base

Iran on Thursday threatened RAF Fairford in the U.K. after claims emerged that U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers launched from there attacked the Islamic Republic on Tuesday. RAF Fairford is a major hub for U.S. military aircraft, with strategic assets, like the B-1s, being forward deployed to the base and tactical and other assets often using it as a pit stop during flights ‘across the pond.’ As an example, Iran’s threat came hours after two EA-37B Compass Call electronic warfare jets arrived at the base from the United States.

“The American aggressor army, which used to launch cruise missiles from its vessels in the Indian Ocean in its aggression after the official resumption of the war, with the end of the missile reserves of the aforementioned vessels, yesterday switched to using B1 planes flying from Fairford Air Base, England,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-connected Tasnim news outlet claimed on Telegram. “As the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated, any base that is used to invade Iran’s territory is our legitimate goal.”

Asked about the threats, British officials told us that the country is prepared to defend itself.

 “Our Armed Forces are ready to keep the United Kingdom safe from any kind of attacks, whether it’s on our soil or from abroad,” a government official told TWZ. “The UK stands ready 24/7 to defend itself. This includes through operating a layered approach to air and missile defense, provided by Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force assets equipped with a range of advanced capabilities, working closely with our NATO allies.”

“In the Defense Investment Plan we have made air and missile defense a priority after years of underfunding, dedicating £790 million to enhance protection of the UK homeland and overseas bases from air, drone and missile threats,” the official added. “That is complemented by more than £2 billion of funding to deliver further air defense and counter-drone capabilities, and to upgrade and sustain our Typhoon fleet.”

Iranian officials did not specify how they would strike RAF Fairford, and it is unclear how they could. In March, Iran reportedly fired two missiles at Diego Garcia, a joint U.S.-U.K. base on an island in the Indian Ocean. That’s about 2,400 miles away, or about the same distance as Fairford is from Iran. However, one missile was reportedly shot down by a U.S. warship while the other failed in flight. Given that, whether Iran could actually launch a successful attack on Fairford using those weapons is questionable at the least. Far more likely, if Iran would actually even try anything at all, would be a near-field attack like Operation Spider Web launched by Ukraine in June 2025 against Russian bombers using short-range drones hidden in trucks near airfields. One-way attack drones launched from vessels at sea is another very real attack vector Iran has trained for and equipped itself to execute, a threat you can read all about here.

You can see video of one of those strikes below.

The threats came after Axios reported that B-1B bombers from the base took part in Tuesday’s strikes on Iran. TWZ cannot independently confirm that and CENTCOM declined comment. However, open-source trackers made that claim early Wednesday morning before the Axios story was published.

Bomber Run 63 – Ops Beginning Again? #IranWar‌ #FreeIran‌

Overnight, B-1B “Lancer” bombers flying from RAF Fairford (EGVA) conducted strikes in Iran as the US ramps up operations again. Although 2 bombers launched, it appears it was pre-planned that only 1 of them would… pic.twitter.com/Q7Ic3Ahqk3

— DefenceGeek 🇬🇧 (@DefenceGeek) July 22, 2026

As we noted earlier and have discussed in the in the past, RAF Fairford has served as a major hub for aircraft heading to the region as well as long-range bomber missions on Iran.

“U.S. Air Forces in Europe operating locations, including the 501st Combat Support Wing at RAF Fairford, routinely host transient U.S. military aircraft in accordance with access, basing, and overflight agreements with Allies and partners,” an Air Force spokesperson told us in response to our questions about the Compass Calls.

The EC-37s landed shortly after 7 a.m. British Summer Time (BST), or about 2 a.m. EDT, according to local aviation photographer Matt Belcher, who was kind enough to share photos he took of the aircraft.

The Compass Calls are heavily modified Gulfstream G550 business jets. They leverage the Conformal Airborne Early Warning (CAEW) configuration developed first for the Israel Defense Forces, which has large ‘cheek’ fairings on either side of the fuselage, among other distinctive features.

The Air Force is planning to procure 10 of these jets to replace the aging and decreasing fleet of turboprop EC-130H Compass Call planes, of which only four remain. The 43rd Electronic Combat Squadron flew the first training sortie for the EA-37B on May 2, 2025, and one made the type’s maiden voyage to Europe in January.

Many of the EA-37B’s mission systems are directly ported over from the EC-130H, which is why the two very different aircraft share the same nickname. Both aircraft are designed to provide critical stand-off jamming support, including against enemy radars and communications systems. They also have a secondary intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) function given their ability to spot, track, and geolocate various types of emitters.

The EA-37B also offers new capabilities that go beyond what is found on the EC-130H. The Air Force has said in the past that the aircraft’s designation reflects its ability to not only attack, but also destroy certain targets, as you can read more about here.

The Compass Calls had previously been deployed to RAF Mildenhall in the early days of Operation Epic Fury. On April 1, CENTCOM announced for the first time that they had been used in combat as part of Epic Fury. The possibility that they are returning to the region, or adding additional electronic warfare capabilities to the total force deployed there, can be considered a potential indicator of what’s to come. These are often the last assets we see move into place ahead of major combat operations.

All this comes as the U.S. is building up forces amid increasing intensity of attacks on and by Iran and President Trump’s statement to Axios today that “I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it.”

In addition, Houthi attacks on Saudi ships in the Red Sea raise the specter of a U.S. military response there. 

“I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it”, Trump told me https://t.co/AZnZNyEPrP

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) July 23, 2026

Last week, we reported that at least 12 F-16 Fighting Falcons were deployed to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan from Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany. Other aircraft have rotated into the CENTCOM area of operations as well.

Going for GOLD: 4 flts of 3x “SP” F-16CJ (TABOR11,21,31,41) are inbound to Muwaffaq Salti AB, Jordan (OJMS) from Spangdahlem AB, Germany (ETAD). 4x KC-135R/T “GOLD” team tankers are up to support the movement.

This #Coronet East (#CE097) returns the ftrs from the 480th Squadron… pic.twitter.com/IkL6HKkrOe

— Aux OSINT (@AUX_OSINT) July 17, 2026

In addition, “special-operations forces have deployed to the region from their U.S. bases,” The Wall Street Journal reported, citing flight-tracking data and U.S. officials. “Squadrons of jet fighters have been staged across the Middle East, and bomber aircraft at bases in the U.S. and U.K. are on high alert to ramp up operations, according to one of the officials.”

Beyond aircraft, “more than 150 medics have arrived at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany in recent days,” the Journal added. The hospital is the primary location for treating troops injured in combat in the Middle East.

The U.S. has been surging forces toward the Middle East, giving Trump options to expand the Iran war

Among the things moving/on alert:
-fighter squadrons
-special operations forces
-medics
-long-range bombers https://t.co/peSx70S85v w/ @laraseligman

— Shelby Holliday (@shelbyholliday) July 22, 2026

Other assets have been rotated out, like the B-52 Stratofortress bombers that departed from Fairford earlier this month. The U.S. also returned F-22 Raptors that were flying out of Ovda Air Base in Israel back to the United States. Other aircraft, such as A-10s and F-15Es, have also returned home from or have been replaced in the CENTCOM region. So clearly there is a lot of shifting of aviation assets taking place even amid current operations.

While adding new forces to Europe and the Middle East does not necessarily mean that Trump will dramatically escalate the conflict, it gives him options to do so. In addition, the public nature of some of these movements also has a messaging effect, letting Tehran and the Houthis know that Trump is ordering more assets to the region.

Regardless, the direct threat against RAF Fairford, no matter how nebulous, is new and will certainly be taken seriously by security officials at the installations and others in region.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com

Two U.S. troops were killed in action and one remains missing in Jordan on Friday while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks, U.S. Central Command announced on X. Another “four American service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals. They have since been discharged. Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty.”

“Out of respect for the families, CENTCOM is withholding additional information, including the identities of the fallen warriors, until 24 hours after the next of kin have been notified,” the command added.

CENTCOM did not say where in Jordan, however, yesterday, CBS News reported that “Iran attacked at least two Jordanian bases this week, resulting in several American service members being injured in the attack after their facility was struck.”

We noted yesterday that data from NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) at 10:59 PM EDT indicated a fire adjacent to the runway near an area where aircraft are parked at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. However, TWZ cannot independently verify what happened at the base and if any equipment was destroyed or damaged and how personnel there were affected. We’ve reached out to CENTCOM for answers.

We reached out to CENTCOM for confirmation.

Video emerged on social media purporting to show attacks on the base.

Muwaffaq Salti, as we have frequently reported, has come under attack numerous times. In March, CNN obtained imagery from Planet Labs showing an AN/TPY-2 radar damaged, or even possibly destroyed, following an Iranian attack there.

The air base has long been a major regional hub for U.S. operations, and is being very actively utilized in the current conflict. It hosts the greatest concentration of U.S. tactical aircraft in the region, and thus is an extremely important target, where, as we pointed out last night, even one ballistic missile landing on an apron could destroy multiple prized aircraft and take the lives of U.S. service members or cause injuries.

Iran also hit Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia yesterday, Axios reporter Barak Ravid stated on X.

In addition, officials in Kuwait yesterday said one of the country’s power and water desalination plants “was attacked as a result of the Iranian aggression…leading to a fire and damage to the plant’s facilities and several electricity generating units.”

“The fire is now under control and repairs are ongoing,” the Kuwait government added.

The two deaths and the injuries came as the conflict between the U.S. and Iran is escalating rapidly, with each side now attacking critical infrastructure and Iran intensifying strikes on U.S. bases across the region.

