NATO Archives

Aerospace & Defense

The US Navy Began Building Its $22,000,000,000 Constellation Frigate at 87% of the Blueprints. A Year After Killing It, the Navy Is Buying a Coast Guard Cutter

Canceled last November after a 20-ship, $22 billion plan collapsed, the frigate is being replaced by an upgraded Coast Guard Legend-class cutter. HII has...

Brandon WeichertOctober 1, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

I Am a Retired US Army Special Forces NCO: NATO Asked for a Weapon to Arm Truck Drivers and Artillerymen Who Would Probably Never Fire It. It Ended Up With DEVGRU, GSG 9, GIGN and the US Capitol Police.

The 1989 requirement was to defeat the CRISAT target — 1.6mm of titanium backed by twenty layers of Kevlar — which no pistol cartridge...

Steve BalestrieriSeptember 28, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

I Am a Retired US Army Special Forces NCO: After More Than 2,000,000 Rounds of Testing, the FN SCAR Was No Favorite of US Special Forces

The requirement was one weapon family covering 200 meters in a hallway out to 800 meters in the sniper role, in two calibers, on...

Steve BalestrieriSeptember 28, 2026

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

Putin’s Next Target May Be NATO Itself

Sabotage at Leipzig, Swindon, and Skarżysko-Kamienna. A curfew across the river from Narva. New garrisons at Petrozavodsk, Lupche-Savino, and Pechenga pointing at Finland's 830-mile...

Andrew A. MichtaSeptember 28, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

3 Reasons the US Navy’s Block IV Virginia-Class Submarine Might Be the Best on Planet Earth

Block IV Virginias are built to carry America's special operators as well as missiles. A large integrated lockout chamber and the torpedo room's design...

Christian D. OrrSeptember 27, 2026

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Samuel Sanchez-Bermudez, a combat marksmanship coach with Range Company, Weapons and Field Training Battalion, instructs a recruit during Table One qualification on Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., Sept. 15, 2026. Recruits practice at the range to learn how to accurately fire the M16A4 Service Rifle at targets of various distances. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jordy Morales)

Aerospace & Defense

I Am a Retired US Army Special Forces NCO: ‘Never Heard a Grunt Ever Say He Prefers the M16A4’: Why Marines Traded the M16A4 for the M4

The M16A4 was adopted in 1997 and was still an M16A2 at heart, but its flat-top Picatinny upper and detachable carry handle let riflemen...

Steve BalestrieriSeptember 25, 2026

The Embassy

Russia and NATO’s Gray Zone Actions Could Spark a War No One Wants

The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Foreign Policy, and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies have all warned of an escalating Russian gray...

Ted Galen CarpenterSeptember 25, 2026

F-22 Raptors from the 1st Fighter Wing and 192nd Fighter Wing, participate in a total force exercise at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, Feb. 28, 2019. Both wings partnered with the 633rd Air Base Wing during the Phase I exercise to showcase their readiness and deployability of the F-22s. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech Sgt. Carlin Leslie)

Aerospace & Defense

German Pilots ‘Shot Down’ US Air Force F-22 Raptors in 2012 — They Also Admitted They Couldn’t Get Within 20 Miles of One in Real Combat

Even the Germans who claimed "Raptor salad for lunch" conceded the F-22 dominates at long range. In their after-action report, Maj. Marco Gumbrecht said...

Steve BalestrieriSeptember 25, 2026

Vanguard-class Submarine. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Aerospace & Defense

Britain’s Only Nuclear Weapon Has Failed Its Last 2 Test Launches. A Trident Missile From Royal Navy Submarine HMS Vengeance Veered Off Course in June 2016 and Was Destroyed. One From HMS Vanguard Fell Into the Atlantic on January 30, 2024. The 2016 Failure Was Not Disclosed Until After Parliament Had Voted to Renew the System.

Since 1998, when the WE177 bomb was withdrawn, Trident has been Britain's only means of delivering a nuclear weapon — and a Vanguard-class submarine...

Jack BuckbySeptember 24, 2026

PACIFIC OCEAN – Zumwalt-class Guided Missile Destroyer Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) transits the Pacific Ocean en route to Hawaii for Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022. Twenty-six nations, 38 ships, four submarines, more than 170 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 29 to Aug 4 in and around Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Megan Alexander)

Aerospace & Defense

‘Big Mistake’: The US Navy Built 3 Zumwalt-Class Destroyers Around a Gun That Fired a Shell Costing Close to $1,000,000. Standard NATO 155mm Artillery Ammunition Runs About $3,000 a Round. The Navy Never Bought a Single Shell and Has Now Cut the Guns Out of the Ships.

The Zumwalt-class was planned at 32 ships, cut to 24, then 8, then 3 — and the overruns triggered Nunn-McCurdy along the way. Its...

Caleb LarsonSeptember 24, 2026

19FortyFive

All posts tagged "NATO"

Aerospace & Defense

The US Navy Began Building Its $22,000,000,000 Constellation Frigate at 87% of the Blueprints. A Year After Killing It, the Navy Is Buying a Coast Guard Cutter

Aerospace & Defense

I Am a Retired US Army Special Forces NCO: NATO Asked for a Weapon to Arm Truck Drivers and Artillerymen Who Would Probably Never Fire It. It Ended Up With DEVGRU, GSG 9, GIGN and the US Capitol Police.

Aerospace & Defense

I Am a Retired US Army Special Forces NCO: After More Than 2,000,000 Rounds of Testing, the FN SCAR Was No Favorite of US Special Forces

Dr. Andrew A. Michta: Geostrategy

Putin’s Next Target May Be NATO Itself

Aerospace & Defense

3 Reasons the US Navy’s Block IV Virginia-Class Submarine Might Be the Best on Planet Earth

Aerospace & Defense

I Am a Retired US Army Special Forces NCO: ‘Never Heard a Grunt Ever Say He Prefers the M16A4’: Why Marines Traded the M16A4 for the M4

The Embassy

Russia and NATO’s Gray Zone Actions Could Spark a War No One Wants

Aerospace & Defense

German Pilots ‘Shot Down’ US Air Force F-22 Raptors in 2012 — They Also Admitted They Couldn’t Get Within 20 Miles of One in Real Combat

Aerospace & Defense

Aerospace & Defense

‘Big Mistake’: The US Navy Built 3 Zumwalt-Class Destroyers Around a Gun That Fired a Shell Costing Close to $1,000,000. Standard NATO 155mm Artillery Ammunition Runs About $3,000 a Round. The Navy Never Bought a Single Shell and Has Now Cut the Guns Out of the Ships.

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