Soviet Union

A Ukrainian Special Operations unit has become the first-ever non-NATO unit to pass the Alliance’s arduous SOF certification process. The 140th Special Operations Forces Center (140th SOFC) is now eligible to deploy and operate under the umbrella of NATO’s Response Force, the NRF. Being a SOF unit, however, means that if it were to be called, […]

On September 1, 1939, Nazi troops stormed through Poland’s western border, capturing territory as they defeated Polish forces right up to around the nation’s midpoint. On the 17th of the same month, troops from the neighboring USSR poured into Poland from the East — but not with the intention of engaging the Nazi occupiers as […]

The Cold War was a crazy time in the United States. Kids were taught to duck and cover beneath desks in case of nuclear war, NASA was given a near-blank check to get to the moon, and America invested so heavily in defense that the piles of money alone could have served as cover in […]

In July of 1947, something fell from the sky and crash landed in Mack Brazel’s ranch, just northwest of Roswell, New Mexico. According to the official story, it was an experimental weather balloon. If you listen to the long list of conspiracy theories surrounding the event, it was a spaceship from another world, crewed by […]

This week, the National Reconnaissance Office declassified a trove of documents pertaining to the long defunct “Tagboard” drone program, a reconnaissance effort so ahead of its time that it seemed like science fiction until only recently. In the 1960s, the United States found itself in a unique position: Nuclear programs in both China and the […]

This week, the National Reconnaissance Office declassified a trove of documents pertaining to the long defunct “Tagboard” drone program, a reconnaissance effort so ahead of its time that it seemed like science fiction until only recently. In the 1960s, the United States found itself in a unique position: Nuclear programs in both China and the […]

On Monday, August 6th, 2012, I got up four hours before the sun rose. I wasn’t due on post for another five hours and I’d barely slept, but there was history to observe – and the warm comfort of my bed wasn’t going to keep me from witnessing it. I blindly silenced my phone’s alarm, […]

The thing about fighter jets is that just about every developed nation in the world has some, and while the capabilities of these aircraft vary greatly from platform to platform, it’s hard to withhold the awe you experience seeing any one of these purpose-built aviation marvels do their thing. And for the most part, those […]

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 […]

The internet has no shortage of mysteries for those inclined to chase them. Many fit neatly within genres with dedicated fan bases: true crime, Bigfoot, unexplained lights in the sky. But some are so inexplicable, so disturbing, that they worm their way into nearly every corner of the internet’s ever-rolling theory-machine. These mysteries seem to […]

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 […]

The internet has no shortage of mysteries for those inclined to chase them. Many fit neatly within genres with dedicated fan bases: true crime, Bigfoot, unexplained lights in the sky. But some are so inexplicable, so disturbing, that they worm their way into nearly every corner of the internet’s ever-rolling theory-machine. These mysteries seem to […]