Reuben F. Johnson has thirty-six years of experience analyzing and reporting on foreign weapons systems, defense technologies, and international arms export policy. He is also a survivor of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He worked for years in the American defense industry as a foreign technology analyst and later as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Defense, the Departments of the Navy and Air Force, and the governments of the United Kingdom and Australia. In 2022-2023, he won two awards in a row for his defense reporting. He holds a bachelor's degree from DePauw University and a master's degree from Miami University in Ohio, specializing in Soviet and Russian studies. He lives in Warsaw.
Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More
Two years ago, a short news story appeared about the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) next-generation bomber, the Xi’an H-20. “After an official confirmation...
China’s H-20 stealth bomber is a mystery: If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, then China’s defense-industrial enterprises succeed in flattering about...
Defense technology analyst Reuben F. Johnson, a specialist with over three decades of experience in foreign weapons systems and a survivor of the 2022...
Summary and Key Points: China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has revealed that the Dassault Rafale—not the F-22 or F-35—is its primary “gold-standard” benchmark for...
Summary and Key Points: The F-47 (Next-Generation Air Dominance) program is the U.S. Air Force’s $100 billion gamble to reclaim the “Backyard” of the...
Summary and Key Points – Operation Absolute Resolve relied on overwhelming airpower to blind Venezuela’s defenses and enable the capture of Nicolás Maduro—but the...
Key Points and Summary – President Donald Trump has unveiled plans for a new “Trump-class” of large surface combatants, billed as modern battleships and...
Key Points and Summary – China’s Chengdu Aircraft Corporation has flown what appear to be the only two J-36 prototypes together in formation—an eye-catching...