Author: Jack Bogart

FORT RUCKER, Ala. — Army Software Factory noncommissioned officers marked a milestone in their careers as they became software operations warrant officers, graduating from Warrant Officer Candidate School at Fort Rucker on June 10. The software operations technician military occupational specialty, known as 280A, is the Army’s newest functional area. “We realized the operational power of having Soldiers who have software operations skills paired with Soldiers with artificial intelligence skills to solve problems for commanders,” said Howard K. “Howie” Brewington, deputy director of the Mission Command Center of Excellence based at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The Army Software Factory is an…

Tent camping under the stars will always have its own allure. At the same time, getting to sleep in a real bed at the end of a long day of hiking is often a welcome luxury. If you love hiking and want to explore nature — but don’t like sleeping on the ground — hut-to-hut hikes are worth a try. For some wilderness areas, these backcountry huts are the only sleep option while exploring scenic trails. They also offer the advantage of packing lighter and moving faster, since you won’t need as much gear. We rounded up the seven best…

Support us! GearJunkie may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More Outdoor Vitals: Up to 18% Off Sitewide Backpacking brand Outdoor Vitals specializes in ultralight, thoughtfully designed gear, and now that cutting-edge tech is all on sale. During its Founder’s Day sale, save on packs, quilts, sun hoodies, puffers, and more. Shop Outdoor Vitals Sale REI: 40% Off Jetboil Mini Mo If you’re the kind of backpacker who wants to eat directly from the pot, the Jetboil MiniMo is the stove for you. Metal handles, a wider mouth, and a shorter height make this stove…

Recent Demonstration Showcases Interoperable Counter-UAS Capabilities for National Security and Critical Infrastructure MissionsWarrenton, VA. – 16 June 2026 – DroneShield, a global leader in advanced counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS), recently highlighted its participation in a recent C-UAS demonstration with Parsons Corporation, showcasing how interoperable technologies can help organizations detect, track, and respond to evolving drone threats. The demonstration brought together advanced sensing, command-and-control, and counter-drone technologies within a common operational environment, highlighting how organizations can leverage best-of-breed capabilities to improve situational awareness and accelerate decision-making during complex security operations. As part of the demonstration, DroneShield provided drone detection, electronic warfare, and…

If you ask me (and I imagine other women), there is no greater hell than trying to buy pants. Every pair of pants fits differently, and sizes can be wildly inconsistent across brands. Now add the dimension of trying to find functional, durable pants that can perform in the outdoors. Oftentimes, it feels like I have a better shot at finding the Holy Grail than I do a pair of comfortable, high-quality hiking/climbing pants. After years of trying countless pairs of pants, I can say with confidence I’ve finally found my Holy Grail: the prAna Halle Pants ($98). These pants…

If you follow watch culture at all, you’ll quickly realize that “watch people” take their stuff pretty seriously. Maybe that’s why Christopher Ward is such a breath of fresh air. With the release of the C60 Pool Diver ($1,475 with a steel Bader bracelet, and $1,250 with an Aquaflex rubber strap), Christopher Ward offers a super-functional watch with a sense of humor. It’s self-deprecating in ways few brands try to be. And realistically, it’s much more in tune with how most people actually use a dive watch. The Pool Diver is a follow-up to the wildly popular Desk Diver watch,…

Benchmade has brought their recently released manual folder the Lowden into the Gold Class for the first time. This highly limited version of the Lowden ramps up the detail work and turns the design into something worth of being put on the display shelf. The Lowden made its first appearance in Benchmade’s 2025 catalog at the beginning of 2025 – but at that time it had no name, and no actual physical prototype. Needless to say, the unusual circumstances really heightened interest in the piece, so that by the time it actually dropped last August, the knife community was ready.…

At under 2 kg and nearly half of the cost of US equivalents, it is the most accurate European payload in its class with the longest targeting range, designed for off-the-shelf integration across drone platforms.  As Russia’s GPS jamming spreads across the region, laser designation offers the only targeting solution that does not rely on GPS at all. June 17, 2026 – Vilnius, Lithuania. When GPS guidance fails, a drone can drift off course by as much as 100 km. Over the last month, at least six drone incidents across Europe have been linked to GPS jamming and spoofing –…

SALT LAKE CITY, June 15, 2026 — Red Cat Holdings, Inc.?(Nasdaq: RCAT) (“Red Cat” or the “Company”), a U.S.-based provider of advanced all-domain drone and robotic solutions for defense and national security, today introduced Hellcat™, a dual-use small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) built on the proven Black Widow™ platform and designed for rapidly evolving operational environments. Red Cat is unveiling Hellcat in conjunction with Eurosatory 2026, where defense leaders, government buyers, and industry partners from across Europe and allied nations are convening to evaluate current and future capabilities with a focus on small UAS, contested-environment operations, and interoperable systems. Built…

By Wayne van Zwoll Posted in #Gear Charred lodgepoles scratching a gunmetal sky reflected my mood. This morning the elk had won. No plan in mind, I climbed beyond where they’d scattered. Probing the slope’s crest from the sit with my binocular, I saw it. Among ranks of black boles with low-arcing limbs, a branch curved up. The lenses of my 7×35 Bausch & Lomb resolved it. Antler! A 4 o’clock tangle became the bull’s hump — all but hidden by the bead on my .32 Special. After the carbine spoke I scaled the scarp and found…