Navy

The U.S. Navy is continuing to build up its forces in the Caribbean amid reported claims that an attack on Venezuela could be imminent. The Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg is now in the region, a U.S. Navy official told The War Zone. The Gettysburg adds to a current force of eight other warships deployed as part of enhanced counter-narcotics operations also aimed at Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. In addition, as we have previously reported, the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group has also been ordered to the region, but is not expected to arrive for at least another week.

The Gettysburg is the second cruiser to take part in the operation, joining the USS Lake Erie. The vessels in this class bring a great deal of additional firepower and other capabilities to the flotilla now arrayed in the Caribbean. You can read more about the status of America’s dwindling fleet of cruisers here.

News about the Gettysburg deployed to the Caribbean comes as the Miami Herald on Friday reported that U.S. strikes on targets inside Venezuela “could come at any moment.”

“Sources told the Herald that the targets — which could be struck by air in a matter of days or even hours — also aim to decapitate the cartel’s hierarchy,” the publication reported. The outlet added that it is unclear if that means taking out Maduro. The Venezuelan leader was indicted in a New York federal court in 2020, during the first Trump presidency. He and 14 others, including several close allies, were hit with federal charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy with the Colombian FARC insurgent group to import cocaine. There is now a $50 million bounty for his arrest.

The Herald story follows reporting on Thursday by the Wall Street Journal that the Trump administration “has identified targets in Venezuela that include military facilities used to smuggle drugs.”

While the Journal says that President Donald Trump hasn’t made a final decision yet on ordering strikes against land targets, anonymous officials told the paper that “a potential air campaign would focus on targets that sit at the nexus of the drug gangs and the Maduro regime.”

The potential targets under consideration “include ports and airports controlled by the military that are allegedly used to traffic drugs, including naval facilities and airstrips, according to one of the officials,” the publication added. 

Trump has since outright denied that he is considering strikes on Venezuela.

The president replied “no” when asked by reporters on Friday aboard Air Force One if it was true he is weighing whether to attack military sites in Venezuela. He said “no” again when asked if he had decided on the matter.

A White House spokesperson further pushed back on any assertion that an attack was imminent.

“Unnamed sources don’t know what they’re talking about,” Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, told The War Zone. “Any announcements regarding Venezuela policy would come directly from the president.” Kelly did not answer our questions about when that decision might take place or what targets, if any, have been identified.

A U.S. official we spoke with on Friday morning was not aware of any imminent plans to attack Venezuela. 

“While it does not appear that such an attack would take place in the coming hours, the U.S. military will be ready to execute at the POTUS’ direction,” said the official. “We are poised to execute any orders given to us.”

While Trump has stated that he is eyeing land strikes on drug targets in Venezuela, so far, attacks have been limited to what the Pentagon asserts are drug smuggling boats. Several strikes have resulted in multiple deaths of suspected drug smugglers.

Earlier today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on yet another narco-trafficking vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) in the Eastern Pacific.

This vessel, like all the others, was known by our… pic.twitter.com/mBOLA5RYQe

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 29, 2025

These attacks have come under intense criticism for being carried out without evidence or the consent of Congress.

Blowing up boats without proof isn’t justice; it’s what China or Iran would do. There’s no evidence of fentanyl and no due process.

This isn’t about blowing up drug boats, it’s about talks of regime change in Venezuela. We’ve seen how that ends: chaos, not freedom.

America… pic.twitter.com/8VBNWu2xE9

— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) October 30, 2025

Regardless of the timing of a large-scale attack, U.S. Navy vessels appear to be sailing closer to Venezuela. Satellite imagery shows that the Wasp class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima and an unidentified Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer have come closer than 125 miles from La Orchila, one of Venezuela’s outlying islands. The U.S. Navy official we spoke with declined to confirm the specific location of the Iwo Jima or any other vessels.

In another potential sign of future operations, the U.S. just closed airspace off the Puerto Rican coast, designating it “National Defense Airspace.” Pilots not adhering to the notice to airmen (NOTAM) are subject to being intercepted, detained and having criminal charges levied against them.

The NOTAM is adjacent to José Aponte de la Torre Airport, home to a significant deployment of forces, including F-35s. You can read more about the airport’s role in the ongoing operations in our story here.

This appears to be a ‘corridor TFR’ supporting military operations operating out of Puerto Rico into the Caribbean and back.

These are typically used when there is a high amount of traffic expected. https://t.co/7oZadNszc7

— TheIntelFrog (@TheIntelFrog) October 31, 2025

Meanwhile, as the U.S. continues to build up forces in the region, the Pentagon is assessing what, if any, resources will be deployed to provide humanitarian relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Melissa. The storm was a Category 5 hurricane when it slammed into Jamaica and Haiti, causing tremendous destruction.

U.S. Southern Command on Friday announced that Joint Task Force-Bravo deployed to Kingston, Jamaica, “on a mission to provide humanitarian and disaster relief assistance following Hurricane Melissa,” the command said in a statement.

“Three CH-47 Chinooks from the 1st Battalion, 228 Aviation Regiment, carried 40 service members and supplies as part of the initial effort to provide immediate, lifesaving and humanitarian support,” the statement continued. “The advance team will set up operations in Kingston to prepare for the arrival of additional personnel and equipment via three UH-60 and two HH-60 Blackhawks. Upon arrival, they will provide ongoing U.S. disaster relief assistance missions requested by the government of Jamaica.”

“Historically, U.S. military capabilities are needed most in the critical early stages of a disaster relief operation, when fewer resources, capabilities and disaster-response experts are available to help victims and impacted communities,” SOUTHCOM added.

The ships and troops of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Readiness Group (ARG)/22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), already in the region as part of the counter-narcotics mission, could also potentially be deployed for relief efforts. In addition to more than 4,000 Marines and sailors, the ships in the ARG/MEU have Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) hovercraft, CH-53, UH-1 and MH-60 helicopters, MV-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft and AV-8B Harrier II attack jets that could be beneficial in any crisis response.

While these units have responded to post-storm relief efforts in the region in the past, no tasking has yet been made for Melissa, the official told us.

“It is too early to say if the 22nd MEU will be deployed for any humanitarian relief efforts,” the official posited.

Regardless, assigning assets for relief efforts will not affect the counter-narcotics operation, SOUTHCOM said.

“SOUTHCOM is mission-ready to support both missions as required,” Army Col. Emanuel Ortiz, a SOUTHCOM spokesman, told us.

While it is publicly unknown what Trump’s plans are concerning Venezuela or Maduro, the addition of the Gettysburg is one more asset the president can call on should he decide to attack.

Update: 2:43 PM Eastern –

The Navy provided us with a comment about what the Gettysburg will bring to the table.

“As a Ticonderoga class cruiser, the USS Gettysburg (CG 70) brings a versatile suite of capabilities to support naval operations. These cruisers are designed as multi-mission surface combatants, capable of contributing significantly to Air Warfare (AW), Undersea Warfare (USW), Naval Surface Fire Support (NSFS), and Surface Warfare (SUW) efforts.

The Gettysburg can effectively support carrier strike groups, amphibious forces, or operate independently as a flagship of surface action groups. Equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles, the vessel provides long-range strike warfare options. Furthermore, some Aegis cruisers, including the Gettysburg, have been upgraded with Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) capabilities. Advances in Standard Missile technology, coupled with the Aegis combat system, enhance the anti-air warfare capabilities of Ticonderoga class cruisers, providing precision accuracy across a wide range of altitudes. During its deployment to the Caribbean, the USS Gettysburg could leverage these capabilities in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland.”

Update 3:55 PM Eastern –

The military on the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago, located less than 10 miles from the Venezuelan coast, has boosted its readiness status, a local newspaper reported.

“The Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force (TTDF) has been placed on high alert, with all soldiers and Coast Guard officers ordered to report to their respective bases by this evening,” The Express newspaper reported. “A memo circulated to members yesterday stated that the TTDF has been moved to State One Alert Level—the highest level of operational readiness.”

The War Zone cannot independently confirm that claim.

Tensions between the two nations have soared over Trinidad and Tobago’s support for the U.S. That includes a recent visit by the Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Gravely. A U.S. Navy official confirmed to us that the Gravely left that nation yesterday after a port call for joint military training.

It also appears that the MV Ocean Trader – a roll-on/roll-off cargo ship modified to carry special operators and their gear – has left Puerto Rico for an unknown destination. Navy officials and U.S. Special Operations Command have declined to comment on this vessel. The ship, which TWZ first reported on back in 2016, has been something of a ghost since entering service, popping up in hot spots around the globe.

The Ocean Trader has been spotted several times in various parts of the Caribbean in the past few weeks.

MV Ocean Trader, chartered by the Military Sealift Command for the U.S. Special Operations Command that supports Special Operations Forces as a mothership leaving Ponce, Puerto Rico – October 31, 2025 SRC: TW-@MichaelBonet8 pic.twitter.com/80HocPjWZL

— WarshipCam (@WarshipCam) October 31, 2025

Update: 4:14 PM Eastern –

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined the chorus of those pushing back on the Miami Herald‘s claim that a strike on Venezuela was imminent.

Contact the author: [email protected]

WASHINGTON — The White House pressed U.S. Navy officials to launch 2,000-pound live bombs instead of dummy explosives during an elaborate military demonstration for the service’s 250th anniversary celebration that President Trump attended, two people familiar with planning for the event told the Associated Press.

One person familiar with the planning said White House officials insisted to Navy planners that Trump “needed to see explosions” instead of just a “big splash” during the Oct. 5 demonstration.

Original planning for what the Navy dubbed the Titans of the Sea Presidential Review called for military personnel to use dummies and not live bombs, a third person familiar with the Navy’s planning said.

That person, who like the others was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, would not comment on why the Navy decided to switch to live bombs.

The White House said no switch was made. Deputy press secretary Anna Kelly in a statement said: “Organizers always planned to use live munitions, as is typical in training exercises.”

The episode is the latest example of the Trump administration turning the military toward the president’s wishes in ways large and small — from summoning generals from around the world to Washington for a day of speeches to his lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.

