Author: Michael

Summary and Key Points: Defense analyst Harrison Kass evaluates the 1966 SR-71 Blackbird breakup involving Lockheed test pilot Bill Weaver.

-While testing aft center of gravity (CG) at Mach 3.18, a right inlet system malfunction triggered a violent “unstart,” causing the aircraft to disintegrate at 79,000 feet.

SR-71 Photo Taken September 26, 2025. Image Credit: National Security Journal.

-This report analyzes how Weaver was physically extracted from the cockpit without a formal ejection, surviving solely due to his fully pressurized suit.

US missiles are hitting Iranian Revolutionary G

In 2022, Koichiro Takagi wrote, “New Tech, New Concepts: China’s Plans for AI and Cognitive Warfare,” where he explored the role of AI in China’s cognitive operations. Four years later, with AI becoming increasingly capable and sophisticated, we asked Koichiro to revisit his arguments.Image: geralt, pixabay licenseIn your 2022 article, you explain how China is increasingly utilizing AI to plan for battle in the cognitive domain.

Missile warfare is not merely a matter of how m

The Defense Department and Intelligence Community are on the hunt for an “evaluation harness” to test vendors’ AI technologies for government use.
The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit, headquartered in Silicon Valley, released a solicitation Wednesday for the effort, dubbed “MYSTIC DEPOT,” which will be pursued via a commercial solutions opening contracting mechanism.

It doesn’t matter whether the sun is shining, a hurricane is passing through Washington, D.C., or a Tomb guard accidentally gets stabbed in the foot.
There will always be an American soldier of the highest caliber “walking the mat” at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. For 24 hours a day, seven days a week since 1937, there has always been a guard on watch.
Related: What happens if you try to touch the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Stationed at Arlington National Cemetery’s most popular tourist attraction, the Tomb Sentinels have the hardest and most coveted job in the U.S. Army.

Image by U.S. Secretary of Defense

The administration changed policy. The personnel bureaucracy quietly refused to follow.
The administration won the policy war. The bureaucracy won the peace—and it is still winning.
Clear directives were issued: eliminate DEI mandates and return personnel decisions to merit, readiness, and warfighting priorities. Public language shifted quickly—readiness over equity, mission execution over identity signaling, command authority over consensus management.

Pilots who fly Apache helicopters for the Army are fiercely dedicated to their mission of watching over and defending forces below on the ground. But in the heart of every Apache pilot is a secret yearning: to find an air-to-air target and blow it out of the sky.
This week, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defense released video of their own AH-64s engaging and shooting down Iranian Shaheed drones that it said were headed towards targets in the country. The Israeli Army has also used AH-64s to attack Iranian drones in flight in recent months.

The US Department of State has approved a possible FMS to Sweden, involving the acquisition of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems.

The Ba’athist regime of Saddam Hussein may have fallen on Mar. 20, 2003, but the hunt for its leadership would take much longer. The dictator and his two sons, Uday and Qusay, were still out there.
Finding Saddam would take nine months, while his sons were tracked to their hideout in just a few weeks. And they would be found by the U.S. Army’s most elite soldiers.
Also Read: Why Saddam Hussein buried Iraq’s air force in the desert
Task Force 20’s mission in Iraq was to capture or kill the high-value targets, or HVTs. These included Iraqi jihadists and former Ba’ath Party members.