“They are capable of it, 100%!

Understanding Personnel Recovery and Combat Search and Rescue in the military: it’s a national strategic mission and is resourced accordingly.

The world watched fascinated as America recovered two pilots isolated behind enemy lines in Iran. Television screens were filled with pundits or veterans discussing everything from SERE* school to the impact of the successful recovery of both pilots on ceasefire negotiations.

Why the Secretary of War’s removal of senior leaders is exposing the military’s internal divide

On September 28, 2023, Chief of Staff of the Army General Randy A. George spoke to U.S. Africa Command Soldiers at Kelley Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany. Public Domain

I understand exactly how this is supposed to go. I’m supposed to stay quiet, accept the label that was put on me, and disappear. But when I hear a retired Major General publicly dismiss the Secretary of War as a “disgraced major” from the DC National Guard, I don’t just hear a political insult.

Coast Guard officials are trying to identify contractors that can provide drone equipment and services to support intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations.
The effort is being led by the Robotics and Autonomous Systems Program Executive Office that was established last year to support the organization’s modernization efforts laid out in Force Design 2028.

“We will not take our eyes off Putin”🗣️
De

Michael Kofman joins Ryan to unpack the current state of the Russo-Ukrainian War after his recent trip to the front. They examine how drone warfare has transformed the battlefield into a dispersed contest over a vast kill zone, why Russian infiltration tactics have failed to produce meaningful gains, and how Ukraine is working to close gaps in its strike capabilities. They also explore the growing pressure from Russian long-range strikes and how the war in Iran is beginning to shape the conflict.

An unusual Russian drone shot down by Ukrainian

This video describes the military situation in

All American males (including immigrants) aged 18 to 25 are required to register with the Selective Service System, perhaps more popularly known as registering for “the Draft.”
The penalties for failing to register are harsh and long-lasting. They include a fine of up to $250,000 and five years imprisonment (a felony conviction), along with ineligibility for government-funded student aid, state and federal employment, and loss of American citizenship (for immigrants).
But as early as December 2026, draft-age men won’t have to worry about whether or not they’re signed up.

The Department of the Air Force has selected Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado, and Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, as potential sites to host small nuclear reactors on base known as “microreactors,” Air Force officials have announced.
The final decision on whether the bases will receive nuclear reactors will depend on the successful completion of the environmental and licensing processes, said Laurel Falls, an Air Force spokesperson.

Heads held high even in defeat 🏉
Royal Navy

British military planners are working with alli

PM Sir Kier Starmer thanked UK personnel in Sau

BAE Systems has received a contract to begin manufacturing M776 cannons, the primary armament for the US Army’s M777 towed 155mm howitzer.

A major in the Army Reserve was investigated, taken into custody, had his promotion to lieutenant colonel rescinded, and then was formally reprimanded because he is one of the owners of a state-licensed marijuana dispensary in New York. 
But that officer, Maj. William Norgard, is arguing his business ventures outside of the Army are not in violation of military regulations, and he’s gearing up to challenge the service — a fight that his lawyer says is likely to end up in court.

As Frank Rubio progressed through the early part of his U.S. Army career, he didn’t give much serious thought about becoming an astronaut.
The idea might have intrigued him, but he didn’t think it was within reach. That all changed when Rubio applied to become part of NASA’s class of astronauts in 2017. Rubio’s application was one of more than 18,000 that the United States’ preeminent space agency received that year.
Related: The Artemis II mission mirrors the military life we already live
Defying the seemingly insurmountable odds, Rubio survived the cut.

An unusual Russian drone intercepted by Ukraini

The Colt Detective Special is one of the most iconic American firearms and probably one of the most iconic in the history of weaponry. Meeting instant success upon its release in 1927, the pocketable revolver was carried by law-abiding citizens, criminals, and law enforcement officers.
It was the weapon of choice for anyone who wanted to pack concealable firepower but preferred an established wheel gun designed for the new automatics like Colt’s 1903 Pocket Hammerless. In fact, the Colt Detective Special even saw issue as a military service weapon.

President Erdoğan was quick to stress the strategic autonomy of Türkiye’s sovereign defence industry during a visit to Roketsan on 7 April.

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary in 2026, the celebration is not merely a commemoration of a founding document or a date on a calendar. It is a tribute to the men and women whose leadership, courage, and discipline carried the American cause through its most fragile years.
The success of the American Revolution depended heavily on the leadership of commanders who could inspire exhausted soldiers, intimidate enemies, and make bold decisions in moments of extreme uncertainty.

Drew F.

Eve Sampson, MC Times
A new rotation of U.S.

Defense Post
The US Marine Corps has awarded General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) a $450-million contract for the pre-production development phase of the Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle…

Defence Blog
Organic Precision Fires-Light, or OPF-L, a loitering munition system intended for small Marine units operating on the front line.

IntEngineering
The announcement signals a key shift in the long-running XM30 program from development to early production, marking a major step in replacing the aging M2 Bradley fleet

Raytheon secured a $627m agreement to provide the Netherlands with additional Patriot air and missile defence system equipment.

This video describes the military situation in

The states most likely to draw America into its next major crisis or war are not unknowns. They are the usual suspects: The same handful of states that have threatened the United States repeatedly across decades. Interstate rivals have caused roughly 80 percent of history’s wars and the odds of any given rivalry ending peacefully are little better than a coin toss.

On March 27, Iranian drones and missiles struck Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, destroying an E-3 Sentry, an airborne command center for U.S. operations in the region, and damaging multiple KC-135 tankers. It was not the first strike. Earlier in the month, an Iranian attack had already damaged five KC-135s at the same base. In the history of these aircraft, no enemy had ever achieved such a hit until Iran did both — within two weeks.These strikes are the latest in a broader pattern, part of a deliberate counterair campaign waged through asymmetric means in the U.S.

