Topic: Military history/Military science, technology, and theory (Page 2)
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π Demon Core
The demon core was a spherical 6.2-kilogram (14Β lb) subcritical mass of plutonium 89 millimetres (3.5Β in) in diameter, that was involved in two criticality accidents, on August 21, 1945 and May 21, 1946. The core was intended for use in a third nuclear weapon, but remained in use for testing after Japan's surrender. It was designed with a small safety margin to ensure a successful explosion of the bomb. The device briefly went supercritical when it was accidentally placed in supercritical configurations during two separate experiments intended to guarantee the core was indeed close to the critical point. The incidents happened at the Los Alamos Laboratory in 1945 and 1946, both resulting in the acute radiation poisoning and subsequent deaths of scientists: Harry Daghlian and Louis Slotin. After these incidents the spherical plutonium core was referred to as the "demon core".
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- "Demon Core" | 2019-06-17 | 153 Upvotes 55 Comments
- "The Demon Core" | 2012-10-07 | 20 Upvotes 1 Comments
π NOBUS (Nobody but Us)
NOBUS ("nobody but us") are security vulnerabilities which the United States National Security Agency (NSA) believes that only it can exploit. As such, NSA sometimes chooses to leave such vulnerabilities open if NSA finds them, in order to exploit them against NSA's targets. More broadly, it refers to the notion that some signals intelligence capabilities are so powerful or otherwise inaccessible that only the NSA will be able to deploy them, though recent analyses suggest that this advantage may be under stress.
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- "NOBUS (Nobody but Us)" | 2020-01-15 | 184 Upvotes 55 Comments
π Bastion Fort
A bastion fort or trace italienne (a phrase improperly derived from French, literally meaning Italian outline), is a fortification in a style that evolved during the early modern period of gunpowder when the cannon came to dominate the battlefield. It was first seen in the mid-15th century in Italy. Some types, especially when combined with ravelins and other outworks, resembled the related star fort of the same era.
The design of the fort is normally a polygon with bastions at the corners of the walls. These outcroppings eliminated protected blind spots, called "dead zones", and allowed fire along the curtain from positions protected from direct fire. Many bastion forts also feature cavaliers, which are raised secondary structures based entirely inside the primary structure.
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- "Bastion Fort" | 2024-03-14 | 21 Upvotes 7 Comments
- "Bastion Fort" | 2020-09-12 | 76 Upvotes 49 Comments
- "Bastion Fort" | 2019-02-02 | 60 Upvotes 20 Comments
π Greenland Crisis
Since 2025, the second Donald Trump administration of the United States has sought to annex Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark (itself in the European Union), triggering an ongoing international diplomatic crisis. This escalated in early 2026 after Trump refused to rule out the use of military force to annex Greenland and threatened a 25% import tax on European Union (EU) goods unless Denmark ceded Greenland. Trump's statements sparked a confrontation with Denmark and the EU (supported by several other NATO members), reigniting earlier concerns of a USβEU trade war. On 21 January, Trump reversed his position at the 2026 Davos conference, pledging not to use force or tariffs to annex Greenland.
Trump had unsuccessfully tried to purchase Greenland during his first presidency. After his 2024 re-election, in January 2026, he said "it may be a choice" whether to preserve NATO or seize Greenland and that he "no longer [felt] an obligation to think purely of Peace" after not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. A report by the Danish Defence Intelligence Service mentioned the United States (US) as a potential threat to national security for the first time in its history, and Danish officials raised concerns about reports that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had assigned agents to spy on Greenland.
The Greenlandic and Danish prime ministers rejected any US takeover, saying they would defend Greenland in the event of an attack. Both NATO and EU members would be obliged to assist Denmark in the event of an attack. Denmark and eight NATO allies deployed forces to defend the territory. In response, Trump threatened a trade war against the EU, leading European politicians to suspend a proposed EUβUS trade agreement and consider placing sanctions on the US.
Trump's threats led to large-scale protests in both Greenland and Denmark. A YouGov poll found only 8% of Americans supported an invasion of Greenland, with 73% opposed. Trump's actions faced heavy opposition in Congress from both major parties, with Republican speaker of the House Mike Johnson describing Trump's threats as "completely inappropriate" and a bipartisan congressional delegation traveling to Copenhagen to support DenmarkβUS relations. The crisis was described as one of the most erratic episodes involving a US president, prompting scrutiny of Trump's age and fitness for office.
On 21 January, Trump reversed course, first ruling out military force and then abandoning tariff threats after talks with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte reached what Trump called a "framework of a future deal". Greenland and Denmark ruled out any deal altering the sovereignty of Greenland and Denmark, with Trump's comments referring to pre-existing commitments from a 1951 USβDenmark treaty.
