Brandon J. Weichert

Brandon Weichert

Brandon J. Weichert is the Senior National Security Editor at 19FortyFive.com. He was previously the senior national security editor at The National Interest. Weichert is the host of The National Security Hour on iHeartRadio, where he discusses national security policy every Wednesday at 8 pm Eastern. He hosts a companion show on Rumble entitled "National Security Talk." Weichert consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. His writings have appeared in numerous publications, among them Popular Mechanics, National Review, MSN, and The American Spectator. And his books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China's Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran's Quest for Supremacy. Weichert's newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed on Twitter/X at @WeTheBrandon.

Aerospace & Defense

China Just Flew a Jet-Powered Drone ‘Aircraft Carrier’ Mothership That Can Launch 100 Smaller Drones at Once

China just flew something new over Shaanxi Province: a jet-powered aircraft built to carry a hundred smaller drones and release them in a swarm....

Brandon WeichertJuly 8, 2026

North Korea New Destroyer KCNA Photo_State Media

Hermit Kingdom

North Korea’s New Destroyer Capsized at Its Own Launch. A Year Later It’s Heading Into Service Anyway

Last year North Korea's newest destroyer rolled over at its own launch, and the world assumed the program was finished for years. Instead Pyongyang...

Brandon WeichertJuly 8, 2026

A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft takes off at a base in the Middle East, April 28, 2026. The F-15 is an all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter designed to permit the Air Force to gain and maintain air supremacy over the battlefield. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Nathan Lipscomb)

Aerospace & Defense

The U.S. Navy Almost Bought an Aircraft Carrier Version of the F-15 Instead of the F-14. One Missile Killed the Idea

The F-15N Sea Eagle was faster, nimbler, and cheaper to run than the Tomcat. It couldn't carry the one weapon the Navy actually needed.

Brandon WeichertJuly 7, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

F-47 NGAD: A Tailless Aircraft Was Photographed Over Area 51 at Night — and It’s Probably America’s Next Fighter

The grainy photos show a tailless shape with canards slipping through the Nevada night, and the internet reached for aliens. Aviation experts reached for...

Brandon WeichertJuly 7, 2026

SSBN China Submarine. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Aerospace & Defense

‘You Could Hear Them From Pearl Harbor’: China’s Once-Noisy Submarines Just Silenced Decades of Mockery

At noon Beijing time, a missile rose out of the Pacific carrying a dummy warhead, and Beijing declined to say what it was. Western...

Brandon WeichertJuly 7, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

U.S. Navy Starts New Arleigh Burke Destroyer as DDG(X) Slips

The U.S. Navy has started fabrication on USS John F. Lehman, another Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, because the service still lacks a ready...

Brandon WeichertJuly 6, 2026

HMS Daring Type 45 Destroyer Royal Navy.

Aerospace & Defense

Britain Just Canceled the Type 83 Destroyer — and the Royal Navy Could Have Zero Destroyers Left by 2040

The Royal Navy's biggest surface-fleet shift in decades starts with a cancellation. In place of the destroyer meant to succeed the Type 45, Britain...

Brandon WeichertJuly 6, 2026

An F-22A Raptor aircraft assigned to the 154th Fighter Wing, Hawaii Air National Guard, completes flight operations during Sentry Aloha 26-1, Jan. 22, 2026. Sentry Aloha 26-1 is a recurring, large-scale training exercise designed to enhance readiness, interoperability and integration across U.S. and partner air forces. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Michael Swingen)

Aerospace & Defense

China Now Has More J-20 Stealth Fighters Than America Has F-22 Raptors — and the F-22 Is No Longer in Production

China's fifth-generation fleet has crossed a threshold no Western planner can ignore, and the number is still climbing. The latest J-20s carry new radars,...

Brandon WeichertJuly 6, 2026

(July 14, 2024) The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) returns to Naval Station Norfolk, July 14, 2024, concluding a nine-month deployment to the Atlantic. Eisenhower, the flagship of the Ike Carrier Strike Group, departed Norfolk October 14, 2023 to conduct a scheduled deployment to U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts, and enhanced vigilance activities operations with NATO Allies and Partners. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Hunter Day)

Aerospace & Defense

America Needs 250,000 New Shipbuilders to Build the Submarines It’s Already Paid For — and It Can’t Find Them

For years, Washington assumed that if it spent enough, the ships would appear. They haven't. America's naval industrial base needs 250,000 workers it doesn't...

Brandon WeichertJuly 4, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

China Can Build a J-20 Stealth Fighter in Months. Building a Pilot to Fight It Takes Decades — and That’s Beijing’s Real Problem

China's aerospace industry did something that looked impossible 20 years ago: it built one of the world's largest stealth-fighter fleets. But the J-20's greatest...

Brandon WeichertJuly 3, 2026

19FortyFive

Brandon Weichert

Aerospace & Defense

China Just Flew a Jet-Powered Drone ‘Aircraft Carrier’ Mothership That Can Launch 100 Smaller Drones at Once

Hermit Kingdom

North Korea’s New Destroyer Capsized at Its Own Launch. A Year Later It’s Heading Into Service Anyway

Aerospace & Defense

The U.S. Navy Almost Bought an Aircraft Carrier Version of the F-15 Instead of the F-14. One Missile Killed the Idea

Aerospace & Defense

F-47 NGAD: A Tailless Aircraft Was Photographed Over Area 51 at Night — and It’s Probably America’s Next Fighter

Aerospace & Defense

‘You Could Hear Them From Pearl Harbor’: China’s Once-Noisy Submarines Just Silenced Decades of Mockery

Aerospace & Defense

U.S. Navy Starts New Arleigh Burke Destroyer as DDG(X) Slips

Aerospace & Defense

Britain Just Canceled the Type 83 Destroyer — and the Royal Navy Could Have Zero Destroyers Left by 2040

Aerospace & Defense

China Now Has More J-20 Stealth Fighters Than America Has F-22 Raptors — and the F-22 Is No Longer in Production

Aerospace & Defense

America Needs 250,000 New Shipbuilders to Build the Submarines It’s Already Paid For — and It Can’t Find Them

Aerospace & Defense

China Can Build a J-20 Stealth Fighter in Months. Building a Pilot to Fight It Takes Decades — and That’s Beijing’s Real Problem

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