One of the best - The Mean Warthog

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We have just learned that one of the most successful adaptations of an existing weapon in recent memory morphing laser-guided air-to-ground rockets into counter-drone weapons can be accommodated on three USAF aircraft, not just two. First, the F-16 got the version of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System II (APKWS II) that takes 2.75 in. (70mm) Hydra rockets and turns them into drone and cruise missile busters, followed very recently by the F-15E Strike Eagle. Now we have learned that the A-10 Warthog has also received at least the ability to employ these weapons in the air-to-air role, although the type’s remaining service is now measured in months, not multiple years.

In the recently released budget request for 2026, the Pentagon documentation states that APKWSs featuring guidance sections with specialized Fixed-Wing Air-Launched Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems Ordnance (FALCO) software installed are cleared for use on the F-16, F-15E, and the A-10.

The rockets use laser guidance and a proximity fuse to explode near subsonic, low-maneuverability targets like drones and cruise missiles. TWZ was first to report on the testing of this configuration of APKWS back in 2019. APKWSs were first used operationally as anti-air weapons in the surface-to-air role, with Ukraine receiving the VAMPIRE system that has proven to be highly successful.

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But this is a bummer

The United Kingdom has announced sweeping cuts of its Armed Forces as it seeks to save money, despite the precarious security situation in Europe and elsewhere.
The Royal Air Force, British Army, and Royal Navy will also lose frontline equipment, and it’s not necessarily clear how capabilities will be maintained once these assets are withdrawn.
Moreover, with a new defense review expected next year, there is the possibility of worse to come for the British Armed Forces.

Speaking in parliament today, U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey outlined the plan, which will affect all three branches of the British military.
The assets to be withdrawn to include the following:

The Royal Navy’s two Albion class amphibious assault ships, HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark will be taken out of service at the end of the year, around a decade earlier than planned, although their withdrawal has been threatened now for several years.
With their retirement, the ability of U.K. Royal Marines to launch land assaults from the sea will be notably reduced.

The Royal Air Force will lose its fleet of 17 Puma battlefield mobility helicopters, together with 14 of the oldest Chinook heavy-lift helicopters used by the same service. The United Kingdom had already ordered new Chinooks to modernize that force, some of which date back to the very first deliveries of these helicopters in the early 1980s.
However, today’s decision leaves a question mark over plans to replace the Puma fleet, under the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) program. There had already been suggestions that the NMH might also face the ax.
 
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