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- "Greenland Crisis" | 2026-01-19 | 129 Upvotes 90 Comments
π Project A119
Project A119, also known as A Study of Lunar Research Flights, was a top-secret plan developed in 1958 by the United States Air Force. The aim of the project was to detonate a nuclear bomb on the Moon, which would help in answering some of the mysteries in planetary astronomy and astrogeology. If the explosive device detonated on the surface, not in a lunar crater, the flash of explosive light would have been faintly visible to people on Earth with their naked eye, a show of force resulting in a possible boosting of domestic morale in the capabilities of the United States, a boost that was needed after the Soviet Union took an early lead in the Space Race and was also working on a similar project.
The project was never carried out, being cancelled primarily out of a fear of a negative public reaction, with the potential militarization of space that it would also have signified, and because a Moon landing would undoubtedly be a more popular achievement in the eyes of the American and international public alike. A similar project by the Soviet Union also never came to fruition.
The existence of the US project was revealed in 2000 by a former executive at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Leonard Reiffel, who led the project in 1958. A young Carl Sagan was part of the team responsible for predicting the effects of a nuclear explosion in vacuum and low gravity and in evaluating the scientific value of the project. The project documents remained secret for nearly 45 years, and despite Reiffel's revelations, the United States government has never officially recognized its involvement in the study.
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- "Project A119" | 2021-09-19 | 13 Upvotes 1 Comments
- "Project A119" | 2018-12-11 | 150 Upvotes 49 Comments
π OODA Loop
The OODA loop is the cycle observeβorientβdecideβact, developed by military strategist and United States Air Force Colonel John Boyd. Boyd applied the concept to the combat operations process, often at the operational level during military campaigns. It is now also often applied to understand commercial operations and learning processes. The approach explains how agility can overcome raw power in dealing with human opponents. It is especially applicable to cyber security and cyberwarfare.
The OODA loop has become an important concept in litigation, business, law enforcement, management education, and military strategy. According to Boyd, decision-making occurs in a recurring cycle of observeβorientβdecideβact. An entity (whether an individual or an organization) that can process this cycle quickly, observing and reacting to unfolding events more rapidly than an opponent, can thereby "get inside" the opponent's decision cycle and gain the advantage.
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- "OODA Loop" | 2023-02-21 | 155 Upvotes 63 Comments
π The ADE 651 is a fake bomb detector, sold for up to US$60k each
The ADE 651 is a fake bomb detector produced by the British company Advanced Tactical Security & Communications Ltd (ATSC). Its manufacturer claimed it could detect bombs, guns, ammunition, and more from kilometers away. However, it was a scam, and the device was little more than a dowsing rod. The device was sold for up to US$60,000 each, despite costing almost nothing to produce. It was widely used in the Middle East, and may have led to numerous deadly bombings in Iraq due to its inability to detect explosives. Its inventor, James McCormick, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2013 for fraud.
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- "The ADE 651 is a fake bomb detector, sold for up to US$60k each" | 2021-09-08 | 127 Upvotes 85 Comments
π Great Stirrup Controversy
The Great Stirrup Controversy is the academic debate about the Stirrup Thesis, the theory that feudalism in Europe developed largely as a result of the introduction of the stirrup to cavalry in the 8th century CE. It relates to the hypothesis suggested by Lynn Townsend White Jr. in his 1962 book, Medieval Technology and Social Change. White believed that the stirrup enabled heavy cavalry and shock combat, which in turn prompted the Carolingian dynasty of the 8th and 9th centuries to organize its territory into a vassalage system, rewarding mounted warriors with land grants for their service. White's book has proved very influential, but others have accused him of speculation, oversimplification, and ignoring contradictory evidence on the subject. Scholars have debated whether the stirrup actually provided the impetus for this social change, or whether the rise of heavy cavalry resulted from political changes in Medieval Europe.
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- "Great Stirrup Controversy" | 2022-01-22 | 40 Upvotes 34 Comments
- "Great Stirrup Controversy" | 2019-02-16 | 58 Upvotes 16 Comments
- "The Great Stirrup Controversy" | 2016-12-21 | 44 Upvotes 13 Comments
π List of military tactics
This page contains a list of military tactics.
The meaning of the phrase is context sensitive, and has varied over time, like the difference between "strategy" and "tactics".
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- "List of military tactics" | 2019-08-23 | 123 Upvotes 81 Comments
π Pykrete
Pykrete is a frozen ice alloy , originally made of approximately 14 percent sawdust or some other form of wood pulp (such as paper) and 86 percent ice by weight (6 to 1 by weight). During World War II, Geoffrey Pyke proposed it as a candidate material for a supersized aircraft carrier for the British Royal Navy. Pykrete features unusual properties, including a relatively slow melting rate due to its low thermal conductivity, as well as a vastly improved strength and toughness compared to ordinary ice. These physical properties can make the material comparable to concrete, as long as the material is kept frozen.
Pykrete is slightly more difficult to form than concrete, as it expands during the freezing process. However, it can be repaired and maintained using seawater as a raw material. The mixture can be moulded into any shape and frozen, and it will be tough and durable, as long as it is kept at or below freezing temperature. Resistance to gradual creep or sagging is improved by lowering the temperature further, to β15Β Β°C (5Β Β°F).
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- "Pykrete" | 2015-07-07 | 114 Upvotes 41 Comments