by Heath Hansen “I sent the grids; we’ll be heading out by noon on Thursday,” Tim Foley informs me over the phone, before I hit the road. Foley is a grizzled former paratrooper of the 82nd Airborne Division, and leader of the volunteer group Arizona Border Recon (AZBR). For more than a …
Read More »The Downing of EASY 40: A Soldier Remembers
by Fred A. Ganous, SGM, USA (Ret) Our deployment in Iraq from 2006 to 2007 was a rollercoaster of emotions, marked by both triumphs and tragedies. The crash of “EASY 40” still stands as one of the darkest days of our deployment. This UH-60 Blackhawk, bearing tail number 84-23984, was …
Read More »Drug Mules and Submarines: An Order They Can’t Refuse
Just making contact with a submarine carries an extra measure of danger for a smuggler. by Susan Katz Keating Smugglers for the Chapitos branch of the Sinaloa Cartel balk when ordered to pull “submarine duty” along the group’s fentanyl trafficking routes, a security official told Soldier of Fortune. “They hate …
Read More »Beyond the Crash: Roswell, the Nuclear Triangle, and UFO Questions That Remain Unanswered
by Martin Kufus Decades after it happened, the incident has wide name recognition. To some, “Roswell” suggests a crashed spaceship and a government conspiracy. To others, it’s a hoax for tourists and the gullible. Myth or reality, the “Roswell Incident” fell within a bigger picture. The Nuclear Triangle By the …
Read More »Hedgehog Armor: The Spiked Shield to Stop Drones From Turning Tanks Into Fireballs
by A.R. Fomenko VIENNA BUREAU – On the battlefields of Ukraine, steel beasts now crawl under strange new hides – bristling, porcupine-like shells known as “hedgehog armor.” It’s the latest mutation born from drone-saturated warfare, where a cheap quadcopter can gut a million-dollar tank before the crew even knows it’s coming. …
Read More »WATCH: ‘We Always Try to Trick the Enemy, Like Playing Chess,’ Russian Soldier Says
Watch this Russian soldier with the call sign ‘Kasper’ talking in Russian about UAV warfare. “We always try to trick, it’s like playing chess,” he says. “Everyone is trying to outsmart in order to hit the enemy.” The soldier belongs to Russia’s 34th Separate Guards Motorised Rifle Brigade (Unmanned Systems …
Read More »Threatening Skies: Countering the Drone Swarm Apocalypse
by Austin Lee Picture this: A swarm of cheap drones, hundreds strong, blotting out the Texas sun like a biblical plague of locusts. Each carries enough explosive to ruin your day, buzzing low over a sleepy border town. No radar pings, no warning; just chaos. This isn’t a Hollywood blockbuster. …
Read More »Soldier of Fortune Sits Down with Dutch Badass Marco Kroon
by Heath HansenIt’s a gray, cold, and windy autumn day as I arrive and step out of my vehicle. The snow is beginning to stick to the North Brabant earth under my feet as I approach the house. A man opens the door, shakes my hand, and welcomes me into …
Read More »They Called Us Mercenaries, Gunslingers, and Worse: A Contractor’s Story
by Mikial The author tells Soldier of Fortune: “All of my work was with Department of Defense contractors. We never considered ourselves mercenaries although we were called mercenaries, gunslingers, and worse at times. It was difficult and dangerous work and also sometimes boring. We often lived rough in camps and …
Read More »WATCH: US Forces Capture Oil Tanker Off Coast of Venezuela
The United States seized a sanctioned Venezuelan oil tanker off the country’s coast, President Donald Trump said Wednesday. “We’ve just taken control of a tanker off Venezuela – huge, the largest one ever – and there are other developments unfolding,” said Trump. Watch the vessel being seized, below. Attorney General …
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