UAV Development & Drone Programs   Military Aircraft Procurement   Geopolitical Developments & Conflict Impact  
Aviation Week • Robert Wall

Ukraine drone strike reportedly hits Russian Su-57 fighters and Su-34 bombers at Shagol airfield, ~1,700 km inside Russia

Ukraine says unmanned systems struck the Shagol airfield in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region on April 25, damaging or destroying a Russian Su-57 fighter force and a Su-34 bomber. Kyiv frames the action as one of the farthest it has carried out, highlighting reach beyond the frontline.

defence-blog.com • Dylan Malyasov

Ukraine hit Russian Su-57s at remote airbase

2026-05-01T11:33:00.452122-07:00
Middle East   North America   Military Aircraft Procurement   Orders   Aircraft Manufacturing (OEMs)   Defense Policy   Boeing   Boeing 747  
FL360aero • Could Replace T

Former Qatari VIP-configured Boeing 747-8i completes flight testing as part of the VC-25B Bridge Program.

By FL360aero: The VC-25B Bridge program is an interim initiative by the U.S. Air Force to field a temporary presidential aircraft—the "Bridge Aircraft". The "Bridge Aircraft" is aimed at addressing critical capability gaps caused by significant delays in the primary VC-25B (Air Force One) replacement program.

Also: Air & Space Forces Mag, The Aviationist, DVIDS / U.S. DoD, The Independent, CBC and 4 more
2026-05-01T15:57:23.293694-07:00
AI   Defense Industry & Major Contractors   Space Defense & Militarization   Policy & Regulation   Cybersecurity (Cyber Threats & Protection)   Defense Policy  
Breaking Defense • Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.

Pentagon clears 8 tech firms to deploy their AI on its classified networks

By Breaking Defense: The Defense Department has made agreements with Amazon Web Services, Google, Microsoft, NVIDIA, OpenAI, SpaceX, and Reflection, according to an announcement this morning, with an eighth, Oracle, added just hours later.

Also: GeekWire, The Guardian and 3 more
2026-05-01T08:10:01.365316-07:00