iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The true space warfare specialists in the US military are the Arctic Airborne guys (11th). They are primed for contesting the icy moons of the Saturn and Jovian systems.

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Tired of living through history-making years.

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Iraqi pilots were getting medals from Saddam himself for not wastefully dropping bombs during the Iran-Iraq war (due to Iraqi bomb shortage).

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I don't know if any of us in the Nordics can afford nuclear bombs of any kind given we lack the technical know-how, the brains, the money, the infrastructure and everything else. Also assumes that the Russians would sit and wait for us to finish a crude weapon.

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Me and the boys hunting a wild boar (we have combined pK of 10% against it. Meanwhile, the boar has a pK of 80% against one of us, he has already killed two of our guys and if we don't get it we are all going to starve).

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DutchSpace @dutchspace.eurosky.social · 19/09/2026

So, a bit of a deep dive/thread on the X-37B processing after landing at Vandenberg. This is probably very boring and nerdy, so you have been warned :) Note: this is evidence based, using public sources, I'll indicate when I make educated guesses.

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Finns are known to be a bit reserved and not talkative but when they are on the hiking trail they just open up. You get more Hi/Hellos in a 10 min period of your hike than you did in like an entire year of social encounters.

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Well this hit 100k yesterday and a nice way to celebrate this number was touching 1 km of rock, mud and grass for every 10k views. A nice day hike that was 12 km. Nice views, nice air, nice people, nice animals.

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

"Jump air gap by running a CPU hot and reading the temperature" Do people just not know anything about computers anymore?

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

But I thought 9/11 was good because the US deserved it? Wasn't the stance these guys had that AQ had a point in doing 9/11? But now it is problem that Sharaa is president? Pick a lane.

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Liberal Currents @liberalcurrents.com · 16/09/2026

"Nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence never really left international politics, but they are now returning from the democracies’ mental margins." www.liberalcurrents.com/nuclear-arms...

Nuclear Arms and the New Free World

The free world no longer has the luxury of regarding nuclear deterrence like a snow globe on a shelf.

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

So this is why DTIC hasn't been working on months? It has been bothering so much but this is bleak as hell. DOT&E reports being killed off as well. Total retreat of really useful (journalistic/history/news wise) resources the DoD had. Whats next? Dvids is only available with CAC?

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Janne M. Korhonen @jmkorhonen.fi · 11/09/2026

Saw a movie about one of those farcical-but-serious episodes of Finnish history: the kidnapping of (former) president K. J. Ståhlberg and his wife Ester, who wouldn't be left behind, by hapless far-right goons. The movie was very much "inspired by a true story," so here's my version. A THREAD:

A black and white photograph of president Ståhlberg of Finland and his wife, listening to an old guy speaking outside.

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The reception of this video has sort of exceeded my expectations by a very wide margin. Wanted to take a little bit of time thanking everyone here, especially friends and Patreons for their continued support and in helping me make this video a reality. Lastly, a big thank you to all of my followers!

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Too busy watching the Sweden general election like a hawk to care wtf going on in Texas. The Andersson bloc has to make it in order for me to maintain my sanity on Nordic politics.

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Well, it is finally done: A video going over ballistic missile defenses in a simple language: youtu.be/w3-DAxr1C0U about a year's worth of time/effort spent on it and even longer in terms of research!

youtu.be

Ballistic Missile Defense: An Overview

YouTube video by Vermillion

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I have a solution: We have €200B in frozen Russian assets. These recent hybrid attacks meet the threshold for taking some of that money. One hybrid attack? 10B to Ukraine, another drone incursion? 20B to Ukraine, overflight in the Baltic countries? 40B to Ukraine. The ball is in their court.

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

You just have to come to terms with it, digest it, and work from this starting point to try and make change happen. The worst part about all of this is that they are willing to take sledgehammers to the foundations of democracy just so they can be more racist.

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

SPY-1D (V) and the guy he tells you not to worry about (SPY-6). I think this should have about 4k element slots, but i didn't stop to count. The dimensions are for the array face populated by the elements.

