menu_open
Christian D. Orr

Christian D. Orr

The National Interest

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Rafale M: The French Navy's Versatile Powerhouse Fighter Plane

Summary: The Dassault Rafale, an "omnirole" fighter, embodies flexibility in modern air combat, per the principles of Giulio Douhet. Built by Dassault...

yesterday 5

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Boeing B-50 Superfortress: The U.S. Air Force's Forgotten Bomber

Summary: The B-50 Superfortress, a successor to the B-29 Superfortress, was a significant part of U.S. military aviation history. -Developed in the...

19.05.2024 30

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Sinking of IJN Shinano: The Largest Warship Ever Sunk by a Submarine

16.05.2024 40

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

The U.S. Navy's Iowa-Class Battleships Are a Warship No Nation Can Top

13.05.2024 40

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Russia Wanted an 85,000 Ton Monster Aircraft Carrier (It Was Never Built)

11.05.2024 80

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Russia's MiG-23 Fighter Has Something the Air Force Can't Ever Match

09.05.2024 70

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

The Swordfish Torpedo Bomber Was a Battleship Killer

Swordfish Torpedo Bomber, Explained - To seafood connoisseurs, swordfish is a delicacy. (Mmm, grilled swordfish steaks, anyone?) But in its natural...

15.02.2024 10

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Meet the M24: A Counter-Sniper Rifle Like No Other on the Planet

In the mostly — but not always — good-natured world of interservice rivalries, the sister services might've been inclined to scoff at the notion...

15.02.2024 3

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

F-4 Phantom: The Supersonic Brick Fighter Was A True Game Changer

A former U.S. Air Force officer gives us his expert analysis of the F-4 Phantom: After having made references to the F-4 Phantom in so many of my...

29.01.2024 10

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Churchill Crocodile Was a Real Flamethrower Tank During World War II

Meet the Churchill VII Flamethrower Tank:  Crocodiles are an apex predator. They are one of the deadliest reptiles on the planet, although...

26.01.2024 7

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

SR-71 Blackbird: The Fastest Plane Retired Decades Ago and Is Collecting Dust

How the SR-71 Became the Fastest Plane in the World: The Lockheed Martin SR-71 Blackbird (or, as its aircrew members have dubbed it, the Habu, after...

26.01.2024 8

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

The Navy's Iowa-Class Battleships Are a Warship No Navy Can Match

Here's a fact you will appreciate:  I've actually toured the USS Iowa (BB-61) on multiple occasions. The Battleship USS Iowa Museum in Los Angeles...

26.01.2024 9

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

The A-6 Intruder Was a Legend for Way Too Many Reasons

The A-6 Intruder is no stealth fighter plane or some sort of Mach 3 spy plane. Nevertheless, its place in aviation history is secure as it was a...

26.01.2024 9

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Sukhoi Su-35: Why Russia's 'Best Fighter' Flopped

Su-35: Russia's 'Best Fighter' Flopped in Ukraine - In Western society, the number 13 has long been considered unlucky. (Superstitious sports fans...

26.01.2024 10

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Typhoon-Class: Russia Built the Biggest Submarine Ever (It Had a Swimming Pool)

The Typhoon-Class, a Short History - Fans of The Hunt for Red October, whether the original bestselling novel by the late great Tom Clancy (R.I.P.)...

26.01.2024 7

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Tu-95: Russia’s 'Bear' Bomber Is A Flying History Museum

Russia's Tu-95 Bear Bomber is Ancient - But Still Flying: The bear has long been considered the animalistic symbol for Russia, in the same vein that...

26.01.2024 30

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Su-54: The 'Trainer' Fighter Russia Never Built

Pity the poor Sukhoi Company of Russia, which has been folded into the United Aircraft Corporation. Life as a Sukhoi/UAC senior executive is...

26.01.2024 9

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

P-3 Orion: The Plane Built to Hunt and Kill Russia's Submarines

Anti-submarine warfare capability, or ASW, is one of the U.S. Navy’s top priorities. After all, adversary submarines such as the Russian Typhoon...

26.01.2024 6

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

M48 Patton: The Tank the U.S. Army and Elvis Loved

M48 Tank: Carrying On the Patton Legacy: The M48 was indeed America's first generation of tanks to fit the MBT concept, but actually, was the third...

26.01.2024 7

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Boeing's F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet Is One Incredible Fighter Jet

The F/A-18 Hornet is admittedly nowhere near as popular or glamorous as the F-14 Tomcat that preceded her in both real-world aircraft carrier combat...

26.01.2024 9

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Dragon M47: Fire-Breathing Tank-Killer Missile (250,000 Built)

Meet the M47 Dragon: In most medieval tales, the dragon is depicted as an evil beast, deserving of being slain. John Boorman’s 1981 film...

23.01.2024 30

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

F-104 Starfighter: The First Mach 2 Fighter (And A Flying Coffin)

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter came from a veritable blueblood of an aircraft family. That being Clarence “Kelly” Johnson and his legendary...

23.01.2024 20

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Douglas A-4 Skyhawk Soared Into History: The Ultimate Guide

The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk has a few distinctive historical claims to fame. Perhaps the most famous example is the fact that a Skyhawk was flown by...

23.01.2024 10

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

A-1 Skyraider: The Prop Plane That Could Fly Nearly Any Combat Mission

The Douglas A-1/ AD-1 Skyraider made her maiden flight on 18 March 1945, i.e. whilst WWII was still raging. If you think she bears at least a passing...

