Analysis & Opinion
1820 articles
Five Issues for the National Commission on the Future of the Navy
CIMSEC To fulfill its mandate, the Commission must resolve five foundational issues.
U.S. May Consider Placing Nukes in Poland, Baltic States
Linus Höller, Defense N. U.S. officials are engaged in NATO-internal discussions about the possibility of deploying nuclear weapons to new countries within the alliance
EABO's Maritime Targeting Problem
Mario A. Fajardo, Proceedings The Marine Corps must close its detect-to-engage gap in contested maritime environments.
Army 'Jailbreaks' Its Own Weapon Systems to Counter Drone Threats
WSJ Officials say software restrictions on weapons and radar systems slowed down efforts to detect incoming drones and missiles
As Fighter Fleet Shrinks Below Legal Minimum, Pfluger Sounds Alarm
A&SF M. The Air Force's primary fighter fleet dipped below the minimum allowable size under law earlier this year—and that fact should rally a "call to action" for the nation to reinvest...
GBU-76 - The Next Generation Massive Ordnance Penetrator
Trevithick, WarZone The U.S. Air Force is already moving to lay groundwork for fielding the replacement of its <a...
USS Herring Submarine Wreck Identified After Disappearing in World War II
I.E. Researchers confirmed the submarine wreck off Japan matches USS Herring's wartime records
Gaining the Cyber Supply Chain Advantage
Lonny Anderson, RealClearDefense Why America's Adversaries Love America's Cyber Posture Today (And How We Gain the Advantage)
A Cyber Force Budget Would Require at Least $10 Billion
Mark Pomerleau, BrDef The Commission on US Cyber Force Generation released its report outlining what a new military service could look like
The Pacific Defence Pact Is the Wrong Answer to the Right Question
interpreter The Indo-Pacific doesn't need a new treaty, but layered, mission-oriented cooperation that works when pressure arrives.
There Are Only Four Great Powers
An era of great-power competition has started—but not all would-be competitors qualify.
Between Beijing and the Budget: The Domestic Realities of Taiwan’s Defense Spending Drama
On May 8, Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan broke a grueling six-month stalemate by passing a landmark $25 billion defense budget, catching many observers off guard. The vote brought sudden end to an agonizing legislative deadlock that had pushed U.S.-Taiwanese relations to the edge. For months, long-
The Toll Booth at the Throat of World Trade
In late February 2026, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz to foreign shipping. What began as a chaotic wartime closure has, in the past few days, hardened into something more consequential: an official sovereign toll regime, codified in Iranian law, and priced in cryptocurrency.On May 18, Iran operati
Trump Says Israel, Hezbollah to Halt Attacks as Iran Talks Continue
Tehran had said it would suspend negotiations over Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
A Trump Deal With Iran Could Spell Trouble for Netanyahu
The Israeli leader needs a win ahead of a key election.
Boeing Works To Expand B-1B Weapons Capacity
Ryan Finnerty, Flight Global Engineers at Boeing are advancing design work to repurpose decomissioned weapons stations for the US Air Force's (USAF's) B-1B Lancer supersonic bombers.
Build the First Donald J. Trump Maritime Prosperity Zone in Alaska
gCaptain If the United States intends to rebuild maritime capability seriously, it should begin where geography is becoming increasingly consequential.
Armies Can't Win Wars Alone
David A. Deptula, RealClearDefense The Straw Man of "Airpower Alone" and the False Claim of Ground Force Primacy
The Trafalgar Imperative: Why the USAF Must Innovate or Stagnate
MilStrategy The Battle of Trafalgar, fought on October 21, 1805, stands as a seminal event in military history, not merely for its decisive outcome but for the strategic genius that enabled...
Lawmakers: 'Five-Alarm Fire' - Troop Smartphone Data Risk
Ben Wolfgang, WashT The ability of adversaries to use commercial location data from smartphones to find and target U.S. troops in the Middle East is a "five-alarm fire" that demands...
Arlington's Reconciliation Monument Should Return
Jonathan K. Corrado, RCDefense The expected return of Moses Ezekiel's Arlington monument should not be treated as a partisan trophy or cultural provocation. It should be treated as something...
Pentagon's 5 Next-Gen Weapons and Programs Shaping the Future
IntEngineering Inside America's high-speed race to build game-changing weapons
SpaceX's $4.16B New U.S. Military Satellite Tracking Network
Global Defense N. The Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator program matters because it could give U.S. and allied forces a more survivable way to monitor contested airspace without...
Services Honing in on 'Joint' Part of Pentagon's CJADC2 Vision
National Defense The U.S. military services have primarily worked independently to develop their individual pieces of the Defense Department's Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control...
