Caleb Larson

Aerospace & Defense

Finnish and Swedish Jets Intercept Russian MiG-31s in First Joint Mission

Finnish and Swedish fighters intercepted at least two MiG-31s this month in their first joint QRA mission, days after Finland took its first two...

Caleb LarsonSeptember 28, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

The US Navy Planned to Deliver the Aircraft Carrier USS John F. Kennedy in July 2025. She Is Now Due in March 2027. The 20-Month Slip Came Down to Arresting Gear Certification and the Weapons Elevators — the Same 2 Systems That Held Up USS Gerald R. Ford.

Ford was built with thinner deck and bulkhead plates to save weight, and the steel turned out to be harder to work with —...

Caleb LarsonSeptember 28, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

Russia’s ‘New’ Mach 4 MiG-41 Is the Fighter Time Forgot and Will Never Be the Equal of the US Air Force’s F-22, F-35, or F-47 NGAD

If Russia does build a MiG-41, it will most likely be a heavy interceptor. The credible version is a MiG-31 successor with better range,...

Caleb LarsonSeptember 28, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

‘Problem After Problem’: The US Navy Planned 32 Zumwalt ‘Stealth’ Destroyers and Built Just Three. Their Guns Needed $1 Million Shells, and the Navy Couldn’t Afford to Fire Them.

Conventional Prompt Strike is a conventionally armed boost-glide hypersonic weapon built to hit heavily defended, high-value, or fleeting targets fast. It shares its Common...

Caleb LarsonSeptember 26, 2026

U.S. Air Force Capt. Nick “Laz” Le Tourneau, pilot and commander of the F-22 Raptor Aerial Demonstration Team, performs for the Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana Air Show, Virginia Beach, Va., Sept. 20, 2026. For more than 70 years, the NAS Oceana Air Show has been a cornerstone of the Virginia Beach community, strengthening the bond between our warfighters and the community we proudly serve. This year’s theme, “Celebrating 250 Years of America,” honors our nation’s founding, its enduring legacy and the generations of men and women who have answered the call to serve and defend it.(U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Cierra Middleton)

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force Built 195 F-22s Instead of 750 and Destroyed the Tooling to Make More — Now China Has Exactly the Air Force the Raptor Was Designed to Defeat

At roughly $140 million a jet, the Raptor was expensive to build and costly to keep ready. Cutting the buy far below the 750...

Caleb LarsonSeptember 25, 2026

U.S. Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division fire an M1 Abrams main battle tank at an enemy target during Rotation 25-02 at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif., Nov. 07, 2024. Rotations at the National Training Center ensure Army Brigade Combat Teams remain versatile, responsive, and consistently available for current and future contingencies. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Casey Auman, Operations Group, National Training Center).

Aerospace & Defense

The Great US Marine Corps Reboot Has Arrived

Gen. David Berger's reasoning was blunt: buy cheap, numerous systems instead of a few exquisite ones, and stop preparing for the grinding land wars...

Caleb LarsonSeptember 25, 2026

On October 5, 1993, Langley's F-16XL High Lift jet was rolled out with a dynamic yellow and black paint job for Aero-Dynamic Flow Studies in High Speed Research.

Aerospace & Defense

Only 2 F-16XLs Were Ever Built — One Flew Alongside an SR-71 Blackbird to Help NASA Measure Sonic Booms

General Dynamics stretched the F-16's fuselage about 56 inches, removed its ventral fins, and swapped its wing for a cranked-arrow delta with no horizontal...

Caleb LarsonSeptember 25, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

Russia Spent Years Building the MiG 1.44 to Beat the USAF F-22 Raptor — It Flew Once for 18 Minutes in 2000 and Was Mothballed Forever

Mikoyan designed the MiG 1.44 to take on America's Teen Series fighters and answer the F-22, and it chose agility over pure stealth. Big...

Caleb LarsonSeptember 25, 2026

PACIFIC OCEAN – Zumwalt-class Guided Missile Destroyer Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) transits the Pacific Ocean en route to Hawaii for Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022. Twenty-six nations, 38 ships, four submarines, more than 170 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 29 to Aug 4 in and around Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Megan Alexander)

Aerospace & Defense

‘Big Mistake’: The US Navy Built 3 Zumwalt-Class Destroyers Around a Gun That Fired a Shell Costing Close to $1,000,000. Standard NATO 155mm Artillery Ammunition Runs About $3,000 a Round. The Navy Never Bought a Single Shell and Has Now Cut the Guns Out of the Ships.

The Zumwalt-class was planned at 32 ships, cut to 24, then 8, then 3 — and the overruns triggered Nunn-McCurdy along the way. Its...

Caleb LarsonSeptember 24, 2026

An F-15EX from the 123rd Fighter Squadron soars through the air at the Oregon International Air Show in McMinnville, Ore., Aug. 16, 2026. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank)

Aerospace & Defense

‘Those Days are Over”: The US Air Force Admits It Must Completely Change How it Fights Thanks to the Iran and Ukraine Wars

The US Air Force is clearly stacked with the best fighters and bombers on Earth like the F-15, F-16, F-22 and F-35. But the...

Caleb LarsonSeptember 24, 2026

19FortyFive

Caleb Larson

Aerospace & Defense

Finnish and Swedish Jets Intercept Russian MiG-31s in First Joint Mission

Aerospace & Defense

The US Navy Planned to Deliver the Aircraft Carrier USS John F. Kennedy in July 2025. She Is Now Due in March 2027. The 20-Month Slip Came Down to Arresting Gear Certification and the Weapons Elevators — the Same 2 Systems That Held Up USS Gerald R. Ford.

Aerospace & Defense

Russia’s ‘New’ Mach 4 MiG-41 Is the Fighter Time Forgot and Will Never Be the Equal of the US Air Force’s F-22, F-35, or F-47 NGAD

Aerospace & Defense

‘Problem After Problem’: The US Navy Planned 32 Zumwalt ‘Stealth’ Destroyers and Built Just Three. Their Guns Needed $1 Million Shells, and the Navy Couldn’t Afford to Fire Them.

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force Built 195 F-22s Instead of 750 and Destroyed the Tooling to Make More — Now China Has Exactly the Air Force the Raptor Was Designed to Defeat

Aerospace & Defense

The Great US Marine Corps Reboot Has Arrived

Aerospace & Defense

Only 2 F-16XLs Were Ever Built — One Flew Alongside an SR-71 Blackbird to Help NASA Measure Sonic Booms

Aerospace & Defense

Russia Spent Years Building the MiG 1.44 to Beat the USAF F-22 Raptor — It Flew Once for 18 Minutes in 2000 and Was Mothballed Forever

Aerospace & Defense

‘Big Mistake’: The US Navy Built 3 Zumwalt-Class Destroyers Around a Gun That Fired a Shell Costing Close to $1,000,000. Standard NATO 155mm Artillery Ammunition Runs About $3,000 a Round. The Navy Never Bought a Single Shell and Has Now Cut the Guns Out of the Ships.

Aerospace & Defense

‘Those Days are Over”: The US Air Force Admits It Must Completely Change How it Fights Thanks to the Iran and Ukraine Wars

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