In a dramatic flare-up in the hostilities between the U.S. and Iran, American forces struck and destroyed five Iranian oil tankers Sept. 8, U.S. Central Command said. Iran retaliated by lobbing ballistic missiles toward a major U.S. base in Jordan.
Iran
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.
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.
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.
U.S. Central Command launched a wave of strikes against Iran on Sept. 1, and President Donald Trump said forces are “prepared to do another one” as Iranian forces launched retaliatory attacks Sept. 2.
The U.S. military’s ability to access air bases in Europe will be a central consideration as the Trump administration makes decisions on the future American military posture on the continent, the top Pentagon policy official said.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems predicts the new drone it plans to pitch for the military’s “Massed Modular Aircraft” program will exceed many of the military’s requirements for a successor to the MQ-9 Reaper.
The KC-135 Stratotanker that lost part of its vertical stabilizer in a deadly midair collision over Iraq in March is among a group of damaged tankers that have returned to Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., to be fully repaired.
There is a new air war commander of the U.S. forces in the Middle East, including the stop-and-start operations against Iran: Lt. Gen. Daniel T. Lasica. Lasica assumed command of Air Forces Central and took over as the Combined Forces Air Component Commander (CFACC) for U.S. ...
When Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach became Chief of Staff of the Air Force in November 2025, he coined a simple motto: “Fly and Fix”—so you can fight if necessary. In the nine months since, Airmen have been flying, fixing, and fighting—a lot.
The U.S. has deployed key new electronic warfare aircraft overseas that would be critical for a large-scale operation against Iran as President Donald Trump publicly weighs resuming a full-scale air campaign. Two EA-37A Compass Call electronic attack aircraft deployed from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., to ...
In an operational first, U.S. Transportation Command planners turned to artificial intelligence agents for help when Spain denied Air Force tankers access to its bases to support strikes on Iran.