Amid the fighting, “Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Qaribabadi stated that Tehran has suspended its commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with Washington as United States attacks continue,” the official Fars News Agency reported.

Argentina fans responded with gestures of their own, with one punching the bus windows.

“Henry’s full of character,” Borthwick said. “We want character in our game and we want character in our squad.

“This squad really embraces what he brings. It takes all kinds of different personalities and we’ve got some players who wouldn’t do that and then you’ve got Henry who would go and do that.

“We embrace it. I think it was done in good nature and it came from a very good place.”

England have won nine of their past 10 meetings with the Pumas, including both Tests while on tour without their British and Irish Lions last summer.

After their most recent meeting – a 27-23 win for England at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium – Argentina coach Felipe Contepomi was involved in a confrontation with England flanker Tom Curry in the tunnel.

England have named the same starting XV that beat Fiji 73-8 last weekend while Argentina’s team contains a clutch of players based in England, including Bath full-back Santiago Carreras, Bristol centre Matias Moroni and Harlequins second row Guido Petti.

Argentina; S Carreras; Delguy, Moroni, Piccardo, M Carreras; Albornoz, Garcia; Vivas, Montoya (capt), Rapetti, Petti, Alemanno, Grondona, Kremer, Oviedo.

Replacements: Ruiz, Wenger, Delgado, Elias, Matera, Moro, Benitez Cruz, Cinti.

Satellite imagery shows China has built what looks to be a new pattern of hardened structures with retractable roofs at a key missile test and training base in Inner Mongolia. Since the late 2010s, this base has also played a key role in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) dramatic expansion of its silo-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capabilities. The more recent additions to the facility appear to be too small and shallow for this purpose. A new report posits they could be used to fire smaller ballistic and/or cruise missiles, and might point to plans for a new “conventional quick-strike capability.”

The China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI), part of the U.S. Air Force’s Air University, first called attention to the two new structures yesterday. Though CASI published the report, it stressed that the “opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within are solely those of the author,” Eli Tirk, and “do not necessarily represent the views of the Air University, the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any other U.S. government agency.” Tirk is a member of CASI’s staff.

“The People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) has constructed an unknown type of fixed launch system at the 1st Test and Training District in Jilantai that appears capable of launching multiple missiles,” Tirk writes. “Construction began sometime in late 2022, and, at least externally, appeared to be near completion by late 2023.”

The report includes satellite images of the site taken in September and December 2022, as well as January of this year, as seen above and below.

“The excavation for the northern launcher … measures roughly 12.5 meters [40 feet] deep when the image was captured [in September 2022]. While it is possible that this foundation was dug deeper, it is not likely that it would have been significantly deeper, given the potential size of the finished interior of the launch system,” according to Tirk. “The limited imagery available of the finished structure prior to the installation of the launcher closure door restricts more accurate measurement, but this structure appears to be somewhere between 6.4 meters and 11.8 meters [21 to 38 feet] in depth.”

Additional satellite imagery TWZ has reviewed from PlanetLabs shows the rectangular retractable roofs to be approximately 65.5 feet (20 meters) long and just over 21 feet (6.5 meters) wide. The roofs also look to open by sliding sideways along three large rails.

There is at least one other large structure at the site, which could be used for various support functions. There may be additional infrastructure underground. It is also worth noting here that the area with the new hardened structures is connected by road to an earlier facility immediately to the northeast. The tertiary site has several additional large structures contained within a clearly visible perimeter wall.

The roof design, at least, has some broad similarities to the covers on silos associated with older DF-5-series ICBMs, which are also rectangular in shape. For further comparison, the cover on a known ICBM test silo at Wuzhai, some 350 miles to the East of Jilantai, is nearly 74 feet (22.5 meters) long and around 29.5 feet (9 meters) wide. It also slides open to one side along two large rails. Underneath is a tubular silo that would have to be at least around 131 feet (40 meters) deep based on the dimensions of DF-5.

Silos constructed at Jilantai and other sites in China since the late 2010s, associated with newer DF-31 and DF-41 ICBMs, have completely different lid designs.

The new structures appear “to have a shorter depth than silos intended for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), suggesting that it may support short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs), and cruise missiles,” per Tirk’s assessment. “Assuming the actual depth of the launch system is closer to the maximum range, these measurements suggest that these structures would likely be able to support up to an MRBM-class missile, assuming the roughly 10-meter length [nearly 33 feet] of a DF-21 or 11-meter length [approximately 36 feet] of a DF-17. It is also highly likely that this launch structure could easily accommodate SRBMs and cruise missiles.”

The DF-21 is a traditional MRBM design, and there is an anti-ship variant with a reentry vehicle capable of a certain degree of maneuvering in the terminal phase of flight. Though MRBM-sized, the DF-17 is topped with a hypersonic boost-glide vehicle and functions in a completely different manner from typical ballistic missiles. In general, hypersonic weapons of this type offer benefits when it comes to penetrating past enemy defenses and for prosecuting time-sensitive targets at long ranges, as you can learn more about here.

China’s Dong-Feng 21 “carrier killer” Salvo Launch

“While there may be space within this launch structure to store a small number of missiles horizontally that are erected vertically prior to launch, a more efficient configuration appears to be a vertical launch system,” Tirk adds. “A vertical launch system would enable the massing of fires for effect, reduce signatures, and maintain the flexibility to employ a variety of different munitions from a single launcher simultaneously, enabling these units to conduct rapid strikes against numerous target types.”

How missiles would be loaded into the launch system is unclear and would depend on its exact design. A specialized loading vehicle or at least a crane might be necessary. There is no indication that the structures allow for road-mobile transporter-erector-launchers to simply drive inside and fire through the open roof.

Tirk also raises the possibility that the site could be tied to Chinese ballistic missile defense developments. The line between ballistic missiles and mid-course anti-ballistic missile interceptors, as well as ground-launched anti-satellite interceptors, is often blurry. The U.S. Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) is notably a silo-launched design, as is Russia’s A-135.

However, Tirk also notes that the base at Jilantai primarily serves the PLARF. This branch of the PLA is not known to have a major missile or air defense role. That responsibility largely falls to the PLA Air Force (PLAAF). There are no signs of radars or other features associated with these missions, either. As TWZ has previously reported on in detail, we have seen different types of hardened and unhardened structures with retractable roofs emerge near the border with India and on islands in the South China Sea that do look to be air defense sites.

Other significant additions to the facilities at Jilantai have been observed in recent years. As already noted, this has been especially heavily intertwined with China’s construction of hundreds of new ICBM silos and associated infrastructure spread across three separate fields in the north and western ends of the country.

Overall, Tirk posits that the new structures at Jilantai might reflect “an intent to field a conventional quick-strike capability for a counter-intervention mission set, or possibly to conduct strikes against Taiwan, both of which would provide the PLA with additional capabilities to influence U.S. strategic decision-making.”

“A conventional quick strike capability, like that provided by a vertical launch system, could make PLA leadership more confident in their ability to compel Taiwan and U.S. behaviors during a crisis by threatening or conducting rapid preparatory strikes or counterintervention fires in the early stages of a conflict,” he adds. “Building out these launch systems in sufficient quantities could allow the PLA to rapidly escalate from a quarantine or blockade of Taiwan to conducting elements of a massive preparatory fires campaign against targets on Taiwan, U.S. bases in the first island chain, or U.S. Navy task groups if positioned along the coast.”

“Fixed launching options, however, are difficult to conceal, protect with active defenses and – depending on their location – potentially of limited utility for continued use after their first launch. Expansive investment in this type of system may provide significant “use or lose” incentives to the PLA leadership in the event of an escalating crisis,” he also notes. “It is currently unclear how many of these systems the PLARF intends to construct, which PLARF Base they will be deployed under, and the specific mission set they are intended to support.”

There is still the possibility that these structures could serve another purpose, even just within the PLARF. In particular, if the foundation was dug deeper, this could fundamentally change the assessment. From the outside, the roofs do still look to be too narrow for there to be a traditional silo underneath for any of China’s known ICBMs. That being said, a deeper foundation could accommodate intermediate ballistic missiles (IRBM) or hypersonic types that use larger ballistic missile-type boosters, but that are still smaller than an ICBM. The DF-26 family of IRBMs, at least some variants of which are understood to be capable of carrying conventional or nuclear warheads, is a particularly key component of the PLARF’s arsenal, and might also benefit from a new fixed launch infrastructure. Like the DF-21, there is also an anti-ship version of the DF-26.

China tests DF-26 missile destroying Mock Aircraft Carrier

The hardened structures with retractable roofs could conceal other assets beyond launchers for any kind of missile. They could have a more specialized testing role, rather than one intended to lead to an operational capability, too. TWZ has previously highlighted other hangar-like structures with retractable roofs, some of which are camouflaged, in an area known as Korla East in the western end of the country. PLAN facilities in this region have been tied to work on missile defense, anti-satellite, directed energy weapon, and electromagnetic pulse technologies, as you can read more about here.

Regardless, the new structures at the base in Jilantai do reflect a broader trend when it comes to hardened military infrastructure in China, as well as elsewhere globally. As we wrote last year, after the emergence of the apparent new pattern of hardened air defense sites near China’s border with India:

“The shelters with retractable roofs at the sites in Gar County and near Pangong Lake also highlight a larger trend when it comes to physical hardening, or at least ‘enclosing,’ that has been observed at Chinese military facilities in recent years. There has been a particularly visible surge in the construction of new hardened aircraft shelters, as well as unhardened, but fully enclosed hangars, at air bases across China, including ones situated on the Tibetan Plateau.”

