Tech & Tactics(Page 3)

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

Latest in Tech & Tactics

An M10 Booker undergoing testing at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Grounds.
Tanks

The Army doesn’t want the M10 Booker. Do the Marines need it?

By Kyle Gunn

Posted on Jun 21, 2025

Five U.S. Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcons assigned to the 79th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron taxi within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, May 29, 2025. U.S. and Coalition forces are postured to rapidly establish credible, combat-ready forces within the AOR to deter adversary threats of aggression and, if necessary, respond with effective and overwhelming force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kevin Dunkleberger)
Aircraft

2 aircraft carriers, 9 destroyers, and multiple fighter wings gather in the Middle East

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jun 20, 2025

U.S. Army Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment "Red Currahee," 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), supporting 3rd Infantry Division, conducts live-fire on an M4 Carl Gustaf weapon during exercise Silver Arrow at Camp Adazi, Latvia, Sept. 17. The training focused on AT4-CS and M4 Carl Gustaf assigned teams engaging notional targets. The 3rd Infantry Division’s mission in Europe is to engage in multinational training and exercises across the continent, working alongside NATO allies and regional security partners to provide combat-credible forces to V Corps, America’s forward deployed corps in Europe. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. H Howey)
Weapons

Army to study how sniper rifle, anti-armor and artillery fire impact brain health

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Jun 20, 2025

A sailor hammers away at floor planks in a trench in Latvia.
Drones

Marines and sailors are building trenches for the drone age

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jun 17, 2025

US base defense in the era of large-scale drone attacks
Drones

US base defense in the era of large-scale drone attacks

By Kyle Gunn

Posted on Jun 14, 2025

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Dustin K. Wright stands in front of an American flag.
Helicopters

Army identifies 101st Airborne soldier killed in training accident

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jun 14, 2025

A U.S. Army Soldier, with the New Jersey Army National Guard’s 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, fires the MK-22 Precision Sniper Rifle as part of a weapon familiarization range on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, Oct. 22, 2023. The MK-22 replaced the Army’s existing M2010 and M107 sniper rifles. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Michael Schwenk)
Guns

Ranges on Fort Benning aren’t long enough for Army’s new sniper rifle

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Jun 12, 2025

A Patriot missile system is test fired at the NATO Missile Firing Installation in Chania, Greece. Credit: Anthony Sweeney
Tech & Tactics

Golden Dome: Revolutionary missile defense or money pit?

By Kyle Gunn

Posted on Jun 10, 2025

Men in uniform stand in the background as the new commander of the 111st Electromagnetic Warfare Company accepts the guidon.
Tech & Tactics

National Guard activates first-of-its-kind electromagnetic warfare company

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jun 10, 2025

Concept art of two sleek, futuristic uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft flying in the clouds.
Drones

Air Force sets up new Experimental Operations Unit for Collaborative Combat Aircraft

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jun 7, 2025

U.S. Army Soldiers, assigned to 10th Mountain Division, complete a training and validation exercise on the AN/TPQ-53 radar system in Sierra Vista, Ariz., March 12, 2025. The AN/TPQ-53 radar system is a unique military capability provided by Joint Task Force - Southern Border to augment U.S. Customs and Border Protection along the southern border. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Chase Murray)
Drone Swarms

Soldiers on US-Mexico border hunt drones with air defense radars typically used in combat

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Jun 4, 2025

Ukraine Drone Attack In Russia 2025
Drone Swarms

No ‘silver bullet’ against a drone attack like Operation Spider’s Web

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Jun 3, 2025

U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade, alongside multinational medical teams, integrated drones-based blood resupply during the multinational Hospital Exercise (HOSPEX) as part of Swift Response 2025, at camp Adrian Rohn, Pabrade, Lithuania, May 15, 2025. The exercise marked a first for the brigade, using the TRV-150 drone and the Flying Basket drone to deliver simulated blood to field care locations. The goal: enhance survivability and speed in austere, contested environments where traditional medical resupply is high-risk. Demonstrating global deterrence and the U.S. Army’s ability to rapidly deploy U.S.-based combat power in Europe alongside Allies and partners, DEFENDER 25 brings U.S. troops together with forces from 29 Allied and partner nations to build readiness through large-scale combat training from May 11-June 24, 2025. The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army's Contingency Response Force in Europe, providing rapidly deployable forces to the United States European, African, and Central Command areas of responsibility. Forward deployed across Italy and Germany, the brigade routinely trains alongside NATO allies and partners to build partnerships and strengthen the alliance. (U.S. Army photos by Elena Baladelli)
Drones