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Gerald C Brown @geraldcbrown.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

So, now that I'm back in the open for a while I've got a long list of articles to write, curious if there's any interest that may be worth prioritizing writing. - The PLAs 2027 goals, what they actually are - What Chinese nuclear strategy is moving to and its objectives

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

We are going to be eating good. Getting tired of reading CSIS.

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Pulling this out to show the Commander why that lone INDOPACOM early PAC-2 battery using rounds smuggled from CENTCOM (NK style) is not making it against those incoming DF-26s.

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Managing to weaken unions, cut social welfare/health/education/housing spending, increase VAT, cut taxes for the ultra rich, sink the country into a recession and crazy unemployment, and cut corporate taxes in less than 4 years is truly bonkers.

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Improve the missile density of your battery with this one simple trick!

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Battle Order @battleorder.org · 29/08/2026

youtu.be/t894Qd8pjo0 New variety episode about 3 somewhat silly looking military vehicles. Two were 8x8s, 2 were from World War II, 2 were amphibious, and 1 was 2 stories tall

youtu.be

3 Silly Military Vehicles I Love

YouTube video by Battle Order

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

How is being forced to accept policy against your will backed by the threat of assimilation by force a good policy? Finland chose Finlandization because it was the only path forward to survive and guarantee its sovereignty (even with many strings attached).

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

"What do you mean the trip wire forces would die early?"

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

The things a properly equipped Ukrainian force would have done to this convoy is just something.... In the early days, the Russians kept doing a million of these things that a well equipped Ukraine would have absolutely punished so heavily.

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

If Ukraine was equipped with a non-insignificant number of our "out-dated" weapons either prior to the full-scale invasion or immediately after, it would not be struggling as much it is doing now. Ukraine is forced to innovate the hell out of its problems because of necessity.

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DutchSpace @dutchspace.eurosky.social · 22/08/2026

Meanwhile, X-37B OTV-8 has been up there for 1 year today... #OTV8 #X37B

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

This guy is supposed to be the smartest navalist out there. Nimitz production interval was what it was because the $$ was there to commit to the program. The current budget realities are different, and the brain dead proposal for steam-cat means this interval would get worse.

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Cruiser Destroyer & Typhon Frigate Enthusiast @scb250.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Relevant sections from "Flight Deck Design of the Next Generation Aircraft Carrier", by W. Baker, S. D. Brennan and M. Husni, Naval Engineers Journal, May 2000. This concerns the CVNX ECBL design which preceded Ford, but explains why the location of the island is important.

ISLAND ARRANGEMENT

Island location is critical to the ship's ability to generate sorties and to take advantage of the airwing capabilities to the fullest extent. Nimitz class carriers have islands on the starboard side, slightly aft of midships. This arrangement creates a narrow "choke point" on the Flight Deck between the island and the recovery area, effectively blocking transit of aircraft fore and aft during recovery operations. This choke point forces all the recovered aircraft to be initially spotted on the forward half of the Flight Deck. During recovery, there is insufficient area forward of the island to arrange the aircraft in a manner so they can be serviced and started without obstructing both bow catapults. The lack of space forces several of the recovered aircraft to be respotted after the recovery is complete. Navy studies have indicated that eliminating choke points on the Flight Deck is an essential element in increasing sortie generation for a given airwing.

Navy studies have indicated that eliminating choke points on the Flight Deck is an essential element in increasing sortie generation for a given airwing.

There are several key drivers in the CVNX island placement: field of view, turbulence effects, aircraft movement considerations, weight and stability, electrical emissions, and environmental (thermal and acoustic impact) concerns. An adequate line of sight must be maintained from the bridge for command purposes, from primary flight control for aviation operations, and from the various radar and communications sensors for proper functioning. Turbulence from the island becomes a factor when the combined airwake from the island and the exposed hullform join to form a "burble" that approaching aircraft must pass through. The island must be placed far enough away from the launch and recovery areas to not interfere with aircraft movement during recovery and turnaround of aircraft. Finally, the island must be located and designed to protect its occupants from the acoustic and thermal effects of aircraft exhaust.