The F-35 fighter program’s primary contractor Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $11.4 million contract modification to develop additional software for Israel’s F-35 fleet, namely to produce three software data loads referred to as “productionized plus builds.” These are to be developed off existing enterprise software baselines, with work falling under Israel’s System Development and Design Phase II effort, which encompasses both software development and systems engineering activities.

The British Armed Forces have conducted a month-long operation to track three Russian submarines in British waters, accounting to a statement on March 9 by Defence Secretary John Healey. The secretary observed that an Akula class attack submarine and two spy submarines were involved, with the two secretive ships, referred to as the ‘Gugi class,’ having spent time over “critical infrastructure relevant to us and our allies.

U.S. Marines with Expeditionary Operations Training Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force test Marine-Build drones off the coast of Naval Base White Beach, Okinawa, Japan, March 22, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Cpl. Giovanni Navarrette)
For the first time, Marines and Naval Special Warfare operators struck an unmanned vessel with a small first-person view drone they launched from a boat during a test in the Pacific, the service said, billing it as a new chapter for the amphibious branch.

Iran’s drone arsenal and weapons stockpiles are mostly depleted and its capacity to produce new assets is nearly gone, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine.
Those two senior officials supplied updates on Operation Epic Fury Wednesday during the first Pentagon press briefing to follow President Donald Trump’s announcement late Tuesday of a two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. 
They each broadly quantified the destruction of Iran’s military capabilities over the first five weeks of the war.

The Air Force is offering active duty pilots and other aviators up to $50,000 per year to stay in the service as part of this fiscal year’s Aviation Bonus program.
Under the program, aviators and pilots can sign contracts ranging from 3 to 12 years to be in line for up to $600,000 under the maximum bonus, according to the Air Force.
Traditionally, such bonuses have been intended to persuade pilots and other highly trained and skilled aviators to extend their service in the Air Force rather than take jobs with civilian airlines or employment elsewhere in the private sector.

The Army is conducting market research for new algorithms and sensors that could help its forces detect hazardous objects on the front lines.
The service, led by the Capability Program Executive Ammunition and Energetics, issued a notice Tuesday requesting information from industry on their automatic target recognition tools. 
“The purpose of ATR is to increase the Soldier’s ability to detect, classify, and identify threats in support of maneuver elements during autonomous breaching operations,” officials wrote.

This video describes the military situation in

The Royal Navy relies on them—but the clock i

A boom operator on a KC-135 tanker earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses on recent combat missions, the Air Force confirmed this week, a rare double-award of the military’s top medal for flight.
Staff Sgt. Gabrielle Stallings, a KC-135 boom operator, was one of 15 members of the 93rd Air Refueling Squadron who were presented with DFCs or Bronze Stars for combat flights on March 31, in a ceremony at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington.
In all, 12 pilots and boom operators from the squadron were awarded Distinguished Flying Crosses.

As the Military Working Dog (MWD) Operational C

“World of Warships” has been on gamers’ radar for more than a decade now, and the updates just keep getting better. This year has been no exception. In its earliest days, players were abuzz with the idea of being able to fight as the Bismarck-class battleship Tirpitz. Today, the roster includes the American battleship Missouri, the Japanese battleship Yamato, the UK’s HMS Hood, and the iconic carrier USS Enterprise.

Two more Merlin Crowsnest helicopters arrive to

In 2024, Shaan Shaikh wrote, “Three Visions for NATO Air and Missile Defense,” where he laid out three potential scenarios NATO could take in the next few years to further its air and missile defense capabilities. Two years later, amidst alliance tensions and ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, we asked Shaan to revisit his arguments.Image: Sgt. Mariah Gonzalez via DVIDSIn your 2024 article, you laid out three potential directions NATO could take in the next few years for further developing its air and missile defense capabilities.

The US mission to rescue the downed F-15 pilot

X-Bow Systems has secured a $12.2m contract with AEVEX to manufacture rocket-assisted take-off kits for the AEVEX Disruptor drone.

The first casualty of war is always the plan—something the Russian Army relearned the hard way when it invaded Ukraine in 2022. Kyiv was supposed to fall in a matter of days. When the shock of Russia’s initial assault subsided, however, the two opposing armies became entrenched in a virtual stalemate. This stalemate has remained more or less unchanged ever since.
World War I devolved in much the same way. The German plan for the war was supposed to take all of six weeks.

U.S. troops carried on one of the Global War On Terror’s most enduring battlefield traditions by downing millions of energy drinks during the Iran war.
The topic came up during Wednesday’s Pentagon news briefing as Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, provided reporters with a string of final tallies for U.S. military operations against Iran following President Donald Trump’s Tuesday announcement of a two-week ceasefire. Among statistics on battlefield targets struck, Caine addressed what troops had been chugging.

The British Army has received two Airbus H145 Jupiter HC Mk2 helicopters in Brunei, part of a £148m ($196m) Ministry of Defence (MoD) initiative to renew the UK’s rotary fleet.

The US and Iran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire today (8 April) with talks starting in Islamabad on Friday 10 April.

Dieter Dengler was so poor while growing up in Germany that he and his brothers picked through garbage for scraps.
Desperate to escape his impoverished circumstances, Dengler was willing to go anywhere. He was in high school when he saw a magazine that spotlighted U.S. military pilots. It seemed like a great opportunity to Dengler, who immigrated to America in 1957 and enlisted in the Air Force.
Related: 7 POWs who were total badasses after being taken captive
Dengler spent four years in the Air Force without learning to fly. During that time, though, he became a U.S.

The Armed Forces may be ready, but what about t