Defense Archives

The X-15A-3 rocket plane flies over Edwards Air Force Base during a mission in the 1960s.

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

At Mach 6.7 and 4,520 MPH, the X-15 Set the Crewed Aircraft Speed Record in 1967 — 59 Years Later, No One Has Flown Faster

On October 3, 1967, U.S. Air Force pilot William “Pete” Knight flew the X-15A-2 to 4,520 miles per hour — Mach 6.7 — setting...

Jack BuckbyMay 8, 2026

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

The SR-71 Stopped Flying Nearly Three Decades Ago — Its Mach 6 Successor SR-72 Could Restore U.S. Edge, but No One Knows If It’s Real

Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works has been publicly discussing the SR-72 “Son of Blackbird” — a hypersonic reconnaissance and strike aircraft designed to fly at...

Brandon WeichertMay 8, 2026

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Russia’s Mach 20 Avangard Hypersonic Glide Vehicle Was Designed to Defeat Every U.S. Missile Defense System

Russia’s Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, reportedly capable of traveling at more than Mach 20 while maneuvering laterally and vertically through the atmosphere, was placed...

Jack BuckbyMay 8, 2026

At sea aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)-- A lone plane captain conducts a walk around inspection of his F-14D Tomcat that is assigned to Fighter Squadron Three One (VF-31). THe F-14D is armed with AIM-9 Siderwinder Missiles and a Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and a GBU-14. USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) and Carrier Air Wing FOURTEEN (CVW 14) are conducting combat operations in support of Operation Southern Watch. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Third Class (AW/PJ) Philip A. McDaniel. Cleared for release by ALBG PAO, LCDR Jeff Bender.

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Operation Epic Fury Destroyed Most of Iran’s F-14 Fleet — Now Congress Wants to Pull Three Tomcats From Storage and Fly One Again

Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S.-Israeli air campaign against Iran, destroyed most of Tehran’s F-14 Tomcat fleet — the only F-14s flying anywhere outside...

Caleb LarsonMay 8, 2026

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Before He Walked on the Moon, Neil Armstrong Applied to Fly the X-20 Dyna-Soar — A Mach 5 Spaceplane That Was Cancelled and Never Flew

In 1960, nine years before he walked on the moon, a 30-year-old test pilot named Neil Armstrong applied to fly the X-20 Dyna-Soar —...

Brent M. EastwoodMay 8, 2026

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Canada Built a Mach 2 Fighter in 1957 and Destroyed Every One in 1959 — Its Engineers Went to NASA and Helped Build the Apollo Program

On October 4, 1957, Avro Canada unveiled the CF-105 Arrow — a Mach 2 supersonic interceptor capable of climbing to 50,000 feet, the most...

Brent M. EastwoodMay 8, 2026

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

For 20 Years the U.S. Watched China Take the First Island Chain — Now Marines Are Firing Missiles Within Striking Range of Taiwan

For the first time outside Japanese territory, Japan fired a Type 88 anti-ship missile during the Balikatan exercise on the Philippine island of Luzon,...

Brandon WeichertMay 8, 2026

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

The SR-71 Blackbird’s Pratt & Whitney J58 Engines Suffered an ‘Unstart’ at 83,000 Feet — and the Aircraft Began Falling Sideways

In 1984, an SR-71 Blackbird flying at 83,000 feet over the Soviet Kola Peninsula lost both Pratt & Whitney J58 engines simultaneously — and...

Kris OsbornMay 8, 2026

Boeing's 2707 supersonic transport was designed to fly at Mach 2.7 — 2,071 miles per hour — carrying up to 277 passengers, more than triple the capacity of the Anglo-French Concorde. Powered by four General Electric GE4 turbojets, the largest straight turbojet engines ever built, two prototypes were under construction in Seattle when Congress killed the program in 1971 by a single Senate vote. Boeing laid off more than 60,000 workers, pivoted to the subsonic 747, and 55 years later no American supersonic airliner has ever entered service.

Dollars and Sense

At 2,071 MPH, Boeing’s 2707 Was Faster and Bigger Than Concorde — Congress Killed It in 1971 by 1 Vote and No American SST Has Flown Since

Boeing’s 2707 supersonic transport was designed to fly at Mach 2.7 — 2,071 miles per hour — carrying up to 277 passengers, more than...

Steve BalestrieriMay 8, 2026

National Security Journal

All posts tagged "Defense"

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

At Mach 6.7 and 4,520 MPH, the X-15 Set the Crewed Aircraft Speed Record in 1967 — 59 Years Later, No One Has Flown Faster

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

The SR-71 Stopped Flying Nearly Three Decades Ago — Its Mach 6 Successor SR-72 Could Restore U.S. Edge, but No One Knows If It’s Real

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Russia’s Mach 20 Avangard Hypersonic Glide Vehicle Was Designed to Defeat Every U.S. Missile Defense System

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Operation Epic Fury Destroyed Most of Iran’s F-14 Fleet — Now Congress Wants to Pull Three Tomcats From Storage and Fly One Again

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Before He Walked on the Moon, Neil Armstrong Applied to Fly the X-20 Dyna-Soar — A Mach 5 Spaceplane That Was Cancelled and Never Flew

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

Canada Built a Mach 2 Fighter in 1957 and Destroyed Every One in 1959 — Its Engineers Went to NASA and Helped Build the Apollo Program

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

For 20 Years the U.S. Watched China Take the First Island Chain — Now Marines Are Firing Missiles Within Striking Range of Taiwan

Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More

The SR-71 Blackbird’s Pratt & Whitney J58 Engines Suffered an ‘Unstart’ at 83,000 Feet — and the Aircraft Began Falling Sideways

Dollars and Sense

At 2,071 MPH, Boeing’s 2707 Was Faster and Bigger Than Concorde — Congress Killed It in 1971 by 1 Vote and No American SST Has Flown Since

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