China has completed the construction of 36 hardened aircraft shelters,new administrative blocks& a new apron at its Lhunze airbase in Tibet. Gives China the option of forward-deploying fighter aircraft & drone systems in its arsenal & reduces the response time needed for the IAF pic.twitter.com/g3kRXpyuRg

— Varun Karthikeyan (@Varun55484761) October 29, 2025

PLA Air Force had 370 Hardened Air Shelters (HAS) and 1100 regular ones in 2010. This increased to 800+ and 2300+ respectively in 2024, according to Hudson Institute.

Storage tunnels dug up in mountains and hardened storage sites for missiles and other war supplies are extra. pic.twitter.com/DQeQbXnGN9

— Jaidev Jamwal (@JaidevJamwal) January 21, 2025

“Vast fields of new silos for intercontinental ballistic missiles have also been built in the western end of China over the past few years. This is all on top of the PLA’s existing array of hardened infrastructure, which includes deeply buried air and naval bases.”

“Chinese construction of new hardened and unhardened aircraft shelters, in particular, is reflective of larger global trends, including in Russia, North Korea, and Iran, as well. It has also stood in notable contrast to the lack of such developments in the United States, something that has become a topic of heated debate, which TWZ has been tracking very closely.”

“Growing threats posed by long-range, one-way attack drones, which offer a relatively low-cost way to launch large volume strikes, especially against fixed targets like air bases and air defense sites, have become a particularly significant factor in the hardening debate. Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb also underscored the threats that smaller, shorter-range drones can pose to aircraft and other assets out in the open, and in areas far away from active combat zones. Drones could also be layered in with the many other methods of attack that would be used against the same array of targets.”

Though questions remain about their exact purpose, and the concepts of operations behind them, the new hardened structures with retractable roofs in Jilantai might be a sign of things to come.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

The Warner Bros. Ranch in Burbank will serve as broadcast headquarters during the Los Angeles Olympics and Paralympic Games in two years.

LA28 and Warner Bros. Discovery on Thursday jointly announced that the 30-acre Hollywood Way campus would play a pivotal role in the Games. Constructing an efficient TV nerve center — the operational hub where feeds from events are produced, then distributed to hundreds of millions of viewers around the world — has long been a crucial component to staging such an ambitious television extravaganza.

Over the last few months, LA28 executives and the Olympic Broadcasting Services team narrowed their search to the Ranch. The facility, which recently underwent a $300 million transformation with new soundstages, has the capacity and technical requirements to support the international broadcast center.

The International Olympics Committee approved the selection at a recent meeting.

“The facilities are near-perfect for them, both in size and in access,” Simon Robinson, Warner Bros. Discovery’s president of global experiences and studio operations, said in an interview with The Times. “As we sat down and talked it through with them, we were able to reach what we think is a great deal for both of us.”

Warner Bros. and LA28 declined to provide financial details of the arrangement, which will span nearly two years.

For Warner Bros., the decision came down to whether the studio needed the space for its own TV and film productions or if it was advantageous to turn over the facility, which boasts 16 soundstages and a five-story creative office building, to LA28.

Work to prepare the campus for the Olympics will begin in January.

LA28 plans to use nearly all of the soundstages, which are equipped with dedicated set lighting power, high-capacity silent air conditioning, high-speed wired and wireless internet, and adjoining production suites. There’s also a mill — a 40,000-square foot workshop space — a cafe, plenty of parking and quick access to area freeways.

“We look forward to welcoming the global broadcast community to Los Angeles in 2028,” Shana Ferguson, LA28’s chief of sport and games delivery officer, said in a statement.

No Warner Bros. production will be displaced, Robinson said. Three shows that currently use the complex — the HBO productions “Rooster” and “I Love LA,” and “I Suck at Girls” for Netflix, will be wrapped by the time LA28 moves in next year.

“Everything fell into place nicely,” Robinson said.

The Ranch outpost is rich in Hollywood history — a go-to site to shoot old westerns. Columbia Pictures owned the lot for years, before bringing in Warner Bros. as a partner in the 1970s.

It was later used for filming such classic TV series as “Bewitched” and “I Dream of Jeannie” and the movie “Lethal Weapon.” Opening credits of Warner Bros.’ 1990s sitcom “Friends,” featured the then 20-something cast members frolicking in a fountain near the center of the lot. (The fountain was moved to the main Warner Bros. lot, where it has become a featured part of the studio tour.)

President Donald Trump has left Turkey on an older VC-25A Air Force One jet. The U.S. Air Force’s new VC-25B Bridge aircraft had brought Trump to that country yesterday for the NATO Summit, but left without him on board earlier today. Trump had earlier confirmed that he would head from Turkey to RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom on the VC-25A rather than the Bridge aircraft “for old time’s sake.” The Bridge aircraft, a modified, Qatari-gifted Boeing 747-8i, flew to Mildenhall first. This is all highly unusual and has prompted questions about whether other factors, specifically changes in operational security, may be at play.

The VC-25A had followed the Bridge aircraft to the Turkish capital, Ankara, yesterday, as a backup. The change in planes follows a new round of U.S. strikes on Iran yesterday, which Trump reportedly ordered directly from the summit. Questions also continue to be raised about the full suite of communications, defensive, and other capabilities on the Bridge aircraft.

“To honor our brave men and women of the Military, we are sending the brand new, and truly spectacular, Air Force One [the VC-25B Bridge aircraft] to Mildenhall Air Force Base, in the United Kingdom, to give them a chance to tour the Aircraft – Everybody is so excited, and we thought that they should be the first,” Trump wrote earlier today on his Truth Social site. “For old time’s sake, we’ll be taking the former Air Force One, from Turkey to Mildenhall, a short trip that is totally worth doing in order to give our Great Military Heroes a chance to appreciate our beautiful new addition to the Air Force Fleet!”

“To honor our brave men and women of the Military, we are sending the brand new, and truly spectacular, Air Force One to Mildenhall Air Force Base, in the United Kingdom, to give them a chance to tour the Aircraft…” – President Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Nf2qCGDKUs

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 8, 2026

While Trump referred to the VC-25As as “former” Air Force One aircraft in his Truth Social post, the Air Force has expressly confirmed to TWZ that they are set to remain in service and in the rotation despite the delivery of the Bridge jet. It’s also worth remembering that any Air Force aircraft that carries the President will use the Air Force One callsign.

RAF Mildenhall is a major hub for U.S. air operations and was heavily utilized to support strikes on Iran earlier this year. The President has also hinted that the Bridge aircraft may make stops elsewhere in Europe before returning home.

“It’s flying to Europe to one of the big bases, two or three of the big bases, where we can show it to the people,” Trump also said at a press conference at the NATO summit today in response to a question about his travel plans. “We’ll be going home by normal methods.”

Q: But why aren’t you flying the new plane home?

TRUMP: Uh, it’s flying to Europe to one of the big bases where we can show it to the people. And we’ll be going home by uh normal methods pic.twitter.com/rWXV3bsGla

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 8, 2026

“We are boarding the old, big plane. No eyes on POTUS / no under wing gaggle.” Politico‘s Megan Messerly, a member of the press pool accompanying Trump, also shared before the VC-25A left Ankara. “We have been advised to keep our window shades in the press cabin closed. See you on the other side.”

Travel pool note #25 // Wheels up 🛫

We are wheels up from Ankara as of 8:43 p.m. We have been advised to keep our window shades in the press cabin closed. See you on the other side.

Megan Messerly
POLITICO
Wed. Jul. 8, 8:44 PM

— White House Press Pool Reports (@WHPressPool) July 8, 2026

Travel pool note #24 // Boarding AF1 ✈️

We arrived to Ankara Esenboga Airport at 8:25 p.m.

We are boarding the old, big plane. No eyes on POTUS / no under wing gaggle.

Megan Messerly
POLITICO
Wed. Jul. 8, 8:28 PM

— White House Press Pool Reports (@WHPressPool) July 8, 2026

As noted, President Trump traveled to the NATO summit aboard the VC-25B Bridge aircraft and with one of the Air Force’s two existing VC-25As in tow. This was the first time Trump had used the Bridge jet for an overseas trip. The President flew on the aircraft for the first time ever last week for a visit to North Dakota for events marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. A VC-25A was also used as a backup for that trip.

The Boeing VC-25B Bridge, Air Force One, carrying President Donald J. Trump has landed in Ankara, Turkey, ahead of this week’s NATO Summit. pic.twitter.com/Qqea5RihiM

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) July 7, 2026

As also mentioned, U.S. forces launched new strikes on Iran yesterday. “President Trump approved and ordered the Iran strikes from the NATO summit” after meeting “with senior U.S. officials in Ankara, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio,” according to a report from The New York Times, citing an unnamed U.S. official.

The latest U.S. strikes were in response to a new round of Iranian attacks on commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier today, Trump raised the prospect of further action against Iran tonight. This, in turn, has prompted new concerns about the possibility of the resumption of a large-scale conflict between the two countries, as you can read more about in TWZ‘s separate reporting here.

A key requirement for aircraft serving in the Air Force One role is ensuring the President remains securely in contact with top U.S. military leaders, as well as other senior officials, to be able to respond immediately to any serious contingency. This would be particularly important now, given the fluidity of the situation in the Middle East and the prospect of further military action against Iran in the very near term. Key planning efforts and other meetings are likely to be underway.

