carrying

With his quiet brilliance, incredible goal-scoring ability and sly smile, Norway’s Erling Haaland has etched his name in history yet again.

“It is one of the most insane days in Norwegian history,” Haaland, arguably the country’s greatest footballer, said moments after leading Norway into the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup.

The 25-year-old’s late brace dumped record five-time champions Brazil out of the tournament and sent his team into the last eight for the first time in history.

It is widely believed that on his towering frame, broad shoulders and inherent knack for scoring goals, Haaland knows how to carry Norway when it matters most.

After being a non-factor for much of the afternoon and having limited touches on the ball, Haaland spoke at the second-half hydration break with coach Stale Solbakken, who told him to drain his energy and go for it.

Solbakken’s wish was Haaland’s command as he headed in the first goal of the match in the 79th minute and scored again before the end of regulation time.

He sits comfortably at the top of the goal-scorers’ list for his country with 62 to his name in 54 appearances, at an impressive rate of 1.15 goals per game. The long-haired forward is often called “the smiling assassin” in a nod to the pairing of his skilful finishing and cool demeanour.

Haaland’s scoring streak for Norway has now reached 27 goals in 14 games, and despite being crowned man of the match, a humble Haaland relegated the team’s heroics to goalkeeper Orjan Nyland.

“For me, he’s my man of the match, even though I scored the goals. He prevented so many goals that would have probably sent us back home,” Haaland told reporters after the win.

“He’s the reason why we’re going to be playing the quarterfinal for the first time in our history – much respect to him.”

In the shadows of Messi, Mbappe and Ronaldo

The Manchester City striker has gone level with Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi for the Golden Boot with seven goals apiece so far, but came from behind to join the footballing giants in lifting his country at the biggest stage.

Pre-tournament headlines were dominated by what Messi could do, what Cristiano Ronaldo might do, and what Mbappe was expected to do.

Haaland’s biggest triumph was leading Norway back to the World Cup after nearly three decades, and the Viking hero has stormed through the tournament with sheer force and masterful skill to write his own storyline.

The 195cm (6ft 5-inch) tall striker’s rise to the upper echelons of the sport has been marked by humility, self-belief and single-mindedness.

“I have peaked a few times during this tournament, but every time, there is a new peak,” Haaland said after the victory against Brazil.

“If I receive one or two chances, they usually end up in a goal. I don’t really know what I do; this is just the way I am. It’s all about staying focused, and when the chance comes, I know exactly what to do.”

‘This night will be remembered forever’

The gravity of the moment was not lost on Haaland after his side shocked Brazil and sent Neymar into international retirement.

“Scoring twice against Brazil is something I will treasure forever, but those goals don’t belong to me alone,” Haaland said in a post-match interview.

“They belong to every teammate who sacrificed everything, every coach who believed in us, every supporter who stood by us through the difficult years, and every child in Norway who now believes that anything is possible.

“This is a night that will be remembered forever in every Norwegian home. We didn’t just beat Brazil, we gave our nation a memory that will live on for generations,” Haaland said after admitting that the win brought tears to his eyes.

“No matter what happens next, nobody can ever take this feeling, these tears, or this piece of history away from us.”

While his counterparts entered the World Cup as global household names, Haaland was a social media sensation, known for his witty Snapchat stories and Instagram content, which made him a more relatable, playful, almost goofy icon that broke away from the traditional path to stardom.

In true Haaland fashion – and, as the memes rightfully predicted – the Norwegian star posted a cheeky photo straight from the locker room with his jersey scrunched around his neck that racked up millions of likes within hours.

‘Defenders hate playing against him’

When asked if Haaland’s strength and speed make him a dangerous player, Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti argued that it is actually his timing.

“He doesn’t waste energy chasing every ball or wrestling defenders for 90 minutes. He studies them, he waits, he understands exactly when a defender loses concentration.

“Then, in one second, he’s gone,” Ancelotti said in a post-match interview. “You can defend perfectly against him for 89 minutes, but football is decided by moments, and [Haaland] is probably the best in the world at recognising those moments.

“That’s why defenders hate playing against him. You think you’ve controlled him all game, and suddenly, he’s celebrating another goal.”

What’s next for the Vikings?

Haaland and co are up against Harry Kane’s side after England snuck past cohosts Mexico into the quarterfinals with a 3-2 win at Estadio Azteca.

