About 15 minutes into “Mayday” I had to be reminded that this was not the film to watch if I wanted military accuracy. It is, however, perfect for nostalgia and laughs. 
Set in 1987, “Mayday” follows a U.S. Navy fighter pilot—callsign “Assassin”—who is shot down behind enemy lines where he is saved by a man who claims he wants to defect to America.
Also Read: Why the SR-71 Blackbird is the only aircraft with the SR designation
Assassin is played by Ryan Reynolds, who has portrayed a fighter pilot in another goofy movie you may remember called “Green Lantern.

General Dynamics Land Systems-UK (GDLS-UK) and ARX Robotics have formed a new collaboration aimed at advancing the integration of autonomous systems with British Army crewed vehicles.

During his illustrious career in the U.S. Army, Stanley McChrystal became a four-star general. McChrystal was commander of Joint Special Operations Command when U.S. forces captured Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2003. McChrystal was also JSOC’s chief when it targeted and killed al-Qaida’s Abu Musab al-Zarqawi three years later.
Even if his time in uniform did not end like he might have hoped—he submitted his resignation to President Barack Obama in 2010 after a controversial Rolling Stone article—McChrystal did his family proud.

Aviationist
AFSOC said the latest combat evaluation took place this spring within U.S.

Duncan Wood, NatInt
The U.S.

Michael Marrow, Breaking Defense
An

B. Everstine, AvWeek
The U.S.

GDN
Castelion’s Blackbeard hypersonic strike weapon is moving into production for the U.S.

This video describes the military situation in

This video describes the military situation in

The Pentagon is partnering with an organization focused on unmanned system competitions to run its Top Drone program, officials said this week, teeing up events that will pit remote pilots against each other under a core blueprint.
At a Technology Readiness and Experimentation (T-REX) event run by the Defense Department’s research and engineering directorate last year, pilots flew drones under simulated battlefield conditions in the inaugural Top Drone demonstration. 
Now, the R&E office is transferring the program to the U.S.

For all the warnings about an increasingly capable Chinese military, this may very well be an awkward moment for Beijing to have that military tested. General Secretary Xi Jinping has hollowed out much of the People’s Liberation Army’s senior command through purges and is now trying to rebuild it while preserving the appearance of uninterrupted strength. Several factors have allowed Xi to purge and rebuild on this scale, among them a temporary easing of external pressure. The United States unintentionally provided that comfort.

The U.S. Air Force and Boeing are making progress towards finalising the design of the F-47 sixth generation fighter, with the aircraft remaining on schedule for its first flight within the next two years. Air Force General Dale White, the service’s direct reporting programme manager for major acquisition programs, stated on September 15 that there were currently no significant obstacles threatening the target. “We are absolutely on [track] to be able to hit the mark of flying within this administration, we see no issues in front of us right now,” he stated.

The Israeli defence sector is integrating the Rafael SPICE 1000 precision-guided standoff weapon with its F-35I fifth generation fighters, providing the aircraft with a significantly longer-range air-to-surface strike capability. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems announced on September 15 that it was working with Lockheed Martin to integrate the 1,000-pound-class munition with the F-35 for the first time, in a project being conducted at Lockheed Martin facilities in the United States.

Newly released photographs leaked by U.S. Armed Forces personnel at facilities in the Middle East have provided a rare look at the extent of damage inflicted on American military facilities in the Middle East by Iranian missile and drone strikes during. The photographs, obtained exclusively by CBS News from serving U.S. military personnel who requested anonymity, show heavily damaged buildings, vehicles and aircraft at American positions in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

U.S. Army physical training formation, Fort Lewis, Washington. Photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC0

Keep the numbers in perspective. Pentagon officials estimated roughly 4,200 affected service members in 2025, a tiny fraction of the force, and treatment costs were small compared with the defense budget. That is not the hill to die on. The stronger question is consistency. The military treats chronic medical limits as readiness issues.

The U.S. Air Force is facing growing difficulties sustaining its aerial refuelling fleet, with its ability to sustain global air operations increasingly constrained by the age of its KC-135 Stratotankers and continuing problems with the newer KC-46A Pegasus. A recent assessment by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the condition and sustainment of the tanker fleet had deteriorated significantly, while the service’s transition from the KC-135 to the KC-46 has failed to proceed quickly enough to prevent a growing capability gap.

