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The U.S. Army is on the hunt for a new lower-cost strike missile capable of hitting targets more than 621 miles (1,000 kilometers) away. The Affordable High Speed Strike (AHSS) missile could be more of a traditional ballistic missile-like weapon or feature an air-breathing propulsion system. AHSSs could be fired from new uncrewed launcher vehicles that the Army is pursuing separately, as well as certain existing crewed types like the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The service sees these future weapons as offering a particularly important new way to strike enemy air bases, air defense nodes, missile launchers, and other high-value targets within a particular theater of operations.

AHSS was among the many programs the Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Aviation & Missile Center (DEVCOM AvMC) highlighted at its booth at the annual Space & Missile Defense (SMD) Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama. TWZ was in attendance at this conference, which wrapped up yesterday. Aviation Week was first to report on AHSS from this event.

“AHSS is an entirely new missile,” a DEVCOM spokesperson said, according to Aviation Week. At the same time, the Army is also clearly in the very early stages of defining what it wants from this new weapon beyond general affordability and reach.

A graphic on display at DEVCOM’s booth at the SMD symposium showed renderings of two distinctly different notional missiles under the AHSS heading, as seen at the top of this story and below. One has a traditional ballistic missile-type design with a cruciform fin arrangement at the tail end. The other notional missile has a more novel design with an air-breathing propulsion system feeding from an intake in the nose. In broad terms, the intake has a style commonly associated with high-speed jet engines such as ramjets and scramjets. It also has a completely different tail configuration, as well as what appears to be a long, slender stabilizing strake visible along the right side of the body.

Aviation Week‘s story also highlights the Army’s current separate development of an entire new family of Common Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher (CAML) vehicles. However, the current AHSS concept also includes “an option to be launched from a crewed HIMARS,” the DEVCOM spokesperson said, according to that outlet.

HIMARS, which uses a 6×6 tactical truck as its base, fires munitions via standardized ammunition ‘pods.’ As such, it seems likely that any other launcher that makes use of these same pods, such as the tracked M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), would also be able to fire the future AHSS missile.

“This project directly supports Precision Fires capabilities by developing, maturing, and demonstrating affordable high speed strike missile technologies for responsive, mobile, deployable, survivable, and sustainable Army conventional theater strike weapons,” the Army said about AHSS in its 2027 Fiscal year budget proposal, which was released earlier this year. The program will “provide hardware and software technologies demonstrated, including affordable advanced propulsion, complementary warhead, guidance, navigation and control technologies, and integration onto Army mobile launch platforms.”

“The Army needs affordable, responsive high speed strike capability to attack theater level targets, provide offensive counter-air capability, and be launched from Army mobile, deployable, and survivable platforms,” the Army budget documents add.

The specific mention of the offensive counter-air (OCA) mission set is interesting as it is far more commonly associated with air assets. However, it is simply defined as “offensive operations to destroy or neutralize enemy aircraft, missiles, launch platforms, and their supporting structures and systems both before and after launch, and as close to their source as possible,” according to the January 2020 edition of the U.S. military’s official Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. Long-range surface-to-surface missiles are very applicable for pursuing these objectives, something we will come back to later on.

It is also worth noting that DEVCOM’s graphic at the SMD Symposium used the exact same air-breathing missile render to represent the planned Increment 4 version of the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM). The baseline version of PrSM, or Increment 1, is a traditional short-range ballistic missile with ability to hit targets at least around 310 miles (500 kilometers) away, if not further. The Army’s current stated plan for Increment 4 is to acquire a new variant or derivative of PrSM with a range of at least 621 miles/1,000 kilometers. For further context, the Increment 2 PrSM, which is in active development now, is an anti-ship-focused variant with a new seeker system, allowing it to engage moving targets. The Increment 3 plan is centered on new unspecified “enhanced” payloads, which could include swarms of loitering munitions.

The Army has also talked in the past about an Increment 5 variation of PrSM with even greater range. This would put it in the same general category, at least in terms of reach, as AHSS. As noted, DEVCOM has stressed that AHSS is distinct from other existing efforts.

Furthermore, AHSS and PrSM are just two parts of a larger array of new longer-range strike capabilities the Army is working to acquire. The service has already fielded a small number of Typhon systems, which are currently capable of firing Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles and Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) multi-purpose missiles. Tomahawks can hit targets roughly 1,000 miles away. The Army is now pushing to field the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), also known as Dark Eagle, as well. Last year, new details emerged that put the maximum range of this weapon at around 2,175 miles.

On top of this, defense startup Castelion is developing a ground-launched version of its Blackbeard missile for the Army. Blackbeard is a lower-cost design said to be capable of traveling at hypersonic speeds. The exact maximum range of this missile is unclear, but the Army has said in the past that it is targeting “80% of the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) Increment 4 capability.”

A key underlying factor in all of this was the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019. Under the INF, the United States and Russia were both prohibited from developing and fielding nuclear or conventionally-armed ground-based ballistic and cruise missiles with maximum ranges between 310 and 3,420 miles (500 and 5,500 kilometers). The AHSS section in the Army’s 2027 Fiscal Year budget request specifically mentions that such developments are now “unconstrained by previous treaties.”

Depending on what kind of capability is ultimately pursued under AHSS, as well as PrSM Increment 5, the Army could be on track to field its first new medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) since the INF went into force in 1988. MRBMs are categorized as ballistic missiles with maximum ranges between 620 and 1,860 miles (1,000 and 3,000 kilometers). Members of Congress have notably been openly supportive of the Army acquiring exactly this kind of long-range capability in the past.

Pairing this capability with new and improved crewed and uncrewed launchers could offer more flexibility for employing these weapons, while also helping to reduce vulnerability to enemy attacks. TWZ has highlighted now on several occasions how uncrewed mobile launch systems would offer even greater advantages for future expeditionary and distributed operations. Uncrewed platforms could be pushed further forward without necessarily exposing human operators to greater risks. This would also allow a smaller force of human personnel to operate a larger number of total launchers, in general.

The broader value of Army ground-based long-range strike capabilities has been demonstrated this year in the course of operations against Iran. PrSM, as well as older Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) short-range ballistic missiles, have been so heavily employed against Iranian targets that there are now serious concerns about the adequacy of the remaining stockpiles of those weapons. There are reports that stocks of PrSMs, which the Army only received in quantity in 2023 and that made their combat debut in strikes on Iran, have run especially low.

The U.S. Army will be getting the Robinson R66 Turbine as the primary trainer for its new Flight School Next program, putting the light helicopter at the center of a sweeping overhaul of how the service trains its entry-level rotary-wing pilots.

The Army on August 13 awarded M1 Support Services a potentially $10-billion contract to run the new training enterprise at Fort Rucker, Alabama. An aviation training services specialist based in Texas, M1 will provide the aircraft, maintenance, simulators, flight and academic instruction, and other support under a contractor-owned, contractor-operated (COCO) model.

Robinson R66 Army Trainer Helicopter | Press Conference & Official Reveal | AAAA in Nashville

Flight School Next is planned to train between 800 and 1,500 Army helicopter pilots each year. The Army currently produces about 1,250 new aviators annually through its Initial Entry Rotary-Wing Flight Training program.

The contract has a potential 26-year duration, although the first task order is expected to cover three to four years as M1 transitions the training operation to the new system.

After narrowing down the initial selection of six helicopter manufacturers and contractors, M1’s R66-based solution defeated a rival bid from Bell, which offered its Model 505 for the program.

Bell 505: Ideal Trainer

The R66, a single-turbine engine design, is best known as a five-seat light rotorcraft on the commercial market. The aircraft is currently in widespread civilian service as a trainer, passenger, and utility helicopter. Powered by a Rolls-Royce RR300 turboshaft and closely related in layout and handling to Robinson’s ubiquitous piston-powered R44, the relatively simple design, low operating costs, and commercial availability of the R66 make it well suited to high-volume basic flight training. The aircraft’s Garmin avionics provide a modern digital cockpit, improving situational awareness while familiarizing students with the kinds of systems they will encounter on more advanced aircraft.

