It’s official: Air Force F-35s are being deployed to the Middle East

For the first time, the U.S. Air Force is deploying the world’s most advanced fighter to the Middle East to participate in combat operations. While Marine Corps F-35Bs have already participated in combat operations over Afghanistan, this deployment marks the first outing for the Air Force’s F-35A iteration of the platform. The first F-35As reached […]

Israeli Special Forces Training Deemed Unsafe, Going Through Changes

The Israeli Defense Forces have been looking at the way their military trains their various Special Forces units and after several incidents will revamp their training. The Israelis have several different units with very different missions but they’ve had a spate of accidents lately in their training of their candidates and they created an investigative […]

Dutch pilot makes emergency landing after shooting up his own F-16

The pilot of a Dutch F-16 reportedly managed to fly into his own trail of cannon fire in January, causing serious damage to the aircraft and forcing him to execute an emergency landing. The F-16 Fighting Falcon is, in many ways, the precursor to America’s new crown jewel, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Like the […]

Wreckage of missing F-35 found in the Pacific—pilot still missing

Search and rescue teams located portions of the wreckage belonging to the downed Japanese Air Self Defense Force F-35 Joint Strike Fighter that went missing Tuesday evening. The search for the pilot is ongoing. At approximately 7:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday, a Japanese F-35A disappeared from the military’s tracking systems somewhere off the coast […]

Three US Marines killed by Taliban roadside bomb in Afghanistan

On Monday, three Marines were killed by an improvised explosive device detonated near Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. A number of others were injured in the attack, although the Pentagon hasn’t released an official count related to the incident. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. A statement issued Tuesday by the Operation Resolute Support […]

The US to Label Iran Revolutionary Guard a Terrorist Organization

Iran Threatens Tit-for-Tat In a slightly surprising move, the United States is for the first time labeling the military of a foreign power as a terrorist organization. Possibly as early as today, the U.S. State Department may label Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. While the U.S. has frequently stated that Iran […]

The Increment: The UK’s most clandestine special operations unit

One of the most clandestine of all British special operations units is E Squadron. It’s a small unit of United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) operatives handpicked to work for the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), better known as MI6. Both the UKSF Directorate and Secret Intelligence Service use E Squadron to carry out clandestine activities. They […]

Breaking down the British elite forces: Honorable mentions

Note: This is the fifth and final part of a multi-part series exploring elite components within the conventional British forces. To wrap up this series, we awarded honorable mentions to No. 2 Squadron RAF Regiment and Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officers (CTSFOs). The most elite units in the U.K. military would be unable to do […]

Breaking down the British elite forces: The Pathfinder Platoon

Note: This is part four of a multi-part series exploring elite components within the conventional British forces. The Pathfinder Platoon (PF), also known as the Pathfinder Group, is an elite airborne reconnaissance unit within the 16 Air Assault Brigade. Pathfinders work as the Brigade’s eyes and ears, and operate far forward of the Brigade, behind […]