Obama’s Plan to Arm Taiwan
The Obama administration has informed the U.S. Congress of a proposed $1.8 billion arms package for Taiwan, according to Capitol Hill sources. The arms package — which is more modest than previous such deals — includes a host of weapons that could blunt an amphibious invasion by the People’s... Read more
History’s Most Innovative Warships
Earlier this month the Zumwalt began sea trials. The first of a probable three ships, Zumwalt once represented the future of U.S. naval surface warfare. Budget shortfalls, changed priorities and predictable cost overruns cut the projected purchase from a fleet-sustaining 32 units to an experimental trio of ships. Still, Zumwalt represents... Read more
U.S. Warships Fall Behind in the Missile Race
The U.S. Navy’s strategy desperately requires a new ship-launched anti-ship missile as enemy surface warships greatly “out stick” American warships. But as a stopgap solution, the Navy could modify the trusty Tomahawk cruise missile for anti-ship work. Since the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the... Read more
What If America Had ‘Eliminated’ Saddam Hussein?
In the early days of the air campaign of the 1991 Gulf War, the United States undertook a concerted effort to track and strike Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. The effort was predicated on the belief that eliminating Saddam Hussein would have two effects — it would throw the Iraqi... Read more
The Backfire Bomber Is Russia’s ‘Carrier Killer’
The Russian air force conducted another massive strategic bomber raid on Daesh targets in Syria yesterday. As before, the Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack and Tu-95MS bombers played a prominent role, however, the supersonic Tu-22M3 Backfire bombers conducted the majority of the attacks. “A squadron of Tu-22M3 long-range bombers made airstrikes... Read more
Russia Stumbles in Syrian Air War
Russia’s pace of air operations in Syria appears to have dropped off slightly from their peak in recent days. While the Russians had flown as many as 88 sorties per day about two weeks ago, more recently that number has dropped off as many U.S. defense officials had predicted. “In... Read more
Will Canada Dump the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter?
Earlier this week, Canada’s Conservative Party was swept out of office and replaced by a new Liberal government led by incoming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The rise of a new government means that Ottawa’s defense and foreign policy posture will change. One immediate casualty could be the Lockheed Martin’s... Read more
One Last Chance to Buy Brand New F-16s
For decades the Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon — more popularly know as the “Viper” — has dominated the fighter market around the globe. But while the F-16 is still one of the best fourth-generation fighters money can buy, the production line is starting to slow as sales dry... Read more
Yes, America’s F-22 Raptor Can Be Defeated
The U.S. Air Force has as a tiny fleet of 186 Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor stealth fighters. That’s all that survived out of 187 production aircraft (195 jets if developmental airframes are included) that were built out of the 750 that were originally planned. Of those 186 remaining Raptors,... Read more
Does the U.S. Navy Need a 21st Century F-14 Tomcat?
While the requirement for a carrier-based long-range strike capability is a frequent subject of discussion around Washington, the U.S. Navy’s need for improved air superiority capabilities is often neglected. The service has not had a dedicated air-to-air combat aircraft since it retired the Grumman F-14 Tomcat in 2006. But even... Read more