Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security
Many observers were quick to mock Russia’s acquisition of Iranian drones for use in Ukraine. Analysts consider it more evidence of Russian decline, which...
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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 U.S. Navy can't build nuclear attack submarines fast enough, and it keeps spending its most valuable hulls on jobs a quieter, cheaper boat...
South Korea and Japan want nuclear-powered submarines, and a stronger allied undersea force would bolster deterrence against China's expanding navy. But diplomatic friction, labor...
The diplomatic center of gravity in the Middle East has decisively shifted to Riyadh. On June 23, 2026, talks between Iranian Majlis Speaker Mohammed...
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...
Less than a year after entering service, China has already built its 30th J-35 stealth fighter, a pace that outstrips Russia's Su-57 and signals...
The USS Kitty Hawk arrived in 1961 at a hinge moment — the supercarrier had just been born, and nuclear power was about to...
Rank the world's navies by the sheer number of ships they float, counting a 100,000-ton supercarrier and a 200-ton patrol boat as one each,...
USS Midway entered service eight days after Japan's surrender, missing the war that shaped her by a week. Instead of a quiet career, she...
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...
A Belgian joint venture, BeHydro, has earned the world's first Type Approval Certificate from Lloyd's Register for a marine engine that runs on 100...
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...
Vice President JD Vance has hailed his Switzerland negotiations over Iran's nuclear program as diplomatic progress. Middle East Forum scholar Dr. Michael Rubin argues...
Ukraine hasn't moved the front — but its drones have broken the war's one-way character, reaching the Russian heartland Putin promised was safe. The...
The terms of the Memorandum of Understanding ending the U.S.-Iran war are now public. This analysis argues the deal is worth supporting as an...
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...
Many observers were quick to mock Russia’s acquisition of Iranian drones for use in Ukraine. Analysts consider it more evidence of Russian decline, which...
Could the war in Ukraine take on a ‘nuclear’ dimension as in a crisis? Shortly after midnight on Monday, a Russian missile strike targeted...
Amidst the chaos of mechanized warfare on a fluid battlefield, it’s not uncommon for specialized units to have to adapt to combat roles for...
Israel’s close ties with Azerbaijan are no secret. For Israel, realism and strategic necessity govern decision-making. Azerbaijan provided the Jewish state with fuel at...
The Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to go poorly for Moscow on day 208 as the Ukrainian military continues to advance in the east...
