# us army (news sources) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 1 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover us army. Page: Feed: --- ## [81 Years Later, US Navy Admiral Chester Nimitz’s Sentence About Iwo Jima Is Still the Finest Thing Ever Written About US Marines](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/81-years-later-us-navy-admiral-chester-nimitzs-sentence-about-iwo-jima-is-still-the-finest-thing-ever-written-about-us-marines/) _2026-08-23 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ Kuribayashi fought from beneath the island; the Marines paid in yards per day for 36 days. The plain history behind the sentence Nimitz wrote while men were still dying — the tunnels, the two flags, the exact figures, and the eleven words now carved in gold under the bronze flag above Arlington. ## [82 Years Later, the Note Eisenhower Wrote in Case D-Day Failed Is Still the Greatest Act of Leadership in American Military History](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/82-years-later-the-note-eisenhower-wrote-in-case-d-day-failed-is-still-the-greatest-act-of-leadership-in-american-military-history/) _2026-08-23 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ Sixty-six words, misdated in exhaustion, with the passive voice scratched out so the blame read "I" — Eisenhower's in-case-of-failure note took ownership of a disaster that never came. The fears before D-Day, the storm that vindicated the gamble, and the slip of paper under glass that helps explain the 1952 landslide. ## [23 Years Later, General Jim Mattis’s Advice to His Marines in Iraq Is Still the Most Quoted Line in the Modern Military](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/23-years-later-general-jim-mattiss-advice-to-his-marines-in-iraq-is-still-the-most-quoted-line-in-the-modern-military/) _2026-08-23 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ One rule on a list handed to Marines in Iraq became the most quoted sentence in the modern military. The full Mattis biography behind it: the 7,000-book library, the first Marine to command a naval task force, CENTCOM, the 98-to-1 confirmation, and the letter that ended it on principle. ## [The US Navy Starting Building and Cancelled in 5 Days an Aircraft Carrier With No Island at All, and Trump Now Wants to Move the One on the Ford-Class](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/the-us-navy-starting-building-and-cancelled-in-5-days-an-aircraft-carrier-with-no-island-at-all-and-trump-now-wants-to-move-the-one-on-the-ford-class/) _2026-08-22 · Brandon Weichert · 19FortyFive_ The USS United States was designed with a massive, completely unobstructed flight deck. The island - the tower structure every carrier has carried since - was removed altogether, because planners feared it would interfere with flight operations involving heavy bombers. Navigation, flight control and exhaust management would all have worked differently from any carrier before or since. ## [The M2 Bradley Killed More Tanks Than the M1 Abrams Did in Desert Storm](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/the-m2-bradley-killed-more-tanks-than-the-m1-abrams-did-in-desert-storm/) _2026-08-22 · Isaac Seitz · 19FortyFive_ The M2 Bradley was designed to carry infantry alongside the Abrams, not to destroy tanks. During Operation Desert Storm it scored more tank kills than the M1 Abrams itself - a vehicle that had spent seventeen years in development being called a compromise that excelled at nothing. ## [Russian Mines and Drones Destroyed Ukraine’s Leopard 2 Tanks. The Crews Kept Walking Away.](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/russian-mines-and-drones-destroyed-ukraines-leopard-2-tanks-the-crews-kept-walking-away/) _2026-08-22 · Brandon Weichert · 19FortyFive_ Many Ukrainian crews survived the attacks that knocked out their Leopard 2s, because the German tank was built around crew protection. A destroyed or damaged Leopard 2 did not usually mean a dead crew. In that narrow sense the war confirmed the tank's reputation even while burning the vehicles. ## [I Own the Glock 19X. This Gun Was First Built to Join the US Army Instead of Being a Civilian Firearm and the Army Said No](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/i-own-the-glock-19x-this-gun-was-first-built-to-join-to-us-army-instead-of-being-a-civilian-firearm-and-army-said-no/) _2026-08-22 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ Built to a US Army spec, beaten by SIG's price by $103 million, and released to the public almost exactly as submitted — the Glock 19X sold 100,000 copies in under six months and never slowed down. An owner tells the full story of the