Global Conflict Reporting

Category: US military

  • US Air Force releases report on F-35 crash that took place in Alaska in January.

    By. Scott Jackson

    08/26/2025

    At 12:29PM on January 28th, 2025 a United States Air Force F-35A crashed at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. Video released of the incident shows that while on a training flight, the pilot, flying with the 354th Fighter Wing, lost control of his jet and was forced to eject while the jet crashes into the ground moments later.

    Video of the incident. F-35 tail number 19-5535

    The report going over the investigation into this crash came out today and fully explained the cascade of events that caused the crash. The culprit was water that had contaminated the hydraulic fluid for the nose landing gear. This water caused freezing in the hydraulic system and caused the nose gear to not retract properly and left it cantered 17 degrees to the left.The pilot initially on a call with Lockheed Martin engineers and together over the course of an hour efforts were made to fix the nose gear by doing touch and go landings. After the second touch and go landing the struts on both left and right landing gear had ice form around them causing them not to extend after the takeoff. Because of this, the aircraft’s “weight on wheels” sensors showed the aircraft as being on the ground and the plane automatically flipped to on the ground flight controls, while the plane was airborne. The pilot lost control at this point and made the decision to eject as the jet became uncontrollable . The jet crashed to the grounds of Eielson Air Force immediately after the ejection.

    The pilot was treated at the time for minor, non life threatening injuries.

    The crash cost the taxpayers $196,500,000.

    Like to full Air Force report:

    https://www.pacaf.af.mil/Portals/6/documents/3_AIB%20Report.pdf?ver=z-QJglR9Qm7slupMlo6zeA%3d%3d

  • Fire aboard USS New Orleans (LPD-18) while at anchor in Okinawa Japan

    By. Scott Jackson

    08/21/2025

    A fire aboard the San Antonio-class amphibious transport ship USS New Orleans (LPD-18) has, after 12 hours, been extinguished according to the U.S. Navy 7th fleet. The ship was anchored in the harbor at Okinawa at the time of the fire and it at least appears that the marines were not currently on the ship, however 2 sailers received minor injuries during the incident and were treated on board.

    Video during the efforts to control the fire as tugboats cool down the metal of the hull with water.

    The crew fighting the fire was assisted by sailors from another San Antonio-class amphibious transport ship, USS San Diego (LPD-17) which was moored at the White Beach Navel Facility. The crew was also assisted by the Japanese Coast Guard and military.

    At this time the cause of the fire is still under investigation. The ship remains in Nakagusuku bay.

    The New Orleans is apart of the Navy’s forward-deployed amphibious forces based in Japan.

    The fire began at 4:00 PM on August 20th. Judging by where the tugs are spraying it appears the fire started near the living spaces and stores of the ship.

    The navy overhauled how it fights fires after a 2020 fire on the big deck amphibious warship, USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) burned for four days and resulted in the total loss of the ship.

  • China and the U.S. clash over US patrol in South China Sea. (Video Included).

    By. Scott Jackson

    08/15/2025

    Yesterday, the  Chinese PLAN (People’s liberation, Army Navy) claimed that they expelled a U.S. Navy Destroyer that entered its territorial waters near the Scarborough Shoals in the South China Sea. 

    Here’s the facts we know. The U.S. Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG-76) previously located at Cebu City in the Philippines  sailed near the disputed territory around the Scarborough Shoal during a freedom of navigation patrol. This was two days after a Chinese coast guard cutter collided with a Chinese guided missile destroyer while chasing a ship from the Filipino coast guard. USS Higgins came within 12 miles of Huangyan Island (another name for Scarborough Shoal) , a highly disputed territory claimed by China, Taiwan, and the Philippines. It should be noted that the Philippines coast guard said that an Independence-class Littoral combat ship , the USS Cincinnati was also nearby.

    The Chinese say that they forced the patrol to leave the area. The U.S. disputes this saying nothing thr Chinese said or did affected them in any way.

    “China’s statement about this mission is false,” a spokesperson for U.S. 7th Fleet said in a statement. “USS Higgins (DDG-76) conducted this FONOP in accordance with international law and then continued on to conduct normal operations. The operation reflects our commitment to uphold the freedom of navigation and lawful uses of the sea as a principle. The United States is defending its right to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, as USS Higgins did here. Nothing China says otherwise will deter us.”

