Alex Hollings

Alex Hollings

USMC
Alex Hollings writes on a breadth of subjects with an emphasis on defense technology, foreign policy, and information warfare. He holds a master's degree in communications from Southern New Hampshire University, as well as a bachelor's degree in Corporate and Organizational Communications from Framingham State University.

Not enough ships: Pentagon to miss Trump’s Big Navy goal

One of Trump’s most significant platforms in the 2016 presidential election was revitalizing the nation’s poorly maintained defense apparatus and returning it a state of strategic and tactical readiness needed to face near-peer, nation level opposition from the likes of China and Russia. Among the promises he made to that effect were increasing defense spending […]

Putin says Russia is leading the world in hypersonic weapons. Is he right?

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Tuesday that Russia has officially taken the lead in the global hypersonic arms race, saying that his is the only nation in the world to have already deployed hypersonic weapons. He went on to say that Russia is leading the world in developing this new class of weapons: this […]

Russia just lost a 5th-gen fighter jet in a crash

In the first reported total loss of one of Russia’s exceedingly rare fifth-generation Sukhoi Su-57 “stealth” fighters, one of the jets crashed approximately 68 miles from the Komsomolsk-on-Amur aircraft plant in Russia, where it was likely built. The pilot ejected from the aircraft safely and was recovered soon after the incident by Russian military MI-8 […]

The US Space Force just had its first launch (into cyberspace)

The United States Space Force, now officially the sixth branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, saw its first launch into cyberspace earlier this week, as the branch’s new website went live. SpaceForce.mil is up and running, populated with information pertaining to the new branch’s establishment, mission and future plans. Despite the ideas many people tend […]

Boeing’s rocket launch failure just cost the ISS astronauts their Christmas

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which is being developed in conjunction with NASA for crewed spaceflight operations, safely returned to earth on Sunday after mission control had to abort its resupply mission to the International Space Station. According to reports, the spacecraft’s internal clock was improperly set, and as a result, the ship entered into the wrong […]

Drunk driver crashes into AH-1 Cobra attack chopper at veteran charity event

The holiday season may be a festive one, but one guy was clearly partying a bit too hard in Columbia, South Carolina this week. The inebriated man reportedly drove his car directly into a stationary AH-1F Cobra attack helicopter on display in support of a veterans charity run by the Celebrate Freedom Foundation. The incident […]

North Korea: President Trump standby for message

According to reports, both the U.S. military and the nation’s intelligence apparatus are preparing for North Korea’s Kim Jong-un to launch some sort of a weapons test — likely a nuclear capable ICBM — later this week. The assumption is based on repeated threats from North Korea that the nation would be sending the United […]

Lawmakers rip apart the Navy’s new fighter budget

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter can do a lot of things, but one thing it can’t do is double its combat range: That’s the challenge Navy aviation is facing as it shifts its sights away from ground support operations in uncontested airspace and toward near-peer level conflicts against technologically advanced opponents like China. Thanks to […]

Op-Ed: The Elf on the Shelf and what it means for the future of privacy

It might feel like we rolled into 2019 fifteen minutes ago; but here we are, already nearing the year’s close and facing down another rapidly approaching Christmas. In families like mine all over the country, people are going about their usual holiday traditions: putting up a tree, playing Christmas music and punching strangers over good […]

What’s the deal with Maverick in Top Gun 2?

In yet another sequel to a film of old, “Top Gun: Maverick” is a much anticipated return to the movie world of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, some 33 years after the original film took place. The very premise of the movie alone forces us to suspend at least some disbelief, as the first trailer pointed out […]

Saying goodbye to SOFREP: A writer’s farewell

Years ago now, after finishing my undergrad degree, I lucked my way into a cushy corner office for a defense contractor and set about trying to fit into a normal life. I had all the things that I figured one would need to be happy: a high paying job, a pretty office with glass walls […]

Russian sub activity the highest since cold war

While the gem of Russia’s surface fleet, the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetzov, continues to serve as more of an embarrassment than a form of force projection, the Russian Navy’s submarine fleet has still been extremely busy beneath the waves in recent months, says Adm. James Foggo, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa. “This […]