In the CVNX program, four general island configurations were considered: a fully aft island, multiple island locations, a forward island, and a traditional midship island. From an aircraft handling point of view, an aft island placement is the ideal. An aft island's greatest advantage is that it allows the unencumbered flow of aircraft around the Flight Deck. The disadvantages include the significant burble that recovering aircraft must fly through and the poor field of view this location gives the command element and sensors. The multiple island configuration with one forward and one aft eliminates the field of view concerns and provides improvements in survivability, but is much less desirable from the perspective of aircraft spotting and maneuvering.

The CVNX ECBL design places a single island in a relatively forward location. Advantages of this include reduced effects of island induced turbulence, excellent field of view, and acceptable line of sight for sensors. The disadvantages of this placement are a slight impact on aircraft movement and parking and the weight of the additional acoustical treatments and insulation needed to protect an island located close to the catapults.

Figure. 1 Nimitz class and CVNX ECBL Compared

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Mike Black @mikeblack114.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

also the "course changing" thing remains bizarre to me, I dunno who is trying to push this narrative that Iran have MaRVs is some massive unexpected surprise but it's been an open source fact for years

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GOLIKEHELLMACHINE @golikehellmachine.com · 12/08/2026

i know absolutely nothing about weapons and refuse to learn but i just assumed this was like, a fairly normal thing in 2026

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Indeed, it is a fairly normal and common thing today. So normal and widespread that the US anticipated 30 yrs ago that "course changing" missiles would proliferate so all current PATRIOT variants have been tested against them using the US' own "course changing missile" (the original MaRV)

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Giled Pallaeon @giledpallaeon.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Why Doesn’t China Have Overseas* Imperial Misadventures? The short answer is that they can’t, **yet**. Geography is the limiting factor they are building to overcome. *China is an empire already, ask Tibet, the Uighurs, and the Cantonese to name but the obvious ones.

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

This and because the "catch" part of BMD is supposed to give you breathing room to do stuff that will result in BMD no longer being necessary. How does the US of 1980s and 1990s have a better grasp of BMD than both Biden and Trump Admins.

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

The annoying and sad thing about this war is that with proper equipment that we in the West have and can afford to part with—Ukraine could deny airspace to Russian fighters over occupied territories too. Our response to this conflict shows we don't seem to learn much from history.

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

So this is the closest we Europeans are ever getting to the Superbowl experience. I think this world cup was very fun.

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Secretary of Defense Rock @sodrock.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Very excited to tell their stories! buymeacoffee.com/Secretaryofdefenserock

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Secretary of Defense Rock @sodrock.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

I'm getting an advance, and the majority of the source material is digitized, so I will not have to slave away in the National Archives too much (I hope). But I will have to take a trip at some point. I'm also hoping to cover some research tool costs as well, so any help would be much appreciated!

buymeacoffee.com

Secretary of Defense Rock is Writing book on American Naval Aviators in World War II in the Pacific

TBD

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Secretary of Defense Rock @sodrock.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Very excited to embark on this project! Without getting too far into the weeds just yet, it's going to be a history of American naval aviation in the Pacific (hence all the posting lately) during World War II from 1943 to 1945, told through the pilots and squadrons who flew off the carriers!

secretaryrofdefenserock.substack.com

I'm Writing a Book!

What that means for the newsletter going forward and how you can help!

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Rocky Flats Chimney Sweep 🇺🇸 @midlifesuezcrisis.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

I mean cards on the table my view is that it would have been in US interests to drone strike Ben-Gvir and numerous members of the Knesset, forget sanctions. But people should pursue as much clarity about the issues as they can get

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

This is a satellite image I commissioned in 2024. It shows more (7) modern destroyers under construction at Bath Iron Works (one of the smaller US military yards) than any single Korean shipyard has ever built.

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Zach @thrustwr.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

I dislike the Cheese boy's takes as much the rest of you but this is simply not true. There are more surface ships under construction at Bath and Ingalls today than the South Korean Navy has bought in the last 15 years. We shit on the Cheese because he is a realist who debases himself for Trump.

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