Avio USA has broken ground on a roughly 900,000ft2 solid rocket motor plant in Hurt, Virginia, its first manufacturing facility in the US.

On Sept. 29, 2026, the Department of War announced a contract awarded by the U.S. Navy to Boeing for the sixth-generation F/A-XX Strike Fighter. Under the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, the contract is valued at over $20 billion for the aircraft’s full-scale development phase. This includes procurement of multiple test aircraft for ground, airworthiness, systems, and weapons integration testing.
Boeing, which previously won the Air Force NGAD contract for the F-47, beat out Northrop Grumman for the Navy’s F/A-XX contract.

In its efforts to isolate Iran, including the Operation Economic Outcast effort that was announced last month, the Trump Administration has sought to punish countries that continue to do business with Iran.

One of the biggest challenges of that approach is that Iran gets more help than many believe from a powerful country: China.

A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer assigned to the 345th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron is photographed after landing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, Aug. 22, 2025.

SS Richard Montgomery was a Liberty Ship.

To state the obvious, it’s in the world’s interest for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine to end.

Yet the war shows no sign of ending anytime soon.

Tu-22M Bomber from Russian Air Force. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Tu-22M Bomber from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Moscow and Kyiv are so far apart that any concessions will be too major for either party to consider.

A lack of consensus among Western allies has done little to help the situation.

A Deal for Donetsk Will Not End Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine – In just one year, one month, and one week’s time, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine will have surpassed a duration longer than the Second World War in Europe.

World War Two, effectively encapsulating the rise and fall of fascism on the continent, saw geopolitical shifts not seen since Napoleon’s permanent exile more than 100 years earlier. By late 1942, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany directly controlled 1.5 million square miles of the European continent. Three years later, Hitler and fascism in Europe were dead.

A new rendering of Boeing’s F/A-XX sixth-generation fighter provides the clearest view yet of the U.S. Navy’s planned future carrier-based combat aircraft, following Boeing’s selection for the program over rivals Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. The newly released rendering shows the aircraft taxiing toward a carrier catapult, providing an unusually detailed view of its configuration. The aircraft has a very broad fuselage and large wing area, with the overall design appearing to place a strong emphasis on internal volume.

A woman with a flawless complexion named Chase visits her friend Tyler West, a young enlisted Air Force member in emotional distress. She’s surprised to see his car outside and decides to stop by unannounced at his dorm room.
She invites him to play volleyball and eat out with friends as a soulless smile crosses her face. But she also sees the pizza boxes littering the room behind her.
After she leaves, West describes what Chase failed to notice.
“I stopped answering calls, stopped cleaning up. I don’t sleep. I’m either jittery or numb,” West says in a confused tone.

Delta Force is a collection of the U.S. Army’s most elite soldiers. Officially known as the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, it’s the United States military’s premier tier-one counterterrorism and hostage rescue unit. When aspiring operators are being screened for selection into Delta Force, they have to pass a series of rigorous and challenging tests—among those tests is the “Long Walk.”
The Long Walk is a ruck march they begin with no announced distance, no announced end time, and no encouragement.

As it considers the U.S. counterproposal, Iran has written a letter to America: Last week, Iran, speaking through Qatari mediators, offered a seven-day ceasefire that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the U.S. unfreezing access, dropping sanctions, and lifting its blockade.

President Donald Trump had publicly rejected the overture over the weekend. But now, a new report says that Iran claims it has received official feedback from the U.S. side through the mediation process.

Boeing F/A-XX concept render. Image: Boeing via CDR Salamander / Substack

I won’t lie, I really wanted the successor to the Grumman Iron Works, Northrop Grumman, to get the award…just to have that legacy back on the flight deck…but…I am not emperor.

Northrop Grumman notional F/A-XX design concept. Image: The Aviationist via CDR Salamander / Substack

Boeing it is,

…the Department of War announces a contract awarded by the U.S. Navy to Boeing for the Sixth-Generation F/A-XX Strike Fighter under the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.