23.01.2024 10

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Su-17/Su-22 Fitter: It Just Might Be Russia's Worst Warplane Ever

22.01.2024 10

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Battle of 73 Easting: The Last Truly Epic Tank Battle

22.01.2024 20

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

F9F Panther: The Real First Jet-to-Jet Killer

F9F Panther, a former U.S. Air Force officer gives us a detailed history: Seventy-plus-years after the fact, the question of who (as in the pilot)...

22.01.2024 9

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

The Old But Dangerous Minuteman III ICBM Could Kill Billions of People

Meet the Minuteman III: Back during the American Revolutionary War, the term Minutemen referred to a small hand-picked elite force that was required...

22.01.2024 9

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Yuan-Class Type 039A: China’s Deadly Diesel-Electric Submarine

Yuan-Class Submarine, An Explainer: Though not as powerful or sophisticated as nuclear-powered attack subs (SSNs), diesel-electric submarines should...

22.01.2024 10

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

B-45 Tornado: The Forgotten Air Force Bomber

B-45 Tornado: A Relatively Unsung Piece of USAF Cold War Bomber History - When most folks think of old-school Cold War bombers, the B-52...

22.01.2024 5

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Lightweight Fighter Competition: The F-16 and F/A-18 Battled to Join the U.S. Air Force

Lightweight Fighter Competition - The Forgotten Competition Between the F-16 and F/A-18 - Long before Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Laura Prepon, and...

22.01.2024 10

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: Russia's Powerhouse Answer to the A-10 Warthog

Through the years, NATO has frequently come up with some rather interesting codenames for former Soviet/Russian-designed aircraft. For example, you...

22.01.2024 10

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

X-4 Bantam: A Short-Lived X-Plane That Changed Everything

Meet the X-4 Bantam: In the publishing world, Bantam Books is a wildly successful imprint. Of significance for Bantam in the 1980s was the...

22.01.2024 5

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Amphibious Hovering Tank: Why Russia's Dream Weapon Failed

Amphibious Hovering Tank, Explained - The Soviet Communist system by its very nature eschewed entrepreneurialism. However, even under the dark days of...

22.01.2024 10

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Russia's MiG-23 Fighter Has Something the U.S. Air Force Can't Match

The MiG-23 is one awful fighter, and the U.S. Air Force thankfully has no fighter jet that can match its terrible history. Pity the poor MiG-23...

22.01.2024 10

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

De Havilland Mosquito Might Be The Best World War II Fighter

De Havilland Mosquito: How good was it? To most Westerners, the mosquito is a blood-sucking insect that's merely an annoying pest. But in some parts...

22.01.2024 20

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

F-100 Super Sabre Fighter: The Ultimate Guide

"Don't give me a One-Double-Oh./The ******* is ready to blow./The AB is there, but you're saying a prayer,/Don't give me a One-Double-Oh." That is...

22.01.2024 10

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

China's H-20 Stealth Bomber Could Prove To Be a Real Threat

The H-20 Stealth Bomber: An Ominous Sign of Chinese Airpower Projection? - As if it weren’t bad enough that the People’s Republic of China (PRC)...

21.01.2024 10

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Avro Vulcan: The Most Technically Advanced Design of the RAF’s V Bombers

Over a decade before Spock introduced legions of Star Trek fans to Planet Vulcan and its cerebral, philosophical humanoid beings, Britain’s Royal...

21.01.2024 9

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Russia's Tupolev Tu-16 Bomber: A Complete History

To Americans, the badger is a predatory mammal that proudly gives a nickname to the state of Wisconsin in general, and her flagship university’s...

21.01.2024 20

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Russia's Tupolev Tu-22M Bomber Oozes with Danger

Meet the Tu-22M: The first definition of the word “backfire” you will find online is, “(of an internal-combustion engine) to have a loud,...

21.01.2024 20

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Why the Army's XM25 Punisher 'Super Gun' Failed

The U.S. Army has built countless weapons platforms for different eras to battle various types of enemies. The XM25 was oozing with lots of potential...

21.01.2024 8

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

What Makes the F-15E Strike Eagle Special

“Strike Eagle, Strike Eagle, they call me by name/I bombed the hell outta Goldwater Range…” So begins the song that Dick Jonas—Vietnam War...

21.01.2024 9

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

The U.S. Navy's EA-18G Growler Is an Electronic Warfare Warrior

As hordes of moviegoers flock to the box office to view Top Gun: Maverick, the sequel to the  1986 film Top Gun, the F/A-18E Super Hornet has...

21.01.2024 9

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

British Centurion and British Challenger: Truly Powerhouse Tanks

To practicing members of the Christian faith, the initials "B.C." mean "Before Christ." To Canadians, regardless of religious affiliation (or lack...

20.01.2024 40

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

The Aircraft of the U.S. Air Force’s Special Forces

19.01.2024 70

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

AH-64 Apache Might Be the Ultimate Attack Helicopter

19.01.2024 10

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

F-22 or F-35 of Helicopters? Why the RAH-66 Comanche Failed

RAH-66 Comanche: Why did it fail? Some military aviation journalists have dubbed the RAH-66 Comanche attack helicopter as “the F-35 of...

19.01.2024 6

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

The Bradley Fighting Vehicle Is Starting to Show Its Age

The Bradley Fighting Vehicle is one of those American-made weapons systems — along with the AH-64 Apache helicopter gunship and B-2...

19.01.2024 6

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

Leclerc: France Built One of the Deadliest Tanks Ever

Leclerc: France's Super Tank Is One of the Best on Earth - One amazing tank from France: “I would rather have a German division in front of me...

19.01.2024 5

The National Interest

Christian D. Orr

76431b2afd3241c14018d492aaf255f7