Lockheed D-21: Cold War Spy Drone

In October 1962, the C.I.A. and the U.S.A.F. requested that Lockheed study a high-speed, high-altitude drone concept for reconnaissance flights over particularly hostile territories to avoid endangering aircrews. Created during the height of the Cold War and following the shootdown of a U-2 spy p...

By Friedrich Seiltgen

Was the 1911’s Grip Safety a Mistake?

The 1911 has now been with us for a century and a decade. Throughout that lifespan, there’s been no point at which it was not beloved by huge numbers of soldiers, law enforcement agents, and civilian shooters. Astonishingly, perhaps implausibly, the 1911 remains a darling of serious pistol...

By Clayton Walker

USS Hornet (CV-12): Carrier that Stung Japan

The USS Hornet (CV-12) stands as one of the most storied aircraft carriers in United States naval history, playing a decisive role in World War II as part of the Essex-class fleet. From its origins as a replacement for the lost USS Hornet (CV-8) to its participa...

By Peter Suciu

SAINT Gear Pac: What Do You Get?

My very first handgun was a Springfield Armory XD in 9mm. It was around 2007, I was shopping for a home-defense solution and I’d read positive reviews about the XD line in American Rifleman and Guns & Ammo magazines. At decision time, it wasn’t much of a competiti...

By Joe Kurtenbach

Capital Comrades - Two American 7.62x39 Platforms

The AK family of weapons is notorious, but the platform’s infamous partner is the 7.62×39 cartridge. Like Bonnie and Clyde, the AK’s reputation is inseparable from its chambering. That the cartridge is historically simple, robust, and effective is the key variable that makes the...

By Toby M

Army Sniper Course Tests Signature Management Tech to Enhance Health, Safety

FORT BENNING, Ga. — The U.S. Army Sniper Course at Fort Benning is working to improve sniper survivability and lethality in large-scale combat operations by evaluating and integrating advanced signature management technology into training. “What we’ve seen in the last few years in recent co...

By Eric G

The Davy Crockett Tactical Nuke

The M28 and M29 Davy Crockett Weapon System emerged during one of the most volatile phases of the Cold War, a period when the United States and the Soviet Union were locked in a global contest of ideology, influence, and military capability. In the early 1950s, as tensions escalated in Europe, th...

By Eugene Nielsen
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