Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom

The TWZ Newsletter Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. The U.S. Air Force has awarded contracts for the production of General Atomics FQ-42A Dark Merlin and Anduril FQ-44A Fury drones. This sets the service up to operate a split initial fleet of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), something TWZ has highlighted as being a distinct possibility from the start. The Air Force down-selected the designs from General Atomics and Anduril to move ahead as part of the first incremental development cycle of its CCA program, or Increment 1, back in 2024. What…

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the United States and Iran includes a 60-day ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, according to a copy of the text obtained by Military Times. It also paves the way for sanctions relief and a $300 billion reconstruction incentive for the Islamic Republic – contingent upon a final deal being agreed. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance electronically signed the accord Sunday, ahead of a formal ceremony scheduled for Friday in Switzerland. Vance is expected to lead the American delegation alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law,…

A record 72.2 million Americans are expected to travel for the July Fourth holiday, thanks in large part to a busy Alaska cruise season.  The holiday travel forecast from AAA is up just 0.5% from 2025’s 71.8 million, with travel by car and air relatively flat. But 4.93 million Americans are expected to travel by other modes of transportation, including cruises, a more than 5% increase from last year. Global ocean cruise volume hit 37.2 million last year, up more than 7.5% from the year prior, according to the Cruise Lines International Association. AAA expects 21.7 million Americans to travel…

The most valuable thing America owns is also the thing it keeps sabotaging at its own front door, especially in the past decade. Freddy is the viral German fan who has spent six weeks driving across the country and posting about it on X, calling a Buc-ee’s at one in the morning the holy land, rating a Waffle House a 10 out of 10, and freezing happily under American air conditioning. America, and the rest of the world watching America right now, fell for him — hard. And everything he fell for was already here, for free, long before he…

The Trump administration’s recent push to buy foreign-built warships is being waylaid by congressional defense committees who are seeking to limit the executive office’s ability to tap overseas construction yards to build out America’s naval fleet.First reported on by the U.S. Naval Institute, the Senate Armed Services Committee’s markup of the Fiscal Year 2027 defense policy bill seeks to strip the presidential waiver authority granted to the commander-in-chief in Title 10 section 8679, which would allow the president to approve offshore ship construction under a vague description of “national security interest.”Under the language of the markup, the defense secretary may…

After more than a decade of lobbying, legal wrangling, and political trench warfare, Europe’s airlines have finally got their answer on air passenger rights. It’s not the one they wanted. The European Union (EU) this week agreed the first major overhaul since EU261 regulations were introduced more than 20 years ago. Despite intense pressure from airlines and other industry stakeholders, policymakers largely held the line. The core principles remain intact. Passengers delayed by more than three hours will still be entitled to compensation ranging from €250 to €600 ($290-$696), depending on flight distance. Carriers pushed hard for longer delay thresholds…

Another Pentagon-led name change was unveiled Tuesday, when it was announced that the military’s U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would be dropping “Indo” from its name and reverting back to the long used U.S. Pacific Command, or USPACOM.The move, according to a Pentagon release, “honors the command’s deep historical roots, fostering a sense of pride and collective spirit among all who serve in the Pacific.”“From its critical role in establishing the post-WWII regional security architecture to its coordination of joint forces during the Korean War, the Vietnam War and countless humanitarian operations, the USPACOM namesake carries decades of military heritage and enduring…

Every major tech CEO in America is committed to the AI capex arms race. Meta has raised its 2026 capital budget to between $125 and $145 billion. Alphabet has guided to $180 to $190 billion and says 2027 will go higher. Microsoft is on track for roughly $190 billion this year. Brian Chesky has told Wall Street, repeatedly and proudly, that Airbnb will do none of it: no model training, no GPU buildout, no AI investment the market will ever see in the P&L. Airbnb will stay as the application layer, the disciplined opposite of the hyperscalers, winning on what…

An Arianespace Ariane 64 rocket lifts off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana to begin the Leo Europe 03 mission for Amazon Leo. This mission carried 36 broadband satellites onboard, the heaviest payload launched by an Ariane launcher. Image: ESA-CNES-Arianespace-ArianeGroup Optique Vidéo de CSG – T Leduc Update June 17, 11:20 a.m. EDT (1520 UTC): Arianespace confirms deployment of all Amazon Leo satellites. Arianespace launched its largest and heaviest payload to date on a version of its Ariane 6 rocket that incorporated new solid rocket boosters Wednesday morning. The mission was designated VA269 by Arianespace and Leo Europe 03 (LE-03)…

The TWZ Newsletter Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. Ukraine is increasingly emerging as a potential player in Europe’s race to build-up its long-range conventional strike capabilities. New partnerships centered on the Ukrainian Flamingo and Neptune cruise missiles underscore how the European defense industry is moving from supplying Kyiv to co-developing and manufacturing combat-proven Ukrainian missile technology for NATO’s own future arsenal. Diehl Defense recently confirmed that it plans to launch production of Ukraine’s Flamingo cruise missile in Germany. Diehl’s chief executive, Helmut Rauch, said that his company was planning talks…