The SR-71 Blackbird was incredible. The Blackbird was conceptualized as a high-speed spy aircraft that could peer down at any location in the globe within hours of receiving the order.

The SR-71 could sprint at speeds past Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound, at altitudes of 85,000 feet.

SR-71 Blackbird at USAF Museum July 2025. Image Credit: National Security Journal.

It was active during the Cold War and enjoyed a brief renaissance after. Remarkably, the SR-71 was never shot down—thanks to its blisteringly high speed.

For thousands of American troops across the Middle East, the Iran War has been defined by the wavering siren just before a drone or missile attack, the dash to a bunker, and the monotony of waiting until it’s safe to emerge, sometimes hours later.
And when troops hunker down — whether in a concrete shelter or porta-potty — they often chronicle their trials and tedium through graffiti. Now, photos of the new war art are starting to emerge.

This is the GDLS ARV-30, or Advanced Recon Vehi

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That didn’t take long.
We have just received this order issued 4/26/26 and will post more on the issues soon… (h/t Col Rob Maness)
Honorable, efficient, and expedited reinstatement, re-accession, and reconciliation of military records is a top priority for the Department of the Navy (DON).

ARX Robotics and Supacat have signed an MoU to collaborate on the development of robotic and autonomous systems for land forces in the UK.

Somewhere in a Facebook group for parents of autistic young men, a mother posts a screenshot of a news headline about automatic Selective Service registration and typed three words underneath it: “Should I panic?”
The replies came fast, and so many of them were wrong.
Also Read: Eligible American males will soon be automatically registered for the draft
Automatic Selective Service registration is a real thing. An actual draft is not. Those are two entirely separate things, and that distinction is where most of the fear currently resides.

Chinese aerospace researchers stated a few months ago that they may have identified potential aerodynamic weaknesses in the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation B-21 Raider stealth bomber using a sophisticated simulation system.

The claim originates with scientists at the China Aerodynamics Research and Development Centre (CARDC), who reportedly used a digital modeling platform called PADJ-X to simulate the bomber’s flight characteristics based on publicly available images and design assumptions.

B-21 Raider. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Two years ago, a short news story appeared about the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) next-generation bomber, the Xi’an H-20. “After an official confirmation following an eight-year hiatus [of any program updates], the Air Force Deputy Commander has issued a ‘spoiler’ on the H-20: it’s almost here, just wait for it.”

Not much has been said about the program since, leading to questions about the true state of this aircraft’s production planning and schedule for introduction into service.

H-20 Bomber. Chinese Internet Social Media Screenshot.

NatDefense
The Marine Corps has launched a new initiative called the Digital Eagle Solution Train to modernize its digital and IT systems and speed up capability delivery in the midst of…

Joseph Trevithick, The WarZone
The Marines have said “everything is on the table” when it comes to potential replacements for their AH-1 and UH-1 helicopters

C. Jones, Defence B.

Finnerty, Flight Global
Three jets, one in each F-35 variant, will be delivered in a flight test configuration to support upgrade efforts

GDN
U.S.

This video describes the military situation in

The United States and Canada are both racing to rebuild their defense industrial bases, recognizing that future conflicts will be determined not only by military capability, but by the ability to produce at scale. But they cannot succeed alone — and importantly, they do not need to start from scratch.

On April 25, armed groups launched near-simultaneous attacks against military installations and key strategic sites across Mali. Claimed by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, a jihadist group, and conducted in coordination with Tuareg separatist forces from the Front de libération de l’Azawad, the attacks targeted multiple nodes across the country’s security architecture simultaneously, from the capital Bamako to Gao, Mopti, and Kidal.

Bastion mobile cruise missile systems operating under the Russian Navy Northern Fleet have held exercises on Franz Josef Land simulating anti-shipping strikes, as the systems continue to be relied heavily for anti-access area denial in the region. “As part of regular combat training, Bastion coastal defence missile system crews from the Northern Fleet’s tactical group based on the Franz Josef Land archipelago have held the exercise,” the Northern Fleet reported.

The U.S. Air Force has deployed E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control systems (AWACS) to strengthen air defence capabilities in the Arctic during Red Flag-Alaska 26-1 exercises, reinforcing North American Air Defence command readiness across key northern approaches. Alaska’s position as a frontline corridor for strategic attacks, primarily by Russian and Chinese strategic bombers, makes the maintaining of high situational awareness there critical, with systems like the E-3 considered optimal asset for such duties.

Earlier this year, it was announced that the troubled Zumwalt-class destroyers are starting to hit the waves again as the USS Zumwalt (DDG1000) recently concluded her sea trials after a long modernization process.

