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Brent M. Eastwood

Brent M. Eastwood

The National Interest

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Su-27 Fighter Made NATO 'Sweat Bullets'

Key Points: Overall, the Su-27 remains one of the best fourth-generation fighters, with excellent range and weapons capacity. Its lack of stealth...

23.11.2024 4

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

SR-71 Blackbird: Mach 3 Spy Plane Almost Made the 'Ultimate' of Comebacks

A Big Mistake? After its retirement in 1999, the SR-71 Blackbird—a high-speed reconnaissance aircraft—was considered for reactivation following...

22.11.2024 1

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Why the MBT-70 Super Tank Project Explained in 4 Words

It Was Going to Fail: The MBT-70 was a joint tank project initiated in 1963 by the United States and West Germany to develop a next-generation main...

22.11.2024 1

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

XB-70 Bomber Can Be Explained in 3 Words

A Total Failure: The XB-70 Valkyrie was an experimental U.S. nuclear bomber developed in the 1950s and 1960s as a potential replacement for the...

22.11.2024 1

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Air Force B-21 Raider Bomber Is 'Putting China on Warning'

What You Need to Know: The B-21 Raider bomber, seen as a crucial component in deterring China, is designed to penetrate advanced air defenses and...

12.11.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Russia's Admiral Kuznetsov Aircraft Carrier Has a 'Black Smoke' Problem

What You Need to Know: Russia's only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, is known for thick black smoke emissions due to its outdated Mazut...

07.11.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

FB-22: The Air Force Planned to Turn the F-22 Raptor Into a Bomber

What You Need to Know: The FB-22 concept, a bomber variant of the F-22 Raptor, proposed by Air Force Secretary James Roche in the early 2000s,...

04.11.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Russia's Kiev-Class 'Aircraft Carrier' Can Be Explained in 2 Words

Big Fail: The Kiev-class hybrid aircraft carriers were the Soviet Union’s attempt to counter U.S. naval dominance during the Cold War. Designed...

04.11.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

462 Tomahawk Missiles: 'China Freaked' When Navy Surfaced 3 Missile Subs 'At Once'

What You Need to Know: In June 2010, the U.S. Navy conducted a rare display of strength in response to China’s missile testing, surfacing three...

02.11.2024 3

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

The Navy Tried and Failed to Sink Its Own Aircraft Carrier for 4 Weeks

What You Need to Know: The USS America, a storied Cold War aircraft carrier, went down in history after being used in a unique 2005 Navy test to...

01.11.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

$5,000,000,000 U.S. Navy A-12 Avenger II Stealth Bomber Nightmare

What You Need to Know: The A-12 Avenger was a proposed stealth bomber developed by the U.S. Navy in the 1980s to replace the aging A-6E Intruder....

27.10.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

How Hard Is It to Sink an Aircraft Carrier? The Navy Took 4 Weeks To Do It

What You Need to Know: The USS America (CV-66), a Kitty Hawk-class supercarrier commissioned in 1965, showcased exceptional resilience throughout...

25.10.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Russia's Titanium Submarines: Faster and Could Out Dive U.S. Navy

What You Need to Know: During the Cold War, the Soviet Union sought an edge in undersea warfare by designing the Lira-class (Alfa) submarines with...

22.10.2024 3

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Alaska-Class Battlecruisers: Powerful Navy Warships Rendered Useless

What You Need to Know: The Alaska-class battlecruisers were conceived by the U.S. Navy in the 1930s to counter Germany's fast and powerful "pocket...

20.10.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

YF-23 vs. F-22 Raptor: The Untold Story of the Stealth Fighter Showdown

What You Need to Know: In the 1980s, the U.S. Air Force launched the Advanced Tactical Fighter program to develop a next-generation stealth...

20.10.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

64,000 Ton Battleship: The Navy's Montana-Class Had No Chance

What You Need to Know: The Montana-class battleships were the pinnacle of U.S. battleship design during World War II, intended to surpass the Iowa-...

19.10.2024 3

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

A-12 Avenger II: The Navy Wasted $5 Billion on This Stealth Bomber

What You Need to Know: The A-12 Avenger was the U.S. Navy’s ambitious stealth bomber project in the 1980s, designed to replace the A-6E Intruder...

19.10.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Admiral Kuznetsov: Russia's Last Aircraft Carrier Was a Crazy 'Missile Farm'

What You Need to Know: Russia’s only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, is a unique hybrid vessel, combining aircraft-launching capabilities...

18.10.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Avro Canada CF-105 “Arrow”: Built to Fighter Russia (And Never Flew)

What You Need to Know: The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a groundbreaking Cold War fighter jet developed to protect Canada from Soviet bombers. With...

16.10.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

'Worst Submarine Accident in Russian History': Russian Sub Sank Thanks to Torpedo Malfunction

What You Need to Know: In August 2000, the Russian submarine Kursk suffered two massive explosions during a naval exercise in the Barents Sea,...

14.10.2024 1

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

'She Won't Sink': The U.S. Navy Failed for 4 Weeks to Sink Their Own Aircraft Carrier

What You Need to Know Now: In 2005, the USS America (CV-66), a veteran Cold War aircraft carrier, was intentionally sunk during a live-fire SinkEx...