The Navy and other military branches typically use dummy, or inert, bombs for training and demonstrations. Dummies are cheaper than live bombs because they do not contain expensive explosives, fuses and other components. They’re also safer.

However, military officials often argue that the use of live ammunition for events like the 250th birthday celebration also fulfills a training purpose and that the ordnance would have been expended anyway at a later date. The Navy declined to comment.

The switch required Navy officials to change up detailed plans for the Norfolk military demonstration to ensure safety protocols were met, according to the three people familiar with the planning.

The White House pushed forward with the event despite a U.S. government shutdown, which has led nonessential federal workers to be sent home without pay and reduced operation of many non-critical government services.

A celebration for the Marines also used live artillery

Confirmation that the Navy decided to use live bombs instead of dummies at the Naval Base Norfolk event comes as the administration faces scrutiny over an Oct. 18 live fire demonstration at Camp Pendleton, in which a misfire of a live artillery round led to shrapnel spraying onto Interstate 5 in Southern California.

No one was injured when shrapnel struck two California Highway Patrol vehicles. That Camp Pendleton event marking the Marines 250th anniversary was attended by Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Last week, 27 members of the California congressional delegation and the state’s two senators sent a letter to Hegseth asking whose decision it was to shoot live artillery over the busy freeway and how authorities planned for the safety risks.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who says he’ll weigh a 2028 White House run after the midterm elections next year, criticized the decision and closed a section of the roadway connecting San Diego to Los Angeles for hours during the Oct. 18 Marine showcase. The White House criticized him for closing the highway and said the Marines said there were no safety concerns.

Trump is a fan of military pomp

Trump hasn’t been shy about his fondness for pomp and pageantry that celebrates military might.

In his second term, he has pushed the U.S. services to hold big parades and demonstrations, an idea inspired by a Bastille Day parade he attended in France early in his first term. He was a guest of honor at the 2017 event, which commemorated the 100th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War I.

The Army included tanks in a June parade in the nation’s capital, requested by Trump, to mark its 250 years despite concerns from city officials that the heavy vehicles would damage the city’s streets. And he appeared to relish the massive military welcome he received last month during his second state visit to the United Kingdom.

At the Navy celebration this month in Norfolk, the president and first lady Melania Trump watched the military demonstration from the deck of an aircraft carrier before Trump delivered a speech in which he criticized his political opponents and attacked Democratic lawmakers.

At sea, the Navy had seven Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers fire a variety of their guns, including a large 5-inch gun. Four destroyers also launched the Navy’s Standard Missile 2 (SM-2). Each missile costs approximately $2 million.

Meanwhile, aircraft from USS Truman’s air wing fired missiles and general-purpose bombs and performed a strafing run with their gatling guns. The Navy’s MH-60S Seahawk helicopters also fired hydra rockets and guns.

Trump then spoke on a pier between two towering Navy vessels, an aircraft carrier and an amphibious assault ship. The carrier displayed a Navy fighter jet that had the words “President Donald J. Trump ‘45-47’” printed on the fuselage, right under the cockpit window.

A Navy spokesperson told the AP shortly after the event that sailors put the president’s name on the aircraft for the visit and this was “customary for visits of this type.”

In addition to the live bomb demonstration, Navy destroyers launched missiles and fired shells into the Atlantic Ocean, and Navy SEALs descended from helicopters and fighter jets catapulted off vessels.

The shift to live bombs also required further spreading out of the guided missile destroyers in the waters off Norfolk for the military demonstration.

Madhani, Toropin and Mascaro write for the Associated Press.

A contract the U.S. Navy recently awarded to defense startup Castelion may point to its pursuit of a new, lower-cost, air-launched hypersonic strike weapon. The service has something of a gap to fill now after halting plans for an air-launched, air-breathing hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile roughly a year ago, due to cost and industrial base factors. A version of Castelion’s Blackbeard hypersonic missile could also find its way onto Navy ships and submarines, as well as ground-based launchers.

Last Friday, Castelion announced that it had received contracts from the Navy, as well as the U.S. Army, for “integration” of Blackbeard onto unspecified “operational platforms.” TWZ has reached out to the Navy for more information. The Army has already made clear it is interested in employing Blackbeard in a ground-launched mode, as you can read more about here.

“Under these agreements, Castelion will work with both services to integrate the hypersonic Blackbeard weapon system onto operational platforms and demonstrate its capabilities in live-fire tests – advancing the Department of War’s effort to evaluate and accelerate new, cost-effective strike capabilities for conventional deterrence,” according to a company press release. “Blackbeard is Castelion’s first long-range, hypersonic strike weapon, designed for mass production and rapid fielding once integration and testing are complete. The system leverages vertically integrated propulsion and guidance subsystems to achieve performance at a fraction of the cost of legacy weapons – supporting the Department’s objective of building credible, non-nuclear deterrent capacity at scale.”

Many questions remain about the expected final design and capabilities of the Blackbeard missile, including whether or not it will feature some form of air-breathing propulsion. The full “weapon system” could also incorporate multiple designs. Castelion has already conducted numerous live-fire launches using different test articles.

The designs seen in testing to date “are representative of the low-cost internally developed test vehicles we use to enable rapid subsystem design iteration and to ground our performance models in real-world test data,” Castelion told TWZ back in June. “Castelion’s approach to development focuses on getting into hardware-in-the-loop and flight testing early in development to support learning cycles across design, production, and test. As such, flight vehicles shown on social media are not representative nor intended to be representative of our final weapon systems.”

As TWZ has noted in the past, the term “hypersonic missile” typically refers to weapons designed for sustained hypersonic speed across a relatively shallow and even maneuvering trajectory. This can include designs that use a ballistic missile-like booster to loft an unpowered glide vehicle to a desired velocity and altitude before releasing it toward its target, as well as air-breathing cruise missiles capable of traveling at hypersonic speeds. Hypersonic speed is generally defined as anything above Mach 5, which larger ballistic missiles do reach in the course of their flights.

The testing that Castelion has disclosed so far has also been centered on the employment of Blackbeard in the ground-launched mode, which is fully in line with what is known about the Army’s plans for the weapon. The Navy could have a similar eye toward surface (or sub-surface) launch modes from ships, submarines, or even launchers on the ground.

At the same time, there are indications that the Navy is pursuing Blackbeard, at least in part, as an air-launched weapon. In February 2024, Castelion received a contract from the Office of Naval Research (ONR), valued at just under $3 million, to “perform an initial trade study to identify cost, schedule, and performance estimates of producing an air-launched anti-surface weapon and shipping system not to exceed 212″ in length with an on-aircraft weight limit of 2,750 lbs. and an air-to-air weapon with not-to-exceed dimensions of 7″ diameter x 144″ long with production quantity of >200 no later than 2027 for both weapons.”

Whether or not the air-to-air weapon design mentioned here is part of the larger work Castelion is doing on Blackbeard, or a separate project, is unknown. The company has previously said that it was aiming to have a more finalized Blackbeard design by 2027.

This is not the first time that work on an air-launched variation of Blackbeard has come up, either. In its 2026 Fiscal Year budget request, the Army said that the ground-launched version of the weapon that it expects to receive will leverage an “existing air-launched, extended-range Blackbeard design,” but did not elaborate. TWZ has reached out to the Army for more information in the past.

As noted, the Navy has had a stated requirement for an air-launched hypersonic anti-surface warfare capability for years now. Starting in 2021, the service had been pursuing an air-breathing hypersonic cruise missile to meet that need through a program called Hypersonic Air-Launched Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare (HALO). Raytheon and Lockheed Martin had been working on competing designs.

The Navy had hoped to begin fielding HALO before the end of the decade. However, in late 2024, the service scrapped plans to move the program to the next phase of development.

“The Navy cancelled the solicitation for the Hypersonic Air-Launched Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare (HALO) Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) effort in fall 2024 due to budgetary constraints that prevent fielding new capability within the planned delivery schedule,” Navy Capt. Ron Flanders, a service spokesperson, told TWZ in April of this year. “The decision was made after the Navy conducted a careful analysis, looking at cost trends and program performance across the munitions industrial base compared to the Navy’s priorities and existing fiscal commitments.”

“We are working closely with our resource sponsors to revalidate the requirements, with an emphasis on affordability,” Flanders added at that time. “The Navy is committed to its investment in Long Range Fires to meet National Defense objectives, with priority emphasis on fielding continued capability improvements to the AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM).”

Castelion’s focus on lower-cost and producibility for Blackbeard, coupled with the schedule it is targeting for development of the missile, all align with the Navy’s stated post-HALO plans. The service had previously described HALO as a critical capability, especially in the context of future high-end fighting, such as one in the Pacific against China.

The Navy could well be looking at multiple options to meet this ongoing requirement for a new, air-launched, high-speed, anti-ship weapon. The service is already fielding an air-launched version of the Standard Missile-6 (SM-6), called the AIM-174B, ostensibly in the anti-air role. However, in its surface-launched form, the SM-6 also has an anti-ship capability, and the AIM-174B could be used in that role, as well.

As mentioned, the Navy could still pursue other versions of Blackbeard beyond an air-launched type. Previously stated plans for HALO also included the eventual development of variants that could be fired from ships and submarines.

Other services could be interested in air-launched variations of Blackbeard, as well. The U.S. Air Force has also awarded Castelion contracts in the past in relation to long-range strike weapon concepts, and TWZ has previously reached out to that service for more information.

All of this is also heavily contingent on Castelion meeting its schedule, cost, and other goals for Blackbeard. The Army’s budget documents show it is pursuing Blackbeard aggressively, but through a phased approach that offers multiple off-ramps.

Castelion has certainly received a new vote of confidence on Blackbeard, regardless of launch modes, with the new integration contracts from the Navy and the Army.

Contact the author: [email protected]

Several Navy warships assigned to the Caribbean counter-narcotics mission have moved to avoid Hurricane Melissa, a U.S. Navy official told us. Now a massive Category 5 hurricane, Melissa is expected to make landfall in Jamaica later today into tomorrow with likely devastating effects. Meanwhile, it appears that the U.S. Air Force is sending another flight of B-1B bombers toward the region amid an ongoing U.S. military buildup.

