Defense

Since the early days of the Cold War, the early warning radars on Greenland have been a linchpin for defending North America against nuclear attack by intercontinental ballistic missiles. But the radars themselves are vulnerable to attack by hypersonic missiles, critics warn. U.S. bases in Greenland can neither detect those missiles, nor shoot them down. “The U.S. does not have a standing…

In the late 1950s, when everyone expected World War III to go nuclear, the U.S. Army had to contemplate operating on a battlefield sprouting atomic fireballs. This put Army planners in a dilemma. Military theory said that forces had to be concentrated to overwhelm the enemy and achieve decisive results. Common sense said that massing troops would only present a juicy target for nuclear weapons.

If America goes to war with China, rocketry may be the U.S. Army’s most important contribution. A conflict across the vast Pacific would be waged primarily by air and sea forces, backed by small contingents of ground troops. But while the Army may not storm Shanghai in a ground assault, it certainly has the ability to strike Chinese territory. The Army has an arsenal of long-range munitions in…

Nearly 32 years have passed since Master Sgt. Gary I. Gordon handed a rifle and remaining rounds of ammunition to Black Hawk pilot Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael Durant at the helicopter’s wreckage site, said, “Good luck,” and waded into a sea of swarming Somali enemies with only a pistol in hand. In an event last month, hosted by U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon…