Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

Picture a jet thundering off the runway at dusk, heavy with bombs, fuel tucked into its sides like clenched fists, radar sweeping the dark ahead. This isn’t a sleek dogfighter built for air shows or glossy posters. This is a working aircraft. A problem-solver.The F-15E Strike Eagle was designed to go long, go low, and come back, preferably after ruining someone’s night.What makes the F-15E Strike Eagle so fascinating isn’t just raw power (though it has plenty of that). It’s the contradiction baked into its DNA.Take an air-superiority fighter famous for speed and agility, then ask it to lug precision…

Planned and well-constructed defensive fortifications and lines can hold back an enemy for days, weeks, even months, or more, stalling their advance and forcing them to commit assets and men, with potential huge losses, into the fray. Breaching such defences is no easy task and tactics for doing so have evolved over a century of World Wars, and continue to evolve to this day. This article looks back briefly to WWI and WWII to understand how tactics for breaching major defensive fortifications have evolved. It then examines lessons currently being learned in Ukraine, as that nation continues to defend itself…

SINGAPORE — American defense firm L3Harris has started work to convert two Bombardier business jets into Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft for South Korea, according to a company official. “We have already received two aircraft to begin mission system integration work, demonstrating both program momentum and the maturity of the AERIS solution,” L3Harris Principal for International Business Development Jason Whitford told Breaking Defense at the Singapore Airshow. AERIS is the name for what L3Harris calls the “next-generation AEW&C family” of systems that go into the militarized jets. The work will eventually see four Bombardier Global Express 6500 business…

The Iranian regime has crushed the latest wave of protests through brute force, but the regime’s survival comes at a cost. It now confronts a volatile mix of domestic opposition, weakened regional proxies, and years of economic decay. Ryan is joined by co-host Kerry Anderson in a conversation with Alex Vatanka (Middle East Institute), Holly Dagres (Washington Institute for Near East Policy), and Naysan Rafati (International Crisis Group) about the pressures bearing down on Tehran and what might come next.

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department’s Golden Dome program office is tackling the “real challenge” of “affordability” via acquisition reform, with a key focus on spurring development of artificial intelligence, according to a senior Pentagon official. Marcia Holmes, DoD deputy director for Golden Dome, told the Miami Space Summit today that innovative approaches to acquisition are foundational to lowering the costs while quickly ramping up capabilities to integrate data from missile tracking satellites, develop space-based interceptors (SBIs) and automate a comprehensive command and control (C2) network to link sensors to shooters. “The real challenge that we have today is how we…

OSHKOSH, WI. – Oshkosh Defense, an Oshkosh Corporation [NYSE: OSK] company, announced today it was awarded an additional $25 million contract from the U.S. Army to deliver FMTV A2 Low-Velocity Airdrop (LVAD) 4×4 Cargo vehicles and kits. This order, following a recent Army contract for 97 vehicles, demonstrates strong and sustained customer demand for mission-critical tactical mobility solutions in extreme environments. “This award underscores our commitment to supporting the U.S. Army with proven, mission-ready capabilities that perform when and where the Soldier needs them most,” said Pat Williams, Chief Programs Officer for Oshkosh Defense. “By combining proven mobility with airdrop capability, the…

News February 05, 2026 Dan Taylor Technology Editor Military Embedded Systems Stock image NEW YORK, New York. Persistent Systems won an $87.5 million U.S. Army order for mobile ad hoc network (MANET) devices supporting the transport layer for the Army’s Next-Generation Command and Control (NGC2) prototype, the company announced in a statement. The order was submitted by the Army’s Capability Program Executive Command, Control, Communications, and Network (CPE C3N) and follows a $34 million award made in October, the statement reads. Combined, the two awards total $121.5 million for the company’s NGC2 prototype support effort, Persistent says. Persistent says its…

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org Raytheon, a division of defense giant RTX, recently announced a multiyear deal with the Pentagon to increase annual production of the Air Force’s primary dogfighting missile by more than 50 percent from two years ago. The deal will see the firm increase the number of AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs, it produces to “at least” 1,900 annually. That’s about a 58 percent increase from 2024, when Raytheon set a…

SAN DIEGO – 02 February 2026 – General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies presented the 2024 Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Squadron of the Year Award to the 184th Attack Squadron (ATKS) from the Ebbing Air National Guard Base. The award was initially announced at the U.S. Air Force’s annual Air, Space, and Cyber Conference, but GA-ASI and Mitchell held a formal presentation ceremony on January 30 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, the home of the 184th ATKS, in order to include the entire “Flying Razorbacks” squadron. The award was presented by GA-ASI CEO Linden Blue…

Kyoji Horiguchi is someone who is poised to do some great things in his return to the UFC octagon, according to a former three-time opponent of Horiguchi’s. That combatant in question is Hiromasa Ougikubo, who is on the heels of winning the Rizin flyweight grand prix, as well as the vacant RFF flyweight title Horiguchi left behind upon re-signing to the UFC, at Rizin’s annual New Year’s Eve show a few weeks back. When asked for his thoughts on this key flyweight fight this weekend with Horiguchi vs. Albazi at UFC Vegas 113, Ougikubo said [via Bowks Talking Bouts], “So…