Tech & Tactics

News, explainers, and analysis about military tech and tactics.

Latest in Tech & Tactics

Members of the 163d Attack Wing pilot an MQ-9 Reaper taxing down the runway after returning home from a milestone mission to Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, February 15th, 2024. The mission marked the first ever MQ-9 to grace the runway at Shaw AFB. This one of many examples of how the 163d ATKW is pushing innovation and the MQ-9 platform to new heights.

The Iran war took a toll on the Air Force’s Reaper fleet

By Patty Nieberg

Posted 13 Hours Ago

Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Special Tactics Squadron prepare to conduct combat search-and-rescue from an MH-6M Little Bird that was offloaded from a MC-130J Commando II during Exercise Agile Chariot near Riverton, Wyoming, May 2, 2023. Agile Chariot tested Agile Combat Employment capabilities, including using smaller, more dispersed locations and teams to rapidly move and support aircraft, pilots and other personnel wherever they’re needed. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Phil Speck)

A 2023 special ops exercise in Wyoming was a preview of the Iran rescue mission

Posted on Apr 10, 2026

A maintenance crew comprised of AH-64 Attack Helicopter Repairers assigned to Delta Company, 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment "Sabers", 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, rebuild a rotor head after a static mass repair on a AH-64 Apache Helicopter at Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii from February 2-25, 2026. This repair took place during aerial gunnery. For AH-64 Apache crews, aerial gunnery is a semi-annual requirement necessary to maintain proficiency of aircrews, and allows the unit to build a more reliable combat power. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Olivia Cowart)

Right to repair: Why the US military can’t fix much of its own equipment

Posted on Apr 3, 2026

Marine Expeditionary Unit

Amphibious Operations

Here’s what Marine Expeditionary Units are designed to do

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Apr 1, 2026

Army officials said they have opened an investigation into the flight of two AH-64 attack helicopters that buzzed a Nashville, Tennessee-area home with Kid Rock.

Apache crews who buzzed Kid Rock’s home won’t be punished, Hegseth says

By Jeff Schogol, Matt White

Updated on Mar 31, 2026

USS Gerald R. Ford

USS Gerald R. Ford’s ‘record-breaking’ deployment could last 11 months, top admiral says

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Mar 31, 2026

U.S. Air Force Airman assigned to the 174th Attack Wing, New York Air National Guard, conduct pre-flight operations on an MQ-9 Reaper aircraft during exercise Sentry South 26-2 in Gulfport, Mississippi, March 3, 2026. Sentry South 26-2 is a large force employment exercise focused on major combat operations and joint maritime opportunities in a contested or degraded operational environment. Sentry South 26-2 applies joint and combined warfighting doctrine against realistic and robust enemy integrated threat systems, all while under safe and controlled conditions. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Dylan McCrink)

Air Force reactivates Reaper drone squadron at Nevada base

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Mar 31, 2026

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Zachary Savage, an anti-tank missile gunner with 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines, forward deployed with 4th Marine Regiment, 3d Marine Division as part of the Unit Deployment Program, fires a Javelin shoulder-fired anti-tank missile during the Korean Marine Exercise Program 25.2 in Pocheon, South Korea, July 29, 2025. KMEP is conducted regularly between the ROK and U.S. Marine Corps to increase their combined capabilities through realistic training geared towards deterrence and maintaining peace in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Van Hoang)

Marine corporal charged with stealing and selling a Javelin missile

By Jeff Schogol, Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Mar 30, 2026

Image: The USS Constitution sails past the Virginia-class nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine USS Massachusetts (SSN 798) during Massachusetts’ commissioning in Boston, on March 28th, 2026. Massachusetts is the newest fast-attack submarine and the fifth U.S. Navy vessel to bear the name. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Lucas J. Hastings)

Navy commissions its newest submarine, the USS Massachusetts

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Mar 29, 2026

A U.S. Army UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter flown by Soldiers from the 1st Assault Helicopter Battalion, 140th Aviation Regiment, California Army National Guard, lands in a field near Irvine Lake, March 19, 2022, in Silverado, California. Annual interagency training between the California National Guard and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Crystal Housman)

FAA investigating close call between National Guard Black Hawk and a passenger jet

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Mar 28, 2026

Iranian F-14 Tomcat landing at Mehrabad International Airport.

How Iran got the F-14 Tomcat and kept it flying for decades

Posted on Mar 26, 2026

Body image: The U.S. Army officially received a groundbreaking H-60Mx Black Hawk helicopter, extensively modified to fly with or without a pilot at the controls. (Photo courtesy Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company) (Photo Credit: Courtesy)

Army receives a new Black Hawk helicopter, pilot optional

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Mar 22, 2026

A picture taken on February 25, 2026, shows Rafale M (Marine) fighter jets parked on the flight deck with the conning tower in the background as the French aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle during a media tour while moored at the quay of the North Port in Malmo, Sweden. (Photo by Johan NILSSON / TT NEWS AGENCY / AFP via Getty Images) / Sweden OUT

French sailor goes running, reveals flagship’s location via fitness app

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Mar 22, 2026

Marine pistol qualifications

Marines can now use optical sights with pistols for qualifying

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Mar 20, 2026

An AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter assigned to 1st Attack Battalion, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, deployed in support of Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), takes off for a routine mission, July 15, 2024 at Erbil Air Base, Iraq. Army aviation assets are used to support CJTF-OIR’s mission to advise, assist, and enable partner forces to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS. (U.S. Army Photo by Joseph Kumzak)

US Apache helicopters attack Iranian militias in Iraq, Chairman of Joint Chiefs says

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Mar 19, 2026

The Army has another new rifle, the XM8 carbine

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Mar 18, 2026