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After a slew of aviation incidents in recent years, attributed largely to reduced maintenance and increased operational tempo for America’s workhorse fighters, Defense Secretary James Mattis has issued a new directive to Air Force and Navy officials: Bring America’s fighter fleets back up to an 80% readiness rating — and even more dramatically — do […]
The benefits of robotic exoskeleton technology are easy to imagine. Increased, strength and endurance, the ability to carry heavier armor plating for protection, and as Ripley pointed out in the sci-fi classic “Aliens,” there’s no better way to take on extraterrestrial hive queens. The Department of Defense has been investing money into the TALOS “Iron […]
Today’s world, while safer for most than at any other time in human history, is ripe with burgeoning conflict, simmering just beneath the surface. Civil wars and regional spats in nations like Yemen and Syria draw powerful militaries into proxy-conflicts. Looming concerns about a resource-scarce future have prompted Russia to lay claim to the Arctic, […]
Throughout the F-35’s troubled development, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Defense Department have repeatedly suggested that despite the advanced stealth and better level of awareness F-35 pilots have of the battlespace, the F-35’s real secret weapon is its ability to serve as a data hub. This advanced capability, which some consider to be a requirement […]
DARPA is no stranger to developing controversial technologies. From stealth aircraft to the internet, DARPA’s hand in shaping the world we live in is sometimes hard to spot, but it’s nonetheless present; often operating just beyond the veil of technology we’ve come to take for granted in our everyday lives. Sometimes, DARPA’s endeavors are misunderstood […]
Nikki Haley, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, announced her resignation on Tuesday. President Trump, who referred to Haley as a “fantastic person” in a joint press conference following the announcement, said Haley first indicated that she planned to leave six months ago. Her tenure as America’s ambassador to the U.N. will conclude at the […]
Throughout nearly two decades of anti-terrorism and counter-insurgency warfare, the United States has continued to rely on long standing and reliable weapons platforms like the M777 Howitzer and the M1109AG Paladin Howitzer. These artillery platforms are capable of delivering a massive punch from a long distance — but as the U.S. Army is beginning to […]
The legend of King Arthur opens with the young man being guided by Merlin to draw the sword from the stone: a feat said only to be possible for Britain’s rightful king. The legend has permeated throughout the centuries, depicted through spoken word, on film, and even in Disney cartoons — and maybe that’s why […]
Russia recently announced that they would be halting production on their latest and most technologically advanced main battle tank, the T-14 Armata, in favor of lower cost programs like updating their existing fleet of T-72 tanks. The problem with the T-14, like the nation’s stealthy fifth-generation fighter, the Su-57, isn’t that the platform doesn’t seem […]
It’s been no secret that President Trump’s directive to establish a new branch of the American armed forces tasked specifically with space defense has had its critics within the Defense Department. While there seems to be no debate regarding the need for orbital defense, the conflict has primarily been focused on how to go about […]
Russia’s method of investing in its defense infrastructure is quite different from America’s. The Kremlin knows it can’t build or sustain a military that could directly compete with the U.S., or even China. Thus, develops audacious “doomsday” 100-megaton nuclear weapons and high-profile projects like their fifth-generation fighter that won’t be produced in any substantial numbers. […]
Last month, Russia launched a large-scale series of training exercises known as Vostok (Eat). Like last year’s Zapad (West) drills, these exercises approximate a large-scale conflict on one side of Russia’s expansive territorial claims. These drills are usually quite the spectacle, with Russian officials making a habit of lying about how large (or small) the […]