Soviet Union Archives

Aerospace & Defense

$10,000,000,000 ‘Package’: Iran Wanted a Fleet of T-90 Tanks From Russia to Upgrade Old Made in America M60 Patton and Soviet T-72s

Iran's armor still mixes US M60s, British Chieftains, hundreds of T-72S and the homegrown Zulfiqar. A reported $10 billion Russian package never produced a...

Harry J. KazianisOctober 2, 2026

MEDITERRANEAN SEA (July 20, 2017) The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) sails through the Mediterranean Sea in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. The ship and its carrier strike group are conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe and Africa. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Zachary Wickline/Released)

Aerospace & Defense

Russia Was 40 Percent Done With a Nimitz-Class Style Aircraft Carrier That Might Have Been 94,000-Tons and Had 4 Nuclear Reactors When It Was Scrapped

Laid down at Mykolaiv in 1988 beside the future Liaoning, the 1,054-foot aircraft carrier Ulyanovsk had a 70%-complete hull by 1992 when Russia told...

Isaac SeitzOctober 1, 2026

Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) sails in U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, Sept. 24, 2026. The George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to support maritime security and stability in the Middle East. (U.S. Navy photo)

Aerospace & Defense

The US Navy’s Aircraft Carrier Air Wing Is What Makes Aircraft Carriers So Powerful. But That Air Wing Has Slipped from 90 Aircraft to 65 and Lost Its Edge

The A-6 Intruder left the fleet in 1997 and a number of them were sunk off Florida as artificial reefs. The stealth bomber built...

Steve BalestrieriSeptember 29, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

Sukhoi’s Su-37 Terminator Fighter Could Hit Mach 2.5 and Flip a Full 360 Degrees in a Tiny Patch of Sky. Only 1 Was Built and No Buyer Ever Paid to Put It Into Production.

The Su-37 began as T10M-11, the 11th of Sukhoi's Su-27M prototypes. Sukhoi fitted it with Lyulka-Saturn AL-37FU turbofans whose nozzles swiveled about 15 degrees...

Brandon WeichertSeptember 27, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

Russia’s Su-47 Berkut First Flew 29 Years Ago Today With Its Wings Swept Forward. Only One Was Ever Built.

Twenty-nine years ago today, on September 25, 1997, Sukhoi's Su-47 Berkut made its first flight with wings swept forward instead of back. Carbon composites...

Brandon WeichertSeptember 25, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

Russia Spent Years Building the MiG 1.44 to Beat the USAF F-22 Raptor — It Flew Once for 18 Minutes in 2000 and Was Mothballed Forever

Mikoyan designed the MiG 1.44 to take on America's Teen Series fighters and answer the F-22, and it chose agility over pure stealth. Big...

Caleb LarsonSeptember 25, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

I Am a Retired US Army Special Forces NCO: The AK-47 Weighs 7.7 Pounds, Cycles at 600 Rounds a Minute, and Is Good to About 350 Meters. Between 40,000,000 and 100,000,000 Have Been Built. The Entire M16, M4 and AR-15 Family Totals About 20,000,000.

Most rifle actions need tight-fitting parts to cycle cleanly. The AK-47s bolt carrier rattles around inside the receiver with room to spare, and that...

Steve BalestrieriSeptember 22, 2026

F-4 Phantom Fighter Aboard USS Intrepid Aircraft Carrier 19FortyFive Photo by Harry J. Kazianis

Aerospace & Defense

Royal Air Force F-4 Phantom Pilot Recalls Shadowing two Soviet Tu-95 Bears over France Because French Fighters Were Grounded for Bastille Day Celebrations

Al Winkles and his navigator scrambled from RAF Leuchars expecting a routine 30-minute intercept. Instead the two Tu-95s turned south, and the Phantom followed...

Shay BottomleySeptember 21, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

Twelve Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbirds Were Lost in Accidents and None to Enemy Fire. ‘Rapid Rabbit’ Nearly Became the Exception Over Hanoi. A Typhoon Did.

SR-71 Blackbird 61-7978 wore white bunny logos on its tails and the nickname "Rapid Rabbit," and in 1972 it used up every ounce of...

Isaac SeitzSeptember 16, 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

19FortyFive

All posts tagged "Soviet Union"

Aerospace & Defense

$10,000,000,000 ‘Package’: Iran Wanted a Fleet of T-90 Tanks From Russia to Upgrade Old Made in America M60 Patton and Soviet T-72s

Aerospace & Defense

Russia Was 40 Percent Done With a Nimitz-Class Style Aircraft Carrier That Might Have Been 94,000-Tons and Had 4 Nuclear Reactors When It Was Scrapped

Aerospace & Defense

The US Navy’s Aircraft Carrier Air Wing Is What Makes Aircraft Carriers So Powerful. But That Air Wing Has Slipped from 90 Aircraft to 65 and Lost Its Edge

Aerospace & Defense

Sukhoi’s Su-37 Terminator Fighter Could Hit Mach 2.5 and Flip a Full 360 Degrees in a Tiny Patch of Sky. Only 1 Was Built and No Buyer Ever Paid to Put It Into Production.

Aerospace & Defense

Russia’s Su-47 Berkut First Flew 29 Years Ago Today With Its Wings Swept Forward. Only One Was Ever Built.

Aerospace & Defense

Russia Spent Years Building the MiG 1.44 to Beat the USAF F-22 Raptor — It Flew Once for 18 Minutes in 2000 and Was Mothballed Forever

Aerospace & Defense

I Am a Retired US Army Special Forces NCO: The AK-47 Weighs 7.7 Pounds, Cycles at 600 Rounds a Minute, and Is Good to About 350 Meters. Between 40,000,000 and 100,000,000 Have Been Built. The Entire M16, M4 and AR-15 Family Totals About 20,000,000.

Aerospace & Defense

Royal Air Force F-4 Phantom Pilot Recalls Shadowing two Soviet Tu-95 Bears over France Because French Fighters Were Grounded for Bastille Day Celebrations

Aerospace & Defense

Twelve Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbirds Were Lost in Accidents and None to Enemy Fire. ‘Rapid Rabbit’ Nearly Became the Exception Over Hanoi. A Typhoon Did.

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.

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