One of the largest explosions in the history of the Army’s Fort Benning base was set off by Marines — fortunately, on purpose. This video shows extraordinary detail of how troops set up, use, and detonate the M-58 Mine Clearing Line Charge (MCLC or MICLIC). (If all you care about is the explosions, just fast-forward… Keep reading →

Taxpayer dollars fund all sorts of strange things, from mysterious drones to vacuum-powered wall-climbers, but one unlikely investment that’s kept paying off for half a century is the Navy’s Floating Instrument Platform. In its research mode, with sensor arms extended over the water, FLIP looks like an alien probe out of the sci-fi stinker Battleship,… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The Air Force has relieved the commander of its 8th Special Operations Squadron “because of a loss of confidence in his ability to effectively command the unit” in the wake of a tiltrotor CV-22 Osprey crash June 13 that injured all five crew members and destroyed the aircraft. Col. James Slife, commanding officer of… Keep reading →

One year ago I was frantically cobbling together a cluster of stories so a brand new website would have enough reading material to be taken seriously. That first day — June 15, 2011 — we posted 15 articles of various types. And you began to read us. The next day I boarded a plane for… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The unmanned aircraft most likely to become the first to takeoff and land on aircraft carriers is moving to the next phase of testing, moving from Edwards Air Force Base to the Navy’s main operational test site at Patuxent River, Md. The X-47B, also known as the Navy’s UCAS-D, soared higher than 15,000 feet… Keep reading →

UPDATED: BAMS-D Crashes, Burns. No Injuries. PATUXENT RIVER NAVAL AIR STATION: One of the Navy’s Global Hawks crashed and burned during testing about 22 miles from here Monday. The U. S. Coast Guard responded and set up a perimeter around the wreckage of the drone, which the Navy calls BAMS-D, for Broad Area Maritime Surveillance-Demonstrator.… Keep reading →

There’s very little to say about this video, beyond the fact that is funny and enjoyable. The company that produced it is, according to the email I received, a Taiwanese company called Next Media Animation. The politics of a Taiwanese media company criticizing U.S. Navy spending are delightful. What other country depends more on the… Keep reading →

UPDATED: Includes Info About Sub Deployment Skeds; Past Major Sub Fixes WASHINGTON: The Navy is telling Congress that the nuclear-powered USS Miami suffered $400 million to $500 million in damages from the impressive fire that injured seven and left the ship a smoldering mass at drydock. The estimate is being provided at congressional request and… Keep reading →

The U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers flight decks are some of the most chaotic and deadly real estate in the world. Teeming with scores of high-performance aircraft, wheeled vehicles and up to a thousand sailors generating up to several hundred sorties per day, flight decks “are fraught with danger,” the Naval Safety Center warned in… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: While we here at Breaking Defense are perfectly willing to criticize Congress on occasion, we’re very happy to have them say nice things about us, or at least mention us. In this case, it’s Rep. Mac Thornberry on the floor of the House, citing our article on the V-22 by aviation expert and regular… Keep reading →