Army medics were moving blood to the frontlines with drones in a major recent exercise

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Jun 2, 2025

Three soldiers hold a green and yellow flag on an airfield.
Tech & Tactics

Army shuts down its sole active-duty information operations command

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jun 2, 2025

The superstructure of the aircraft carrier the USS Harry S. Truman, with a combat action ribbon banner.
Carriers

USS Harry S. Truman returns home after six months of fighting Houthis

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jun 2, 2025

U.S. Soldiers assigned to the 4th Battalion, 118th Infantry Regiment, 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, South Carolina Army National Guard, conduct an Integrated Training Weapons Strategy (ITWS) qualification table for the newly fielded Next Generation Squad Weapon Rifle (NGSW-R) XM7 and Next Generation Squad Weapon Automatic Rifle (NGSW-AR) XM250, during a week-long training event held at Fort Stewart, Georgia, June 20, 2024. During the first four days, the Soldiers learned about the XM7 and XM250 technical and tactical capabilities, then continued the training by firing and zeroing both weapons. The South Carolina Army National Guard is the third Army National Guard command to receive the new weapons, Following the North Carolina National Guard and the West Virginia National Guard. The 4-118th is part of the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team, the “Old Hickory,” a modular heavy-brigade with headquarters in North Carolina. The “Old Hickory” is the second major command in the U.S. Army to be issued the new weapons. The XM7 and the XM250 will replace the currently issued M4 Carbine and the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, respectively. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Turner Horton)
Guns

Army’s next generation rifle designated M7 amid criticism over performance

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on May 22, 2025

U.S. Army Spc. Anton Lane, a combat medic with specialized drone training, assigned to 5-7 Cavalry, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division inspects a Skydio X10E4TT drone prior to flight during exercise Combined Resolve 25-2 at Hohenfels, Germany on May 17, 2025. TiC is grounded in one principle: increasing the lethality of our formations by creating more agile and mobile units capable of responding to complex combat scenarios (US Army photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Fist Class Richard Hoppe, Released).
Drones

The Army wants more drones, electronic warfare tech. This unit is the guinea pig.

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on May 21, 2025

M1 Abrams
Tanks

The Army takes steps so its 250th birthday parade won’t destroy DC streets

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on May 17, 2025

A tiltrotor aircraft flies across the plains.
Helicopters

101st Airborne tapped as first unit to get new Black Hawk replacement

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on May 17, 2025

An F-35A Lightning II performs a restricted climb over March Air Reserve Base during takeoff for a practice demonstration, April 11, 2025. The F-35A Demonstration Team showcases the power, precision, and lethality of the world’s most advanced multirole stealth fighter. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Nathan Poblete)
Aircraft

F-35’s close call over Yemen raises questions about how it’s used

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on May 13, 2025

New Generation Squad Weapons
Guns

Why the Army’s new XM7 rifle reignited a debate over volume of fire

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on May 12, 2025

A soldier wearing goggles inspects a drone at a work station.
Drones

173rd Airborne builds its own FPV drone lab to get around procurement wait

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on May 12, 2025

Next Generation Squad Weapon Testing
Tech & Tactics

Army infantry officer calls new XM7 ‘unfit for use as a modern service rifle’

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on May 6, 2025

Soldiers in uniform carrying rifles move out of a building. One jumps out of a window in the back while one holds a rifle facing the camera.
Tech & Tactics

Hegseth orders consolidation and transformation of the Army

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on May 3, 2025

Army 3-D printed drones
Tech & Tactics

The Army wants to use 3D-printed drones to spot threats soldiers can’t see

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Apr 25, 2025

‘Watch your step’ — Are land mines making a comeback?
Tech & Tactics

‘Watch your step’ — Are land mines making a comeback?

