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Ukraine’s Magura unmanned surface vehicle (USV) has become the country’s weapon of choice against Russia’s Black Sea fleet since its development in Fall of 2022. The multi-purpose USV can be configured for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) as well as patrol, search-and-rescue, mine warfare, escort or strike missions. The 18-ft (5.5-m) craft’s low-silhouette and reduced heat emissions allow for its trademark stealthy and effective operational performance. The system can equip a 705-lb (320-kg) payload and Ukraine’s military has experimented with fitting other weapons and defenses onboard including AA-11 Archer infrared anti-air missiles.

Though information on exact usage and deployment is often not divulged, the Magura has been used extensively against Russian forces in the ongoing Ukraine War. A Polish journal study re-published by the Kyiv Post on July 11, 2024, found that the Magura USV had been responsible for 14 of the Ukrainian military’s 22 strikes on Russian warships since 2022, and had conducted all eight ship sinkings carried out by the country’s military.

The IRST21 is the next-generation successor to the AAS-42 system.

When integrated into a pod for the F-15, the system is known as the Legion Pod (See separate record); when integrated into a fuel tank/ECU/sensor combination for the F/A-18, the system is known as the ASG-34(V)1 pod.

In May 2021, at the U.S.'s Northern Edge exercise in Alaska, a new IRST21 datalink capability was tested. The new operational mode allows pods, functioning on separate aircraft, to network, which gives the typically 2D output from the IRST21 the potential to be converted to a 3D dataset by utilizing the additional perspective provided by the second pod.

The Navy and Lockheed Martin anticipate reaching Initial Operating Capability for the Block II system in early 2024.

Contractor General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (GD NASSCO) is steaming ahead with the construction and delivery of the Military Sealift Command’s incoming JOHN LEWIS-class fleet replenishment oilers. The third vessel of the planned 20-ship class, EARL WARREN, was delivered on May 7 and the keel was laid for the sixth ship, SOJOURNER TRUTH on June 21. 20 ships of the class are envisioned, however only three are currently active, with six more either building or on order.

Planned to be a cornerstone of the U.S. Navy’s logistics and fleet support forces, the JOHN LEWIS class are designed for underway replenishment of fuel and stores on Navy ships. The ships can carry 162,164 barrels of liquid cargo and are fitted with over 9,000 sq ft (835 m2) of dry and refrigerated cargo space. Ten centrifugal pumps are capable of pumping 3,000 gallons per minute (11,355 liters per minute), rapidly refueling surface ships and carrier-embarked aircraft. The class was named in honor of civil rights activist and U.S. congressman John Lewis, and each ship bears the name of an advocate for human rights in the U.S.