Free Republic

Germany is war-gaming a mass-casualty scenario—up to 1,000 wounded soldiers per day—amid Russian airspace violations and warnings of possible conflict by 2029. Surgeon General Ralf Hoffmann says Ukraine’s drone-saturated battlefield is reshaping injuries toward blasts and burns, complicating evacuation and forcing longer stabilization times.

The 9 September events demonstrate two interlocking realities. First, the prospect of a NATO–Russia war is no longer an abstraction. Moscow has shown a willingness to test NATO directly. Second, the most likely path to such a conflict is not through deliberate escalation but through miscalculation. The means to a wider war exist; the question is which one. Technical failure, human error, or political panic could cause escalation to spiral in a single instant.

The US Navy wanted the F-14 Tomcat for long-range fleet defense against Soviet bomber threats, requiring a large radar, powerful air-to-air missiles, and the ability to operate across a wide range of airspeeds to carry heavy ordnance and maintain maneuverability. The variable-sweep wing design, combined with advanced fire-control systems and the AIM-54 Phoenix missile, made the F-14 capable of engaging multiple targets at long distances while still being able to perform close-in combat and dogfighting.

This 6th-generation aircraft, now designated the F-47, will be the first stealthy aircraft designed by Boeing and is intended to move far beyond the F-35, into territory where, literally, “no man has gone before.” It will be bereft of any vertical control surfaces and will, according to one person close to the program who spoke to National Security Journal, “Be based on concepts of stealth that go beyond just the shaping of an aircraft fuselage and the techniques we know as the keys to low RCS today,” he said. “I cannot be specific about these newer technologies, which have not...

SSN(X) is the Navy’s planned successor to Virginia: a larger, stealthier, longer-legged attack submarine that teams with UUVs, carries more weapons, and is designed for higher availability. Costs will dwarf current boats, and industrial bottlenecks—from single-source suppliers to overloaded yards—are real. Budget trade-offs and shipyard realities have pushed the first procurement to around FY-2040, delaying entry to the fleet.

For over three decades since the Cold War, the United States has lacked a coherent strategy for Russia, lurching from one failed “reset” to another. This stands in stark contrast to the clear, successful Cold War doctrine of containment. Successive administrations have failed to grasp Russia’s true nature and objectives, allowing Moscow to rearm and pursue its imperial ambitions.

The U.S. Air Force’s secretive F-47 sixth-generation fighter is a technological marvel designed to counter the growing threat from China. Expected to fly faster than Mach 2, the F-47 will likely be the stealthiest aircraft ever built, featuring a tailless, horizontal design. More than just a fighter, it will act as a “quarterback” for a swarm of AI-enabled drone wingmen. Its advanced sensors and computing will shorten the “sensor-to-shooter” timeline to milliseconds, and it may even be armed with revolutionary laser weapons, ensuring American air dominance for decades to come.

Ever since the Europeans signed on to the F-35 program, it has been clouded by one persistent fear: that in some future geopolitical crisis, Washington might seek to exercise leverage by denying software updates or spare parts, thereby rendering the European fleet inoperable. But where does this geopolitical anxiety come from? Is it grounded in historical fact (i.e., have there been precedents in which the United States weaponized its control over advanced weapon systems against its allies)?

In a future conflict with China, technological superiority alone will not be enough; “mass matters.” The vast distances of the Indo-Pacific and the limitations of sea-launched airpower create a critical need for a large, land-based fleet of long-range, 6th-generation F-47 fighters. A substantial number of F-47s would be essential to overwhelm enemy defenses, deliver the necessary volume of ordnance, and create a resilient, networked force capable of shortening the sensor-to-shooter timeline. Without a large F-47 fleet, the U.S. risks being unable to effectively project power and prevail in a great-power conflict.

While the theory that Russia could collapse under the strain of the Ukraine war is popular, a direct comparison to the fall of the USSR is flawed. Unlike the Soviet Union’s final years, which saw a rapid turnover of leadership and liberalizing reforms under Gorbachev, Putin’s Russia is a stable, repressive regime. However, the current system faces its own unique pressures: major state-owned companies like Gazprom are hemorrhaging money, and a rising tide of violent crime from returning convicts is creating deep social instability that could lead to a different kind of collapse.

The upcoming one-on-one summit between Presidents Trump and Putin is unlikely to produce a lasting peace because Ukraine, the primary combatant, is not at the table. The bilateral format plays into Vladimir Putin’s imperial mindset, creating visuals of great-power parity and evoking historical comparisons to the disastrous Yalta and Munich conferences where smaller nations’ fates were decided for them.

While a new Pentagon policy makes it easier for Marines to acquire and experiment with small drones, the U.S. military faces a catastrophic drone gap with Russia and China. A recent exercise highlighted the poor performance of the few approved, American-made models. The root of the problem is a nearly extinct domestic manufacturing base, leaving the U.S. unable to produce drones at scale without relying on Chinese components.

The U.S. Air Force’s plan to procure “at least 100” B-21 Raider stealth bombers is dangerously insufficient for an era of simultaneous great-power competition with Russia and China. Credible deterrent and the ability to fight a protracted, two-theater war requires a much larger fleet, in the range of 200 to 400 aircraft.

Eighty years after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, this analysis explores Operation Downfall, the massive Allied invasion of Japan that was averted by Tokyo’s surrender. The two-stage plan, Operations Olympic and Coronet, would have involved more than twice the forces of the Normandy landings and was expected to be unimaginably costly.

Air superiority is no longer just a matter of the capabilities of individual aircraft. It’s a question of posture, doctrine, and overall warfighting infrastructure. And in that domain, the contest is no longer so lopsided. The West can no longer take comfort in its F-35 fleet. The J-20 has evolved into its operational equal—if not its superior.

After decades of neglect left its stockpiles “far too shallow,” the United States is undertaking a massive revitalization of its munitions industrial base. Spurred by the demands of supporting allies like Ukraine and Israel, Congress is pouring billions into the effort.

Despite cheap drones devastating tanks in recent conflicts, the U.S. Army is developing the next-generation AbramsX. This move isn’t a return to old ways but a necessary evolution for modern warfare. The lighter, hybrid-electric AbramsX is designed as a networked “combat node,” integrating AI, advanced sensors, and an Active Protection System to survive on a drone-saturated battlefield. While drones have changed warfare, they cannot hold ground.

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.

Decades before the rumored SR-72 “Darkstar,” America had already conquered hypersonic flight with the X-15 rocket plane. In 1967, this remarkable experimental aircraft, developed by North American Aviation, reached a stunning speed of Mach 6.7, a record for a crewed, powered aircraft that remains unbroken to this day.

Following the fall of the Assad regime, Israel has established a new “red line” in Syria, launching major airstrikes on Damascus on July 16 to warn the new government against attacking the Druze minority in the south. The strikes, which targeted military headquarters, came after clashes erupted between Druze and other armed groups near Suwayda.