To design the Navy's new Ford-class aircraft carrier—meant to be the cornerstone of American military sea power over the next hundred years—architects rely on virtual reality to shape 54,000 tons of steel into the world's most powerful warship. Here's how they do it. (Published in the July 2009 issue)

Will America’s enemies be able to sink the Navy’s next-generation aircraft carriers? The answer is debatable, but potentially hostile nations are developing—and exporting—weapons for the task. Here's how to defend carriers from today's weapons. (Published in the July 2009 issue)

There's something satisfying about Fleet Week—that special time when the Navy invades Manhattan. Popular Mechanics kept an eye on the action and checked out the aerial and submarine robots that help Marines do their jobs overseas.

PM reporter Joe Pappalardo, just back from reporting in Afghanistan, answers fundamental questions about what the U.S. and NATO want to accomplish in Afghanistan, and how General David McKiernan was influencing the effort.

PM's Joe Pappalardo is reporting from the frontlines in Afghanistan. In his first report from Bagram Air Base, he looks at the unsung wrench-turners. As fighting erupts, maintenance crews struggle to keep the fleet of choppers—and the war—moving.

PM editor-in-chief James Meigs recently appeared on Glenn Beck's FOX news program to debunk conspiracy theories regarding supposed "concentration camps" being built by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Air National Guard 174th Fighter Wing will be flying training missions over the desert outside Nellis Air Force Base in a high-stakes war game. Here are the pilots who train against the deadliest dogfighter in the world.

Tuesday night president Obama made talked big changes in the way the United States develops its weapons. "How do we reform our procurement system so that it keeps America safe and we're not wasting taxpayer dollars?" Here are some answers. (Published in the May 2009 issue)

Much of America's infrastructure is computer-controlled, and therefore subject to hacking. Here is a a look at natural gas pipeline vulnerabilities. (Published in the April 2009 issue)

When the US Special Forces need safe passage along a river, they call on the best-trained boatmen in the world. A PM reporter tags along on a live-fire exercise with the elite gunboat crews of Special Boat Team 22. (Published in the March 2009 issue)

Guerrilla-style warfare is changing America's military, and the Department of Defense wants its troops to adopt tactics once reserved for Special Operations Forces. Experts debate whether the U.S. is ready for irregular warfare.

Soon after President Obama took office, a change was made to the White House Web. The site says that the administration is "seeking a worldwide ban on weapons that interfere with military and commercial satellites."

Military historian Alex Rose, author of American Rifle: A Biography, says that Americans have a special relationship with rifles that represents a way of thinking. PM sat down to discuss America's obsession with rifles.

The Pentagon is scrapping the work that’s been done up until now on its Transformational Satellite program (TSAT) and opening the program to new bids. Fortunately this is not the only sat program the Air Force is working on. (Published in the February 2009 issue)

In the last leg of a diplomatic mission throughout Latin America, a humble group of Russian warships visit Cuba for the first time since the end of the Cold War. Russia's message is multifaceted, as is the audience that this mission is meant to reach.