Video Report Above: Navy Flight III Destroyer Radar Kills Enemy Drones and Missiles
By Michael Peck,The National Interest
“Ultima ratio regum”—”the last argument of kings,”—was the inscription that Louis XIV engraved on his cannon. And throughout history, it is the mouths of the big guns that have settled many a dispute between states.
Which cannons are best? The short answer is that the best cannon is the one that isn’t pointed at you. But here are five that have had more profound influence than others:
Proud Constantinople’s walls had kept invaders at bay for centuries. For attackers armed with swords and arrows, storming the Byzantine capital’s high, thin walls was nearly impossible. Though the Byzantine Empire was only a shadow of its former glory, there was no reason to expect defeat when the Ottoman Turks surrounded the city for yet another siege in 1453.
But this time, the Ottomans had a secret weapon: a newfangled cannon brought to them by a Hungarian Christian named Orman. Orman had first offered his cannon to the Byzantines, who refused to meet his price. How penny-wise and pound-foolish that decision was became evident when Orman’s cannon started knocking down Constantinople’s walls.