The R66 already has something of a foothold with the U.S. military, with the TH-66 Sage having been used to train U.S. Army and Navy helicopter operators under contract, as part of a test program by Helicopter Institute. This saw the TH-66 train military aviators according to the Civilian FAA Part 141 curriculum, providing students with private pilot, rotorcraft helicopter, and instrument helicopter certifications before they advance to formal military helicopter training. 

Under the Flight School Next program, the R66 will be a significant departure from the current Army training fleet, which relies on the Airbus Helicopters UH-72A Lakota, a twin-engine design that can accommodate up to nine troops as well as two crew.

While the Lakota is considered an advanced and reliable airframe, Army officials have acknowledged that its extensive automation and sophisticated avionics can become a crutch for inexperienced pilots. Instructors argue that new aviators should first develop a strong command of the fundamentals by learning to fly aircraft with simpler controls.

The Army ultimately sought to overhaul its aviator training approach and return to those fundamentals in an effort to reduce future accidents, particularly as helicopter mishaps have drawn increased scrutiny from lawmakers. Maj. Gen. Clair Gill, the program acquisition executive of Maneuver Air, told Breaking Defense last fall that the service was therefore looking for a “very simple aircraft.”

The original solicitation for the Flight School Next requirement also called for a single-engine rotary-wing aircraft, which fits with the Army’s broader interest in getting students back to fundamental helicopter-flying skills before introducing them to increasingly automated and complex military aircraft.

The service says the new program will use a streamlined commercial fleet and modern simulators while consolidating several existing training contracts into a single operation.

M1 will own and operate the new training aircraft and provide the instructors and maintenance needed to run the school. The Army will retain control of training standards, safety requirements and overall outcomes.

“Flight School Next delivers a critical improvement in our Initial Entry Rotary-Wing Training model,” said Maj. Gen. Clair A. Gill, commander of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence. “Simply put, it delivers new military helicopter pilots with far better foundational skills.”

The new syllabus is intended to produce pilots proficient in basic aircraft handling, visual and instrument flight, terrain flight, navigation and tactical mission planning.

The Army also expects the new arrangement to reduce long-term training costs.

“This is a major step forward in modernizing how we train our aviation force,” explained Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology Brent G. Ingraham. “Flight School Next delivers the next generation of training capabilities our aviators need to succeed in increasingly complex operational environments.”

As for the R66, in addition to the TH-66 Sage, the uncrewed Turbinetruck variant was awarded a U.S. Marine Corps contract earlier this year. The Turbinetruck is one of at least two new autonomous cargo helicopters that will be tested as that service looks to field new platforms that can rapidly resupply Marines in contested environments. The Turbinetruck inserts Sikorsky’s MATRIX autonomy system in the R66 airframe and could provide a route to further increasing the design’s footprint with the U.S. military.

The Army says its Flight School Next program is intended to provide a sustainable training system through 2030 and beyond, combining commercial aircraft and training expertise with Army oversight of the standards required of its aviators.

The service is betting that a smaller, commercially derived helicopter can produce better pilots before they ever reach a frontline airframe. If the model works as advertised, Flight School Next could reshape not just what Army aviators train on, but how they are trained from day one.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Aug. 14 (UPI) — The U.S. Army on Friday identified the two soldiers killed when an Apache attack helicopter from Fort Hood crashed in Texas.

The pilots were Chief Warrant Officer 2 Deontre T. Huey and Warrant Officer Seth L. Olmstead, military officials said in a statement.

They died on Wednesday near Salado when the helicopter, an AH-64E Apache, “experienced a mishap” during a maintenance test flight.

“Our hearts and deepest condolences are with the families of the soldiers we lost Wednesday,” said Lt. Gen. Kevin D. Admiral, III Armored Corps and Fort Hood commanding general, in a statement.

“The Army is a family, and a tragedy like this is felt throughout our formations and our community,” Admiral added.

Huey and Olmstead were assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.

Huey, 34 of Killeen, Texas, enlisted in the Army in February 2014 as a motor transport operator. He had been assigned to the unit since February 2022.

Olmstead, 25 of Belton, Texas, joined the Army in January 2024 as a warrant officer candidate. He had been assigned to the unit since October 2025.

The crash of the helicopter sparked a large wildfire in the area, forcing some local residents to evacuate.

Officials said the fire covered some 155 acres.

On Thursday, a safety investigation team from the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center in Fort Rucker, Alabama, arrived to lead the investigation into the incidents.

The U.S. Army says it has successfully completed a live-fire test of a hypersonic warhead using a cannon-based launch system at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, a demonstration that could provide a cheaper and faster way to evaluate the terminal performance of future hypersonic weapons. The gun in question is the Heavy Artillery Test System (HATS), or a modification of it, from the canceled Strategic Long Range Cannon (SLRC), a huge artillery piece intended to be able to hit targets out to a range of 1,000 miles or more. This suggests that the program could still provide value, this time in the test world.

According to the latest issue of The Outpost, the in-house news organ of the Army’s Yuma Proving Ground, the test marks the first successful live-fire demonstration of a full-scale hypersonic warhead launched from what it describes as a “cannon base test system.” Rather than relying on an expensive flight test of an operational hypersonic missile, the approach uses a gun to accelerate the warhead to high speed before impact, allowing engineers to study its lethality under controlled conditions. Hypersonic velocity means speeds of Mach 5 and above.

The concept has been under development for roughly two years as a way to create what the Army calls “a high throughput, alternative method for assessing terminal effects at velocity and scale.” While the release does not disclose the velocity achieved during the test, or exactly when it occurred, the underlying idea is straightforward. Hypersonic weapons derive some of their destructive effect from the enormous kinetic energy they carry into a target, as well as, at least in some cases, a relatively small warhead. A large-caliber gun offers a comparatively inexpensive way to reproduce at least part of a hypersonic weapon’s terminal conditions without expending an entire missile or firing from an airborne launch platform, costing millions of dollars.

The effort brought together researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center (DEVCOM-AC), which developed a specialized launch package capable of surviving the extreme acceleration generated inside the gun barrel. Engineers also incorporated a DEVCOM-AC electronic safe-and-arm fuze while analyzing the internal ballistic forces the warhead would experience during launch. The extreme acceleration of being fired out a cannon is one major difference a warhead or test article would have to endure compared to being mounted on an actual missile and that must be accounted for.

Before the live-fire event, the team conducted an inert proof-of-concept firing that validated the overall approach. Army officials said those results led to a series of design refinements before progressing to a live warhead.

The service offered a detailed description of the final firing sequence.

After instrumentation checks and target preparation were completed, crews positioned the launch package, armed the fuze, and loaded the warhead and propelling charge. Personnel then withdrew to protective bunkers while test officials monitored telemetry.

As the article describes it, the test director issued the command to fire, followed by “a massive boom” that echoed across Yuma Proving Ground. Once the dust settled, engineers reviewed high-speed camera footage before confirming the shot had achieved all of its objectives. According to the Army, the silence was “quickly broken by loud cheers confirming a complete success.”

Beyond the immediate test, the Army reckons the capability could significantly increase the pace of hypersonic weapons development. Instead of relying exclusively on limited and expensive missile flight tests, engineers could use cannon-launched surrogates to generate impact data earlier and more frequently during development. The release says the demonstration has already attracted interest from multiple hypersonic programs that are considering incorporating the methodology into future test campaigns.

Although not mentioned in the article, the “cannon base test system” seen in the accompanying photo is the Heavy Artillery Test System (HATS) that was developed under the Strategic Long Range Cannon (SLRC) program before that was axed, when Congress directed the Army to stop funding the weapon in its fiscal 2022 appropriations act.

At the time, the service said it wanted to move funds into a more general account that it could use to help mature various advanced technologies.

The Army also said that it planned to complete various research and development and testing of SLRC components in the 2021 fiscal year. This included work on the very large rocket-assisted projectile that was supposed to give the cannon its 1,000-mile-plus range, as well as “system integration and technology maturation for SLRC to include designs for long lead prototypes to be used in upcoming major system level demonstrations.”

Returning to hypersonic testing, other alternatives to end-to-end missile flights include rocket sleds, which have long been used to replicate high speeds to test different technologies.