The decision to strike Iran yesterday and the possibility of doing so again today may well have also had impacts on the overall force protection posture around Trump. The regime in Tehran has threatened Trump directly on multiple occasions in the past.

As an aside here, pictures now circulating on social media also show tractor-trailer trucks and tarps apparently being used to at least try to block the view of Mildenhall from a spot outside of the base’s perimeter where plane spotters regularly gather. Spotters have still been able to catch glimpses of the Bridge aircraft.

#USAF United States Air Force

Boeing VC-25B Bridge 1x#AF83F3 25-3300 – SAM 33

SAM 33, the new VC-25B, is en route to RAF Mildenhall from Turkey.

The USAF are currently covering the fences of the usual viewing areas at Mildenhall. pic.twitter.com/Y7OopAF9pj

— Armchair Admiral 🇬🇧 (@ArmchairAdml) July 8, 2026

TWZ, as well as others, have consistently raised serious questions about the adequacy of modifications done to the ex-Qatari 747-8i to prepare it for its new role. L3Harris led the conversion work and delivered the Bridge aircraft to the Air Force within the space of just 10 months.

Defensive countermeasures, in particular, take time and careful work to integrate onto any airframe, let alone a newer type for which there might not be pre-existing procedures. Rigorous testing has to be done after integration to ensure those systems work as intended and do not conflict with other features, physically or in the radiofrequency spectrum. To date, there have been no visible signs of any of the obvious defensive systems installed on the VC-25As present on the VC-25B Bridge aircraft.

U.S. officials and L3Harris have repeatedly downplayed any operational security or other concerns surrounding the newest addition to the Air Force’s executive transport fleet, but questions remain. This has been just one aspect of the criticism and controversy surrounding the jet. The very circumstances surrounding its gifting to the U.S. government were highly irregular, and the justification for needing it at all remains a subject of debate.

Just yesterday, Breaking Defense reported that a group of 13 Democratic Senators, led by Connecticut’s Chris Murphy, had sent a letter to Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and L3Harris CEO Chris Kubasik asking for more information to address their ongoing concerns. The legislators contend that the Trump administration has been stonewalling their request so far, according to that story.

For its part, Boeing has been working for years now to transform a pair of other 747-8is into fully-equipped VC-25B Air Force One jets. That program has been mired in delays and cost growth, and the first of these two jets is not expected to be delivered until 2029. The Air Force also now has an additional ex-Lufthansa 747-8i that it is using as a trainer for aircrew and ground personnel assigned to support the expanded VC-25 fleet. Another former Lufthansa 747 will be cannibalized for spare parts.

If nothing else, Trump has now flown overseas on the new VC-25B Bridge aircraft, but his trip today underscores that the older VC-25As are very much still available if needed.

Update: 7:02 PM ET –

The VC-25A carrying President Donald Trump has arrived at RAF Mildenhall.

“We just landed and met up with our new Air Force One, which was sent earlier to RAF Mildenhall, so we could show the wonderful Servicemembers, as per the entire Base’s request. They were very excited, picture enclosed,” Trump wrote in another post on Truth Social, which was also shared on other official White House social media accounts. “It was on our way back to the States from Turkey, with virtually no deviation of flightpath.”

One of the U.S. Air Force’s C-32A executive transport aircraft was also spotted arriving at RAF Mildenhall ahead of the VC-25A. The C-32A was later seen being moved from where it had been parked on the apron to make way for Air Force One.

Special thanks to local aviation photographer Andrew McKelvey for sharing his pictures of the VC-25B Bridge aircraft arriving at Mildenhall.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

The Ukrainian SBU launched a drone strike on Russia’s Saki Air Base in Crimea on Friday. The attack, the latest in a string of strikes against Russian aviation and logistic assets on the peninsula, is part of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s latest campaign to inflict so much pain on Russia that Vladimir Putin moves to end the war.

SBU claimed to have destroyed several Russian tactical combat jets today as well as on Wednesday. Saki is home to the Russian Navy’s 43rd Independent Naval Attack Aviation Regiment, which flies mostly Su-30SM Flankers. It has been a frequent target of Ukrainian strikes and was hit by a devastating attack in the early days of the war.

“At the ‘Saki’ airfield, seven hangars storing aviation equipment were hit, in which Su-30SM, Su-30, and Su-24 fighter jets and frontline bombers were located,” SBU added. “According to preliminary information, at least seven aircraft were destroyed or damaged.”

SBU told us it had no visual evidence from either attack to back their claim, but we reached out to Vantor to see if they had any satellite imagery of the base. Vantor provided us a picture that showed damage to four hardened aircraft shelters that was taken this morning. Some of shelters have clear damage to their structures, others literally have their doors blown off and laying on the taxiway in front of them. From the overhead angle of the image, it is impossible to determine if aircraft were in those shelters at the time, and if they were, what, if any damage, was inflicted. In addition, we can’t tell when this happened from just one picture, although imagery we reviewed from Planet Labs dating to June 27th doesn’t appear to show the same damage to the shelters.

It is very possible that any aircraft in those shelters could have been damaged by fire, as the SBU claimed, or by shrapnel, but we just don’t know. Regardless, the shelters remain generally intact. We have written frequently about Russia’s efforts to protect its aircraft this way, including on Crimea.

Regardless, these attacks come after months of Ukrainian strikes on bridges connecting the peninsula with the mainland and on it’s fuel infrastructure. The situation has gotten so bad on Crimea that the officials there have tried to initiate gasoline rationing, making life miserable at the height of the traditional summer vacation season there.

Amid the ongoing Ukrainian pressure campaign, a Russian military officer said he recently took part in an exercise to see what it would take to fend off Ukrainian attacks on Crimea.

“I participated in the operational command-staff military game ‘Crimean Alert,’” Russian reserve colonel and military expert Viktor Murakhovsky claimed on Telegram. “The game was dedicated to the landing of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Crimea and our measures to repel it. The staffs were organized according to the scenario from officers (in reserve and retired) of our armed forces.”

“The ‘Blue’ side acted unconventionally, widely using the latest means of detection and destruction,” he added. “The ‘Red’ side was forced to act ‘on the defensive.’ Overall, the exercises went smoothly and at a high level thanks to the organizers.”

Clearly, Ukraine does not possess much of a Navy, let alone landing craft to carry out a Normandy-style invasion. However, that is not the scenario played out in this wargame, according to an analysis by the award-winning The Insider news outlet.

“The scenario clearly simulates an amphibious or maritime operation: numerous blue arrows and routes are drawn across the Black Sea, extending from the direction of Odesa and the northwestern Black Sea toward Crimea,” the publication noted. “Red defensive positions are marked on the map within Crimea, particularly around Sevastopol, in northern Crimea, and in the eastern part of the peninsula.”

The map “shows the Kerch and Kerch Strait area on the right—also densely marked with red icons—indicating that the game scenario accounted for the eastern flank in addition to western Crimea and Sevastopol,” The Insider proffered. “Judging by Murakhovsky’s post, the scenario likely envisioned not a classic World War II-style amphibious landing—with hundreds of ships approaching the shore—but rather a modern operation involving the mass use of drones, long-range precision-guided weapons, reconnaissance systems, and possibly small, high-speed boats.”

As we have frequently reported, Ukraine has for years been using its air and sea drones to attack Russian air defenses and radars inland, its seaports and largely driven the Black Sea Fleet out of Crimea through the use of its innovative sea drone campaign.

Ukraine, as we reported in the past, has already carried out several incursions on the peninsula. In October 2023, the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) sent a small raiding party into a point north of Tarkhankut Bay. It was carried out by troops traversing the Black Sea on Sea-Doo GTX 300 personal watercraft. They were loaded down by grenade launchers, machine guns, man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) and other equipment needed to assault Russian positions. You can read more about that raid in our interview with the unit commander here.

Those attacks did not lead to a sustained presence, but they were not intended to. They were meant as a morale-boosting reminder to Moscow that Crimea would never be completely out of reach.

Whether Ukraine can marshal enough of its asymmetric assets and troops to really carry out any sort of a wide-scale amphibious landing on Crimea remains questionable bordering on impossible. One thing, however, is not. Ukraine is inflicting significant amounts of pain on Russian forces and assets on the peninsula.

UPDATE: 4:49 PM EDT –

Vantor provided us with additional satellite images of Saki. A very cursory analysis shows that six out of seven hardened aircraft shelters were damaged, with doors blown off of four of them.

There appears to be possible damage to two other shelters seen in a wider shot of Saki.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com

A weekend BASE jumping accident in a Utah canyon killed two people, one of them a daredevil athlete best known for performing onstage with Madonna at the 2012 Super Bowl, authorities said.

The Sheriff’s Office in Grand County, Utah, confirmed one of the dead was Andy Lewis, an extreme athlete known for feats in BASE jumping, a dangerous sport that involves parachuting to the ground after jumping from a tall fixed object such as a building, a bridge or a desert cliff overlooking a deep canyon.

In BASE jumping circles, Lewis had a huge following and a reputation for pushing the envelope — leaping into tighter spaces or deploying his parachute later than his peers would dare, said John McEvoy, a BASE jumping instructor in Twin Falls, Idaho, who has jumped with Lewis.

“He had an incredible level of athleticism and skill that was developed over years of practice,” McEvoy said. “But then he would take an incredible amount of risk.”

Lewis’ other sport made him an overnight celebrity, thanks to Madonna

Lewis was also a prominent figure in the niche sports of slacklining and tricklining, which combine elements of high-wire walking with aerial acrobatics — sometimes at perilous heights.

