Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

We Need a Plan-B for the Battleship

I have not come to praise the new battleship, but to propose an option to bury it if needed

February 4, 2026 at 2:16 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

Old and Busted: Air Supremacy. New Hotness: Orbital Supremacy.

Hegseth at Cape Canaveral

February 3, 2026 at 3:38 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

So, How Bad do You Really Want a Battleship?

...opportunity cost or you get what you pay for?

February 2, 2026 at 2:36 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

the secrets we keep

January 30, 2026 at 2:19 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

...not just for submarines

Tenders...MOAR Tenders

January 29, 2026 at 2:34 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

So, We Have a National Defense Strategy

...no one is hiding anything. just read it...

January 28, 2026 at 1:20 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

China's Demographic Window to Action is Closing

...the future belongs to those who show up...

January 26, 2026 at 10:11 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

making the run

January 23, 2026 at 3:25 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

From Unicorns to Warhorses

a solution to a well-appreciated problem?

January 22, 2026 at 5:45 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

Plan Salamander: Operationalized at Wrocław Airport

does this look like the U.S. is abandoning Europe?

January 21, 2026 at 2:45 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

behind the sparkling distractions, things are moving

Hegseth at Starbase

January 20, 2026 at 2:32 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

...the best of his generation...

January 16, 2026 at 2:52 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

Diversity Thursday

it was just yesterday...

January 15, 2026 at 2:11 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

Palantir's Mike Gallagher and Matt Babin on AI & Shipbuilding Integration--on Midrats

...faster, better, smoother

January 12, 2026 at 2:34 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

...a story that should be told, but can't be..

January 9, 2026 at 2:35 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

The Unfortunate Greenland Kerfuffle

...we need a new approach...

January 6, 2026 at 10:31 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

The Maduro Raid: Early Reports & Cautions

great nations can just do things

January 5, 2026 at 3:17 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

...the charge of SS BEAVERFORD

January 2, 2026 at 2:33 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

A New Year, a "New" Weapon, & an Old Tale

...like I said, the future is not swarms of small drones...

Episode 741: The Lessons of Pearl Harbor at 84, with John Keuhn

January 1, 2026 at 8:41 PM

Reposted by CDR Salamander

John T Kuehn

@trost1864.bsky.social

just in case you missed it...I am in rare form on this one...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

Podcast Episode · Midrats · 12/22/2025 · 1h 8m

podcasts.apple.com

December 29, 2025 at 4:29 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

Who is Planning for War, and Who is Preparing for the Next POM Cycle?

the numbers don't spin...and happy New Year to all

December 31, 2025 at 2:34 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

Understanding Japan's Military Expansion

...the 20th century's yesterday...you can care all you want...everybody does, yeah, that's okay

China Develops World's Oldest Warship

December 30, 2025 at 4:51 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

Interesting? Yes.

Worthy of worry? No.

Requires action on our part? Overdue. open.substack.com/pub/cdrsalam...

...take a powder everyone...and instead focus on what we're not doing

December 29, 2025 at 5:38 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

The People’s Republic of China v. the U.S.A. In the islands of the Southwest Pacific, as shown through interpretive dance.

open.substack.com/pub/cdrsalam...

you never have enough escorts

December 26, 2025 at 2:47 PM

CDR Salamander

@cdrsalamander.bsky.social

So, we have a USS Defiant (BBG-1)

This was going to be a dual post about last Friday’s frigate announcement and the battleship announcement, but I decided that would be a bit too much and will split it in two.