Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security
Summary and Key Points: On February 17, 2026, Pratt & Whitney released an update on its XA103 adaptive-cycle engine, featuring a notional 6th-generation fighter...
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On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the 2022 invasion, the Kremlin faces a paradoxical reality: while it occupies roughly 20% of Ukraine,...
Summary and Key Points: The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that President Trump’s use of IEEPA to levy tariffs exceeds his constitutional authority, returning...
Summary and Key Points: Northrop Grumman is preparing to “flex” production of the B-21 Raider at Plant 42 to meet a rapidly growing U.S....
Summary and Key Points: Critics often cite the strained U.S. submarine industrial base—currently prioritized for Columbia-class SSBNs—as proof that AUKUS will fail. -However, AUKUS...
Key Points and Summary – The recent NATO summit in The Hague, where European allies agreed to a new 5% of GDP defense spending...
The Trump administration made the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire its priority foreign policy initiative shortly after the inauguration. Setting aside Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric that he...
The strain in US-European relations under the second Trump administration stems primarily from a deepening ideological divide, not just policy disputes over trade or...
Since the ill-fated Oval Office meeting between Presidents Trump and Zelensky, the headlines have been dominated by pronouncements about the end of NATO, the...
Summary and Key Points: On January 25, 1966, Lockheed test pilot Bill Weaver survived the mid-air disintegration of an SR-71 Blackbird while flying at...
Summary and Key Points: Europe’s race for sixth-generation air dominance is shifting as the UK-Italy-Japan Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) gains decisive momentum over...
Synopsis: The U.S. Air Force is considering pursuing an unprecedented three-tiered air dominance strategy: the upgraded “Super” F-22, the modernized Block 4 F-35, and...
Summary and Key Points: As of February 2026, Astute-Class Royal Navy submarine HMS Anson is en route to join the Submarine Rotational Force–West in...
Summary and Key Points: In April 1925, Chancellor Winston Churchill restored the British Gold Standard at the pre-war parity of $4.86. -Despite warnings from...
Quote of the Day from the Great Mark Twain – Summary and Key Points: -Samuel Clemens, known by the pen name Mark Twain, remains...
Summary and Key Points: Some Canadian travelers are being denied entry to the United States by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for reasons ranging...
Summary and Key Points: Stephen Hawking entered Cambridge as a promising young scholar, then watched his body begin to fail. -Diagnosed with ALS in...
Summary and Key Points: In February 2026, Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Budapest to herald a “new golden age” of relations, signing a...
Summary and Key Points: On February 18, 2026, President Trump publicly warned British PM Keir Starmer that entering a 100-year lease for Diego Garcia...
Summary and Key Points: The expiration of the New START Treaty in February 2026 completes the dismantling of the global strategic arms control system....
Summary and Key Points: The 2026 Munich Security Conference confirmed a fundamental U.S. departure from the liberal international order. -While Secretary of State Marco...
Korea’s Division Isn’t a Glitch Anymore. It’s a Feature of the New Order The division of Korea was always understood to be temporary. In...
Key Points and Summary – When North Korea stormed across the 38th parallel in June 1950, an exhausted post-WWII US Army rushed a tiny...
Key Points and Summary – North Korea’s special operations forces are often overlooked, but estimates place them among the world’s largest elite formations. -Designed...
Key Points and Summary – North Korea’s most underrated weapon isn’t its nukes or artillery, but its vast tunnel network under and around the...
Summary and Key Points: On February 17, 2026, Pratt & Whitney released an update on its XA103 adaptive-cycle engine, featuring a notional 6th-generation fighter...
Summary and Key Points: In mid-February 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed that Canada has begun “long-lead” payments for 14 additional F-35 aircraft, bringing...
Summary and Key Points: The MiG-35 Fulcrum-F is often described as a “zombie program”—a sophisticated fourth-generation “+++” fighter that possesses the technical DNA to...
Summary and Key Points: While the Chengdu J-36 fighter program has successfully flown four prototypes in record time, the Xi’an H-20 stealth bomber remains...
Summary and Key Points: Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation recently delivered a new batch of “upgraded” Su-57 Felon stealth fighters to the Aerospace Forces, featuring...