“Based on current weather information and forecast models, the Navy is continuing to make determinations regarding Hurricane Melissa,” the official told us. “The safety of our personnel and their families is our top priority.” The storm is on a northeasterly track heading away from the Caribbean.

Despite the ship movements, the hurricane is “not expected to impact operations in the Caribbean,” the Navy official told us, adding that many of the eight surface vessels assigned to the effort were already operating out of the storm’s path.

The U.S. naval presence in the region includes the Iwo Jima Amphibious Readiness Group (ARG)/22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), with more than 4,500 sailors and Marines on three ships: The Wasp class amphibious assault ship, the USS Iwo Jima, and the San Antonio class amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio. Also deployed in the region are three Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyers;  USS Jason Dunham, USS Stockdale and USS Gravely, the Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser USS Lake Erie and the Freedom class littoral combat ship USS Wichita.

While the Navy official would not comment about the specific locations of most of the vessels, they did acknowledge that the Gravely is docked in Trinidad and Tobago on a previously scheduled deployment. The destroyer arrived in Port of Spain to conduct joint military training exercises with the Caribbean nation, Fox News noted. It is expected to remain until Thursday, according to government officials from the two countries.

The exercises involving the Gravely seek to “address shared threats like transnational crime and build resilience through training, humanitarian missions, and security efforts,” U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Jenifer Neidhart de Ortiz said in a statement.

The deployment of the Gravely to Port of Spain comes as the U.S. is ratcheting up the pressure on the South American nation’s dictator, Nicolas Maduro.

Venezuelan officials, meanwhile, decried the deployment of the Gravely so close to its shores. Port of Spain is located less than 25 miles from the Venezuelan coast.

The conduct of military exercises in the waters of a neighboring country is “dangerous” and a “serious threat” to the Caribbean region, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said, adding that it is a “hostile provocation” toward the South American nation.

Though the U.S. buildup is ostensibly aimed at curtailing drug trafficking out of Venezuela, the Trump administration has made no secret that it is pressuring Maduro, indicted in the U.S. on drug charges with a $50 million reward on his head.

As we reported last week, in addition to its assets already in the region, the U.S. Navy’s supercarrier USS Gerald R. Ford and at least a portion of the rest of its strike group have been ordered to Latin American waters. Strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats have now become routine, and the possibility that the campaign could extend to targets on land, particularly in Venezuela, continues to grow.

“In support of the President’s [Donald Trump] directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland, the Secretary of War [Pete Hegseth] has directed the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and embarked carrier air wing to the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) area of responsibility (AOR),” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement on Friday. “The enhanced U.S. force presence in the USSOUTHCOM AOR will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere. These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle TCOs.”

In addition to U.S. Navy assets, the U.S. Air Force is also contributing to the counter-narcotics effort.

For the second time in less than a week, it appears that B-1 bombers are headed to the Caribbean. Online flight trackers report that two Lancers took off from Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. Shortly after 1:45 p.m., the Lancers were located south of Puerto Rico on a path toward Venezuela. 

HOGAN 11 flt (B-1B Bombers) wkg WASHINGTON CENTER on VHF joining up with GRIN 11 flt (KC-135) southbound toward the Caribbean and joining up with BROMO 21 (KC-46 & KC-135) out of MacDill AFB.

Audio via @liveatc and tracking via @ADSBex pic.twitter.com/N4rTIBI2oC

— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) October 27, 2025

We reached out to U.S. Global Strike Command for more information and they referred us to the Pentagon.

Regardless, as TWZ noted following B-52 sorties over the region two weeks ago, there is a well-established precedent for employing Air Force bombers in counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean. The range and targeting capabilities that the B-52 and the B-1 possess can be and have been employed to help spot and track suspected drug smuggling vessels. However, nothing we have seen so far indicates that these bombers are taking part in drug interdiction efforts and are more likely being sent toward Venezuela in a political message to Maduro.

Amid these military movements, a key supporter of Trump suggested that Maduro should flee the country.

“If I was Maduro, I’d head to Russia or China right now,” U.S. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida) told the CBS News program 60 Minutes on Sunday. “His days are numbered. Something’s gonna happen. Whether it’s internal or external, I think something’s gonna happen.”

It remains publicly unclear at the moment what, if any action, the U.S. will take against Maduro. The Ford and elements of its carrier strike group is not expected to arrive in the Caribbean for about two weeks. Regardless of the timing of the Ford‘s arrival, it does not appear that Hurricane Melissa, despite its ferocity, will be a factor in the Pentagon’s plans.

Contact the author: [email protected]

Oct. 26 (UPI) — Two U.S. Navy aircraft went down in the South China Sea in two incidents separated by half an hour on Sunday, according to U.S. Pacific Fleet, which said all service members were rescued.

In a statement, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said a U.S. Navy MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter crashed while conducting routine operations at about 2:45 p.m. local time.

It had deployed from aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and was assigned to “Battle Cats” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73.

All three crew members were rescued.

The second incident involved a F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet assigned to the “Fighting Redcocks” of Strike Fighter Squadron 22.

According to the Navy, it went down at 3:15 p.m. while also conducting routine operations.

“Both crew members successfully ejected and were also safely recovered by search-and-rescue assets assigned to Carrier Strike Group 11,” it said.

“All personnel involved are safe and in stable condition.”

The incidents are under investigation.

Commissioned in 1975, the USS Nimitz is on its final deployment, which began late March, USNI News reported. It had operated in the Middle East this summer as part of U.S. military plans to thwart Houthi attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea and had entered the South China Sea on Oct. 17.

Narcotics worth more than $972m seized in two separate operations carried out within 48 hours.

The Pakistani navy, operating as part of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), has seized nearly $1bn worth of narcotics from two vessels sailing through the Arabian Sea.

The CMF, the naval network overseeing the operation, said in a statement on Wednesday that last week, the Pakistani navy intercepted the dhows in two separate operations over 48 hours and seized narcotics worth more than $972m.

The crew boarded the first dhow and seized more than 2 tonnes of “crystal methamphetamine (ICE) with an estimated street value of $822,400,000” on October 18, the CMF said in a statement.

“Less than 48 hours later, the crew boarded a second dhow and seized 350 kg of ICE worth $140,000,000, and 50 kg of cocaine worth $10,000,000.”

The CMF did not provide further details on where the vessels originated, but added that they were identified “as having no nationality”.

U.S. Central Command congratulates the Saudi-led Combined Task Force 150 of Combined Maritime Forces for successfully seizing more than $972 million worth of narcotics. Over a 48-hour period, Pakistan Navy Ship Yarmook conducted boarding operations of two dhows in the Arabian…

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) October 21, 2025

The operations were conducted in direct support of a Saudi-led Combined Task Force 150, which said “the success of this focused operation highlights the importance of the multi-national collaboration”.

It was “one of the most successful narcotics seizures for CMF”, said Saudi Arabian navy’s Commodore Fahad Aljoiad, commander of the CMF task force carrying out the operation.

The CMF is a 47-nation naval partnership tasked with inspecting more than 3.2 million square miles (about 829 million hectares) of waters, including some of the world’s most important shipping lanes, to prevent smuggling, the statement added.

In a separate statement, the Pakistani navy said the achievement highlighted its “unwavering commitment to regional maritime security, global peace, and the collective fight against illicit trafficking at sea”.

Lockheed Martin has received a new full-rate production contract, valued at $233 million, for Block II IRST21 infrared search and track sensors to go into pods for U.S. Navy and U.S. Air National Guard fighters. For the Navy, in particular, this is a notable move forward given the reliability and quality control issues the service has faced with its podded configuration of the IRST21 for years now.

The Navy officially declared initial operational capability (IOC) with its version of the IRST21, also known by the designation AN/ASG-34A(V)1, back in November 2024. Limited operational evaluations, including as part combat operations in the Middle East, had been ongoing since at least 2020.

The Navy’s pod, developed for use on the service’s the F/A-18E/F Super Hornets consists of a modified FPU-13/A drop tank with the IRST sensor in a redesigned front section, as you can learn about more in this past TWZ feature. Air Force F-15C/D Eagles, which are now in the process of being retired, and F-16C/D Vipers, have been flying for years with IRST21s integrated into modular, multi-purpose Legion Pods from Lockheed Martin. Legion Pods with IRST21s are part of the sensor suite for the Air Force’s new F-15EX Eagle IIs, as well. Though they have the same IRST sensor at their core, which allows for shared contracts like the one announced today, the Navy and Air Force efforts are distinct, with major differences in the respective pod designs.

The Navy’s pod, developed for use on the service’s the F/A-18E/F Super Hornets consists of a modified FPU-13/A drop tank with the IRST sensor in a redesigned front section, as you can learn about more in this past TWZ feature. Air Force F-15C/D Eagles, which are now in the process of being retired, and F-16C/D Vipers, have been flying for years with IRST21s integrated into modular, multi-purpose Legion Pods from Lockheed Martin. Legion Pods with IRST21s are part of the sensor suite for the Air Force’s new F-15EX Eagle IIs, as well.

As designed, the ASG-34A(V)1 has long been set to offer a valuable new way for Navy Super Hornets to spot and track airborne threats. IRST systems offer particular advantages when it comes to detecting stealthy crewed and uncrewed aircraft, as well as missiles, designed to evade traditional radars. IRSTs also scan passively, so they do not send out signals that can alert an opponent to the fact that they are being tracked, and are also immune to expanding adversary electronic warfare capabilities. The information from IRSTs can also be fuzed with that from radars, datalinks, and other passive sensors to provide major synergistic capabilities.

When carried by a Super Hornet, “the IRST acts as a complementary sensor to the aircraft’s AN/APG-79 fire control radar in a heavy electronic attack or radar-denied environment,” according to the Pentagon’s Office of the Director of Test and Evaluation. “It operates autonomously, or in combination with other sensors, to support the guidance of beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles.”