As Norway take on England on Saturday, Haaland will have yet another chance to shine for his country and rewrite history.

But for now, the moment is his.

“Everyone just needs to enjoy themselves,” he told his countrymen across the Atlantic as he literally helmed the now-famous Viking row boat on the pitch in celebration.

“This is just an insane day. Like I said, it’s one of the most insane days in Norwegian history. Just enjoy it. Embrace it and enjoy the moment.”

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Arthur Fery grew up just a short walk away from Wimbledon but there is much more to his story than simply the confines of SW19.

The British men’s number three was born near Paris to his French parents before the family moved to Wimbledon when he was still in nappies.

After coming through the Lawn Tennis Association system, the 23-year-old then moved to Stanford University in California to study for a degree in science, technology and society – and sharpen his game in a tennis scholarship.

Now Fery is back on his doorstep and enjoying the biggest success of his career.

The world number 114 is left carrying British hopes at the All England Club this year after becoming the sole home player to reach the third round of the singles.

“I grew up coming to the tournament, watching the players and that definitely contributed to my development,” Fery told BBC Sport.

“I was trying to imitate players – like you do when you’re a kid. Now I’m here winning matches. It’s awesome.”

Fery’s mother, Olivia, is a French former Fed Cup player, who used to work for the LTA as a business development manager, while father Loic is an asset manager who owns Ligue 1 football club Lorient.

Many summer holidays were spent at the family’s second home near La Rochelle on the west coast of France, while he also spent time with other relatives near Nice – an area packed with courts and academies – to hone his tennis talent.

Fery briefly represented France when he was about 10 before starting to play for Britain shortly after.

After that, he says, there was “no question” that he would go on to represent Britain in the professional ranks.

“By that point, there was really no decision to make. I was living here, I was training at the National Tennis Centre. I was in the system here,” he said.

“I feel completely British now. Maybe 10 years ago if you’d asked me the question, it would be a bit different. Now I feel very British at heart.”

Boeing’s 757 Flying Test Bed was recently spotted carrying a stealthy underwing infrared sensor pod under its fuselage. This may be the first time this aircraft, better known as ‘The Catfish’ because of its unique and highly modified nose profile, has ever been seen lugging around a store on this station. The pod itself is part of a larger “Raptor 2.0″ upgrade package being developed for the F-22. Catfish has served as a key systems integration testbed for the Raptor since the 1990s.

Jerod Harris caught Catfish with the pod under its belly as it came in to land at Edwards Air Force Base in California on Monday. Edwards is the main hub for U.S. Air Force test and evaluation activities, and Catfish has been seen there many times over the years as part of its work. The aircraft, which carries the U.S. civil registration code N757A, also happens to be the first 757 ever built, and took to the skies for the first time back in 1982.

As already noted, Catfish has already played a central role in the story of F-22. The aircraft’s heavily modified nose is designed to directly replicate that of the Raptor, and contains the same AN/APG-77 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar as the fighter. The swept wings on top of the cockpit were also designed to support testing of the conformal antennas for the Raptor’s AN/ALR-94 electronic support measures system and other components of its ‘fused’ sensor suite. The aircraft has supported the development of a wide array of other systems for the F-22, and is packed inside with additional equipment to support those needs in particular, including a replica of the Raptor’s cockpit. You can read more about Catfish and its general history here.

So it is not surprising then that the heavily modified 757 would also be used now to help with continued testing of the new underwing infrared sensor pods for the Raptor. Carrying the pod under the forward end of the fuselage would offer the sensors inside a good open field of view to the front, as well as to the left, right, and down.

The stealthy pods have been test-flown on actual F-22s for years now. At the same time, there are only a limited number of Raptors available, in total, and they are notoriously fuel-hungry, maintenance-intensive, and otherwise expensive to operate. If the particular test plan calls just for level flight, and over extended periods of time, a platform like Catfish could be an attractive alternative. With space for dozens of engineers and technicians in its main cabin, and workstations for them, the aircraft would also offer very different options for testing and evaluating the pod while in-flight. A North American Sabreliner business jet has also been used to test these pods in the past.

The capability, in general, for Catfish to carry stores under its fuselage might open up additional possibilities for utilizing the aircraft in support of other testing efforts, if it hasn’t already.

