Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

National Security Journal

Steve Balestrieri

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.

NGAD Lockheed Martin Photo

NGAD Lockheed Martin Photo

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Tokyo’s 6th-Gen Fighter Gamble: F-X, GCAP – or a U.S. F-47 NGAD?

Key Points and Summary: F-X: Japan’s Stealth Fighter Gamble? -Japan’s F-X program, now rolled into the UK–Japan–Italy Global Combat Air Program, is supposed to...

Steve BalestrieriDecember 9, 2025

KF-21

KF-21

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

F-35 Threat? KF-21 Boramae Might Be the Best ‘Dollar for Dollar’ Fighter on Earth

Key Points and Summary – South Korea’s KF-21 Boramae is a homegrown 4.5-generation “budget stealth” fighter designed to replace aging F-4s and F-5s while...

Steve BalestrieriDecember 9, 2025

Aircraft Carrier USS Nimitz Coming Home

Aircraft Carrier USS Nimitz Coming Home

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Aircraft Carrier Crunch: Can the U.S. Navy Afford to Lose the USS Nimitz?

Key Points and Summary – The USS Nimitz, America’s oldest Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is slated to retire in April 2026 after more than...

Steve BalestrieriDecember 8, 2025

(March 7, 2016) An F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to the Warhawks of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 97 performs a flyby during an aerial change of command ceremony above USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). Providing a ready force supporting security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific, Stennis is operating as part of the Great Green Fleet on a regularly scheduled 7th Fleet deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Tomas Compian/Released)

(March 7, 2016) An F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to the Warhawks of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 97 performs a flyby during an aerial change of command ceremony above USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). Providing a ready force supporting security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific, Stennis is operating as part of the Great Green Fleet on a regularly scheduled 7th Fleet deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Tomas Compian/Released)

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

The Biggest Threat to U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers Summed Up in 3 Letters

Key Points and Summary – Air-independent propulsion (AIP) submarines keep “sinking” U.S. aircraft carriers in exercises, and the reason is simple: they are brutally...

Steve BalestrieriDecember 8, 2025

F-35 Near the Flag

F-35 Near the Flag

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Forget the F-22 or the F-35: F-47 NGAD Is Destined to Be the Air Force’s Best Fighter Ever

Key Points and Summary – The F-47 NGAD is set to replace the F-22 as the Air Force’s premier air-dominance fighter, trading short-range dogfighting...

Steve BalestrieriDecember 5, 2025

Two Canadian Forces, 410 Squadron CF-188B Multi-Role Fighters, one painted in special anniversary colors, flying over the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) for planned engagements during the Tiger Meet of the Americas. The Inaugural Tiger Meet of the Americas brought together flying units from throughout North America that have a Tiger or large cat as their unit symbol. The Tiger Meet of the Americas closely mirrors the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)/Europe Tiger Meet in its goal of fostering camaraderie, teamwork and tactics familiarization.

Two Canadian Forces, 410 Squadron CF-188B Multi-Role Fighters, one painted in special anniversary colors, flying over the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) for planned engagements during the Tiger Meet of the Americas. The Inaugural Tiger Meet of the Americas brought together flying units from throughout North America that have a Tiger or large cat as their unit symbol. The Tiger Meet of the Americas closely mirrors the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)/Europe Tiger Meet in its goal of fostering camaraderie, teamwork and tactics familiarization.

Dollars and Sense

Canada’s Foolish F-35 Stealth Fighter Delay Already Has Consequences

Key Points and Summary – Canada’s refusal to make a timely decision on a CF-18 replacement and the F-35 left the RCAF in a...

Steve BalestrieriDecember 4, 2025

The Mighty Essex-Class Aircraft Carrier

The Mighty Essex-Class Aircraft Carrier

Uncategorized

The Navy’s Essex-Class Aircraft Carriers Summed Up in 1 Word

Key Points and Summary – America’s Essex-class aircraft carriers were the backbone of U.S. naval power in World War II’s Pacific War and stayed...

Steve BalestrieriDecember 2, 2025

Tu-95 Bomber from Russia.

Tu-95 Bomber from Russia.

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Russia’s Tu-95MS Bear Bomber Has an Unfixable Problem

Key Points and Summary: The Tupolev Tu-95 “Bear,” a Cold War icon and the world’s only frontline turboprop bomber, is facing an existential crisis...

Steve BalestrieriDecember 2, 2025

SOUTH CHINA SEA (Jan. 15, 2022) Sailors preform pre-flight checks on several F-35C Lightning II’s, assigned to the “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Jan. 14, 2022. Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability through alliances and partnerships while serving as a ready-response force in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Derek Kelley)

SOUTH CHINA SEA (Jan. 15, 2022) Sailors preform pre-flight checks on several F-35C Lightning II’s, assigned to the “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Jan. 14, 2022. Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability through alliances and partnerships while serving as a ready-response force in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Derek Kelley)

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

The Navy’s F-35 ‘Rust’ Fighter?

Key Points and Summary – Viral images of “rusting” F-35s aboard the USS Carl Vinson sparked a media firestorm, but the reality is a...

Steve BalestrieriDecember 1, 2025

Page 2 of 58‹ Previous 123 4 5 6 Next ›Last »