Back in 2022, as you can read about here, the U.S. Air Force successfully recovered a reusable rocket sled after traveling at a recorded speed of 6,400 feet per second, or just about Mach 5.8, beyond the hypersonic threshold, at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.

This was the first time the Air Force successfully recovered a reusable rocket sled after traveling at such a speed. Being able to recover reusable sleds after traveling at hypersonic speeds allows for the collection of critical post-testing data, which is particularly important for hypersonic weapons testing.

Roughly 10 miles long, the Holloman High-Speed Test Track (HHSTT) is the only track capable of recovering sleds that hit hypersonic velocity via high-speed braking.

The Air Force also began the Hypersonic Readiness program (HSR) in 2020, which focused principally on fielding a hypersonic nine-inch monorail sled test with high-speed braking capability.

In general, hypersonic testing, a major priority across the U.S. military, is intended to push weapons and their components to the limits of what they can withstand. Test articles are subjected to the extreme heat, pressure, and mechanical loads associated with sustained flight at speeds above Mach 5 to determine whether materials, structures, and subsystems can survive the operational environment.

If the new gun-based approach proves broadly applicable, it could offer one answer to a persistent challenge in hypersonic development: generating meaningful terminal-effects data without consuming scarce and costly prototype missiles.

Exactly how closely the cannon-launched tests replicate the conditions experienced during an actual hypersonic weapon’s flight, and what velocity envelope the Army has achieved, remain unclear. Those details may ultimately determine how valuable the new test capability becomes across the Pentagon’s growing portfolio of hypersonic weapons. At the same time, any help in accelerating hypersonic weapons development would likely be of high value as China, in particular, has gained a clear lead in this critical new capability set.

Special thanks to X user @lfx160219 for alerting us to this story.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Egypt has moved from rhetorical backing of Sudan’s army to active enabler of its war effort, with a covert drone hub on Egyptian soil symbolising how Cairo has tied its regional strategy to the survival of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Since fighting erupted between the SAF and RSF in April 2023, Egypt has framed its stance as defence of Sudan’s “unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity” and of its “national institutions, particularly the Sudanese Armed Forces.” Officially, President Abdel Fattah al‑Sisi repeats pledges of “non‑interference,” presenting Egypt’s role as limited to mediation, humanitarian aid and hosting Sudanese refugees.

In practice, that line has steadily eroded. Years of joint drills, intelligence sharing and arms ties since 2019 created deep interoperability between the two militaries, well before the civil war began. Egyptian troops captured by the RSF at Merowe airbase in April 2023 were explained away as being on pre‑scheduled exercises, a narrative few regional observers accepted.

The New York Times investigation into East Oweinat in Egypt’s Western Desert crystallises this shift from backstage support to direct operational involvement. Satellite imagery, flight records and videos show a once‑civil agricultural airstrip expanded since 2018 with a second runway, new hangars and satellite links, and by 2025 hosting Turkish Akinci combat drones.

According to U.S. and European officials cited in that reporting, those drones have for at least six months flown strike missions into Sudan, hitting RSF targets up to hundreds of miles inside the country, including convoys on supply routes from Libya and Chad. The drones and their munitions match Turkish systems, but are based on Egyptian territory and shield Sudan’s military assets from RSF retaliation, blurring whether Cairo is merely hosting or also directing the campaign.

For Cairo, East Oweinat offers plausible deniability: operations are embedded in a desert reclamation project far from public scrutiny, yet close enough to Sudan’s border to project sustained air power. For Sudan’s army, it is a lifeline in a war where the RSF has excelled at capturing bases and shooting down drones; at least several Akinci units have reportedly been lost to RSF fire in recent months.

RSF statements and battlefield evidence further illuminate the depth of Egyptian support. In January 2026 the RSF published what it called “irrefutable” proof of Egypt’s direct role, citing captured Egyptian‑made ammunition, armoured vehicles and testimonies from detained SAF‑aligned commanders who described arms, training and medical support routed from Egypt.

Egypt’s wager on the SAF is rooted in hard security and regime‑survival logic. Egyptian strategists see Sudan’s collapse as an existential threat, evoking fears of refugee flows and arms smuggling on a porous southern frontier. Control of the Nile is still more fundamental: since the 2019 fall of Omar al‑Bashir, Cairo has tightened security and military coordination with Khartoum to present a united front against Ethiopia’s GERD and protect its historic water share.

There is also an ideological affinity. General Abdel Fattah al‑Burhan is a career officer with long‑standing ties to Egyptian commanders, and his military rule mirrors Sisi’s own path from barracks to presidency. Backing the SAF fits a long‑standing Egyptian instinct to side with Sudan’s regular army “whoever is in charge of it,” and more broadly to prefer strong central militaries over unruly civilian transitions in the Arab world. The SAF’s reliance upon Muslim Brotherhood–aligned militias and ideologues, including the glorification of early militant figures such as Bara Bin Malik, against the backdrop of Washington’s formal designation of key Muslim Brotherhood chapters as terrorist organisations, should be unsettling to Cairo.

Yet by 2026, Egypt’s bet looks increasingly brittle. The war has killed tens of thousands, displaced more than 14 million and pushed parts of Sudan close to famine, while neither side has secured decisive control. Burhan’s legitimacy is deeply disputed: he led the 2021 coup that derailed a fragile civilian‑military transition, and many of the forces that drove the 2018–19 uprising see him as the continuation of military dominance, not a route to elections.

Cairo’s categorical rejection of “parallel entities” and alternative governments in exile is presented as a defence of Sudanese unity, but in effect delegitimises broad civilian coalitions trying to organise outside the SAF–RSF binary. By equating Sudan’s “national institutions” with the current military leadership, Egypt narrows the field of acceptable interlocutors to a junta whose territorial control and popular backing are both eroding.

At the same time, Egypt seeks recognition as a mediator, through formats like the Quad and by hosting conferences of Sudanese civil and political actors in Cairo. That posture sits uneasily with explicit promises not to be “lax or late in supporting the legitimate Sudanese government” under Burhan, and with mounting evidence of Egyptian‑based air operations in the conflict. The covert base in the desert, and the drones that rise from its runways toward Sudanese skies, have become emblematic of a policy that claims non‑interference while in practice helping to lock Sudan into a devastating, externalised war.

Tens of thousands have been killed since April 2023 in the war between RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and his former ally, army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

At least 35 people were killed, and several others wounded, when Sudanese army drones struck a traditional court in western Darfur, a rights group has said.

The Emergency Lawyers group, which has documented abuses by both sides of the three-year civil war in Sudan, said the strike on Sunday hit a court in the village of Garra al-Zawaya in North Darfur state at about 1pm local time (11:00 GMT).

It said civilians had “gathered to attend hearings on local cases and disputes” when the attack took place.

The village is under the control of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Tens of thousands of people have been killed since the war began in April 2023 between supporters of RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and his former ally, Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

The court building, which serves as a traditional institution for resolving local and tribal feuds, was also damaged in the strike, Emergency Lawyers said.

“The court session was being held under a tree with the participation of local community leaders,” a witness from the area told the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.

Among those killed were “four tribal leaders and two RSF commanders”, the witness added.

Garra al-Zawaya lies near the town of Kabkabiya, about 150km (93 miles) west of el-Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in Darfur, which the RSF captured after a bloody offensive in October last year.

United Nations investigators have said violence linked to the RSF siege and capture of el-Fasher bore “the hallmarks of genocide”.

Following its takeover of the city, the RSF – which emerged from the government-backed militia known as the Janjaweed, accused of atrocities in Darfur in the early 2000s – consolidated control over much of the region.

Since that campaign, both sides have increasingly relied on drone warfare. According to the UN, more than 1,000 civilians were killed in drone strikes during the first five months of this year.

The conflict has also displaced millions and created what the UN describes as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

Iran says it has halted ‘retaliatory operations’ in the Gulf but warns that if the US continues its attacks, the conflict will expand across the region. Army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia had a message for the US ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington.

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.