Catfish would also be well suited to supporting testing of other elements of the Raptor 2.0 package. Under the current plan, the Air Force’s F-22s are also set to get a new integrated distributed infrared search and track (IRST) system called the Infrared Defensive System (IRDS).

IRST systems have seen a renaissance across the U.S. military in recent years, as well as elsewhere globally. IRSTs detect and track targets via their infrared emissions, making them particularly valuable for helping spot stealthy targets with features designed to reduce their radar cross-sections. The sensors are also immune to radio frequency electronic warfare jamming and operate passively, meaning they do not emit signals that could alert a target to the fact they are being tracked. IRSTs can also be used to cue or otherwise be linked to other sensors, including AESA radars. This data fusion can provide higher fidelity tracks of multiple targets, as well as improved situational awareness overall.

Increased demand for IRSTs has led to a commensurate increase in demand for testing using multiple platforms. This, in turn, has been a major component of a general uptick in U.S. military flight testing in recent years to support a variety of new, advanced programs.

Other elements of the Raptor 2.0 upgrade plan include new stealthy drop tanks, improvements to the jet’s stealthy features, radar capabilities, electronic warfare suite, and more, as you can read about in detail here.

At least a portion of the Raptor fleet is also set to receive modifications to enable them to act as airborne controllers for Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones. The Air Force’s F-22s are set to be the service’s first tactical jets to be used in that role, though others will follow.

The F-22 upgrade work is reflective of current Air Force plans to keep the Raptors in service for decades to come. In 2024, the Air Force said it no longer had a firm retirement schedule for the fighters.

Raptors have been used in recent years as surrogates to support work on the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) initiative, a component of which is Boeing’s F-47 sixth-generation fighter. As such, Catfish will have already been feeding into those developments, which are now firmly a top Air Force priority.

At the same time, Catfish is now 44 years old. Boeing 757s, in general, are increasingly disappearing from service globally as they become more complicated and cost-intensive to sustain. Especially with the work ongoing now on the F-47, it seems likely Boeing will start looking toward a new highly specialized testbed aircraft modified to reflect the particular physical geometry, unique avionics, and other features of the new fighter.

Similarly, the F-35 family also has a dedicated test jet, the Boeing 737-300-based Cooperative Avionics Testbed, nicknamed the CATbird. There are several other airliner and business jet-based testbeds flying globally today, though Catfish is certainly one of the largest and most visually distinctive. Improving digital simulation and modeling tools could allow for less reliance on surrogate testbed aircraft in the future, but they will in no way be eliminated.

China notably has something of a clone of Catfish based on a Russian-made Tupolev Tu-204C airliner, which itself was designed as an analog to the 757. The Chinese jet’s primary purpose has been supporting the development of the J-20 stealth fighter, the country’s closest answer to the F-22.

In the meantime, Boeing Catfish remains a very important part of continued work to improve and expand the capabilities of the F-22. This now extends to testing of specialized underwing pods for the Raptor.

Special thanks again to Jerod Harris for sharing his pictures of Catfish carrying the stealthy sensor pod with us.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

LOVE Island viewers have been left baffled after spotting Ellie Chadwick is rarely seen without her iconic £2,000 Prada bag.

Despite engaging in some tense chats in the villa, fans of the hit ITV show have been left distracted by her trusty wicker basket bag never being far from sight.

And it turns out there is a key reason why real estate videographer Ellie, 24, is always carrying her beloved accessory around the villa.

Amy Bannerman, eBay‘s Pre-Loved Style Director, told The Sun that bags were added into the Love Island pad for the first season of Love Island All Stars in January 2025.

She explained: “I wanted a way to add more eBay to the Islanders’ non-swimwear looks and give us an opportunity to talk about eBay’s Authenticity Guarantee (AG) offering. 

“The Love Island All Stars cast all really veer towards premium brands too, so it felt like the perfect place to introduce it.

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“There isn’t more of a focus on bags this season, but they have got more airtime from Ellie’s iconic Prada moment, which is great.”

Viewers have been left in fits of giggles after spotting Ellie’s bag habit and have taken to social media to discuss it further.

One wrote: “Ellie is the first girl I’ve seen carry a bag around the villa, she’s so real go find those designer bags girly show us the villa collection.”

This person replied: “And the only thing in there is probably her phone and some lip gloss.”

