French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi embrace at a meeting earlier this year. Photo Credit: Reuters AUKUS was one of Washington's best-kept secrets. When the deal between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States was announced in mid-September it caught analysts and politicians off guard. The deal included defense technology … Continue reading The Unintended Consequences of AUKUS in the Indo-Pacific
Category: Military & Defense
The Need for a Properly Resourced Pacific Deterrence Initiative
US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (left), amphibious assault ships USS Boxer and associated ships conducting operations on October 6, 2019 in the South China Sea. Photo Credit: AFP/ US Navy The foundation of US conventional deterrence in the Indo-Pacific is crumbling. Through its ambitious military modernization program, the global balance of power is shifting … Continue reading The Need for a Properly Resourced Pacific Deterrence Initiative
The U.S. Military’s Greatest Contemporary Adversary: COVID-19
Photo Credit: NavyTimes By sidelining an aircraft carrier, the Covid-19 pandemic has accomplished something that neither China nor Russia ever has.[i] In March of 2020, the USS Theodore Roosevelt made an emergency port call in Guam[ii] due to roughly 25% of its almost 5,000 sailors onboard testing positive for Covid-19.[iii] The outbreak led to the … Continue reading The U.S. Military’s Greatest Contemporary Adversary: COVID-19
Nuclear Disarmament: Why Reaching for Zero Makes Sense
India's Brahmos missile, which was developed jointly with Russia, on display in 2018. Photo Credit: Politico, Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images Nuclear weapons have dominated U.S. security strategy for decades. The overwhelming power of these weapons has captivated the minds of U.S. scholars, strategists, and policymakers alike. However, this fascination with complete annihilation has created an impenetrable bubble around … Continue reading Nuclear Disarmament: Why Reaching for Zero Makes Sense
Kautilya in the Gray Zone: How Russia has Successfully Adopted Two-Thousand Year Old Teachings
"A Russian serviceman is seen behind pro-Russian activists at the Belbek Sevastopol International Airport in the Crimea region, March 4, 2014." Photo credit: Business Insider What do a South Asian statesman from the fourth-century BCE and current members of Russia’s Ministry of Defence have in common? The belief that war should be conducted by incorporating … Continue reading Kautilya in the Gray Zone: How Russia has Successfully Adopted Two-Thousand Year Old Teachings
Turkey’s New Joint Operational Concepts Foreshadow the Future of Armed Conflict
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stands in Front of a Bayraktar TB-2 Drone. Photo Credit: AA Following the July 15, 2016 coup attempt and subsequent violent purges, Turkish Armed Forces launched major military operations in Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Libya and continued to expand basing across North Africa.[i] These operations exhibited characteristics indicative of the … Continue reading Turkey’s New Joint Operational Concepts Foreshadow the Future of Armed Conflict
Joint Artificial Intelligence Center: An Opportunity for Transparency
Stylized representation of Joint All Domain Command and Control. Photo Credit: Raytheon Intelligence and Space. In 2018, the Department of Defense (DoD) set up the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) to consolidate the DoD’s artificial intelligence R&D projects under one organization. The JAIC is currently responsible for over 30 projects with broad applications, including battlefield … Continue reading Joint Artificial Intelligence Center: An Opportunity for Transparency
The Future for Unmanned Surface Vessels in the US Navy
Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel (MUSV) concept renderings from shipbuilder Austal USA. Photo Credit: Austal USA In the past few years there has been an increasing focus on expanding the US Navy’s capabilities through the use of unmanned surface vessels. On September 17th, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said “Unmanned will enable us to grow the United … Continue reading The Future for Unmanned Surface Vessels in the US Navy
Keeping the Navy Ship Shape: Assessing Lessons from the Past
Dreadnoughts of the German High Seas Fleet. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons. One of the most prominent challenges confronting today’s Navy is lack of manpower. Despite calling for an increase in fleet size to 355 ships, the Navy has struggled to keep enough sailors to maintain operational readiness for the 285 ships it currently has. While … Continue reading Keeping the Navy Ship Shape: Assessing Lessons from the Past
The Paralysis of the International Norm against Conventional Weapons Proliferation
President Trump holding an executive order pulling the United States out of the Arms Trade Treaty. Photo Source: Lucas Jackson/Reuters. The norm against conventional weapons proliferation is a relative newcomer on the international legal scene. The first major multilateral treaty regulating the global arms trade, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), was only signed in 2013. … Continue reading The Paralysis of the International Norm against Conventional Weapons Proliferation