Tech & Tactics

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

Latest in Tech & Tactics

The world’s largest aircraft carrier, Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), departs Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Dec. 6, 2025. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. (U.S. Navy photo)

US sends Ford aircraft carrier, fresh off Venezuela operations, to the Middle East

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted 5 Minutes Ago

Marine AH-1Z Viper helicopter armed with Red Wolf launched effects.

Marine attack helicopters will now be able to hit targets 200 miles away with a missile

Posted Yesterday

Caption: An A-10 Warthog flies by for close-air support while taking part in live-fire training with the USS Santa Barbara on Feb. 2, 2026. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Iain Page.

A-10 and LCS, both headed for retirement, spotted together in the Middle East

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Feb 10, 2026

Image: Coast Guard members conduct personal watercraft interdiction training at Coronado Beach, California, Jan. 15, 2026. The training is part of The Office of Rapid Response and Prototyping (CG-RAPTOR) Coast Guard program, which identifies, tests and deploys new technologies, including tactical personal watercraft. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Roberto Nieves)

The Coast Guard is now using ‘tactical’ jet skis

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Feb 9, 2026

Airmen from the 158th Fighter Wing refuel and rearm an F-35 Lightning II during a Distributed Integrated Combat Turn (D-ICT) exercise, June 12, 2025, at Westover Air Reserve Base, Chicopee, Mass. The D-ICT allows for rapid refueling and rearming of fighter aircraft to increase sortie generation and mission readiness. (U.S. Air National Guard Photo by Jay Hewitt)

Air Force bans smart glasses for troops in uniform

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Feb 6, 2026

Fighter Aircraft

Navy pilot to receive Medal of Honor nearly 75 years after shooting down 4 MiGs

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Feb 5, 2026

Special operators conduct training in austere conditions near Pituffik Space Base, Greenland, on May 9, 2023, in support of exercise ARCTIC EDGE 2023. ARCTIC EDGE 2023 (AE23) is a U.S. Northern Command-led homeland defense exercise demonstrating the U.S. military's capabilities in extreme cold weather, joint force readiness, and U.S. military commitment to mutual strategic security interests in the Arctic region. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Andrew Adams)

A brief history of the US military’s presence in Greenland

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Feb 5, 2026

Image: U.S. Air Force loadmasters with the 75th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron load cargo onto a C-130J Super Hercules at Manda Bay, Kenya, May 2, 2025. As U.S. Air Forces Africa’s sole airlift unit, the 75th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron provides C-130 tactical airlift support to multiple users in East Africa, including aeromedical evacuation, logistical movements, alert aircrews, and aircraft for crisis response and humanitarian operations. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Kevin Ray J. Salvador)

US starts $70 million upgrade to Kenyan airfield used in Somalia operations

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Feb 1, 2026

A U.S. Army paratrooper assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade learns to operate the Dronebuster Block 4 at Caserma Ederle, Italy, Dec. 2, 2025. The Dronebuster Block 4 is a hand-held counter-unmanned aerial system designed to detect, disrupt and defeat commercial off-the-shelf drone threats, strengthening the brigade’s ability to counter emerging aerial risks. The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army’s Contingency Response Force in Europe, providing rapidly deployable forces to U.S. European, African and Central Command areas of responsibility. Forward-stationed across Italy and Germany, the brigade routinely trains with NATO allies and partners to enhance interoperability and readiness. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Jennifer French)

Pentagon gives base commanders more control on countering drones

By Nicholas Slayton

Updated on Feb 1, 2026

The Air Force is in the middle of replacing its aging rescue helicopter fleet. But the number it plans to buy has been cut.

The big problem facing Air Force combat search and rescue

Posted on Jan 30, 2026

Chinese PLA Navy ships, including the Hainan, sail together in excercises.

Inside China’s plans for ‘national total war,’ according to the Pentagon

Posted on Jan 28, 2026

Japan Air Self-Defense Force members from the Naha Air Rescue Squadron ride on a U.S. Air Force HH-60W Jolly Green II assigned to the 33rd Rescue Squadron, in support of exercise Cope Angel 25-1 at Kadena Air Base, Japan, June 26, 2025. Cope Angel is an annual bilateral personnel recovery exercise conducted with U.S. Air Force and JASDF personnel, providing the opportunity for both services to integrate, plan and train together. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Melany Bermudez)

Air Force helicopter landed too close to crowd in death of school teacher, report finds

By Nicholas Slayton, Matt White

Updated on Jan 25, 2026

F-15s in Middle East

F-15 squadron that took out Iranian drones returns to the Middle East

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Jan 21, 2026

YOKOSUKA, Japan (Jan. 30, 2024) Hull Maintenance Technician 2nd Class James Burrous, from Richmond, Texas, assembles a toilet for replacement aboard the U.S. Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), while in-port Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Jan. 30. Ronald Reagan, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 5, provides a combat-ready force that protects and defends the United States, and supports alliances, partnerships and collective maritime interests in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Kyree Rogers)

The toilets on the Navy’s largest aircraft carrier keep failing

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jan 17, 2026

CV-22 Ospreys assigned to the 21st Special Operations Squadron (SOS) approach an MC-130J Commando II for aerial refueling over the Sea of Japan, Mar. 17th, 2023. The 21st SOS utilizes the unique capabilities of the Osprey to conduct long range infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply missions for special operation forces. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Trevor Gordnier)

Air Force crew reacted rapidly to sudden power failure in Osprey mishap

Posted on Jan 13, 2026

From left, Maj. Gen. Winston Brooks, Command Sgt. Maj. Neil Sartain, Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Augustin, and Maj. Benjamin Page shake the hands of soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery regiment as they board a plane at the Lawton Fort Sill Regional Airport on May 2, 2024.

The Army wants soldiers to travel less for training, do more in virtual reality

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Jan 13, 2026