By Matt White

Posted on Apr 22, 2025

The end of the ‘Golden Hour’ and the transformation of US military combat medicine
Tech & Tactics

The end of the ‘Golden Hour’ and the transformation of US military combat medicine

By Matt White

Posted on Apr 18, 2025

s Russia’s military truly crippled, or does its “quantity over quality” approach to manning and equipment suggest it can keep going?
Tech & Tactics

Russia continues to throw troops into a meat grinder in Ukraine

By James Clark

Posted on Apr 15, 2025

Hostilities in the Red Sea underscore a serious problem facing the U.S. Navy: it’s burning through missiles faster than it can replace them.
Tech & Tactics

How prolonged engagements at sea put the Navy in an unexpected position

By James Clark

Posted on Apr 11, 2025

Here’s how the US military is preparing for an Arctic War
Tech & Tactics

Here’s how the US military is preparing for an Arctic War

By James Clark

Posted on Apr 8, 2025

Sailors stand on top of a submarine as it sits in port.
Submarines

Navy commissions its newest submarine, the USS Iowa

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Apr 6, 2025

A rat on a leash runs across the ground, a red sign with a skull and crossbones behind him.
Tactics

Hero rat sets Guinness World Record for detecting landmines

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Apr 5, 2025

Marine drones
Drones

Marine Corps stands up ‘attack drone team’ to take lessons from Ukraine and teach them to grunts

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Apr 4, 2025

An A-10 Thunderbolt II sits on a runway, mountains in the background.
Aircraft

More A-10 Warthogs deploy to the Middle East

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Mar 30, 2025

U.S. Air Force Special Tactics Officer candidates perform an underwater exercise during an assessment and selection process at Hurlburt Field, Florida, March 5, 2025. STO selection is an arduous mental and physical process that screens candidates to become Air Force Special Tactics leaders, overseeing 14-member Special Tactics teams across the Air Force Special Operations Command enterprise. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Raul Mercado)
Training

This photo of Air Force special ops pool training is chaos. There’s a reason for that.

By Matt White

Posted on Mar 26, 2025

Teams with a wagon in a black and white photo try to inflate a hot air balloon.
Aircraft

How the Union took to the skies in the Civil War

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Mar 24, 2025

A new Army manual lays out the ‘arctic determination’ at the heart of fighting in extreme cold
Survival

A new Army manual lays out the ‘arctic determination’ at the heart of fighting in extreme cold

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Mar 19, 2025

A painting showing a space plane, cargo bay open, flying to capture a satellite.
Tech & Tactics

It’s official: Space Force wants laser weapons. 

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Mar 16, 2025

M60 tank
Tanks

Why Washington state used M60 tanks to prevent avalanches

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Mar 12, 2025

Army researchers are developing a device that uses artificial intelligence to guide the delivery of pain management drugs for battlefield casualties.
Survival

Army researchers want AI to help soldiers deliver anesthetics in battle

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Mar 10, 2025

The nose of a space plane.
Tech & Tactics

Space Force’s secretive space plane lands after 434 days in orbit

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Mar 8, 2025

Capt. Jesse Guerin and Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Angulo were named the Army’s best medics of 2025 after winning a competition at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Survival

These are the Army’s best medics of 2025

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Feb 27, 2025

A man in camouflage, goggles and smoking a cigarette holds a drone controller.
Tech & Tactics

Exploding drone operator goggles show the future of sabotage

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Feb 22, 2025

An X-37B onboard camera, used to ensure the health and safety of the vehicle, captures an image of Earth while conducting experiments in a highly elliptical orbit in 2024. As part of the X-37B's seventh mission, the vehicle executed a series of first-of-its-kind maneuvers, called aerobraking, to safely change its orbit using minimal fuel. (U.S. Space Force Courtesy Photo)
Aircraft

US military releases first photo from orbit from its mysterious space plane

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Feb 21, 2025

Aircraft fly ahead of several aircraft carriers and other ships in a deep blue sea.
Ships

This is what it looks like when you have 3 aircraft carriers from 3 countries at sea

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Feb 15, 2025

Local Marines fold flags for Lance Cpl. Joe Jackson’s family during his funeral May 4 at Tahoma Cemetery. Jackson was killed April 24 by an improvised explosive device blast in Afghanistan.
Aircraft

US Marine, 3 Pentagon contractors die in Philippines plane crash

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Feb 6, 2025

m4 military rifle lost during trump inauguration training
Guns

A National Guardsman lost their rifle when it fell off a truck on a Delaware highway

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Jan 27, 2025

Two sailors stand in front of a computer screen mapping out potential scenarios.
Tech & Tactics

New Navy video imagines high-tech warfare in 2043

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jan 26, 2025

Capt. Jordan Wiggins, 23d Fighter Group pilot, speaks into his HGU-55/P helmet prior to departure July 2, 2020, at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. Wiggins is flying one of the two A-10s assigned to the 23d Fighter Group that are scheduled to conduct a flyover as a part of the 2020 Salute to America in Washington, D.C., celebrating the United States of America’s 244th birthday. The flyover provides the men and women of the 23d Fighter Group the opportunity to demonstrate capabilities and join in national celebration, while obtaining necessary training hours. (U.S. Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. Kaylin P. Hankerson)
Aircraft

