Military
Military systems, defense technology, and the engineering behind modern arsenals.
26 articlesLatest Military
A-10 Warthog: Why the Close-Air-Support Icon Is Finally Leaving
The A-10 Thunderbolt II survived decades of retirement fights, but 2026 divestments show why the Air Force is finally moving past the Warthog.
AGM-183A ARRW: Why the Air Force Revived a Troubled Hypersonic Missile
The AGM-183A ARRW survived failed tests and a procurement pause. Air Force budgets now put the hypersonic weapon back into production planning.
Altay Tank: Is Turkey's First Modern Main Battle Tank Any Good?
Turkey's Altay tank has modern firepower, protection, and mobility on paper. Its real test is production scale, powerpack maturity, and battlefield proof.
Arleigh Burke: The U.S. Navy's Guided-Missile Destroyer Workhorse
The Arleigh Burke destroyer survives because it keeps absorbing radar, missile-defense, and fleet-escort jobs while the Navy waits for DDG(X).
Aurora Spy Plane: The $2 Billion Aircraft That May Never Have Existed
The Aurora legend began with a black-budget line item, sonic booms, and triangular sightings. The evidence points to something murkier than one spy plane.
Dassault Mirage: The Delta-Wing Fighter Family That Sold the World
The Dassault Mirage family turned France's postwar fighter crisis into a global export success, from Mirage III and Mirage 5 to F1 and Mirage 2000.
Project Pulse
- —Weekly dispatch
- —Engineering deep-dives
- —Cost breakdowns
- —Behind-the-numbers notes from Simon
More in Military
Boeing E-4: America's Advanced Airborne Command Post
How the E-4 Nightwatch became America's airborne command center, built to keep national command authority alive through nuclear war, disasters, and crises.
Why the U.S. Still Has Not Replaced the Cobra and Apache
Why the Cobra and Apache keep outlasting the U.S. attack helicopter programs built to replace them.
LOCUST X3: The Laser Built to Make Drone Defense Affordable
How AeroVironment's LOCUST X3 uses a 20-35+ kW laser to attack the cost problem behind modern drone defense.
LRASM: The Ultimate Ship Killer
How LRASM restored America's long-range anti-ship strike capability with stealth, autonomy, and a missile built from the JASSM-ER family.
NIF: The $3.5 Billion Laser That Finally Achieved Fusion Ignition
How Lawrence Livermore's National Ignition Facility turned 192 lasers, Cold War stockpile science, and decades of failed shots into laboratory fusion ignition.
Project Babylon: Saddam Hussein’s Supergun
The true story of Gerald Bull, the Canadian artillery genius who helped Saddam Hussein build a gun capable of firing satellites into space.
