Military & Security

By Tom Nichols A few weeks ago, I directed Harvard Extension School’s “Crisis Game,” in which students had to play out a hypothetical Cold War crisis involving nuclear weapons. The realization that a crisis could escalate to nuclear war shocked younger students who had never given much thought …

James Holmes Methinks the U.S. Navy has contracted some weird allergy to fleet experimentation. Why else would service potentates retire a promising experimental aircraft like the X-47B unmanned combat air system demonstrator, or UCAS-D, in its infancy? Experimentation, of course, is the process of testing some tactic, concept, …

By James R. Holmes As weaponeers, budgeteers, and lawmakers wage their annual death match over the defense budget, here’s some input from the margins of Fight Club. And yes, I know the first and second rules of Fight Club. But no one obeys them inside the Beltway, and …

Russian defense officials’ plans to build a supercarrier have been scrutinized at home and abroad. However, the idea could have a surprisingly practical side. A new article in Newsweek rekindled rumors from March that Russia could be building a new supercarrier. The article notes that Russia has no strategic need …

Never before seen types of military hardware, including new Armata main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, will be showcased during the Moscow Victory Day Parade on May 9.  The Russian Defense Ministry posted on its website photos of its latest, most advanced models of military hardware that will be displayed …

Germany’s latest spying scandal has created the biggest crisis yet for the country’s foreign intelligence agency. The German government appears to have been aware of widespread US spying, possibly including economic espionage, against European targets and yet it did nothing to stop it. By SPIEGEL Staff  July 14, …

Patrick Megahan and Oren Adaki The Saudi-led international coalition operating in Yemen announced last Tuesday it had ended the first phase of its nearly month-long campaign in the country. Though the coalition fell short of its stated goal of returning Yemen’s internationally recognized government to power, it insists that in …

Richard Javad HeydarianTruong-Minh Vu With China tightening its grip on much of the South China Sea, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is struggling to adopt an appropriate and unified response. Ironically, this year is supposed to be the “Year of China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation”. Since Cambodia’s disastrous …

By JAY SOLOMON And CAROL E. LEE  Leading Persian Gulf states want major new weapons systems and security guarantees from the White House in exchange for backing a nuclear agreement with Iran, according to U.S. and Arab officials. The leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, including Saudi Arabia, the …