Category: 19FortyFive

Before the advent of the F-22 and F-35, engineers developing radar-evading technology for modern fighters needed a platform for a precursor airplane. Meet the YF-118G Bird of Prey, one such advanced technology demonstrator. Its...

Since I’ve written about both American and Japanese WWII dive bombers – the Douglas SBD Dauntless and Aichi D3A “Val” respectively” – on behalf of 19FortyFive in the past month, it would only make sense to also do a write-up on...

Sure, the MiG-29 is not exactly the latest and greatest stealth fighter or even the best fourth-generation fighter. And yet, the MiG-29 is respected as one dangerous fighter jet for many clear and obvious reasons: Despite...

The SR-72 was a much-discussed Mach 6 or even Mach 7 spy plane or bomber that was mostly the talk of the aviation community. That all changed with Top Gun: Maverick. So, the obvious question is will this plane come to life? We...

The Russian Navy has one aircraft carrier and it might not be able to sail for much longer due to a laundry list of problems. What will Moscow do if it does not have even one working aircraft carrier? Given the high demand...

A former member of the U.S. Air Force breaks down the X-20: When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into orbit, the Western world was shocked – and caught flat-footed, without a response in place. Jolted into action, paranoid...

In 2021, Iranian state media reported that its third-generation “Karrar” battle tank had entered service with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Largely derived from the Soviet-era T-72 design, the new variant also...

The Germans – their current pacifistic culture notwithstanding – have a long history of innovation when it comes to weaponry. Everything from the first commercially successful semiautomatic pistol (the Borchardt C-93 in 1894,...

Earlier this month, Israel’s Iron Dome missile/rocket defense system intercepted a rocket over the coastal city of Ashkelon. Launched by Palestinian militants, the projectile was the first one fired at the Jewish state from the...

The explosive success of the Bayraktar TB2 drone may have cooled off since the shift of fighting to the Donbas region in Ukraine. The Russian military has recently consolidated its air defense systems in the area and learned...

My son had toy airplanes that looked like the X-20 Dyna-Soar – something resembling a stubby version of the space shuttle. But don’t be fooled by appearances. The X-20 was designed to be a hypersonic space plane before...

The Russian Military Might Not Be the Same After the Ukraine War: When Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the unprovoked and unwarranted invasion of Ukraine, he likely expected the conflict would make the list of...