19FortyFive — Defense, National Security and Military Analysis

Venera 14 Probe Image Creative Commons Photo

Aerospace & Defense

On March 5, 1982, the Soviet Venera 14 Lander Survived 870 Degrees Fahrenheit and 92 Times Earth’s Atmospheric Pressure to Reach the Surface of Venus. Its Soil Instrument Deployed Exactly as Designed and Measured the Camera Lens Cap the Spacecraft Had Just Ejected.

Perseverance and Curiosity have spent years on Mars choosing targets and repositioning instruments. Venera 14 had under an hour before Venus destroyed it. Every...

Harrison KassSeptember 11, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

NASA’s X-43D Was Designed to Hold Mach 15 — About 11,000 Miles per Hour, 3 Miles Every Second — for 30 Seconds of Powered Flight. Development Was to Begin in Fiscal Year 2005, Run 4 Years, and End in 3 Flights a Year Apart. Not One Vehicle Was Ever Built.

Ninety miles in half a minute. The X-43D would have been an unmanned, hydrogen-fueled scramjet demonstrator built by NASA and Boeing, with active cooling...

Brandon WeichertSeptember 11, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

America Did Not Have Enough High-Grade Titanium to Build the SR-71 Blackbird, So the CIA Bought It From the Soviet Union Through Shell Companies in Neutral Countries. The Airframe Was 85 to 90 Percent Titanium, and Much of the Ore Came Out of Soviet Ukraine.

Cadmium-plated steel tools embrittled titanium on contact, so Lockheed had to build new tools out of titanium for the SR-71 Blackbird. Parts washed in...

Harry J. KazianisSeptember 11, 2026

STRAIT OF HORMUZ (May 11, 2012) Guided-missile cruiser USS Cape St. George (CG 71) and aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) transit the Strait of Hormuz. Both ships are deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and support missions as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Alex R. Forster/Released)

Aerospace & Defense

100,000-Ton US Navy Nuclear Aircraft Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln Could Be Out Of Action for a Long Time

The Navy historically allowed six months for a Planned Incremental Availability. The Carl Vinson's latest ran seven, from November 2025 to June 12, 2026....

Brandon WeichertSeptember 11, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

The US Army Says the New M1E3 Abrams Will Be About 25 Percent Lighter Than Today’s Tank and Burn About 50 Percent Less Fuel. It Has an Unmanned Turret, an Autoloader, and a Crew of 3 Instead of 4 — the First American Main Battle Tank Since 1980 Without a Human Loader.

The Army killed the M1A2 SEPv4 upgrade in September 2023 and started over, creating the M1E3. Major General Glenn Dean explained why: "The Abrams...

Jack BuckbySeptember 11, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

The Bidding War for Pyongyang: How North Korea Plays Russia and China Against Each Other

The Embassy

Donald J. Trump: The Imperial President

Aerospace & Defense

Donald Trump Is Ready to Start Bombing Iran All Over Again

Aerospace & Defense

China Dominates Global Shipbuilding and the United States Ranks 14th by Tonnage. The Case for an Allied Counterweight.

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

Seeking to Pry Russia Away from China, the United States May End Up Losing Europe

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

The Russia Diesel Deal Is a Strategic Mistake

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

Putin’s Next Target May Be NATO Itself

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

Why the Witkoff-Kushner Mission Failed: Washington Still Misreads the Stakes in Ukraine

Aerospace & Defense

Aerospace & Defense

Lockheed F-22 and F-35 Stealth Smasher: Russia’s S-400 Air Defense System Has 1 Mission

Aerospace & Defense

Decades Later, General James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis and His Line on the Marines and Failure Is Still One of the Greatest Military Quotes in Armed Forces History

Aerospace & Defense

Over 80 Years Later, General George Patton’s Best Army Line Is Still the Greatest Military Quote in Armed Forces History

Aerospace & Defense

100,000-Ton US Navy Aircraft Carrier John C. Stennis CVN-74 Has Been Delayed By Years in Returning to Sea