Footage released by Chinese state media has provided a rare look at the country’s underground military facilities, which form a vast network designed to protect strategic weapons, command structures, aircraft, ammunition and personnel from air and missile attacks. This subterranean infrastructure has a much broader role and represents an important component of China’s approach to surviving and continuing to fight through a major conflict.

China has for the first time provided a semi-official acknowledgment of its significant investments in expanding its silo-based intercontinental-range ballistic missile arsenal, after work on this was first observed in commercial satellite imagery in 2021. A new CCTV documentary marking the 99th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army features a PLA engineer discussing his work constructing what he describes as “houses for missiles” in remote mountains and deserts.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Manned fighter jets from NATO nations have recently been called upon to shoot down suspected Russian drones flying over allied territory, but the commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe envisions a future in which that type of work could be offloaded to AI-enabled unmanned platforms.
USAFE boss Lt. Gen. Jason Hinds on Tuesday outlined “vignettes” for Collaborative Combat Aircraft employment.

The French Rafale F5 program represents an effort to keep an ageing fourth generation design relevant into the fifth and sixth generation eras, according a recent assessment by leading combat aviation expert Abraham Abrams.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — As policymakers and Pentagon leaders determine the Space Development Agency’s future, its personnel are focused on meeting near-term deadlines to deploy the next generation of U.S. military satellites that detect hypersonic missiles and other emerging weapons threats.
SDA’s Director Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo shared new details about how the agency is operating in this time of uncertainty, during a media roundtable Tuesday on the sidelines of AFA’s annual Air, Space and Cyber Conference.

The U.S. military has “probably used” one-half to two-thirds of its missile defense interceptors in its war with Iran, a congressional report found. The report’s authors warned the diminished stockpile could hamstring U.S. efforts if it had to defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion.
The dire warnings about the U.S. munitions were included in a Congressional Budget Office report released Tuesday. The report was produced in response to a request for cost estimates related to combat operations against Iran by Rep. Brendan F. Boyle (D-Pa.

A Nato fighter has shot down a drone over Lithu

Following an initial flight test earlier this year, the Army inked a more than $1.2 billion contract with Lockheed Martin for its Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) Increment 2 platform, which company officials say is capable of striking a moving ship.
While funding will be ironed out with each order, the military said in a notice Monday that it expects production under the contract to finish by Sept. 13, 2031. The key addition to this version of PrSM is a multi-mode seeker designed to lock-on to “time-sensitive” threats, specifically moving maritime targets, according to the company.

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The first female reservist to pass the Army&#82

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Air Force has approved two critical milestones for the B-52 Stratofortress modernization effort designed to keep the heavy bomber flying through the 2050s.
Air Force acquisition czar William Bailey told reporters Tuesday at the AFA Air, Space and Cyber Conference that the Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP) achieved Milestone B in June, officially putting the initiative into the engineering and manufacturing development phase.

Britain’s Challenger 2 main battle tank has been fighting in Ukraine for more than three years now — and those years have put the British-designed military vehicle to its toughest test yet.

Its use has also offered some important lessons for every party involved about how even heavily armored Western tanks are vulnerable on the battlefield, and how they can be used in an age of drone warfare.

Challenger 2 Tank. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

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The Iran war has cost the United States more than $33.4 billion, a new report from the Pentagon’s independent watchdog says.

Covering the conflict’s first months through Tuesday, 30th June, the report is the first official assessment of the cost of the war’s cost.

B-2 Bomber Sitting in Museum National Security Journal Photos. All Rights Reserved.

B-2 Stealth Bomber July 2025 National Security Journal Photo.

With almost three months having passed, the true cost is undoubtedly higher. So, what does that mean for U.S.

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has dismissed a claim by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that a Panama-flagged tanker exploded after striking a sea mine in the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran said the El Gaia tanker exploded after striking a sea mine in the strait over the weekend – a claim rejected by CENTCOM, which said the tanker had been hit twice over the past month.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) operates in the Mediterranean Sea Jan. 9, 2015. Cole, home-ported in Norfolk, is conducting naval operations in the U.S.