Patriot was an important topic of discussion during a Raytheon quarterly earnings call this morning. Raytheon is the prime contractor for the Patriot system and the PAC-2 interceptor. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the separate PAC-3 family of interceptors for Patriot.

“Raytheon booked nearly $20 billion of awards, resulting in a book-to-bill [ratio] in Q2 [second quarter of the 2026 fiscal year] of 2.4[%],” Christopher Calio, President and CEO of Raytheon (now formally called RTX), said on today’s call. “These bookings included over $5 billion of GEM-T Patriot effectors, driven by international customers, and our first domestic GEM-T production order in over 30 years.”

Calio did not elaborate on the domestic order, but this appears to be a reference to a contract the U.S. Army quietly awarded back in April. That deal was valued at $441.6 million and was said to be in support of Operation Epic Fury against Iran.

GEM-T stands for Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical. The GEM-T configuration, which has received various upgrades over the years, is the only version of PAC-2 still in production today.

Before the contract in April, it’s not entirely clear when the U.S. Army last ordered any new-production PAC-2 series interceptors, and the nomenclature here can be a little confusing. Raytheon began production of the baseline Guidance Enhanced Missile (GEM) variant, also designated the MIM-104D, in the mid-1990s. Compared to earlier versions of the PAC-2, GEM had improved engagement capability against smaller targets or ones otherwise with smaller radar cross-sections thanks to a new seeker. Changes were also made to the missile’s fuze to improve effectiveness against fast-moving ballistic missiles. A GEM+ configuration was subsequently developed, offering even better accuracy, performance, and reliability.

The U.S. Army subsequently sent stocks of baseline GEM and other older PAC-2 interceptors back to Raytheon to be brought up to the GEM+ standard. The resulting missiles were collectively designated MIM-104Es, with deliveries starting in the early 2000s. The GEM-T moniker was originally applied to MIM-104Es rebuilt from MIM-104Ds, which were further optimized against tactical ballistic missiles in the process. You can read more in detail about the PAC-2 lineage, as well as that of the separate PAC-3 series, in this previous TWZ piece.

Whether or not the new U.S. order for GEM-T interceptors is entirely for American military use, or includes purchases on behalf of allies and partners, is unclear. GEM-T remains in active U.S. Army service, as well as with other Patriot operators globally, even as newer PAC-3 interceptors have arrived. Current-generation trailer-mounted Patriot launchers can be loaded with mixtures of PAC-2 and PAC-3-series missiles at the same time, increasing their flexibility against different threats. PAC-2 missiles are distinctly larger than PAC-3 types.

However, as Raytheon has highlighted today, the U.S. military had not placed any orders for new-production GEM-Ts in decades. Members of the House Armed Services Committee notably questioned this logic just in June, in a report accompanying a draft of the annual defense policy bill, or National Defense Authorization Act, for Fiscal Year 2027.

“The committee supports the Army’s continued investment in Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) to address the spectrum of current and future aerial threats and notes the ongoing efforts to address munitions production capacity within the domestic defense industrial base,” per that report. “The committee further notes that the Army’s procurement of Patriot interceptors in recent budget requests has been for the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE), and not for the PAC-2 Guided Enhanced Missile-Tactical (GEM-T), which has complemented the MSE in real-world engagements.”

At that time, the House Armed Services Committee also asked for the Secretary of the Army to provide a briefing, no later than March 1, 2027, on Patriot interceptor inventories. Lawmakers specifically asked for the briefing to include the following:

• “An overview of the capabilities and limitations of both PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptors against current and emerging theater ballistic missile and air breathing threats.”
• “Current stockpile levels for PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptors, planned deliveries of both types across the Future Years Defense Plan (FYDP), and an assessment of inventory sufficiency relative to approved force growth, and remaining shelf-life.”
• “A description of the Army’s Total Munitions Requirement for the Patriot family of interceptors.”
• “Any recommendations to address shortfalls in inventory, to include additional procurement of PAC-2 interceptors, modernization of the PAC-2 missile, and development of a new interceptor for the Patriot system.”

Whether or not the committee was aware at that time of the GEM-T contract earlier this year is unclear. When missiles from that order are expected to start arriving is also unknown. PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptors are long-lead-time items, and it typically takes years for deliveries to come after a contract award.

All of this speaks to the larger issues around Patriot interceptor stockpiles, which become something of a poster child for munitions supply chain concerns more broadly. Questions surrounding munitions expenditures in the course of fighting against Iran this year were front and center at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing just yesterday. The Trump administration is currently seeking $67.1 billion in supplemental funding to help cover the costs of the conflict, including replenishing stockpiles of critical munitions.

Just how many Patriot interceptors the U.S. Army has expended in the course of operations related to Iran this year is unknown. A detailed report the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank published in May estimated the figure to be somewhere between 1,060 and 1,430. Those numbers were not further broken down between PAC-2 and PAC-3 variants.

The Australian Army has shared photos showing one of its M1A2 Abrams outfitted as a surrogate enemy platform, specifically to represent a People’s Liberation Army main battle tank. Vehicles meant to visually reflect an adversarial platform are a regular feature of exercises involving an Opposing Force (OPFOR). The depiction also reflects Australia’s growing emphasis on preparing for high-end conflict in the Indo-Pacific, and an Australian Defense Force that’s increasingly focusing its training and force structure on the challenges posed by China’s rapidly expanding military capabilities.

The photos were published on the Facebook account of the Australian Army’s School of Armor. Located at the Puckapunyal Military Area in Victoria, southeastern Australia, this serves as the army’s center of excellence for mounted combat and armored fighting vehicle training.

According to the school, this specific tank was prepared by soldiers from B Squadron, 3rd/4th Cavalry Regiment, as part of the OPFOR element for the Royal Australian Armored Corps Officer Basic Course (ROBC), which includes field training assessments. The latest ROBC will culminate in Exercise Tungsten Forge/Gauntlet Strike, a combined-arms tactical training exercise, and a capstone event for junior officers learning mechanized warfare and tank command. “Good luck to the junior officers as they attempt to outmaneuver a seasoned enemy commander,” the School of Armor declared in the caption accompanying the photos.

The most obvious aspect of the M1A2 Abrams’ transformation is its People’s Liberation Army-style ‘digital’ camouflage scheme, with prominent blocks in four colors — including bright green — over the standard three-tone camouflage. The tank is also fitted with dummy external fuel tanks on the rear of the turret. These are a common feature of Russian and Chinese tank designs, albeit fitted on the rear of the hull, something that’s not possible on the Abrams due to the exhaust outlet.

The end result is an Abrams that’s visually similar to a Type 99, China’s first mass-produced third-generation main battle tank, and the most important in the People’s Liberation Army inventory.

It’s noteworthy, too, that the Abrams’ turret side appears to have the slogan ‘Bing Chilling’ applied. This should be a reference to a video-based meme in which wrestler and actor John Cena is shown saying ‘ice cream’ in Mandarin — words that can be phonetically written as ‘Bing Chilling.’

Overall, the primary objective of surrogate platforms like these is to replicate the visual appearance of potential adversary vehicles, not their exact capabilities or configurations. These surrogate platforms are designed as stand-ins rather than one-for-one copies of foreign equipment. Fielding visually representative vehicles during OPFOR exercises adds an extra layer of realism to training, helping troops practice target recognition, vehicle identification, and other battlefield observation skills under more authentic conditions.

It is possible that the Abrams will additionally be fitted with training devices designed to simulate the firing capabilities and vulnerability of specific adversary vehicles. This can be done using tools like the Instrumentable-Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (I-MILES), a laser-based training aid.

Under a roughly $2.5-billion deal, Australia is getting 75 M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tanks, together with armored support vehicles. The Abrams are being procured under the Main Battle Tank Upgrade, formally known as LAND 907 Phase 2, and the U.S. government approved the sale of these new vehicles to Australia via Foreign Military Sales channels in 2021. Meanwhile, Canberra agreed to provide Ukraine with 49 of its older M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks.

The M1A2 SEPv3 — or System Enhancement Program version 3 — was developed by the U.S. Army to address lessons learned during fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and represents a major advance over the Australian Army’s previous M1A1 (AIM) variants, 59 of which were acquired second-hand from the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. The first of the new tanks were delivered to Australia in 2024.

