War on the Rocks

Joe Jewell transitioned from academia to lead the Pentagon’s science and technology enterprise, advocating for more researchers to join him. He emphasizes accelerating technology transfer from labs to military personnel and highlights academia’s strategic value to national security.

The White House issued two AI directives under President Donald Trump in June, including an executive order and National Security Presidential Memorandum 11, which emphasizes AI adoption across national security with four pillars. However, fiscal constraints in Fiscal Year 2026 operations and maintenance accounts risk delaying the Pentagon's AI strategy.

Allison Minor's 2024 analysis argued that international responses to Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping were inadequate and proposed a U.N.-led solution. In 2026, global attention has shifted from the Red Sea to the Strait of Hormuz, prompting a reevaluation of her arguments.

The B-24 Liberator, the most produced American military aircraft of World War II, was a complex four-engine heavy bomber with strategic impact. Its utility and existence were critically tied to the innovative Davis Wing design. American industry produced 18,482 B-24s over five years, serving in every war theater.

The U.S military requires a common family of watercraft to sustain maritime operations in contested environments against adversaries targeting logistics. The solution emphasizes scalability, interoperability, and wartime replacement for effective future operations.

A Catholic security scholar reflects on their faith and career path, shifting from considering priesthood to teaching, while advocating for responsible military AI. The author emphasizes ethical foundations in security and AI policy.

The article examines the historical rivalry between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, highlighting their contrasting personalities and political philosophies. Their differing views on government structure led to a significant falling out, culminating in the 1800 presidential election.

The article discusses the integrated circuit's role in modern computing and highlights a recurring pattern of government-backed technological breakthroughs transformed by commercial markets into general-purpose technologies. It introduces a series commemorating American defense innovations from wartime for America’s 250th anniversary.

The article discusses recurring questions at a conference on the People’s Liberation Army about China's potential military responses to U.S. force posture changes or strikes. It highlights the importance of understanding Chinese military behavior for policymakers and war planners, noting similar scenarios in wargames at the RAND Corporation.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's relationship with Israel's intelligence agencies, particularly Shin Bet, is examined as a potential threat to Israel's liberal democracy. Analysts Ofek Riemer, Daniel Wajner, and Ehud Eiran revisited their 2025 arguments about Netanyahu's clashes with intelligence agencies and their implications.

Trojan Spirit, a program developed by the Army in 1990, enabled deployed commanders to access intelligence from agencies during operations. It overcame barriers caused by fragmented systems and databases, with its early version deployed during Operation Desert Storm, significantly impacting battlefield operations. The Army now seeks a successor to Trojan Spirit.

The article discusses the challenges posed by Hizballah, a hybrid transnational organization that functions as a militia, political party, social services network, and smuggling operation. It argues that American, Lebanese, and other leaders must adopt an integrated approach to address Hizballah's complex nature, as existing efforts have failed to resolve the issue and risk further instability. Lebanese and Israeli representatives have recently met to negotiate security and political issues.

The article compares a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan to the Normandy landings, noting that while Normandy was large in scale, a Taiwan invasion would face unprecedented operational challenges. It highlights the complexity of amphibious operations and emphasizes that analysis of such an invasion often overlooks these difficulties despite China's military modernization.

French President Emmanuel Macron introduced a new nuclear deterrence policy called 'forward deterrence,' aiming to Europeanize extended nuclear deterrence. The policy draws parallels to France's submarine strategy and references Cold War-era questions about U.S. commitment to European security.

Jack Watling's book 'Statecraft: The New Rules of Power in a Divided World' critiques the U.S. government's handling of the war against Iran, highlighting failures in statecraft and a lack of candid assessment. The article argues that these shortcomings reflect broader issues in achieving strategic outcomes in international relations.

The 2018 Trump administration’s Nuclear Posture Review identified a need for supplemental low-yield nuclear capabilities to raise the nuclear threshold of adversaries. The article argues this addresses a real deterrence gap, as presented by War on the Rocks.

On June 25, 1876, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry Regiment were defeated at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, a conflict that remains a contested symbol in American history. The battle, though small in scale, is considered iconic alongside events like Yorktown and Gettysburg.

Paul Scharre and Michael Depp discussed in 2024 the integration of artificial intelligence into the nuclear chain of command, highlighting both opportunities and risks. As AI becomes more integrated into military systems by 2026, they revisited their arguments, questioning whether nuclear AI is a priority for the Department of Defense.

The article discusses how AI agents can be utilized in military organizations for coordination, administration, logistics, and judgment, emphasizing their distinction from ordinary software and the importance of safety and accountability in national security. Bill Pessin, a senior vice president at Salesforce and former U.S. Army logistics officer, shares insights on the challenges of aligning plans, systems, and personnel in military operations.

Iran's threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, following U.S. and Israeli strikes, caused the strait's closure and global economic disruptions. Negotiations led to eased restrictions, but traffic remains below pre-war levels, with Iran demonstrating its ability to shut down the strait.