Lewis went from obscure athlete to overnight celebrity when he appeared onstage in Madonna’s 2012 Super Bowl halftime show. Dressed in a Roman toga, Lewis bounced and executed tricks on his inch-wide line as though it was a trampoline while Madonna sang behind him.

“My phone actually rang itself to death three days in a row,” Lewis said soon afterward in an appearance on Conan O’Brien’s late-night show.

Emergency responders were dispatched Sunday to a report of people injured in a BASE jumping attempt at Mineral Bottom, a remote desert area near the Utah-Colorado line, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Lewis and an unidentified 50-year-old man died at the scene, the office said in a news release.

Sheriff’s Lt. Al Cymbaluk confirmed to the Associated Press that it was Lewis the extreme athlete who died. He said he had no further details on the fatal accident.

BASE jumping is far more dangerous than skydiving

Though there’s no official tally of BASE jumping deaths, a list compiled by the website BASEaddict.com shows 540 total fatalities worldwide since 1981 — including 30 people killed last year. Prominent deaths include BASE jumper Dean Potter and his climbing partner, Graham Hunt, who were killed in 2015 while attempting a wingsuit flight in Yosemite National Park.

A study focused on BASE jumping in Norway, published in a medical journal in 2007, estimated that BASE jumping carried risks of injury or death five to eight times greater than skydiving.

Lewis openly acknowledged the sport’s inherent danger.

“It’s weird to think about how many people are dead, because it’s like a normal thing,” Lewis told documentary filmmaker Ella Warnick in an interview published last year.

Lewis owned BASE Jump Moab, a business that offered excursions to inexperienced customers using tandem jumps, in which the customer was harnessed to a guide wearing the parachute.

Sheriff’s spokesperson Cymbaluk said he didn’t know whether Lewis and the other man killed were performing a tandem jump.

Tandem BASE jumping carries additional risk because it straps together two people, one of whom generally lacks experience, under a single parachute, McEvoy said. But because they involve novices, they also tend to be the most low-risk, basic types of jumps.

“Within BASE, it’s a very controversial topic,” McEvoy said. “There’s a lot of people who say it’s the stupidest thing in the world and others arguing, `No, we’re giving people the experience of their lives.’”

No one immediately returned phone, text and Facebook messages left Monday for BASE Jump Moab.

Lewis won four straight world championships in competitive slacklining from 2008 through 2011. Lewis set a Guinness World Record for slackline surfing, swaying his feet side to side in a rocking motion that mimics surfing, while keeping his balance above China’s Diaoshuilou waterfall in 2011.

In 2014, he walked a slackline suspended between two hot air balloons more than 4,000 feet above the Nevada desert.

Bynum writes for the Associated Press.

June 15 (UPI) — California’s Edwards Air Force Base said eight crew members are believed dead following the Monday crash of a B-52 Stratofortress.

The base confirmed the B-52 Stratofortress, which was carrying a crew of eight, crashed shortly after takeoff at 11:20 a.m. Monday morning.

“Initial indications are that the crash was not survivable,” the base said in a release posted to X.

Emergency response personnel were on scene working to account for all eight crew members.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and unit members at this time,” the post said.

The airfield was closed following the crash and all incoming aircraft were diverted.

“All non-commercial visitor passes have been suspended until further notice to allow the installation to focus entirely on emergency response operations,” the base said in an earlier post.

Video captured nearby the base shows a plume of black smoke rising over the Mohave Desert.

Edwards Air Force Base, located about 100 miles north of Los Angeles, frequently hosts test flights for new and experimental Air Force and NASA aircraft.

The base said more information on the crash will be provided as it becomes available.

Details are still coming in, but a B-52 bomber has crashed at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

The base’s official Facebook and X pages have posted the following statement:

“A United States Air Force B-52 Stratofortress crashed shortly after takeoff on the Edwards airfield at 11:20 a.m. Emergency crews immediately responded to the scene and the situation is ongoing. More information will be provided as it becomes available.”

From what we can see, the B-52 appears to have crashed on or at least very near the base’s main runway. Still images and video emerging now show a large fire with black smoke that can be seen from miles away.

News of the crash first emerged in a post on the unofficial Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook group. That post said the aircraft in question was tail number 061, but this is currently unconfirmed. While its status is unclear, this particular B-52 was the first to receive a new AN/APQ-188 active electronically-scanned array (AESA) radar, which is one part of a much larger modernization effort for the entire fleet of these bombers.

Did something just happen at Edwards Air Force Base? Currently seeing a large column coming from the base, cams are aligned with one of the runways.

Seems like these two are holding off as well. pic.twitter.com/3vec75KPH0

— DanielFireCopter (@DanielFireTruck) June 15, 2026

How many individuals were on board the B-52 when it went down, and their fate, are currently unknown. However, the bomber ejection seat configuration could have presented complications for escape depending on how soon after takeoff the incident occurred. The B-52 has crew positions that eject downward.

Prior to this crash, the Air Force had 76 B-52s in service.

Though the two incidents are unrelated, this is also the second crash of a U.S. military aircraft in three days. A U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18D Hornet assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323 (VMFA-323) went down near Mount Rainier in Washington State on June 13. The two individuals in that jet were able to eject safely. The Hornet did start a wildfire after hitting the ground.

BREAKING – 🇺🇸 Footage showing a U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18 crashing into a hillside near Rimrock Lake, Wash., on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/yQ4O6UFZOl

— Technopolitik (@Technopolitik_) June 15, 2026

A US Navy F/A-18 crashed near Rimrock Lake, pilot ejected and walked out with medics according to reports. This is along the famous VR-1355 low level route in Washington State.

🎥509Media pic.twitter.com/UhKZyUCRF9

— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) June 14, 2026

Update: 4:00 PM ET –

Fox News has now shared a video it says is of the aftermath of the crash, which shows a very large scorched area along the side of one of the runways at Edwards. There is no readily discernible wreckage, pointing to a total loss of the aircraft.

Update: 4:18 PM ET –

Edwards Air Force Base has shared a new update as of 12:48 PM PDT via its social media accounts. The full statement reads:

“The airfield has been closed, and all inbound aircraft are being diverted. All non-commercial visitor passes have been suspended until further notice to allow the installation to focus entirely on emergency response operations.”

Update- 12:48 PDT: The airfield has been closed, and all inbound aircraft are being diverted.

All non-commercial visitor passes have been suspended until further notice to allow the installation to focus entirely on emergency response operations.

— Edwards Air Force Base (@EdwardsAFB) June 15, 2026

We will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman cut deeper into the lead of reality television personality Spencer Pratt on Saturday, as his lead slimmed to just a single percentage point.

Pratt fell to just over 27% of the vote while Raman jumped up to slightly over 26%, according to the results from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder. Pratt now leads Raman by just 7,494 votes.

“We’ve seen Nithya Raman catching up on every update and the last two in particular she’s accelerated,” said Paul Mitchell, vice president of the bipartisan voter data firm Political Data Inc. “She’s continued to gain at a rate that means she will eventually catch up unless Pratt starts getting some ballots coming in that are either geographically or demographically better for him.”

Democratic consultant Michael Trujillo, who doesn’t represent anyone in the mayoral race, said the results suggest Raman will surpass Pratt as more votes are counted.

“I think it’s over,” Trujillo said. “It appears Nithya will be in the runoff. Pratt doesn’t appear to be growing much more.”

The second-place finisher in the mayoral primary will face Mayor Karen Bass in a Nov. 3 runoff. On election night Tuesday, the Associated Press determined that Bass had secured enough votes to qualify for the runoff.

Pratt has been in second place since then, but Raman has gradually eroded his lead as mail-in ballots have been counted. The updated vote tally released Thursday showed Pratt with 29% of the vote and Raman with 23%.

With Friday’s update, Raman’s share had risen to 25% and Pratt’s shrank to 28%, for a 3 percentage point gap.

In the most recent batch of mail-in ballots counted, Raman received 23,514 votes, while Pratt gained 10,336.

Election analysts expected Raman to gain ground as the mail-in ballots were tallied, reasoning that many left-of-center voters — Raman’s base — held onto their mail-in ballots until the last minute as they waited to choose between Democratic gubernatorial candidates. They also say younger, more progressive voters tend to hold onto their ballots longer generally.

Although the mayor’s race is nonpartisan, Pratt is a Republican in a city that is overwhelmingly dominated by Democratic voters and elected officials.

A poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, which was co-sponsored by The Times, had Pratt running in third place behind Bass and Raman.

The poll of 1,351 likely voters conducted May 19-24 had Bass with 26% support, Raman with 25% support and Pratt with 22% support, with a 3% margin of error.

Los Angeles voters have become accustomed to seeing election results change as late-arriving ballots are tabulated. In the 2022 mayoral primary, real estate developer Rick Caruso led the pack for about a week before Bass pulled ahead.

Pratt was favored in many of the same neighborhoods that voted for Caruso, according to a Times analysis of precinct-level returns provided by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder on Wednesday, when an estimated 62% of the projected vote had been counted. Raman, by comparison, made inroads in progressive areas dominated by Bass four years ago.

Pratt, whose Pacific Palisades fire home burned in the January 2025 fire, was strong there and on the Westside, as well as in the San Fernando Valley communities of Encino, Woodland Hills, Chatsworth and Sunland-Tujunga.

Raman dominated precincts known for their progressive politics, particularly those with younger people in renter-heavy neighborhoods stretching from Hollywood to Highland Park, including her home base of Silver Lake.