loss, the GAO protest, and the market's verdict. ## [‘A History of Problems’: A Victoria-Class Submarine Ran Aground While Submerged in 2011, Then Caught Fire in 2019 and Damaged a Ballast Tank in 2020](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/a-history-of-problems-a-victoria-class-submarine-ran-aground-while-submerged-in-2011-then-caught-fire-in-2019-and-damaged-a-ballast-tank-in-2020/) _2026-08-22 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ Victoria-Class sub Corner Brook grounded while submerged near Vancouver Island in 2011, damaging her bow and sonar and requiring years of repairs. A fire during maintenance in 2019 and damage to a ballast tank in 2020 extended her absence from operations further still. ## [A Leaked Royal Canadian Air Force Evaluation Scored the F-35 Fighter at 95% and the JAS 39 Gripen E at 33%](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/a-leaked-royal-canadian-air-force-evaluation-scored-the-f-35-fighter-at-95-and-the-jas-39-gripen-e-at-33/) _2026-08-22 · Caleb Larson · 19FortyFive_ An internal Royal Canadian Air Force evaluation, since leaked, scored the F-35 at 95 percent and the JAS 39 Gripen E at 33 percent. The stealth fighter outclassed the Swedish jet in every area assessed, with the Gripen's lowest marks coming in upgradability and mission performance. Ottawa is reconsidering the F-35 anyway. ## [81 Years Later, General Anthony McAuliffe’s 1-Word Reply to a German Surrender Demand Is Still the Greatest Answer in US Army History](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/81-years-later-general-anthony-mcauliffes-1-word-reply-to-a-german-surrender-demand-is-still-the-greatest-answer-in-us-army-history/) _2026-08-22 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ The ultimatum gave Bastogne two hours; the reply was typed, centered, and one word long. The full story of December 22, 1944 — the general who never cursed, the staff officer who suggested using his own remark, the baffled German envoys, and the barrage that never came. Eighty-one years later, still unbeaten. ## [Stocks ranked by what execs say (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/5J7jcU9wbuWe) _2026-08-22 · **Sponsored**_ Evidence-backed watchlists from earnings calls and filings, cited to real transcripts—not guesses. ## [I Was a US Army Special Forces NCO: The M4 Carbine Is One Outstanding Weapon and I Know from Experience](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/i-was-a-us-army-special-forces-nco-the-m4-carbine-is-one-outstanding-weapon-and-i-know-from-experience/) _2026-08-22 · Steve Balestrieri · 19FortyFive_ It took until the early 1990s for Colt to refine the design into what became the M4 Carbine. The Army officially adopted it in 1994, and by 1997, it was fielding it to units in numbers. ## [14 Years After the Last One Was Delivered, the US Air Force F-22 Raptor Is Still the Best Air Superiority Fighter Ever Built](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/14-years-after-the-last-one-was-delivered-the-us-air-force-f-22-raptor-is-still-the-best-air-superiority-fighter-ever-built/) _2026-08-22 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ Supercruise no rival matches, the highest air-to-air kill ever made, exercise tallies past a hundred to zero, and an Air Force pouring billions into a jet it stopped building in 2012 — the straight case, reason by reason, for the F-22 Raptor as the best air superiority fighter ever built. ## [It Would Have Cost $50,000,000,000 To Restart the F-22 Raptor ‘Factory’ and $259,000,000 Per Fighter: That Meant No More Can Ever Be Build](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/it-would-have-cost-50000000000-to-restart-the-f-22-raptor-factory-and-259000000-per-fighter-that-meant-no-more-can-ever-be-build/) _2026-08-21 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ I saw the debate unfold ten years ago: Restarting production and procuring 194 additional Raptors would have cost approximately $50 billion in 2016 dollars: about $9.9 billion in non-recurring startup costs before the first new jet existed, and roughly $40.4 billion for the aircraft themselves. Averaged across the whole buy, each new Raptor came to about $259 million, at a time when an F-35A cost… ## [Standing on the Surface of Venus Would Feel Like Standing 3,000 Feet Underwater on Earth, and It Is 870°F](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/standing-on-the-surface-of-venus-would-feel-like-standing-3000-feet-underwater-on-earth-and-it-is-870f/) _2026-08-21 · Harrison Kass · 19FortyFive_ The surface of Venus sits at about 870°F under a sea-level atmospheric pressure roughly 92 times that of Earth. Standing there