North Korea is preparing to send thousands more of its troops to Russia for combat in Ukraine, according to Kyiv. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky outlined the scope of Russia’s expanding axis to foreign countries — and the Kremlin’s recruitment of their soldiers — in stark terms. But he affirmed that his administration would “inform every relevant government” about how their citizens are involved in fighting on Russia’s behalf against Ukraine. One of the largest, and perhaps most concerning, sources of manpower for the Kremlin? North Korea.

Russian strongman Vladimir Putin has dictated another swelling of the Kremlin’s war machine ranks, expanding the number of men-at-arms as the conflict in Ukraine approaches its fifth year. In a decree from the Russian presidential office published yesterday, the details of the force expansion were made clear: the Russian armed forces will grow to 2,441,630, though not all will be considered active. Active service members will number 1,550,500 — an increase of 15,500. This is the fourth time this year the Russian military has expanded.

Zach Polega was injured so severely in Afghanistan in 2018 that doctors thought he would lose his right leg. Seven years later, the retired Army Ranger was on the deck of the USS Midway for Team Red, White and Blue’s most ambitious endeavor yet.
Along with a select group of other determined veterans, Polega hoped to establish a world record. Their goal was to run while carrying the American flag more than 3,000 miles cross country to its final destination in Washington, D.C., in the shortest amount of time ever.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon, Oct. 20, 2025. Photo: U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Milton Hamilton / DoD (public domain)

War Secretary Pete Hegseth plans to ax 20% of the general and admiral slots in the U.S. military, fulfilling a promise he made back in May to chop 10% of general and flag officer billets.
War Secretary Hegseth will announce the force structure changes in his State of the Force address at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.

This video describes the military situation in

Morgan Phillips, Fox News
War secretary’s State of the Force address doubles last year’s 10% reduction target, with changes due by Jan 1, 2027

Colton Jones, Defence Blog
Raytheon has won a $247.1 million contract to build, upgrade and overhaul Phalanx close-in weapon systems for the U.S. Navy and U.S.

Caitlyn Burchett, USNI News
The future USS John F.

Hope Seck, Army Times
The Army has kicked off an “M9s to Strykers” comprehensive evaluation of its weapons platforms as it pushes for greater organic repair capability

Diana Stancy & Michael Marrow, Breaking Defense
The selection also raises questions about how Boeing’s workforce will take on another major program

US troops depart Iraq. Photo: US Navy/DoD (public domain)

Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) in Iraq came to a formal close on 30 Sep 2026 with the formal closing of the last American military base in country at Erbil in the Kurdish north of Iraq. The US military will now cease to have a presence in Iraq after more than two decades of continuous presence.
In a statement released by the Pentagon earlier today, they acknowledged the closure of all US military bases in Iraq.

“We want to stop the North Koreans as far from Pusan as we can. Block the main road as far north as possible. Contact General Church. If you can’t locate him, go to Taejon and beyond if you can. Sorry I can’t give you more information. That’s all I’ve got. Good luck to you, and God bless you and your men.” -Maj. Gen. William F. Dean, orders to Lt. Col. Charles B. Smith, July 1, 1950, four days before Task Force Smith was overrun at Osan.

In January, this article series opened with a blunt question: Economic statecraft is back, but is America ready?Driving the question, in part, was the fact that the United States had not yet articulated (at least overtly) a strategy for economic statecraft. This was despite widening recognition that nations were increasingly using economic tools like tariffs and sanctions to pursue strategic objectives. U.S.

China has established a new joint military support and training centre in Laos, providing the People’s Liberation Army with another overseas military facility and expanding its defence presence in Southeast Asia. The China-Laos Joint Support and Training Centre and the China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy officially began operations at Ban Keun Airport on September 29, according to China’s Ministry of National Defense. The Ministry said the facilities will help Laos strengthen the training and development of its air force pilots.

A Russian infantryman expertly takes apart multiple drone attacks with small arms. Good firing position, gets in lower terrain to make drone slow down.