Britain’s next rifle could be about to ta

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Amid the Pentagon’s acquisition overhaul, the Space Force has created a new office dedicated to bridging the gap between the service’s operational needs and emerging industry capabilities.
The so-called Technology Portfolio Executive will report directly to Erich Hernandez-Baquero, assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration.

The 86th anniversary of the Battle of Britain h

The Iran War has caused a shortfall in U.S. munitions and “bottlenecks” in supply chains, according to a new report by the Pentagon’s watchdog.

The report, released on Monday, 14th September, is the first released since the war began in February.

F/A-18 Hornets and an F-22 Raptor fly in formation during the HUGE 1 flyover practice over the National Mall as part of the America 250 celebration in Washington, D.C., July 3, 2026. The formation showcased current U.S. military airpower during the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration.

British Army bases can now spot drones they can

Houthi rebels have launched a fresh wave of attacks on southern Saudi Arabia as part of a renewed offensive in Yemen.

The Houthis, who are closely aligned with the authoritarian regime in Iran, have renewed hostilities in recent weeks in their long-running war against the Yemeni government.

A Louisiana Air National Guard F-15C Eagle streaks above the Ohio River during the Thunder Over Louisville air show in Louisville, Ky., April 18, 2026.

The mission statement for the United States’ military’s ongoing war with Iran — one that has lasted months, left hundreds of service members injured and 18 dead — is not only shrouded in mystery but classified. 
In the Pentagon’s first full accounting of the Iran war, the Defense Department’s Office of the Inspector General wrote in its report to Congress that “The full [Operation Epic Fury] mission statement is classified.

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One of the week’s biggest bombs wasn’t dropped in Iran, it came at American theaters over the weekend. Director Paul Greengrass’ (“The One That Got Away”) new movie “The Uprising” stars Andrew Garfield (“Hacksaw Ridge”) as Wat Tyler, a ploughman who leads the peasants of 1300s England in a revolt against the council that rules for the young King Richard II.
Also Read: One of military history’s most lopsided beatdowns didn’t need to happen
“The Uprising” and its $20 million budget made a lackluster $3.25 million in U.S.

A group of submariners are aiming to break the

Diehl Defence and Elbit Systems demonstrated the operational capabilities of the latter’s SkyStriker loitering munition system in Germany.

Patria has secured a contract to deliver its multistatic coherent location (MUSCL) passive radar system to an unnamed European Nato member.

The Space Force currently has “space control weapons” in orbit, Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink revealed today. His remarks are the first time the U.S. military has publicly acknowledged putting offensive capabilities into orbit.
Meink was delivering a keynote address at the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference at National Harbor, Maryland on Monday when he opened up about what the Space Force has put into space.
“Today, we continue to ensure we remain ready to meet the challenges of evolving threats wherever they exist.

Satellite imagery reviewed has shown a large and highly unusual vessel under construction at the Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard in Shanghai, with its configuration strongly indicating that it is intended to operate and support large uncrewed submarines. The vessel appears to be the world’s first dedicated uncrewed submarine mothership, adding a potentially important new dimension to the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s rapidly expanding undersea warfare capabilities.

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CDR Salamander / Substack

Lost in the 25th Anniversary remembrance weekend of 11 SEP 2001 was the fact that there were significant changes on the ground in the festering sore on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Persian Gulf, Yemen.
Bridget Toomey at FDD’s Long War Journal has a good summary.
On September 10, the Houthis seized the strategic port city of Mocha on Yemen’s southern Red Sea coast.

Former Marine Joseph Barna carried the memory of the Navy corpsman who saved his life and the lives of many other Marines during vicious fighting in the Korean War. In interviews and a book he later wrote on corpsmen who served in the war, Barna told the story of a deep stab wound he suffered and the sailor who pulled him into a hut to stitch it closed.
“I was bleeding, ready to fall asleep, and I hear a voice say ‘Joe, Joe, if I don’t stop that bleeding, you’re gonna bleed to death,’” Barma recalled in a 2015 interview, one of many he gave on Kilmer and his time in Korea.