IRST systems, in general, have experienced a renaissance within the U.S. military amid a steadily growing ecosystem of stealthy aerial threats, especially emanating from China. IRST technologies are also evolving, including with the emergence of systems that can be distributed around an aircraft using smaller individual sensors, which are also sometimes less complex and costly.

The Navy’s particular efforts to field this capability for its Super Hornets, which trace all the way back to 2007, have faced hurdles. The service only formally initiated work on the improved Block II IRST21 in 2018, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a Congressional Watchdog. A Block II prototype pod first flew on a Super Hornet the following year.

Quality control and reliability issues continued to dog the program afterward, as you can read more about here. Following the IOC declaration, a full-rate production decision was expected to come in January 2025, but was delayed.

“The program reported that it would not reach a full-rate production decision by its baseline schedule threshold in January 2025 due to delays incurred during flight testing,” according to a GAO report published in June 2025. “IRST officials told us that operational tests were delayed by 2 months due to software defects that caused IRST pods to falsely report overheating.”

“Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) officials told us that the defect was relatively easy to fix and would likely have been addressed during developmental testing had the program allocated more time for that testing,” the GAO report added. “The program now expects a full-rate decision in June 2025. This is the second time the program breached its baseline schedule in the past 3 years.”

GAO’s June 2025 report also said that DOT&E remained of the view that “the pods were extremely unreliable.”

“These officials said that the program improved pod reliability as it made software updates but only managed to achieve 14 hours mean time between operational mission failures – short of the 40 hours required,” the report said. “As such, DOT&E officials said that deploying the IRST pods without improving their reliability would transfer risk to the Navy’s fleet. Program officials noted that IRST initial capability was achieved without any noted limitations.”

“IRST Block II operational flight test events demonstrated tactically relevant detection ranges against operationally relevant targets and the ability to translate these long-range target detections into stable system tracks to facilitate weapons employment,” DO&TE had said in its own most recent annual report, covering work done during the 2024 Fiscal Year. “The Navy must continue to improve the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet’s operating software and address existing deficiencies to effectively integrate IRST into aircraft fire control solutions.”

“IRST Block II demonstrated significant reliability problems during operational testing. Throughout the test period, IRST Block II suffered from hardware and software deficiencies, which required the aircrew to restart the pod multiple times,” that report added. “Troubleshooting and repair often exceeded the abilities of Navy maintenance crews and required assistance from Lockheed Martin. Many of these problems were discovered during integrated and operational test after the Navy completed a minimal developmental test program with the representative hardware.”

It is curious to note that there has been no commensurate reporting of reliability or other issues with the IRST21/Legion Pod combination that has been seen flying on Air National Guard F-15s and F-16s for years now. At the same time, whether or not the Air Force has experienced any troubles with those IRST pods is not entirely clear.

To what degree remaining issues on the Navy side have been addressed and/or mitigated is also unclear, and TWZ has reached out the service, as well as Lockheed Martin, for more information.

The decision now to move ahead with full-rate production of the IRST21 is certainly a new vote confidence, especially when it comes to the Navy program.

Contact the author: [email protected]

Oct. 13 (UPI) — On this date in history:

In 1775, the Continental Congress ordered construction of America’s first naval fleet.

In 1792, the cornerstone to the White House in Washington was laid. It would be November 1800 before the first presidential family — that of John Adams — moved in.

In 1903, the Boston Americans (later known as the Red Sox) beat the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the first modern World Series, five games to three.

In 1917, up to 100,000 people gathered in Fatima, Portugal, for the “Miracle of the Sun” and its strange solar activity and, for many, a reported glimpse of the Virgin Mary.

In 1943, conquered by the Allies, Italy declared war on Germany, its Axis former partner.

In 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 carrying 45 people, including a rugby team from Montevideo, crashed in the Andes mountains. It would take 72 days for rescuers to learn the fate of the survivors, and by that time, only 16 were left to tell their story. The survivor’s harrowing story was brought to the big screen in the 1993 feature film, Alive.

In 1972, more than 170 people were killed in a Soviet airliner crash near Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport.

In 1987, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize — the first winner from Central America. Arias was recognized for his work promoting democracy and peace in Central America.

File Photo by Gary C. Caskey/UPI

In 1990, Syrian forces moved into Lebanon, removing Christian militia leader General Michel Aoun from power, effectively ending the Lebanese Civil War.

In 1994, two months after the Irish Republican Army announced a cease-fire, the Ulster Volunteer Force and Ulster Freedom Fighters, the two main paramilitary groups fighting to keep Northern Ireland with its Protestant majority in the United Kingdom, announced a cease-fire.

In 2000, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to South Korean President Kim Dae-jung for his efforts to reconcile his country with North Korea through a summit earlier in the year with counterpart Kim Jong Il.

In 2010, after more than two months entombed half a mile under the Chilean desert, the first of 33 trapped miners was pulled to safety in a narrow passageway drilled through more than 2,000 feet of rock, to be followed in the next 24 hours by the rest of the crew in a dramatic finale to a remarkable rescue mission.

In 2013, a stampede by masses of worshipers crossing a bridge over the Sindh River at a Hindu festival in India’s Madhya Pradesh state killed more than 100 people and injured scores of others. A police official said people panicked as rumors spread that the bridge was collapsing.

In 2019, American Simone Biles became the most decorated gymnast in history with her record 25th gold medal at the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.

In 2021, Star Trek actor William Shatner, at 90, became the oldest person to go to space. He traveled with three others aboard a Blue Origin capsule and returned 11 minutes after reaching space.

In 2024, SpaceX used a tower with arms to “catch” the 20-story-tall booster for its Starship rocket for the first time.

File Photo courtesy of SpaceX

Oct. 9 (UPI) — The U.S. Navy has fired the commanding officer of the USS Wyoming Blue Crew, the service has announced.

Cmdr. Robert Moreno was relieved of his duties after staff lost confidence in his ability to command.

“Navy commanding officers are held to high standards of personal and professional conduct,” a Navy release said. “They are expected to uphold the highest standards of responsibility, reliability. And leadership and the Navy holds them accountable when they fall short of those standards.”

There were no details in the release about a reason for the dismissal, but the military often uses “loss of confidence” as a general statement when dismissing senior leaders.

Capt. David Burke, Submarine Squadron 20 deputy for training, was temporarily assigned responsibility of the USS Wyoming Blue Crew, the release said.

Moreno was temporarily assigned to Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, and took command of that ship in 2024. He became a commissioned officer in 2005, and was an enlisted sailor before that, his Naval biography said.

From 2001 to 2003, he was the commander of the Joint Force Marine Component.

The U.S. Department of Defense may finally be ready to choose which company will develop and build the U.S. Navy’s F/A-XX next-generation carrier-based fighter. A report from Reuters today states that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth personally gave the green light for the selection last Friday. However, this is not the first time that there have been reports that this decision was imminent, as you can read about here, but these came to nothing.

The Reuters report publishes details provided by “a U.S. official and two people familiar with the decision.” Similar comments provided to Breaking Defense were attributed to “two sources.” The upshot is that the Pentagon could choose its preferred F/A-XX design this week. The program has long been even more secretive than the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance jet, which emerged earlier this year as the Boeing F-47. What is clear, however, is that the F/A-XX decision is now months later than planned.

Also interesting is the timing of this apparent move, coming so soon after President Donald Trump’s visit to the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush over the weekend. He went aboard the carrier as the Navy celebrated its 250th anniversary and witnessed a firepower demonstration. While aboard the warship, Trump also met with senior Navy officials and saw the hardware of the current carrier air wing at close quarters — including the F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and E/A-18 Growlers that the F/A-XX will eventually replace.

At this point, the F/A-XX contest is understood to have narrowed to two companies.

Northrop Grumman is one of them. When it exited the USAF’s NGAD program around 2023, Northrop Grumman said it would focus on other priorities, including the F/A-XX, as well as the B-21 Raider stealth bomber. Earlier this summer, the company presented a conceptual rendering for its submission for F/A-XX.

The other F/A-XX contender is thought to be Boeing, the prime contractor for the F-47.

Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin was reportedly eliminated from the competition in March. It now seems they were about to get cut from the program prior to the choice to leave it on their own accord.

TWZ approached the Navy and the Office of the Secretary of Defense for comment on the apparent new development. Both declined to comment.

Notably, the Reuters story also includes the caveat, which it attributes to one or more of the sources, that “last-minute snags have delayed progress on the Navy jet in the past and could do so again.”

This points to the fact that, for many months now, the future of the F/A-XX program has been under scrutiny, with growing signs that it was at best in limbo. Boeing pushed back on that assertion back in June of this year.

Notably, like this report, it was Reuters that, in March of this year, published a story suggesting that the Navy was set to confirm the choice of F/A-XX that same week, something that never materialized.

In June, the Pentagon’s proposed budget for the 2026 Fiscal Year included enough funding to complete initial development work but didn’t include any further funds to actually start buying the aircraft. U.S. military officials said that this decision was made to avoid competition for resources with the Air Force’s F-47 and amid concerns about whether the U.S. industrial base would be able to handle work on both programs simultaneously.

At the same time, there have been questions, too, about whether Northrop Grumman would be able to support work on the F/A-XX while also grappling with the demands of the Air Force’s Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program, which is behind schedule and over-budget.

In July, however, the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a draft defense spending bill that would reverse the Pentagon’s plan to freeze the F/A-XX program, as you can read about here. Approved by the committee in July, that version of the 2026 Fiscal Year Defense Appropriations Bill included $1.4 billion for F/A-XX.

The figure of $1.4 billion had also appeared in a call for additional F/A-XX funding that the Navy had reportedly included in its annual Unfunded Priority List (UPL) sent to Congress earlier in July.

While there has apparently been something of a dispute between the Navy and Pentagon leadership over the direction the program should take, the Navy has long spoken about its centrality to its future carrier aviation plans.

“The Navy has a validated requirement for carrier-based sixth-generation aircraft, and it is critical that we field that capability as quickly as possible to give our warfighters the capabilities they need to win against a myriad of emerging threats,” Adm. Daryl Caudle, the nominee to become the next Chief of Naval Operations, wrote in response to a question about F/A-XX ahead of his confirmation hearing in July.

