When disaster strikes remote locations or when rapid force projection becomes critical, few aviation combinations prove as versatile and effective as the KC-130J Super Hercules and MV-22B Osprey tandem. It is a bit like Batman and Robin in operation. As LtGen (Retired) Heckl noted in my books on the tiltrotor…
As the global order undergoes profound transformation, middle powers are increasingly seeking ways to enhance their strategic autonomy while navigating the complex dynamics of great power competition. Among the most promising yet under-explored partnerships is the deepening relationship between Brazil and India which are two democratic giants that represent the…
By CAPT (Ret) Christoper C. Misner, Senior Manager, Bell Strategic Pursuits The U.S. National Defense Strategy prioritizes the Indo-Pacific as a critical theater for national security. For naval and joint forces operating in that theater, an operationally limiting factor is the so-called tyranny of distance. Vast distances required to operate and…
As Russia's invasion of Ukraine enters its fourth year, the conflict has fundamentally transformed modern warfare, with drones emerging as a significant force on the battlefield. Now, Germany is leading an ambitious initiative to translate these Ukrainian innovations into a comprehensive defensive system along NATO's eastern border—a 1,850-mile "drone wall"…
A recent Wall Street Journal article by Marcus Walker, outlines two main scenarios for the possible resolution of the ongoing war in Ukraine, as hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough faded after the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska. The first scenario envisions a partition with protection: Ukraine would lose about 20% of…
By Robbin Laird World leaders find themselves lurching from crisis to crisis with little time to catch their breath. This reactive scramble has become the defining characteristic of our era or what might be called the "anarchy of the moment." Unlike the grand ideological struggles or systematic breakdowns that marked…
Germany has emerged as Ukraine's most critical drone technology partner since February 2022, fundamentally transforming both nations' defense capabilities through unprecedented industrial cooperation. German companies have delivered over 900 advanced reconnaissance and strike drones to Ukraine while establishing full manufacturing facilities on Ukrainian soil - a level of wartime defense…
The world's power structures are undergoing their most profound transformation since the end of the Cold War. From the laboratories developing artificial intelligence to the missile ranges testing hypersonic weapons, a new kind of competition is emerging, one that threatens to make traditional notions of security, diplomacy, and national strength…