14.10.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Yamato: Japan Sent the Biggest Battleship Ever On a 1 Way 'Final' Mission

What You Need to Know: Japan's Yamato, the largest battleship ever constructed, embarked on a one-way mission during the final stages of World War...

11.10.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Russia's Sukhoi Su-47 Fighter Was All Looks and No Fighter Plane

What You Need to Know: The Su-47 Golden Eagle was Russia's ambitious attempt to create a fifth-generation fighter jet to rival the U.S. F-22...

11.10.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

The Worst Fighter Plane Ever: The De Havilland Sea Vixen

What You Need to Know: The De Havilland Sea Vixen was a British twin-engine, twin-boom fighter aircraft with an unconventional design, featuring an...

11.10.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

'The Missile Tube Leaked': How a Russian Nuclear Submarine Was Lost Forever

What You Need to Know: In October 1986, the Soviet ballistic missile submarine K-219 sank approximately 700 miles off the coast of Bermuda after a...

11.10.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

'The Front of the Submarine Was Ripped Off': Russian Sub Sank Thanks to Torpedo Malfunction

What You Need to Know: The sinking of the Kursk submarine in August 2000 stands as one of the worst naval disasters in Russian history. During a...

08.10.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Mach 18: Boeing's X-20 Dyna-Soar Bomber Looked Like a Game Changer

What You Need to Know: The X-20 Dyna-Soar, developed by the U.S. Air Force and Boeing from 1959 to 1963, was designed to be a pioneering hypersonic...

08.10.2024 4

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Alfa-Class: Russia's Titanium Submarine That America Never Could Match

What You Need to Know: The Soviet Alfa-class submarine, featured in Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October, was a technological marvel during the...

08.10.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

The Navy Tried for 4 Weeks to Sink Their Own Aircraft Carrier

What You Need to Know: The USS America (CV-66), a classic U.S. Navy aircraft carrier that served from 1965 to 1996, was sunk during a live-fire...

08.10.2024 20

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

SR-71 Blackbird Spy Plane Almost Made the Ultimate Comeback

What You Need to Know: After the 9/11 attacks, there was serious consideration of bringing the retired SR-71 Blackbird back into service to provide...

08.10.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Forget Top Gun: The F-14 Might Be the Navy's Best Fighter Plane Ever

What You Need to Know: The F-14 Tomcat, known for its iconic portrayal in Top Gun, was a beloved aircraft among Navy aviators during its three...

07.10.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Russia Lost an Attack Submarine with 2 'Nuclear-Tipped Torpedoes' Aboard

4 Points You Need to Know: The Soviet K-278 Komsomolets, a Mike-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, was a technological marvel featuring a...

01.10.2024 3

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

A Russian Attack Submarine Sank with 2 'Nuclear-Tipped Torpedoes' Lost

What You Need to Know: The Soviet K-278 Komsomolets, a technological marvel of the Cold War, met a tragic fate in 1989. As the deepest-diving...

29.09.2024 3

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

China's J-16D Is an Electronic Warfare 'Nightmare' for the U.S. Navy

Summary and What You Need to Know: China's J-16D electronic warfare (EW) fighter jet, based on the J-16, aims to challenge U.S. air dominance,...

06.09.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Ryan X-13 Vertijet: Created to Fight During a Nuclear War and No Runways

Summary and Key Points: The Ryan X-13 Vertijet was a pioneering aircraft developed in the 1950s that could take off and land vertically without a...

04.09.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

462 Tomahawks Ready: U.S. Navy Revealed 3 Missile Subs 'At Once' As Signal to China

Summary and Key Points: In June 2010, the U.S. Navy surfaced three Ohio-class guided missile submarines (SSGNs) in the Western Pacific and Indian...

03.09.2024 1

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

T-95: The Powerhouse Tank Russia Never Built (NATO Would Have Freaked)

Summary and Key Points: The Russian T-95 main battle tank, developed in the late 1980s and 1990s, was an advanced prototype with a powerful 152mm...

29.08.2024 1

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

'Drone' Aircraft Carriers: The U.S. Navy's Future Coming Soon?

Summary and Key Points: The concept of a "sub-carrier," a submarine capable of launching drones from a flat-top deck, is closer to reality than...

29.08.2024 1

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Delta Force: The Best Special Forces Unit on Earth

Summary and What You Need to Know: Delta Force, officially known as the U.S. Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D), is...

27.08.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Navy Freaked Out: How a Small Sub from Sweden 'Sunk' an Aircraft Carrier

Summary and Top 3 Points You Need to Know: Sweden’s Gotland-class submarines, equipped with advanced air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems, have...

20.08.2024 1

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Not F-22 or F-35: F-15E Strike Eagle Is Fastest U.S. Air Force Airplane

Summary and Key Points You Need to Know: The fastest aircraft in the U.S. Air Force, apart from the Space Force’s X-37B, is the F-15E Strike Eagle,...

18.08.2024 2

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood