Defense News

North America Accident Aviation Safety & Regulation

The War Zone • Tyler Rogoway

Marine Corps F-35B crashes at MCAS Miramar; pilot ejects with non-life-threatening injuries

A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II crashed and caught fire at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on July 31. The pilot ejected safely and was receiving treatment for non-life-threatening injuries, while the service classified the event as an aircraft mishap.

Flying Magazine • Meg Godlewski

F-35 Involved in Serious Accident in San Diego

The Aviationist • Kai Greet

U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Crashes at MCAS Miramar

Also: Breaking Defense, Stars and Stripes, defensemirror.com, timesofsandiego.com, San Diego Union-Tribune, The Independent, interestingengineering.com, CBS News, NBC News, The Hill and 8 more

23 Sources

2026-07-31T12:14:11.177452-07:00

Space Force FlightSim Defense Budgets & Spending

Breaking Defense • Theresa Hitchens

Facing a lack of kit, Space Force creates $981M pool to buy training capabilities

By Breaking Defense: Gen. Greg Gagnon, head of Space Force Combat Forces Command, said a number of key mission areas face a serious lack of simulators needed for training Guardians.

Also: Defense Daily

2 Sources

2026-07-31T13:05:48.265314-07:00

Space Force Space Defense & Militarization Defense Policy

SpaceNews.com • Sandra Erwin

Inside the effort to show Congress what war in space looks like

By SpaceNews.com: WASHINGTON — Members of Congress can watch tanks maneuver, tour warships and see combat aircraft fly. Space Force leaders have no comparable way to demonstrate the battlefield they oversee — one where satellites travel at thousands of miles an hour, but the maneuvers that determine an encounter can unfold over days.

2 Sources

2026-07-31T06:37:32.488436-07:00

Military Aircraft Procurement Missile Systems & Strategic Weapons Defense Policy

Aviation Week • Chen Chuanren

Japan Conducts First Tomahawk Live-Fire Test

By Aviation Week: Japan has conducted its first live-fire test of the RTX BGM-109 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missile.

AeroTime

Japan fires Tomahawk cruise missile from warship for first time

Also: Janes

3 Sources

2026-07-30T18:47:57.988993-07:00

Europe Military Aircraft Procurement Aircraft Manufacturing (OEMs) Defense Industry & Major Contractors

AeroTime • Clement Charpentreau

Turkey’s new KAAN fighter prototype completes first taxi test ahead of flight

By AeroTime: Turkey’s KAAN P1 fighter prototype has completed its first taxi test ahead of a maiden flight expected within the next few months.

The War Zone

Turkey’s Latest Kaan Fighter Prototype Begins Taxi Tests

Aviation Week

Turkish Aerospace Industries' Kaan Fighter Jet Begins Taxi Trials

Also: defence-blog.com and interestingengineering.com

5 Sources

2026-07-31T04:34:28.888098-07:00

F-16 Missile Systems & Strategic Weapons Geopolitical Developments & Conflict Impact Defense Policy

Washington Post • Mark Montgomery

Ukraine Could Use F-16s to Hunt Russian Ballistic-Missile Launchers—If the U.S. Unlocks One Capability

By Washington Post: Ukraine's F-16s could hunt ballistic-missile launchers within weeks — if Washington unlocks one capability.

1 Source

2026-07-31T04:33:19.202106-07:00

Space Defense & Militarization Defense Policy

Breaking Defense • Carley Welch, Theresa Hitchens

Light at the end of M-code's tunnel? Receivers for ships, planes to finish tests by 2027

By Breaking Defense: An Air Force office recently took over the sprawling M-code project, meant to give jam- and spoof-proof GPS receivers to potentially a million pieces of tech.

1 Source

2026-07-31T05:16:51.305726-07:00

UAV Development & Drone Programs AI Defense Industry & Major Contractors

CNBC • Arjun Kharpal, Kai Nicol-Schwarz

The Tech Download: Anduril CEO Brian Schimpf talks AI in warfare and manufacturing push

By CNBC: CNBC's Arjun Kharpal sits down on The Tech Download podcast with the defense company chief.

1 Source

2026-07-31T04:18:30.706158-07:00

Marine Corps F-35B crashes at MCAS Miramar; pilot ejects with non-life-threatening injuries

F-35 Involved in Serious Accident in San Diego

U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Crashes at MCAS Miramar

Facing a lack of kit, Space Force creates $981M pool to buy training capabilities

Inside the effort to show Congress what war in space looks like

Japan Conducts First Tomahawk Live-Fire Test

Japan fires Tomahawk cruise missile from warship for first time

Turkey’s new KAAN fighter prototype completes first taxi test ahead of flight

Turkey’s Latest Kaan Fighter Prototype Begins Taxi Tests

Turkish Aerospace Industries' Kaan Fighter Jet Begins Taxi Trials

Ukraine Could Use F-16s to Hunt Russian Ballistic-Missile Launchers—If the U.S. Unlocks One Capability

Light at the end of M-code's tunnel? Receivers for ships, planes to finish tests by 2027

The Tech Download: Anduril CEO Brian Schimpf talks AI in warfare and manufacturing push

Facing a lack of kit, Space Force creates $981M pool to buy training capabilities

F-35B Crashes And Burns At Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (Updated)

Inside the effort to show Congress what war in space looks like

Light at the end of M-code's tunnel? Receivers for ships, planes to finish tests by 2027

Turkey’s new KAAN fighter prototype completes first taxi test ahead of flight

Ukraine Could Use F-16s to Hunt Russian Ballistic-Missile Launchers—If the U.S. Unlocks One Capability

Australia, US, Japan formalize new trilateral air logistics agreement

Undisclosed Middle East nation orders 2 GlobalEye aircraft

Man arrested in Cyprus on suspicion of spying on a UK military base for Iran

Air taxi developers pivot to military market amid civil certification delays

Rolls-Royce touts Trent durability gains as BAE Systems lifts defense-driven guidance; both signal momentum into 2026

EU releases €3.47B for Ukraine drones, air defence and Swedish Gripens as F-16s strain intercepting Russia’s drone swarms; NATO

US pushes autonomous aircraft swarms and “robot wingman” CCAs alongside B-21 automation and new airborne-systems buys

Poland’s first Italy-built F-35A completes maiden flight; Nigeria advances M-346FA deliveries with factory acceptance tests

The day’s aerospace signal, in one email.

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