Much ‘Political Warfare’ In Our Future
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Our partnership with the Center for Strategic and International Studies resumes with this piece by Seth Jones, part of a CSIS series on the National Defense Strategy, Nuclear Posture Review and the Missile Defense Review. As our intrepid readers would know, Deputy Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan, Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette and Undersecretary of State… Keep reading →
Electronic Warfare Trumps Cyber For Deterring Russia
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CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: NATO’s plans to defend the Baltic States are “inadequate” because they don’t take full account of Russia’s electronic warfare capabilities, a leading expert warns. The Russians are hardly invincible, Roger McDermott emphasized at CSIS on Monday. The story of them “shutting down” the Aegis radar on the USS Cook… Keep reading →
Hard Lessons from America’s Longest Wars
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This is one of two pieces by our contributor James Kitfield, who’s won more Gerald Ford Defense Reporting awards than anyone else (3), on the challenges and mistakes America has made in grappling with the complex threat of global terrorism. As James puts it in his summary sentence: U.S. counterterrorism forces continue to learn and adapt… Keep reading →
US Must Bolster Its Presence In MidEast As ISIS Falls
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As ISIS goes down to military defeat, the United States requires a longer-range plan and an enduring force presence to deny Iran total victory in Syria. Otherwise, the United States risks losing influence as a new Middle Eastern order is being forged. The last ISIS-occupied towns in Syria and Iraq fell recently, but not to… Keep reading →
Stop The Malignant Misuse Of America’s Military
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Last month, Secretary of Defense James Mattis warned that if Congress doesn’t “remove the defense caps,” he said, “then we’re questioning whether or not America has the ability to survive.” This claim that insufficient increases in Pentagon spending threatens American security is flatly wrong. The real and present danger to our national security is the… Keep reading →
Our Artificial Intelligence ‘Sputnik Moment’ Is Now: Eric Schmidt & Bob Work
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WASHINGTON: When former Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work heard the head of Google’s parent company, Eric Schmidt, say this morning that America needs a national strategy for developing Artificial Intelligence, one image sprang to his mind’s eye. “The image that popped into my mind was of Nikita Khrushchev banging his shoe in the UN and… Keep reading →
Russian Robots: Fear Jammers, Not Terminators
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WASHINGTON: Don’t worry about Russia building a killer robot someday. Worry about the radio-jamming drones they have today. Despite a few grandiose claims and snazzy videos of robots shooting guns, Russia remains behind “the Chinese, Iranians, and the Turks” in developing armed unmanned systems, let alone the United States, CNA expert Samuel Bendett said this… Keep reading →
As Daesh Is Crushed, Future Of Middle East At Stake
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The future of the Middle East is currently being determined, in a process that is almost entirely hidden from view. In recent weeks, the gaze of the world has been fixed on the fight against Daesh (aka ISIL), as the end of its occupation in Mosul, Iraq, and the breaching of its defenses in Raqqa,… Keep reading →
Abort The Space Corps On The Launchpad
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Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein really don’t like it. Congress appears split, with the House Armed Services Committee pushing hard for it and the Senate Armed Services Committee essentially going, really?! And Defense Secretary Jim Mattis came out yesterday against the idea, a specific provision in the House… Keep reading →
America’s Air Superiority Crisis
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The Air Force already has a big hole in its capabilities for the future: it needs what it is calling Penetrating Counter Air, a very fast, long-range, sensor-loaded and furiously lethal aircraft. But that effort is designed to fill a need in 2030. Dave Deptula, head of the Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute and… Keep reading →