Dr. Brent M. Eastwood

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

Bullseye: The U.S. Marines Now Have Their Very Own Cruise Missile

Congress has set aside $40 million to put the Bullseye cruise missile in U.S. Marine Corps hands. Built by General Atomics from Rafael's Ice...

Brent M. EastwoodJuly 14, 2026

A Tomahawk cruise missile launches from the forward vertical launch system of the USS Shiloh (CG 67) to attack selected air defense targets south of the 33rd parallel in Iraq on Sept. 3, 1996, as part of Operation Desert Strike. The attacks are designed to reduce risks to the pilots who will enforce the expanded no-fly zone. President Clinton announced an expanded no-fly zone in response to an Iraqi attack against a Kurdish faction. The larger no-fly zone in Southern Iraq will make it easier for U.S. and coalition partners to contain Saddam Hussein's aggression. The U.S. Navy Ticonderoga Class cruiser launched the missiles as it operated in the Persian Gulf.

Aerospace & Defense

Sinking Feeling: Something Feels Wrong About Retiring the U.S. Navy’s Ticonderoga-Class Missile Cruisers

The U.S. Navy is retiring its last seven Ticonderoga-class cruisers by 2030, ending a decades-long era of missile-heavy carrier escorts. A $3.7 billion modernization...

Brent M. EastwoodJuly 9, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

America’s B-1B Bombers Just Got a Ship-Killing Missile — and China Must Wonder if a Day One Strike on Its Navy Is Now in the Cards

The Air Force validated the AGM-158C LRASM on the B-1B Lancer at Dyess Air Force Base, giving the Cold War-era bomber a ship-killing role...

Brent M. EastwoodJuly 7, 2026

Apollo 11 and Saturn V Exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center. Taken on 6/28/2026 by 19FortyFive.com

Space and Technology

After walking on the Moon, the Apollo 11 crew spent three weeks locked in quarantine — in case they’d brought back lunar germs — and greeted the world through glass.

The first men on the Moon came home to a locked box. For three weeks after splashdown, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins...

Brent M. EastwoodJuly 2, 2026

19FortyFive F-14 Tomcat Photo From Smithsonian Personal Visit

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

In 1956 a U.S. Navy Test Pilot Fired His Cannons in a Dive, Then Flew Into His Own Bullets 11 Seconds Later and Shot Himself Down

In 1956, a Navy test pilot named Tom Attridge did something no one thought possible: he shot himself down. Diving past the speed of...

Brent M. EastwoodJune 26, 2026

Image of F-16 Fighter. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

China Is Smiling: U.S. Holds Back $14 Billion Worth of Arms Deliveries to Taiwan Forces Due to Major Iran War Induced Shortages

President Trump called Taiwan's $14 billion U.S. weapons package a "bargaining chip" he was holding over China, leverage he could trade for concessions from...

Brent M. EastwoodJune 26, 2026

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

The Canadian Air Force Could Soon Fly Both F-35 Stealth Fighters and JAS 39 Gripen Fighters from Sweden

Canada was supposed to buy 88 F-35 stealth fighters from the United States. Now the deal is in limbo: frustrated with President Trump's tariffs...

Brent M. EastwoodJune 26, 2026

Army paratroopers assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, U.S. Army Alaska, fire the M3 Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System (MAAWS) during live-fire training at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Sept. 15, 2021. The MAAWS, also known as the Carl Gustaf, is a man-portable, reusable, breech-loading, 84 mm recoilless rifle capable of destroying armored targets up to 700 meters away. (U.S. Air Force photo by Alejandro Peña)

Trillions - 19FortyFive

The U.S. Spent $43,000,000 on a Single Gas Station in Afghanistan. It Should Have Cost $500,000

My best friend in the U.S. Army was a Special Forces officer with service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Once, we had a conversation about...

Brent M. EastwoodJune 24, 2026

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

America’s $300,000,000 F-47 NGAD Fighter Has 1 Problem China Is Counting On: It May Not Be Able to Reach the Fight

America's sixth-generation F-47 may be the most advanced fighter ever built, and could cost up to $300 million each. But in a war over...

Brent M. EastwoodJune 24, 2026

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

In November 1988 the Soviet Union flew its own space shuttle, Buran, into orbit and landed it completely on autopilot with no crew aboard — something NASA’s shuttle never did — and then flew it exactly once, because within three years the country that built it no longer existed.

In November 1988 the Soviet Union flew its own space shuttle. Buran reached orbit, circled the Earth twice, and landed itself completely on autopilot,...

Brent M. EastwoodJune 23, 2026

19FortyFive

Brent M. Eastwood

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

Bullseye: The U.S. Marines Now Have Their Very Own Cruise Missile

Aerospace & Defense

Sinking Feeling: Something Feels Wrong About Retiring the U.S. Navy’s Ticonderoga-Class Missile Cruisers

Aerospace & Defense

America’s B-1B Bombers Just Got a Ship-Killing Missile — and China Must Wonder if a Day One Strike on Its Navy Is Now in the Cards

Space and Technology

After walking on the Moon, the Apollo 11 crew spent three weeks locked in quarantine — in case they’d brought back lunar germs — and greeted the world through glass.

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

In 1956 a U.S. Navy Test Pilot Fired His Cannons in a Dive, Then Flew Into His Own Bullets 11 Seconds Later and Shot Himself Down

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

China Is Smiling: U.S. Holds Back $14 Billion Worth of Arms Deliveries to Taiwan Forces Due to Major Iran War Induced Shortages

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

The Canadian Air Force Could Soon Fly Both F-35 Stealth Fighters and JAS 39 Gripen Fighters from Sweden

Trillions - 19FortyFive

The U.S. Spent $43,000,000 on a Single Gas Station in Afghanistan. It Should Have Cost $500,000

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

America’s $300,000,000 F-47 NGAD Fighter Has 1 Problem China Is Counting On: It May Not Be Able to Reach the Fight

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

In November 1988 the Soviet Union flew its own space shuttle, Buran, into orbit and landed it completely on autopilot with no crew aboard — something NASA’s shuttle never did — and then flew it exactly once, because within three years the country that built it no longer existed.

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