Cold War

In 1958, the United States Air Force launched Project A119, also known as “A Study of Lunar Research Flights.” While the US would not visit the moon with a manned mission for eleven more years, this project involved sending something quite different to the lunar surface: a nuclear missile. As the United States and the […]

Back in the heyday of the Cold War, Europe had a real problem: even with American military might on its side, the region faced a Soviet military with overwhelming numbers on its eastern flank. If the Soviet Union had opted to invade, there was little NATO could do to stem the flow of Russian armor […]

Back in the heyday of the Cold War, Europe had a real problem: even with American military might on its side, the region faced a Soviet military with overwhelming numbers on its eastern flank. If the Soviet Union had opted to invade, there was little NATO could do to stem the flow of Russian armor […]

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a nuclear warning to the United States, saying Russia’s nuclear arsenal would target the U.S. if America decided to deploy any nuclear weapons to the European continent following its formal withdrawal from the INF treaty. Putin’s remarks were reminiscent of a national address the Russian president delivered two […]

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a nuclear warning to the United States, saying Russia’s nuclear arsenal would target the U.S. if America decided to deploy any nuclear weapons to the European continent following its formal withdrawal from the INF treaty. Putin’s remarks were reminiscent of a national address the Russian president delivered two […]

Thanks to decades’ worth of cultural pressure on the international stage, most nations view the use of nuclear weapons in war as a reprehensible act. Today’s nuclear nations, by and large, ascribe to a model of deterrence: Put simply, our nukes stop them from using their nukes. Although posturing can get quite a bit more […]

Proxy warfare isn’t a new concept. It has been used since ancient times. More recently, the British used it quite successfully during the Dhofar War in Oman in the early 1970s. Special Air Service (SAS) operators trained, advised, and, perhaps, accompanied Yemeni dissenters in cross-border operations deep inside Yemen. Another example—this time of active proxy […]

We’ve all heard the story. Back in the 1960s, as the Americans and Soviets were competing for space (and global) supremacy, the United States supposedly spent millions to develop a pen that their astronauts could use in space. The Soviets, meanwhile, “just used a pencil.” It’s a classic tale used to criticize government spending and […]

RAF Lakenheath, Great Britain, May 1969. Pretending to be an officer, United States Air Force (USAF) Sergeant Paul Meyer calls his squadron operations center and requests a C-130E transporter to be outfitted for immediate departure. Although he is drunk, he aims to fly the plane back to Virginia to meet his wife. He steals an […]

RAF Lakenheath, Great Britain, May 1969. Pretending to be an officer, United States Air Force (USAF) Sergeant Paul Meyer calls his squadron operations center and requests a C-130E transporter to be outfitted for immediate departure. Although he is drunk, he aims to fly the plane back to Virginia to meet his wife. He steals an […]

China is undoubtedly a nuclear power — but in terms of nuclear stockpiles, its estimated 300 or so warheads doesn’t sound like much of a threat compared to America’s standing stockpile of 6,800 or so — but then, that’s the thing about nukes. You really only need one to change the face of the globe, […]

Back in 1985, the fall of the Soviet Union was not yet assured, but the wheels of progress were already moving within the Soviet Bloc. Glasnost, the Soviet policy of openness and transparency that, in many ways, helped usher in the collapse of the Soviet Union in favor of modern-day Russia was still a year […]