Free Republic

COURTLAND, Ala. (WHNT) — A major American defense contractor is expanding its operations in North Alabama by bringing another large facility to a small town in Lawrence County. Lockheed Martin told News 19 that a new 88,000 square-foot Missile Assembly Building is currently under construction in Courtland. The new building is expected to open early 2026, the company said. Lockheed Martin said the spacious building will help advance defense systems in Courtland. The building is being built for the Next Generation Interceptor program. Lockheed Martin’s website says with the NGI program, the mission is to “develop, produce and deliver a...

China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has officially declared its ambition to match and then surpass the U.S. military by 2049, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the PRC. According to an article in the Communist Party’s official newspaper, achieving a “world-class military” requires the PLA to measure itself against the “world’s strongest military”—an apparent reference to the United States.

Restarting the F-22 Raptor production line is a “pipe dream” that is not feasible or strategically wise. The industrial base, including the assembly line and specialized subcontractors, no longer exists, and a 2017 Air Force report estimated a restart would cost a staggering $50 billion. Furthermore, the F-22’s 1990s-era technology is now obsolete and would require an extensive and costly redesign to remain relevant.

Tommy Robinson has been arrested in connection with an alleged assault at St Pancras station last week. The 42-year-old, far-Right activist was arrested at Luton airport after landing on a flight from Faro in Portugal.

Pentagon officials are aiming to test President Trump’s space-based Golden Dome missile defense system to safeguard the US in the fourth quarter of 2028, according to a report. That timeframe lines up with Trump’s ambitious goal to “have it done in three years” and comes amid pitches from defense contractors to score coveted contracts to develop the cutting-edge system. “They want a win to point to in November [2028],” a defense official told CNN. “And DoD [Department of Defense] wants to avoid anything they perceive will slow them down.” The test, which will be conducted by the Missile Defense Agency,...

The U.S. Air Force’s plan to buy “at least 185” F-47 sixth-generation fighters is “dangerously delusional” and inadequate for a future war. To maintain air dominance against peer competitors like China, the U.S. needs a fleet of at least 400-500 F-47s. The current plan repeats the historic mistake made with the F-22 Raptor, where a small, boutique fleet was procured that proved insufficient for global demands.

For decades, China’s advanced fighter jets, including the J-20 stealth fighter, were held back by a critical dependency on Russian-made engines. China has systematically overcome this weakness, evolving from copying Russia’s AL-31F engine to reverse-engineering Western commercial cores and finally developing its own powerful, indigenous designs like the WS-10 and WS-15.

The U.S. made a massive strategic mistake by choosing the sleek F-35 over the “ugly” but brilliant Boeing X-32 in the Joint Strike Fighter competition. While unconventional in appearance, the X-32 was designed for simplicity, affordability, and manufacturing efficiency—qualities better suited for a long-term great power conflict.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his team have been ordered to cease polygraphs to stop leaks to the corporate media after an adviser complained to the White House. The adviser in question, Patrick Weaver, complained to White House officials this spring that he was worried about being directed by Hegseth or another member of his team to submit to a polygraph test. Hegseth’s team started administering polygraph tests to people around the defense secretary in April. The White House then intervened to stop the practice via a phone call by an individual close to the administration. The Post refused to...

The U.S. Air Force made a “strategic blunder” in 1991 by choosing the YF-22 over the more advanced YF-23 prototype. The YF-23 was a more futuristic design, prioritizing the all-aspect stealth, speed, and range needed for modern, beyond-visual-range combat.The Air Force, however, being risk-averse, chose the more conventional and maneuverable YF-22 (or F-22) because it clung to outdated dogfighting dogmas.

Despite being officially retired in 2008, the U.S. Air Force has confirmed that a fleet of approximately 45 F-117A Nighthawk stealth aircraft (or commonly known as the F-117 Stealth Fighter) will continue flying until at least 2034. The iconic jets are not designed for combat, but now serve in critical new roles. They act as “red air” aggressors for realistic pilot training, test advanced technologies like new “mirror-like” coatings, and serve as proxies for other stealth platforms.

The U.S. Army has officially canceled the M10 Booker armored vehicle program as part of a major acquisition reform initiative. The decision was driven by a strategic shift away from counter-insurgency towards preparing for high-intensity peer conflict, a role for which the M10 was ill-suited. The vehicle failed on multiple fronts: it became too heavy for air deployment, was no longer cost-effective, and could not be adapted for future battlefields.

The Boeing X-32, derided for its “ugly,” cartoonish appearance, was a formidable contender in the Joint Strike Fighter competition but ultimately lost to what became the F-35. Despite its superb handling qualities, which one test pilot compared to an F/A-18, the X-32’s downfall was its flawed and complex Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) design.

A major funding battle has erupted between the U.S. Navy and the White House over the future of naval aviation. The Trump administration has officially prioritized the Air Force’s F-47 sixth-generation fighter, arguing the U.S. industrial base cannot support the simultaneous development of the Navy’s F/A-XX program.

The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, the world’s first operational stealth aircraft, was a revolutionary bomber deceptively designated as a “fighter” to attract the Air Force’s best pilots. Born from the top-secret “Have Blue” program, the “Wobblin’ Goblin” proved its worth during the 1991 Gulf War, where it struck heavily defended targets in Baghdad with impunity on the opening night of the air campaign.

Decades of ignoring the menaces posed by Russia and China has led the West to a precipice. ... Deterrence, however, does not disintegrate overnight. Contrary to the narrative of U.S. belligerence and imperialism that has been impressed on countless university students, the United States has, since the end of World War II, largely pursued a policy of restraint despite its considerable military power. Unlike other superpowers, it has not sought territories or treasure—on the contrary, it incurred considerable expense to foster a peaceful international order where other nations could thrive. Under the belief that a market economy, normal trading relations,...

After years of embarrassing failures, including fires and a sinking dry-dock, Russia might scrap its only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov. According to the Russian newspaper Izvestia, the decision to end the carrier’s long-stalled overhaul seems certain. A retired Russian admiral even stated that classic aircraft carriers are “a thing of the past,” vulnerable to modern missiles.

The new B-21 Raider strategic bomber is not a revolutionary “game-changer,” but rather a crucial evolutionary step in air power that debunks the myth that drones and AI will make manned aircraft obsolete. While new technologies are seductive, they cannot replace the human judgment required for strategic deterrence, a mission the B-21 is designed to fulfill for decades.

Last month’s NATO summit in The Hague gave off the disturbing impression of an alliance finally crossing the fine line between serious defence policy into the realm of make-believe. The main outcome was presented to the world as a “new 5 per cent defence spending pledge” by all allies. The previous target, dating from 2014, was 2 per cent. President Trump naturally claimed the new benchmark as a “big win”, with the White House calling it a “monumental victory” and a “dramatic” increase in defence contributions across the alliance. Yet hardly any of this is true. Of the 5 per...

House Republicans are calling on the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to expedite a national security review of Chinese drone manufacturers like Shenzhen Da-Jiang Innovations Sciences and Technologies Company Limited (DJI Technologies) pursuant to the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. In a letter to ODNI signed by representatives Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.; Rick Crawford, R-Ark.; and John Moolenaar, R-Mich., the lawmakers requested timely execution of the review as drone technology quickly accelerates. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month prioritizing the accelerated integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into U.S. national airspace. But before that fully...