19FortyFive — Defense, National Security and Military Analysis

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

In 2017 Russian Navy divers pulled an American-built P-39 Airacobra out of an Arctic lake 72 years after it crashed on a 1945 training flight — and where they expected to find the pilot’s remains, all that was left was part of his fur-lined boot

Summary and Key Points: More than 70 years after it sank, an American-built P-39 Airacobra was raised from an Arctic lake near Murmansk —...

Stephen SilverMay 31, 2026

U.S. Marines with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, currently forward deployed with 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division as part of the Unit Deployment Program, engage a simulated enemy while rehearsing squad attacks during the Korean Marine Exchange Program 26.1 on Suseong-Ri, Pohang, South Korea, April 2, 2026. The Korean Marine Exchange Program (KMEP) is a semi-annual exercise that provides opportunities for ROK Marine Corps and U.S. Marine Corps units to train together, improving their combined capabilities to deter threats and maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joaquin Dela Torre)

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

The U.S. Marine Corps assigns every Marine to one of four color-coded stress zones — green, yellow, orange or red — and the system exists to catch what it calls a “mental injury”

The U.S. Marine Corps fosters an environment that provides physical fitness training, elite morale, unit cohesion, valuable friendship and camaraderie, and a high level...

Brent M. EastwoodMay 31, 2026

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

On 30 October 1961 the Soviet Union detonated a single bomb called Tsar Bomba over the Arctic — and its 50-megaton blast was more powerful than every bomb, shell and explosive used by every nation in the entire Second World War, ten times over

Summary and Key Points: The Tsar Bomba is still the largest nuclear device ever detonated: a 50-megaton blast over the Arctic that outstripped every...

Christian D. OrrMay 31, 2026

(August 16, 2006) - USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23) sits moored in the Magnetic Silencing Facility at Naval Base Kitsap Bangor Aug 16 for her first ìdepermingî treatment. The deperming process reduces a ships electromagnetic signature as she travels through the water. U.S. Navy Photograph by MCCM(AW) Jerry McLain (Released)

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

The Quiet War: How The Seawolf-Class Became The Submarine The U.S. Navy Built When Cost Did Not Matter — And Why Its Acoustic Edge Still Holds

One of the greatest joys of my life was back in 2004 when I literally got within 100 feet of USS Connecticut, an actual...

Harry J. KazianisMay 28, 2026

Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Aircraft Handling) 3rd Class Anika Ramos directs the launch of an F-35B Lighting II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 242 during flight operations on the flight deck of the America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) in the South China Sea, Dec. 11, 2025.

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

Australia Just Named China as The Primary Cause of Worsening Indo-Pacific Security in Its New National Defense Strategy

Amid U.S.-China competition, Australia has proven to be a strong U.S. ally and, frequently, a thorn in China’s side. While Australia continues to demonstrate...

Wilson Beaver and Andrew J. HardingMay 27, 2026

The Embassy

A Bad Iran Deal and the Price of Credibility

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

Europe’s Most Ambitious Fighter Jet Just Collapsed — Now Eight German and Spanish Companies Are Building Their Own Without France

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

The U.S. Air Force’s KC-46A Tanker Headache Might Finally Be Over

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

All Five of Britain’s Astute-Class Attack Submarines Are Stuck in Port at Once — While Russia Probes Its Waters

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

The Iran War Is Giving China Time, Russia Money, and North Korea an Opening

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

Russia Is the Big Winner in the Iran War

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

NATO’s 5% Pledge: A Hollow Victory for a Dependent Europe?

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

Why Putin Believes He Can Win His ‘Civilizational War’ Against the West

Smart Bombs

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

China’s New J-20S Stealth Fighter Puts a Human Where America Puts a Computer — and Nobody Knows Who Guessed Right

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

A U.S. Air Force B-52 Bomber Crashed At Edwards Air Force Base In California: What We Know

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

What Are China’s J-36 And J-50 Sixth-Generation Fighters, And How Far Ahead Are They Of America’s F-47 NGAD?

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

China Is Launching A New Aircraft Carrier Every 20 Months. The U.S. Navy Cannot Deliver One On Time — And The Gap Is The Shipyards.

Trillions

Trillions - 19FortyFive

One Country at a Time, Embraer’s C-390 Is Displacing Lockheed’s C-130 — and It Just Won Greece

Trillions - 19FortyFive

$2,000,000,000,000 Precedent: Trump In China With Nvidia, Apple, and Boeing CEOs + Elon Musk for the Xi Summit

Trillions - 19FortyFive

Canada Was Going to Buy 88 F-35s — Today It’s Only Committed to 16 and Hedging on 14 More as Saab Pitches the Gripen Alternative

Trillions - 19FortyFive

Two Russian Military Satellites Just Maneuvered Within 10 Feet of Each Other in Orbit — at 17,000 MPH and Without Touching

The Embassy

The Embassy

The AUKUS Submarine Deal Just Changed, and Australia Is Getting Less Than It Was Promised — Because America Can’t Build Fast Enough

The Embassy

Quote of the Day By Ronald Reagan: ‘A Nuclear War Cannot Be Won, And Never Must Be Fought’

The Embassy

Putin’s Russia Looks Like It’s on Borrowed Time

The Embassy

Every Missile Fired in Iran Is One the U.S. Can’t Use to Deter China

Hermit Kingdom

Hermit Kingdom

6,000 North Korean Soldiers Are Dead in Ukraine: Kim Jong Un Keeps Sending More

Hermit Kingdom

Iran Has An ICBM Program: They Got it From North Korea

Hermit Kingdom

North Korea’s Demand: Kim Jong Un Wants Trump To Recognize the Hermit Kingdom as a Nuclear Weapons State

Hermit Kingdom

Korea Reunification Isn’t Coming—And Great-Power Politics Is Why

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

In 2017 Russian Navy divers pulled an American-built P-39 Airacobra out of an Arctic lake 72 years after it crashed on a 1945 training flight — and where they expected to find the pilot’s remains, all that was left was part of his fur-lined boot

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

The U.S. Marine Corps assigns every Marine to one of four color-coded stress zones — green, yellow, orange or red — and the system exists to catch what it calls a “mental injury”

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

On 30 October 1961 the Soviet Union detonated a single bomb called Tsar Bomba over the Arctic — and its 50-megaton blast was more powerful than every bomb, shell and explosive used by every nation in the entire Second World War, ten times over

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

The Quiet War: How The Seawolf-Class Became The Submarine The U.S. Navy Built When Cost Did Not Matter — And Why Its Acoustic Edge Still Holds

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

Australia Just Named China as The Primary Cause of Worsening Indo-Pacific Security in Its New National Defense Strategy

Trending

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

Nuclear Aircraft Carrier Charles de Gaulle’s Propeller Broke Off In The Middle Of The Atlantic — And That Was Only Her Second-Worst Sea Trial

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

Charles de Gaulle: The 42,000-Ton Nuclear Aircraft Carrier With A Construction Saga That Makes The F-35 And Ford-Class Look Easy

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

The U.S. Navy’s Nimitz-Class Nuclear Aircraft Carriers Have a Message for Russia and China

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

The F-35 Is the Most Expensive Weapon Ever Built. A New Report Says It Can Do Its Full Job Just 25% of the Time

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

Libre: France’s €10 Billion Nuclear Aircraft Carrier Is A Defensible 80,000-Ton Ship And An Indefensible Fleet