Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

NAS JRB Fort Worth, Texas— Naval Air Station (NAS) Joint Reserve Base (JRB) Fort Worth has taken a major step forward in aviation safety and operational readiness with the installation of a new AN/FPN-68A Precision Approach Radar. The modern solid-state system replaces the decades-old AN/FPN-63, delivering enhanced digital capabilities that will improve aircraft recovery in challenging Texas weather while significantly reducing maintenance demands.The AN/FPN-68A is a permanently installed radar system that acts as an eye in the sky for air traffic controllers, tracking an aircraft’s exact altitude, runway alignment, local weather and any nearby obstacles. This high-precision data allows controllers…

President Donald Trump unexpectedly left Turkey on Wednesday aboard an older Air Force One rather than the newly renovated Qatari-donated jet that brought him there, but later boarded the new plane in Britain for the flight to Washington.The trip to Turkey for the NATO summit, the first international travel for the new plane, took place as hostilities escalated with Iran, a country that borders Turkey. The unexpected plane switch followed months of scrutiny over the luxury gift intended to serve as a temporary replacement while Boeing struggled to deliver long-delayed next-generation Air Force One planes.Critics questioned the cost, security and…

Germany will purchase Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States and station them on German soil, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday, in a shift from planned U.S. deployments to Germany’s own long-range strike capability.Merz told lawmakers he had sealed the deal with the U.S. government on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Ankara, adding that the meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday had exceeded his expectations. “We are closing a critical strategic gap in our defence, while simultaneously working to develop our own European systems and station them in Europe,” he said. According to German government sources, Washington committed…

From Laboratory to Open Air: ISL’s Outdoor Railgun Test facility and What It Means for European Defence Research The French-German Research Institute of Saint-Louis (ISL) has successfully conducted the first outdoor, free-flight test of its domestically designed electromagnetic railgun. The milestone test took place on June 29, 2026, at the institute’s proving ground in Baldersheim, marking a critical transition for the European defense technology from laboratory research to open-range validation. ISL press release The shot is an introductive centrepiece of ISL’s Railgun Free Flight Facility, a programme launched two years ago that has brought together cross-disciplinary expertise from across the…

A Czech Air Force Mi-24V. (David Oliver) The Czechoslovak Air Force ordered a fleet of 16 Mi-24Ds, which were delivered between 1978 and 1983. Due to Czechoslovakia’s proximity to the NATO border, it received a further 20 Mi-24Vs between 1985 and 1989, and the Plzen-Bory airfield became a front-line air base for Hind operations during any NATO/WarPac conflict until the end of the Cold War in 1991. After Slovakia gained independence in 1993, the Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999. By 2020, the Czech Air Force still operated a fleet of 15 Mi-24V and Mi-35 helicopters with the 221st Helicopter…

Joe Jewell left academia and his role directing hypersonic wind tunnels to oversee the Pentagon’s science and technology enterprise. He wants more researchers to make the same move. He joins Jonathan to discuss the Pentagon’s science enterprise, why he thinks academia is the envy of America’s closest allies, and how his office gets technology from the lab into the hands of the warfighter.Image: Gabriella White via DVIDS.

Rocket engine startup Venus Aerospace only has one major test flight under its belt, but the company just raised $91 million from investors ready to bet on future production demands.The Series B funding round was led by the venture capital firm Mercury Fund and with participation from other investors, including Lockheed Martin Ventures, which noted  the company’s rapid development of its rotating detonation rocket engine—which uses continuous supersonic detonation waves to generate thrust—calling it a welcomed addition to the defense ecosystem. “Since our initial investment, Venus has progressed very quickly in its technology development. Our reinvestment in Venus recognizes Venus’ accomplishments…

Sean Strickland has quickly gone from one of Dustin Poirier’s biggest critics to his most adamant supporter as the former interim lightweight champion continues to deal with the fallout from his arrest on a public drunkenness charge following an ugly incident at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport.After already issuing an apology to Poirier following a conversation they had about his arrest, Strickland explained why he was initially so angry at the retired fighter without knowing the full context to his story. In the past, Strickland has spoken about growing up in abusive household and that largely centered a tumultuous relationship with his…

The Gulf war is not over. The United States launched airstrikes on Iran on July 7 after several Iranian attacks on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and suspended a US Treasury Department license that had authorized Iranian oil sales for sixty days. Tanker transit through the Strait of Hormuz remains below pre-war levels, and it remains uncertain if this is a temporary flareup, or instead if these events could derail US-Iran peace talks. A resurgence of tensions could halt the notable increase in oil exports from the Mideast Gulf in recent weeks, and oil prices rose on July 7 after the US strikes. …

Holloway told Chandler to “keep hoping” — because anything can happen in this crazy business.“I mean, I saw a couple of interviews of him saying he believed he’s going to get the fight,” Holloway told FOX Sports Australia. “I would say, yeah, keep hoping, man. He’s a strong believer. Anything could happen, bro. Look, I’ve been calling Conor out for a minute and I thought this fight was never gonna happen. I thought the fight was gonna happen five to eight years ago. Now you’re telling me 13 years later I’m rematching this guy after everything that he ran into…