Brent M. Eastwood

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union sought an edge in undersea warfare by designing the Lira-class (Alfa) submarines with titanium hulls, which allowed for faster, deeper, and quieter operations.

Decommissioned in 1996, the Navy used the USS America aircraft carrier in 2005 for explosive tests to study how carriers withstand battle damage. It did not go as expected for sure.

The U.S. Navy once had an intriguing concept for its very own stealth bomber. The A-12 Avenger could have given the Navy a deep strike capability from an aircraft carrier.

As you could imagine, becoming a Delta operator is a long, difficult process. Selection is open to anyone with a rank of Specialist (E-4) and Captain (E-3). Trainees must be 21-years-old or older. Most people who go to selection are either in the Ranger Regiment or Ranger-Qualified or in Army Special Forces. Many of these operators have numerous back-to-back deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Montana-class super battleships, designed as the largest and most powerful battleships ever for the U.S. Navy, were ultimately canceled in 1943. Featuring twelve 16-inch guns and heavy armor, they could have provided unmatched firepower and morale after Pearl Harbor.

The Soviet Union’s Project-685 K-278 Komsomolets (Mike-class submarine) was an advanced nuclear-powered vessel capable of reaching remarkable depths due to its titanium hull. However, a series of malfunctions led to its tragic sinking in 1989, claiming 42 lives.

The USS America, a storied Cold War aircraft carrier, went down in history after being used in a unique 2005 Navy test to gauge carrier survivability. Instead of being preserved as a museum, the retired carrier withstood four weeks of punishing explosions in a “SinkEx” live-fire exercise.

In June 2010, the U.S. Navy conducted a rare display of strength in response to China’s missile testing, surfacing three Ohio-class SSGNs in strategic locations across the Indo-Pacific.

The Kiev-class hybrid aircraft carriers were the Soviet Union’s attempt to counter U.S. naval dominance during the Cold War. Designed with anti-submarine warfare and limited air capabilities, these vessels combined cruiser and carrier elements.

The FB-22 concept, a bomber variant of the F-22 Raptor, proposed by Air Force Secretary James Roche in the early 2000s, aimed to adapt the Raptor into a stealthy, medium-range bomber.