    The spokesperson for U.S. 7th Fleet said that the Freedom of Navigation Operation challenged the prior requirement of a notification and authorization that China and Taiwan seek before a warship makes an innocent passage in their territorial sea. 

    A FONOP or Freedom of Navigation Operation is a naval operation carried out by the U.S. to assert the right of free transfer through an area. usually, heavily disputed area.
    “The unilateral imposition of any authorization or advance-notification requirement for innocent passage is unlawful,” the spokesperson for the Japan-based fleet said in the statement.

     

    This video which I believe is filmed by a PLA helicopter or drone shows a Chinese Type-055 guided missile destroyer shadowing the USS Higgins (DDG-76) a U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-Class destroyer. We also see the USS Cleveland (LCS-31) a Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship that was also in the region.

    A Chinese SU-27 is also briefly shown in the footage.

  • Airmen arrested in the shooting death of another airmen in July. Uncommanded weapons discharge originally blamed.

    By. Scott Jackson

    08/09/2025

    On July 20th, Airman Brayden Lovan, 21, stationed at F.E Warren airbase in Wyoming was killed. His tragic death has led to an investigation into the Sig Sauer M18, the Department of Defense recent procurement for its forces which replaced the aging and well worn Beretta M9’s among others used by the Marine Corps. Now, another airmen is being charged with involuntary manslaughter, making a false statement, and obstruction of Justice.

    While no official report was released on the death of Lovan, the cause was unofficially attributed and reported as being caused by the un-commanded firing of his sidearm while in its holster and being tossed onto a table, which is believed to be the statement that the other airmen (unnamed for now) told to investigators.

    “An individual has now been arrested on suspicion of making a false official statement, obstruction of justice, and involuntary manslaughter,”

    -Spokesman with the Air Force.

    The Air Force called the gunshot an “isolated incident that does not pose a threat to the base or community.”

    In the aftermath of airmen Lovan death the M18 sidearms were pulled from service by the Air Force Global Strike Command until further notice. Since then a force wide review of the weapon has been ordered. The DoD has purchased around 125,000 of the M-18 in 2020.

    “Out of an abundance of caution and to ensure the safety and security of our personnel, the pause will remain in place pending the completion of comprehensive investigations by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the AFGSC Safety office,” Air Force Global Strike Command said in a press release in July. “During this period, Security Forces Airmen will be equipped with the M4 rifle, ensuring no lapse in AFGSC’s security posture.”

    Image of the Sig Sauer P320 M18.

    Sig Sauer also put out a statement, offering assistance in any investigation. Normally a weapons manufacturer wouldn’t involve itself a military investigation voluntarily but Sig has recently been combating allegations that their P320 handgun, as well as the military M18 version, having un-commanded discharges. The jury is still out on that allegation, but the allegations alone have hurt the company leading to lawsuits and a spat of online debate.

    “SIG SAUER has ALWAYS and will continue to put the safety and security of the U.S. Military, the law enforcement community, our consumers, and the public first,”

    Sig Sauer said in a statement.

    Airmen Brayden Tyriq Lovan

    Airmen Brayden Tyriq Lovan, 21, from Greenville, Ky joined the service in November 2023. His obituary described him as a “remote targeting engagement system operator,”a job running the bases security towers with the 90th Security Forces Squadron.

    The Francis. E Warren airbase in Cheyenne, Wyoming is the oldest continuously used airbase in U.S. military service, and is the home of the 90th missile wing, tasked with maintaining and operating the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles.

    More on this story as it develops.

  • United States soldier charged for attempting to trade US military secrets for Russian Citizenship.

    SPC Taylor Adam Lee accused of trying to sell secrets Russia.

    By. Scott Jackson

    08/07/2025

    On Wednesday August 6th, the FBI reported the arrest of Spc. Taylor Adam Lee, an American soldier who is accused of allegedly trying to steal and share classified information with Russia. 

    Taylor Adam Lee is a 22 year old, active member of the US Army, most recently stationed at Fort Bliss In Texas as a tanker with the 1st Armored Division. According to prosecutors and the military he was arrested on Wednesday and charged under the Espionage Act with attempted transmission of national defense information to a foreign adversary. Additionally, he was charged under the Arms Export Control Act. The government has requested that Lee be held without bond.