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India has set September 2028 as the target for the first flight of its Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) fifth generation fighter, with Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh also stating that the Tejas Mk2 light fighter is expected to make its maiden flight by September 2027. The timelines were announced at the NDTV Defence Summit in New Delhi on September 27, placing a specific target on two of India’s most important indigenous fighter programs.

Military service members receive COVID-19 vaccines. Photo: Children’s Health Defense / The Defender

By Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D. | The Defender — Children’s Health Defense
Testimony in an ongoing federal defamation lawsuit is raising new questions about the legality of the U.S. military’s 2021 COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The testimony also sheds light on how the mandate shaped military policy and the broader federal vaccine policy during the pandemic.
The lawsuit was filed last year by Dr.

Oil exports from major Middle Eastern producers appear to be recovering, even as the war with Iran continues, as Gulf countries try to move as much crude as possible through the Strait of Hormuz and restart shipments along routes that bypass it entirely.

Preliminary data from shipping tracker Kpler put September crude exports from key regional producers at 16.328 million barrels per day — their highest monthly level since the U.S.-Israeli war began in February.

President Donald Trump departs the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn, Monday, April 21, 2025.

Chinese defence researchers have outlined a long-term architecture for electrically powered 60 ton tank powered by a compact nuclear reactor and armed with a 50 megajoule electromagnetic railgun. The concept, described in a research paper published in the June 2026 supplement of the Chinese defence journal Acta Armamentarii, envisages a development path extending beyond 2045. The study was conducted by researchers from Inner Mongolia First Machinery Group, the State Key Laboratory of Special Vehicle Design and Manufacturing Integration Technology, and Beijing Institute of Technology.

Military officials announced a slew of awards to several defense companies Tuesday as part of a contract vehicle worth billions in counter-drone technology, a potentially massive haul for the Pentagon’s Domestic Shield initiative and air defense efforts.
The 10 new awards have a collective ceiling of $4.15 billion and fall under an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) vehicle that officials expect to reach $7 billion by the end of next month.

Russia has recruited Americans as well as thousands of other foreigners to fight in Ukraine, as Moscow looks to the world for manpower after over four years of huge battlefield losses.

At Least 18 Americans Enlisted With Moscow

Tu-160 Bomber from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons

Tu-160 Bomber Russian Air Force. Image Credit: Russian State Media.

The New York Post reported Monday that Ukrainian intelligence has identified 18 Americans who enlisted to fight with Russian forces.

YUMA PROVING GROUND, Ariz. — Transnational criminal cartels are increasingly flying commercial drones into America over the southern border to enable human-trafficking operations, senior military officials indicated last week.
“It is a human tragedy what’s going on on our southern border — and the people that are trying to cross are being exploited,” Air Force Brig. Gen. Brian Filler, Joint Task Force-Southern Border’s deputy commanding general, told DefenseScoop. “So, anything we can do to prevent that from happening is good.

What does it really take to pass P Company?

America Stopped Iranian Missiles, Replacing Interceptors Could Take Years – On April 13, 2024, Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles toward Israel in response to a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian consulate compound in Damascus, Syria. U.S. forces responded by helping shoot down the incoming weapons, including ballistic missiles intercepted by U.S. Navy destroyers in the Mediterranean.

The United States Air Force is moving closer to establishing a full-rate production line for the F-47 sixth generation fighter, with the Air Force’s Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Fighters and Advanced Aircraft Brigadier General Timothy Helfrich indicating that the new manufacturing line will appear in the near future. The programme is continuing on an accelerated schedule, with Boeing currently building the first flight prototype, while the first flight still scheduled for 2028.

Exercise Cobra Warrior is the RAF’s large

Cadets arrive at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, June 23, 2022. Photo: U.S. Air Force / Public Domain

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum dated September 29, 2026, directing the Military Service Academies to eliminate civilian faculty tenure — a sweeping move aimed at stripping out what he called “academic stagnation” and restoring a warfighting culture at institutions like West Point, the Naval Academy, and the Air Force Academy.

Eight U.S. Marines were reportedly injured earlier this month in a previously unreported attack by an Iranian cruise missile.