While the Zumwalt-class is losing its Advanced Gun System, it is gaining 12 Conventional Prompt Strike launchers, which enable the ships to launch hypersonic missiles.

Soldiers with the 1st Cavalry Division are poised to trail two of the U.S. Army’s most consequential new armored vehicles: the M1E3 Abrams main battle tank, as well as the XM30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle. The newest Abrams promises to boost mobility while also reducing fuel consumption — and could well incorporate artificial intelligence to boost combat lethality.

Less is known about the XM30, the replacement for the M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle, which has been in service since the early 1980s. But both platforms will incorporate lessons learned from the war in Ukraine.

The National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, is probably one of the coolest military museums in the world, and might be the number one military museum in America.
It has more than five massive hangars that act as galleries for aircraft, artifacts, and weapons, from the beginning of aviation to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They even have a few ICBMs and atomic bombs on display.

There are a lot of brands out there trying to appeal to the American armed forces. They will attempt anything and everything: from discounts and swag to free concerts and events, all trying to prove that they are the number one supporter and brand for the military.
Some brands, however, get adopted by U.S. troops whether they like it or not, and become a staple of the culture, every bit as authentic as creamed chipped beef on toast. 
No better example of this exists than Rip It.
Also Read: The way Dwight D.

"We must all move forward and get on with it"🗣️ The troubled Ajax programme is set to restart as the MOD says the cause of soldier illness was down to a combination of factors, with new safety controls now in place Former tank commander Hamish De-Bretton Gordon welcomed plans to restart trials, but said the says the impact of this whole episode has been painful Read more here🔗www.forcesnews.com/services/army/armys-acceptance-ajax-back-track-new-crew-safety-controls-place #ajax #army #britisharmy #military Subscribe to Forces News: http://bit.ly/1OraazC Check out our website: https://www.forcesnews.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ForcesTV Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forcesnews/?hl=en X: https://twitter.com/ForcesNews

The Navy’s new acting secretary, Hung Cao, urged industry officials to speed up the delivery of high-quality counter-drone systems and other AI-enabled military assets to protect and better equip sailors and Marines who are deployed overseas. 
“What you’re producing right now is going to save the lives of America’s sons and daughters. My son, who’s going to be commissioned as a second lieutenant in about 24 days. So, that’s why I do what I’m doing, because I’m not going to have my son go to war the way I did when we were invading Iraq.

The Navy has launched a pilot project that uses artificial intelligence capabilities to recommend jobs for sailors, and the service is aiming to expand that effort to a larger pool of personnel, according to a senior official.
Part of the Navy’s ongoing modernization push includes improving talent management.
“If you don’t get the talent right, the technology doesn’t matter,” Ben Kohlmann, assistant secretary of the Navy for manpower and reserve affairs, said Tuesday at the Workday Federal Forum, produced by FedScoop.

Over the summer, troops with 2nd Marine Division will head to Twentynine Palms, California, to experience something entirely new to them: drone-defeat training from the service’s primary readiness unit. 
Between mid-July to late August, Marine Air-Ground Task Force Training Command will host the division for an integrated training exercise where it will run troops through counter-UAS “lanes” and possibly incorporate the capability into live-fire scenarios, Maj. Gen. Farrell Sullivan told DefenseScoop on the sidelines of the Modern Day Marine conference.

The Space Force’s budget request for fiscal 2027 includes billions of dollars in funding for the Space Data Network (SDN), which could turn the service’s plan to create a complex web of military and commercial data relay satellites into reality.
The SDN is envisioned as a multi-orbit, hybrid satellite communications architecture comprising both military-owned and commercial systems built by different vendors. Once fully operational, the SDN will serve as a single, unified network that allows the Pentagon to securely move data via multiple pathways to ground stations and weapons platforms.

This video describes the military situation in

Every Marine knows that the “Old Corps” had it worse. The rocks they slept on were harder; the MREs they ate were (somehow) worse; they did it all with iron sights. You get the idea. All Marines have heard some version of how the Corps used to be — including the Marines who are today the Corps’ top senior enlisted leaders. 
Sharing a stage Tuesday at the Modern Day Marine conference in Washington, D.C.

Public Domain

Washington, D.C. — A U.S. appeals court has temporarily reinstated the Pentagon’s requirement that journalists be escorted while inside the building, handing the Department of Defense a key victory as it challenges a lower court ruling.
In a 2-1 decision issued on April 27, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit paused a district judge’s order that had struck down the escort mandate.

