The Top 10 DoDBuzz Posts of 2016

Here's a look at the 10 most read stories of the year on DoDBuzz:

1. Navy F-35C Landed So Precisely, It Tore Up a Runway

Before seven of the Navy’s carrier-variant F-35 Joint Strike Fighters embarked aboard the carrier USS George Washington for a third and final round of developmental testing, they completed a required ashore training period, practicing landings at Choctaw Naval Outlying Field near Pensacola, Florida.

By Hope Hodge Seck | Read more

2. IED Destroys Afghan Army Helicopter

This video purportedly shows an improvised explosive device, or IED, planted by Taliban fighters beneath a landing zone in Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan in an attack that destroyed what looks like an Afghan National Army Mi-17 transport helicopter. Viewer discretion is advised.

By Brendan McGarry | Read more

3. Marines' F-35B Executes Perfect Vertical Landing on Ship

It's the new Joint Strike Fighter like you've never seen it before. The Marine Corps' F-35B just began its third and final round of shipboard testing ahead of the first operational squadron's forward deployment to Japan early next year.

By Hope Hodge Seck | Read more

4. S-97 Raider Flies with Wheels Up

The S-97 Raider coaxial helicopter made by Lockheed Martin Corp.’s Sikorsky unit recently flew with its wheels up for the first time. The company released video showing the prototype making its ninth and latest test flight.

By Brendan McGarry | Read more

5. Army Test-Fires 30mm Cannons from New Recon Vehicles

U.S. Army officials at Fort Benning, Georgia, recently conducted a live-fire demonstration of 30mm cannons mounted on the Light Armored Vehicle (Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle) and Flyer Advanced Light Strike Vehicle, both of which are made by General Dynamics Corp. and being tested by the service.

By Brendan McGarry | Read more

6. Commander Receiving F-35As: 'It's Going to Be an Absolute Monster'

The celebration of the Air Force variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter reaching initial operational capability continued Friday with a ceremony replete with dignitaries at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, where 15 F-35s were declared combat-ready this week.

By Hope Hodge Seck | Read more

7. Abrams Tank Upgrades Will Give Marines‘'Killer Edge'

The Marine Corps is modernizing one of its most reliable battle platforms: the M1A1 Abrams tank. A trio of upgrades to the tank commander's weapon station will give tank commanders and gunners a "hunter-killer edge" over the enemy, according to an announcement from Marine Corps Systems Command.

By Hope Hodge Seck | Read more

8. Army Chief Goes Silent at 'Mad Scientist' Event

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley rattled a conference on future military challenges by abruptly ordering the live-stream cut off and putting his remarks off the record. Milley gave no explanation for his last-minute action at the event at Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies.

By Richard Sisk | Read more

9. Army SOF to Trade in Its Androids for iPhones

U.S. Army Special Operations Command is dumping its Android tactical smartphone for an iPhone model. The iPhone 6S will become the end-user device for the iPhone Tactical Assault Kit -- special-operations-forces version Army's Nett Warrior battlefield situational awareness tool.

By Matthew Cox | Read more

10. Air Force Can't Afford F-35 But Wants a 'Super' A-10?

U.S. Air Force leaders have recently signaled an interest in developing a new aircraft dedicated to the mission of close air support as a replacement to the venerable A-10 Thunderbolt II, commonly known as the Warthog.

By Brendan McGarry | Read more