Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security
Synopsis: The U.S. Air Force is attempting a sweeping modernization push, replacing aging Cold War-era aircraft with next-generation systems meant to preserve air dominance...
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Canada is just weeks from a decision that could become the most expensive procurement in its history: choosing the submarines that will guard its...
The Air Force recently announced it will keep the beloved A-10 Warthog flying until 2030, seeming to end years of retirement fights. But a...
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...
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...
Germany has just canceled an $11.3 billion program to build six new frigates, after the shipbuilder warned it couldn't deliver them on time or...
China continues to defy expectations with its massive military buildup. As the Americans tut-tut about whatever overpriced and underperforming manned system, like the F-47...
In the 1980s Israel built a fighter to rival the American F-16, the Lavi, and it flew beautifully. It never entered service. Washington had...
When South Korea set out to build its first homegrown fighter, the United States refused to transfer four of the technologies it needed most,...
My best friend in the U.S. Army was a Special Forces officer with service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Once, we had a conversation about...
A few days ago I learned my 2024 Jeep Gladiator is one of more than a million Wranglers and Gladiators that federal regulators say...
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...
SpaceX exists to put humans on Mars, so its shift toward the Moon looks like an admission that the Mars dream has stalled. It...
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...
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...
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...
Synopsis: The U.S. Air Force is attempting a sweeping modernization push, replacing aging Cold War-era aircraft with next-generation systems meant to preserve air dominance...
Synopsis: China’s sixth-generation fighter effort is no longer theoretical. The piece argues that U.S. defense assessments now confirm at least two Chinese prototypes—often labeled...
Synopsis: France’s National Assembly has revived the long-running Rafale vs. Eurofighter cost debate, arguing Eurofighter’s per-unit and lifecycle costs are far higher—and pointing to...
Synopsis: Herbert Hoover’s 1944 warning—“Older men declare war… but it is youth that must fight and die”—captures a timeless imbalance at the heart of...
Disclaimer: The perspectives expressed here are those of the author alone, based solely on open sources. They do not represent the views, policies, or...
