New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority was aware the flight from Christchurch pivoted following the agency’s issue of a Notice to Airmen, or NOTAM, to the aircraft, a CAA spokesperson told Military Times.

The Russian Air Traffic Management Corporation notified the CAA of the space activity, the spokesperson said, causing the authority to issue the NOTAM to the U.S. Air Force flight.

In a follow-up statement, the spokesperson said that the CAA was made aware by the Russian air traffic agency of a planned missile launch and associated potential hazard to international airspace within New Zealand’s Oceanic Flight Information Region.

“As a result, we put in place a danger area and issued a NOTAM to alert aircraft operators to the potential hazard,” the spokesperson said. “This does not prevent aircraft from flying through the area, operators make their decisions based on the information available.”

NOTAMs alert aircraft operators of potential hazards to allow them to make operational decisions around flight planning.

“Much of our Oceanic FIR is over international waters, where we have limited control over activities,” the spokesperson said, referring to the roughly 30 million square kilometers of international waters that spans across the South Pacific Ocean, Southern Ocean and Tasman Sea.

“It is normal practice for Airspace Authorities and Air Traffic Service Providers, provided with such hazard notifications to issue NOTAMs,” the spokesperson continued.

Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 shows a U.S. Air Force C-17A Globemaster III took off from Christchurch International Airport, New Zealand, on Tuesday at 9 a.m. local time, with the call sign ICE28.

The site shows the aircraft landed around 11:30 a.m. back at Christchurch.

The flight was a routine resupply mission scheduled for this time of year, a U.S. Pacific Air Forces spokesperson told Military Times.

“Christchurch is the gateway to Antarctica,” the PACAF spokesperson said. “Both the United States Air Force and New Zealand Defense Force conduct operations and logistical support out of Christchurch in support of our Antarctic science programs.”

The turnaround happened during the U.S. Air Force’s annual Winter Fly-in period, or WinFly, which usually occurs toward the end of August and delivers teams, equipment and cargo to McMurdo Station and Scott Base, both in Antarctica, ahead of its research season.

The PACAF spokesperson declined to comment on whether this flight was in direct support of the WinFly, but a 2012 Air Force release details that a C-17 delivered over 300 passengers and 230,000 pounds of cargo that year to Antarctica.

“Using Christchurch International Airport, New Zealand as the base of operations, the mission of WinFly is to deliver advance teams and cargo to the remote research center in preparation for the main season of Operation Deep Freeze,” the release reads.

Operation Deep Freeze provides support to the U.S. Antarctic Program, managed by the National Science Foundation, that allows for continuous scientific research in the region.

Boeing’s C-17 Globemaster III is a cargo aircraft capable of fast delivery of troops and loads to main operating bases or forward bases in deployment areas. The aircraft can also complete tactical airlift and airdrop missions as well as aeromedical evacuations.

Qatar’s government requested to buy up to four KC-46As, eight PW4062 turbofan engines, 10 AN/ALR-69A radar warning receivers, 15 Guardian Laser Transmitter Assemblies for Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasure systems and 8 LAIRCM system processor replacements, according to a Thursday release.

The proposed sale also includes “non-major defense equipment,” such as precision navigation, transportation and airlift support, personnel training and training equipment and other related logistical and program support items, per the statement.

“The proposed sale will increase Qatar’s capability to meet current and future threats by enhancing its defense capabilities and interoperability with U.S. and allied forces and reinforcing Qatar’s strategic role in regional security,” the release reads.

The potential sale is meant to support U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives through assisting in Qatar’s security. The U.S. government statement describes the country as a “strategic regional partner” that continues to be an “important force” for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East.

Principal contractors for the envisioned deal include Boeing, Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, RTX Corporation and Northrop Grumman Corporation.

The proposed sale’s implementation will not require any additional U.S. government or contractor representatives to Qatar, the announcement says.

“At this time, the U.S. Government is not aware of any offset agreement proposed in connection with this potential sale,” the statement says. “Any offset agreement will be defined in negotiations between the purchaser and the contractor.”

The KC-46A provides aerial refueling support to the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and partner nations and has greater refueling, cargo and aeromedical evacuation capabilities than the aging KC-135s.

The announcement comes as questions persist surrounding the security features of a Qatari-donated Air Force One aircraft that has been modified for U.S. presidential use. President Donald Trump began using the new jet in July and has since announced it will be “maxed out” for upgrades.

USS Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, suffered an “engineering casualty” with its generators, causing a power outage for four days while conducting routine operations in the Indo-Pacific, 7th Fleet spokesperson Cmdr. Matthew Comer told Military Times.

Comer declined to comment about where exactly the incident occurred, but multiple news outlets reported it happened in the South China Sea.

The ship received support from the George Washington Carrier Strike Group, which included meals from Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls.

