Need a Tank? Russia s T-14 Armata Tank is Officially On the Market
Like Christmas too, it has been a long time coming and Russia could soon be a gift giver to the militaries of the world next year.
Here s What You Need To Remember: The tank is notable for its automated systems, including substantial assistance with aiming.
This week Rostec, the Russian state-owned high-tech conglomerate, announced that it will start delivery of the “world’s best” tank beginning next year. The Russian military has eagerly anticipated the delivery of the latest T-14 “Armata” like a child waiting for Christmas, and now it seems that serial deliveries of the next-generation tank will begin in 2021, according to Rostec chief Sergei Chemezo.
History What If: What if Saddam Hussein Had Invaded Saudi Arabia in 1990?
In retrospect, giving the United States the time to mobilize a huge army in Saudi Arabia looks like something of a blunder. Would Saddam have had a better chance if he had gambled for higher stakes at the start?
Here s What You Need To Remember: It was distinctly possible that Saddam would have continued his drive into Saudi Arabia in the fall of 1990. It was much less clear whether he would have succeeded or not. The logistical difficulties of invading Saudi Arabia were much greater than those of invading Kuwait - or even Iran, to some extent.
Between 1918 and 1942, Russia’s army was torn down and rebuilt four times.
Here s What You Need To Remember: The Red Army had an unbelievable capacity for pain. In the first six months of Operation Barbarossa, the army was completely destroyed. Yet it managed to rebuild, and went on to defeat the most formidable war machine of that era.
What do you do when your army is destroyed, over and over again? For Russia in the mid-twentieth century, the best answer was “build a new army.”
Between 1918 and 1942, Russia’s army was torn down and rebuilt four times: once at the end of World War I, once at the end of the Russian Civil War, once during the Great Purge, and once during the first six months of Operation Barbarossa. Some of the best recent work on the Red Army has dispelled long-term myths, demonstrating the resilience and innovativeness of the organization in the face of often-horrific political headwinds.
Your History Book Forgot This: Japan s Occupation of Alaska
Alaskan islands seized by Japanese forces remain one of the only cases in which enemy forces successfully occupied U.S. territory during the 20th century.
Here s What You Need To Remember: Like many other places in the Pacific War, the Japanese capture of the islands was quiet and easy - and their liberation was a grueling, bloody struggle.
There has been growing concern in recent years over the state of U.S. Arctic defenses. In fact, few Americans remember that Alaskan islands seized by Japanese forces remain one of the only cases in which enemy forces successfully occupied U.S. territory during the 20th century.
American Pilots Hated the P-39 Airacobra - But Russia Loved It
The designers at Bell created a fighter that poorly fit the operational needs of the U.S. military, but that worked just fine for the low-level tactical air war waged by the Soviet Union.
Here s What You Need To Remember: The anecdote shows that fighter planes must be relevant to the purpose they are employed for. In the case of the P-39, a plane that didn t work for the United States turned out to be just what the Red Army needed.
The P-39 Airacobra may be the least loved American fighter plane of World War II, deemed inadequate by military planners at the outset of hostilities and written off as nearly useless by many historians. Certainly, the P-39 could not match the high-altitude performance of classic American warbirds such as the dapper and agile P-51 Mustang, nor the hard-charging, hard-hitting P-47 Thunderbolt.