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A STRONG OFFENSE FOR THE WORLD OF DEFENSE July 28, 2026 China fields the largest and most sophisticated ballistic missile arsenal in Asia, supported by what the U.S. Department of Defense has described as “the world’s most active and diverse missile development program.” In the first of this series, TWZ provides an overview of the country’s intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (ICBMs and SLBMs), representing the leading edge of Beijing’s nuclear deterrent forces. China has rapidly expanded and modernized the arsenal of its People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF), fielding a growing number of ballistic missiles capable of delivering either conventional or nuclear warheads. The backbone of the force now consists of road-mobile, solid-fuel medium-, intermediate-, and intercontinental-range missiles. However, legacy liquid-fueled systems such as the Dong Feng-5 (CSS-4) remain in service, and a new silo-building program will change the balance yet again. Read our feature report here. Must Read Articles Boeing Has Now Eaten $3B In Air Force One Cost Overruns Boeing says it is once again paying out of pocket to ensure the first fully-equipped VC-25B jet is finally delivered in 2028, many years late. READ NOW Australian MQ-28 Ghost Bat Fighter Drones Could Be Commanded By U.S. Pilots Being able to freely share Collaborative Combat Aircraft, even in a heated fight, could be a huge boon for U.S. and Australian airpower. READ NOW Navy’s GARC Kamikaze Drone Boat Blew A Hole In Ex-USS Peleliu During Sinking Exercise Just days after the Navy's first combat use of a kamikaze USV, RIMPAC saw one take center stage during the sinking of an amphibious assault ship. READ NOW Aerostar High-Altitude Balloons Being Turned Into Drone Motherships Balloons laden with drones flying high in the stratosphere could persistently surveil enemy forces over vast areas and even attack targets on demand. READ NOW Meet BARB, The Robot That’s A Glimpse At Future Jet Engine Assembly There's a new laborer on Pratt & Whitney's jet engine production line, and it doesn't need lunch breaks or vacation days. READ NOW Where Are The Aircraft Carriers: July 28, 2026 The U.S. may have paused its strike campaign against Iran, for now, but the revived naval blockade remains in full effect. READ NOW From the Archive The Navy Nearly Built A Nuclear Armed “Super Sidewinder” Air-To-Air Missile With a liquid-fueled motor and dual-mode guidance system, the Diamondback was an early effort to make a longer-range missile based on the Sidewinder. READ NOW Hot Shots Japanese guided-missile destroyer JS Kongo and aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt during exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) group sail. Philippine Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Richard Deguilo and Apprentice Seaman Harvey Alcala U.S. Paratroopers assigned to the 11th Airborne Division jump from a C-17 Globemaster III during Arctic Predictable Iron 26 over Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Lauren Torres An aircrew chief fires the M134 minigun aboard a UH-1Y Venom helicopter during a close air support exercise in the Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Cassidy Shepherd July 24, 2026 Raytheon has touted a new domestic order for PAC-2-series interceptors for the Patriot surface-to-air missile system. This is the first time the U.S. military has bought any new PAC-2s in more than 30 years, according to the company. This comes amid persistent concerns about the sufficiency of American stockpiles of high-end anti-air interceptors and other critical munitions, with alarm bells now ringing very loudly due to the conflict with Iran. Global demand for Patriot systems and interceptors for them, in general, is at a high point, driven heavily by fighting in the Middle East and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Patriot has been seeing a broader renaissance in recent years amid an evolving threat ecosystem, emanating especially from Russia and China. Read our full report here. Must Read Articles Pathway To Larger B-21 Raider Fleet Was Baked Into Production Ramp-Up Deal The USAF previously framed the B-21 production boost deal as simply helping accelerate fielding of the bombers next year. READ NOW Brontanax Fighter Drone Is The UK’s Big Leap Into Collaborative Combat Aircraft BAE Systems just unveiled its stealthy CCA with some intriguing features. READ NOW Evidence Of Ukraine Using Dutch Ruta Block 1 Cruise Missiles Emerges The combat debut of the low-cost missile underscores Ukraine’s accelerating shift toward increasingly capable, mass-produced, long-range strike capabilities. READ NOW Congress’ Proposed Trump Class Battleship Program Guardrails Met With White House Pushback Congress is moving ahead with a bill that would block Trump class battleship construction unless certain weapons are deemed mature. READ NOW Helicopters Just Took Center Stage In Rim Of The Pacific Sinking Exercises Allied rotorcraft employed at least four different missile types against retired warships during the massive Pacific exercise. READ NOW Air-To-Ground Capabilities Are Already Creeping Into The F-15EX’s Mission Set The F-15EX's current job is the same as its F-15C predecessor, strictly air-to-air combat, but that is going to change. READ NOW From the Archive The Time Air Force One Took Evasive Maneuvers To Defend Itself Against Syrian MiGs The obscure incident is a reminder that Air Force One was and still is very much a military machine with crews prepared for anything. READ NOW Hot Shots An Army Paratrooper creates a signal for the M119 105mm Howitzer crew to establish a battery assembly area using a tactical light stick during Falcon Avalanche at Fort Bragg. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Ra Hetep Amphibious Combat Vehicles with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, III Marine Expeditionary Force, arrive at White Beach Naval Facility in Okinawa, Japan. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Ryan H. Pulliam Marines fire M82A1 Special Applications Scoped Rifles at a precision fire range as part of Service Level Training Exercise 4-26 at the Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Peter Rawlins

July 21, 2026 Anduril’s YFQ-44 Fury Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) caught the attention of aircraft trackers yesterday evening when it appeared to leave its developmental home at the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville and flew alongside its Learjet chase aircraft west. The pilotless ‘fighter’ would end up recovering at America’s central hub for uncrewed aircraft operations, Creech Air Force Base in southern Nevada, home of the MQ-9 Reaper and RQ-170 Sentinel. It is the first time that we know of that Fury has been hosted at Creech. TWZ has now found out what Fury will be doing there and what it will soon be joined by. Read our exclusive here.