The engineering incident occurred July 24, forcing the destroyer to be towed by contracted tugboats into Subic Bay, Philippines, for repairs on July 28. The ship was met upon arrival by subject-matter experts from Ship Repair Facility-Japan Regional Maintenance Center, Comer said.

“There were no injuries to the crew, who demonstrated resilience, grit, professionalism, and unwavering steadiness in their response,” Comer said.

The day after arriving in the Philippines, the ship’s crew received food and contracted lodging off board. Benfold’s power was restored July 30, and all necessary repairs were completed prior to the ship berth shifting for fuel over a week later on Aug. 7.

All engineering, combat systems and crew support systems were functioning normally by the time the ship left Subic Bay on Aug. 8.

“The crew was directly supported by ships in the strike group while at sea and every effort was made to ensure the crew was supported on arrival in Subic Bay, Philippines,” Comer said.

The engineering mishap is under investigation, Comer said.

The incident follows reports of poor morale and mental health conditions on USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed for nine months, part of which has been in support of U.S. military operations against Iran.

Recently, U.S. Central Command leader Adm. Brad Cooper visited the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier after Military Times learned that at least two sailors attempted to go overboard during the ship’s extended deployment.

Cooper said that service at sea can be challenging but asserted that the Lincoln has the lowest number of mental health cases among the Navy’s 11 active aircraft carriers.

U.S. lawmakers have begun pressing the service for information on the Lincoln’s conditions and to elaborate on the ship’s lengthened deployment schedule, asking for reports on the ship’s problems with basic supplies, water, plumbing, mental health, deck safety and mail.

But Pentagon and White House leaders have continued to dismiss concerns, with President Donald Trump saying the deployment’s length is “not nearly long enough.”

Task Force Falcon Strike will utilize one-way attack drones composed of unmanned systems from above, on and below the sea, managed by U.S. military support staff and regional partners, according to a Thursday release.

The move to launch this unit follows CENTCOM’s establishment of Task Force Scorpion Strike in December 2025, a Middle East-based task force equipped with one-way attack drones as the military strived to integrate drone technology across the services.

“Task Force Falcon Strike will expand on Scorpion Strike’s success given the tremendous innovation happening among our regional allies and partners,” Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, said in the release. “Integrating and deploying our new capabilities together will help us rapidly realize the new possibilities that are on the horizon.”

Scorpion Strike was the first to launch an aerial attack drone from a U.S. Navy warship last December, the month of its announcement. The unit also deployed one-way unmanned aerial systems during Operation Epic Fury and during strikes on Iranian port facilities in July with unmanned attack vessels at sea, the statement highlights.

CENTCOM began consulting with and officially inviting regional partners to join Falcon Strike, aiming to expand attack-drone capabilities across the Middle East into a “unified multi-domain, multinational deterrent.”

“The United States military has a lot of strong partnerships and friends in the region,” Cooper said. “We are collectively stronger when we integrate and deploy new capabilities together.”

The release did not specify which regional partners CENTCOM is working with on the unit.

Personnel from the U.S. Special Operations Command Central, located at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, will lead Falcon Strike’s staff of U.S. and regional representatives after it launched Scorpion Strike, the release states.

The announcement comes as the U.S. continues its war with Iran, which has depleted the U.S. munitions stockpile and caused military leaders to weigh the possibility of developing cheaper anti-drone technology at a faster pace.

The program, described as “extreme teaming” with industry partners, entered the phase with “unprecedented maturity,” Gen. Dale White, director of Critical Major Weapon Systems, said in a Wednesday keynote address at an event in Dayton, Ohio.

The engineering and manufacturing phase includes maturing, integrating and testing all parts of the F-47. It will produce a small number of test aircraft for evaluation and includes priced options for low-rate initial production. White did not specify the number of test aircraft being produced.

The first Boeing F-47 is on track for its first flight in 2028. The Air Force plans to buy at least 185 F-47s, matching the size of the F-22 Raptor fleet it intends to replace.

“The F-47 will fly in this administration,” White said during his speech at the Life Cycle Industry Days, hosted by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center.

White, who also acts as direct reporting portfolio manager to the deputy defense secretary, is tasked with managing weapons systems, such as the F-47 and B-21 programs.

In March 2025, President Donald Trump announced that the force will proceed with development of sixth-generation Boeing F-47s under the Next Generation Air Dominance program, or NGAD, intended to replace the F-22 Raptor.

“In terms of all of the attributes of a fighter jet, there’s never been anything even close to it, from speed to maneuverability, to what it can have, to payload,” Trump said at the time, insisting that the aircraft will be built and in the air during his administration.

“And this has been in the works for a long period of time,” he continued. “America’s enemies will never see it coming.”

