Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He has served as a US Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer before injuries forced his early separation. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and his work was regularly featured in the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle and Grafton News newspapers in Massachusetts.
Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More
Key Points and Summary: The Mk19 grenade launcher, first introduced during the Vietnam War, remains a cornerstone of U.S. military firepower. This crew-served, belt-fed,...
The F-15EX is a two-seat, twin-engine, multi-role fighter aircraft. It is a derivative of the Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle. The F-15EX inherits modern...
Key Points: The XM25 “Punisher,” a revolutionary programmable grenade launcher designed to improve soldier lethality, was canceled in 2017 despite promising early results. -The...
Key Points and Summary: The SR-71 Blackbird’s high-speed missions were fraught with challenges, including catastrophic engine failures at Mach 3. -Crews like Colonel Richard...
Amid intensifying rhetoric with China, the bellicose nation is outproducing the United States in shipbuilding by a wide margin while they threaten nations in...
Summary and Key Points: The 9mm Parabellum pistol remains the world’s most popular handgun caliber due to its manageable recoil, high-capacity magazines, and affordability....
The Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov is a perfect icon from the Soviet Union-era, aged, unreliable, and poorly maintained military hardware. It has been...