Killer Angel On Your Shoulder: Army’s Future Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft

Killer Angel On Your Shoulder: Army’s Future Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft
Killer Angel On Your Shoulder: Army’s Future Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft

Manned air and ground forces would work together and protect each other along the front line, while relatively expendable drones and missiles go deep into enemy airspace.

The Great Afghan Paradox

The Great Afghan Paradox
The Great Afghan Paradox

By most metrics the war in Afghanistan is going badly.

Generals Worry US May Lose In Start Of Next War: Is Multi-Domain The Answer?

Generals Worry US May Lose In Start Of Next War: Is Multi-Domain The Answer?
Generals Worry US May Lose In Start Of Next War: Is Multi-Domain The Answer?

“There is a good chance… we’d lose the opening stages of this war,” said one speaker. “Parts of the Pacific, parts of Europe are probably going to be overrun before we can gather ourselves.”

Pentagon’s Big AI Program, Maven, Already Hunts Data in Middle East, Africa

Pentagon’s Big AI Program, Maven, Already Hunts Data in Middle East, Africa
Pentagon’s Big AI Program, Maven, Already Hunts Data in Middle East, Africa

Project Maven has made huge strides in its first year, but the key is remaining open to updates from whoever has the best idea for new algorithms, and new code, a military leader says.

Why the U.S. Military Should Stay Out Of Iran

Why the U.S. Military Should Stay Out Of Iran
Why the U.S. Military Should Stay Out Of Iran

It’s not that often that a major in the US military — albeit now a reservist — points the finger at the Defense Secretary and says, sir, you’re wrong, and does it in writing and in public. Here you have it. Army Maj. Danny Sjursen, expressing his own unofficial opinions, says Iran is Jim Mattis’…

Much ‘Political Warfare’ In Our Future

Much ‘Political Warfare’ In Our Future
Much ‘Political Warfare’ In Our Future

Our partnership with the Center for Strategic and International Studies resumes with this piece by Seth Jones, part of a CSIS series on the National Defense Strategy, Nuclear Posture Review and the Missile Defense Review. As our intrepid readers would know, Deputy Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan, Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette and Undersecretary of State…

Army Reserve Readies For Major War: Cold Steel II

Army Reserve Readies For Major War: Cold Steel II
Army Reserve Readies For Major War: Cold Steel II

WASHINGTON: The Army Reserve is preparing 10,000 soldiers for major war with intensive training on machineguns and automatic grenade launchers. For many, these Cold Steel exercises held across the country are the first time they’ve touched such heavy weapons since basic training, said the chief of the Army Reserve, Lt. Gen. Charles Luckey. The Reserve…

HASC EW Expert Bacon: US ‘Not Prepared’ For Electronic Warfare Vs. Russia, China

HASC EW Expert Bacon: US ‘Not Prepared’ For Electronic Warfare Vs. Russia, China
HASC EW Expert Bacon: US ‘Not Prepared’ For Electronic Warfare Vs. Russia, China

WASHINGTON: The US military is “not prepared” to conduct radio and radar jamming against high-end adversaries, a veteran electronic warfare officer now in Congress says. We have made major progress jamming terrorist communications in Afghanistan and Iraq, says Rep. Don Bacon, a retired one-star general who recently visited both countries. But even against such low-tech foes,…

Hard Lessons from America’s Longest Wars

Hard Lessons from America’s Longest Wars
Hard Lessons from America’s Longest Wars

This is one of two pieces by our contributor James Kitfield, who’s won more Gerald Ford Defense Reporting awards than anyone else (3), on the challenges and mistakes America has made in grappling with the complex threat of global terrorism. As James puts it in his summary sentence: U.S. counterterrorism forces continue to learn and adapt…

US Must Bolster Its Presence In MidEast As ISIS Falls

US Must Bolster Its Presence In MidEast As ISIS Falls
US Must Bolster Its Presence In MidEast As ISIS Falls

As ISIS goes down to military defeat, the United States requires a longer-range plan and an enduring force presence to deny Iran total victory in Syria. Otherwise, the United States risks losing influence as a new Middle Eastern order is being forged. The last ISIS-occupied towns in Syria and Iraq fell recently, but not to…

Stop The Malignant Misuse Of America’s Military

Stop The Malignant Misuse Of America’s Military
Stop The Malignant Misuse Of America’s Military

Last month, Secretary of Defense James Mattis warned that if Congress doesn’t “remove the defense caps,” he said, “then we’re questioning whether or not America has the ability to survive.” This claim that insufficient increases in Pentagon spending threatens American security is flatly wrong. The real and present danger to our national security is the…

Clash of Strategies: Capability Or Capacity, Today Or Tomorrow?

Clash of Strategies: Capability Or Capacity, Today Or Tomorrow?
Clash of Strategies: Capability Or Capacity, Today Or Tomorrow?

As the Pentagon finishes its strategic review, the stage is set for another struggle over whether to ready for a high-end war with Russia or China or just manage the current, much lower intensity battles around the world. In military terms it’s a choice between capability and capacity. The outcome will shape the four services…

Build Joint STARS: Leverage Competition, Lower Risk

Build Joint STARS: Leverage Competition, Lower Risk
Build Joint STARS: Leverage Competition, Lower Risk

Air Force senior leaders must decide whether to build a new airborne ground radar surveillance capability. The Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) is a system boasting sophisticated radar, electronic, and communication suites installed in a modified Boeing 707. Over the last decade, this command and control aircraft, empowered by its Ground Moving…

As Daesh Is Crushed, Future Of Middle East At Stake

As Daesh Is Crushed, Future Of Middle East At Stake
As Daesh Is Crushed, Future Of Middle East At Stake

The future of the Middle East is currently being determined, in a process that is almost entirely hidden from view. In recent weeks, the gaze of the world has been fixed on the fight against Daesh (aka ISIL), as the end of its occupation in Mosul, Iraq, and the breaching of its defenses in Raqqa,…