NGAD is a “family of systems” that includes the F-47 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft designed to achieve air superiority. The F-47’s modular design is intended to accommodate emerging technology and integrate long-range strike capabilities to counter threats in contested environments.

The F-47 program was allotted $3.45 billion in fiscal year 2026 funding and over $5 billion in the fiscal 2027 budget request.

The defense company’s first YFQ-44A was built in its Pickaway County, Ohio, manufacturing facility, dubbed Arsenal-1, according to a social media post. Anduril first announced the facility’s construction in January 2025 and slated its first products manufacturing to begin July 2026.

In January 2026, Anduril declared that its first product would be the YFQ-44A, a missionized variant of the company’s FQ-44, or “Fury,” autonomous fighter jet, for the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.

The $1 billion, 5 million-square-foot facility is located near Rickenbacker International Airport and plans to add 4,000 jobs to the area.

The aircraft’s production comes two weeks after the Air Force conducted its first-ever live-fire test with its CCA. The YFQ-44A executed an end-to-end, beyond-line-of-sight strike against a simulated target using an inert AIM-120, which is an advanced medium-range air-to-air missile.

As Anduril announced the aircraft’s production, the Air Force also revealed on Monday the completion of a recent Agile Combat Employment exercise that showcased CCA operations at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada.

“Air superiority in today’s increasingly contested environments requires the rapid fielding of affordable mass,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach said in the release. “CCA are essential to this effort. By integrating uncrewed systems to fly alongside our Airmen, we extend reach and increase lethality.”

The multi-day exercise was conducted by the CCA Experimental Operations Unit and was meant to build foundational tactics, techniques and procedures that will shape how the aircraft are integrated into the force, the release says.

The EOU completed multiple sorties, integrated with manned platforms in the local airspace and simulated scenarios.

“Our test teams can continuously use these warfighter-run exercises to gather and analyze data that aids in informed CCA fielding decisions well ahead of the normal process to deliver combat capability when needed by our Air Force and the Nation,” said Brig. Gen. Jesse Friedel, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center commander, whose team members observed the event.

Air Force officials have continuously asserted that any decision to deploy munitions still lies in the human operator’s hands, as they have control and command of the platform at all times, even though the aircraft are unmanned and semi-autonomous.

In a recent roundtable, former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said that building trust between human operators and autonomous systems begins with computerized, man-in-the-loop simulations and training exercises, such as Red Flag at Nellis.

The Air Force awarded the CCA contracts last month to Anduril and General Atomics for their YFQ-44A and YFQ-42A, respectively.

The service has eyed 100 to 150 aircraft in its program’s first increment, with a longer-term goal of fielding 1,000 CCAs.

Anduril had not yet announced Tuesday the number of YFQ-44As the facility will produce, but the production line has the capacity to build 150 each year.

The team, dubbed Task Force Talon Synapse, is slated to launch in the “coming weeks,” according to a Tuesday release, and will focus on incorporating AI applications into intelligence support, protecting critical infrastructure and monitoring the regional security environment.

“This will be a historic milestone as we work with one of our most capable regional partners to rapidly deliver evolving AI advancements to our warfighters,” Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, said in the statement.

“Together, we and our Emirati partners share a strong commitment to adopting AI applications that will foster innovation at speed and scale,” he continued.

The Abu Dhabi-based unit will be made up of around 20 American and Emirati personnel with AI, data and cybersecurity expertise, the announcement says.

The task force’s creation was discussed last year by Cooper and UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al-Nahyan, per the release.

During a trip to the region last month, CENTCOM and AI industry leaders gathered together as well.

For almost a decade, the UAE has strived to accelerate its defenses with AI capabilities through collaborations, like with Anduril to coproduce advanced autonomous drones.

In March 2025, the White House hosted al-Nahyan, who views adopting artificial intelligence as a national responsibility. The talks focused on bilateral relations between the two countries, AI and emerging technology, according to a UAE release at the time of the official visit.

The agents are able to fly the F-16s in the Viper Experimentation and Next-gen Operations Model, or VENOM, program through the aircraft’s additional hardware, software and instrumentation installed, according to a release.

A F-16 Fighting Falcon equipped with the technology completed a sortie recently at the Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, for the 96th Test Wing, per the announcement.

The modified aircraft began flights in June to verify that the aircraft worked properly with all the technology involved. A month later, the unit began in-air-testing using an agent to autonomously control the flight.

The pilots, located in the cockpit during the flights, monitored the AI agents to ensure the flight and mission systems tests objectives were met, the release reads.

“Getting the aircraft into the air is always a monumental milestone for a complex test program,” Tim Stevens, a VENOM test pilot with the 40th Flight Test Squadron, said in the release.

“It represents years of design, modification and test planning poured into this project by a dedicated team of hundreds,” he continued.