Mail-in ballots with an election day postmark will continue to be accepted by county election officials through Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — Mired in a persistent cost of living crisis and an unpopular war with Iran, President Trump reached a perilous milestone last week, registering an approval rating of 34% in a top-tier poll — a record low less than halfway through his second term.

The results mark one of the sharpest polling collapses of any modern president. The data, from the Economist and YouGov, brings Trump back down to his political nadir, matching a number he hasn’t seen since the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack five years ago.

It follows on several other surveys published in recent days showing the president entering precarious political territory roughly six months ahead of the midterm elections, raising alarm bells in Republican campaign offices across the country over the party’s prospects in the fall.

It has also led pollsters to question long-standing assumptions about the president’s floor of support, wondering whether it is at risk of giving way.

“It’s harder to get lower, but it’s possible depending on what he does,” said Christopher Wlezien, a political scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. “To get that number down, you are going to have to eat into his core.”

Trump’s base of support remains strong, reinforcing a long-standing theory among pollsters that partisanship now serves as a direct proxy for presidential approval. But softening Republican support on specific policy matters — including top voter priorities, such as the economy — have begun raising questions among experts whether further erosion is possible.

A New York Times poll found his approval at 38%, and a Politico poll recorded a similar erosion, driven by a majority of Americans — including 18% of Trump supporters — stating they are financially worse off than they were before he resumed office.

Roughly 2 out of 3 Americans oppose the war Trump started with Iran. And the coalition that swept him back into office — including a surge in support from Latino, independent and young voters — has effectively disappeared.

While the downward trend looks like a story of a presidency in perpetual trouble, political scientists see a more complicated picture.

“Polarization has raised the floor and lowered the ceiling for approval ratings,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston. “Dramatic swings are less common because approval ratings are now fixed to partisanship.”

The comparison to George W. Bush, whose numbers famously soared after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and cratered into the mid-20s after Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq war, is instructive of how polarization has changed in the Trump era.

Bush governed in a country capable of moving together, in favor or against a president, in response to major events. Americans are no longer swayed in that way when it comes to their views of the president, Rottinghaus argues.

“Approval ratings today are increasingly a measure of who the president is rather than what the president does,” he said.

Trump, in his own way, has seemed to nod at this dynamic. When challenged on his standing with the public, or when a Republican lawmaker breaks with him over a policy issue, he has made the argument that he and the MAGA movement are inseparable. In other words, that opposition to any decision he makes is opposition to the movement itself.

“MAGA is me. MAGA loves everything I do, and I love everything I do,” Trump said in a January interview with NBC News when asked if his base supports long-term military interventions abroad.

Rottinghaus compared the questions about presidential approval as the “same as asking whether you’re Republican or not.”

“So why ask it,” he said.

Gallup, the organization that had tracked presidential approval for eight decades, announced earlier this year that it would stop publishing approval ratings of individual political figures, a shift that underscores how the traditional measure of a politician’s popularity has evolved.

When asked about the change, a Gallup spokesperson told the Washington Post at the time that “the context around these measures has changed.”

“They are now widely produced, aggregated and interpreted, and no longer represent an area where Gallup can make its most distinctive contribution,” the spokesperson added.

Boeing is now conducting test flights of its MQ-28 Ghost Bat drone out over the Pacific from the U.S. Navy’s base in Point Mugu, California. The company says its main goals are to demonstrate the maturity of the design, originally developed for Australia, and promote export sales. The specific choice of testing location also seems notable given Boeing’s involvement in the Navy’s still-evolving carrier-based Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) plans.

The MQ-28 has now flown at least three times within the Point Mugu Sea Range off the coast of southern California, according to a Boeing press release. The expansive range is routinely used for a wide array of research and development and test and evaluation activities, as well as training. Naval Air Station Point Mugu, part of Naval Base Ventura County, sits right on the coast, surrounded by farmland, with direct access to the range and minimal risk to bystanders. Its location makes it well suited for uncrewed aircraft operations, and it already has a major role in this regard in relation to the MQ-4C Triton and managing target drones.

MQ-28 first international flights

“This testing shows the MQ-28’s ability to operate seamlessly from allied facilities, which helps Boeing demonstrate the aircraft’s maturity and potential export opportunities to international customers outside Australia,” per the press release from Boeing. “Tests at Point Mugu validate autonomous systems while following required airspace, range safety and regulatory approvals.”

Boeing also described this as “MQ-28’s first international operation in allied airspace,” but it is unclear when the first sortie from Point Mugu occurred.

In December, the Pentagon released a video of Secretary Pete Hegseth visiting Naval Air Station Point Mugu with an MQ-28 clearly visible in the background. However, the drone seen in that footage also had an early-style paint scheme with high-visibility orange trim. Pictures and video that Boeing released along with its announcement of the Point Mugu Sea Range flight testing show a Ghost Bat with a two-tone gray livery. It also has an infrared search and track (IRST) sensor system in the nose, something not seen on the example in the Hegseth video. The MQ-28 is a highly modular design, with the nose section designed to be readily swappable.

There have also at least been indications of Ghost Bat flight testing in the United States in the past. The U.S. Air Force previously said it had made use of at least one MQ-28 to support advanced uncrewed aircraft and autonomy development efforts.

Boeing itself released a picture of an MQ-28, again with the early paint scheme and no IRST, at MidAmerica Airport outside of St. Louis, Missouri, back in 2023. In that instance, the Ghost Bat was displayed alongside the demonstrator the company had been using to support the development of the MQ-25 Stingray tanker drone for the Navy.

How many Ghost Bats are currently in the United States is unknown. TWZ has reached out to Boeing for more information.

The MQ-28 has been flying in Australia since 2021, two years after the design was first shown publicly. Boeing’s subsidiary in Australia had already been working on the design before then under the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) Airpower Teaming System (ATS) program. To date, RAAF has received eight Ghost Bats in a pre-production Block 1 configuration.

Boeing is now working to build the first of a batch of nine Block 2 drones, which are seen as an intermediate stepping stone to an operational Block 3 version. The Block 3 type is expected to be substantially larger and have greater range. It will also feature an internal weapons bay that could accommodate a single AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), two GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs (SDB), or equivalently sized stores.

Boeing and the RAAF have already conducted at least one live-fire AIM-120 launch from a Block 1 Ghost Bat, with the missile having been carried aloft on an external pylon under the drone’s fuselage.

Uncrewed MQ-28 Ghost Bat showcases its combat capability

Block 1 MQ-28s have also been used to demonstrate other important capabilities in testing to date. This includes crewed-uncrewed teaming with RAAF E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft and F/A-18F Super Hornet fighters. The ability to operate from allied facilities that Boeing says the Point Mugu sorties demonstrate could be valuable just for Australia for future coalition operations.

MQ-28, Wedgetail, Super Hornet: Drone Intercept Behind-the-Scenes

Boeing has also been open about its interest in pursuing sales of the MQ-28 outside of Australia. The company has publicly named Japan as a potential customer and has said it is exploring potential opportunities with other unnamed countries in the Indo-Pacific region. In March, Boeing Australia announced a partnership with Rheinmetall in Germany to pitch the Ghost Bat to that country’s armed forces. A carrier-capable version of the design with a tail hook has been pitched to the United Kingdom in the past, as well.

This latter point brings us to what is largely absent in Boeing’s announcement about MQ-28 flight testing from Point Mugu: the U.S. Navy.

In September 2025, the Navy confirmed that it had awarded Boeing, as well as Anduril, General Atomics, and Northrop Grumman, contracts to develop “conceptual” carrier-based CCA drone designs. At that time, the service also announced that Lockheed Martin was under contract for work on an accompanying common control architecture.

In April 2025, Navy Capt. Ron Flanders, public affairs officer at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition (RDA), had also told TWZ directly that “the U.S. has expressed strong interest in leveraging the MQ-28’s AI-driven autonomy and modular design for future air combat operations.”

As mentioned, Boeing is also developing the MQ-25, a production representative version of which just flew for the first time in April. Beyond the important aerial refueling and other capabilities the Stingray is set to bring to the Navy’s carrier air wings, the service routinely describes it as a “pathfinder” to future uncrewed aviation capabilities.

MQ-25A Stingray First Flight

All this being said, the Navy’s CCA plans are still very much evolving. The service, by its own admission, has been trailing behind the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Marine Corps in the development of CCA-type drones.

Flight testing now from Point Mugu is certainly an important development for the MQ-28 program as a whole, and one Boeing hopes could open the door to new opportunities for the Ghost Bat. Whether or not that includes deeper U.S. Navy involvement remains to be seen.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Rapper Rob Base, one-half of the hip-hop duo Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, died on Friday after a battle with cancer. He was 59.

“Rob’s music, energy, and legacy helped shape a generation and brought joy to millions around the world. Beyond the stage, he was a loving father, family man, friend and creative force whose impact will never be forgotten,” a statement on Base’s Instagram read.

The statement also expressed gratitude to Base, who was surrounded by family as he died, for “the music, the memories and the moments that became the soundtrack to our lives.”

Rob Base was born Robert Ginyard in May 1967. He was best known for his collaborations with DJ E-Z Rock. The two were lifelong friends, meeting in fifth grade while living in Harlem. Their song “It Takes Two” was released in 1988 by Profile Records. The song became a breakout single for the duo and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard U.S. dance club songs chart, with The Times calling “It Takes Two” “the rage of the rap underground.”

