DEFENSE-AEROSPACE

Russian Tu-95 Bombers and Su-35 Fighters Tracked in Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone

September 25, 2025

Two Russian Tu-95 bombers and two Su-35 fighters operated inside Alaska’s Air Defense Identification Zone on September 24. U.S. aircraft launched to identify and intercept in the zone. The activity took place in international airspace and did not enter U.S. or Canadian

AI & Autonomy

YFQ-44A Flight Imminent, Anduril Advances Early Autonomy for Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft

September 24, 2025

Air Force leadership set mid-October for the first flight of Anduril’s YFQ-44A, the company’s entrant in the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. The aircraft will use push-button departure and recovery with no conventional stick and throttle while human operators watch from the ground.

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Diego Berumen

Defense Budgets / Policy

Meink Orders Shift of Maintenance Effort to High-Priority Fleets amid Parts Shortages and Aging Airframes

September 23, 2025

“If a system is not capable of operating in a contested environment, then we need to be second-guessing how much money we’re dumping into readiness on those platforms,” Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said at National Harbor during the 2025

Asia-Pacific

Chinese and Russian Submarines Operate Together in the Pacific Amid Rising Military Coordination

September 23, 2025

Two diesel-electric submarines operated together for the first time in a publicly acknowledged China-Russia submarine patrol. Russia sent the Project 636.3 Kilo-class boat Volkhov from its Pacific Fleet. China paired it with a Kilo-class counterpart of the same basic lineage. The formation

Industrial Partnerships

France Seeks Year-End Phase 2 Accord on FCAS as Dassault and Airbus Clash Over Fighter Workshare

September 22, 2025

Paris officials want Phase 2 of the Future Combat Air System agreed with Berlin and Madrid before year-end, with a fighter demonstrator plan included in that package. The ministry described the target as a “mutually acceptable solution.” France, Germany, and Spain repeated

Latest

Russian Tu-95 Bombers and Su-35 Fighters Tracked in Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone

YFQ-44A Flight Imminent, Anduril Advances Early Autonomy for Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft

Meink Orders Shift of Maintenance Effort to High-Priority Fleets amid Parts Shortages and Aging Airframes

Chinese and Russian Submarines Operate Together in the Pacific Amid Rising Military Coordination

France Seeks Year-End Phase 2 Accord on FCAS as Dassault and Airbus Clash Over Fighter Workshare

Authors

Julien Mercier

Clara Nguyen

Priya Shah

Michael Adler

Lena Kovacs

Diego Ramos

Peter Johansson

Lucas Meyer