• CHINA WATCHDeveloping Effective Deterrence—from the War Fighters’ Perspective

    By Nishank Motwani

    The state of deterrence against China in the Indo-Pacific is constantly adapting to the evolving threat Beijing poses to the United States and its allies on multiple fronts. But  a growing number of US military service members warn that deterrence is unravelling. Perspectives from individuals actively engaged in deterrence operations can help shape effective policy.

  • UKRAINE WARHungary's Orban Says Trump's Plan to End Ukraine War Is to Cut Funding

    Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, after a private meeting in the United States with Donald Trump, said the former president has “quite detailed plans” about how to end Russia’s war against Ukraine and won’t give Kyiv any further funding to hasten an end to the conflict. Orban, whose government has refused to send weapons to Kyiv while maintaining ties with Moscow, said after his meeting with Trump that “it is obvious that Ukraine on its own cannot stand on its feet.”

  • ARMS TRADEEuropean Arms Imports Nearly Double, U.S. and French Exports Rise, and Russian Exports Fall Sharply

    States in Europe almost doubled their imports of major arms (+94 per cent) between 2014–18 and 2019–23. The United States increased its arms exports by 17 per cent between 2014–18 and 2019–23, while Russia’s arms exports halved. Russia was for the first time the third largest arms exporter, falling just behind France.

  • DRONESTesting Cutting-Edge Counter-Drone Technology

    Drones have many positive applications, bad actors can use them for nefarious purposes. Two recent field demonstrations brought government, academia, and industry together to evaluate innovative counter-unmanned aircraft systems.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSChina Shows How Western Governments Should Stockpile Minerals

    By Gregory D. Wischer

    The US, Australia and partner countries should take a page from China’s stockpiling playbook. They should build up stockpiles of critical minerals, managing inventories to optimize prices for domestic mineral producers and consumers and to guard against decreased supply and increased demand in wartime.

  • ENERGY WEAPONSHigh-Energy Laser Weapons: How They Work and What They Are Used For

    By Iain Boyd

    Laser weapons have been a staple of science fiction since long before lasers were even invented. More recently, they have also featured prominently in some conspiracy theories. Both types of fiction highlight the need to understand how laser weapons actually work and what they are used for.

  • CLIMATE CHANGE & SECURITYClimate Change Poses Serious National Security Threat

    After years of debate, there is growing awareness within the Department of Defense and the U.S. government more broadly that climate change poses a serious national security threat. Some efforts to cope with this challenge are already underway.

  • IRAQ WARA Careful Rethinking of the Iraq War

    By Peter Dizikes

    A new book details military operations and political dynamics in Iraq, shedding new light on the challenges of state-building. “The United States wanted to build a new Iraqi state, but what we did was create a situation where multiple and large Shia militia make deals with each other,” says the author, Roger Petersen.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSSouth Korea’s Demand for Critical Minerals

    By Bill Paterson

    Korea’s geostrategic situation feeds a sense of strategic and economic insecurity—it is close to an assertive China prepared to demonstrate displeasure by imposing costly economic coercion measures, while the ever-present threat from North Korea drives the south’s priorities for military resilience, including a hi-tech military industry.

  • LOW-LEVEL BLASTS’ RISKSLow-Level Blasts from Heavy Weapons Can Cause Traumatic Brain Injury − Two Engineers Explain the Physics of Invisible Cell Death

    By Alice Lux Fawzi and Christian Franck

    When the force of a blast shoots a round out of a large-caliber rifle, howitzer or M1 Abrams tank gun, the teams of people operating these weapons are exposed to low-level blasts that can cause traumatic brain injuries. Low-level blasts do not cause visible trauma, yet, these blasts can cause physical changes in the brain that lead to a host of neuropsychiatric symptoms.

  • MARITIME SECURITYCharting the Future of Maritime Security

    The United States is a maritime nation surrounded by 95,000 miles of shoreline. Changes in economics, geopolitics, society, demography, or other factors, pose varied and evolving threats to the country’s maritime space – its waterways, ports of entry, and coastline borders.

  • SATELLITE SECURITYCybersecurity for Satellites Is a Growing challenge, as Threats to Space-Based Infrastructure Grow

    By Sylvester Kaczmarek

    In today’s interconnected world, space technology forms the backbone of our global communication, navigation and security systems. As our dependency on these celestial guardians escalates, so too does their allure to adversaries who may seek to compromise their functionality through cyber means.

  • THE IRAN CHALLENGEIran's 'Axis of Resistance': Different Groups, Same Goals

    By Kian Sharifi

    Iran’s so-called axis of resistance is a loose network of proxies, Tehran-backed militant groups, and an allied state actor. The network is a key element of Tehran’s strategy of deterrence against perceived threats from the United States, regional rivals, and primarily Israel.

  • SPACE WEAPONSIf Russia Is Developing Some Kind of Space-Based Weapon, Putin May Never Get to Use It. Here’s Why.

    By Tanner Stening

    Although it’s unclear exactly what the feared Russian capability is, the country may be too crippled by the war in Ukraine to ever test such a weapon, says an expert who focuses on space diplomacy.

  • DRONES & WARCult of the Drone: At the 2-Year Mark, UAVs Have Changed the Face of War in Ukraine – but Not Outcomes

    By Paul Lushenko

    Unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, have been central to the war in Ukraine. Some analysts claim that drones have reshaped war, yielding not just tactical-level effects, but shaping operational and strategic outcomes as well. Mounting evidence, however, suggests that drones have delivered some tactical and operational successes for both Ukraine and Russia. Yet they are strategically ineffective.