Caudle was also present at the Navy’s 250th birthday in Norfolk, Virginia, wearing a flight suit alongside President Trump.

Not lost on Navy officials is the rapid pace of development that China is currently making in terms of carrier aviation.

The latest evidence suggests that China’s Shenyang J-35, its next-generation carrier-based fighter, may have entered limited series production and could even be in service with the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).

In a standout development last month, the PLAN demonstrated a new ability to launch and recover aircraft from a catapult-equipped aircraft carrier, its first of this kind, the Fujian. As well as the J-35, the J-15T single-seat carrier-based fighter and the KJ-600 airborne early warning and control aircraft have undertaken carrier trials on the new flattop.

With China rapidly developing even more advanced combat aircraft designs, and especially 6th generation stealth fighter-like aircraft, some variants of which will likely migrate to the carrier environment eventually, the pressure is on for the U.S. Navy to not fall behind. Calls have been growing to now move on F/A-XX in light of these developments.

China also has an expanding repertoire of advanced drones, broadly equivalent to the U.S. military’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), some of which would be suitable for adaptation for carrier operations. This could mirror U.S. Navy plans, in which the F/A-XX should eventually be a central part of a new-look carrier air wing that could feature as much as two-thirds uncrewed aircraft.

Once again, if we’ve learnt anything from the secretive F/A-XX program, it’s that it doesn’t always take the course that might be expected. But the appearance of Trump and Hegseth very much in the spotlight as the Navy marked its 250th anniversary, and China continuing to develop its carrier aviation capabilities at an impressive rate, might indicate that a decision on who will make the Navy’s next carrier-based fighter is finally due.

Contact the author: [email protected]

NORFOLK, Va. — President Trump did not let the government shutdown interfere with a stop in Virginia on Sunday to salute the Navy as it celebrates its 250th anniversary.

“I believe, ‘THE SHOW MUST GO ON!’” Trump posted Friday night on his social media site. And he wrote before leaving the White House for Naval Station Norfolk, “This will be a show of Naval aptitude and strength.”

The government shutdown that began Wednesday has triggered partisan blame in both directions as military personnel are working without pay, several thousand federal employees are furloughed and Trump has put on hold energy projects in Democratic-run areas such as New York and Chicago.

There is the possibility that an event designed to honor the Navy could be dragged into the bitter politics.

Trump accused Democrats in his post of enabling the shutdown and trying “to destroy this wonderful celebration of the U.S. Navy’s Birthday.”

Senate Democrats rejected efforts to preserve a continuation of government operations when the new budget year started Wednesday. They cited the lapse in subsidies that could cause health insurance costs to climb rapidly for people who get coverage through the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Democratic lawmakers also have sought to reverse cuts to Medicaid that Trump signed into law.

On top of that, both sides cite a mutual sense of distrust.

Democrats oppose Trump’s move to have his administration decline to spend congressionally approved funds, saying it undermines the budgeting process, among other concerns. Meanwhile, Trump has threatened to lay off federal workers at what he called “Democrat Agencies.”

Among those joining Trump for the festivities were First Lady Melania Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Navy Secretary John Phelan, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins and U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), a former Navy rear admiral who was a White House doctor during Trump’s first term.

After his arrival in Norfolk, Trump went to the USS George H.W. Bush and spoke to the sailors and handed out challenge coins.

The Trumps watched a military demonstration while standing on the deck of the aircraft carrier. Navy destroyers launched missiles and fired shells into the Atlantic, Navy SEALs descended from helicopters and fighter jets catapulted off.

Awaiting Trump’s speech was a large crowd on a pier, mostly sailors in their dress white uniforms and some families.

Trump on Tuesday addressed a gathering of military leaders abruptly summoned by Hegseth from across the globe to Virginia. The Republican president proposed using U.S. cities as training grounds for the armed forces and spoke of needing military might to combat what he called the “invasion from within.” Hegseth declared an end to “woke” culture and announced new directives for troops that include “gender-neutral” or “male-level” standards for physical fitness.

The administration is seeking to reshape Pentagon culture and use military resources for the president’s priorities, including quelling domestic unrest and fighting what he calls a surge in violent crime, despite statistics to the contrary.

Trump has also engaged the U.S. military in an armed conflict he says is targeting foreign drug cartels, leading to four deadly strikes on boats in the Caribbean that Washington says were involved in trafficking. Critics have called the attacks extrajudicial killings in violation of international law.

Boak and Finley write for the Associated Press and reported from Washington and Norfolk, respectively.

Oct. 4 (UPI) — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Friday fired U.S. Navy Chief of Staff Jon Harrison after the Senate earlier in the week confirmed Hung Cao as the Navy’s undersecretary.

Harrison had no military experience prior to being nominated and confirmed as the Navy’s chief of staff and oversaw the War Department’s realignment of the U.S. Navy’s budgeting and policy wings, in addition to minimizing the influence of the Navy undersecretary, Politico reported.

“Jon Harrison will no longer serve as chief of staff to the Secretary of the Navy,” the Department of Defense told the New York Post in a statement. “We are grateful for his service to the department.”

Harrison worked with Navy Sec. John Phelan while implementing the administrative and leadership changes, which included changing those who were to assist Cao as the Navy’s new undersecretary.

The pair also sought to influence the hiring of Cao’s military aides to ensure the Naval secretary’s office made all final decisions, Politico reported.

Like Harrison, Phelan had no military experience prior to becoming the Navy secretary.

Harrison’s departure also occurred after Hegseth in May told the U.S. military to remove a fifth of its four-star generals and admirals.

Hegseth also had fired several high-ranking generals, two of whom were the only women to hold four-star rankings in the U.S. military, according to The Guardian.

Hegseth on Tuesday addressed a gathering of the military’s top-ranking generals and admirals in Quantico, Va.

During the meeting, he criticized the military’s adoption of what he called “woke” policies and aired his opposition to its former diversity and inclusion policies.

Oct. 1 (UPI) — A civilian working at a U.S. Navy base in New Jersey is accused of falsely reporting an active shooter to create a “trauma bond” with her co-workers.

Federal court documents indicate Malika Brittingham is accused of sending a text to someone in which she claimed to have heard five or six gunshots and was hiding in a closet with some coworkers at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey on Tuesday morning, WPVI-TV reported.

“This kind of senseless fear-mongering and disruption will not be tolerated,” interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba said in a social media post on Tuesday, as reported by Military.com.

“After everything this country has gone through, especially in light of current events,” she continued, “I will be sure to bring down the hammer of the law for anyone found guilty of creating unnecessary panic and undermining public trust.”

The landlocked naval base is located about 40 miles northeast of Philadelphia in New Jersey’s Burlington and Ocean counties.

The individual who received the text at about 10:15 a.m. EDT reported it to the naval base and 911.

The base initiated an hour-long lockdown at about 11 a.m. until the “all clear” was sounded shortly before noon.

Brittingham said she sent the text after receiving an emergency notification that announced the lockdown.

Investigators determined her statement was not true based on the timing of the text that she sent versus those of the calls to the base and 911 and the emergency notification being issued, ABC News reported.

Brittingham then admitted to the hoax and told investigators that “she carried out the hoax because she had been ostracized by her co-workers and hoped that her shared experience in response to an active shooter would allow them to ‘trauma bond,'” according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey.

Brittingham worked for the Naval Air Warfare Center and was arrested on Tuesday afternoon.

Ukraine claimed it attacked a major electronic connector production facility with R-360 Neptune ground-launched cruise missiles early Monday morning. The Elektrodetal plant, located in eastern Bryansk Oblast, was attacked from well inside northern Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials, who are still working to determine the extent of the damage.

“We are adjusting the work of the Russian defense factories,” the Ukrainian Navy stated on Telegram. “At night, our ‘Neptune’ successfully struck the Russian Karachevsky ‘Electrodetal’ plant. Another link in the enemy’s supply chain is down.”

The Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff offered more details about the strike and the target.

The attack involved four Neptunes fired from a distance of roughly 240 kilometers (about 150 miles). That would put the launch site about 25 miles across the border in Ukraine.

The Karachev Electrodetal Plant “manufactures various electrical connectors for military and general industrial applications, including low-frequency, high-frequency, and combined connectors,” the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff explained. “The products are used in aerospace, electronics, instrument engineering, and other industries. These include connectors for printed circuit boards, military equipment, aircraft, antennas, base stations, and other systems, as well as components for various measuring instruments.”

“Explosions and a fire have been recorded on the premises of the facility,” the general staff added.

The plant produces “most of the inter-block connections of Russian cruise and ballistic missile wings,” the Ukrainian Colonel General Staff Telegram channel reported on Monday. In addition, its products are also used in the production of first-person view (FPV) drones such as the Chimera, the Ukrainian Militarnyi news outlet reported.

Ukraine’s forces famously used Neptunes to sink the Russian Navy’s Project 1164 Slava class cruiser Moskva in 2022 and reportedly began employing a new land-attack version in 2023. The R-360 is derived from the Soviet-era Kh-35 and is very similar externally to that missile, which remains in service in Russia and elsewhere today. You can read more about what is known about this variant of the missile here.

Earlier this year, Ukraine showed off another variant, called the Long Neptune. In the past, the maximum stated range of the anti-ship version of Neptune has been said to be around 190 miles (300 kilometers). A Ukrainian defense official told TWZ that the original land-attack version could have a range of up to 225 miles (360 kilometers). With its extended body having capacity for additional fuel, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Long Neptunes can strike targets at a range of about 620 miles (1,000 kilometers). Zelensky said that the new version has already been tested in combat.

The attack on the Elektrodetal facility came shortly after Ukraine struck an energy plant inside Russia’s Belgorod region, reportedly launched by a U.S.-made Army High Mobility Rocket System (HIMARS).

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed off on Ukraine using American-made standoff weapons inside Russia on a case-by-case basis, Keith Kellogg, a White House special envoy to Ukraine, told Fox News on Saturday. He did not say what weapons Ukraine might use, but confirmed the Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missile (TLAM), which the Trump administration is considering sending to Ukraine, was not one of them. 

