Section: The National Interest (USA)
Russia’s Deadly Su-27 Fighter: Everything You Need Know
Robert Farley Security, The plane that everyone is talking about… For such a remarkable aircraft, the Su-27 has seen relatively little combat. It has flown combat missions in several theaters across the world, although it has yet to serve in a sustained air superiority campaign. Flankers flew in some of the wars that characterized the...
5 Weapons of War Russia Would Not Want to Battle in a War with NATO
Michael Peck Security, Tanks, missiles, oh my. The 31-pound Spike is a fiber-optic wire-guided anti-tank missile with a tandem warhead that uses two shaped charges to first detonate a tank’s reactive armor, and then penetrate the vehicle’s own armor. Available in short, medium and long-range and extended range versions, the various...
Watch as a Russian Fighter Jet Intercepts U.S. Bombers Over Baltic Sea During NATO Exercise
Nolan Peterson Security, Europe Could things escalate? KRZESINY AIR BASE, Poland—A Russian fighter jet last week intercepted a formation of 11 NATO aircraft, including U.S. bombers, as they flew within international airspace over the Baltic Sea as part of a military exercise. This correspondent for The Daily Signal was onboard a U.S. Air Force...
Russia’s MiG-21: The Fighter Jet That Could Fly for 100 Years?
Robert Farley Security, China has ended production on the J-7, meaning that we have seen the last MiG-21 variant roll the assembly line. Croatia and Romania will dispose of their Fishbeds in the next five years. After a spate of accidents, India is finally retiring its MiG-21s (assuming it can ever actually acquire or produce a replacement)....
Will the Russia Sanctions Bill Strip Trump of His Power?
Daniel R. DePetris Politics, Eurasia It’s not everyday when Republicans and Democrats can hold together a dialogue over a period of months and come away with a good old-fashioned bipartisan piece of legislation. When they do, Washington and the rest of America rejoice. “Finally,” they may say, “the politicians that we send to Capitol Hill...
What Will Happen If Congress Strengthens Russia Sanctions?
Dimitri Alexander Simes Politics, Eurasia President Trump’s road to easing sanctions targeting Russia just became immensely more difficult. In a rare display of bipartisan unity, the Senate voted in favor of new sanctions against Russia by a margin of 97–2 on Wednesday afternoon. Republicans not only joined Democrats in supporting the...
Battleships, Aircraft Carriers and Super Tanks: Russia’s Military Dream Weapons—It Never Built
Robert Farley Security, Asia The Soviet military combined grandiose vision and global aspiration with a defense-industrial base that had severe limitations. In some cases, these limitations produced remarkable weapons, such as the T-34 and the MiG-21. In other cases, the limitations precluded disastrous decisions, such as the giant heavy bombers,...
America’s Industrial Might is Working to End the Drone Threat
Dan Goure Security, For more than two decades, the U.S. military owned the skies when it came to the employment of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) or drones. From the tiny, hand-launched Raven and Puma AE (All Environment) to the ubiquitous Predator and its armed cousin, the MQ-9 Reaper and the giant, high altitude RQ-4 Global Hawks, the U.S....
Tank War: Russia’s Tough T-90 vs. America’s Mighty M-1 Abrams (Who Wins?)
Dave Majumdar Security, It should be noted that replacing or even developing a new M1A3 variant is not a high priority for the U.S. Army. The Army is being drawn down after the U.S. ground forces were pulled from Iraq and Afghanistan, and with the focus on the Pacific theatre, the service is looking for ways to carve out its niche. Even with...
Is the Old NATO Dead?
Salvatore Babones Security, Europe When President Donald Trump travels to Poland this week to meet with its embattled president Andrzej Duda, the two will have a lot to talk about. Both are alternately ridiculed and pilloried in the international press and both are intensely disliked at European Union headquarters in Brussels. Both have been...
