Rapid Alerts

AFGSC, in a strategic partnership with Air Force Materiel Command & the Defense Logistics Agency, has launched the “North Star Readiness Campaign,” a sweeping initiative aimed at increasing the number of mission-capable B-52 Stratofortress & B-1 Lancer aircraft.

Inside the flooded ballast tanks of a Virginia-class submarine, where there is no natural light and spaces are tighter than shoulder-width, Royal Australian Navy divers are learning how to sustain one of the world’s most advanced undersea platforms. Though the work is gritty, technical and claustrophobic, it represents one of the clearest signs yet that AUKUS - the enhanced security partnership between Australia, the U.S. and the U.K. - is progressing and delivering results.

Iowa Army Ammunition Plant will be testing 40-pound cratering charges on 29-30 Sept. This includes 10 cratering charges being detonated per day on both 29 and 30 Sept. Testing will occur between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., weather permitting. The operation may be delayed by rain or high winds.

MARINE CORPS TRAINING AREA BELLOWS, Hawaii - Sept. 14-17, 2026, service members from Marine Wing Support Squadron 174, Marine Aircraft Group 24 trained with the Army’s 130th Engineer Brigade and the Air Force’s 647th Civil Engineer Squadron to sharpen the joint force's ability to rapidly repair damaged airfields. This joint training strengthened interoperability and readiness, enhancing the U.S. military's ability to operate in austere environments.

CLEVELAND - The Coast Guard and Berrien County Sheriff’s Office rescued three boaters whose vessel capsized offshore Roadside Park in Coloma, Michigan, Monday.

After Berrien County drone operators located the capsized vessel one-half mile offshore, a Coast Guard Station St. Joseph boat crew rescued all three individuals, who were wearing life jackets and holding onto the overturned boat.

Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan command center watchstanders received notification from Berrien County dispatchers at 3:59 p.m. of a capsized 16-foot catamaran with two women and one man aboard.

A Station St. Joseph 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew launched and arrived on scene at 4:29 p.m. At 4:37 p.m., the crew rescued the boaters and transported them safely ashore.

“This rapid rescue highlights both the value of local agency partnerships and the lifesaving impact of proper safety gear,” said Cmdr. Aaron Dorrian, search and rescue mission coordinator, Sector Lake Michigan. “The Coast Guard urges every boater across the Great Lakes to prioritize safety by always wearing your life jacket, monitoring local weather conditions, and carrying reliable means of communication.”

For any maritime emergencies please contact the Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan command center at 833-900-2247.

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PORTFOLIO ACQUISITION EXECUTIVE (AVIATION), Patuxent River, Md. - Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) system production is stabilizing under a joint initiative between the U.S. Navy and Thales USA Inc., eliminating production bottlenecks and securing long-term fleet readiness across Navy and interagency platforms. A collaborative performance-to-plan (P2P) strategy, developed by the Naval Air Traffic Management Systems Program Office (PMA-213), optimizes program execution. This strategy resolves supply chain disruptions and eliminates maintenance bottlenecks that arose during the integration of key navigation aids supplier lines. TACAN systems - primarily the AN/URN-32 and AN/URN-33 systems - serve as vital navigational beacons for naval aviators. Transmitting critical direction and distance data, the systems guide aircraft safely through adverse weather, night operations and degraded environments back to ships and shore installations.

Supply chain bottlenecks and corporate transition barriers previously led to a delivery deficit in critical High-Power Amplifiers (HPA), challenging fleet readiness. To sustain continuity, PMA-213 and Thales implemented a data-driven P2P strategy, partnering directly with Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) and the U.S. Coast Guard to orchestrate a multipronged recovery plan.

Using a tiered hardware strategy, program engineers reallocated Series 1 HPAs from land-based sites to immediately replenish operational fleet requirements at sea, while outfitting new-construction hulls with modern, next-generation Series 2 configurations.

Thales expanded throughput at its facility by investing in dedicated test benches and specialized personnel to accelerate repairs.

The engineering team fielded targeted software updates to align user interfaces across both hardware generations while streamlining data requirements to lower long-term sustainment costs.

"By moving away from traditional contracting to a rigorous P2P framework, we turned transparent data into decisive action," said Capt. Walter B. Massenburg Jr., PMA-213 program manager. "Thales worked directly with the government to address structural production and repair challenges, resolving hurdles and accelerating deliveries to our fleet and interagency partners."

The recovery drew on an enterprise-wide coalition across the naval aviation and maritime infrastructure, including NAVSUP, Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Webster Outlying Field and the Coast Guard.

Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), flagship of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 3, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121), and the embarked staffs of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9 and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 21, arrived in Guam for a brief logistics stop, Sept. 19, 2026.

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan - The U.S. Marine Corps deploys Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 533, also known as the “Hawks,” an F-35B Lightning II squadron based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, under the Marine Corps’ Unit Deployment Program (UDP) on Sept. 5, 2026. VMFA-533 joins Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, and will conduct aviation operations and maintain combat readiness throughout the Indo-Pacific region. VMFA-533 will integrate as the new UDP squadron, replacing the current UDP squadron, VMFA-232.

The Unit Deployment Program provides continental U.S.-based units with experience operating in the Indo-Pacific through continuous and overlapping deployments to the region. The Hawks will augment 1st Marine Aircraft Wing’s ability to provide combat-ready, task-organized aviation forces capable of operating from naval and expeditionary environments. This enhances operational readiness, promotes regional stability, and demonstrates the United States’ enduring commitment to the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security.

TAMPA, Fla. - U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces successfully completed a wave of strikes against Iranian military targets Sept. 1.

U.S. forces struck Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets including air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets and facilities, mine laying capabilities, and communications sites.

The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members.

More than 50,000 U.S. service members are currently operating across the Middle East and remain vigilant, lethal, and prepared to continue executing operations directed by the Commander in Chief.

To eliminate a critical supply chain bottleneck, the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division has quadrupled the Navy's in-house fiber optic repair capabilities by establishing a standardized training process and a dedicated research and development lab, keeping advanced strike and patrol aircraft mission-ready.

The U.S. Army accelerated and demonstrated the air-launched effects (A-LE) capability of the H-60M Black Hawk during rigorous flight testing at Project Convergence Capstone 6 (PCC6) this July. This event adds to the recent success the program demonstrated at A.P. Hill, VA last month.

TAMPA, Fla. - At 10 p.m. ET on July 29, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces successfully completed a heavy wave of strikes against Iran in response to yesterday's attempted missile attacks on U.S. forces.

CENTCOM assets struck dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran, including military command centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defense sites, and maritime capabilities. The strikes aimed to further diminish threats posed by Iran and its proxies to American forces, commercial shipping, and neighboring Gulf countries.

On July 28, IRGC forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on U.S. forces based in the Middle East. All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted.

More than 50,000 U.S. service members are currently deployed to the Middle East and remain highly vigilant, focused, lethal, and ready.