Mystery Weapon Appears on Navy Destroyer

Mystery Weapon Appears on Navy Destroyer

A photograph taken at Pearl Harbor on March 29 showed something unusual on the aft deck of the USS Carl M. Levin (DDG-120): a launcher that nobody outside the Navy could immediately identify. Mounted between the destroyer’s port-side torpedo tubes and its rear Mk 41...
Portugal Bets on a Tiny Italian Trainer

Portugal Bets on a Tiny Italian Trainer

The next generation of Portuguese military pilots will learn to fly in an aircraft that weighs less than a family car. On April 9, 2026, Tecnam and Spanish aviation services provider World Aviation announced that the Portuguese Air Force has selected the Tecnam...
155 Aircraft to Save One Man

155 Aircraft to Save One Man

On April 3, 2026, an F-15E Strike Eagle with the callsign Dude 44 was hit by a shoulder-fired missile over Iran’s Zagros Mountains. Both crew members ejected. The pilot was recovered within hours. The weapons systems officer — a colonel — was not. He landed on a...
Bahrain’s Vipers Draw First Blood

Bahrain’s Vipers Draw First Blood

In the pre-dawn darkness of April 1, 2026, a Royal Bahraini Air Force F-16 Block 70 lifted off from Sheikh Isa Air Base and turned toward an incoming threat that ground-based air defenses had already failed to stop. Two Iranian drones were inbound. Within minutes,...
$50,000 a Year and Pilots Still Leave

$50,000 a Year and Pilots Still Leave

The U.S. Air Force just opened its biggest pilot retention bonus program in history. Starting April 1, 2026, eligible aviators can apply for annual bonuses up to $50,000 — with total payouts reaching $600,000 over a 12-year commitment. The Air Force estimates 10,314...