In June 2026, airpower experts from the U.S. Air Force, seven allied air forces, and industry convened for a three-day wargame designed to stress notional 2036 USAF combat forces in a series of concurrent crises: a Russian assault against NATO...
defense
Verbatim – September/October 2026 × Ready or Not “When General Wilsbach came in as the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, he made “fixing” one of the key elements of what we need to do, and put a spotlight...
New Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missiles By Greg Hadley The Pentagon’s top research lab is interested in developing a hypersonic cruise missile prototype that provides “a revolutionary leap in operational performance,” as the first wave of U.S. hypersonic weapons enters production...
The 492nd SOW Lands at Davis-Monthan By Stephen Losey As the last few A-10 Warthogs leave Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., Air Force Special Operations Command is accelerating plans to move a new wing to the Arizona base. The 492nd...
The Challenge of Funding Golden Dome By Courtney Albon HUNTSVILLE, Ala.—The four-star general in charge of the Pentagon’s Golden Dome program warned that uncertainty around the Pentagon’s $350 billion reconciliation request could slow progress on the homeland missile defense effort,...
When Al Qaeda terrorists turned commercial airliners into cruise missiles on Sept. 11, 2001, killing more than 3,000 people in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, our military was ready and ripe for the challenge. The first American bombs struck...
JB Charleston Gets a New Name By Chris Gordon CHARLESTON, S.C.—A major East Coast military base that serves as a key Air Force logistics hub was renamed after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham Aug. 10 in a ceremony led by...
Space operators have long stayed mum about their contributions to U.S. military operations. But as the Space Force approaches its seventh birthday and Gen. B. Chance Saltzman prepares to retire as Chief of Space Operations later this summer, Space Force leaders are beginning to speak ...
Since Russia’s 2022 invasion, outside observers have measured Ukraine’s prospects by a familiar yardstick: miles of territory gained or lost on the ground. By that standard, the war often appears static, attritional, and brutally expensive. But Ukraine is now demonstrating...
Brussels; Mons, Belgium; Bodø, Norway; Luleå, Sweden; and Rovaniemi, Finland—This is not your father’s NATO anymore. It’s changing. The question is whether it will make the alliance stronger or diminish its capabilities. The North Atlantic Treaty Alliance is undergoing a...
Much has been said about how drones are changing the character of war. Ukraine and Iran offer different versions of the same lesson: relatively inexpensive, precise, long-range weapons are democratizing attack. They allow states that lack a traditional air force—or...
Department of War? Closer to Official Name Change. Three of four congressional committees with influence over defense policy have voted to change the official name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War—but final approval of the Pentagon...