Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

Imagine having to move a main battle tank, a helicopter, dozens of troops, and tons of supplies from one continent to another, without putting any of it on a ship. That is where the world’s largest military transport aircraft earn their keep.These enormous airlifters are less about looking impressive on a flight line and more about solving a brutal logistics problem: how do you move a small piece of an army, quickly, across thousands of kilometers?Some can swallow armored vehicles through giant cargo doors. Others are built to land on rough airfields where a conventional airliner would never dare to…

For eight years I helped decide whether American counter-terrorism money was working.As a programs advisor in the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism from 2018 to 2025, I oversaw about 20 projects in East Africa worth roughly $80 million a year. None of that money moved without a performance monitoring plan. We established baselines before work started and agreed on indicators in advance. When a project underperformed, or the reporting came late, we withheld funding. Reporting tracked activities against those metrics across the life of the program. Independent evaluations validated what implementers said they had done.That machinery was not the bureau’s…

On the first night of the evacuation of Kabul, Aug. 15, 2021, a young mother found me in the crowd at Hamid Karzai International Airport. She had marked me, correctly, as someone who spoke her language. By the end of the night, she was pressing the body of her dead child into my chest and telling me, “You did this.” I have spent five years with that sentence.In a way, she was wrong about me. I had done nothing to her son. But the decisions that delivered her to that night were made an ocean away, and their consequences needed…

Welcome to Midnight Mania!Let’s start the night off by taking a look back over the three biggest stories of Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026.Can Jake Paul find a way to make a version of The Ultimate Fighter that is not incredibly stale? UFC hasn’t managed that feat in years.Lots of drama over at Tapology between fake names and AI outcomes.Manon Fiorot is always jacked, but she’s EXTRA JACKED ahead of her (title eliminator?) bout versus Alexa Grasso at Noche UFC 4.Nothing on social media is real, but this would be cool …Shamil Gaziev shoots his shot. It’ll never happen, but like…

The Navy may be making some investments in unmanned vessels, but it needs to get a lot more ruthless to bring the fleet into the future, a top leader of the Pentagon’s Silicon Valley-based Defense Innovation Unit said Wednesday.Testifying before the National Commission on the Future of the Navy Wednesday, DIU’s principal deputy director and chief commercial officer, Matthew Shortal, said dollars are not following rhetoric when it comes to building out the unmanned fleet.“I’ve seen reports that it’s 96% manned, 4% unmanned,” Shortal said. “My personal view is that it’s not even close, and we need to move quicker.”He…

FirstSpear Friday Focus: Streetwalker Not every bag needs to look like a kit bag to perform like one. The FirstSpear STREETWALKER is constructed from lightweight ripstop and 500D Cordura nylon and built for professionals who move between the range, the gym, travel, and daily life without changing bags. At 12″ x 13″ x 22″, it carries enough for a full kit loadout or an overnight trip, while a Tubes™ quick-release shoulder strap and a laser-fused 6/12™ accessory panel bring FirstSpear’s modular platform technology to a bag built for everyday use. Features: LASER-FUSED 6/12™ ACCESSORY PANEL — INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR ATTACHMENT…

Egyptian Rafales refuel for the first time from a PLAAF YY-20 tanker. (Egyptian MoD)China’s defence industrial penetration into Africa may signal the end of long-term dependence on Russian aerospace products, driven by increased sanctions and production pressures linked to its conflict with Ukraine. This was clearly shown at the recent El Alamein International Airshow in Egypt, which marked the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Egypt.  The People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) displayed a KJ-500 airborne early warning (AEW&C) aircraft, a Xian YY-20 air-to-air tanker, a Chengdu J-16 and a Z-20 maritime helicopter at the Airshow. Most…

Paulo Costa has announced that he’s signing with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Talent Agency. Costa is now the third UFC fighter to sign with Matchroom Talent Agency, alongside heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall and former UFC 170-pound title challenger Ian Machado Garry. Costa revealed the news during a sit-down with Ariel Helwani. He said: “Yes man, that was a great, great meeting with Eddie Hearn. He is a great guy. I’m so excited. I think we’re gonna do great things together. Great things… The contract is for him to be my manager and handle my sponsorships. I have too much respect for…

A bigger, stronger back does more than improve how you look in a T shirt. It helps you produce force in sport, control your shoulders during pressing, maintain better posture under load, and build the strength needed for everything from deadlifts to climbing. Pull ups and rows are two of the most useful back exercises, but they are not interchangeable. Pull ups use a vertical pulling pattern, where your arms move down toward your sides. Rows use a horizontal pulling pattern, where your upper arms move behind your torso. Both train the latissimus dorsi, upper back, biceps, forearms, and muscles…

In August, government investigators subjected roughly 50 military officers and civilian employees on the Joint Staff to polygraph tests as part of an inquiry into press leaks about the Iran war and depleted U.S. munitions, according to The New York Times. The newspaper described the scope of the investigation as unprecedented in the modern military.This is not the first time the Trump administration has used polygraphs in this way; in 2025, it directed that a wave of tests be administered across the executive branch to expose minor leaks.As someone who has taken roughly a dozen polygraphs during my 27-year career with the CIA, I am wary of…