Must Read Articles

Could This New Northrop Spacecraft Use Its Robotic Arms To Attack Enemy Satellites? The Mission Robotic Vehicle's job is maintaining and refueling satellites in orbit, but it also opens the door to a different kind of 'armed' capability. READ NOW

New VC-25B Air Force One Will Be Pulled From Service To Be “Maxed Out” With Upgrades Trump said the ex-Qatari 747 is going to be upgraded soon when asked about the lack of defensive countermeasures on the new jet. READ NOW

Anduril Brings The Thunder With Autonomous Tiltrotor Attack Drone Concept Thunder is designed to fly deep into hostile airspace at low altitude as a highly autonomous wingman for AH-64 Apaches and MV-75 Cheyennes. READ NOW

Munitions Expenditures In Iran War Take Center Stage At Senate Hearing The Pentagon wants $21B to replace the weapons it already has used as alarm bells ring about sustaining the conflict with available munitions going forward. READ NOW

MV250 Hybrid-Electric VTOL Combat Cargo Drone Unveiled The new uncrewed platform is designed to move cargo, deploy air-launched effects, and support dispersed military operations. READ NOW

Where Are The Aircraft Carriers: July 20, 2026 The U.S. conducted a weekend wave of strikes against Iran and announced a new round today, while the reinstated blockade of Iranian ports approaches the one-week mark. READ NOW

From the Archive

The Saga Of The AGM-129 Cruise Missile That Was Basically A Stealth Jet Designed Upside Down

The Advanced Cruise Missile was too far ahead of its time, so much so that it was eventually succeeded by the missile it was supposed to replace.

READ NOW

Hot Shots

Marine Corps F-35B Lightning IIs land aboard USS Tripoli (LHA 7) during flight operations in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Victor Gurrola

Soldiers complete a sling load and rafting operation at the 7th Army Training Command's Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kasimir Jackson

Guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70) returns to its homeport of Naval Base San Diego. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Aaron Sandovalmendoza

July 17, 2026 A very large and interesting-looking vessel is taking shape at a shipyard in southeastern China. What can be seen of it so far points strongly to it being the largest naval resupply ship anywhere in the world. A vessel like this would be valuable for supporting the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) growing blue water ambitions. It would be particularly important for enabling the PLAN’s conventionally-powered aircraft carriers, their air wings, and their escorts, to operate for sustained periods of time far from Chinese shores and friendly ports. The ship is being built at a yard on Longxue Island, which is situated just southeast of the city of Guangzhou. A review of satellite imagery from Planet Labs indicates that it has been under construction since at least February. A subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) operates this facility. Read our full report and analysis here.

Must Read Articles

Trump’s Threat To Strike Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain Bunker’s “Front Door” Underscores Targeting Challenges Pickaxe Mountain is Iran's hardest-to-reach facility and Trump saying he may take a "shot right in the front door" wasn't likely just small talk. READ NOW

How Many J-20 Mighty Dragon Fighters Does China Actually Have? The spotlight may be on sixth-gen designs, but the J-20 Mighty Dragon is transforming the PLAAF through sheer production scale. READ NOW

YFQ-44A Fury ‘Fighter Drone’ Has Fired Its First AIM-120 AMRAAM Missile This is also the first time any U.S. Collaborative Combat Aircraft drone has fired a live air-to-air missile. READ NOW

Australian Army Unveils Abrams Disguised As Chinese Tank The PLA-inspired vehicle adds visual realism to exercises as Australia’s military trains for conflict against its primary adversary. READ NOW

Navy Wants 1,000 Mile Combat Radius For Carrier Based Tactical Drone Fleets The range requirement offers the first real window into the capabilities the Navy wants for its future carrier-based tactical drone fleets. READ NOW

UK Unveils Storm Fighter Loyal Wingman Program The new initiative revives Britain’s collaborative combat aircraft ambitions and is intended to fly alongside Typhoon, F-35, and the future Tempest. READ NOW

From the Archive

B-52s Would Have Nuked Their Way Through Soviet Air Defenses With These Missiles

The AGM-69 Short Range Attack Missile was a vital, but seldom discussed part of America's airborne deterrent during the last half of the Cold War.

READ NOW

Hot Shots

A U.S. Air Force Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II flies over a training site during a terminal attack control training event at Barry M. Goldwater Range, Arizona. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. John-Paul Haubeil

U.S. Marines with Alpha Company, Infantry Training Battalion conduct a hike during a Warfighting Field Exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Haley Fourmet Gustavsen

Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7 flies in formation over USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) in the Arabian Sea. U.S. Navy photo