would be comparable to standing 3,000 feet underwater. The atmosphere is approximately 96 percent carbon dioxide, producing a greenhouse effect so extreme that Venus is hotter than Mercury despite being farther from the Sun. ## [Iran Bought 185 Chieftain Tanks from the UK and They Could Still Fight the US Army](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/iran-bought-185-chieftain-tanks-from-the-uk-and-they-could-still-fight-the-us-army/) _2026-08-21 · Caleb Larson · 19FortyFive_ In theory, one of the most technologically advanced tanks of its era, the performance of Iran’s Chieftain tanks was far from that ideal. ## [Yes, Putin Could Attack NATO](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/yes-putin-could-attack-nato/) _2026-08-21 · Caleb Larson · 19FortyFive_ While consensus holds that Russia is rearming and that an attack on NATO could be possible from a manpower and equipment standpoint, that likelihood is low. ## [The US Navy’s USS Zumwalt Main Gun Fired Shells That Cost Up to $1,000,000 Each, and at 10 Rounds a Minute That Is $10,000,000 of Ammunition a Minute](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/the-us-navys-uss-zumwalt-main-gun-fired-shells-that-cost-up-to-1000000-each-and-at-10-rounds-a-minute-that-is-10000000-of-ammunition-a-minute/) _2026-08-21 · Harrison Kass · 19FortyFive_ Each US Navy Zumwalt-class warship carried two 155mm AGS guns. These were extremely sophisticated, automated loading guns, with magazines buried below deck, automated ammunition handling, and minimal human intervention. ## [58 Years Ago, the NASA’s X-15 Hit Mach 6.72 and Nearly Melted: It Is Still One of the Greatest Achievements in Military History](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/58-years-ago-the-nasas-x-15-hit-mach-6-72-and-nearly-melted-it-is-still-one-of-the-greatest-achievements-in-military-history/) _2026-08-21 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ Pete Knight's October 1967 flight hit Mach 6.7 and came home scorched, holed, and finished — the X-15A-2 never flew again, and no pilot has flown faster in the 58 years since. The program's 199 flights, its one lost pilot, and the record-setter now standing in bare black alloy in Dayton. I got as close as the law would allow last year to it. ## [200 Years Later, Napoleon’s Best Line on War Is Still One of the Most Wise Quotes In Military History](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/200-years-later-napoleons-best-line-on-war-is-still-one-of-the-most-wise-quotes-in-military-history/) _2026-08-21 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ No letter or memoir carries the famous courage quote, but Napoleon performed it: escaped Elba with a thousand men, walked alone into the muskets at Laffrey, opened his coat, and dared France to shoot. Twenty days after landing on a beach, he took back an empire without firing a shot. ## [GCAP: Britain, Japan and Italy Are Being Pushed to Field Their New Fighter in 2033 Instead of 2035, and Leonardo’s CEO Says That Means Cutting Capabilities](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/gcap-britain-japan-and-italy-are-being-pushed-to-field-their-new-fighter-in-2033-instead-of-2035-and-leonardos-ceo-says-that-means-cutting-capabilities/) _2026-08-21 · Jack Buckby · 19FortyFive_ Leonardo CEO Lorenzo Mariani told an investor call on July 31 that governments are pushing to move the GCAP fighter's entry into service forward to 2033 from 2035. Doing so, he acknowledged, would require "probably modulating the requirements that this initial version would fulfill" - fielding a more limited aircraft first and adding capability through later upgrades. ## [Chovy's Blog: Agentic Coding (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/aZ1mj1RYDG8D) _2026-08-21 · **Sponsored**_ Personal posts on agentic coding, moshcode CLI, and security findings. ## [Ukraine’s Goal Is Simple: It Knows Russia Can’t Replace the Mach 2 Tu-22M3 Backfire Bomber, So They Need to Be Destroyed](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/ukraines-goal-is-simple-it-knows-russia-cant-replace-the-mach-2-tu-22m3-backfire-bomber-so-they-need-to-be-destroyed/) _2026-08-21 · Isaac Seitz · 19FortyFive_ The Tupolev Tu-22M (NATO designation: “Backfire”) was the workhorse of the Soviet Union next to the Tu-95 Bear. Designed as both a conventional and strategic long-range bomber, the Tu-22M was one of the first supersonic strategic bombers to incorporate a variable-sweep wing configuration. The Bomber has been used on multiple occasions in Ukraine during Russia’s \[…\] ## [The US Air Force Lost Nearly 10 Percent of Its ‘Irreplaceable’ B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber