U.S. Army Sends Its Best Tanks to European War Game
The U.S. Army and its European allies are rehearsing a major land war in Germany. And they’re sending some of the sophisticated armored vehicles in the world. Exercise Combined Resolve II is supposed to “replicate a complex operating environment” for NATO troops—that is, fighting a high-tech enemy with armor,... Read more
Hey Russia, American Paratroopers Jump in the Arctic, Too!
On May 1, U.S. Army engineers parachuted into a drop zone above the Arctic Circle—less than a month after Russian soldiers descended on the North Pole. The training exercise is just one part of America’s new Arctic strategy. The 6th Engineer Battalion jumped near the eerily named town of... Read more
Russian Military Needs Ukrainian Spare Parts
Russia can nuke Ukraine off the map. But those Russian nukes can’t fly without Ukrainian spare parts. While Russia only obtains 4.4 percent of its total imports from Ukraine, around 30 percent of Ukrainian military exports to Russia “are unique and cannot currently be substituted by Russian production,” according... Read more
Syria’s New Jet Fighters Won’t Change Anything
On May 5, Russian newspaper Kommersant announced that Moscow would finally begin delivery of 26 Yak-130 training and light-attack jets to Syria. The hand-over of Yak-130s raises the possibility that Damascus might also eventually get the MiG-29M2 fighters it ordered from Russia at the same time as the Yaks.... Read more
Pilots and Tank Crews Hate This Missile Designer
You’ve probably never heard of Sergey Pavlovich Nepobedimy. A recent photo of him shows just another elderly Russian gentleman with a chestful of Soviet medals. But many of you know of Sergey Pavlovich Nepobedimy’s handiwork. If airport security is tighter now, it is because Nepobedimy developed the SA-7 Strela,... Read more
Air Recon Treaty Lets Countries Spy On Ukraine and Russia—Legally
In 1992, NATO members and former Warsaw Pact nations signed an agreement allowing regular reconnaissance flights over their territories. Now, Europe and the U.S. are taking advantage of the Open Skies Treaty to monitor the increasingly violent crisis in Ukraine. The treaty was supposed to prevent open warfare by... Read more
Our Drone Wars Are Just Beginning
David Axe edits War is Boring and Matt Bors edits The Nib. Read more
Sudan’s Drones Are Dropping Like Flies
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North rebel group claims it has shot down a drone belonging to the Sudanese government. Evidence from this and earlier shoot-downs and crashes indicates that the robot is Iranian-made—and that Khartoum has access to Tehran’s wider portfolio of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. It’s worth noting... Read more
The Pentagon Just Got a New Ship That Can Track Satellites… And Help Destroy Them
The U.S. military has declared operational a high-tech new radar ship. Howard O. Lorenzen, named for a pioneering spy satellite inventor, is better known by her interchangeable code names “Cobra Judy Replacement” and “Cobra King.” Officially a “missile range instrumentation ship,” in fact Cobra Judy Replacement, a.k.a. Cobra King,... Read more
Look Overhead, Russia—The U.S. Air Force Flies Lots of Spy Missions in Eastern Europe
Violence in Ukraine is escalating rapidly and U.S. no doubt wants as much intel as it can get. The Air Force’s fleet of RC-135 spy planes are likely hard at work gathering information on the situation. As a rule, Washington is pretty tight-lipped about intelligence activities. However, redacted official... Read more