“I hate talking about combat drills when the U.S. Navy lost, and many times, lost aircraft carriers in simulations. But, hey, you only learn when you make mistakes.” That’s what a long-retired U.S. Navy surface warship officer told me last week when I asked him about the various times that U.S. Navy aircraft carriers have been sunk in various wargames over the years. And while we talk a lot about the infamous time Gotland-class AIP submarine from Sweden sinking an aircraft carrier back in 2005, Canada also achieved such a submarine ‘victory’ as well. And it was decades before.

This video describes the military situation in

Rare footage from Ukraine reveals just how ofte

A term called “Darkstar” is stretching the U.S. Air Force’s imagination. No, it is not something from the latest Star Wars movie. This is the nickname for the new SR-72 spy plane. Also known as the “Son of Blackbird,” the new kid on the block has many of the same attributes as the SR-71 Blackbird, and that has aerospace enthusiasts salivating at the new possibilities.

The proposed SR-72 could hit a top speed of MACH 6, or 4,600 miles per hour. This is almost twice as fast as the SR-71 Blackbird.

When considering the music that we’d want to play as we ship out to a combat zone, very few of us would think of choosing a 19th century Australian folk song about a hobo who stole a sheep.
And yet, that’s exactly what the Marines of the 1st Marine Division do every time. It may seem odd that United States Marines choose to deploy using Australia’s unofficial national anthem, but a closer look at the history of the unit (and how the song ends) helps make sense of it all.

Rheinmetall Electronics has received a €1.04bn ($1.2bn) contract to supply and modernise soldier systems for the German Armed Forces.

The Marines have their incoming ACV-30 on displ

The British Army’s Ajax armoured vehicle will restart its trials programme, 12 years after a production contract was first signed.

Following its adoption by the U.S. military, the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (more popularly known as the Humvee) found success in the commercial market as the Hummer H1. It looks like the Humvee’s replacement might have the same civilian market appeal.
GM Defense’s Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) was selected by the Army in 2020 to replace the iconic Humvee. The truck is based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 and features 70% commercial off-the-shelf components—and the first Infantry Squad Vehicle made available to the civilian market.

According to budget documents released by the Air Force, troops deployed to war zones could see their special pay doubled next year if a new Pentagon proposal is approved by Congress.
Currently, troops who are deployed in designated combat zones receive up to $225 per month in imminent danger pay or hostile fire pay. That number could double to $450 each month later this year, according to Air Force budget officials, if Congress approves a proposal in the Pentagon’s fiscal year 2027 budget request.

Seeing the YF-118G, like we did last year at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, makes one stop in their tracks. And we have the original photos below to prove it. The YF-118G “Bird of Prey,” a one-off experimental aircraft built by Boeing, is one strange-looking plane. Tiny, unconventional wings, an engine intake on the aircraft’s spine, and its almost beak-like nose all combine into one odd—but presumably quite stealthy—aircraft.

It smelled like old diesel and sounded like the apocalypse. Its bench was a wooden plank bolted to an aluminum frame that felt purposefully designed to make your back hurt and your legs go numb. The canvas overhead snapped in the wind like it was trying to get the heck out of there, and who could blame it?
Also Read: The Gun Trucks of Vietnam: Soldiers transformed cargo vehicles into fighting machines
If you ever climbed into the back of a 2½-ton M35 cargo truck, you remember it. The shaking and flying off every bump.

The morning of Nov. 12, 2016, began like any other at Bagram Airfield, the largest American military installation in Afghanistan at the time. By mid-morning, five people were dead and 17 others were wounded. Among them was a young Army specialist who lost the use of his left hand, arm and the left side of his face while trying to stop the bomber before he reached a larger crowd.
Nearly a decade later, the U.S. Supreme Court says that soldier has the right to make someone answer for it.

EARN YOUR NAME IN THE FIRE
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The Australian government has confirmed a A$2.3bn ($1.6bn) investment over the decade in US-made HIMARS and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM).

“Behind every redaction is a story someone didn’t want told.”
That powerful idea sits at the heart of “Secrets Declassified with David Duchovny” on History, which just returned for its second season. It immediately captures the imagination. From bizarre weapons and hidden subterranean sites to wild experiments and extreme extraction missions, the series pulls back the curtain on government secrets from modern history that many suspected existed but were never fully explained.

WM
This 60-ton powerhouse unleashes lasers, electronic warfare, and drone defenses, redefining armored combat against evolving threats

The WarZone
The cool under pressure agent yanked the MP7 from a discreet backpack after a shooter tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

J. Whitney, Military+Aerospace E
The upgrade is designed to enhance the aircraft’s ability to detect, track, and counter evolving threats in contested and austere environments.

A&SF
U.S.