The duo followed up the hit with the release of the singles “Joy and Pain” and “Get On the Dance Floor.” Base released his solo album, “The Incredible Base,” in 1989.

Base was an ardent supporter of the rap genre, explaining to The Times in 1989 the nuance of the music.

“People outside rap don’t understand it. There’s all sorts of subtle things — key things — happening over and above the beat in rap songs. The fans want new stuff all the time,” Base said.

Base had two children, De’Jené Ginyard and Robert Ginyard Jr. His wife, April, died in 2013.

Iran is moving its World Cup training base from Tucson, Ariz., to Tijuana, the president of the country’s soccer federation said Saturday, removing one of the final hurdles to its participation in this summer’s tournament.

Iran is scheduled to open World Cup play at SoFi Stadium, facing New Zealand on June 15. It will play Belgium in Inglewood six days later before finishing the group stage against Egypt in Seattle. But there had been questions over the Iranian team’s security in the U.S. after American and Israeli attacks on the country began nearly four months ago.

This World Cup will be the first in which a qualifying team will play in a host country with which it was at war. In March, shortly after the war began, Iranian officials began to question whether they should travel to the U.S. for the tournament — doubts that increased after President Trump posted on social media to say he did not believe it was appropriate for Iran to come “for their own life and safety.”

Because the World Cup is being shared with Mexico and Canada, Iran requested permission to move its base across the border, a request Mehdi Taj, president of the Iran Football Federation, said Saturday had been granted.

FIFA, the World Cup organizer, did not immediately confirm to move.

“All team base camps for the countries participating in the World Cup must be approved [by] FIFA,” Taj said in his statement obtained by the Associated Press. “Fortunately, following the requests we submitted and the meetings we held with FIFA and World Cup officials in Istanbul, as well as the webinar meeting we had yesterday in Tehran with the respected FIFA secretary general, our request to change the team’s base from the United States to Mexico was approved.”

Iran’s federation said moving the base camp will resolve potential visa issues since the team will enter the U.S. through Mexico. Taj that the team “may even be able to travel to and from Mexico using Iran Air flights.”

Tijuana is about 50 minutes by air from LAX, about 55 minutes quicker than a flight from Tucson. Iranians have been banned by the U.S. government from receiving visas to enter the U.S., although exceptions are to be made for athletes, coaches, and support personnel involved in the World Cup.

Iran were expected to fly from Turkiye to Arizona to continue World Cup 2026 preparations but will switch to Mexico.

Iran will base ‌their squad in the Mexican border city of Tijuana ⁠during this ⁠year’s World Cup after football’s world governing body FIFA approved a request to move their training camp from Arizona, ⁠the head of Iran’s football federation said on Saturday.

“We will be based in the Tijuana camp, which is near the Pacific ⁠Ocean and on the border between Mexico and the United States,” Iran’s Football Federation President Mehdi Taj said in a video posted on its Telegram social media account.

Taj added that the switch would help ‌avoid visa-related complications following the US-Israel war on Iran, and that the squad would be able to fly directly to Mexico with Iran Air.

Iran will play their first two Group G matches in Los Angeles, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, ⁠before facing Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

“The ⁠total distance between us and the venue of our games in Los Angeles is 55 minutes by flight,” Taj said, adding that Tijuana was closer to their ⁠match venues than the team’s previously planned camp in Arizona.

Iran has faced uncertainty for months ⁠over travel and security arrangements for the ⁠World Cup, which will be cohosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, and had asked for their games to be moved from the US.

Iranian officials said this month that their players and staff had yet to receive US ‌visas, less than a month before the start of the tournament. They began visa applications during their stay in Turkiye for pre-tournament training.

Taj said FIFA had been asked for guarantees over visas, security ‌and ‌the treatment of the Iranian delegation.

Iran are due to play Gambia in a friendly on May 29 before coach Amir Ghalenoei names his final 26-man World Cup squad by FIFA’s June 1 deadline.

The World Cup is from June 11 to July 19.

HARLEM rapper Rob Base, one-half of Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, has died aged 59.

The musician, whose real name is Robert Ginyard, passed away after a private battle with cancer, his family announced in a statement.

Base, best known for the hit “It Takes Two”, celebrated his birthday just four days ago.

A statement posted on his social media account read: “Rob’s music, energy, and legacy helped shape a generation and brought joy to millions around the world.

“Beyond the stage, he was a loving father, family man, friend, and creative force whose impact will never be forgotten.

“Thank you for the music, the memories, and the moments that became the soundtrack to our lives.”

Base and E-Z Rock brought a unique blend of house music and hip-hop to the mainstream in the 1980s.

E-Z Rock died from complications of diabetes in 2014.

Their breakaway hit, “It Takes Two”, reached number three on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Songs chart in 1988.

What began as a neighbourhood party record from the streets of Harlem blew up into an iconic anthem.

Since its release the track has been sampled by everyone from Snoop Dogg to Black Eyd Peas.

Base and E-Z Rock met in the fifth grade while growing up in Harlem.

They became inspired to form a duo as teenagers leading Base to buy a mic and E-Z Rock a mixer and turntables.

More recently, Base continued performing on the “I Love the ’90s Tour” alongside acts like Vanilla Ice and Young MC.

He also mentored up-and-coming artists under his company Funky Base inc.

Base also worked as an executive producer on the horror film “Urban Flesh Easters”, released last year.

More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday approved the design for the triumphal arch that President Trump wants built at an entrance to the nation’s capital.

Commissioners, all of whom were appointed by Trump, approved the design despite overwhelming opposition from the public. Approval is a key step in the project’s process.

The proposed arch is one of several projects the Republican president is pursuing alongside a White House ballroom to leave his imprint on Washington.

He has said some of his other projects, such as adding a blue coating to the interior of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, will beautify the city in time for July 4 celebrations of America’s 250th birthday.

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts approved the concept for the arch at its monthly meeting in April.

As presented to the federal agency, the arch itself would stand 250 feet tall from its base to a torch held aloft by a Lady Liberty-like figure on top of the structure. The statue would be flanked on top by two eagles and guarded at the base by four lions — all gilded. The phrases “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All” would be inscribed in gold lettering atop either side of the monument.

A public observation deck on top would provide 360-degree views of the surroundings.

The commission’s vice chairman, architect James McCrery II, said in April that he preferred the arch without the figures on top. Removing them would significantly reduce the arch’s height by about 80 feet. Critics of the project, including an overwhelming number of people who submitted public comment in April, said the arch would be taller than any other monument in the capital city and dominate the skyline.

At a height of 250 feet, the arch would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial, which is 99 feet tall, and be close to half the height of the Washington Monument, an obelisk that is about 555 feet tall.

McCrery also recommended that the lions on the base be removed because that animal is “not a beast natural to the North American continent.” And he objected to plans for an underground tunnel for pedestrians to get to the arch, which would be built on a traffic circle between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Preliminary surveys and testing of the site began last week.

A group of veterans and a historian have sued the Trump administration in federal court to block construction on grounds that the arch would disrupt the sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House at Arlington National Cemetery, among other reasons.

Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum have argued that Washington is the only major Western world capital without such an arch. Burgum’s department includes the National Park Service, which manages the plot where Trump wants to put the arch.

Trump’s rehab of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is also the subject of a court challenge brought by the Cultural Landscape Foundation, which said the administration’s moves to repaint the bottom of the Reflecting Pool blue without first undergoing relevant reviews ran afoul of federal preservation laws governing historic sites.

The nonprofit group argued in a lawsuit filed last week that the changes at the Reflecting Pool are part of Trump’s broader effort to push through dramatic renovations in Washington without proper reviews and undermine the tone of the area.

A hearing in the case was scheduled for Thursday afternoon in federal court in Washington.

Superville writes for the Associated Press.

Rearming U.S. Navy warships at sea might be a new mission for its pair of Montford Point class expeditionary transfer dock ships, which it acquired between 2013 and 2014. Four years ago, the service had tried to inactivate these floating logistics nodes, which are unlike anything else in its inventory today, but was blocked by Congress. At that time, TWZ noted that this was a curious decision, given the relatively young age of the ships and their adaptability to supporting new concepts of operations.

The Navy is seeking just over $177.7 million for what is blandly titled “Shipboard Crane Systems/Shipboard Cargo Systems” in its budget request for the 2027 Fiscal Year, which was rolled out last month. This money would go, in part, to completing a demonstration of an At-Sea Reload of Vertical Launch System (ASRV) capability on the USNS Montford Point, also known by its hull number ESD-1, according to the service’s budget documents. No mention is made of any plans to utilize the second ship in the class, USNS John Glenn (ESD-2), as part of this work.

USNS Montford Point, the Navy’s newest afloat forward-staging base

The documents say this same line item would also fund continuing “investigation and demonstration of shipboard crane/cargo system improvements including T-AKE [Lewis and Clark class dry cargo and ammunition ship] Expeditionary Reload and MK 41 Strike Up/Strike Down System.” It would support the initiation of “Naval Strike Missile and MK 48 torpedo reloading system improvements efforts” and the start of a “Mobile Supply Platform (MOSUP) demonstration effort,” as well.

In the current physical year, the Navy also plans to “continue investigation and demonstration of shipboard crane/cargo system improvements including Vertical Launch System (VLS) Rearming and transfer capabilities,” and “initiate design and fabrication for At-Sea Reload of VLS (ASRV) demonstration on ESD-1.”