That the administration is now considering giving TLAMs to Ukraine highlights the ephemeral nature of Trump’s support for Kyiv, which may have to rely on U.S. weapons for years to come. As we recently noted, after saying long-range munitions were off the table and throttling the supply of weapons and intelligence to Ukraine, the American president has reversed course on both, as we noted in our recent story, which you can read here.

Meanwhile, as we have frequently reported, the U.S. wants to restock its own supply of a wide array of long-range missiles.

“The Pentagon, alarmed at the low weapons stockpiles the U.S. would have on hand for a potential future conflict with China, is urging its missile suppliers to double or even quadruple production rates on a breakneck schedule,” The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The brainchild of Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, this new effort is called the Munitions Acceleration Council. It is focusing “on 12 weapons that the Pentagon wants on hand for a potential conflict with China,” the publication reported, citing unnamed sources. “The list includes Patriot interceptors, Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles, the Standard Missile-6, Precision Strike Missiles and Joint Air-Surface Standoff Missiles. Patriot is a particular priority because Lockheed has struggled to keep pace with surging global demand.”

Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth “are exploring extraordinary avenues to expand our military might and accelerate the production of munitions,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told the Journal, when asked about the plan. “This effort has been a collaboration between defense industry leaders and senior Pentagon officials.”

However, some involved in the effort, both inside and outside of the government, “worry that the government’s targets aren’t realistic,” according to the newspaper. “Individual missiles can take two years to fully assemble. It can take several months and hundreds of millions of dollars to test and qualify weapons from new suppliers as safe and reliable enough for U.S. service members to use.”

The U.S. is already working to expand its ability to make missiles. It is opening up new plants, expanding work at existing ones and increasing the budget for buying new munitions. These existing efforts include jumpstarting production overseas for certain missiles, as well. How much more all this can be accelerated without using other means, like the Defense Production Act, isn’t clear, but what is clear is that the Pentagon knows this isn’t enough.

The war in Ukraine and fighting in the Middle East have shown the extreme importance of deep stockpiles of long-range strike missiles and air defense interceptors. As China shows increasing belligerence in the Pacific, the need to support Ukraine with weapons has no end in sight, and NATO’s relationship with Russia continues to spiral, as well as a massive spike in demand for these weapons around the globe, the race is on in the U.S. to ensure it can meet these challenges.

Contact the author: [email protected]

Italy and Spain intervene to ensure Gaza flotilla’s safety in the Mediterranean after drones drop ‘flashbang’ explosive devices.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said his country’s navy will join Italy in sending warships to protect the Global Sumud Flotilla, which has come under drone attack in international waters en route to deliver aid to Gaza.

Speaking to reporters in New York on Wednesday, where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Sanchez said international law must be respected and the citizens of 45 nations participating in the aid mission had every right to sail in the Mediterranean unharmed.

“The government of Spain demands that international law be complied with and that the right of its citizens to navigate the Mediterranean under safe conditions be respected,” he said.

“Tomorrow we will dispatch a naval vessel from Cartagena with all necessary resources in case it is necessary to assist the flotilla and carry out a rescue operation.”

On Wednesday night, activists described a wave of attacks by Israeli drones and other aircraft which targeted vessels in the small fleet in what flotilla organisers described as “an alarmingly dangerous escalation”.

Multiple boats were targeted by the low-flying drones, which dropped flashbang-type explosive devices and other “unidentified objects” on and near boats, passengers on board said. Deliberate radio jamming had also caused “widespread obstruction in communications” among the ships, they added.

As news of the drone attack emerged, the Italian navy said it would dispatch a frigate to assist in any rescue operations involving the flotilla after Defence Minister Guido Crosetto condemned the overnight attacks.

Two lawmakers from Italy’s left-wing opposition are participating in the flotilla, which is now reported to be made up of some 50 civilian boats that are loaded with aid supplies and are hoping to break Israel’s sea blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also weighed in, noting that “Italian citizens, along with members of parliament and MEPs”, are in the flotilla, which also includes human rights activists, lawyers, journalists, and Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.

“To ensure their safety, the foreign ministry had already notified Israeli authorities that any operation entrusted to Israeli forces must be conducted in compliance with international law and the principle of absolute caution,” the ministry said in a statement.

“Minister Tajani has asked the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv to gather information and to reiterate its previous request to the Israeli government to guarantee the absolute protection of the personnel on board,” it said.

In a statement, the Global Sumud Flotilla said the repeated attempts by Israel to use such tactics to intimidate flotilla participants would not work, and it issued a call to UN member states attending the UNGA to place the attacks on the agenda for talks.

Thunberg, who is making her second attempt to break Israel’s maritime siege of Gaza, told the Reuters news agency on Monday that drones stalk the flotilla every night.

“This mission is about Gaza, it isn’t about us. And no risks that we could take could even come close to the risks the Palestinians are facing every day,” she said in a video call on board a ship.

The F-35B stealth fighters that landed in Puerto Rico on Saturday joined a growing U.S. military presence at the former Naval Station Roosevelt Roads. Though the Navy disposed of this sprawling facility more than two decades ago, it is now a major staging area for the Trump administration’s battle against narco traffickers and pressure campaign against Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. These counter-drug activities have some asking whether Roosevelt Roads, once considered surplus by the U.S. Navy, should be permanently reopened as a military installation.

Before the F-35s arrived, cargo aircraft like the C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster III were seen at the facility, now known as José Aponte de la Torre Airport. There were also U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and USMC CH-53K King Stallion helicopters present. The Marine aircraft are part of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Readiness Group (ARG) and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, which began a training exercise on Puerto Rico on August 31.

In addition to the aircraft, images showed U.S. Air Force personnel restoring the airport communications control tower, while others loaded and unloaded cargo and prepared for future operations.

Analysis of Reuters photographs indicates extensive activity at the former Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, which officially closed in 2004.

The images show heavy transport traffic and rapid efforts to restore key infrastructure to operational status.

It… pic.twitter.com/hBd5jBFZU7

— GMI (@Global_Mil_Info) September 14, 2025

Though images emerging on social media showed MQ-9 Reaper drones at Rafael Hernández Airport on the other side of the island, open-source flight tracking data points to at least one possibly operating out of Roosevelt Roads. It is believed that a Reaper was used to destroy what Trump said was a cartel drug boat with 11 people and a load of narcotics.

All this activity is taking place as the U.S. is once again turning to Roosevelt Roads, which had provided support for America’s invasions of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Grenada and Panama in decades past. While there are other facilities on the island also taking part, Roosevelt Roads has become a nexus of activity for this effort.

The 8,650-acre facility, located in the easternmost point of Puerto Rico’s main island in the town of Cieba, was opened in 1943. Its centerpiece is an 11,000-foot runway capable of supporting the U.S. military’s inventory of aircraft.

Roosevelt Roads also has a deep-water port enabling the Navy’s surface and subsurface vessels to dock.

The concept of a military facility on the eastern part of Puerto Rico began in 1919, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt, then Assistant Navy Secretary, conducted a surveying trip to the area. The future president saw the location as a strategic asset in the Caribbean. But Roosevelt’s vision would not become a reality for another three decades.

The base was first built during World War II and named for Roosevelt, who came up with the concept. The initial plan was that it would become the keystone of U.S. defenses in the Caribbean, “with a well-protected anchorage, a major air station and an industrial establishment capable of supporting 60 percent of the Atlantic Fleet under wartime conditions,” according to GlobalSecurity.org. “There were even rumors that if the British Empire ever fell to Axis powers, Roosevelt Roads would become the new operating base for the British Fleet.”

However, with the U.S. military’s efforts focused on Europe and the Pacific, the Navy put expansion plans for the base on hold. In 1957, during the height of the Cold War, Roosevelt Roads was redesignated as a Naval Station. With the Soviet Union-aligned Cuba perceived as a growing threat, the facility’s footprint on the island began to grow. Its port facilities made the base a major support facility for the Sixth Fleet.

After two terrorist attacks on the island damaged equipment at another location, the Naval Communications Station Puerto Rico was relocated to a new, state-of-the-art communications facility at Naval Station Roosevelt Roads because it was considered far more secure.

The station “would eventually become one of the largest naval facilities in the world, encompassing more than 100 miles of paved interior roads,” according to the Navy. However, in the early 2000s, its future grew cloudy.

The facility’s main mission was serving as a coordinating facility and mission staging point for the U.S. Navy’s bombing range on the island municipality of Vieques, about 10 miles to the southeast. The bombardments were carried out for six decades and generated massive protests over civilian deaths and environmental destruction.

The base was also home to Fleet Composite Squadron Eight (VC-8), the Navy’s last operator of the A-4 Skyhawk. The unit began operations there in 1965 and became the last Navy squadron based at Roosevelt Roads. The unit provided training assistance through acting as aggressors and towing targets, among other roles, for units visiting the Caribbean outpost. The Navy’s maritime patrol operations were also a major presence at the base.

The Navy finally ended the bombing in 2003. With the Vieques bombing range closed, the Navy also decided it no longer needed Roosevelt Roads or its units there. It was proposed to be closed under the Base Realignment & Closure (BRAC) process used to dispose of unwanted U.S. military installations. By that time, just two years after 9/11, the U.S. had rapidly shifted its focus to the global war on terror.

Without Vieques, Roosevelt Roads was considered obsolete,” Federico de Jesus, a former director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, told us.

As part of the Navy’s turnover of Roosevelt Roads to Puerto Rico, it transferred thousands of housing units, schools, utilities and a world-class hospital that were on the facility. The closure was welcomed by many in Puerto Rico who were opposed to the militarization of the island. However, that move also raised concerns about the loss of a huge economic driver.

After the base was shuttered, various parts of it were turned over to different Puerto Rican government organizations. Given its location, there have been efforts over the years to develop parts of Roosevelt Roads; however, those plans remain in flux.

Despite the closure, the U.S. continued to use the installation for contingencies and relief efforts, like the November 2017 missions to provide much-needed aid in the wake of Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island.