The fact that the Australian Abrams is very much a frontline vehicle, available in limited numbers, explains the cosmetic nature of the OPFOR version. After the exercise is completed, it can be rapidly returned to its normal configuration.

This separates it from more bespoke surrogate enemy platforms, like those used by the U.S. Army’s National Training Center, for example, which relies on visually modified (VISMOD) M113 and Humvee-type vehicles to field surrogate Russian-made T-72s and BTR-90s, among others.

It is not clear whether the Australian Army’s School of Armor has prepared additional Abrams as surrogates, but it does describe “in-service armored fighting vehicles” (plural) as having been adapted. Depending on the scale of the exercise, other candidates might include Chinese infantry fighting vehicles or self-propelled artillery.

At the same time, the People’s Liberation Army is also preparing for a potential conflict by training with surrogate platforms that represent a Western enemy. This is part of a much wider Chinese military investment in replicas and advanced training centers.

Last year, TWZ reported on China’s use of trucks designed to mimic the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), soon after the first examples of the U.S.-made system were delivered to Taiwan. The surrogate vehicles were painted in Republic of Taiwan Army-style camouflage. HIMARS is also used by the Australian Army.

Wherever they are being used, surrogate vehicles give training centers a cost-effective way to replicate foreign military equipment without acquiring and maintaining actual allied or adversary vehicles. Whether elaborate or more rudimentary, VISMODs provide a greater degree of visual realism, while their performance and other capabilities can increasingly be simulated digitally during exercises.

At the same time, platforms chosen as surrogates also offer a snapshot of the strategic priorities and perceived threats of the era.

In this case, the ‘Chinese-look’ Abrams reflects how Australia’s defense posture has shifted significantly in recent years toward preparing for the prospect of high-end conflict in the Indo-Pacific, with China’s expanding military capabilities serving as the principal driver.

In its 2023 Defense Strategic Review and subsequent National Defense Strategy, the Australian government placed greater emphasis on deterrence by denial, long-range strike, and the ability to operate alongside the United States and regional partners.

While Canberra tends to avoid explicitly identifying Beijing as an adversary, Australia’s force modernization — including the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines under AUKUS, long-range and hypersonic missiles, enhanced northern basing — is clearly oriented toward countering the challenges posed by the People’s Liberation Army in a potential Indo-Pacific contingency. Increasingly realistic exercises centered on peer threats, such as Chinese tanks, provide further evidence of this.

Contact the author: thomas@thedrive.com

July 16 (UPI) — U.S. Army medics in Europe said Thursday they are testing a new handheld diagnostic tool that can identify traumatic brain injuries in as little as 15 minutes.

Military officials predicted the new i-STAT Alinity device, made by Abbott Laboratories, can revolutionize the way medics can detect and treat such injuries quickly in the battlefield environment.

Rather than traditional methods of assessing brain injury or concussion by making subjective judgements based on questioning patients, the new device can yield objective information by measuring unique biomarkers that are present in the blood of the injured.

Lt. Col. Bradley Dengler, the neurosurgery consultant to the Army Surgeon General and director of the Military Traumatic Brain Injury Initiative at the Uniformed Services University, said the development of the i-STAT Alinity is a game-changer.

“This is probably the single most important advancement in traumatic brain injury care in the last 15 to 20 years,” he said in an Army release. “Historically, we’ve missed a lot of these injuries.”

Abbott Labs received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to use the device with whole blood two years ago. The company says it allows doctors to help assess patients with suspected concussion at the bedside and obtain “lab-quality” results in 15 minutes.

Prior to that, the tests were only cleared for use with plasma or serum, requiring samples to be sent to a lab for processing and testing.

With that approval, the Army is now integrating the devices into air defense forward units under 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command. These units were judged to be among the most likely to benefit from the devices because they often operate in far-flung locations, hours away from advanced medical facilities and sophisticated brain scanners.

The i-Stat device measures two biomarkers from the brain that may be released into the bloodstream indicating a possible brain injury — ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1, or UCH-L1, and glial fibrillary acidic protein, or GFAP.

Dengler said the tests are extremely valuable because if the blood biomarkers are not elevated, there is a 99% chance that there is no bleeding in the brain.

That’s deemed a major improvement over the widely used Military Acute Concussion Evaluation, a 15-minute standardized cognitive assessment involving memory lists and concentration exercises.

A gas tanker exploded after soaring temperatures sparked a fire near the Lebanese Army barracks in Hermel. The powerful blast damaged nearby homes and vehicles as Civil Defense crews worked to extinguish the flames.

SANTIAGO, Chile, July 7 (UPI) — Chile’s government is facing an unexpected political controversy after the suspension of three BTS concerts scheduled for October prompted coordinated protests by the K-pop group’s fans across the country.

President José Antonio Kast’s administration has been forced to reconsider its decision to bar the concerts from the National Stadium after ARMY, BTS’ global fan community, organized simultaneous demonstrations in 11 Chilean cities.

About 5,000 fans marched Sunday to protest cancellation of the performances at Chile’s main sports venue, where all tickets had already sold out. Authorities cited technical concerns over the impact the concerts could have on the stadium’s playing field.

BTS, one of the world’s most successful K-pop groups, uses a 360-degree stage that weigh about 600 tons. The structure would be installed in the center of the field, directly above the stadium’s irrigation system.

Sports Minister Natalia Duco said the production could damage “the country’s most important sports asset” and declined to authorize the venue for the concerts. About 200,000 people were expected to attend the three shows.

“It is impossible to cancel something that was never confirmed,” Duco said after criticism of the decision began.

The move prompted an immediate backlash from BTS fans. ARMY Chile, which has more than 130,000 followers on Instagram alone, organized through social media to pressure the government and called for demonstrations in the streets and outside La Moneda presidential palace.

Supporters also flooded the social media accounts of the Sports Ministry, Duco and concert promoter DG Medios with messages demanding that the shows be held at the National Stadium. “BTS at the National Stadium” became the movement’s main slogan.

“All our support to our Chilean sisters. We sincerely hope this situation can be resolved in the best possible way and that you will receive good news very soon,” ARMY Peru wrote on social media.

The dispute has also spilled into politics. Opposition lawmakers criticized the government and demanded an explanation for the decision, while other public officials and even soccer clubs have offered their stadiums as alternative venues.

Facing mounting pressure, the government said it is willing to reconsider its decision if the concert promoter can meet the conditions required to protect the playing surface. Meanwhile, thousands of fans continue campaigning on social media as they await a final decision.

Indonesian troops have recovered the body of American pilot Nicholas Goselin from the restive Papua region after he was killed by separatist ‘Bakusip’ rebels last week. The operation involved a 10-member team and three helicopters.

At Mount Rushmore, Trump warns of ‘communist menace’, ties rhetoric to immigration ahead of November midterms.

United States President Donald Trump has used the opening weekend of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations to praise the US military and critique democratic socialists, warning of a “communist menace” that he claims poses a major threat to the country.

Speaking beneath the granite monument at Mount Rushmore on the eve of Independence Day on July 4, Trump invoked national identity and ideology ahead of the November midterm elections.

“We created the strongest and most powerful military. We won two world wars,” he said, claiming that the Cold War had left the US’s enemies “in the depths of history”.

He also said the US “beat Venezuela in one day” and “knocked the hell out of Iran”.

The address comes amid voter concerns over persistent inflation and elevated energy prices driven by the ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran.

Briefly addressing the Iran war, Trump said Tehran is “dying to settle” and that Washington had granted “a week off for a funeral because we’re nice”, in reference to the days-long state funeral being held for late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a strike on the first day of the US-Israeli war.

‘Communist menace’

A larger chunk of Trump’s address was focused on what he considers ideological threats at home.

“There is now a resurgence of the communist menace in our land, including from newcomers to our country who embrace ideas totally opposed to our way of life,” the president said, calling communism “the enemy of the Constitution”.

He pledged that “the citizens of the United States of America will vanquish communism quickly.”

