Missile defense has been a priority in the United States for decades, in no small part because the threat posed by long-range, nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles remains as one of the few direct threats to the American mainland that could arise with little to no warning. In today's world, it would be all but impossible to sneak up to American shores with a sizable military … [Read more…]
A meteor unleashed a 173 kiloton explosion in Earth’s atmosphere and nobody noticed
Back in the 1990s, movies like "Armageddon" and "Deep Impact" helped show the world what it could be like if humanity met its end in a massive asteroid impact like our Jurassic (okay, technically Cretaceous) predecessors. In these movies, mankind utilized the best (science fiction) technology available to prepare for and attempt to prevent the impending disaster. As unrealistic … [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…]
End of an era: Pentagon to stop purchasing CH-47F Chinooks
In a small corner of the humongous 2020 U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) budget, among numerous procurement and upgrade projects, there's notification that the DOD decided to halt the acquisition of the CH-47F Block II—the newest model of the venerable Chinook heavy-lift helicopter. The decision indicates the end of an era for the Chinook, as the U.S. Army shifts its … [Read more…]
What exactly is going on with Boeing’s troubled Max line of aircraft?
On March 10, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, took off from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and almost immediately suffered flight control issues. Within five minutes of takeoff, the aircraft went down, claiming the lives of all 157 people on board. Tragic as this incident was, it didn't take long before investigators and journalists began linking it to … [Read more…]
Could America’s secretive B-21 Raider already be flying?
Back in 1975, Lockheed's legendary Skunk Works started tooling around with the Experimental Survivable Testbed (XST) program, also known as Project Harvey. Harvey soon led to the Hopeless Diamond, a shape developed using computers that experts agreed would offer the smallest radar return possible under their current computational restrictions. The Hopeless Diamond led to Have … [Read more…]
Former Blink 182 frontman to highlight Pentagon’s UFO program in new History Channel series
In December of 2017, the New York Times revealed that the United States Defense Department had been secretly funding investigations into reports made by military personnel of unidentified flying objects, or unidentified aerial phenomena as they're sometimes called. Although funding had been cut in 2012, the investigations continued under the supervision of Luis Elizondo, who … [Read more…]
NASA is planning a space station that orbits the moon – Here’s what you need to know
With the International Space Station (ISS) speeding toward retirement in the coming years, NASA is looking toward what's next for manned space operations. With goals spanning into the future that include a permanent presence on the Moon and the eventual manned exploration of Mars, NASA has set its sights on a new address -- one that could benefit efforts to reach beyond our own … [Read more…]
Tunnel-mapping tech may be the most important special operations gear of the 21st century
Recently, NEWSREP Editor-in-chief Jack Murphy reported on the U.S. military's standing plan to infiltrate Iranian underground bunkers housing integral elements of the nation's nuclear apparatus. If war between the United States and Iran were ever to come to fruition, these facilities (commonly referred to as hardened and deeply buried targets, or HDBTs) would be among America's … [Read more…]
The Skyborg Program: The Air Force’s new plan to give fighter pilots drone sidekicks
The Australian government and Boeing recently unveiled their plans for a "Loyal Wingman" drone system that would provide multiple support drones for fighters, bombers, and even unarmed aircraft during combat operations. Now, the U.S. Air Force has begun touting a new endeavor, dubbed "Skyborg," that could take the Loyal Wingman concept to the next level. Revealed! Our new … [Read more…]
Who’s afraid of the Russian wolf? Why the nuclear ‘doomsday’ sub is strategically worthless
Russia's struggling economy may not make for a particularly effective military, but the Kremlin's ability to mold public perceptions remains among the nation's most comprehensive and powerful skill sets. While some within the United States are still content to dispute the idea that Moscow uses a combination of state-run media outlets and social media outreach campaigns to shape … [Read more…]
So long, Spooky: US Special Operations just took delivery of their first new Ghostrider gunship
For years now, the AC-130U Spooky gunship has been nightmare fodder for America's enemies. These massive platforms carry a 25mm or 40mm cannon, 105mm cannon, and a 25mm Gatling gun, making them among the most potent air-support platforms on the planet. Now, as the era of the Spooky gunship comes to a close, there's a new nightmare on the horizon: the AC-130J Ghostrider. The … [Read more…]