Cold War Archives

Kirov-Class Russian Navy Creative Commons Image

Aerospace & Defense

The Trump-Class Battleship Would Carry 128 Mk 41 Cells. Russia’s Admiral Nakhimov Nuclear Battlecruiser Will Carry 176. 1 of Those 2 Ships Is Real, and It Has Been in the Yard for 25 Years.

Two attempts to revive the capital ship, measured against each other. Russia built four Project 1144 Orlan Kirov-class battlecruisers between 1973 and 1996 and...

Christian D. OrrSeptember 15, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

A US Air Force SR-71 Blackbird Came Apart Around Pilot Bill Weaver at Mach 3.2 and 78,000 Feet. He Never Pulled the Handle — the Aircraft Threw Him Out. He Survived and Was Flying Again 2 Weeks Later.

The pressure suit did the work. It kept his blood from boiling at 78,000 feet, fed him oxygen, and its ejection system deployed a...

Isaac SeitzSeptember 14, 2026

Neptune Anti-Ship Missile. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Aerospace & Defense

Ukraine’s Fire Point Is Building 2 Ballistic Missiles of Its Own. The FP-7 Reaches 200 Kilometres With a 150-Kilogram Warhead. The Longer-Ranged FP-9 Could Strike 600 to 800 Kilometres Into Russia Within Minutes.

Fabian Hoffmann of the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies put a number on it: around 50 FP-9s a month, accurate enough to hit high-value...

Caleb LarsonSeptember 14, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

Russia Commissioned the Nuclear Battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov in 1986 and Sent Her to the Yard at Severodvinsk in 1999. She Came Out in 2025. She Has Now Spent Roughly Twice as Long Being Repaired as She Ever Spent in Service, at a Cost of About $5,000,000,000.

The old Kirov-class carried 20 P-700 Granit missiles. The rebuilt Admiral Nakhimov carries up to 80 in new vertical launch cells, compatible with the...

Isaac SeitzSeptember 14, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

Albert Einstein did not write the letter that started the Manhattan Project. Leo Szilard did. Einstein signed it, because his name was the only one Roosevelt would read.

Albert Einstein did not write the letter that started the Manhattan Project. Leo Szilard did. Einstein signed it, because his name was the only...

Stephen SilverSeptember 14, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

‘Death Is Imminent!’: An SR-71 Blackbird Lost Its Entire Nose Section in a Collision With Its Own Tanker at Altitude. Both Crewmen Ejected and Both Survived.

The SR-71 Blackbird managed roughly 2,000 nautical miles on internal fuel. With KC-135Q tankers positioned along the route, missions ran past 12,000. The fastest...

Jack BuckbySeptember 14, 2026

SR-71 Blackbird Above the Earth Creative Commons Artist Image

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force SR-71 Blackbird Has a Dirty Little Secret: It Could Hit Mach 3.5 Speeds and 85,000 Feet Thanks to Titanium Alloy and Special Fuel and Engines

On July 28, 1976, Robert Helt and Larry Elliott took an SR-71 above 85,000 feet in sustained horizontal flight. The same day, a second...

Jack BuckbySeptember 14, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

The A-10 Warthog Was Designed to Destroy Soviet Tanks in the Fulda Gap With a 30mm GAU-8 Cannon. In the Iran War It Used That Same Gun Against Drones and Missiles Over the Gulf, and in April 2026 the Air Force Reversed Its Early Phase-Out and Kept 3 Squadrons Until 2030.

The Air Force has wanted this aircraft dead for over a decade. Then it spent a war shooting down drones with a gun built...

Brandon WeichertSeptember 13, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

“It Can’t Fire a Gun and Doesn’t Carry a Bomb.” That Was the Air Force Chief of Staff on the SR-71 Blackbird, an Aircraft With 17,300 Sorties and Zero Losses to Enemy Fire.

Across its life the SR-71 Blackbird program flew 53,490 hours over 17,300 sorties, including 11,675 hours above Mach 3 — a record of production...

Harry J. KazianisSeptember 13, 2026

A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit "Stealth" bomber, 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, 509th Bomb Wing, Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., flies over the Pacific Ocean after a recent aerial refueling mission, May 2, 2005. The Bombers are deployed to Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, as part of a rotation that has provided the U.S. Pacific Command a continous bomber presence in the Asian Pacific region since February 2004, enhancing regional security and the U.S. commitment to the Western Pacific. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo) (Released)

Aerospace & Defense

The Pentagon Cut the B-2 Bomber Program From $75,400,000,000 to $61,100,000,000 and Made Every Aircraft More Expensive. Cutting the Order From 132 to 21 Nearly Quadrupled the Cost per Bomber.

What the money bought when it came to the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber: Four General Electric F118s at 17,300 pounds of thrust each, a...

Brandon WeichertSeptember 13, 2026

19FortyFive

All posts tagged "Cold War"

Aerospace & Defense

The Trump-Class Battleship Would Carry 128 Mk 41 Cells. Russia’s Admiral Nakhimov Nuclear Battlecruiser Will Carry 176. 1 of Those 2 Ships Is Real, and It Has Been in the Yard for 25 Years.

Aerospace & Defense

A US Air Force SR-71 Blackbird Came Apart Around Pilot Bill Weaver at Mach 3.2 and 78,000 Feet. He Never Pulled the Handle — the Aircraft Threw Him Out. He Survived and Was Flying Again 2 Weeks Later.

Aerospace & Defense

Ukraine’s Fire Point Is Building 2 Ballistic Missiles of Its Own. The FP-7 Reaches 200 Kilometres With a 150-Kilogram Warhead. The Longer-Ranged FP-9 Could Strike 600 to 800 Kilometres Into Russia Within Minutes.

Aerospace & Defense

Russia Commissioned the Nuclear Battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov in 1986 and Sent Her to the Yard at Severodvinsk in 1999. She Came Out in 2025. She Has Now Spent Roughly Twice as Long Being Repaired as She Ever Spent in Service, at a Cost of About $5,000,000,000.

Aerospace & Defense

Albert Einstein did not write the letter that started the Manhattan Project. Leo Szilard did. Einstein signed it, because his name was the only one Roosevelt would read.

Aerospace & Defense

‘Death Is Imminent!’: An SR-71 Blackbird Lost Its Entire Nose Section in a Collision With Its Own Tanker at Altitude. Both Crewmen Ejected and Both Survived.

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force SR-71 Blackbird Has a Dirty Little Secret: It Could Hit Mach 3.5 Speeds and 85,000 Feet Thanks to Titanium Alloy and Special Fuel and Engines

Aerospace & Defense

The A-10 Warthog Was Designed to Destroy Soviet Tanks in the Fulda Gap With a 30mm GAU-8 Cannon. In the Iran War It Used That Same Gun Against Drones and Missiles Over the Gulf, and in April 2026 the Air Force Reversed Its Early Phase-Out and Kept 3 Squadrons Until 2030.

Aerospace & Defense

“It Can’t Fire a Gun and Doesn’t Carry a Bomb.” That Was the Air Force Chief of Staff on the SR-71 Blackbird, an Aircraft With 17,300 Sorties and Zero Losses to Enemy Fire.

Aerospace & Defense

The Pentagon Cut the B-2 Bomber Program From $75,400,000,000 to $61,100,000,000 and Made Every Aircraft More Expensive. Cutting the Order From 132 to 21 Nearly Quadrupled the Cost per Bomber.

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