Christian D. Orr

B-2 Spirit stealth bombers assigned to Whiteman Air Force Base taxi and take-off during exercise Spirit Vigilance on Whiteman Air Force Base on November 7th, 2022. Routine exercises like Spirit Vigilance assure our allies and partners that Whiteman Air Force Base is ready to execute nuclear operations and global strike anytime, anywhere. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Bryson Britt)

Aerospace & Defense

B-2 Pilots Flew 36 Hours and 13,000 Miles From Missouri to Strike Iran. The Aircraft Has One Fold-Down Cot, and It Is Too Short for a Tall Pilot.

B-2 crews flew 36 hours nonstop and more than 13,000 miles round trip from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to strike Iran's nuclear...

Christian D. OrrAugust 4, 2026

Battleship Roma. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Aerospace & Defense

Germany Sank the Italian Battleship Roma With a Radio-Guided Bomb in September 1943. She Was Sailing to Surrender When It Hit Her.

After Italy surrendered in September 1943, the surviving Littorio-class battleships were ordered to Malta to be interned. Luftwaffe aircraft attacked them en route with...

Christian D. OrrAugust 4, 2026

LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. – F-22 Raptors from the 1st Fighter Wing sit in position on the runway fduring the Elephant Walk at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, Jan. 31, 2025. The surge was designed to showcase the wing’s operational readiness and its ability to rapidly mobilize airpower. The 1st FW operates F-22 Raptors and T-38 Talons, maintaining combat capabilities that enable the U.S. Air Force to execute missions across the globe. With a focus on air superiority, the 1st FW plays a critical role in defending the nation’s interests. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. Matthew Coleman-Foster)

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force Planned 381 F-22 Raptors and Built 187. It Now Has 183 — and Congress Just Banned Retiring Any of Them Until 2032.

The Air Force originally planned 381 F-22 Raptors. Production ended at 187 after the 2009 cancellation, and attrition has since reduced the fleet to...

Christian D. OrrAugust 4, 2026

A B-52 Stratofortress assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing takes off for a Red Flag 21-3 training mission at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, July 21, 2021. RF-Nellis 21-3 is unlike any previous Red Flags, as the 414th Combat Training Squadron builds upon the most challenging Red Flags in recent history. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexandre Montes)

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force B-52 Radar Program Had Exactly Two Test Aircraft. A June 15 Crash Destroyed One at Edwards AFB and Killed All Eight People Aboard

The B-52 Radar Modernization Program was structured around two test aircraft from the outset. On June 15 one of them crashed after departing Edwards...

Christian D. OrrAugust 4, 2026

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Feb 04, 2012) Aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65). Enterprise is underway participating in exercise Bold Alligator 2012. Bold Alligator 2012, the largest naval amphibious exercise in the past 10 years, represents the Navy and Marine Corps' revitalization of the full range of amphibious operations. The exercise focuses on today's fight with today's forces, while showcasing the advantages of seabasing. This exercise will take place 30 Jan - 12 Feb, 2012 afloat and ashore in and around Virginia and North Carolina. (US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nick C. Scott)

Aerospace & Defense

On a Submarine You Cut the Nuclear Reactor Out in One Piece. On Aircraft Carrier USS Enterprise It Is Too Big, So the Hull Comes Apart.

The final bill for the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier now runs to about $1.3 billion — $902 million to inactivate her, $111 million to...

Christian D. OrrJuly 30, 2026

Britain Spent $8 Billion on an Armored Vehicle That Leaves Its Own Soldiers Vomiting and Half-Deaf

Aerospace & Defense

Britain Spent $8 Billion on an Armored Vehicle That Leaves Its Own Soldiers Vomiting and ‘Half-Deaf’

Britain set out to build its army a next-generation fighting vehicle. What $8 billion produced, according to a scathing parliamentary report, is a machine...

Christian D. OrrJuly 8, 2026

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

A Chinese defense firm claims its AI tracked four US B-2 stealth bombers over Iran by their radio signals and reconstructed the flight path of an aircraft built to be all but invisible — but it has produced no recordings, no transcripts, no proof

Summary and Key Points: A Hangzhou defense firm, Jingan Technology, says its “Jingqi” AI system intercepted radio signals from four B-2 Spirit bombers —...

Christian D. OrrMay 31, 2026

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

On 30 October 1961 the Soviet Union detonated a single bomb called Tsar Bomba over the Arctic — and its 50-megaton blast was more powerful than every bomb, shell and explosive used by every nation in the entire Second World War, ten times over

Summary and Key Points: The Tsar Bomba is still the largest nuclear device ever detonated: a 50-megaton blast over the Arctic that outstripped every...

Christian D. OrrMay 31, 2026

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

Sunday Army Quote of the Day from Colin Powell: ‘There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure’

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell That quote belongs...

Christian D. OrrMay 3, 2026

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

Army Quote of the Day by George Patton: ‘How can a man fail if he replaces everything subordinate to success?’

General George S. Patton once said it best: “How can a man fail if he replaces everything subordinate to success?” The legendary “Old Blood...

Christian D. OrrMay 3, 2026

19FortyFive

Christian D. Orr

Aerospace & Defense

B-2 Pilots Flew 36 Hours and 13,000 Miles From Missouri to Strike Iran. The Aircraft Has One Fold-Down Cot, and It Is Too Short for a Tall Pilot.

Aerospace & Defense

Germany Sank the Italian Battleship Roma With a Radio-Guided Bomb in September 1943. She Was Sailing to Surrender When It Hit Her.

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force Planned 381 F-22 Raptors and Built 187. It Now Has 183 — and Congress Just Banned Retiring Any of Them Until 2032.

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force B-52 Radar Program Had Exactly Two Test Aircraft. A June 15 Crash Destroyed One at Edwards AFB and Killed All Eight People Aboard

Aerospace & Defense

On a Submarine You Cut the Nuclear Reactor Out in One Piece. On Aircraft Carrier USS Enterprise It Is Too Big, So the Hull Comes Apart.

Aerospace & Defense

Britain Spent $8 Billion on an Armored Vehicle That Leaves Its Own Soldiers Vomiting and ‘Half-Deaf’

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

A Chinese defense firm claims its AI tracked four US B-2 stealth bombers over Iran by their radio signals and reconstructed the flight path of an aircraft built to be all but invisible — but it has produced no recordings, no transcripts, no proof

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

On 30 October 1961 the Soviet Union detonated a single bomb called Tsar Bomba over the Arctic — and its 50-megaton blast was more powerful than every bomb, shell and explosive used by every nation in the entire Second World War, ten times over

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

Sunday Army Quote of the Day from Colin Powell: ‘There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure’

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

Army Quote of the Day by George Patton: ‘How can a man fail if he replaces everything subordinate to success?’

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