Force and No More Can Be Built](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/the-us-air-force-lost-nearly-10-percent-of-its-irreplaceable-b-2-spirit-stealth-bomber-force-and-no-more-can-be-built/) _2026-08-21 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ Summary and Key Points: The B-2 Spirit of Kansas was destroyed by rainwater — moisture inside three sensors fed false data to its computers, which pitched it into a stall seconds after takeoff on Guam in 2008, a $1.4 billion loss and the costliest crash in aviation history. The B-2 Spirit of Hawaii was killed \[…\] ## [79 Years Later, General George Patton’s Best US Army Line Is Still the Greatest Military Quote in Armed Forces History](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/79-years-later-general-george-pattons-best-us-army-line-is-still-the-greatest-military-quote-in-armed-forces-history/) _2026-08-21 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ The 1947 book got it in fourteen words; the internet adds words it never printed. Patton's good-plan-now doctrine rebuilt II Corps in days, crossed France at 150 miles in 19 hours, and pivoted a quarter-million men ninety degrees to reach Bastogne — the perfect plan would have arrived too late. ## [“It Was the Greatest Mistake We Ever Made”: The US Air Force Wanted 132 B-2 Spirit Stealth Bombers and Ended Up with Just 21](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/it-was-the-greatest-mistake-we-ever-made-the-us-air-force-wanted-132-b-2-spirit-stealth-bombers-and-ended-up-with-just-21/) _2026-08-21 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ Killed on live television in 1992, the B-2 became a $2.13 billion bomber by division: a $44.7 billion invention spread across just 21 aircraft — roughly $90 billion and $4.3 billion apiece in 2026 money. Now, with Russia and China risen and the B-21 line running, America faces the same sentence again. ## [A US Air Force F-15E Pilot Was Shot Down Twice in 30 Days: First by a Kuwaiti Fighter, Then by an Iranian Missile Deep Inside Iran](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/a-us-air-force-f-15e-pilot-was-shot-down-twice-in-30-days-first-by-a-kuwaiti-fighter-then-by-an-iranian-missile-deep-inside-iran/) _2026-08-21 · Steve Balestrieri · 19FortyFive_ An F-15E Strike Eagle pilot was shot down over Kuwait in the opening days of Operation Epic Fury by a Kuwaiti fighter in what CENTCOM called a friendly fire incident. He passed his medical and psychological evaluations, returned to combat, and on April 3 - just over thirty days later - was hit by an Iranian surface-to-air missile deep in hostile territory and ejected a second time. ## [The Head of US Indo-Pacific Command Wants 200 B-21 Raider Stealth Bombers in the US Air Force. The Pentagon’s Plan Says 100 But Could Change Fast](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/the-head-of-us-indo-pacific-command-wants-200-b-21-raider-stealth-bombers-in-the-us-air-force-the-pentagons-plan-says-100-but-could-change-fast/) _2026-08-21 · Reuben Johnson · 19FortyFive_ The original plan was to procure 100 B-21 Raiders. Adm. Samuel Paparo, who commands US Indo-Pacific Command, says he would favour 200 - "not just for the nuclear deterrence mission, but for penetrating strike capabilities." Nine days later Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Armed Services Committee the Pentagon would require "a lot more - over 100." The last two STRATCOM chiefs have argued for… ## [The North Korea Deal Donald Trump Should Actually Want](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/the-north-korea-deal-donald-trump-should-actually-want/) _2026-08-21 · Andrew Latham · 19FortyFive_ Trump ordered Ulchi Freedom Shield cut from eleven days to five before Kim Jong-un had agreed to anything in return. Kim Yo-jong dismissed the move within two days as cosmetic, and North Korea launched short-range ballistic missiles regardless. It is a low-stakes preview of what a summit without a clear negotiating position produces at much higher stakes. ## [Russia Spent 27 Years and $5,000,000,000 Rebuilding Just 1 Kirov-Class Battlecruiser. She Might End Up As Obsolete as An Old Battleship](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/russia-spent-27-years-and-5000000000-rebuilding-just-1-kirov-class-battlecruiser-she-might-end-up-as-obsolete-as-an-old-battleship/) _2026-08-21 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ The Admiral Nakhimov entered the yard in 1999 and sailed again in 2025 — a refit that quadrupled in cost, outlived its sister ships, and condemned Russia's flagship to the scrapyard. Now the most heavily armed surface ship afloat heads for the Arctic, in the