Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security
China’s J-20 Mighty Dragon is a growing fifth-generation fleet expected to remain in service for decades as the PLAAF pursues upgrades in radar, avionics,...
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Iran's first danger after sanctions relief isn't the first Russian jet or Chinese radar it buys, argues scholar Andrew Latham. It's the workshop that...
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...
Iran keeps returning to the Strait of Hormuz because it works. As Andrew Latham argues, Tehran doesn't need to close the waterway, or even...
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...
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...
The YA-9, The Aircraft That Could Have Been The A-10: The Northrop YA-9 was the primary competitor to the Fairchild Republic YA-10 in the...
China's J-20 "Mighty Dragon" is the only fifth-generation fighter in service built without a gun, a deliberate bet that stealth and long-range missiles have...
Most people don't know Italy operates an aircraft carrier at all. The Cavour, flagship of the Italian Navy, is a fraction the size of...
On paper, the Navy's Wasp-class ships are amphibious assault ships, built to land Marines, helicopters, and vehicles on a hostile shore. But load one...
A few days ago I learned my 2024 Jeep Gladiator is one of more than a million Wranglers and Gladiators that federal regulators say...
SpaceX exists to put humans on Mars, so its shift toward the Moon looks like an admission that the Mars dream has stalled. It...
America won the Moon race in 1969, then mothballed the rockets that got it there, leaving only disassembled Saturn Vs in museums. Now it...
Germany spent decades as a reluctant military power, its Cold War army allowed to atrophy and a deep pacifism running through its politics. Russia's...
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...
Ukrainian “long-range sanctions” continue to hammer targets in Russia, with continued targeting of the Russian capital of Moscow with massive drone attacks. Tuesday’s drone...
NATO is not collapsing, but it is changing: some of its most important members want the alliance's protection while keeping a freer hand outside...
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...
China’s J-20 Mighty Dragon is a growing fifth-generation fleet expected to remain in service for decades as the PLAAF pursues upgrades in radar, avionics,...
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is approaching five decades of service, yet it continues to benefit from upgrades that keep it useful in modern missions....
Lockheed Martin delivered 191 F-35s in 2025, pushing the fleet to nearly 1,300 aircraft across 12 nations and reinforcing the program’s shift into predictable,...
The Joint Strike Fighter program aimed to cut costs by maximizing commonality and using digital modeling to refine requirements before metal was cut. Boeing’s...
Israel is set to receive the F-15IA, an Israeli-tailored version of the F-15EX Eagle II, under an $8.58 billion Pentagon deal for more than...
