Israel announced on Feb. 22 that it was expanding its weekslong military operation against armed Palestinian groups in the occupied West Bank and had deployed tanks in the territory’s north for the first time in two decades.
Ukraine on Feb. 24 marked the bleakest anniversary yet of its war against the Russia invasion, with the country’s forces under severe pressure on the battlefield and U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration apparently embracing the Kremlin in a reversal of American policy. The three-year milestone drew more than a dozen Western leaders to Kyiv for commemorative events in a conspicuous show of support.
The cream of the U.S. and Russian air forces shared a runway at the recent Aero India 2025 exhibition in Bengaluru, as both the Lockheed Martin F-35A and Sukhoi Su-57E attempted to woo the Indian Air Force towards an unlikely deal.
The Space Force has established a cross-functional “technical integrated planning team” dedicated to evaluating space-based capabilities that can contribute to President Donald Trump’s vision for a next-generation homeland missile defense system, according to a senior Space Force official.
In tight confines 60 feet underground, Air Force missileers rotate 24-hour shifts at ICBM missile launch control centers in pairs, waiting for a message they hope never arrives: An order from the president of the United States directing a nuclear strike. For a small group of journalists touring the missile range at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California last week, Air Force personnel demonstrated the sequence of actions involved in launching a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.
The Supreme Court rejected a case Feb. 24 that challenged the Feres doctrine, a 1950s judicial ruling that prevents active-duty service members from suing the government for wrongful injury or death. With the court's announcement that it would not hear the case, however, Justice Clarence Thomas issued a strong 14-page dissent, calling the 75-year-old rule of law “indefensible ... and senseless as a matter of policy.”
Taiwan appears to be moving toward adding a supersonic anti-ship cruise missile to its F-CK-1C/D Indigenous Defense Fighters (IDF). The current timeline for the introduction of the air-launched version of the homegrown HF-3 missile is unclear, but when fully integrated, it will provide the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) with a powerful new capability to better counter China’s growing naval might.
“The U.S. Air Force isn’t sure how to organize or train for special reconnaissance, and the current model keeps repeating like a bad joke. We think the time is right for the Air Force to deliver a harder-hitting punch line. Integrating special warfare airmen, information warfare capabilities, and other technical elements conducting special reconnaissance missions can help,” write John Long, an Air Force officer currently participating in the Director’s Fellowship at the National Security Agency, and Leandros Fugate, an Air Force officer currently serving at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
The Air Force has taken the lead in the friendly competition among the U.S. military branches about which service can produce the best reenlistment photo.