The air-launched version of Castelion’s Blackbeard hypersonic strike missile for the U.S. Navy has now at least been test-loaded onto an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Castelion and the Navy are pushing to have the lower-cost Blackbeard ready for a limited early entry into operational service no later than August 2028.
The U.S. Air Force has awarded aerospace giant Boeing a broad contract for the company’s F-15 fighter jet worth up to $131.2 billion, according to a Defense Department announcement.
Army officials have selected five firms to build nuclear microreactors at U.S. military bases as a bid to create energy independence, though the nation still relies heavily on imported enriched uranium for such projects.
The first-ever road bridge linking North Korea and Russia across the Tumen River appears close to completion, according to satellite imagery reviewed by Defense News, though construction on the Russian side lags behind Pyongyang’s finished part.
The U.S. military launched a lethal strike on Aug. 25 against an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean traveling through “established narco-trafficking routes,” as outlined by U.S. Southern Command.
Digital forensics firm Cellebrite unveiled a new portable field kit that can fit in a backpack and is purpose-built for military and intelligence officials who aim to mine data directly from mobile phones, SIM cards, drones, tablets, and other devices in real time, at the point of capture.
The massive expenditure of U.S. munitions in the Middle East is increasingly worrying Asian allies and frustrating Pentagon officials overseeing the Indo-Pacific, who fear that the prolonged war with Iran could undermine U.S. readiness for a conflict with China as it continues to step up military pressure across the region.
The air war between Russia and Ukraine has entered a new phase. With expanded aerial arsenals and inadequate air defenses, both sides are bludgeoning each other in a bare-knuckle fight that is causing a widening swath of destruction and a rising civilian toll.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe warned Russian officials in Moscow this week not to escalate conflict with America’s NATO allies, in particular Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, in response to Moscow’s stalemated invasion of Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Over its 102-year history, the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force has always been the go-to custodian for Air Force planes and historical objects, from B-17 bombers to rockets. But since last fall, the museum has had responsibility for the Air Force’s art collection, a collection numbering more than 9,300 pieces in total, even though most of the collection is not at the museum.
