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Brent M. Eastwood

Brent M. Eastwood

The National Interest

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Alfa-Class: Russia's Titanium Submarine That Navy Still Can't Match

Summary: The Hunt for Red October not only revolutionized military thrillers but also spotlighted the Soviet Alfa-class submarine, which featured...

21.04.2024 10

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

The U.S. Navy's Alaska-Class Battlecruiser Was a Failure

Summary: The Alaska-class battlecruisers, conceived by the U.S. Navy in the 1930s to counter foreign naval developments, became a case of strategic...

21.04.2024 20

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

X-32 Stealth Fighter: Why Boeing Failed (How the F-35 Was Born)

Summary: The Boeing X-32 and Lockheed Martin X-35 were contenders in the competition to become the next Joint Strike Fighter, which was eventually won...

21.04.2024 10

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Why the MBT-70 Super Tank Project Failed

Summary: The MBT-70, a joint U.S.-West German endeavor, was conceptualized to create a super tank that would address vulnerabilities exposed in the...

21.04.2024 10

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Gotland: The Small and Cheap Submarine that 'Sunk a Navy Aircraft Carrier in a Simulation

Summary: Sweden's Gotland-class submarines, equipped with advanced Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) systems, have proven to be a formidable challenge...

21.04.2024 10

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Medium Aircraft Carriers: The Navy's Future or a Giant Mistake?

The US Navy loves big, super-sized aircraft carriers. What about something a little smaller - like a Medium Aircraft Carrier?  - The Americans build...

18.04.2024 9

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Russia's Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker: Built to Kill Air Force F-15 Fighters

The Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker was designed to compete with the American F-15 Eagle and F-14 Tomcat, and it matched up very well 40 years ago. It came out...

24.01.2024 8

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Record Broken: How an F-22 Raptor Fighter Unit Loaded and Fired 28 Missiles

If the F-22 Raptor went into maximum weapon configuration, what would that look like? Pilots and crew from two squadrons of the 1st Fighter Wing based...

18.01.2024 6

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Does the F-22 Raptor Have Beast Mode?

Can the F-22 also go into 'Beast Mode'? While “beast mode” is a description, not a technical term, it refers to a fighter plane that is carrying...

17.01.2024 10

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Video: Russia's Su-35S Fighter Goes Total 'Beast Mode'

17.01.2024 7

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

F-35: 'The Most Advanced Operational Fighter in the World'

17.01.2024 8

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

MOAB: What is the Mother of All Bombs?

If you love the outdoors, the word “Moab” might bring to mind a beautiful range of arches and canyonlands in the national parks of Utah. But in...

15.01.2024 8

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

CZ P-09: The Amazing 9mm Gun the US Military Passed On

The XM17 was a big contract for any gun maker to score. CZ had a good shot with its CZ P-09 model. So why did this firearm fail?  The Czech-made CZ...

15.01.2024 5

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Why Build the NGAD 6th Generation Fighter? Drone Swarms Could Change Everything

No More NGAD? We have covered the U.S. Air Force’s Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter extensively. The NGAD has whiz-bang characteristics and is...

15.01.2024 10

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Bell X-1: The First Plane to Break the Sound Barrier and Hit Mach 1

Meet the X-1: When it comes to testing airplanes the “X” designation means experimental. The first X aircraft was built in 1945 by Bell in...

15.01.2024 6

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Enola Gay: The Boeing B-29 Bomber That Dropped a Nuclear Bomb

The Enola Gay: With talk of the potential use of nuclear weapons by Russia in Ukraine over the last few years, it is illustrative to examine the...

12.01.2024 10

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Tu-95LAL: Russia's Crazy Dream of a Nuclear-Powered Bomber

Russia came up with quite a few really scary Cold War weapons over the decades. One idea, and thank god it was never created, was a nuclear-powered...

12.01.2024 5

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

M16 Rifle: Why Are There So Many Different Versions?

You may have read my previous commentary about the M16 versus the M4 carbine and why I prefer the M16 over the M4. I like the elongated barrel of the...

