Even among fans of Boeing's F-15EX initiative, you won't find anyone who will contend that the F-15 is a superior aircraft to Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter. On paper, a new F-15 does offer a number of advantages over the stealth F-35—higher… [Read more…]
Why do the Pentagon’s reasons for buying new F-15s keep shifting?
Even among fans of Boeing's F-15EX initiative, you won't find anyone who will contend that the F-15 is a superior aircraft to Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter. On paper, a new F-15 does offer a number of advantages over the stealth F-35—higher top speed, lower operating costs, larger payload capacity, and greater operational range—but in a fight, the F-35's low … [Read more…]
Quick tips to repair your garbage credit score
We're all professionals and adults. We're aware of our credit scores and understand how they are key to our financial plight or success. We realize that our credit score, if low, can preclude us from getting a mortgage or can cost us dearly over the life our monthly mortgage payments. Imagine, if you are able (and some of us are very able), that you have a bad credit score … [Read more…]
New F-15s, F-22 upgrades, and classified bombers: Here’s where the Air Force wants to put its money
As defense officials unveil their 2020 budget requests, journalists and analysts alike are finally getting a peek behind the curtain at the real priorities driving the American war-fighting apparatus. The Department of Defense (DOD), by and large, needs to err on the side of discretion when discussing ongoing defense initiatives. A poorly chosen word can send stock prices … [Read more…]
Massive petrochemical fire in Houston threatens major shipping channel
A massive inferno at a petrochemical plant outside of Houston, Texas, is still raging. The fire started Sunday morning at the Intercontinental Terminals Company facility in Deer Park and has destroyed eight of the company's large chemical storage tanks. Although early estimates predicted the fire would be extinguished by Wednesday, issues with firefighting equipment have … [Read more…]
How one planning decision is responsible for so many of the F-35’s woes
It can be tough to find stories about the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter that don't go out of their way to paint the platform as either an incredibly overpriced boondoggle or the best thing to happen to military air power since the invention of nose-mounted radar. From an editorial standpoint, these "absolute good" and "absolute bad" angles tend to elicit the most engaged reactions … [Read more…]
The Air Force is buying new F-15s, but the Navy plans to spend $40 million on even older fighters
As the sparse details in the Pentagon's 2020 budget proposal reach the media, there have been few surprises. The Air Force still intends to purchase eight new F-15 airframes (single-seat F-15EX variants) and although the final deal is still yet to be hashed out, it appears that first batch will run Uncle Sam just about the predicted price of $1,117,400,000. That translates to … [Read more…]
How the rich and famous scammed colleges to get Johnny or Jane into Yale
By now, you’ve heard about the wealthy parents bribing people in positions of power in order to get their children accepted into prestigious universities. The list of those accused includes actresses, businessmen, lawyers, physicians, and other "high society types." According to a report from the New York Times, these parents spent hundreds of thousands of dollars -- sometimes … [Read more…]
New defense budget includes unexpectedly large pay raise for troops
Starting from January 2020, military personnel are set to receive a 3.1% pay raise, according to President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2020 defense budget. If the proposal goes through Congress, it would mark the largest increase in pay in a decade. The last largest increase was 3.4% in 2009. Depending on rank and years of service, the pay raise could amount to an additional … [Read more…]
Rescuers deploy drones to search for survivors in the aftermath of deadly Alabama twisters
Twenty-three people were killed when a powerful storm produced multiple tornadoes that hit residential areas of southeastern Alabama last weekend. In the aftermath of the disaster, rescue crews began the tedious task of digging through the debris of houses and trailers, looking for survivors. In years past, first responders had to do this work by hand, occasionally employing a … [Read more…]
Air Force plans to order fewer F-35s in 2020, is the F-15X to blame?
Ever since news first broke that the Air Force was being pressured by Pentagon officials to procure new F-15 airframes in 2020, pundits, lawmakers and defense officials alike have protested in the name of America's most advanced fighter platform, the F-35. Now, with the Air Force's F-35 order looking like it will be short of projections, some are sure to cry foul. The F-35 … [Read more…]
Opioid kingpin Purdue Pharma may consider bankruptcy in the face of lawsuits
Purdue Pharma, the maker of the popular painkiller OxyContin, may soon file for bankruptcy in the face of an onslaught of lawsuits. Reuters broke the news Monday morning, citing a source that said the company may try to use bankruptcy protection laws to extricate itself from nearly 2,000 lawsuits. The suits claim the pharmaceutical company knowingly misled both "doctors and … [Read more…]
Report: More money is key to retaining Special Operations warriors
Special Operations Forces (SOF) are known for their physically and mentally tough selection and assessment processes. However, for those few who can make the cut and enter into the vaunted ranks of a special operations unit, the benefits are significant. Special operators get to train and play with the most advanced military toys available. They get to attend all kinds of … [Read more…]