Things are heating up in one of the coldest places on the planet. For the better part of July and into early August, some of the most elite special operations forces in the U.S. military participated in Operation Polar Dagger.  The exercises test the most highly trained U.S. personnel in one of the planet’s most…

A Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber erupted into flames midair during a routine flight over Siberia, crashing and killing one crew member. The crash occurred far from any battlefield, and videos shared on social media showed the bomber catching fire before plummeting into an uninhabited area. Russia’s Defense Ministry attributed the crash to a technical malfunction,…

Ukraine declared full control over parts of Russia’s Kursk region on Thursday, Aug. 15, just 10 days into its surprise offensive. The incursion is the deepest breach into Russian territory since the war began in February 2022. Ukrainian forces announced on Thursday that they have setup a military administrative office to “maintain law and order”…

A Russian court has sentenced a Russian-American ballerina to 12 years in prison for treason. Ksenia Karelina was arrested in February 2024 while visiting family in Russia. Russian authorities took her into custody because she donated about $50 to a New York-based nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian assistance to Ukraine in its war with Russia.…

The mystery surrounding the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions has taken a new turn. Nearly two years after the event, German authorities issued an arrest warrant Wednesday, Aug. 14, for a Ukrainian diving instructor identified as Volodymyr Z. He is suspected of leading a sophisticated underwater attack on the pipelines in September 2022. These pipelines…

Three years have passed since the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan, and since then, the Taliban has controlled the country. Under Taliban rule, women’s rights have become almost nonexistent, as has the concept of a free press. Afghanistan’s economy plunged into a deep recession, and more than half of the population now requires humanitarian assistance. The…

A military theorist once wrote “the backbone of surprise is fusing speed with secrecy” — an idea that perfectly describes the capabilities of the Hawkeye Mobile Howitzer System (MHS). The Hawkeye MHS is made by AM General, the same company that created the Humvee. A howitzer is a type of artillery weapon that is generally…

This week on Weapons and Warfare, the F-16s have arrived. After nearly two years of negotiations and intense training, Ukraine’s long hoped for F-16s have started arriving. Host Ryan Robertson takes an in-depth look at the road traveled to turn a dream into a reality, and what role experts say the fighter jets will play…

In May 2023, President Joe Biden announced his decision to move forward with a plan to have U.S. allies train Ukrainian pilots and provide the country’s military with surplus F-16s from the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and Norway. About year later, those plans became a reality as Ukraine took delivery of its first F-16s on Aug.…

On Tuesday, Aug. 13, the Armed Forces of Ukraine said it now controls around 386 square miles in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, an area roughly the size of Indianapolis. This region includes nearly 30 different towns or settlements and is home to hundreds of thousands of Russians, many of whom are now fleeing. Previously, Kyiv took…