Germany released a new military strategy in late April, but the article argues it lacks novelty compared to past defense documents like the White Paper and Defence Policy Guidelines. The strategy is described as more analytical than action-oriented.

The Trump administration has been unkind to India, but India has responded calmly, maintaining good relations. India's two-decade strategy of seeking good relations with the U.S. continues despite domestic criticism.

Emilian Kavalski and Claris Diaz argued in 2024 that U.S. focus on TikTok's data risks overlooks more serious threats like Chinese agricultural drones. They revisited their claims two years later, emphasizing these drones as embedded in critical systems.

The article 'Cogs of War Turns One' discusses the importance of trade-offs in defense analysis, using combined arms doctrine as an example. It highlights how infantry, armor, artillery, and aviation complement each other by offsetting weaknesses in mobility, firepower, and protection.

The article examines the fall of Fortress Singapore on February 15, highlighting the shock of the Prime Minister over the surrender to Japanese forces. It is part of a series analyzing historical military strategies to address contemporary defense issues.

The article questions whether the Ukrainian government can generate sufficient political will to implement institutional reforms amid ongoing war. It highlights Ukrainian political debates featured in The Ukraine Compass, a War on the Rocks publication.

The article discusses a wargame simulating rapid industrial mobilization for armed conflict, highlighting the lack of government-industry collaboration in real-life emergency planning. Defense leaders acknowledged infrequent engagement with industry for crisis preparation, aligning with the author's experience as a defense planner and wargame developer.

The article examines the Spanish Navy's Reserve Squadron's unpreparedness during the Spanish-American War, which began in 1898 after Spain's suppression of Cuba's independence revolt. A 1885 quote by Captain Ramón Auñón y Villalón highlights the importance of peacetime preparation for military success.

Reps. Rob Wittman and Pat Ryan founded the bipartisan House Defense Modernization Caucus in 2024 to drive reforms through defense authorization acts, focusing on Pentagon acquisition and operational bottlenecks. They discuss initiatives and bipartisan cooperation challenges in a War on the Rocks article.

The new scanners at the Port of Beirut detected items like lithium batteries, drone propellers, and fiber optic cable but failed to identify a distributed threat spread across multiple shipments over weeks. The AI system could analyze individual containers but could not connect the dots to recognize the combined purpose of the shipments.

In August 2024, a Xiamen-based think tank published a paper advocating for China to establish a shadow Taiwan government on the mainland in preparation for a full takeover. The scholars highlighted the need for a plan to manage Taiwan after unification, noting the recent election of the anti-China Democratic Progressive Party as a complicating factor.

The article explores how Chinese leaders may assess time, power dynamics, and Taiwan, focusing on whether Beijing believes its strategic position is improving or deteriorating. It discusses the U.S. role in addressing risks of conflict and features analysis from experts Dean Cheng, Mira Rapp-Hooper, and Amanda Hsiao.

China's plan to become a world leader in AI by 2030, introduced in 2017, involves directing capital, mobilizing firms, and recruiting talent. The 15th Five-Year Plan emphasizes technological self-reliance and an 'AI+' initiative to integrate AI across strategic sectors.

The Battle of Midway, fought on June 4, 1942, is celebrated in American naval history as a defining moment of heroism and victory, comparable to ancient and modern naval battles like Salamis, Trafalgar, and Tsushima. It marked a pivotal modern naval operation that shaped the U.S. Navy's identity.

President Donald Trump's efforts to expand the Abraham Accords by pressuring Arab and Muslim leaders to normalize relations with Israel have been met with silence, as these states have already outlined their stance through the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which requires Israel to withdraw from occupied territories. Trump framed normalization as a debt owed and a condition for resolving the Iran war, but regional leaders have not responded to his overtures.

Michael Swaine's 2024 analysis on preventing U.S.-China war is revisited amid recent talks between President Trump and President Xi. The article explores whether U.S. military involvement in Iran alters the risk of conflict with China.

Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan passed a $25 billion defense budget after a six-month stalemate, ending a legislative deadlock that strained U.S.-Taiwanese relations. A bipartisan open letter from U.S. senators and a controversial 'peace' visit by Kuomintang chairwoman Cheng Li-wun highlighted tensions.

The article highlights the need for accessibility reforms in Ukraine and introduces 'The Ukraine Compass,' a weekly digest offering diverse Ukrainian perspectives beyond battlefield-focused American coverage.

The article highlights the effectiveness of a Cold War-era German anti-aircraft gun, the Gepard, against Shahed-type drones in Ukraine's conflict with Russia, noting its low cost compared to modern alternatives. It contrasts this with a medieval-inspired drone countermeasure involving a pronged drone.

Threats to undersea infrastructure, including the Balticonnector pipeline and data cables, have increased, with 44 incidents of damage recorded between 2024 and 2025. Russia's involvement in these incidents has become more apparent, raising concerns about disruptions to global data traffic.