Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security
Synopsis: China aired rare footage of a PLAAF war-gaming exercise simulating air combat between eight J-16 fighters and six Dassault Rafales in a tabletop-style...
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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...
Australia has test-fired its first domestically built GMLRS rockets, becoming the only country outside the United States to make them. But the rounds are...
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...
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: China aired rare footage of a PLAAF war-gaming exercise simulating air combat between eight J-16 fighters and six Dassault Rafales in a tabletop-style...
Synopsis: The Amazing Arsenal of the DaFrance’s Dassault Rafale may be a 4.5-generation fighter, but it remains a formidable combat aircraft thanks to the depth...
Synopsis: China’s new J-35A stealth fighter was meant to rival the F-35, but Beijing’s export dream has stalled. Countries are still lining up to...
Synopsis: Albert Einstein’s famous warning—World War IV fought with “sticks and stones”—has become shorthand for the idea that a nuclear war would collapse civilization...
Synopsis: Built under treaty-era limits, the South Dakota-class battleships packed nine 16-inch guns, heavy armor, and high speed into a compact hull just as...