Trillions

Trillions - 19FortyFive

‘Effectively Closed’: The Strait of Hormuz Oil and Gas Crisis Is Going from Bad to Even Worse

Trillions - 19FortyFive

21 Years Ago, Apple Founder Steve Jobs Advice on Time and ‘Living Someone Else’s Life’ Is the Truth Serum That Still Shapes Our World

Trillions - 19FortyFive

“Money Never Made a Man Happy Yet, Nor Will It. The More a Man Has, the More He Wants.” Benjamin Franklin Was the 8th of 17 Children, Got 2 Years of Schooling Because His Family Could Not Afford More, and His Face Is on the $100 Bill.

Trillions - 19FortyFive

Iran’s Economy Is Buckling. That Is Not the Same as Iran Being Ready to Sign a Deal

The Embassy

The Embassy

Pausing the Ukraine War Could Help Ukraine

The Embassy

Ukraine Promised to Do the Fighting If the West Paid for It. That Bargain Is Now in Question

The Embassy

Let Trump Be Trump on the Ukraine War

The Embassy

America First Foreign Policy Is A Strategy for America Alone

Hermit Kingdom

Hermit Kingdom

The Case for Another Donald Trump-North Korea Summit

Hermit Kingdom

Donald Trump Needs to Bring Concessions if He Wants a Deal with North Korea

Hermit Kingdom

What the Iran War Proved About America’s Nuclear Weapons Threat to North Korea

Hermit Kingdom

The North Korea Deal Donald Trump Should Actually Want

Aerospace & Defense

On March 5, 1982, the Soviet Venera 14 Lander Survived 870 Degrees Fahrenheit and 92 Times Earth’s Atmospheric Pressure to Reach the Surface of Venus. Its Soil Instrument Deployed Exactly as Designed and Measured the Camera Lens Cap the Spacecraft Had Just Ejected.

Aerospace & Defense

NASA’s X-43D Was Designed to Hold Mach 15 — About 11,000 Miles per Hour, 3 Miles Every Second — for 30 Seconds of Powered Flight. Development Was to Begin in Fiscal Year 2005, Run 4 Years, and End in 3 Flights a Year Apart. Not One Vehicle Was Ever Built.

Aerospace & Defense

America Did Not Have Enough High-Grade Titanium to Build the SR-71 Blackbird, So the CIA Bought It From the Soviet Union Through Shell Companies in Neutral Countries. The Airframe Was 85 to 90 Percent Titanium, and Much of the Ore Came Out of Soviet Ukraine.

Aerospace & Defense

100,000-Ton US Navy Nuclear Aircraft Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln Could Be Out Of Action for a Long Time

Aerospace & Defense

The US Army Says the New M1E3 Abrams Will Be About 25 Percent Lighter Than Today’s Tank and Burn About 50 Percent Less Fuel. It Has an Unmanned Turret, an Autoloader, and a Crew of 3 Instead of 4 — the First American Main Battle Tank Since 1980 Without a Human Loader.

Trending

Aerospace & Defense

Forget the Iowa-Class: The 72,000-Ton Montana-Class Battleship Was the US Navy’s Great Mistake

Aerospace & Defense

The Hardest Part of Bringing Back the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird to Mach 3 in 2026: ‘You’re talking about engines that have been sitting for 30-plus years.’

Aerospace & Defense

Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird’s Ceiling Was Thought to Be 85,000 Feet. In 1965, Test Pilot Flew It Past 90,000, Felt It Wobble, Lost an Engine and Landed on One at Edwards

Aerospace & Defense

Winston Churchill’s Best Quote Of All Time Is Simple and Effective: ‘I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals’

Aerospace & Defense

The Air Force F-22 Raptor Has a Combat Range of About 590 Nautical Miles. China’s J-20 Is Estimated at Around 1,100. New Stealth Fuel Tanks Take the Raptor to 850.