• Iran'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.

  • If 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.

  • Cult 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.

  • Are Drones Revolutionizing Warfare? They Do Not, Skeptics Argue

    Drones have been employed by both sides to the Russia-Ukraine war on unprecedented scale. The prevalence of drones in Ukraine and other recent conflicts has led some observers to conclude that drones are revolutionizing warfare, while other analysts argue that drones are incremental improvements to existing technologies. These drone-skeptics contend that drones are not fundamentally shifting the character of war.

  • Trump-Biden Spat on NATO Highlights Divide on America’s Role in the World

    By Patsy Widakuswara

    Former President Donald Trump doubled down on his threat that, if elected, he would not defend NATO members who don’t meet defense spending targets. Biden, who has made strengthening coalitions against adversaries the central tenet of his foreign policy, advocates for more international cooperation overall. “Trump is breaking Republican orthodoxy entirely, not only with his isolationism, but with his pandering to autocrats,” said Kristine Berzina of the German Marshall Fund research group.

  • Attributing Biological Weapons Use

    Why is attribution of BW use important? During a biological incident, including BW use, what evidence might provide valuable information to facilitate attribution? What is the state of the science for determining the origin of a biological incident, including BW use? What capabilities does DoD possess or could it develop to facilitate attribution of BW use?

  • Maritime Power Shapes the World Order – and Is Undergoing a Sea Change

    By Basil Germond

    Western global leadership was the result of centuries of sea mastery. Controlling the global ocean enables the projection of military power all over the world, as well as securing the free flow of goods at sea. The prosperity and security of trading nations strongly depend on the stability of the global maritime supply chain and thus on freedom of navigation. But now Western maritime superiority is being challenged by other rising powers and by insurgent groups.

  • U.S. Raids in Iraq and Syria: How Retaliatory Airstrikes Affect Network of Iran-Backed Militias

    By Sara Harmouch and Nakissa Jahanbani

    Iran’s “forward defense” strategy – focused on addressing threats externally before they become ones within its borders – would suggest that Iran will continue to support proxies through weaponry, funding and tactical knowledge to reduce the influence and legitimacy of the U.S. and its allies in the region. This underscores the delicate balance required in responding to Iranian-backed aggression – aiming to safeguard U.S. interests while preventing an escalation into a wider regional confrontation.

  • Directed Energy: The Focus on Laser Weapons Intensifies

    By James Black

    There a growing interest in directed energy weapons, once considered in the realm of science fiction. How to separate the considerable hype about these futuristic-sounding technologies from their more-nuanced impacts on the real-world battlefields of today and tomorrow?

  • The Challenge of Cheap Drones: Finding an Even Cheaper Way to Destroy Them

    By Bradley Perrett

    The sudden proliferation of inexpensive drones in Ukraine is a revolution in warfare. While they vary in size and capability, the  economics of defense are particularly stressed by the very cheapest ones, those adapted from civilian models or made with commercially available components.

  • Hydrogen Power Takes Drones to the Next Level

    By Brian Blum

    Most drones run on electric batteries and can stay aloft no more than about 45 minutes when carrying just a few kilograms. HevenDrones has another solution.

  • 5 Technologies Keeping Cargo Ships Safe in Turbulent Times

    By Abigail Klein Leichman

    Due to Houthi attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea, worldwide shipping is in trouble and the global supply chain faltering. These technologies can help.

  • Military AI: New Book Anticipates a World of “Killer Robots” — and the Need to Regulate Them

    By Tanner Stening

    As artificial intelligence advances, the weapons of war grow evermore capable of killing people without meaningful human oversight, raising troubling questions about the manner today’s and tomorrow’s wars will be carried out, and how autonomous weapons systems could weaken accountability when it comes to the potential violations of international law that attend their deployment. 

  • Taking Robots and AI to War at Sea

    By Malcolm Davis

    Emphasizing that combination of AI and autonomous systems working in concert with crewed platforms—and with critical human oversight ‘on the loop’—is the logical path to meet a potential challenge of a much more capable and assertive adversary with ambitious plans across the Indo-pacific, and with a potential ability to interfere with Australia’s critical maritime trade.

  • Diving into Nuclear Submarines

    By Peter Reuell

    In 2021, the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia formed a partnership, dubbed AUKUS, which will allow the Royal Australian Navy to purchase several nuclear-powered submarines in an effort to modernize their fleet. Building a nuclear submarine program from scratch is anything but easy, so the MIT Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering has created a course for the Australian Submarine Agency.