The Defense Department Should Restore Cornell University’s Research Funding

07/07/2025 By Ed Timperlake Cornell University President Michael I. Kotikoff recently expressed serious concerns about the sudden freeze of federal research grants, particularly those from the Department of Defense. His statement reveals the troubling scope of this funding suspension and its potential impact on critical national security research. President Kotikoff's initial statement outlined the gravity of the situation: "Cornell is aware… Read more »

Chinese Bravado and Australian Sovereignty: A New Era of Strategic Competition

07/06/2025 By Robbin Laird I have been coming to Australia since 2014 and writing the seminar reports for the Sir Richard Williams Foundation bi-annual seminar reports. I have done so because of my deep commitment to the U.S.-Australian relationship but more generally because of my concern with the rise of multi-polar authoritarianism and its threat to our democratic way of life.… Read more »

A B-17 Crashes at Noirmoutier Island, France, July 4, 1943: The B-17, Its Impact and Continuing Signifcance

07/04/2025 On this July 4th 2025, it is important to remember the Flying Fortress: When Heroes Fell from the Sky When that B-17 went down over France on 4 July 1943, it became part of a larger story. Seventy years after a B-17 Flying Fortress crashed into Nazi-occupied territory, French villagers gathered in 2013 to honor the American airmen who never… Read more »

Did Putin Awake a “Sleeping Giant”?

07/02/2025 Recently, the Polish Foreign Minister argued that Putin had awaken a sleeping giant in terms of European defense efforts. The commitment to 5% defense spending inclusive of 1 and 1/2 percent of GNP on defence related infrastructure will raise a number of analytical questions of who does what with what investments are made, notably with regard to infrastructure spending. We… Read more »

Ukraine’s Hybrid Operational Force Redesign Capability: Innovation in Modern Warfare

06/30/2025 Ukraine's defense of its homeland has demonstrated a remarkable evolution in modern military strategy, showcasing how a defending nation can leverage both established military doctrine and cutting-edge innovation to counter a numerically superior adversary. The Ukrainian approach represents a new paradigm in what we might call a hybrid operational force redesign capability for the “fight tonight force.” Or the seamless… Read more »

Could the United States Have Done Ukraine’s Operation Spider Web?

06/29/2025 Ukraine's Operation Spider Web stands as one of the most audacious military operations of the 21st century. It estimated that 117 drones were coordinated across 4,300 kilometers, destroying $7 billion in Russian aircraft for under $120,000 in equipment costs The operation's success raises a provocative question: Could the world's most technologically advanced military have pulled off the same feat? The… Read more »