The eight Marines were injured when an Iranian missile struck a ship they were operating on in the Strait of Hormuz.

B-2A Spirit Stealth Bomber USAF Image.

A B-2 Spirit soars after a refueling mission over the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, May 30, 2006. The B-2, from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., is part of a continuous bomber presence in the Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III)

It’s the first time U.

U.S. President Donald Trump denied on Monday, September 28, that he had offered Iran sanctions relief or access to frozen assets. His claim contradicted reports that his administration was preparing to offer economic concessions to Tehran in exchange for progress on Tehran’s nuclear program. The reports from Axios and CNN on Monday cited unnamed U.S. officials who claimed that the president was prepared to consider economic concessions as part of an agreement.

Writing on Truth Social, however, the president claimed that the stories were untrue.

F-15 in museum.

The Royal Navy has fired its newest anti-ship m

Iran Rial Hits Record Low: Iran’s rial fell to a record low on Tuesday, trading at more than 2.5 million to the dollar in Tehran after seven months of war, sanctions, and restrictions on Iranian oil exports weighed on the currency.

The currency reached a record low of 2.2 million to the dollar in Tehran on Sept. 2, according to the Associated Press, and 27 days later, Iran International reported that the dollar was changing hands for 2.418 million rials on Monday, before sharply rising more than 80,000 rials, or over 3 percent, in less than 24 hours.

A further barrage of ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones was aimed at Kyiv on Tuesday.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched ballistic missiles and dozens of the newer jet-powered drones at the city of 3 million.

Putin in June 2021 Russian State Media Photo

Putin Back in 2023. Image Credit: Russian Federation

The weapons are faster and fly higher than the propeller-powered Shahed-type drones that have been a staple of Russia’s long-range attacks.

The Red Arrows have returned to the skies, flyi

The United States Navy’s shipbuilding crisis continues to compound. Unable to reliably build new warship classes domestically, the Navy had been unwilling (and legally barred by Congress) to procure new warships from foreign partners.

The Navy attempted to partner with an Italian shipbuilder with strong ties to the US defense industrial base, Fincantieri, for the Constellation-class, but the effort ended in total failure. The need for new warships, however, has not gone away.

Constellation-Class Frigate U.S. Navy. Image Credit: Industry Handout.

U.S.-Iran Mediators Working On A Deal – Mediators are reportedly pressing ahead with efforts to bring the war with Iran to an end, but disagreements over Iran’s nuclear future remain the main sticking point, according to two U.S. officials who spoke to The Associated Press. 

New reports suggest that mediators are continuing to work on a potential deal to end the conflict.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued a 30-day statewide disaster declaration amid rising diesel prices in the Lone Star State.

Diesel prices across the country have reached record highs in recent weeks, largely due to Iran’s ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz and repeated attacks on oil refineries in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.

B-1B Lancer Bomber U.S. Air Force Display. Image Credit: National Security Journal.

B-1B Lancer Bomber. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Gov. Abbott’s declaration comes just five weeks before Texas votes in the forthcoming gubernatorial election.

The Kremlin has found a new way to fill its trenches. It’s shopping for Americans.

According to a New York Post report now making the rounds, Russian recruiters are offering U.S. citizens, including former American service members, a signing bonus of about $26,000 plus a monthly salary to fight in Ukraine.

A U.S. M1A1 Abrams tank needed for training the Armed Forces of Ukraine awaits offloading at Grafenwoehr, Germany, May 14, 2023. The M1A1 training is expected to last several weeks and will include live fire, crew qualification, maneuver, and maintainer training.

From one generation to the next🪖
The latest

Iran claims that its attacks in the Strait of Hormuz have pushed American forces away from its coastlines, despite Washington’s insistence that more than one billion barrels of crude oil have passed through the region under its military protection.

19 large ships exited the strategic waterway last week, according to Kpler trade tracking data obtained by Reuters.

The French Marine Nationale aircraft carrier FS Charles De Gaulle (R91), and the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) are underway in formation in the Red Sea, April 15, 2019. The John C.