Launch program to support its international partners.
Guard F-16s Kept Pace on Kadena Deployment, but Edge Wears Thin
An F-16 Air National Guard unit’s six-month deployment to Kadena Air Base, Japan, this year illustrated the capabilities the Guard’s oldest fighter units can still offer—but also the challenges they face, officials told reporters this week.
USAF Tests C2 Capabilities Across 4,000 Miles in High-Stress Virtual Exercise
The Air Force recently conducted a virtual stress test of its command-and-control capabilities, linking Air Operations Centers in New Mexico and the United Kingdom and forcing commanders to run personnel recovery and strikes under simulated fire.
Radar Sweep
US Clears $5B in JDAMs for Saudi Arabia, Other Middle East Deals
Breaking Defense
The U.S. State Department greenlit several potential arms deals for key Middle East partners Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Iraq, totaling about $6.1 billion-worth of equipment.
What Options Does the Pentagon Have to Cover Its Mounting FY26 Operational Costs?
Breaking Defense
With Congress headed on break, a continuing resolution in place through Dec. 11, and no hope for a near-term defense supplemental, Defense Department planners are scrambling to stretch available funds and make it through the end of the fiscal year.
Back to Life: How Shield AI’s Future Unmanned Fighter Made Decades-Old Tech New Again
Defense One
Three decades ago, GE Aerospace tested a technology that could’ve made the F-16 more agile. It worked, but was never fielded. Instead, it sat in a box in a warehouse—until defense tech startup Shield AI called.
PODCAST: Congress Back in Session, Space Launch Surge, and Massed Modular Aircraft
The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies
Our team reviews what's going on in our nation’s capital, a surge in space launches, the newly proposed Massed Modular Aircraft, the Space Academy, and why the CSAR H-60W inventory should not be diluted.
Ukraine Asks EU to Fund First Patriot Missiles Buy
Defense News
The European Union is reviewing Kyiv’s request to spend billions of euros on PAC-3 interceptor missiles for its Patriot batteries—the first time Ukraine has formally asked to tap a €90 billion support loan approved earlier this year to buy the U.S.-made systems, European officials announced.
Trump to Take Qatari Air Force One to Ireland, Sources Say
CBS News
President Trump will be taking the new Air Force One given to him by Qatar on a trip to Ireland in mid-September, multiple U.S. officials told CBS News.
China’s Huge WZ-X Stealth Drone’s Strange Wing Configuration Confirmed
The War Zone
New imagery appearing out of China provides the best look yet at one of the country’s most enigmatic aircraft: the very large, low-observable, flying-wing drone widely referred to as the WZ-X.
US Military Disables Ad Trackers amid Concerns over Troops’ Safety
Task & Purpose
The U.S. military has disabled advertising tracking tools in government-issued phones, computers and other devices, officials recently told Congress. The different military branches confirmed they had done so, some only this summer, following reporting that commercially available data taken from these devices and sold freely by data brokers, was being used by Iran and other adversaries to track and in some cases target American bases and personnel.
Greek Air Force Jet Crashes at an Annual Aerial Show, Killing 2 Pilots
The Associated Press
A Greek air force jet crashed at an air show north of Athens on Sept. 5, killing the two pilots, officials said, as thousands of people were in attendance at the event.
US Military Fighter Pilots Prepared to Ram Into Hijacked Airliner on 9/11
Military.com
By the time most Americans understood that the country was under attack on Sept. 11, 2001, the military's air defense network had already been improvising for nearly an hour, working with a fraction of the information it needed and, in at least one case, chasing a hijacked airplane that had already crashed.
