Back to the Future
Launching of the legendary Nautilus a half-century ago signaled the coming of today's all-... Read More
Improving the Breed
In the wake of the war-built Essex-class ships were three aircraft carriers that served as... Read More
Deep Secrets Revealed
Two enduring mysteries from the 1960s came closer to being solved in the past year with the... Read More
Terrorism Strikes the U.S. Navy
A terrorist bomb ripped open the Aegis destroyer USS Cole (DDG-67) while the warship was mooring in... Read More
What If Kursk Had Been Ours?
When Russia lost its nuclear-propelled submarine Kursk, the U.S. Navy was engaged in a program to... Read More
Royal Navy: Two New Big Decks
After lengthy delays, the British government has signed contracts for the construction of two large... Read More
Two New Big Decks
After lengthy delays, the British government has signed contracts for the... Read More
Two New Big Decks
After lengthy delays, the British government has signed contracts for the... Read More
The U.S. Navy: The Name Game
The telephone rang incessantly and I received several e-mail messages, all asking the same basic... Read More
From One-Man Submersible to High-Tech Behemoth
An Illustrated History of American Submarine Development
1776 The... Read More
U.S. Navy: Underwater Trailblazers
Probably the two most significant submarines to have joined the U.S. Fleet were the USS Holland (SS... Read More
U.S. Navy: To Be or Not to Be. . . The New DDG
The window of opportunity for constructing the advanced DDG-1000 guided missile destroyer, formerly... Read More
Historic Aircraft
Flying Whales Part II: Vietnam
Edward "Ed" Heinemann's Douglas A3D Skywarrior had... Read More
U.S. Navy: Surface Combatants Adrift
The U.S. Navy's leadership is shirking its responsibilities by letting Congress determine the... Read More
U.S. Navy: Still Adrift
Congress has made the latest course change in the U.S. Navy's convoluted surface combatant... Read More
Historic Aircraft
The Navy's "Heavies"
When the subject of big naval aircraft is raised, one usually thinks... Read More
U.S. Navy: Misnaming Navy Ships (Again)
The U.S. Navy's leadership has again demonstrated its penchant for ignoring customs, traditions... Read More
Royal Navy: Back to the Past
A move is under way in Great Britain to abolish the Royal Navy's air arm. At the moment there... Read More
Historic Aircraft: The New Flying Boats
The "New" Flying Boats
During World War I-with the support of a fledgling aircraft... Read More
The Royal Danish Navy: An Operational LCS
As the U.S. Navy's littoral combat ship (LCS) program continues to experience delays and... Read More
Indian Navy: Joining a Special Club
India is about to join an exclusive naval club-those countries that build and operate nuclear-... Read More
Historic Aircraft
The First to Go Up and Down
The Hawker Siddeley Kestrel was not a naval aircraft. But the British... Read More
U.S. Fleet: On the Front Burner
The carrier controversy is heating up. The latest developments include: (1) the pending reduction... Read More
Soviet Navy: The Missing Ramius Letter
Twenty-six years ago Captain 1st Rank Marko Aleksandrovich Ramius, commanding officer of the... Read More
Historic Aircraft
Lockheed's Twin-Tails
Lockheed twin-engine, twin-tail passenger aircraft were familiar sights at... Read More
Historic Aircraft
The Flying Banana
The Piasecki HRP Rescuer—usually called the "flying banana"... Read More
Historic Aircraft
The Last Picture Plane
The RF-8 Crusader—often called the Photo Crusader—was the U.... Read More
Historic Aircraft
The Flying SLUF
The Ling-Temco-Vought A-7 Corsair II was an excellent carrier-based, light... Read More
U.S. Fleet: Don't Break Up the "BMD Yankees"!, Part One
I don’t have many heroes. But two of them passed away this past year. In September 2009,... Read More
In the Wake of a Sunken Soviet Submarine
Many Russians still believe that the United States raised the entire K-129.
At a Bethesda, Maryland... Read More
U.S. Navy: Don't Break Up the "BMD Yankees"!
