Steve Balestrieri

Lehigh Acres

Columnist for @PatsFans.com, National Security Columnist https://t.co/sE8pYdBwMz, Co-host Patriots 4th & 2, US Army Special Forces operator, Member @PFWAwriters

Articles

"Musta’ribeen!" The Word Every Terrorist Fears in the West Bank

1 week ago | sofrep.com | Steve Balestrieri

Somewhere in the West Bank or in an Arab-Israeli town in Israel, a protest is unfolding. Protesters, their faces covered with checkered keffiyehs or balaclavas, chant against the Israeli army. They soon start throwing rocks at the Israeli troops. Their accents, mannerisms, and expressions are those of any Palestinian. But these aren’t the run-of-the-mill Palestinian protesters.
Russia's Last Aircraft Carrier Hasn't Sailed For Nearly a Decade

1 week ago | nationalsecurityjournal.org | Steve Balestrieri

Key Points – Russia’s sole aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, is a Cold War relic that has been a near-total disaster throughout its service life and will likely never sail again. -Plagued by poor design, it relies on a notoriously unreliable and smoky Mazut fuel boiler system because Russia lacks the ability to produce large naval engines. -Its combat deployments, like the one to Syria in 2016, have been marked by aircraft crashes due to faulty arresting wires.
The US Military Bought a 'Fleet' of 'Nuclear-Capable' MiG-29 Fighters

1 week ago | nationalsecurityjournal.org | Steve Balestrieri

Key Points – In 1997, the United States executed a unique post-Cold War intelligence operation by purchasing 21 MiG-29 fighter jets from the former Soviet republic of Moldova. -The primary motivation was not to acquire the technology, which was already well-understood, but to prevent the aircraft from being sold to Iran.
Yamato-Class: The Story of the Biggest Battleships Ever Built (Not in US Navy)

1 week ago | nationalsecurityjournal.org | Steve Balestrieri

Key Points – The Imperial Japanese Navy’s Yamato-class warships were the largest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed, boasting massive 18.1-inch main guns. -However, the two completed battleships, Yamato and Musashi, spent most of World War II in naval bases, held back for fear of losing such prestigious assets.
YF-118G: The Bird of Prey Stealth Aircraft No One Knows About

1 week ago | nationalsecurityjournal.org | Steve Balestrieri

Key Points and Summary: The Boeing YF-118G Bird of Prey was a revolutionary experimental aircraft developed in secret at Area 51 during the 1990s to test next-generation stealth technologies at a low cost. -Built by McDonnell Douglas’s Phantom Works for just $67 million, it utilized off-the-shelf parts like its engine and landing gear. -While slow and low-flying, its primary goal was not performance but near-invisibility to radar, achieved through a “gapless,” blended-wing-body design.
DF-26B: China's Missile Built to Sink US Navy Aircraft Carriers in a War

1 week ago | nationalsecurityjournal.org | Steve Balestrieri

Key Points – China’s DF-26 and DF-26B, an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with a 4,000 km range, poses a significant threat to US naval assets in the Indo-Pacific. -Its anti-ship variant, often called the “Guam Express” or “Carrier Killer,” is specifically designed to target US aircraft carriers. -First fielded in 2016, this road-mobile, solid-fueled missile can be armed with either a conventional or thermonuclear warhead.
NASA’s X-43A: The Mach 9.6 Hypersonic Marvel Explained in 1 Word

1 week ago | nationalsecurityjournal.org | Steve Balestrieri

Key Points – NASA’s X-43A hypersonic research vehicle, part of the “Hyper-X” program, still holds the world record for an air-breathing aircraft, achieving a speed of Mach 9.64 (6,363 mph) in its final flight on November 16, 2004. -The 12-foot-long, unmanned aircraft was powered by a revolutionary scramjet engine and launched from a B-52 mothership via a Pegasus booster rocket.
FCAS: Europe's New 6th Generation Fighter Is in Trouble

1 week ago | nationalsecurityjournal.org | Steve Balestrieri

Key Points – Tensions between France’s Dassault Aviation and German-Spanish partner Airbus are threatening to derail the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), Europe’s sixth-generation stealth fighter program. -Speaking at the 2025 Paris Air Show, Airbus’s head of air power, Jean-Brice Dumont, highlighted ongoing friction over workshare and intellectual property. -This public discord follows earlier complaints from Dassault CEO Eric Trappier about the program’s inefficient governance structure.
Stealth F-22 Raptors Can Fly Right Under Iran's Fighters 'Undetected'

1 week ago | nationalsecurityjournal.org | Steve Balestrieri

Key Points – In a remarkable 2013 encounter over international waters, a US Air Force F-22 Raptor, piloted by Lt. Col. Kevin “Showtime” Sutterfield, stealthily intercepted two Iranian F-4 Phantom jets attempting to shoot down an American Predator drone. -The F-22 pilot flew undetected under one of the F-4s to inspect its weapons load before pulling up alongside the shocked Iranian pilot and calmly radioing, “You really oughta go home.”-The Iranian jets immediately broke off their attack.
Russia's 'New' MiG-41 Stealth Fighter Has Just 1 Mission

1 week ago | nationalsecurityjournal.org | Steve Balestrieri

Key Points and Summary – Russia’s proposed MiG-41 (PAK DP) is a sixth-generation stealth interceptor concept touted with fantastical capabilities, including Mach 4+ speeds, anti-hypersonic missile lasers, and the ability to destroy satellites in near-space. -The MiG-41s main mission: defeat planes like the F-22, F-35 and newer fighters like the F-47. -However, this “wonder weapon,” which exists only in artist renderings, is viewed with extreme skepticism.