This person asked: “Can tell you right now that there’s nothing in Ellie’s bag,” while someone else echoed: “Why is Ellie the only person in love island to ever carry a handbag?”

Someone shared a picture of Teletubbies character Tinky Winky and their famous red handbag, while another posted a picture of Mr Tumble and his yellow spotted bag.

This viewer shared: “Ellie walking around the villa with a handbag, quite possibly is the first time I’ve seen that happen on that show, since I began watching it, all those years ago. Definitely not on my bingo card.”

Another added: “It’s really making me laugh that Ellie carries a handbag, like girl why do you need a handbag in the villa?”

And some fans have even suggested: “If she stays long enough, she’s going to have some bag deals.”

Amy clarified that there is no quota for how many eBay items Islanders have to use, but they have the option to choose from their “incredible choice of brands and styles.”

Amy explained: “They pick pieces from a shared wardrobe that includes everything from Versace and Gucci to vintage Topshop and Marks & Spencer. 

“Last season, unbranded vintage was the most-worn category, which was very exciting for us!”

The eBay staff member said they also added men’s bags as the “boys all seemed keen to join the girls in carrying AG bags.”

She added: “We have also added luxury AG men’s sliders too, so they’re wearing more eBay around the pool during daytime moments.”

The love triangle between Scottish lass Ellie and brothers Aidan and Kavan reared an ugly head on Sunday’s episode of Love Island, with Ellie branding Aidan as a ‘p****’.

Since Kavan entered the villa as a surprise bombshell he caught Ellie’s eye, despite her previously being coupled up with his brother.

The blonde beauty continued to express interest in both of the lads for a while until Sunday when everything came crashing down.

Ellie and Aidan were sitting on a sofa together talking about how Aidan kissed someone else when she was briefly booted from the villa.

Ellie left for around 12 hours alongside Samraj after bombshells Yasmin and George were tasked by host Maya Jama to axe a lad and a lady from the show.

However they weren’t really dumped from the programme, and instead went on secret dates with bombshells Priya and Kavan.

Ellie then returned to the villa and discovered that Aidan hadn’t been faithful.

She brought it up with Aidan tonight saying she can’t get past it and needed to “draw a line” under things.

An unconvinced Aidan didn’t take her seriously, saying he thinks she “still likes him”.

But Ellie then shut the romance down well and good, saying that the difference between Aidan and his brother Kavan is that Kavan “is not a p****”.

At least 22 people have been killed and 36 others injured when a truck carrying recently returned Afghan refugees overturned in eastern Afghanistan’s Laghman Province.

Officials say the driver lost control of the vehicle and authorities have launched an investigation.

For the first time, the U.S. Air Force has publicly released imagery showing a B-1B Lancer bomber carrying an AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon hypersonic missile, or ARRW. The development comes with the B-1B now officially slated to serve for another decade, while it has been earmarked as a hypersonic weapons test platform. For its part, the ARRW, at one point expected to be the U.S. military’s first operational hypersonic weapon, is also back from purgatory, after continued questions about its future. The Air Force now wants to develop an improved version, as well as a separate air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM).

A brief clip showing a B-1B flying with an ARRW carried on an external hardpoint was released on Edwards Air Force Base’s Instagram page recently. The emergence of the video was first brought to our attention by The Aviationist.

It is unclear when the test-flight footage was taken, and it is not directly referenced in the video, which is otherwise dedicated to the work of maintainers on different aircraft platforms at Edwards.

The B-1B was originally designed to carry external stores on up to eight external hardpoints. The Air Force had also developed special pylons that would have allowed the bombers to carry two nuclear-tipped AGM-86B Air-Launched Cruise Missiles (ALCM) on each one. Following the end of the Cold War, the B-1Bs lost their nuclear mission and, as a result, the external pylons fell into disuse, at least as far as weapons are concerned.

However, as long ago as 2020, the Air Force detailed plans to add the ARRW to the B-1B, after the service highlighted work to expand the bomber’s ability to carry hypersonic weapons and other new stores, both internally and externally.

“My goal would be to bring on at least a squadron’s worth of airplanes modified with external pylons on the B-1, to carry the ARRW [Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon],” Gen. Timothy Ray, then head of Air Force Global Strike Command, told Air Force Magazine. He added that the service had contemplated several options for integrating the missile onto the bombers, “but we believe the easiest, fastest, and probably most effective in the short term will be to go with the external pylons.”

In the meantime, we have seen examples of the ARRW carried under the wing of the B-52H bomber during multiple test sorties, and a live version also notably appeared on a Stratofortress during a training event at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam.

The Fiscal Year 2026 budget request confirmed that the Air Force plans to use the B-1B as a testbed for the Load Adaptable Modular (LAM) pylon, intended for hypersonic weapons and other outsize loads. The B-1B can accommodate six of these pylons, each capable of carrying two 2,000-pound-class weapons or a single 5,000-pound-plus-class weapon. The ARRW would fall into the latter category.

The budget documents noted: “The Hypersonic Integration Program successfully demonstrated the B-1’s ability to execute a captive carry of a 5,000-pound-class store and the release of a proven weapon shape from a Load Adaptable Modular (LAM) pylon.” This suggests that the video we are now seeing could have been taken during this demonstration, but it might also refer to external load tests involving the Air Force’s new bunker-buster bomb, the 5,000-pound class GBU-72/B.

In the same position as seen in the ARRW video, the LAM has also been used for external carriage tests of the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM). More routinely, this same position mounts an external pylon that accommodates a Sniper targeting pod. The same location has previously been used in external carriage tests of the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) cruise missile, too.

As for ARRW, it carries an unpowered hypersonic boost-glide vehicle as its warhead. A rocket booster accelerates and lifts the vehicle to the required speed and altitude, after which it separates and glides through the atmosphere on a relatively shallow path toward its target. The weapon’s high speed and unpredictable flight path make it difficult for opponents to intercept and engage it, and give very little response time.

B52 ARRW Hypersonic evaluation test at Edwards Air Force Base 12 JUN 2019

The Air Force’s plans to move ahead with purchases of ARRWs notably re-emerged in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal. The service had moved to cancel the AGM-183A in 2023, and refocus resources on the development of the air-breathing Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM), but there were steady signs afterward that there was still life left in the ARRW program.

Meanwhile, in its Fiscal Year 2027 budget request, the Air Force seeks funds for the development of what it calls ARRW Increment 2, as well as to kick-start a new air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM) program. The service wants almost $350 million to fund these two efforts. ARRW Increment 2 involves adding undisclosed enhanced capabilities onto the baseline weapon, while the ALBM effort would seek to field a new air-launched, long-range strike capability to complement the ARRW and HACM.

The US Air Force plans to kick off Air Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) Increment 2 development and stand up a new Air Launched Ballistic Missile (ALBM) program in Fiscal Year 2027. The service has set aside nearly $350 Million combined for these two efforts. ARRW Inc 2… pic.twitter.com/pe0SKPlrDO

— Air-Power | MIL-STD (@AirPowerNEW1) April 27, 2026

In its Fiscal Year 2027 budget documents, the Air Force further notes:

“We are doubling production rates for our two developmental hypersonic weapons, the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) and the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM), with a planned investment of $1.8 billion across the FYDP to accelerate delivery of these critical strike capabilities into the hands of the warfighter.”

The documents don’t give any details on how many ARRWs they want to order.

Regardless, these developments are especially notable as China continues to push ahead in the development and fielding of these capabilities, and especially ALBMs.

Despite previous plans to retire the B-1B by 2030, the bomber’s ability to carry outsize loads, in particular, has helped ensure that it’s now expected to remain in service until at least 2037.

Fiscal Year 2027 budget documents indicate that the Air Force plans to spend $342 million on modernizing its 44 remaining B-1Bs from 2027 to 2031. “This request provides the necessary funding to modernize the platform, ensuring its lethality and relevance through 2037,” the budget said.

The B-2 stealth bomber will also be modernized, as the Air Force seeks to address growing demand for bomber capacity, pending the arrival of the new B-21. The intensity of recent operations against Iran, combined with day-to-day bomber task force operations around the globe, and the growing specter of a conflict with China, underscores just how important the bomber fleet is to the Pentagon at large.

B-1s first mission to Iran out of RAF Fairford UK

With a capacity to carry more conventional weapons than any other aircraft in the Air Force’s inventory, we will surely see the B-1B carrying additional external weapons and larger numbers of them, as it continues its service career.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com