Recent content by Kirkhill

They are also demonstrating that Grotius, Hakluyt and Mahan had it right. With that in mind, aerospace is an extension of the waves. Sea, air and space domains are all functionally equivalent. So, for that matter, I guess, is the electro-magnetic domain.

As I said, you keep shaking until you run out of interest or money. If it is no longer in the US interest to keep shaking then it will stop. In the mean time they have shaken many cups. The alternative to date has been to spend many dollars and lives on a single throw. That makes the game...

I just read a Niall Ferguson substack article where he introduced the phrase "Regime Alteration" Not "Regime Change" I have been thinking in terms of street hustlers (Don King and Donald Trump) and 3-Card Monte. Perhaps the game is the ancient one of dice. You put the dice in a cup. You give...

Kind of interesting. If this is all about Chinese oil from Iran hasn't Trump already achieved something by having the Iranians close the Straits of Hormuz? One of the articles mentions that China has been stockpiling oil to survive a blockade in the event they invade Taiwan. If they are...

If they play by "the rules" If they are willing to take the time to get the job done right.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/842a2c827088943c

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/8cf9994d116b9ef0 For China, an aggressive Iran – like its other allies Russia and North Korea – is a useful vehicle for fixing the Western adversary and presenting so many diversions that the US risks becoming overwhelmed by multiple threats. It is to create, as...

Two books hold pride of place in my library. A Step Farther Out. The Mercenary ..... Both books are written by Jerry Pournelle. A Step Farther Out is a reference book. It is an arithmetic book that applies arithmetic to engineering problems generating political debate. The Mercenary is...

I am wondering about the effect of a precision campaign, verging on an assassination campaign, if, at the end of the effort the local populace sees a constant overhead presence of F15s armed with SDBs and APKWS. They have seen their tormentors targeted. And so have their tormentors. Will they...

I think the whole purpose of all these exercises is to convince the authoritarians of the world that the US can be as ruthless as them and put the fear of God back into them. It started with using large bombs to obliterate drug runners on prime-time. By the time the target shifted to blockade...

"Don't shoot! I'm out of ammo! Just let me reload..."

Organised crime .... “can only be defeated with military power”. At the inaugural ‘Americas Counter Cartel Conference’, Trump officials pledged to continue military operations against Latin American gangs. Since taking office for a second term, Trump has indicated he plans to exert US...

Ecuador pulls out of UN Palestinian committee accused of anti-Israel bias. https://www.jpost.com/international/article-887952 US steps up Drug War in Ecuador https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/4/trump-administration-launches-us-military-operation-in-ecuador .... Venezuela restores...

The JSDF and USMC have got a new acronym Synchronized, Hybrid, Integrated and Enhanced Littoral Defense (SHIELD) system https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/03/05/japan/iii-marine-expeditionary-force-chief-interview/ .... The marines are working together with the SDF to integrate several...

Effects.... “If I just walk back a couple of years, remember what you used to always hear, we’re shooting down a $50,000 drone with a $2 million missile,” he added. “These days, we’re spending a lot of time shooting down $100,000 drones with $10,000” weapons. ..... “Costing approximately...