Trump tied his anti-communist rhetoric to a hardline immigration stance, suggesting that left-wing political figures and certain undocumented arrivals should be removed from the country.

His remarks followed a string of recent progressive primary victories in US states including New York, Colorado and Texas.

He labelled the rise of democratic socialists the “greatest threat to our country since its founding”, comparing the movement’s potential impact with World War II and the September 11 attacks.

He closed the address by calling the anniversary “the beginning of the golden age of America.”

Trump’s ‘grip on America steadily slipping away’

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Republican strategist Eli Bremer said parts of the speech were unifying enough that they “could have been delivered by Ronald Reagan … 45 years ago,” but added that “the gap between the American left and the American right has really never been wider”.

However, Democratic strategist and former Obama campaign adviser, Ameshia Cross, told Al Jazeera that Trump wants to wipe out the country’s diverse history.

Trump “is upset that there is a younger crop of Democrats who are running and winning across this country,” she said, adding that the speech reflected “a president who sees his grip on America steadily slipping away”.

She noted that it also came “on the heels of him losing a Supreme Court decision just a couple of days ago to eradicate birthright citizenship“.

The address highlighted the contrasting visions framing the country’s milestone anniversary.

In New York, progressive Mayor Zohran Mamdani offered an alternative narrative during a naturalisation ceremony, using a desk once belonging to George Washington to praise immigrants’ contributions and frame civic dissent as patriotism.

Democrats have also criticised the administration’s handling of the anniversary, alleging a conservative group took control of 250th-anniversary planning from a previously bipartisan congressional commission.

Egypt’s foreign ministry used carefully calibrated language on Monday to restate a familiar position: unwavering support for Sudan’s “unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity” and for its “national institutions, particularly the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).” Framed as a rejection of “parallel entities” seeking to form an alternative government in exile, the statement is another sign that Cairo is tying its Sudan policy ever more tightly to General Abdel Fattah al‑Burhan and the SAF as the country’s civil war grinds into yet another year.

Behind the diplomatic phrasing lies a blunt political choice. Since the outbreak of fighting between the SAF and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023, Egypt has emerged as one of the army’s main regional backers, both politically and—according to multiple reports—quietly in security terms. Egyptian officials insist they are defending Sudanese state institutions against militia fragmentation and external meddling, a message they repeat in multilateral forums and joint communiqués with Burhan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council.

From Cairo, the stakes in Sudan are seen as existential rather than abstract. Egyptian analysts routinely describe the stability of their southern neighbour as a vital national security concern, citing fears of refugee flows, arms smuggling and jihadist safe havens along the porous border. Control of the Nile is an even deeper driver: since the 2019 fall of Omar al‑Bashir, Egypt has intensified security and military coordination with Khartoum to counter Ethiopia’s upstream Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and preserve its historic water share.

There is also a clear regime‑security affinity, however misguided that affinity might be. Burhan, a career officer who trained in Cairo and maintains close ties with Egyptian generals, represents a familiar authoritarian model for President Abdel Fattah el‑Sisi, himself a former general who came to power after a coup in 2013. Supporting the SAF fits Egypt’s long‑standing pattern of siding with Sudan’s army “whoever is in charge of it,” and buttresses Cairo’s broader preference for strong central militaries over messy civilian transitions across the region.

Officially, Egypt insists it is not a party to Sudan’s war. Sisi has repeatedly pledged “non‑interference,” and Cairo frames its role as limited to mediation, humanitarian aid, and hosting millions of Sudanese fleeing the conflict. Egyptian troops captured by the RSF at Merowe airbase in April 2023 were described as participants in pre‑scheduled joint exercises, not combat operations, a spin that few international observers bought.

The line between deterrent presence and de facto involvement has become increasingly blurred. Analysts note years of intensifying joint drills, intelligence cooperation and arms ties between the two militaries since 2019. Think‑tanks and regional media have reported unconfirmed Egyptian airstrikes on RSF positions and possible targeting of gold‑mining camps in northern Sudan, amid allegations by RSF leaders that Cairo is providing drones and tactical support to the SAF—claims Egypt denies. The pattern points towards at the very least a protective security umbrella for Burhan’s forces, far beyond the strict neutrality Cairo proclaims.

Yet in Burhan Egypt is backing a very risky partner. By hinging its Sudan strategy almost entirely on the SAF and Burhan’s sovereignty council, Egypt is betting on a man and an institution that look increasingly incapable of reunifying the country. The war has left tens of thousands dead, displaced over 14 million people, and pushed parts of Sudan towards famine, with the army losing and regaining territory in a grinding stalemate against the RSF. Burhan’s own legitimacy is deeply contested: he led the 2021 coup that derailed a fragile civilian‑military power‑sharing agreement, and his government is widely seen by pro‑democracy groups as a continuation of military dominance rather than a path to elections.

Cairo’s categorical rejection of “parallel governments” sounds like a defence of state unity, but in practice it risks delegitimising genuine civilian coalitions seeking to organise outside the SAF‑RSF binary. By equating Sudan’s “national institutions” with the existing military leadership, Egypt narrows the political horizon and sidelines the broad civilian forces that led the 2018–2019 uprising—precisely the actors most likely to provide a sustainable, inclusive settlement. If the SAF continues to fragment on the battlefield or loses further territorial control, Cairo may find that its red lines have locked it into defending a shrinking power centre with dwindling popular backing.

There is also a long‑term reputational cost. Egypt positions itself as a mediator through formats such as the “Quad”, and hosts conferences of Sudanese civil and political actors in Cairo. But as long as its public diplomacy is tethered to explicit promises that it “will not be lax or late in supporting the legitimate Sudanese government” under Burhan, that positioning is scarcely credible. On the contrary, Egypt has decisively and actively allied itself to Sudan’s military junta.

DUBAI — The U.S. military said Tuesday it has begun strikes against Iran following the crash of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter off the coast of Oman that President Trump blamed on the Islamic Republic.

In a statement posted to social media, U.S. Central Command said the strikes would be “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.” It comes after Trump blamed Iran for downing the helicopter and vowed that the U.S. would respond.

Iranian state media reported that explosions were heard on an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump had blamed Iran for shooting down a helicopter close to the Strait of Hormuz and said the United States must respond. Iran’s top diplomat said foreign military forces near the country’s territory “are at constant risk.”

The Apache helicopter that crashed went down after colliding with an Iranian drone, according to a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

It wasn’t clear whether the collision was intentional, and official statements only said the crash is under investigation. CNN, CBS News and other outlets earlier reported the Iranian drone collision.

Trump said Iran shot down the aircraft while it was on patrol over the Strait of Hormuz and declared that the U.S. “must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” in a post to social media.

The U.S. military later announced that it had begun strikes against Iran.

In the first known operation of its kind by the American military, a drone boat rescued the two aviators who were aboard the Apache attack helicopter when it went down near the critical shipping lane that Iran has effectively closed during its war with the U.S. and Israel.

Trump said in a social media post that military officials told him “the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters.” Both service members “are safe and uninjured,” he added.

“Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” Trump wrote.

A woman walks past a mural depicting a U.S. aircraft carrier under missile attack in downtown Tehran, Iran on Monday.

(Vahid Salemi / Associated Press)

Soon after Trump made his accusation, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a social media post that the strait is “thousands of miles away from U.S. shores.”

“Foreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk on account of their own human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire,” Araghchi wrote. “To reduce risk, best solution is for them to leave.”

The downing of the helicopter further strained a two-month ceasefire a day after Iran and Israel exchanged fire for the first time since the fragile truce took effect. Iranian state television said Tuesday that the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of the country’s air-defense units.

Since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran on Feb. 28, the war has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive.

Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict, particularly as Israel intensifies and expands its military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.

Army crew members picked up by drone boat

The Army aviators were rescued at 3:30 a.m. local time Tuesday, about two hours after their helicopter went down during a patrol off the coast of Oman, U.S. Central Command said.

The U.S. service members were spotted and picked up by a drone boat that took them to another location on the water, where they were picked up by a helicopter, said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. Hawkins initially said the drone took the two to shore, and he did not elaborate on the updated timeline.

