Japan Approves New Ocean Policy With a Core Focus on Maritime Secuirty

05/15/2018
With the dynamics of change underway in the Pacific, Japan has been changing its defense and security policies to provide for more focus and capability to deal with threats and challenges in the region. The latest element of the change is the new Japanese ocean policy. According to an article…

Assessing the Russian Military Challenge

05/12/2018
By Stephen Blank Recent Pentagon deployments display a growing realism about the Russian military threat. And the announced recreation of the II Fleet to be based at Norfolk to patrol the North Atlantic and counter the upsurge of Russian submarine and surface vessels probes there demonstrates this heightened awareness of…

The Strategic Shift and the Norwegian Approach

05/08/2018
By Robbin Laird Last year, I visited Norway and had a chance to discuss with senior officials their thinking about the way ahead for Norway and North Atlantic defense. The Norwegians are investing significantly in new systems, but just as importantly are re-focused on their total defense concept to ensure…

Avoiding a Car Crash for UK Defense: The Brexit Challenge

05/04/2018
By Philip Butterworth-Hayes Time, they say, slows down the few seconds before a car crash. For close observers of the UK’s disentanglement from the European Union’s (EU) defence and security institutions, time has started to decelerate over the last few weeks. First came the reports of the Commission’s decision that…

NATO’s Allied Transformation Command: The Challenge of Shaping a Way Ahead

05/04/2018
By Murielle Delaporte Recent interviews conducted in Norfolk, Virginia, and in particular with Supreme Allied Transformation Commander (SACT) General Denis Mercier, focused on how NATO is addressing its transformation. In the wake of February’s NATO Defense ministers’ two-day meeting in Brussels and the reform of the command structure, the ACT…

Shaping a Kill Web Approach to Dealing with the High End Fight

04/28/2018
We are focusing on several aspects of change in the global strategic situation as well the approach which U.S. and allied forces are taking to engage effectively as the strategic situation changes. One key dynamic of change is the distribution of sensors and strike throughout the battlespace and the use…

The Strategic Shift Facing the Western Democracies: A New Special Report

04/26/2018
Since 2014, the Williams Foundation has held a series of seminars, which have looked at the nature of military transformation enabled by new platforms, new technologies and new approaches. Now, the Foundation is focusing on the new strategic context within which this force will operate and the kinds of further…