• UNDERSEA WARFAREWhy the U.S. Will Stay Dominant in Undersea Warfare

    By Paul Dibb and Richard Brabin-Smith

    The United States has been so far ahead in submarine technology and secure underwater operations over the past 50-plus years that its submarines are virtually undetectable by either China or Russia.

  • MILITARY TECHNOLOGYIran’s Neutralized Counterstrike: Israel’s Air Defense Operation Was Effective—Just Not Necessarily Replicable

    By Peter Mitchell

    The immediate outcome of the thwarted Iranian missile attack on Israel is the clear evidence it provides that integrated air and ground air defense systems can provide adequate coverage against saturation attacks—at least under certain conditions. The point is, few other countries will be able to recreate Israel’s air defense successes.

  • MILITARY TECHNOLOGYAssessment of Israeli Strike on Iran near Esfahan

    By David Albright, Sarah Burkhard, Victoria Cheng, Spencer Faragasso, and Mohammadreza Giveh

    The Israeli attack on the S-300 missile defense system deployed around Iran’s nuclear facility in Esfahan demonstrated the capability of Israeli stand-off weapons to target deep inside Iran, evading detection and air defenses, leaving Iran’s nuclear and military facilities more vulnerable to attack.

  • NUCLEAR WORKFORCEThe U.S. Navy Has a Nuclear Workforce Problem

    By John P. Barrientos

    The U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered fleet has been central to the country’s ability to project power globally for decades. But this world-class nuclear navy—including all current U.S. aircraft carriers and submarines—is under threat amid a steady exodus of highly trained officers and enlisted personnel.

  • MISSILE DEFENSE15 Things You Don’t Know About Israel’s Air Defense Systems

    By John Jeffay

    Israel has sustained attacks from enemies throughout its history and has invested heavily in high tech defense technologies that are the envy of the world’s military.

  • IRAN’S THREATIran versus Israel: Who Has the Military Edge?

    By Kian Sharifi

    In the event of a direct conflict with Iran, Israel would have the military superiority, both offensively and defensively, experts say. But they say the threat posed by Iran’s arsenal of drones and missiles should not be dismissed. Even so, Israel maintains military supremacy.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSAustralia’s Leadership Imperatives in Critical Minerals

    By Ian Satchwell

    Australia, like Canada, is well placed to be a global leader in the critical minerals sector. The country has the natural endowment, technical expertise and experience, global mining footprint, and mining capital base to back a claim to worldwide leadership.

  • IRAN’S THREAT'Nightmare Scenario': The Risks of Escalation as Israel Mulls Iran Response

    By Kian Sharifi

    In the wake of Iran’s attack, Israel has been weighing up its options, which analysts say could range from a diplomatic offensive to isolate Iran to directing military strikes on the Islamic republic. With the risk of escalation higher than ever, the worst-case scenario of an all-out war between Iran and Israel is a distinct possibility, analysts say.

  • CHINA WATCHUnder Biden, U.S. Reimagines Asian Alliances as 'Lattice' Fence

    By William Gallo

    For decades, U.S. policy in Asia has relied on what was informally known as the “hub and spokes” system of bilateral alliances. But lately, U.S. officials have used another analogy to describe their vision for the region: a lattice fence. It may sound like only a metaphorical tweak, but say it could have big implications, as they try to create a durable plan to respond to China’s growing power.

  • MILITARY STRATEGYA Return to U.S. Casualty Aversion

    By John Mueller

    The 9/11 Wars as aberrations: After the extended, tragically costly, and fundamentally absurd aberrations caused by the overreaction to 9/11, a more limited American military approach appears to be back—and perhaps is even more embraced than in the post‐Vietnam decades.

  • AI & WARGaza War: Israel Using AI to Identify Human Targets Raising Fears That Innocents Are Being Caught in the Net

    By Elke Schwarz

    A new report finds that AI targeting systems have played a key role in identifying – and potentially misidentifying – tens of thousands of targets in Gaza. This suggests that autonomous warfare is no longer a future scenario. It is already here and the consequences are horrifying.

  • IRAN’S THREATIts Deterrence Strategy Weakened, Iran Faces Pressure to Hit Israel

    By Kian Sharifi

    Iran’s strategy of deterrence against Israel has suffered greatly since the outbreak of the Gaza war — particularly after the brazen attack on its consulate in the Syrian capital on April 1. the deadly strike on its consulate in Damascus may compel Iran to take direct action, experts say.

  • HAVANA SYNDROMEU.S. Unpersuaded by Report Blaming Russia for ‘Havana Syndrome’

    By Jeff Seldin

    The United States is backing a year-old intelligence assessment that health problems affecting, and in some cases incapacitating, hundreds of American personnel around the world are not the result of a weapon wielded by a U.S. adversary. The White House, the Pentagon and the State Department Monday stood by a March 2023 report by the National Intelligence Council that concluded it is “very unlikely” the adverse symptoms known as Havana Syndrome were caused by enemy operatives.

  • CYBERSECURITYU.S. Needs a New Independent Armed Service — a U.S. Cyber Force: Report

    In the U.S. military, an officer who had never fired a rifle would never command an infantry unit. Yet officers with no experience behind a keyboard are commanding cyber warfare units. This should change, as the need to create a new independent armed service — a U.S. Cyber Force – become more urgent by the day.

  • CLIMATE CHANGE & NATIONAL SECURITYHow Climate Change Will Affect Conflict and U.S. Military Operations

    By Doug Irving

    “People talk about climate change as a threat multiplier,” said Karen Sudkamp, an associate director of the Infrastructure, Immigration, and Security Operations Program within the RAND Homeland Security Research Division. “But at what point do we need to start talking about the threat multiplier actually becoming a significant threat all its own?”