It was the first known drone rescue at sea by the U.S. military, Hawkins said.

AH-64 Apache helicopters have been a key asset for the American military as it enforces a blockade on Iranian crude oil shipments and tankers, seeking to pressure Tehran into a deal. The helicopters have also been used by the United Arab Emirates to shoot down Iranian drones.

The drone used to perform the rescue was a 24-foot vessel called a Corsair, Hawkins said. It’s manufactured by Saronic Technologies.

The drone was assigned to the Navy’s Task Force 59, established in 2021 as the Navy’s first uncrewed and artificial intelligence unit that focuses on maritime security in the Middle East, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal.

Trump insists an Iran deal is coming

Before he accused Iran of downing the U.S. helicopter, Trump had expressed renewed optimism over negotiations with Iran.

“We have a good chance” of signing a deal in “two or three days,” Trump said late Monday. But he did not provide any details on why there was reason for new optimism. In the two months since the U.S. and Iran agreed to an initial ceasefire, Trump has repeatedly predicted that a deal is near.

“We’re very close to having a very, very good, strong, powerful deal,” the president said.

Mediators, led predominantly by Pakistan, have been trying for weeks to get a deal across the line. However, both Iran and the U.S. have taken hard-line positions.

The U.S. wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to be entombed in the aftermath of American airstrikes that happened during the 12-day war in 2025. But Iran is refusing that and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something rejected by Trump.

Before Trump’s comments on negotiations, Qalibaf said Monday that Trump’s remarks so far on a possible deal “contradicted the agreed-upon sections,” showing that the U.S. is “neither seeking a ceasefire nor dialogue.”

The continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is still a top Iranian priority as well. Lebanon’s army chief, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, traveled to Pakistan on Tuesday. There, he met Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has been a key figure in the Iran-U.S. talks.

Haykal’s visit comes as Lebanon’s government takes an increasingly hard line on Hezbollah but remains unable to disarm the powerful militia. Hezbollah thanked Iran on Tuesday for attacking Israel “in defense of our Lebanese people,” suggesting that Lebanon’s government should take this opportunity to improve relations with Tehran.

Israel issues a warning for Tyre, Lebanon

Meanwhile, the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for Lebanon’s southern port city of Tyre, including the Christian quarter, which has so far been spared from airstrikes on the city.

Last week, Israel warned the Christian neighborhoods in Tyre that it believed Hezbollah members were among them. Many Lebanese Shiite Muslims fled to those areas as Israeli strikes hammered the Mediterranean coastal area over the past two weeks.

After last week’s warning, the Lebanese army deployed to the Christian district of Tyre in an effort to prevent Israeli attacks there and to show that Hezbollah has no armed presence in the area. But Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, posted on X on Monday that the Israeli military “will have to act against their terrorist activities in the neighborhood soon.”

Gambrell, Superville and Toropin write for the Associated Press. Superville and Toropin reported from Washington. AP writers Michelle L. Price in New York, Will Weissert in Washington, Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Ga., contributed to this report.

Funerals will be held for Lebanese officers killed in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon, as Beirut’s army chief headed to Pakistan on a surprise visit amid ongoing mediation efforts in the wider United States-Israel war on Iran.

The Lebanese soldiers will be laid to rest on Sunday, a day after the brigadier general, captain and soldier were killed in an Israeli strike on a military vehicle on the Khardali-Nabatieh road, in an incident the Israeli army said it was investigating.

A ceasefire agreed on April 17 was meant to halt the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, but Israel has continued to carry out near-daily attacks, prompting retaliatory ones from the Lebanese group. The violence has taken a disproportionate toll on civilians in Lebanon, where more than 3,500 people have been killed since hostilities resumed on March 2.

A further conditional ceasefire was announced by Lebanese and Israeli envoys last week in Washington, but was rejected by Hezbollah as it did not include the group or provide for Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal left on Saturday for Pakistan, which has emerged as a central mediator between the US and Iran.

The visit is notable given the insistence by Washington – and by Lebanese leaders, including the president – that ceasefire talks for Lebanon remain separate from the US-Iran negotiations ‌mediated by Pakistan.

Fighting continues in southern Lebanon

Meanwhile, Israeli attacks hit several towns across southern Lebanon and the western Bekaa overnight, while Hezbollah said it launched rockets, artillery fire, and drone attacks against Israeli forces, including near the Beaufort Castle in Yohmor al-Shaqif.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said on Sunday that an Israeli raid on the town of Saksakiyeh a day earlier killed at least two people. The ministry added that 22 people were wounded in the attack, including three children and a woman.

Two others were wounded following an Israeli drone attack on the town of Shahabiyeh, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Israeli air attacks also hit the town of Qalawiya at dawn, and the towns of al-Qatrani, Byblos and Rihan in the Jezzine district overnight. The town of Deir Kifa in the Tyre district was also bombed, while Barashit and Chaqra in the same district were subjected to intermittent artillery shelling overnight.

NNA also reported artillery shelling in the towns of al-Mansouri and Bayt al-Sayyad in the Tyre district.

Israeli warplanes launched an attack on the town of Srifa. Local media also reported that Israeli fighter jets attacked Dweir, near Nabatieh, north of the Litani River.

Paramedics, meanwhile, continue to look for survivors under the rubble following Israeli attacks.

“The pattern is part of what is being called the Gazafication of Lebanon, or Israel using actions normalised by the Gaza genocide,” said Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

“The targeting of schools in southern Lebanon, just like Gaza. Bombing Lebanese hospitals and clinics, also like Gaza. And the murder of journalists. Then there’s these so-called double-tap attacks against paramedics and rescue workers. Hundreds of Palestinian and Lebanese paramedics have been killed with this unlawful practice.”

Gazafication extends to the ceasefire, too, she added.

“The ‘Yellow Line’, first introduced in Gaza, has now swallowed 60 percent of the territory. In Lebanon, the ‘Yellow Line’ now includes nearly a fifth of the country. Both invisible lines keep expanding,” said Odeh.

No choice but negotiations, says Lebanese lawmaker

Najat Aoun Saliba, an independent member of Lebanon’s parliament, meanwhile, condemned Israel’s killing of the Lebanese soldiers and said President Joseph Aoun has no choice but to enter into negotiations with Israel.

“If we don’t have negotiations, what is the alternative? Is the alternative going to war? The war is not going to give us peace,” she told Al Jazeera.

Saliba said dialogue was the only viable path given the imbalance of power between Israel and Lebanon’s armies.

“The balance of power between the armies is not to be compared. Israel has a very strong army backed up by the United States. The Lebanese Armed Forces have been sidelined by a political will for 30 years, because they wanted to strengthen the presence of Hezbollah,” she said.

The lawmaker added that Hezbollah has not been able to stop Israeli aggression.

“Hezbollah is not able to stop any of these war crimes, and it’s not able to stop any of the invasions that Israel is doing. I think with … all these massacres and destruction, I don’t think we have a choice.”

The killing of Brigadier General Wissam Sabra, Captain Elie Khoury and soldier Hussein Ghozal came at a tense moment amid broader efforts to strike a deal between the US, Iran, Hezbollah, the Lebanese government and Israel.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the attack was “aimed at thwarting all efforts to reach a solution”, while Prime Minister Nawaf Salam described it as “a heinous crime and an attack on Lebanon and all Lebanese people”.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war when Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2, following joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Tehran has made a ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah a condition for any peace deal with Washington.

A former US Army combat surgeon who volunteered at Gaza hospital has a Democratic primary in New Jersey. Here’s what you need to know about Adam Hamawy.

Geopolitical analyst Joe Macaron says the Lebanese army is ‘overly stretched’ as Israeli troops expand their occupation of Lebanese territory. The Israeli army has pushed north of Lebanon’s Litani River and appears poised to encircle the major city of Nabatieh.

The use of high-altitude balloons is becoming ever-more routine for U.S. Army units in the Pacific. The service is pushing to deploy more of these lighter-than-air platforms as a key component of a new persistent surveillance and reconnaissance ecosystem across the region. The same kinds of balloons could also perform these and other missions, including communications relay, electronic warfare, or even launching kinetic strikes, around the globe. This is all underscored by a recent contracting notice about the potential purchase of commercial-off-the-shelf high-altitude balloons, sensor packages, and datalinks connected to SpaceX’s space-based Starlink network.

