Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security
Can the U.S. military’s next-generation fighter make it into production by 2030? The civilian head of the Air Force thinks so. The Next-Generation Air...
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The second Trump administration is reviewing America's military footprint in Europe, and the worst-case outcome is a full withdrawal. Andrew Michta argues that would...
The US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding is being judged on whether it cools tensions in the Persian Gulf. Strategic-studies scholar Andrew Michta argues that's the...
Iran: A War at the Wrong Time and Place: As the war in Iran continues and analysts debate how long it will last and...
Strategic expert Andrew A. Michta explores how Russia is capitalizing on the Iran War to consolidate gains in Europe. With U.S. resources drained and...
On May 1, 1983, an Israeli Air Force F-15 flew ten miles and landed with its entire right wing sheared off two feet from...
For decades, strategists have warned that the aircraft carrier is going the way of the battleship — too big, too costly, too easy to...
Northrop built exactly two YF-23 prototypes for the competition that produced the F-22, and both still exist. I've stood next to each, a month...
In February 1970, a supersonic Air Force interceptor fell out of control over Montana and its pilot ejected to save his life. The jet...
Iran is moving to charge ships for passing through the Strait of Hormuz — the waterway that carries a fifth of the world's oil...
A film celebrating ten years of China's Y-20 transport slipped in something no other country has shown on official camera: a sixth-generation fighter refueling...
A decade after it surfaced, China's H-20 has no flying prototype and no production line. The reasons are industrial, not financial: an intercontinental flying...
A new 1.5-gigawatt project in Utah will use five 300-megawatt Holtec small modular reactors rather than two massive conventional ones, part of a broader...
Trump calling Taiwan a "bargaining chip" is the headline, but Denny Roy argues the deeper story is structural: a Chinese military that makes intervention...
For weeks, an August 18 deadline loomed: the day a U.S.–Iran understanding expired, and, by President Trump's own warning, the day fighting over the...
The diplomatic center of gravity in the Middle East has decisively shifted to Riyadh. On June 23, 2026, talks between Iranian Majlis Speaker Mohammed...
Germany still must address a readiness issue: large portions of the army are not considered fully combat-ready, with some readiness estimates for land forces...
The KN-23, North Korea's version the Russian Iskander missile, showed up to fight in the Ukraine war. And it isn't the same platform as...
On May 21, 2025, a brand-new North Korean destroyer rolled over and partially capsized at its own launch ceremony — with Kim Jong Un...
Fake Russian IDs, Orders Never to Be Captured, and 50% Casualties: Inside North Korea’s Secret War in Ukraine The Russian Army has sustained nearly...
Summary and Key Points: Dr. Bruce E. Bechtol Jr., a political science professor and proliferation expert, evaluates the strategic partnership between Iran and North...
Can the U.S. military’s next-generation fighter make it into production by 2030? The civilian head of the Air Force thinks so. The Next-Generation Air...
Strengthening NATO’s southern flank is more urgent than ever. No, that’s not where the Russians are fighting. At least, not now. But Russia’s invasions...
The U.S. Navy still has a big dream: Arm their warships with laser weapons. But will it ever actually happen? The Navy has been working...
Various U.S. intelligence officials believe Russian President Vladimir Putin underwent treatment for advanced cancer in April. The officials represent three distinct entities: the Director...
Russia’s “best” military hardware hasn’t fared so well in Ukraine. The Kremlin has already seen the loss of multiple T-90M main battle tanks (MBTs),...