    According to the US Justice Department, Lee “transmitted export-controlled technical information on the M1A2 Abrams Tank online and offered assistance to the Russian Federation.”  He was attempting to trade the information he possessed on the Abrams to get citizenship in the Russian Federation. It’s unclear how it was revealed to investigators that Lee was looking to trade US secrets on its tanks to Russia.

    The M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank.

    Writing earlier this year Lee said online that “the USA is not happy with me for trying to expose their weaknesses,” and, “At this point I’d even volunteer to assist the Russian federation when I’m there in any way.” (CBS News)

    During a meeting in July Spc. Lee met with somebody who he believed was a representative of the Russian federations intelligence services. At this meeting he handed over an SD card with technical data and other information regarding the Abrams Main Battle Tank. A discussion took place where Lee offered to give a physical piece of tech from the tank to the Russian “agent”. 

    After the meeting Lee messaged the agent “Mission accomplished.”
    He was later arrested by the FBI’s El Paso field office.

    Lee at the time held a Top-Secret security clearance. This would have given him access to sensitive information on many of the US military’s systems.

    GCR has reached out to the US Army and will update if a response is received. 

    The adversaries of the US regularly attempt to get active duty military members to share secrets, the widespread use of the internet has increased the risk of this happening greatly. In 2024 US officials warned that there was a large uptick in foreign spies targeting American’s through social media.

    Update

    As of this morning, I received back a response from the army as well as a statement from the first armored division. No new information but it helped me fill some things in

  • US Navy F-35C Crashes near Naval Air Station in California.

    By. Scott Jackson

    07/31/2025

    Early reports are coming out about a US Navy F-35C that has crashed in the area. The jet was out of Naval Air Station Lemoore in Central California and was apart of VFA-125, The ‘Rough Riders’. VFA-125 is a navy training squadron teaching pilots how to fly the F-35.

    Report from California Highway Patrol indicating the jet thag crashed was an F-35.

    Details are still coming in but CBS news reports that the crash happened sometimes around 6:30 PM in a small field near the NAS. Fire fighters announced later that 10 acres of grass had been burned because of a small fire caused by the crash.

    The area being reported as the site of the crash.

    We have no info on what caused the accident but we do know that the pilot safely ejected. The Navy will launch its investigation as soon as possible.

    Analysis

    The F-35 with all of its stealth and technical advancements is certainly a wonder of modern engineering. It’s basically a supercomputer that flys. That being said, it’s also highly distracting to fly, according to current and former pilots with experience with the airframe. The F-35 is capable of presenting a large amount of data to its operator. Pilots have reported that the overload of data can cause some distraction and a feeling of being overwhelmed. This is a completely personal opinion, but I’ve long pondered how much the F-35 would have benefited from being a two-seater and implementing a Weapons/Systems Officer to help with the workload.

    The multi-mission and networked super speed information transferring capabilities of the jet gives you so much data, that pilots can become distracted trying to take it all in. We don’t know that this is what’s happened, it probably wasn’t, but I wanted to mention it. More than that, the jet has also had mechanical and software problems that have contributed to issues in the past. I won’t try to say for sure what happened but keep it mind that, sometimes, student pilots crash airplanes. We will know more after the investigation.

    F-35 Cockpit

    Update

    “NAS Lemoore can confirm an aviation incident on the Operations side of the installation. At 1830, an F-35C attached to the VFA-125 “Rough Raiders” went
    down not far from NAS Lemoore. NAS Lemoore can confirm the pilot successfully ejected and is safe. There are no additional affected personnel.
    The cause of the incident is under investigation.”

    I know I’ve been radio silent  for a little while now. I’ve been filling for my boss at work as she recovers from a knee surgery so I haven’t had a lot of time during the day to write as I usually would.  But things are clearing up and you’ll be hearing more from me. 

    -Scott

  • F-35C crashes from Naval air station in California

    By. Scott Jackson

    07/31/2025

    Early reports are coming out about a US Navy F-35C that has crashed in the area. The jet was out of Naval Air Station Lemoore in Central California and was apart of VFA-125, The ‘Rough Riders’. VFA-125 is a training squadron.

    Details are still coming in but CBS news reports that the crash happened sometimes around 6:30 PM in a small field near West Cadillac and South Dickinson street. Fire fighters announced later that 10 acres of grass had been burned.

    We have no info on what caused the accident but we do know that the pilot safely ejected.

    More on this as updates as released.