06.01.2024 10

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Kilo-Class: What Makes This Russian Submarine So Dangerous?

Russia’s quiet and improved Kilo-class submarines have been patrolling the Black Sea during the Ukraine war, carrying deadly Kalibr cruise missiles...

05.01.2024 7

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

T-95: Russia Had Plans to Build a Dangerous Tank Like No Other

Putin would have loved to have had the T-95 tank in Ukraine. Sadly, he is stuck with the T-72 and T-80 The Russian T-95 main battle tank could have...

05.01.2024 9

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Can't Afford the F-35 or F-15EX? The JAS 39 Gripen Is a Powerful Fighter

The JAS 39 Gripen had a very unique mission: protect Sweden during the Cold War from Russia - We’re talking Saab here. No, not the funny-looking...

05.01.2024 7

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Yasen-M: Russia's Underwater Hypersonic 'Missile Truck' Submarine

Yasen-M: Russia's underwater missile truck that is also a sub - Russia is using long-range precision strikes from submarines to destroy Ukrainian...

05.01.2024 9

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

China's J-20 Mighty Dragon Stealth Fighter: Just a Stolen F-35?

J-20 - Did the Chinese Steal Secrets For One Of Their Favorite Fighter Planes?: When it looks like a copy, maybe it is a copy. The Chinese are proud...

05.01.2024 8

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Boeing's X-20 Dyna-Soar Space Plane Could Have Hit Mach 18

My son had toy airplanes that looked like the X-20 Dyna-Soar – something resembling a stubby version of the space shuttle. But don’t be fooled by...

05.01.2024 10

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Russia's Big Military Dream: A 100-Megaton Nuclear Weapon on an ICBM

The old Soviet Union built a vast array of nuclear weapons during the Cold War but wanted to build far more nukes and bigger weapons. Moscow at one...

05.01.2024 10

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

SSN(X): Can the Navy Merge the Virginia-Class and Seawolf-Class Submarines?

The next-generation U.S. Navy nuclear-attack submarine SSN(X) is already making a splash – at least in future dollars invested. Perceived as an...

05.01.2024 6

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Russia Thinks the X-37B Space Plane Could Drop Nuclear Weapons

What if I told you there is not only a U.S. space plane orbiting the Earth but that it had been in orbit for over two years? The X-37B robotic...

05.01.2024 8

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

F-35 vs. USAF: Air Force Has 'Aggressor' Squad to Practice J-20 and Su-57 Combat

In the U.S. Army, when soldiers practice simulated combat, they go up against an Opposing Force. The “bad guys” are known as OPFOR, or the red...

04.01.2024 7

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

F-35: What Happens If This Stealth Fighter Program Was Canceled?

What if the F-35 program was permanently canceled? After all, it happened to the F-22 when only 186 stealth Raptors were delivered before the...

04.01.2024 6

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

X-40A: The Experimental Space Plane That Helped Create the X-37B

X-40A: A Trailblazing Experimental Aircraft that Paved the Way for the Mini-Space Shuttle- After the space shuttle retired, it looked like it was the...

04.01.2024 7

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

USS George HW Bush: The Navy's Best Nimitz-Class Aircraft Carrier

Meet the USS George H.W. Bush: Can you believe that it has been a hundred years since the first U.S. Navy aircraft carrier? The USS George H.W. Bush...

04.01.2024 7

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Admiral Kuznetsov Was Originally Designed to Fire a “Missile Farm”

Russia’s only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, was originally designed to deploy a “missile farm” that was more powerful than the...

04.01.2024 7

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Torpedo Accident: Russia Lost a Submarine Designed to Sink U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers

The worst submarine accident in Russian history and one of the most frightening naval wrecks of all time happened in 2000. The tragedy put the Russian...

04.01.2024 9

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Gotland: The Small, Stealth, and Cheap Submarine that 'Sunk a Navy Carrier in a Simulation

Sweden’s Gotland-class Submarines are Quiet and Deadly: Diesel engines aboard submarines used to be considered out of date and something more in...