The U.S. Navy began reusing Roosevelt Roads at a much larger scale on Aug. 31 to support training operations by the Iwo Jima Amphibious Readiness Group (ARG)/22nd MEU. Operations at the base have since expanded.

Despite the facility’s ability to support the Trump administration’s current efforts, the Navy has no plans to permanently use Roosevelt Roads, a U.S. defense official told The War Zone.

However, there is an effort in Puerto Rico to re-establish the facility as a working military installation. 

Two weeks ago, New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico Sens. Nitza Morán Trinidad and Carmelo Ríos Santiago “introduced Senate Resolution 286, which calls for an investigation into the current state of the former Roosevelt Roads naval base in Ceiba,” the San Juan Daily Star reported last week. “The measure aims to evaluate the feasibility and impact of potentially repurposing Roosevelt Roads for national security by the Army.”

“For decades, Roosevelt Roads represented an economic engine for the eastern region of the island,” Morán Trinidad said, according to the publication. “Today, we have a responsibility to seriously and strategically consider the possibility of its facilities once again playing a key role — not only in the defense of the Caribbean and the Americas but also in the economic revitalization of Ceiba and the surrounding municipalities.”

The future of that effort, however, remains unclear.

With the Trump administration giving no timeline for its Caribbean operation, it looks like Roosevelt Roads will continue to be a very active facility for the U.S. military in the short term. However, given the administration’s focus on Central and South America, it’s quite possible that larger plans for the installation could materialize. Regardless, at least for now, Roosevelt Roads has woken up from its long slumber.

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The U.S. Navy has taken an important step forward toward acquiring new carrier-based Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) type drones with contracts to Anduril, Boeing, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman. In general, the service has been taking more of a wait-and-see approach to CCAs, following behind the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Marine Corps, and focusing its uncrewed aviation energies first on getting the Boeing MQ-25 Stingray tanker drone into service.

Anduril, Boeing, General Atomics, and Northrop Grumman on now on contract with the Navy for “conceptual” CCA designs, according to a briefing slide from Naval Air Systems Command’s (NAVAIR) Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons (PEO U&W) that TWZ has obtained. The same slide, reproduced below, says the CCA contract that Lockheed Martin received from the Navy is for work on a common control architecture. Breaking Defense was first to report on this slide, which says it was approved for full public release on August 20 of this year. The Navy has further confirmed to TWZ that its contents are accurate, but provided no additional details.

The slide does includes the following bullet points outlining, in very basic terms, what the Navy wants from its future CCAs and why the service sees them as an important addition to its force structure:

• Uncrewed, Modular, Interoperable, Interchangeable, and Versatile Platforms
• Persistent, Lethal, and Agile Force Multipliers
• Carrier Operations Capable
• Cost Efficient and Mission Effective
• Maximizes Operational Flexibility
• Addresses both current and emerging operational gaps
• Accommodates Elevated Risk Profiles
• Crewed Platform Risk Reducer
• Enables 4^th and 5^th Gen and complements 6^th Gen [fighters]

These points are broadly in keeping with how the Air Force, in particular, has presented the value of CCAs as cost-effective force multipliers that will help reduce risk, as well as operational strain, on crewed platforms. In the past, the Navy has also talked about CCA-type drones that could be cheap enough to be “consumable,” and expended as one-way attack munitions or targets for training or test and evaluation activities.

No further details have yet emerged on the specific CCA designs that Anduril, Boeing, General Atomics, and Northrop Grumman are now working on for the Navy. Anduril and General Atomics have notably already been developing potentially relevant designs for the first phase, or Increment 1, of the Air Force’s CCA program. Just last week, it was announced that General Atomics YFQ-42A is now flying. Anduril had said its YFQ-44A will take to the skies soon.

“The US Navy has selected Anduril to develop designs for carrier-ready Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA),” Anduril said today in a statement. “We are focused on delivering an aircraft built specifically to the Navy’s distinct needs, at rapid speed and formidable scale.”

In response to further queries from TWZ, Anduril declined to confirm or deny whether its offering to the Navy would be based in any way on the YFQ-44A, also known as Fury, and drew additional attention to the second sentence of its statement.

“The Navy has been pretty vocal about integrating uncrewed jets of different types and closely following the Air Force’s CCA efforts,” C. Mark Brinkley, a spokesperson for General Atomics’ Aeronautical Systems, Inc. division (GA-ASI), also told TWZ today. “It’s a smart move that buys down significant risk and leverages the substantial work and investments already underway.”

“Last summer, we rolled out notional designs for our future class of carrier-capable CCAs, building on the YFQ-42A’s proven modular baseline and adapting it for shipboard operations. General Atomics developed the EMALS [Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System] system used on Ford class carriers and has extensive experience working with the U.S. Navy and international partners on carrier-based unmanned aircraft operations, so it’s not a stretch for us,” Brinkley added, speaking more generally. “GA-ASI has recorded numerous recent aviation milestones with our aircraft at sea. In 2023, our short takeoff and landing demonstrator known as Mojave launched from and landed aboard the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales. In 2024, Mojave took off from the South Korean amphibious assault ship Dokdo and flew to a naval base ashore.”

The “modular baseline” Brinkley mentions here refers to a concept that General Atomics has been pioneering, wherein very different types of drones can be crafted around a common ‘chassis’ that includes landing gear, as well as key mission and flight control computer systems. General Atomics’ experimental XQ-67A drone, originally produced for an Air Force program called the Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS), has been a major player in proving out this idea. The YFQ-42A CCA design is derived from the XQ-67A. General Atomics has also been developing an entire family of additional uncrewed aircraft, collectively called Gambit, based around the common chassis concept. The company unveiled a carrier-based Gambit 5 design last year, as you can read more about here.

When asked for more information, Boeing deferred to the Navy. However, the company has previously shown a rendering of a carrier-based variant or derivative of its MQ-28 Ghost Bat drone. Boeing’s Australia-based subsidiary originally developed the MQ-28 for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), but the company is now actively pitching it to other potential customers. The Air Force has utilized at least one Ghost Bat in support of advanced uncrewed aircraft and autonomy development efforts.

In April, Navy Capt. Ron Flanders, public affairs officer at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition (RDA) also told TWZ 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.”

TWZ has also reached out to Northrop Grumman. It is worth remembering here that Northrop Grumman was at the very center of laying the groundwork for a high-end stealthy carrier-based uncrewed combat air vehicle (UCAV) capability for the Navy before the service very pointedly abandoned those plans in the mid-2010s in favor of what became the MQ-25 tanker drone. The company produced two flying X-47B demonstrators that were extensively tested, including launches from and recoveries aboard real aircraft carriers, and in-flight refueling demonstrations. As of 2022, the X-47Bs had been earmarked for public display at museums.

Lockheed Martin’s contract makes sense given how deeply and publicly involved the company has already been in the development of drone control architecture for the Navy’s aircraft carriers, something TWZ has reported on in the past.

“We are under contract to the U.S. Navy supporting common control. Specifically, our Lockheed Martin Skunk Works MDCX autonomy platform is a program of record solution for the U.S. Navy’s MD-5 Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System (UMCS),” Lockheed Martin told TWZ today in a statement. “It provides uncrewed vehicle autonomy, mission planning, and command and control (C2) capability in an operationally proven multi-level secure package for the Navy’s Carrier Air Wing of the Future.”

“Last year, the U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin Skunk Works demonstrated the first live control of a GA [General Atomics] MQ-20 Avenger in flight by Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control Station (UMCS) and MDCX autonomy system, advancing technology necessary for future Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA),” the statement added. “The test flight marked a significant milestone in the development of UMCS, setting the stage for the Navy’s future unmanned aviation operations.”

As noted, given past statements from senior Navy leadership, the revelation that the service now has five companies under contract to do CCA-related work is somewhat unexpected. At the same time, it is logical for the service to begin with exploratory deals for conceptual designs. The Air Force also initially awarded contracts under its CCA program to Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Anduril, General Atomics, before picking the latter two to proceed in Increment 1. The Navy still very much lags behind the Air Force, as well as the Marine Corps, in pursuing CCAs, which is in line with its past messaging.

“The United States Navy is in a tri-service memorandum of agreement and understanding with our sister services, the U.S. Air Force, as well as the Marine Corps, and we are developing that capability together. Each of us are focused on a different aspect of that,” Navy Rear Adm. Michael “Buzz” Donnelly, then director of the Air Warfare Division (N98) within the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, said at the Navy League’s annual Sea Air Space symposium in April. “The Air Force is leading and very forward leaning in the development of the actual air vehicle and the autonomy that goes in those for execution of mission. Marine Corps is working closely to develop manned-unmanned teaming between platforms such as the F-35, the F-35B being the baseline for their aviation capability right now. And the United States Navy is working based on our pathway of unmanned into the fleet with MQ-25.”

“As we work together for the United States Navy, I will tell you that we are definitely in the follow of those three services,” Donnelly added at that time.

“The future of Collaborative Combat Aircraft, and that kind of thing, is TBD [to be decided], still to come. That work’s still to be done, and there’s a lot of folks in that space,” Navy Vice Adm. Daniel Cheever, commander of Naval Air Forces, and more commonly referred to as the service’s “Air Boss,” also told TWZ‘s Jamie Hunter on the sidelines of the Tailhook Association’s annual symposium last month.

Much more remains to be learned about the Navy’s current CCA vision and when it might expect to begin fielding any such capability operationally. There are still many questions that the Navy, as well as the Air Force and Marine Corps, need to answer about just how CCA-type drones will be deployed, launched, recovered, supported, and otherwise operated, not to mention employed tactically, as you can read more about here.

“I think, currently, we’re [the Navy] still figuring out exactly what the specific type of [CCA] platform is going to look like, how it’s going to integrate into the air wing, [and] how we’re going to use it for maximal advantage,” Navy Lt. Cmdr. Mark “Tugboat” Jbeily, an instructor pilot at the Strike Fighter Weapons School, Pacific (SFWSPAC), also told TWZ’s Jamie Hunter at this year’s Tailhook symposium. “But I think some common themes … are going to be consistent regardless of the specific platform, range, vendor, whatever it is.”