As the Pentagon Pushes for Battlefield AI, Some Mil. Leaders Urge Caution
AP ADM Frank Bradley, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, told attendees of a recent annual special forces conference in Tampa, Florida, that troops "have to be very careful about how...
Building a Better Ukraine Requires Accessibility Reforms
Welcome to The Ukraine Compass, a weekly digest of Ukrainian commentary and analysis from across the political spectrum only for War on the Rocks members. Each Monday, we bring you a curated selection of articles from Ukrainian media offering insight into how Ukrainians themselves deb
Pakistan’s Diplomatic Pivot Makes It a Trump-Era Power Player
Islamabad is happy to give the U.S. president the image he craves.
The Epidemic of GPS Jamming
Across the world, signals crucial for safe air and sea travel are being disrupted.
Washington Wants Myanmar’s Minerals
Democracy promotion is out, and the race to engage the country’s junta is on.
Can the State Department Make Europe Great Again?
A small but influential office will soon announce grants to support Trump administration causes in Europe.
The Energy Crisis Will Long Outlast the Iran War
The baked-in damage to oil and gas production will take months to undo.
Germany Is Scrambling to Speed Up Its Rearmament
Berlin has already made a huge commitment to its military—but is facing new obstacles at home and abroad.
Fences Not F-35s: Drone Attacks and the Illogic of Gulf Procurement
One of the most effective counter-drone systems in the largest drone war in history between Ukraine and Russia is a German anti-aircraft gun designed during the Cold War. The Gepard — a self-propelled 35 mm cannon that first entered service in 1976 — has earned recognition from Ukrainian
Deterring Russia Beneath the Waves: Securing NATO’s Critical Undersea Infrastructure
What would happen if you woke up one morning and the internet was gone — not from a software glitch, but because someone had simply cut the wire?Threats to critical undersea infrastructure are rapidly escalating. In 2023, the Balticonnector pipeline and several Baltic data cables were damaged.
Clinton’s Lincoln Bedroom Scandal Looks Quaint Now
What a very 1990s scandal says about corruption during the second Trump administration.
Charai for The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune: What Do the Gulf States Really Want?
The post Charai for The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune: What Do the Gulf States Really Want? appeared first on Atlantic Council.
What Are Donald Trump's Military Options in Cuba?
Geoff Dyer & Jacob Judah, FT USS Nimitz's arrival gives U.S. platform to plan operations, though formidable obstacles remain
The Battle for the Americas Is a Battle for Belief
Jason Church, RealClearDefense China is prioritizing widespread influence over building trust. By weakening Voice of America and related networks, the United States is giving up its unique...
AI & Truth
Marine Corps Compass Points Force Design collides with AI and the crash is ugly
The New Economics of War
Andrey Koval, Global Security Review Cheap Drones, Asymmetric Threats, and the Democratization of Destruction
Our Military Is Built for the Wrong Century
Ross Douthat, The New York Times Ukraine and Iran have shown us that war as we've known it is over
Military Leadership In the 18th Century
Blake Hunnewell, Military Strategy Magazine Lessons for Strategic Leadership, Strategy, and Statesmanship Today
Military Doctrine and the Future of Warfare in Asia
Evan A. Laksmana, et al., IISS How do Asia-Pacific armed forces plan for and seek to fight a conventional war?
The Evolution of China's Ballistic Missile Defense
Journal of Strategic Studies During the 2025 Victory Day Parade in September, China unveiled a ballistic missile defence system capable of intercepting missiles in the midcourse phase for...
U.S. Army Evaluates New Command-Networked Drone Interceptor
Defense Post The U.S. Army is testing a low-cost, radar-agnostic drone interceptor that integrates with existing command-and-control networks as part of a NATO effort to strengthen Europe's...
Someone Called a Code-Red on LaNeve
CDR Salamander ...if this is all you have...
U.N. Blacklists Israel, Russia for Sexual Violence in Conflict
Both countries have refuted the allegations and accused the agency of bias.
What Iran Stands to Gain From a Truce Deal With the United States
U.S. concessions could include the unfreezing of assets and unsanctioning of oil.
Signing is the easy part: Two former US negotiators on the perils of implementing a deal with Iran
Abram Paley and Nate Swanson helped negotiate the last US-Iran deal, a 2023 prisoner exchange. Here's what they learned and how it applies to today's talks. The post Signing is the easy part: Two former US negotiators on the perils of implementing a deal with Iran appeared first on Atlantic Council.
As Trade Talks Begin, U.S.-Mexico Ties Falter
Bilateral relations have reached a breaking point at a crucial moment for the USMCA.