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The TWZ Newsletter Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. U.S. President Donald Trump says the Iranians shot down the AH-64 Apache that crashed near the Strait of Hormuz overnight and vowed to retaliate. As we noted earlier today, the crew was safely rescued by a drone boat, an unprecedented action, which you can read more about here. “I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump stated on Truth…

The TWZ Newsletter Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has confirmed a Saronic Corsair was the uncrewed surface vessel (USV) that rescued the crew of a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache out of the Gulf of Oman overnight. President Donald Trump has also now said Iranian forces downed the attack helicopter, and promised a response. This is the first known instance of a drone boat being used to recover personnel as part of a search and rescue mission, and has major implications for these operations going forward. Readers…

The TWZ Newsletter Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. Over the past several weeks, news began emerging about Ukraine’s use of modified, AI-enhanced kamikaze drones to target Russian cargo trucks, fuel tankers, railroad cars and even vessels as far as 150 miles behind the front lines. Dubbed the mid-range strike campaign by Kyiv, this effort is having a devastating effect on Russian logistics, cutting off key highways to Crimea, helping to halt Moscow’s gains and pave the way for Ukrainian advances. To learn more about this campaign, we reached out to…

The TWZ Newsletter Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. Airbus has pulled the wraps off the U760 Ravenstorm, a combat drone designed to operate alongside fighter aircraft in air-to-air combat, strike missions, and electronic warfare roles. The new uncrewed aircraft is part of a revamped drone portfolio from the company, which also includes a Europeanized version of the stealthy XQ-58A Valkyrie, a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) platform, various tactical solutions, counter-drone systems, as well as the U145 uncrewed helicopter that you can read more about here. The timing of the announcement — and…

The TWZ Newsletter Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. A U.S. Navy uncrewed surface vessel (USV) found and rescued the crew of a U.S. Army Apache that went down overnight near the Strait of Hormuz, in the Gulf of Oman. This is the first known use of a drone boat executing a personnel recovery action as part of a military search and rescue operation, and it’s likely a glimpse of what’s to come. The cause of the incident is otherwise under investigation. Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)…

Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber The Federal Aviation Administration is poised to award Boston-based Air Space Intelligence (ASI) a closely-watched contract for its AI-powered air traffic management tool, according to multiple people familiar with the selection. The award would catapult the company, which had just over 150 employees as of April, to the center of a massive nationwide ATC system overhaul. Dubbed SMART, the system has been described by the FAA as a central pillar of its national airspace system (NAS) modernization plan. Related: FAA quietly developing AI-enabled predictive air traffic management system An FAA spokesperson told The…

PARIS — French Army Chief of Staff Gen. Pierre Schill, in the job since July 2021, has led the country’s land forces in a push toward higher readiness and preparation for high-intensity warfare, incorporating lessons from Ukraine while preparing for networked and drone-enabled conflict.In an interview ahead of the Eurosatory defense show here, which runs June 15-19, the general discussed how the Army is embedding innovation and adapting to a rapidly evolving battlefield.This interview has been edited for length and clarity.We’re in a period of accelerating innovation, but armies in peacetime often struggle to move beyond experimentation. How do you…

The TWZ Newsletter Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. Here’s TWZ’s weekly carrier tracker monitoring America’s flattop fleet, including deployed Carrier Strike Groups (CSG) and Amphibious Ready Groups (ARG), using publicly available open-source information. Check out last week’s report here. Amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima returned to Naval Station Norfolk on Saturday, wrapping a nearly 10-month deployment to the U.S. Southern Command-4th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR). During the 296-day deployment, the Iwo Jima ARG launched over 6,000 sorties, flew 1,850 flight hours, and transited more than 130,000 combined nautical…

The TWZ Newsletter Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. The troubled pan-European Future Combat Air System (FCAS) appears to have lurched to an undignified — but predictable — end, at least in its current form. A flurry of media reports today indicate that France and Germany, the two major partners in the program, have abandoned their program to develop a crewed New Generation Fighter (NGF) aircraft together, a conclusion supported by a French diplomat who spoke to TWZ today. According to sources including the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged French President…

The TWZ Newsletter Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. A U.S. Air Force KC-135 tanker appeared in the United Kingdom this weekend with a new antenna on top of the rear of the fuselage. The service has several efforts underway to improve the communications networking capabilities of all of its tankers and cargo planes, including ones that leverage Starshield, the government-focused cousin of SpaceX’s Starlink. This has become an especially critical priority for future survivability and effectiveness of the aging KC-135 fleet. Aviation photographer Alessandro Ledda, who goes by Aerographist on…