Cancer rates in military pilots and other aviators could get a closer look

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Jan 23, 2025

Pvt. Alecsander Daniel (Left) and Sgt. Kyle Angove (Right), with Alpha Troop, 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, bore-sight their M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle in Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility, Oct. 20, 2020. The soldiers are in Syria to support Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) mission. CJTF remains committed to working by, with and through our partners to ensure the enduring defeat of Daesh. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jensen Guillory)
Training

Army recruits hoping for cav scout or armor jobs will have to wait for boot camp

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Jan 23, 2025

The USS Indianapolis at sea with two smaller boats in front of it.
Ships

The Navy is upgrading littoral combat ships to fight drones

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jan 18, 2025

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Little an electrician with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Africa, applies a tourniquet to a simulated casualty during a combat lifesaver course at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, August 4, 2016. During the four-day course, Marines learned to recognize injuries, perform the appropriate procedures and control the patient to prolong survivability until help arrives. U.S. Marines and Sailors assigned to Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Africa Command support operations, contingencies and security cooperation in the U.S. Africa Command area of responsibility. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Alexander Mitchell)
Survival

This Navy SEAL doctor is a big reason US troops carry tourniquets in combat today

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Jan 14, 2025

A soldier jumps out of a Humvee in a desert location.
Vehicles

Three Humvees stolen at Army Reserve Center in Tustin

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jan 11, 2025

An Army CID rewards flyer with pictures of Humvee doors and big text reading $10,000 reward.
Vehicles

Army CID offers $10,000 reward for stolen HMMWV doors that no one likes

By Joshua Skovlund, Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jan 4, 2025

jetpack light mobility system
Tech & Tactics

The Army once hoped jetpacks could give soldiers the edge in combat

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jan 1, 2025

A red coast guard icebreaker sails through water.
Ships

The Coast Guard is building up its Arctic fleet

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Dec 26, 2024

A F/A-18F moves down the runway of an aircraft carrier.
Aircraft

Navy shoots down its own F/A-18 in Red Sea fight

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Dec 22, 2024

A satellite jammer sits atop a shipping container.
Tactics

Space Force to deploy new jammers to yell at enemy satellites

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Dec 21, 2024

An F/A-18F Super Hornet takes off at night, with a bright exhaust.
Aircraft

Carrier Air Wing 9 flew hundreds of combat sorties while fighting Houthis

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Dec 16, 2024

Seven C-130 aircraft are lined up along a runway.
Aircraft

C-130s from around the world gather for an ‘elephant walk’

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Dec 15, 2024

MAYPORT, Fla. (Apr. 14, 2024) – Master Chief Electronics Technician Ryan Magill (left), a native of Valparaiso, Ind., conducts push-ups during U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet’s Navy Reserves physical readiness test, Apr. 14. COMUSNAVSO/4th Fleet supports U.S. Southern Command’s joint and combined military operations by employing maritime forces in cooperative maritime security operations to maintain access, enhance interoperability, and build enduring partnerships in order to enhance regional security and promote peace, stability and prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South American region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jacob Sippel)
Training

Sailors who ace fitness test are now exempt from Navy body fat limits

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Dec 2, 2024

A Naval Strike Missile fires from a NMESIS system.
Missiles

Marines deploy NMESIS anti-ship system to the Pacific

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Nov 30, 2024

Archaeologists use measuring tapes and underwater cameras to record and document a WWII aircraft site in Papua New Guinea. Photo: Project Recover — Project Recover is a collaborative effort to enlist 21st-century science and technology in a quest to find and repatriate World War II MIAs to bring recognition to the service member, closure for their families, and to help a grateful Nation keep its sacred promise to bring our MIAs home. As a result of Project Recover’s missions, there are 84 MIAs awaiting recovery at this time (January 2020). Since 1993, Project Recover (formerly The BentProp Project) has located 30+ downed World War II US aircraft associated with scores of MIA service members.
Aircraft

Meet the team helping recover missing U.S. troops from deep underwater

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Nov 20, 2024

The littoral combat ship USS Nantucket sails on the water, the sun setting behind it.
Ships

US Navy commissions latest littoral combat ship, the USS Nantucket

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Nov 17, 2024