VENOM, which is a joint effort between the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, and the Air Force was initiated under the Air Combat Evolution program. The aircraft in the program are meant to serve in the next phase of AI development in DARPA’s Artificial Intelligence Reinforcements program.

The aircraft underwent months of ground testing of its engines and systems to ensure the functionality of the technology, and also completed many simulation hours dating back to 2024, according to the release.

The 53rd Wing and 96th Test Wing joined together in the VENOM program, but the early tests have been conducted by developmental testers in the 40th Flight Test Squadron.

U.S. Army Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, and 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, died July 17 and July 18, respectively, according to a Department of Defense release.

The active-duty soldiers were killed during an enemy attack at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, Jordan.

Gonzales was stationed at Ansbach, Germany, assigned to 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 10th Army Air Missile Defense Command.

Feehan was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 32nd Army Air Missile Defense Command.

The incident is currently under investigation, the release states.

On Saturday, U.S. Central Command announced that another U.S. service member is missing following the attack, while four troops, who have since been discharged, were medically evacuated to hospitals in Jordan.

For the ninth consecutive night, the U.S. “hit [Iran] very hard again tonight,” President Donald Trump said on Sunday. The strikes, he said, were in honor of the soldiers who were killed.

“The strikes will continue degrading Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” a CENTCOM post from Sunday reads.

Trump said that “probably” three service members were killed in action, as opposed to two.

As of Monday morning, the Pentagon had not clarified whether a third service member was killed in action.

The command said in a social media post Sunday that U.S. military personnel found unidentified remains at the location of the attack. CENTCOM said that an examination process to verify the remains is ongoing.

The deaths of Gonzales and Feehan bring the toll of American troops killed in the war with Iran to 16. More than 400 U.S. troops have been wounded in the campaign, which began Feb. 28.

Separately, on July 18, a U.S. service member was killed in action in northern Iraq during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone.

“A second service member was wounded and continues to receive medical treatment for a minor injury,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

CENTCOM had not yet provided additional information Monday, such as the identities of those service members killed or missing.

Frank Kendall, the Air Force’s 26th secretary who served under former President Joe Biden, said in a Thursday roundtable hosted by Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies that gathering experience in the field and through simulations help operators establish trust with autonomous systems, like the Collaborative Combat Aircraft.

“You have to accumulate a basis for trust over time, and so I think we just need to think carefully about how we structure things in order to make that opportunity,” Kendall said during the roundtable.

Earlier this week, the Air Force announced that it conducted the first-ever live-fire test of an inert AIM-120 from an Anduril-made YFQ-44A. The CCA recently completed an end-to-end, beyond-line-of-sight strike against a simulated target, the service announced, but did not specify when the exercise occurred.

The Air Force is scheduled to continue live-fire testing with General Atomics’ YFQ-42A this fall.

Kendall said that using the aircraft in Red Flag, the service’s leading large-force aerial combat training simulation held at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, will be “fascinating,” but he worries about the force using initial setbacks as an excuse to “retreat” instead of pushing ahead.

The former secretary was optimistic that institutional support will be enough to overcome those setbacks, saying that enthusiastic operators want to see the aircraft’s full potential realized.

Kendall recalled when he once asked an Air Combat Command crew who were developing CCA tactics why there wasn’t more resistance.

“[A young fighter pilot’s] answer was, ‘Sir, these things are going to save our lives.’” Kendall recalled.

The simulations define the exercises, he added, saying that it showcases how the aircraft protects crew fighters effectively right now even as the force needs to develop more sophisticated tactics.

“The guys with the CCAs are beating the crap out of the guys without them, and not losing any manned fighters,” he said.

Kendall said that computerized, man-in-the-loop simulations are the best tool to assist operators in learning how to use the aircraft effectively since more trials can be completed. Integrated simulations have been used by the Air Force for roughly 30 years.

“In simulators with cockpits their sensors are showing them simulated threats as well as their friends, and then they basically fight a battle together,” he explained.

Kendall referred to a time when he took a flight in an F-16 modified by artificial intelligence. In flight, the aircraft’s testers would collect data points, he said, and run a million simulations to adjust the software overnight to complete the flight again the following day.

The first increment CCA aircraft in the program are “all the same” as weapons carriers, but in Increment II, Kendall stipulates that the force can begin equipping them with sensors and possibly distributed electronic warfare capabilities.

China is working on this autonomous system capability as well, he added, stating that air battles could soon be CCA versus CCA. Intelligence is going to play a significant role in how well the U.S. understands their systems, tactics and vulnerabilities, he said, noting that it’s a “hard game” to play.

In Increment I, the Air Force showed interest in obtaining 100 to 150 aircraft, the first phase of a longer-term goal of eventually fielding 1,000 CCAs.