The budget documents do not provide any further details about the ASRV capability beyond that it will offer a “cost-effective Vertical Launch System (VLS) rearm at-sea solution that will be fully compatible with all CRUDES and Allied/Partner Mk41 equipped vessels.” CRUDES here stands for “Cruiser-Destroyer,” and is a collective term for the Navy’s Ticonderoga class cruisers and Arleigh Burke class destroyers. Whether ASRV is related in any way to the Transferrable Reload At-sea Method (TRAM) that has already been tested in conjunction with Lewis and Clark class ships is unclear.

With 25,000 square feet of open main deck area, the semi-submersible Montford Point class design, derived from the Alaska class oil tanker, is ideally suited to hosting outsized items. They were also designed from the start to conduct operations involving the transfer of cargo from ships sitting alongside. As an aside, it is worth noting that the Montford Point and John Glenn are cousins of the Lewis B. Puller class of Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) ships.

CNO Talks About the Mobile Landing Platform

In their primary “transfer dock” configuration, the ESDs act as floating self-propelled piers through which materiel and personnel can move from cargo ships to shore via ‘connectors’ like Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) hovercrafts. They have special docking lanes that allow up to three LCACs to load and/or unload at a time. Amphibious vehicles can also drive right off into the sea and head for shore.

It is worth noting that the Navy’s stated plan now is simply to demonstrate the ASRV capability on Montford Point. At the same time, with all of the above in mind, it is not hard to see the ESDs acting as at-sea reloading nodes operationally in the future. The core transfer dock design could even potentially allow them to offload munitions from one ship on one side, like a member of the Lewis and Clark class, and then load them right into waiting VLS cells on a destroyer or cruiser sitting on the opposite side. They could also help transfer munitions to a separate pier for loading onto ships in need of rearming.

As it stands now, the Navy still has no real capacity to conduct at-sea rearming of VLS arrays on its warships. The service’s Emory S. Land class submarine tenders do have the ability to load missiles and torpedoes onto submarines at sea, but there are only two of these ships in the fleet today, something we will come back to later on. All of this, in turn, creates operational challenges that have become increasingly glaring in recent years.

At the Surface Navy Association’s main annual conference last year, Navy officials disclosed that warships supporting operations in and around the Red Sea had to leave their stations for up to two weeks to rearm in friendly ports. The distances and transit times involved could be much greater in future conflicts, especially in a future fight in the Pacific region against China. In the context of a high-end fight against a major adversary, friendly port facilities might not be readily available at all. Having to sit in an established port waiting for more munitions presents vulnerabilities of its own. A ship in need of rearming is also inherently one with a depleted magazine with which to defend itself, wherever it might be, in the interim.

At-sea reloading, whether it be from an ESD, a Lewis and Clark class cargo ship, or some other platform, would help Navy warships keep up a more persistent forward presence during sustained operations and reduce their vulnerability. There would still be risks entailed, especially if the ships have to be at anchor during rearming operations. The Navy is fully aware that an adversary like China would contest its logistics chains, in general, well into rear areas in any future major conflict.

There is also a capacity question. Making rearming at sea a more routine affair will require tasking ships to perform those duties, which can only increase the operational demands on the Navy’s existing combat support fleets. As mentioned, the Navy budget documents do show plans to work on expanding at-sea reloading capability on its 14 Lewis and Clark class ships, which are already heavily taxed conducting existing at-sea replenishment activities. They would also be high-priority targets in a major conflict. Recent operations against Iran have underscored threats to existing maritime logistics concepts, which would be far more pronounced in a high-end fight.

Making use of other existing auxiliaries in the at-sea rearming role could help address the capacity question, but there are limits there, too. The Navy only has two ESDs, and while it has backed off from its previous push to inactivate them, they are both currently on reduced operating status, which increases the time it takes to get them ready for deployment.

There is also the mention of demonstrating a “Mobile Supply Platform (MOSUP)” in the Navy’s latest budget request. What this might entail is not entirely clear, but it might point to interest in a new class of auxiliaries.

In terms of additional auxiliaries, the Navy is looking to finally order two new submarine tenders, currently referred to as AS(X), in Fiscal Year 2027, but to replace the aging Emory S. Land class ships. Since January, General Dynamics NASSCO, the shipbuilder behind the new tender design, has been pitching a companion vessel optimized for at-sea arming of surface warships, which it calls AD(X). The Navy has yet to show any formal interest in the AD(X) concept, at least that we are aware of at the time of writing.

Gibbs and Cox, a division of Leidos, has also previously put forward a concept involving repurposing semi-submersible oil rigs as forward logistic nodes, as well as missile defense platforms and sea bases.

Gibbs & Cox MODEP concept at SNA 2025

What is clear now is that the Navy is continuing to explore options for fielding sorely needed at-sea reloading capabilities, which are set to be ever-more critical for supporting future operations. An operational role in all this for the highly flexible and adaptable Montford Point class ships increasingly looks to be on the horizon.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Satellite imagery has emerged showing China’s two massive stealthy flying-wing high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aircraft at its secretive test base near Malan. TWZ first identified both of the previously unseen aircraft last year in Planet Labs archived imagery of the airfield, which is known to be on the leading edge of the PLA’s unmanned combat aircraft development efforts. However, this is the first time both have been captured outside their hangars simultaneously, or on the main apron at all. Overall, the image, dated March 26th, 2026, underscores the major uptick of very advanced drone testing activity at the installation.

The flying wing with the longest wingspan (red arrow in the image at the top of the article), which some have dubbed “WZ-X,” and what we refer to as “The Monster of Malan,” is parked on the main apron next to the runway. The very large flying wing has a span of approximately 173 feet — roughly the width of a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. You can read more about this impressive aircraft in our previous coverage here and here. Other details about its true designation or its manufacturer remain unknown.

The second large flying wing (green arrow) is seen in the image sitting outside a hangar that is part of the sprawling new high-security facility on the opposite side of the complex. It features a ‘cranked kite’ planform with a wingspan of approximately 137 feet, although it would appear to have a significantly higher gross weight and likely lower operating ceiling than its wider stablemate. Based on our previous analysis, this variant is suited for the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) role, but could also work as a supersized unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) capable of performing very long-range heavy strike missions.

Both of these aircraft appear to have been flying now for a number of months. You can read about this here and here.

There is also what appears to be a stealth fighter-like drone (orange arrow) and a Xi’an Y-20 transport plane on the main apron in the image.

China has shown off a very large number of fighter-drone concepts, very loosely similar to the U.S. Collaborative Combat Aircraft initiative, in recent years. A Chinese military parade in 2025 was really Beijing’s major public thrust into this area of advanced fighter-like drone development. Since then, testing of at least one configuration has been ramped up considerably.

Just reviewing Planet Labs archived images of Malan in recent months shows the aircraft configuration seen above to be very active at the base. This relatively large unmanned ‘fighter’, analogous to a manned light-to-medium weight fighter in size, is a tailless design that features a very similar planform as the J-XDS 6th generation manned fighter. It also appears similar in shape to another CCA-like aircraft that has been photographed flying.

One drone shown off during China’s big military parade looks very similar to it, in particular. But regardless, this general design appears to be a focus of testing at the base.

Other mysterious aircraft have appeared at the installation as well, which is clearly set up specifically to run many programs within its high-security confines at any given time.

Beijing is actively pursuing a range of flying-wing drones of various sizes, including large HALE drones, designed to perform a diverse set of missions, including ISR and strike. For many years, TWZ has assessed that this was an area of the Chinese aviation industry most likely to see an explosion of investment. The WZ-X is still the largest Chinese design in terms of wingspan that we have seen in this category to date. The cranked-kite design is certainly the heaviest.

This new look at China’s two large flying wing combat drones comes as we got our first good look at America’s own RQ-180 HALE stealth drone, which has been flying for some time and is now being used operationally. It also comes as China is rushing ahead on all fronts with its next generation air combat ecosystem, and making impressively quick progress to show for its efforts. Still, a formidable looking aircraft doesn’t mean it can fight as impressively as part of a joint force as it looks, or survive against enemy air defenses. Regardless, China is clearly betting substantially on advanced and large unmanned flying wing designs.

Contact the author: ian.ellis-jones@teamrecurrent.io

Wiffen said that he was “already planning” on moving to Dublin even before the Irish Open.

He had targeted a time of seven minutes 42 seconds in the 800m, but came in at 7:58.08 on his way to winning gold in Bangor and also said his performance in the 1500m was “confirmation in my head that I wasn’t in the shape I wanted to be in” and that he should switch to Dublin.

“In 1500m I got to the 1000m mark in a second off PB [personal best] pace and I could feel it fading and it was all down to the training,” he added.

“I wasn’t doing the right type of work I used to do, so when it came to the decision, I sat down with Andy Reid [National Performance Director at Swim Ireland] and talked to him. We had talked of the back-up plan if California didn’t work when he was first appointed, so this was already in the thinking.”

Reflecting on his time in California, Wiffen was critical of the training in the US and says he “feels a lot fitter” since he started training in Dublin.

“In California it felt like you kind of didn’t know what you were doing. You were having to push yourself, there wasn’t much guidance or criticising technique.

“They didn’t want to mess up the Olympic champion is what I felt. They were trying to do what they wanted to do, not what’s good for me.”

Wiffen is now gearing up for a big summer with the Commonwealth Games and European Championships on the horizon and hopes a solid block of training in his new surroundings can get him up to speed to break more records.

“I don’t know how fast I’m going to be in the summer, but I have two benchmark meets before that I can compare to other years.

“I need to see how those go and how the training works. I have eyes on the world record in the summer, but if not I need to readjust some things.”