“This is a commodity requirement for commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) or modified-COTS high-altitude balloon systems and associated equipment,” according to the contracting notice from the Army’s 921st Contracting Support Battalion, which was posted online earlier this week. “The required supplies and software licenses will be delivered to locations within the INDOPACOM AOR [U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility] (specifically Hawaii).”

The notice stresses that the 921st is currently only conducting “market research” and that a “full and open competition” could follow, but is not guaranteed. The battalion is headquartered in Hawaii, but is the Army’s main contracting arm in the Pacific, and has elements spread across the region.

The “commodity requirement” the 921st outlined in the notice includes a call for 15 high-altitude balloons, five each of three different sizes (12-, 16-, and 24-gore). The term gore here refers to the individual segments making up the balloon’s exterior. A greater number typically translates to a larger inflated volume, and, by extension, to higher altitude capability and/or payload capacity. The contracting notice mentions a desired “burst altitude (90k–120k ft class)” for the 24-gore type, but does not otherwise lay out specific performance or payload requirements for any of the balloons.

The notice also includes a call for several different sensor packages, described as follows:

• Five “EO/IR [Electro-optical/infared]” types with “resolution (1080p/4K/MWIR/LWIR); gimbal stabilization; telemetry bandwidth (Starlink/LTE/MPU5); power draw; onboard processing; environmental hardening.”
• Five “Long Wave Infrared” types with “Spectral band (8–14 μm); NETD sensitivity (≤50 mK ideal); optics (germanium lenses, FOV options); thermal stabilization; data interface (Ethernet/SDI/USB-C).”
• Seven “Electronic Sensing” types capable of providing “(RF/EM/atmospheric/SIGINT); frequency coverage; antenna configuration (omni/directional/array); data logging (local vs. downlink); EMI shielding for high-altitude ops.”

The Army would also want eight payload buses with Starlink connectivity and MPU5 radios, as well as seven more with Starlink only. This separately speaks to the growing prevalence of Starlink, and its government-focused cousin, Starshield, across the U.S. military, something TWZ just recently highlighted.

There is also a call for helium and other ancillary items to complete the full package. The contracting notice does not say whether or not these balloons and other equipment would be intended for operational use, training, and/or supporting test and evaluation activities. TWZ has reached out to U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) for more information.

Use of balloons by the Army and other branches of the U.S. military, as well as other countries globally, both historically and as part of more contemporary activities, is not new. This is something TWZ had been calling attention to for years before a Chinese spy balloon passing over parts of the United States and Canada in 2023 thrust the topic into the public consciousness. China has used balloons and other kinds of lighter-than-air craft for intelligence-gathering and other purposes across the Pacific. The use of high-altitude balloons as launch platforms for swarms of drones and other payloads has also been an active area of development in China. This is something the U.S. military and others have also been experimenting with.

Modern high-altitude balloons can stay aloft for days, weeks, or even months on end. There are designs that can be precisely navigated to areas of interest and then hold their general position in spite of prevailing winds, moderating their altitudes to remain on station persistently for very long periods at a time. As the recent contracting notice makes clear, these balloons also have sufficient payload capacity to act as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, as well as signal relay nodes. They could perform other missions, too.

In 2024, the Army made a particularly public demonstration of the value of high-altitude balloons in modern operations during Exercise Valiant Shield 24. Balloons fitted with “electromagnetic spectrum sensors and radio networking equipment” were part of the kill chain in a live-fire test of Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) short-range ballistic missiles against a moving target ship. Valiant Shield 24 involved forces deployed to various locations across the Pacific.

Also in 2024, the Army’s Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) put out a contracting notice seeking details about prospective small radars and signals intelligence suites for use on high-altitude balloons. The mention of radars here highlighted how balloons could provide another layer of ground-moving target indicator and synthetic aperture radar imaging (GMTI/SAR) capability.

CECOM’s request for information was specifically tied to an experimentation and demonstration effort called High-Altitude Platform-Deep Sensing (HAP-DS). The Army said at the time that the goal was for HAP-DS to feed into a larger program called the High-Altitude Extended-Range Long-Endurance Intelligence Observation System (HELIOS).

The Army has continued to expand its experimental efforts since then with a clear eye toward future operational capabilities. Last year, the service disclosed plans to launch as many as 100 balloons, and maybe even more, in an upcoming exercise.

“Our primary goal is to demonstrate autonomous swarming capabilities that generate a persistent, cost-effective presence in the stratosphere,” Andrew Evans, Director of Strategy and Transformation with the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, or G-2, told Breaking Defense in an interview in August 2025. “Once operationalized, this type of capability will enable us to conduct a range of military operations including enhanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), the extension of tactical communications, and the rapid reconstitution of on-orbit capabilities when space is denied or degraded.”

At that time, Evans also highlighted how large groups of high-altitude balloons networked together could help provide resiliency against potential losses, including just due to bad weather.

Large numbers of balloons would be needed to provide wide-area persistent coverage for ISR and other missions. They could also be used to create mesh and other kinds of hub-and-spoke-type networks, which could be especially valuable if communications assets in low Earth orbit (LEO) are threatened.

Earlier this year, the Army shared that it had established a new schoolhouse for high-altitude balloon training, including a basic skills course for “High-Altitude Soldiers”, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State. As of March, Army Green Berets, as well as Air Force personnel from weather units, and even individuals from unnamed civilian agencies, were said to have gone through the training program.

The Army has said that the training program includes the use of 16-gore high-altitude balloons – one of the types mentioned in the recent contracting notice – made by a company called Urban Sky. This is from a line of what the firm markets as “Microballoons,” which can be deployed by relatively small teams in minutes. Urban Sky says its 16-gore design can soar at altitudes up to 70,000 feet and carry payloads weighing up to 50 pounds. The company also offers a payload called Wallabee that combines “EO/IR imaging, signals intelligence, and communications downlink in a single package,” again fully in line with the “commodity requirement” recently outlined by the 921st Contracting Support Battalion.

Other companies, including Aerostar and the Sierra Nevada Corporation, also offer broadly similar designs that can be configured for ISR, signal relay, and other missions.

Raven Aerostar – Thunderhead Balloon System

“Routine events such as the AHABC [Army High-Altitude Basics Course], conducted here at home station, have enabled our unit to both maintain individual proficiency and provide more repetitions to leaders to sharpen their HA skills,” Army Capt. Tyler McWilliam, described as a “High-Altitude Planner,” said in an official release in March. “The plan for the future is to offer more High-Altitude Basic Courses for service members in other units to spread High-Altitude knowledge across the joint force.”

The Army has made no secret about the overarching end-goal of its current high-altitude balloon plans. The service is moving “forward in building a persistent, all-domain sensor architecture for the Indo-Pacific theater,” the March press release stated right up front.

The complete architecture is also set to include other components, including the Army’s new High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) ISR business jets. Glider-like drones also designed to operate in the stratosphere are something else the service has been actively experimenting with in recent years. As noted, like China and others, the U.S. military has also been exploring high-altitude balloons as launch platforms for swarms of drones deep inside hostile territory. This, in turn, has opened the door to the potential for using balloons to launch kamikaze drones and other kinds of munitions. They could carry electronic warfare payloads or seed small sensors on the ground, too.

All this being said, despite the Army’s clear support for high-altitude balloons, and years of experimentation, the service still has yet to put them into more widespread operational use. There is a distinct and continued disparity here compared to China’s extensive use of balloons and other lighter-than-air craft in the Pacific.

The capabilities that high-altitude balloons stand to offer the U.S. military could be very relevant for providing persistent surveillance and supporting other missions elsewhere globally, too. U.S. Central Command has previously highlighted interest in using lighter-than-air platforms to help meet high demand for ISR capacity across the Middle East.

The recent contracting notice, as well as the establishment of the new training programs at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, do show that the Army is pressing ahead with its plans to make high-altitude balloons a more regular aspect of its operations, especially in the Pacific.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com