Information Warfare and the Authoritarian States: How Best to Respond?

08/05/2018
By Robbin Laird In a new study published by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, the authors, Thomas Mahnken, Ross Babbage, and Toshi Yoshihara, look at the challenge posed by the authoritarian states in shaping coercive political strategies and how the liberal democracies might respond to them. They conclude…

Adding to the Russian Tool Set: The Role of Russian “Private” Military Contractors

08/04/2018
By Stephen Blank Not a day passes without a fresh revelation of Russian probes against the West somewhere in the world. By now audiences are possibly accustomed to this fact but it remains difficult for elites, ot to mention ordinary citizens, to grasp that Moscow has been waging a war,…

Working with Turkey in Syria: Secretary Mattis Announces Joint Patrols

07/29/2018
According to a story published on VOA by Carla Babb, Secetary Mattirs announced that training for joint patrols with Turkey in Syria will start soon. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says equipment has landed at a base in Turkey to prepare Turkish troops for joint patrols with U.S. forces in…

The New UK Air Combat Strategy: Putting into a Strategic Context

07/19/2018
By Robbin Laird With the anticipated announcement paralleling efforts in France and Germany, the UK government has announced its intention to build a Typhoon successor. The initial investment was announced as two billion pounds and was launched as a UK national project. But how realistic is this project as announced…

The F-35, the Iron Dome and Saving Lives

07/11/2018
By Edward Timperlake As Herman Kahn once noted: "Anything that reduces war-related destruction should not be considered altogether immoral." There is now the demonstrated promise of advanced weapons systems integrated together in an offensive and defensive enterprise to actually save the lives on innocents on both sides of combat action.…

Moscow’s Collective Security Organization: A Challenge to NATO?

07/09/2018
By Richard Weitz One issue that will probably not be on the NATO summit agenda, but should be, is to develop a strategy for dealing with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). NATO has consistently rejected to do so, dismissing the organization as a façade for Moscow’s aspirations for regional…

Shaping the Way Ahead for Australian Defense: What Role for Independent Strike Capabilties?

06/20/2018
Australia is engaged in a significant process of defense modernization and working closely with its closest allies in this process. But looking beyond what the current trajectory of modernization, what course might Australia follow going forward? We have published a look at paths which Australia might take going forward. https://defense.info/strategic-insights/the-future-of-australian-defense-in-a-dynamically-changing-region/…

SANDF Way Ahead: Priorities and Challenges

06/19/2018
By defenceWeb The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has revealed its short and long term priorities, including border safeguarding, anti-piracy patrol and continental peacekeeping, which it aims to pursue in spite of severe funding cuts. In the Department of Defence 2018 Annual Performance Plan, Secretary for Defence Dr Sam Gulube…