04.01.2024 7

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

AbramsX vs. Russia's T-14 Armata: Which Tank Wins in a War?

A new U.S. tank technology demonstrator called the next-generation AbramsX has many improvements over the latest Abrams main battle tank upgrades. The...

04.01.2024 7

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Beretta M9: The U.S. Military’s Best Gun Ever?

Every military service member who used it seemed to have an opinion on the Beretta M9 pistol. It was retired in 2017, but the memories linger. The...

03.01.2024 6

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

USS America: This Badass Aircraft Carrier Could Not Sink (The Navy Tried)

The USS America: The Aircraft Carrier That Was Nearly Impossible to Sink - China lauds its anti-ship missiles that are nicknamed carrier killers, but...

25.12.2023 7

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

SR-72 Darkstar or Son of Blackbird: Could It Really Ever Fly or Hit Mach 6?

The SR-72 Son of Blackbird: Is It Really Needed? By all accounts, the SR-72 Son of Blackbird spy plane will be one impressive aircraft. With plans for...

25.12.2023 7

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

SR-71 Blackbird: Was This Mach 3 Spy Plane Retired Too Soon?

SR-71 Comeback Proved Elusive Despite Early Optimism: What if the SR-71 Blackbird came out of retirement like a hall of fame quarterback to save the...

25.12.2023 10

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

F-22 Sea Raptor: Could the F-22 Fly from an Aircraft Carrier?

F-22 Sea Raptor, Explained - The U.S. Air Force has a powerful stealth fighter in the F-22 Raptor. So why not take the F-22 and put it on U.S. Navy...

25.12.2023 9

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

T-95: The Remarkable Tank Russia Almost Built

Russia Could Have Scored Armored Victory with the T-95 Tank: On paper, the Russian T-95 main battle tank had it all. It boasted a big and powerful gun...

24.12.2023 8

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

The Essex-Class Might Be the U.S. Navy's Best Aircraft Carrier Ever

If you were a sailor assigned to U.S. Naval aviation during the middle of 1943 and onward, you probably served on one of the Essex-class of aircraft...

24.12.2023 10

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Why NASA’s X-34 Mach 8 Spaceplane Failed

Before the X-37B record-setting spaceplane that can orbit the earth for years, NASA had a precursor craft that planned to accomplish cheap spaceflight...

24.12.2023 10

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Best Battleship Ever? I Present to You the Iowa-Class USS Wisconsin

When the U.S. Navy wanted to take out targets 23 miles away, the battleship USS Wisconsin was the go-to ship for awe-inspiring naval gunfire....

24.12.2023 7

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird was Taken on a 15,000 Mile Test Flight

SR-71 Spy Plane Story: In an unforgettable example of super-speedy and long-range flight, a pilot and his recon systems officer pushed the envelope...

24.12.2023 8

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Russia's Yak-38 Forger Fighter Had All the Makings of a Disaster

Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, or jump jets, usually take off from smaller aircraft carriers and amphibious ships. The British had the...

24.12.2023 10

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Reising M50: The Worst Gun of World War II?

The Reising M50 was one really terrible World War II firearm for many clear reasons – Marines in World War Two thought they had a winner. This...

24.12.2023 10

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

H-20: China Might Have Big Plans to Build Their Own B-21 Raider?

While the United States is excited about the B-21 bomber it unveiled to the public in early December of last year, China has plans for a rival stealth...

24.12.2023 8

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Alfa-Class: Russia's Titanium Submarine The U.S. Navy Despised

The book Hunt for Red October changed everything regarding military thrillers in the 1980s. It was so richly detailed with unmatched amounts of...

22.12.2023 7

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

Top 5 U.S. Army Sniper Rifles Of All Time, According to Army Expert

Top 3 US Army Sniper Rifles: While the stand-off fight against near-peer competitors will involve over-the-horizon capabilities with missiles, the...

22.12.2023 10

The National Interest

Brent M. Eastwood

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