Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security
Key Points and Summary – Reports of a J-20 “Mighty Dragon” transiting contested airspace undetected have reignited debate over what makes China’s stealth fighter...
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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...
In 1967, Pete Knight flew Mach 6.72 and was called the fastest man alive. For thirty years, the Space Shuttle made that number look...
On October 3, 1967, Pete Knight landed the X-15 having flown faster than any pilot before or since — Mach 6.72. Then he climbed...
America's next bomber enters July 2026 ahead of its own schedule, built by a contractor losing money on every early airframe, and wanted in...
The U-2 was sold to Eisenhower as invisible to Soviet radar. The invisibility lasted exactly zero missions. What Kelly Johnson built to replace it...
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...
Key Points and Summary – Reports of a J-20 “Mighty Dragon” transiting contested airspace undetected have reignited debate over what makes China’s stealth fighter...
Key Points and Summary – China’s Rocket Force is portrayed as built for scale: large inventories, mobile launchers, and layered ranges designed to saturate...
Key Points and Summary – Nicolás Maduro’s first appearance in a New York courtroom is the aftershock of Operation Absolute Resolve—a high-risk U.S. raid...
Key Points and Summary – The Maduro raid highlights a modern “decapitation strike” model: deep ISR, rapid targeting, and precision hits meant to blind...
Key Points and Summary – Turkey is pressing to rejoin the F-35 program after being removed in 2020 over its purchase of Russia’s S-400...
