The Return of the Nuclear Deterrence Challenge in Europe

04/14/2025
By Robbin Laird The war in Ukraine has brought the nuclear question back again as a central topic in European security. And now the Trump Administration with its focus on European defense by Europeans, coupled with the unfinished business of the Ukraine war, have intensified considerations of what is the…

Leadership is More than a Title — It is a Calling

04/09/2025
By Lt. General (Retired) David Deptula Leadership is more than a title — it is a calling. Few have answered that call with the depth of dedication, intellect, and vision that Michael Wynne demonstrated as the 21st Secretary of the United States Air Force. Wynne led with an unwavering commitment…

European Defence Uptick: The View from the Defense Industries

04/01/2025
By Pierre Tran Paris - Two European arms companies, KNDS France and MBDA, recently pointed up their hefty investment to boost production of cannon shells, artillery, and missiles, indicating a willingness to anticipate orders, and their access to extensive funds. The willingness of those two privately held companies to invest…

Restoring Grounded Discourse in an Anxious America: The Focus of the Invisible Threads Lab

03/29/2025
By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake Journalist Kate Woodsome has been laser-focused on a key challenge facing democracy in the United States and, frankly, within liberal democracies more generally: the growing inability of social and political tribes to talk with one another. In fact, the impacts of the pandemic on…

The U.S. Navy and the “Hybrid Fleet”

03/26/2025
By George Galdorisi The U. S. Navy stands at the precipice of a new era of technology advancement. In an address at a military-industry conference, then-U.S. Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Michael Gilday, revealed the Navy’s goal to grow to 500 ships, to include 350 crewed ships and 150 uncrewed…

Eric Béranger Provides an Update on MBDA and European Defence: March 2025

03/24/2025
By Pierre Tran Paris - MBDA was beating its own targets in building missiles in larger numbers and greater speed, at a time when the ties between Western allies were shifting, the chief executive of the European missile company said March 17. Eric Béranger said last year he had forecast there…

The Next Steps in Working Distributed Aviation Operations: 2nd MAW Works the Challenge

03/16/2025
By Robbin Laird When I interviewed the Commanding General of 2nd Marine Air Wing last summer, he underscored the importance for the Marines to craft a way ahead with regard to distributed air operations. This is how we discussed the issue at that time: We then discussed distributed air operations…

A Tiltrotor Enterprise: From Iraq to the Future

03/10/2025
We have published a new book in our airpower and naval modernization series. This book focuses on the Osprey and its evolution since 2007. As the United States faces a global overload of strategic challenges and the concomitant challenge of shaping an effective and capable force to deal with these…