The National Interest

Washington experienced one of its more notable political weeks in recent memory, with U.S. President Joe Biden stepping down from his political campaign for a second presidential term and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu giving an unprecedented speech to the U.S. Congress. The impacts of these two events cannot be understated in the context of U.S. foreign policy on Israel and Palestine, let alone the broader Middle East, during an election year. The question at hand is whether those... Читать дальше...

Summary and Key Points: The Astute-class submarine, built by Europe’s leading defense manufacturer, BAE Systems, replaced the Trafalgar class as Britain’s primary attack sub (SSN).

Summary and Key Points: Eric Wicklund, a former U.S. Navy Operations Specialist, detailed why China cannot yet compete with the F-35, focusing on their difficulties with materials science, particularly in developing effective Radar Absorbent Material (RAM).

Summary and Key Points: The USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) and USS George Washington (CVN-73) are undergoing a "hull swap" at Naval Air Station North Island, with the George Washington returning to Yokosuka, Japan, as the U.S. Navy's forward-deployed carrier effective August 1.

Summary and Key Points: Greece has formalized its acquisition of 20 F-35 Lightning II aircraft from Lockheed Martin for $3.47 billion, with an option for 20 more. This deal, under the U.S. Foreign Military Sale program, includes technical support, training, and simulators, with deployment expected by the early 2030s.

Summary and Key Points: The USS Kitty Hawk, commissioned in 1961 for $264 million ($2.5 billion today), was sold for just one cent for scrapping in 2022. The Kitty Hawk class, an incremental upgrade from the Forrestal class, featured improved elevator placement for better aircraft handling.

Summary and Key Points: During the Cold War, the Soviet Union experimented with titanium for submarine hulls, producing the fast and stealthy Lira-class submarines. Titanium offered benefits like high strength, low density, and corrosion resistance but was challenging to source and weld.

Summary and Key Points: In 2005, the Swedish submarine HSMS Gotland managed to "sink" the USS Ronald Reagan during a U.S. Navy exercise, highlighting vulnerabilities in carrier defenses.

The 39-year-old Republican vice-presidential nominee was reeling. After a heady beginning, he was suddenly mired in national controversy as the press corps targeted him for destruction. There was increasing talk about dumping him from the ticket and replacing him with a more mainstream candidate. Only at the last minute was he able to give a speech on television that rescued his political fortunes.

Do Europeans support NATO? They certainly fret a lot about the future of the Atlantic Alliance. To hear them tell it, a return of Donald Trump to the White House next January would augur cataclysm. “The anxiety is massive” according to a typical statement from European elites relayed by The Atlantic’s McKay Coppins. They fear the United States, the dominant member of the alliance, might throttle back its support for European security—retreating into isolationism, enacting soft-on-Russia policies... Читать дальше...