Military

Military systems, defense technology, and the engineering behind modern arsenals.

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Latest in Military

COMAC: China's Rival to Airbus and Boeing. Should They Be Worried?

COMAC: China's Rival to Airbus and Boeing. Should They Be Worried?

China's COMAC is challenging the Airbus-Boeing duopoly with the C919 jet. Explore the history, technical challenges, certification hurdles, and geopolitical factors shaping this emerging aviation rival.

Simon Whistler · July 4, 2026
The A 29 Super Tucano How a Propeller Plane Became a 21st Century War Machine

The A 29 Super Tucano How a Propeller Plane Became a 21st Century War Machine

Discover how the Brazilian-made A-29 Super Tucano, a propeller-driven turboprop, became the global standard for counterinsurgency and light attack missions in modern asymmetric warfare.

Simon Whistler · July 2, 2026
Admiral Kuznetsov: The Troubled Life of Russia’s Lone Aircraft Carrier

Admiral Kuznetsov: The Troubled Life of Russia’s Lone Aircraft Carrier

Explore the beleaguered history of Russia's sole aircraft carrier, from Soviet construction to modern-day disasters, and discover why corruption and neglect have left this once-mighty warship barely seaworthy.

Simon Whistler · July 2, 2026
Africa's Great Green Wall: Stopping the Spread of the Sahara

Africa's Great Green Wall: Stopping the Spread of the Sahara

The Great Green Wall is Africa's ambitious plan to build an 8,000-kilometer barrier of vegetation to halt desertification across the Sahel. Learn about its progress, challenges, and uncertain future.

Simon Whistler · July 2, 2026
Are We Doing Nuclear Power Wrong?

Are We Doing Nuclear Power Wrong?

Nuclear power offers among the lowest-carbon electricity available, yet excessive regulation and public fear have stalled its deployment. This analysis examines how safety rules may be undermining decarbonization efforts.

Simon Whistler · July 2, 2026
The Absolute Unit That Was The USS Enterprise

The Absolute Unit That Was The USS Enterprise

The Convair B-36 Peacemaker was the largest combat aircraft ever built, a nuclear-armed strategic bomber that defined America's early Cold War deterrence strategy with its unprecedented range and payload capacity.

Simon Whistler · July 2, 2026
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More in Military

The X-59 Quesst: On a Mission to Change Air Travel

The X-59 Quesst: On a Mission to Change Air Travel

NASA and Lockheed Martin's X-59 Quesst experimental aircraft aims to solve the sonic boom problem that has plagued supersonic commercial flight since the Concorde era.

Simon Whistler · June 16, 2026
Zvezda: The Soviet's Incredible Plan for a Moonbase

Zvezda: The Soviet's Incredible Plan for a Moonbase

Discover Zvezda, the Soviet Union's ambitious plan for a permanent lunar base, featuring expandable modules, nuclear power, and a lunar tram system—decades before modern Artemis and ILRS programs.

Simon Whistler · June 16, 2026
The Strange Way China Got its Nukes...

The Strange Way China Got its Nukes...

Discover how China built its nuclear arsenal through Soviet cooperation, espionage, and determined self-reliance after the Sino-Soviet Split, becoming one of the world's nine nuclear powers.

Simon Whistler · June 13, 2026
Screw-Propelled Vehicles: Surprising Advantages in Warfare

Screw-Propelled Vehicles: Surprising Advantages in Warfare

Explore the strange history of screw-propelled vehicles, from 19th-century farm equipment to Cold War Soviet rescue craft, and why this odd technology never caught on for military use.

Simon Whistler · June 11, 2026
The A-12 Avenger II: The Stealth Bomber That Could Have Changed Everything

The A-12 Avenger II: The Stealth Bomber That Could Have Changed Everything

How the A-12 Avenger II, the US Navy's triangular stealth attack jet nicknamed the Flying Dorito, collapsed before its first flight

Simon Whistler · June 9, 2026
The AR-15: America's Rifle, and the World's Most Controversial Gun

The AR-15: America's Rifle, and the World's Most Controversial Gun

The full story of the AR-15: Eugene Stoner's design, its path to becoming the M16, its 20-30 million civilian owners, and the mass-shooting data

Simon Whistler · June 9, 2026