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Bill Sweetman is an aerospace and defense journalist specializing in the development and use of high-tech weapons, He is senior international defense editor of Aviation Week & Space Technology.

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Get Ready: Laser Weapons Are Almost Here

Use The Force

The development of small, cheap lasers means that the era of real-life ray guns may be finally at hand.

Bill Sweetman | Published Apr 13, 2015

Marines’ Stealth Jump Jet Fantasy

Flight of Fancy

USMC generals say they absolutely have to have their mega-expensive F-35B. But their idea on how to use it is problematic—at best.

Bill Sweetman | Published Mar 17, 2015

Pentagon On Course for Fiscal Disaster

BREAKING THE BANK

The U.S. military is planning on spending megabucks on a slew of new weapons systems—with no obvious way to pay for them.

Bill Sweetman | Published Feb 17, 2015

The Navy Just Sank Its High-Speed Future

Full Stop

The ship was supposed to zoom over the ocean top, 50 percent faster than its competitors. Then things changed.

Bill Sweetman | Published Feb 09, 2015

China Can Track, Kill U.S. Stealth Jets

Now You See ’Em

A gang of advanced missiles and a bleeding-edge radar unveiled at a Chinese air show could mean big trouble for the Pentagon’s best fighters.

Bill Sweetman | Published Dec 02, 2014

Pentagon’s Plan to Keep USA No. 1

Target Acquired

After years of strategic drift, the U.S. military may finally have a path to maintain its edge over countries like China. Will the defense-industrial bureaucrats stand in the way?

Bill Sweetman | Published Nov 03, 2014

60-Year-Old U.S. Bomber Gets a Facelift

Half Life

For decades, the Pentagon has been toying with the idea of upgrading the B-52 bomber, first built in the mid-1950s. Will they finally get around to it, this time?

Bill Sweetman | Published Oct 27, 2014

How the Pentagon Strangles Its Best Jets

Stuck

The U.S. wants to keep its $55 billion bomber program under tight wraps. But that’s hardly ever worked before. And it is almost certain to fail this time.

Bill Sweetman | Published Oct 13, 2014

The Coming New Cold War

Winter Is Coming

The U.S. and Russia are sinking billions into nuclear-capable bombers, missiles, and submarines. Another round of “Mutually Assured Destruction,” anyone?

Bill Sweetman | Published Sep 30, 2014

New US Stealth Bomber: Too Big a Secret?

In the Dark

The secrecy surrounding the new ‘Long Range Strike Bomber’ is more expansive than any aircraft program of its size since the 1980s. What are the generals and contractors hiding?

Bill Sweetman | Published Sep 22, 2014

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