The Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan reveals a broader fight within the Defense Department. The issue is not simply strategic, but operational and force-structural — how to transform the Navy to ensure it can deter and defeat China in a large-scale Indo-Pacific war. As in World War II, a vital issue is the role of …
Fleet Weak: Navy’s shipbuilding plan could lose a war in the Pacific Continue Reading >>
Swedish and Finnish NATO membership would be a strategic gain for the Atlantic Alliance and the United States, both to counter Russian aggression and to ensure a united front on Eurasian policy. However, there is dissent within NATO about whether Sweden and Finland should be accepted, with Turkish President Recep …
The Turkish Question on NATO: A larger strategic opportunity in the Black Sea Continue Reading >>
During a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on 23 May, President Biden again stated that the United States would defend Taiwan if the CCP attacked the island-republic. Predictably, the White House walked back Mr. Biden’s statement, much as it did when he effectively called for regime change …
A military exercises in the manner it plans to fight. This was true for Russia before the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, true of the United States before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and is true of China today. A missile test range the People’s Liberation Army is using in western China …
China Is Telegraphing Its Military Intent. Time to Listen. Continue Reading >>
The Russian invasion of Ukraine demonstrates the relevance of air defenses in modern high-end combat. Indeed, the United States should take warning, and recognize the danger cruise missiles, whether traditional or hypersonic, pose to its positions in the Indo-Pacific and the U.S. homeland. Ballistic missiles dominate headlines, but cruise missiles …
Public focus on the Russo-Ukrainian war remains fixated on the conflict’s ground operations. This is reasonable, considering the frightening images of Russian airstrikes throughout Ukraine, Russian brutality in Bucha, Mariupol and elsewhere, and the developing battle for the Donbas region. However, the long-term strategic situation suggests that the naval balance will decide the …
War at Sea is Critical to Ukraine’s Survival against Russia Continue Reading >>
As the Russo-Ukrainian War grinds into its third month, the full scope of Vladimir Putin’s failure has emerged. His initial strategy, a lightning strike on Kyiv that would destroy the Ukrainian state, failed. His second strategy, a grinding assault on the capital, also miscarried. His third strategy, a refocus on the Donbas, currently …
In Ukraine, West should Expect Extended Confrontation Continue Reading >>
Explosions in the Russian-aligned breakaway region of Transnistria have raised the threat of a broader war. While Russia’s limited strength and difficulties in Ukraine make an invasion of Moldova unlikely, it is important to see that in the long-term, Russia clearly hopes to expand from Ukraine, subjugate Moldova, and pressure …
While the U.S. military force structure pivots away from Middle Eastern security concerns toward East Asia, Russia, China, Turkey, Iran, and the Gulf monarchies are all potentially or actively hostile to Israel, or will seek more influence if the United States departs from the Middle East, or both. As Middle …
Israeli Maritime Power and Eurasian Competition Continue Reading >>
Russia conducted its first test of the Sarmat, an intercontinental ballistic missile that carries a heavy nuclear payload, on April 20. Vladimir Putin and his advisers have issued nuclear warnings throughout the war in Ukraine, threatening the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with attack if they escalate their involvement. Moscow recently threatened Sweden …
The U.S. Should Show It Can Win a Nuclear War Continue Reading >>