“You know, the wings on your chest are a sign of trust, ultimately, right? They represent that you’ve been through an established training pipeline. You’re going to behave in a predictable manner, in a standardized manner. We can trust you with this awesome power of an F-18 or F-35,” Jbeily continued. “How do we take that concept of trust and now bring it to collaborative autonomy, or manned-unmanned teaming? How do we train to get them comfortable so, in the same way that if you and I were flying, if you were my wingman, I would know you’re going to behave in a repeatable, consistent [manner]?”

“I can have insight on your behaviors. We can do a thorough debrief about why did you do this or why did you do that?” he added. “And the key, I think, is going to be, regardless of the specific platform, how do we build that element of trust, and how do we get folks comfortable to be able to use it in a combat scenario if we have to.”

With the contracts to Anduril, Boeing, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the Navy has put itself on a new course in regard to its CCA plans, but it is still very much following its sister services.

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A U.S. defense official has confirmed to TWZ that two Venezuelan F-16s flew near a U.S. Navy vessel earlier today. A statement from the Pentagon says the ship was in “international waters” and warned the South American nation from taking “any further action to obscure, deter or interfere with” the U.S. military’s counter-narcotics efforts in the region. This move comes just two days after U.S. authorities announced that American forces had killed 11 suspected drug smugglers in a boat transiting the South Caribbean.

The Pentagon’s announcement about the encounter otherwise provided no additional details. CBS News was first to report on the incident, citing “multiple Defense Department officials,” and described it as a “show of force” involving two armed Venezuelan F-16s. The outlet also named the U.S. Navy ship as the Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Jason Dunham. The Associated Press also subsequently reported the involvement of some of Venezuela’s fleet of F-16A/B jets, which it first received from the United States in the 1980s, and the USS Jason Dunham.

The Dunham is one of at least eight warships the Trump administration previously dispatched toward Venezuela as part of an effort to target criminal organizations and narco-terrorism in the region.

Though aimed at groups considered narco-terrorist organizations, an official with direct knowledge of these operations told TWZ last week that they are also aimed at Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. He was indicted in a New York federal court in 2020, during the first Trump presidency. He and 14 others, including several close allies, were hit with federal charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy with the Colombian FARC insurgent group to import cocaine.  The U.S. government has issued a $50 million reward for Maduro’s capture.

This is a developing story.

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Sept. 4 (UPI) — The U.S. Navy has reinstated Rep. Ronny Jackson’s retired rank as rear admiral, three years after he was demoted for his behavior while being the White House physician.

The Texas Republican announced the Navy’s decision to reinstate his rank on X, posting the June 13 letter from Navy Secretary John Phelan.

“After finding good cause to reopen your retired grade determination, and upon review of all applicable reports and references, it is my pleasure to inform you, effective immediately, you are hereby reinstated to the retired grade of Rear Admiral (Lower Half) in the United States Navy,” Phelan said in the letter.

Jackson served as physician to President Barack Obama from 2013 to 2018 and to President Trump during the first year of his first administration, before retiring from the Navy and then being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Navy then demoted Jackson to the rank of captain in July 2022, following a scathing Pentagon inspector general report that found he “disparaged, belittled, bullied and humiliated” subordinates while serving as the White House physician, “fostering an environment of fear and demoralization.”

It also stated that he had twice inappropriately used alcohol during government trips to the Philippines and Argentina while in charge of medical care for government officials, used Ambien during long overseas flights on government business and made “sexual and denigrating statements” about at least one of his female medical subordinates.

The move is the latest by the Trump administration to seemingly give commendations to those who are loyal to the president.

On his first day in office, Trump issued a mass pardon for the roughly 1,500 people convicted in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection attempt, including those who attacked police.

He also appointed several loyalists to key U.S. boards, among other appointments and actions, and last week it was announced that he would award his former personal attorney and former New York City mayor, Rudy Giuliani, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“I was, and still am, a retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral, and Joe Biden is a retired old FOOL,” Jackson said.

“After the Biden administration’s politically motivated attacks against me, I am pleased to share that my military rank has been fully restored.”

Individuals training to become U.S. Navy tactical jet pilots are no longer required to take off and land from aircraft carriers before being winged as Naval Aviators. This is a huge change in training requirements and has important ramifications for the service’s plans to replace its current carrier-capable T-45 Goshawk jet trainers.

Our colleagues at Task & Purpose first reported the elimination of carrier landing qualifications from the graduation requirements for the Tactical Air (Strike) aviator training pipeline earlier today. This pipeline currently produces new pilots to fly the Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-35C fighters, as well as EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft.

“The final strike carrier landing qualification occurred in March of 2025,” a Navy official told Task & Purpose. “Students in the strike pipeline, those training to fly F/A-18s, F-35s, and EA-18Gs, are no longer required to qualify by landing on a carrier prior to graduation.”

Naval aviators who come out of the Tactical Air pipeline will now conduct their first carrier qualifications when they reach a Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS). These units provide initial training on the specific type of tactical jet that those individuals have been assigned to fly.

TWZ has reached out to the Navy to find to what degree Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) landings and touch-and-goes on aircraft carriers are still part of the undergraduate Tactical Air training syllabus. FCLPs are conducted at bases on land, but are structured in a way that “simulates, as near as practicable, the conditions encountered during carrier landing operations,” according to the service.

As noted, just eliminating carrier qualifications from the undergraduate training requirements is a fundamental change in how the Navy produces new Naval Aviators to fly tactical jets. The procedures for taking off from and landing on an aircraft carrier bobbing up and down at sea are significantly different from those when operating from an airfield ashore.

“It’s what makes naval aviation unique,” Sterling Gilliam, a retired Navy captain who is now the director of the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida, told Task & Purpose when asked about the change. “Audacity has kind of defined Naval Aviation, and the uniqueness of carrier operations, specifically fixed wing launches and recoveries, requires a fair amount of skill and practice and professionalism.”

At the same time, the change does not come as a complete surprise. In 2020, the Navy announced that the requirements for a future Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) jet trainer to replace the T-45 would no longer include the need to be able to land on or take off from an aircraft carrier. In the past year or so, service has also moved to cut demands for the forthcoming UJTS aircraft to have features needed to conduct FCLP landings.

All of this has come on the back of Navy investments in virtualized training and automated carrier landing capabilities, such as Magic Carpet, in recent years. Those developments have already proven to be controversial, prompting concerns and criticism about potential impacts down the line from cutting what have long been considered essential naval aviation training requirements.

“Carrier qualification is more than catching the wire. It is the exposure to the carrier environment and how an individual deals with it,” an experienced U.S. Navy strike fighter pilot told TWZ back in 2020. “The pattern, the communications, the nuance, the stress. The ability to master this is one of our competitive advantages.”

The UJTS requirements still have yet to be firmed up, at least publicly, ahead of the start of a formal competition, which is expected to kick off next year. The Navy has said in the past that the goal is for the first UJTS aircraft to enter service by 2035 and for the T-45 to be completely phased out by 2040.

The removal of carrier qualifications from the Tactical Air pipeline already shows the Navy is not waiting for the arrival of UJTS to make major changes to its naval aviation training requirements. This would seem to make it increasingly less likely that the service will reverse course on the related changes to the UJTS requirements, at least when it comes to what is needed from the aircraft landing-wise, which will have significant ramifications for the upcoming competition.

Just last week, the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) announced its intention to compete for UJTS with a proposal that puts heavy emphasis on still being able to perform FCLP landings and touch-and-goes, as you can read more about in detail here.

“You want … your – I call it your lizard brain – to be trained to do the things you are going to do when things go south on you, because the way a [former Air Force pilot] like me lands an airplane is 180 degrees different than a carrier guy,” Derek Hess, Vice President of Strategy at SNC, told TWZ‘s Jamie Hunter on the sidelines of the Tailhook Association’s main annual symposium last week. “I touch down, go to idle. He touches down, slams down, goes to MIL [maximum non-afterburner thrust], and is ready to take off again.”

“This is why FCLPs are so important,” Ray “Fitz” Fitzgerald, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Technology at SNC, also said while speaking alongside Hess. “On that dark, stormy night, and everything’s just going bad, you rely on muscle memory, right? So when you think about muscle memory, as a carrier aviator, you’re on speed, so you’re on the right AOA, so the hook and the gear are the right AOA to trap, and everything hits at the same time. If I’m at a slow AOA, it means my nose is up, which means the hook grabs first and slams you down. You can break a jet like that. If I’m at a fast AOA, the nose is lower, hook is up, you skip across, and you go flying again, which is not good either.”

“So that muscle memory, I mean, it’s what will save lives,” He added.

Boeing, Lockheed Martin (in partnership with Korea Aerospace Industries), and Textron (together with Italy’s Leonardo) are also set to join the competition, but with aircraft based on existing land-based jet trainer designs that were not built for carrier operations, real or simulated.

More clarity on the Navy’s future vision for training future naval aviators will come when the final UJTS requirements are released. In the meantime, a major watershed moment has already occurred with the end of carrier qualifications as a graduation requirement for future tactical jet pilots.

Update, 3:30 PM Eastern:

A U.S. Navy official has now provided TWZ with the following additional statement:

“Students in the strike pipeline, those training to fly F/A-18s, F-35s, and EA-18Gs, are no longer required to qualify by landing on a carrier prior to graduation. However, future E-2 [Hawkeye airborne early warning and control aircraft] pilots and international military students will complete carrier landing qualifications on a ship in the T-45 while in student training. Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) landings ashore are still required for graduation. The strategic decision of moving carrier qualifications from the training syllabus to their fleet replacement squadrons was driven by increased technological capabilities in the fleet, as well as the need to reduce training pipeline times, enabling the fleet to receive qualified pilots faster. After earning their initial qualifications after graduation, naval aviators in the strike pipeline are required to complete touch-and-goes and carrier landings at sea during their assignment at the Fleet Replacement Squadrons (FRS).”

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