The Air Force has a vision for the future of aerial warfare. Instead of flying solo, pilots could enter combat accompanied by several drone partners, carrying a variety of weapons, sensors, and electronic systems. Turning these aircraft into effective wingmen goes beyond reliable autonomy. The Air Force must first determine how pilots can use these effectively in battle, and how costly mistakes can be. From Test Range to Realistic Operations A recent exercise at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, offered the service another opportunity to work through these challenges. The service’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft Experimental Operations Unit operated semiautonomous aircraft…
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In the spring of 1968, six young Black soldiers were preparing to go to Vietnam when the country seemed to be coming apart around them. Ed Emanuel, Thad Givens, Lawton Mackey Jr., Willie Brown, John Willis and Norman Reid were in basic training when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Two months later, while flying to Vietnam, they learned that Robert F. Kennedy had been killed. Soon they would become Team 2/6 of Company F, 51st Infantry, a six-man Army long-range reconnaissance patrol that became known as the “Soul Patrol.” Nearly six decades later, their story is headed to movie…
For some surviving military spouses, getting married again can come with a price few Americans likely realize exists: losing benefits tied to the service and death of their first spouse. A proposal before Congress could change that for tens of thousands of military survivors. Approximately 50,000 surviving spouses under age 55 currently receive Department of Veterans Affairs Dependency and Indemnity Compensation and could retain those benefits if they remarry under the Love Lives On Act, according to the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, or TAPS. And the legislation wouldn’t only protect benefits going forward. The Congressional Budget Office estimates 4,750…
Toyota Land Cruisers are awesome. Every generation dating back to the FJ40 has something unique to offer off-roaders, but no generation inspires as much love or as many legends about reliability (at least in the U.S.) as the 80-series. This mythos has helped to keep prices high in the past few years, and now, with the Mecum auctions in Monterey, Calif., set to kick off on Saturday, we may see the highest sale price for an 80-series yet. Why? Because a very special — if unassuming — 80-series is going up for auction. Dressed in Super White (aka appliance white),…
Former U.S. Army Sgt. Juan Gonzalez Castillo served honorably decades ago in one of the nation’s bloodiest conflicts, but years went by without his service being properly recognized. That recently changed without his knowledge, and on his birthday no less. Castillo is a resident of the small town of Tynan, located within Bee County, Texas. He served with the 196th Infantry Brigade in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970 before leaving the Army in 1971, according to KRIS 6 TV out of Corpus Christi. He suffered multiple wounds during his military tenure but never received the medals he deserved for his…
Support us! GearJunkie may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More (Photo/Nick LeFort) Our crew really loves WESN, a Detroit knifemaker that really nails the design of small EDC blades. As reviewer Nick LeFort wrote about the popular Allman EDC knife, “WESN created a knife for everyone who needs a knife. Well suited for a campsite on the weekend, it’ll also fit right at home in your workshop.” The entire WESN Lineup, including the Allman pictured above, is 30% off this week. Score at the brand’s biggest sale of the year. Shop WESN Knives Black…
In 2024, Kamala Harris stepped in to run for president despite a lifetime presidential campaign record of winning exactly as many electoral votes as I’ve won — zero, for those keeping score at home — and tried to blunt attacks against her Second Amendment record by claiming that she’s a gun owner, too, so how could she be in favor of gun bans? Then pushed bans on certain popular guns.As bad as her gun rights position was, though, it looks like she’s got an eye on 2028, and this time, expect something even worse from…
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Thursday announced its latest efforts to establish the first-ever multi-domain, multinational attack drone task force. Called Task Force Falcon Strike, the unit will reportedly employ one-way attack drones consisting of unmanned systems from above, on, and below the sea and operated by U.S. military support staff and regional partners. The timing of the launch comes nine months after CENTCOM established Task Force Scorpion Strike, the U.S. military’s first dedicated one-way attack drone squadron in the Middle East. “Task Force Falcon Strike will expand on Scorpion Strike’s success given the tremendous innovation happening among our regional…
The federal government’s ban on carrying firearms in U.S. post offices may soon be over, now that the Dept. of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel has issued an advisory opinion stating the ban does not comply with federal law. Last month the DOJ also voluntarily withdrew its appeal of a district court decision that held the ban unconstitutional, keeping in place an injunction barring enforcement of the carry ban for those plaintiffs who want to carry “inside an ordinary United States Post Office or the surrounding Post Office property.” The plaintiffs in that case include…
The Army is opening some of its most advanced test ranges to private companies, giving these organizations the opportunity to battle-test their most advanced technology before going into the prototype phase. The ranges that are being opened are mostly in the United States, with one being in Morocco. Companies can use the ranges for the research, development, and processing of emerging technology for the betterment of troops. No weapons contract with the U.S. government is required for access. The Army has stated that the effort is to bolster drone technology, counter-drone technology, long- and short-range missile systems, and a variety…
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Suppressors are century-old technology, more or less. Sure, those today are generally better than Hiram Maxim’s first successful silencer, but the idea behind them has been around for a long time now. While suppressors are more easily available today than at any other point since 1934, the export of them is a different matter entirely. It seems the Trump administration has moved the regulation of these devices from the State Department over to the Commerce Department. You still need approval to export them, but it’s not quite the same ordeal.And Everytown’s so-called publication, The Smoking…
A World War II veteran has received a special military honor some 80 years after his service. Army Capt. Louis Vernon Landry, a former physician from Bossier, La., served in World War II and on Aug. 12 posthumously received a Bronze Star Medal. He served in the conflict in the Southwest Pacific and England, treating wounded soldiers under fire. He earned a combat medical badge for his service, which made him eligible for the Bronze Star Medal. But it was not presented to him before his death, leading his family to seek recognition for Capt. Landry. Now, 80 years later,…
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Montezuma County, Colorado Sheriff Steven Nowlin isn’t the only sheriff in the state who’s refusing to issue the new Firearms Safety Course Eligibility Card that’s now required in order to purchase AR-15s and many other semi-automatic firearms in the state. According to a new filing by the Colorado Shooting Sports Association, the sheriffs in Teller and Bent counties are also declining to participate, with Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell attesting that the burden imposed by the state on his small department is too great. I believe that, in order to cover the cost of the permit-to-purchase…
WARSAW (AP) — A Russian plot to kill a Ukrainian American citizen in Warsaw was thwarted by Poland before it could be carried out, the Polish prime minister said Thursday, marking the first time in decades that a Western leader has publicly accused Moscow of plotting to kill a U.S. citizen. Western officials have previously warned that Russia has stepped up a campaign of targeted killings since President Vladimir Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, saying they have disrupted several plots across Europe. But Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said this incident was unprecedented. It was the first time that “someone…
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Lawmakers in Washington are demanding answers from the Navy amid reports of a mental health crisis onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is involved in the U.S.’s war against Iran. The USS Abraham Lincoln, which has 5,000 sailors and marines on board, has been at sea for nine months. It has been in combat with Iran for five months, and has spent 250 days in a row without making land—leaving those on board without the opportunity to see their families and friends. Lawmakers reacted to multiple reports from the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes which, citing interviews with sailors’…
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