decade that showed what cheap drones do to big ships. ## [US Air Force Problem: The A-10 Warthog Needs To Be Allowed to Retire Even If It Performed During the Iran War](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/us-air-force-problem-the-a-10-warthog-needs-to-be-allowed-to-retire-even-if-it-performed-during-the-iran-war/) _2026-08-21 · Steve Balestrieri · 19FortyFive_ The BRRRRT Act requires the Air Force to keep at least 126 A-10s in service through fiscal year 2033, up from the previously legislated floor of 103, and to restore the depot maintenance, pilot training pipelines and sustainment infrastructure it had wound down. The Air Force has estimated hundreds of millions of dollars a year in savings from retiring the fleet. ## [It Cost $326,000,000 To Bring Back the 58,000-Ton US Navy Iowa-Class Battleships Packed with Tomahawk and Harpoon Missiles](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/it-cost-326000000-to-bring-back-the-58000-ton-us-navy-iowa-class-battleships-packed-with-tomahawk-and-harpoon-missiles/) _2026-08-21 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ The Kirov scared Washington, and Reagan's Navy answered with four Iowa-class battleships it already owned. Lehman's written price — $326 million — held, the program cost $1.7 billion, and in 2026 dollars the whole comeback runs about $5 billion: less per battleship than a new frigate today. The complete cost ledger, the combat record, and how the ledger closed. ## [Marketplace for AI-Powered Professionals (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/U9O3Rpv6oymX) _2026-08-21 · **Sponsored**_ Find professionals who use ChatGPT, Copilot, and Claude to deliver work faster. ## [The Soviet Navy Built 1 Titanium Submarine That Could Dive 3,350 Feet. It Sank in 1989 With 2 Nuclear Warheads Still Aboard.](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/the-soviet-navy-built-1-titanium-submarine-that-could-dive-3350-feet-it-sank-in-1989-with-2-nuclear-warheads-still-aboard/) _2026-08-21 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ She was the only one of her kind: a titanium submarine built to dive below the reach of NATO's weapons, and she set a depth record that still stands. On her first operational patrol she caught fire, and the emergency blow that brought her up fed the flames the air that finished her. ## [100,000-Ton US Navy Nuclear Aircraft Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln Has Been At Sea for 272 Days, Extended Twice Due to the Iran War and That Takes A Toll](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/100000-ton-us-navy-nuclear-aircraft-carrier-uss-abraham-lincoln-has-been-at-sea-for-272-days-extended-twice-due-to-the-iran-war-and-that-takes-a-toll/) _2026-08-21 · Steve Balestrieri · 19FortyFive_ USS Abraham Lincoln Update: The Navy has surged counselors and social workers to a ship whose behavioral health staff amounts to one clinical psychologist for 5,000 people in month nine of combat, and Cao sat with 200 family members in San Diego on August 11. ## [The Avro Arrow ‘Gave Birth’ to Canada’s CF-104 Starfighter: Sat Nuclear Alert for a Decade, Crashed 110 Times, and Never Fired a Shot](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/the-avro-arrow-gave-birth-to-canadas-cf-104-starfighter-sat-nuclear-alert-for-a-decade-crashed-110-times-and-never-fired-a-shot/) _2026-08-20 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ The Canadair CF-104 Starfighter: born from the Arrow's cancellation, built for lone nuclear strikes, 110 lost, zero combat. The full Canadian story. ## [The Navy and US Air Force B-2 Stopped Rehearsing: A Stealth Bomber Sank a Ship With a Live Anti-Ship Missile 6 Months After the Gunslinger Drill](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/the-navy-and-us-air-force-b-2-stopped-rehearsing-a-stealth-bomber-sank-a-ship-with-a-live-anti-ship-missile-6-months-after-the-gunslinger-drill/) _2026-08-20 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ February's B-2 and carrier-fighter drill off California was a rehearsal. In June a Spirit fired a live anti-ship missile and put the ex-USS Juneau on the bottom north of the Marianas — the first public confirmation the B-2 carries LRASM, and the clearest signal yet of how America plans to fight at sea. ## [Saturn’s Rings May Be Younger Than the Dinosaurs, Raining an Olympic Pool of Ice into Saturn Every 30 Minutes, and They Are Already Disappearing](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/saturns-rings-may-be-younger-than-the-dinosaurs-raining-an-olympic-pool-of-ice-into-saturn-every-30-minutes-and-they-are-already-disappearing/) _2026-08-20 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ The probes rewrote Saturn's rings: possibly younger than the dinosaurs, raining an Olympic pool of ice into the planet every half hour, ten meters thick across a span of twenty Earths, streaked with spokes physics can't explain, and ringing like a bell that let scientists see the planet's slushy core. ## [The NASA Space Shuttle Cost $200,000,000,000 and Hit Mach 25 Coming Home 133 Times. The Fastest Machines Humans Ever Rode Now Stand in Four Museums.](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/the-nasa-space-shuttle-cost-200000000000-and-hit-mach-25-coming-home-133-times-the-fastest-machines-humans-ever-rode-now-stand-in-four-museums/) _2026-08-20 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ From Nixon's 1972 promise to the museums: the Space Shuttle's development bill doubled, its fleet built the space station and saved Hubble, and two terrible mornings took fourteen astronauts. At every mission's end it hit the atmosphere at Mach 25 and glided home without engines — the fastest machines humans ever rode, now standing in four museums. ## [$6,900,000,000 on Stealth Helicopter Prototypes: The US Army Wanted the RAH-66 Comanche To Be Their Version of the F-117](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/6900000000-on-stealth-helicopter-prototypes-the-us-army-wanted-the-rah-66-comanche-to-be-their-version-of-the-f-117/) _2026-08-20 · Isaac Seitz · 19FortyFive_ Despite the novel ideas behind the RAH-66, the project ultimately never got past the prototype stage. The program simply did not offer enough bang for its buck and was plagued by mismanagement and constantly shifting requirements. ## [Yes, Trump Is Right: The Strait of Hormuz Is Open and Iran Is in Trouble](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/yes-trump-is-right-the-strait-of-hormuz-is-open-and-iran-is-in-trouble/) _2026-08-20 · James Jay Carafano · 19FortyFive_ Analysts dismissed American control of the Strait of Hormuz as a near-impossible task. The US government now says it has been helping tankers move up to ten million barrels a day through it, while the blockade on Iranian exports and imports has tightened. Only weeks ago Tehran was threatening to widen the war and leave no political border safe. ## [F-22 Sea Raptor: The Plan to Turn the US Air Force F-22 Raptor Stealth Fighter Into A US Navy Aircraft Carrier Warplane That Looked A Little Like the F-14](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/f-22-sea-raptor-the-plan-to-turn-the-us-air-force-f-22-raptor-stealth-fighter-into-a-us-navy-aircraft-carrier-warplane-that-looked-a-little-like-the-f-14/) _2026-08-20 · Brandon Weichert · 19FortyFive_ Vice Adm. Richard Dunleavy publicly questioned whether the Navy needed the F-22 Sea Raptor at all, citing its weight, as Cold War defense budgets tightened. ## [The X-37B Just Passed a Year in Orbit on Its Eighth Secret Mission. Russia Calls It a Nuclear Bomber.](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/the-x-37b-just-passed-a-year-in-orbit-on-its-eighth-secret-mission-russia-calls-it-a-nuclear-bomber/) _2026-08-20 · Harry J. Kazianis · 19FortyFive_ One year into its eighth classified mission, the X-37B keeps breaking its own records: 908 days aloft, stealthy aerobraking, a quantum sensor that navigates without GPS. Moscow says it's a nuclear bomber. Analysts say the bay is too small and the logic too poor — and that the ambiguity itself is the point. ## [North Korea’s Fingerprints Are All Over Iran’s War Against America](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/north-koreas-fingerprints-are-all-over-irans-war-against-america/) _2026-08-20 · Bruce E. Bechtol Jr. · 19FortyFive_ As President Trump downsizes the Ulchi Freedom Shield war games after South Korea declined to help with Iran, one uncomfortable fact goes almost completely unreported: nearly every major weapons system Iran has used against U.S. forces since the war began — the Qiam, the Shahab-3, the "son of Musudan," Yono-class submarines, fast attack craft, and the underground complexes at Natanz and Isfahan —… ## [Ukraine Can Already Reach Moscow With Drones, and a Ballistic Missile Would Change the Warning Time Dramatically](https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/08/ukraine-can-already-reach-moscow-with-drones-and-a-ballistic-missile-would-change-the-warning-time-dramatically/) _2026-08-20 · Andrew Latham · 19FortyFive_ Drones reached Moscow on three of the last five nights. A ballistic missile would not extend Ukraine's reach so much as compress Russia's warning window. The case made here is that Washington and Kyiv should sort the target categories now rather than in the hours after something goes wrong.