United States Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, arrived at Ørland Air Base, Norway, in early August 2025 for the latest Bomber Task Force (BTF) Europe deployment, integrating with NATO Allies for advanced training in warfighting capabilities and readiness, according to a NATO news release. Deployment of the supersonic bombers, which are assigned to the 345th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, gives U.S. Air Force aircrews the opportunity to refine maneuvers, increase flexibility and strengthen coordination with Allies by exercising and operating together. “This deployment allows us to train the way we fight — integrated with our…
Sentry
The United States Space Force has taken a significant step toward modernizing the nation’s nuclear command, control and communications (NC3). The service’s Space Systems Command (SSC) awarded Boeing a $2.8 billion contract to build the next generation of NC3 satellites. The contract for two satellites — with an option for two more — is part of the Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications (ESS) program, according to a July 2025 SSC news release. The satellites will be interoperable with the six Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellites currently in orbit and eventually will supplant the AEHF’s NC3 capability, according to the industry…
The United States Air Force recently completed a full-scale qualification test of the Stage 2 solid-rocket motor for the LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The evaluation, carried out with manufacturer Northrop Grumman in July 2025, took place in a vacuum chamber at Arnold Air Force Base in Tennessee. The chamber, which allows for the simulation of high-altitude conditions, provided data on the motor’s thrust, burn and steering capabilities via its thrust vector control system, according to a news release from the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center (AFNWC). “This test reflects our disciplined digital-engineering approach and the continued momentum behind…
As security threats around the globe evolve, space has become an extension of the battlefield, defense leaders said at the 2025 Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama. “We know that space is no longer a benign environment but a contested domain critical to modern warfare,” said United States Army Lt. Gen. Sean Gainey, commanding general of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. “Combat credibility demands a strong focus when developing resilient space systems and counterspace capabilities to protect U.S. assets and deny adversaries access to space. Both Russia and China have made it clear they intend…
Sandia National Laboratories is developing a mobile vault that can be used to safeguard some of the United States’ most sensitive assets: nuclear weapons. Sandia concealed the high-security vault inside a standard maritime shipping container that is slightly longer than 6 meters. The device is designed to let the United States military safely store nuclear weapons at remote or temporary locations, according to a July 2025 news release from the lab, which is in the U.S. state of New Mexico. “For the U.S. Air Force, in particular, the new mobile vaults could fundamentally change the equation when it comes to…
Editor’s note: Since the creation of this article, the B-21 conducted its first flight on September 11, 2025. Another B-21 Raider soon will join the first of the next-generation stealth bombers on the flight line. “We should see the second developmental test bird fly shortly,” United States Air Force Gen. Thomas Bussiere, head of Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), told Air & Space Forces Magazine in a July 2025 interview. Three Raiders are being tested — one in flight and two in instructional tests, according to a September 2024 story by the journal National Defense. The first Raider flew…
The Australian Army successfully fired a precision strike missile (PrSM) for the first time on Australian soil. The PrSM was launched from a high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) at the Mount Bundey Training Area in Australian’s Northern Territory. The missile struck its target more than 300 kilometers away in four minutes and three seconds, The Defense Post reported. The test also marked the first time the Australian Army has fired a PrSM from a HIMARS platform, according to an Australian Defence Force news release. The test was two years ahead of schedule and followed delivery of the first PrSM…
The Republic of Korea (ROK) has completed initial upgrades of its Cheongung missile defense system, the states arms procurement agency said. The first batch of the Cheongung-II deployed in July 2025 and is expected to be fully installed and operational by 2027, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). The original Cheongung-I system, first deployed in 2016, focused on striking hostile aircraft at altitudes of up to 40 kilometers. The upgraded system is effective against both aircraft and ballistic targets and is designed to intercept incoming missiles at altitudes of 15 kilometers and ranges of 40 kilometers. Cheongung-II is…
One of the United States’ top military leaders says NATO needs an energized industrial base on “both sides of the Atlantic” that can outfit the Alliance for any threat — including the possibility of simultaneous wars in Europe and the Indo-Pacific. U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, Commander of U.S. European Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said the Alliance is at a decisive point in its 76-year history as “enduring threat” Russia wages war in Ukraine and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aggressively pursues its global aspirations. “Each of these threats … cannot be viewed, in my estimation,…
Northrop Grumman has resumed work on the LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program, which will comprise the future land-based segment of the United States’ triad of nuclear deterrence. The defense contractor said it finalized a plan with the U.S. Air Force on how to best address the fiscal challenges involving the Sentinel’s command and launch infrastructure that led to the temporary halt, according to a July 2025 Breaking Defense story. “While we have continued to make good progress on the missile and the support and sustaining equipment, we are focused now on bringing the command and launch [segments] to…