(Second of Two Parts)
The passing of retired Rear Admiral Wayne E. Meyer, the father of the... Read More
Historic Aircraft
The Navy’s First
Orville and Wilbur Wright developed the principles of manned, powered... Read More
U.S. Navy: A Crisis in Leadership
The U.S. Navy is suffering a crisis in leadership, both civilian and military. This situation is... Read More
U.S. Navy: STARTing Anew
The U.S. Senate has ratified the New START nuclear-arms reduction treaty, which was signed by the U... Read More
Historic Aircraft
Flying Camels
During World War I U.S. naval aviators in Europe flew almost exclusively foreign-... Read More
Historic Aircraft
Biplane Fighters in Action
During the 1930s U.S. aircraft carriers operated a variety of... Read More
Ships That Were Lighter Than Air
In the 1930s, the Navy’s rigid-airship program peaked with the construction of enormous... Read More
U.S. Navy: The Latest Conflict
The civil war in Libya—ongoing as this is written—already has lessons for the United... Read More
U.S. Navy: Weapons That Wait . . .and Wait
From the earliest years of the Republic, the U.S. Navy has had a love-hate relationship with mines... Read More
Historic Aircraft
The Yellow Peril
When discussing historic aircraft, one usually mentions fighters, bombers, and... Read More
Russia's Navy Will Remain Strong Beyond 2000
Navies undoubtedly will play important roles in the 21st century. These roles will differ for... Read More
Where West Meets East: A New International Canal?
The Bosporus, which divides Europe from Asia, is one of the busiest waterways in the world.... Read More
U.S. Navy: More Cuts Coming
The House Appropriations Committee has reduced the Fiscal Year 2012 Department of Defense budget by... Read More
A Different Angle of Attack
The accelerating debate over the potential place of nonnuclear submarines in the U.S. Navy recently... Read More
To Be or Not to Be?
Fifty years ago this month, the question of whether an independent air force should be established... Read More
The Republic Navies
NATO: Expansion or Aggression?
I would not [underestimate] the dislike of NATO enlargement" in... Read More
Arsenal Ship Survives . . . for Now
The joint House-Senate conference for fiscal year 1998 defense appropriations recently funded $35... Read More
The Soviet Navy: How Many Submarines?
For the 46 years of the Cold War, the most feared Soviet naval weapon was the submarine. Initially... Read More
The Royal Navy: "Britannia Rules the Waves..."
It was a sad day for the Royal Yacht Britannia moored at Portsmouth. Queen Elizabeth dabbed her... Read More
The U.S. Navy: Carrier Questions—and Some Answers
The recent threat of a military showdown against Iraq again showcased the Navy's large aircraft... Read More
Historic Aircraft
The God of the Sea’s Namesake
The Lockheed Neptune was the first U.S. aircraft designed... Read More
The U.S. Navy: The Sinking of a Carrier
The CVX has been sunk. She was to have been the U.S. Navy's next-generation aircraft carrier, a... Read More
The U.S. Navy: Sailing Toward Troubled Waters
The Navy's carrier program, which had enjoyed relatively smooth seas for the past two... Read More
The U.S. Navy: Where Have All the Nukes Gone?
The U.S. Navy currently deploys almost one-half of all U.S. nuclear weapons. The total number of U.... Read More
The Republic Navies
Submarines: All Ahead—Very, Very Slowly
Submarine construction continues in Russia—but... Read More
The U.S. Navy
Innovation in Sub Design, at Last
The U.S. Navy and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (... Read More
U.S. Navy - Please Keep the Marines Off the Beach
The Secretary of Defense in January canceled the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV), the advanced... Read More
The U.S. Navy: Satellites from the Sea
An idea more than 50 years old soon will come to fruition—the sea launch of satellites. The... Read More
Historic Aircraft - The King of the Sea
The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King with its many progeny and variants ranks as one of aviation history... Read More
U.S. Navy - There's a Lot in a Name
Secretary of the Navy Edwin “Ray” Mabus, under fire from members of Congress, veterans... Read More
U.S. Navy - A Paradigm Shift
With little notice, the U.S. Navy is undergoing a paradigm shift. For the last 60 years of the 20th... Read More
Historic Aircraft - A Premier Fighter
Almost all famous fighter aircraft—those of the United States and other nations—... Read More
U.S. Navy: Reorganizing Defense
Some observers have cited the massive changes in the Department of Defense (DoD), most being made... Read More
The U.S. Navy: Here's Looking at You, Boris
The massive slowdown in Russian arms development and production is being watched carefully. Among... Read More
The U.S. Navy: State of the Fleet
The U.S. Navy is ill prepared to enter the 21st century. The service is plagued by major personnel... Read More
U.S. Navy: Declining Strategic Forces
As U.S. military forces are being reduced and reconfigured to effect the post-Cold War environment... Read More
Further Developments on the Kursk
Additional facts and theories are emerging about the sinking of the Russian Navy’s nuclear-... Read More
U.S. Navy: Updating Submarine Rescue
The U.S. Navy is in the process of updating its submarine rescue capability with procurement of the... Read More
The DSRV System
Fourteen days after the USS Thresher (SSN-593) was lost on 10 April 1963, Secretary of the Navy... Read More
Kursk Postscript
The Russian authorities recently acknowledged for the First time that the sinking of the nuclear... Read More