Military

The F-117A is purely an attack aircraft, and lacks the arms and maneuverability for dogfights. The nature of its mission and the characteristics of the aircraft demand extremely skilled, well-trained pilots. Learn about the Nighthawk Stealth fighter.

By the Editors of Publications International, Ltd.

President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization in Russia during an address to the nation. What does that mean for citizens there and in Ukraine?

By Sarah Gleim

Students at the actual TOPGUN school aren't as cocky as the characters in the movies, but the fictional version gets a lot of other things right.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Ukraine is seeking foreign volunteers to join the fight against the Russians. But unless you've got military experience and elite skills, you probably should stay home.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Russia has been accused of using the extremely dangerous weapons against the military in its war against Ukraine. Exactly what are they and what makes them so deadly?

By Michelle Bentley

In 2016, U.S. diplomats in Havana, Cuba, reported strange sounds and steady pulses of pressure in their heads. Many still have unexplained illnesses. Now at least two incidents have occurred in D.C. What's going on?

By Joanna Thompson

Israel's Iron Dome defense system is capable of intercepting — and destroying — thousands of incoming rockets targeting civilian areas. Here's how the sophisticated system works.

By John Donovan

In 1961, the Soviet Union detonated the Tsar Bomba, still the biggest, most powerful nuclear bomb ever built. One of the cameramen who recorded the event said it sounded "as if the Earth has been killed."

By Patrick J. Kiger

President Joe Biden announced new regulations surrounding ghost guns. What are these untraceable guns that allow a purchaser to assemble them from parts?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Members of the U.S. armed forces and their loyal dogs have always had a special relationship – so special that the canine usually outranks its handler. What's behind this military tradition?

By Nathan Chandler

Hypersonic missiles, which could reach distant targets in a matter of minutes and wreak destruction with their own kinetic energy, are a potentially destabilizing threat to world peace.

By Patrick J. Kiger

U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmers routinely jump out of helicopters into dangerous waters, risking their lives to save others.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Tank Town USA is just one of a few places in the country where you don't have to be in the military to pay to drive a tank.

The Manhattan Project built the city of Oak Ridge in rural Tennessee, where secret facilities produced uranium-235 for the atomic bomb.

By Patrick J. Kiger

The U.S. Air Force showed its might during this unprecedented exercise. But why?

By Cherise Threewitt

Without question, they save lives — but they aren't 100 percent failsafe.

By Jerad W. Alexander

All six countries are in the Americas.

By Dave Roos

The search team used a radar-equipped drone to locate a P-38 from the so-called "Lost Squadron" that crash-landed in Greenland in 1942. But the story doesn't end there.

By Patrick J. Kiger

The ArmaLite AR-15 rifle has become a hot-button issue in the American landscape. Where did the rifle originate and how did it become so controversial?

By Jerad W. Alexander

The Trump administration wants to develop a new generation of low-yield nuclear weapons that could be used without launching an all-out nuclear war.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Exposure to this nerve agent in minuscule amounts is enough to kill several human beings.

By John Donovan

Sand turned to glass at White Sands Missile Range. What do we know today about the remnants of the world's first nuclear blast?

By Mark Mancini

Underwater military bases sound super-cool, but what are the odds they truly exist?

By Diana Brown

Self-defense is a hallmark of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But could self-defense insurance policies embolden a gun owner to shoot?

By John Donovan

HowStuffWorks explains two ways that gun owners are modifying their semi-automatic weapons to fire like automatic ones.