Defense Blogs and Articles
Defense Blogs and Articles
Defense Pulse
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EMAIL DIGESTS
Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
The blog argues that the U.S. and Israel’s justification for a war against Iran rests on a purported missile threat that lacks substantive evidence. It cites a 2025 Defense Intelligence Agency assessment indicating Iran cannot yet strike the United States and may not develop such capability for a decade. Congressional briefings reportedly found no signs of imminent Iranian attacks. The piece suggests the conflict narrative may serve broader geopolitical aims rather than genuine security concerns.
SCSP released an interactive report estimating that artificial intelligence could influence 25 % to 64 % of tasks across all 131 Army officer MOS, with combat arms still seeing over a quarter of duties affected, especially during deployments. The study proposes four...
Senator John Fetterman broke with his Democratic colleagues by endorsing President Trump’s recent Iran strikes, calling the regime an immediate threat and asserting legal justification for the action. His remarks sparked a sharp backlash from the party’s progressive wing, which...
On March 5 1776 George Washington seized Dorchester Heights, positioning artillery that forced the British to abandon Boston. The operation hinged on Henry Knox’s winter transport of 59 cannons from Ticonderoga and a meticulously timed night march that caught the enemy off‑guard....
The Royal Navy has launched Project TALON, a pre‑procurement effort to acquire a rapid, ship‑installable counter‑drone system. The Ministry of Defence seeks mature kinetic and non‑kinetic solutions that can detect, track and defeat NATO Class 2 UAVs with minimal integration, targeting...
Target Intelligence: PSYOP with Shawn Ryan is a ten‑episode audio docuseries that pulls back the curtain on modern psychological operations. Episode 1 features Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen and details Russian troll farms, the Internet Research Agency, and algorithm‑driven disinformation. Episode 2 shifts focus...
General David Petraeus, a four‑star Army veteran, former CIA director and current KKR executive, co‑authored a new book on modern warfare. The blog argues his expertise is crucial as the United States and Israel confront Iran militarily. It outlines the...
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced the Strait of Hormuz is closed to U.S., Israeli, European and other Western ships as Iran escalates its war with Israel and the United States. U.S.-Israeli strikes have killed 920 Iranians and prompted Iranian...
The Trump administration announced a plan to provide U.S. insurance and military escorts for energy tankers navigating the volatile Middle East, especially the Strait of Hormuz. Simultaneously, reports suggest Trump is weighing support for anti‑regime militias in Iran, while CIA‑backed...
Colonel Richard “Butch” Sheffield recounts his B‑58 Hustler service, highlighting ultra‑low‑level, supersonic training at 500 feet and 628 knots and a secret reconnaissance role kept from adversaries. He describes the Dual Exhaust program where his crew dropped a Mark‑53 nuclear bomb without...
Elon Musk’s decision to block Russia from using Starlink satellites has hampered Russian drone and artillery operations, highlighting the strategic power of private space assets. After initially supplying Ukraine with terminals, Musk later restricted their use against Russian territory following...
Ukrainian forces on the Donbas front line are confronting a relentless wave of Russian attack drones that patrol the open terrain. Soldiers rely on handheld drone detectors and small‑arms fire to knock out the buzzing threats, while command posts fuse...
American Security First argues that U.S. policymakers have repeatedly mishandled Iran, from Carter’s missed opportunities to Obama’s covert cash transfers and Biden’s JCPOA revival. The author warns that the Trump administration’s hard‑line stance should not translate into regime‑change wars, emphasizing...
OpenAI has signed a new contract with the U.S. Department of Defense, expanding its involvement in Pentagon projects. The agreement’s surveillance language contains numerous ambiguities that could allow broad data collection. Critics on LessWrong highlight potential loopholes that may undermine...
The historic TAT-8 transatlantic fiber‑optic cable, installed in 1988, is being dismantled, marking the end of an era for the original global internet backbone. At the same time, the U.S. Pentagon deployed Anthropic’s Claude AI model to support a strike...
On the night of March 2, 2026, Ukrainian drones launched a strike on the Russian port of Novorossiysk in Krasnodar Krai, inflicting heavy damage on multiple Russian naval vessels. The attack ignited a fire that burned throughout the night, fueled...
The article examines a hypothetical swap of the RAF’s English Electric Lightning with the Soviet MiG‑21, focusing on late‑1950s to mid‑1960s interceptor variants. It compares climb performance, speed, simplicity, and weapons load, arguing that the MiG‑21’s rapid climb and lower...
Iranian drones struck Amazon Web Services facilities in the UAE and Bahrain, marking the first known kinetic attack on a U.S. hyperscaler’s infrastructure. The incidents disrupted regional services and highlighted data centers as emerging military targets amid rising AI‑driven strategic...
SCSP has unveiled the Tech Scorecard, a new framework that rates national competitiveness across five technology dimensions—innovation leadership, industrial capacity, market ecosystem, talent pipeline, and national leverage. The initiative arrives as China’s 2026 Five‑Year Plan signals a shift toward high‑quality,...
The post argues that every strategy is fundamentally a sequence of moves, not a static plan. It stresses that timing and order—doing reversible, low‑cost actions before irreversible commitments—determine success more than skill or effort. A six‑step “ladder” framework (learn, position,...
ISIS’s Afghanistan affiliate, ISIS‑K, has begun publishing a guide that encourages recruits to use artificial‑intelligence tools and chatbots for research, propaganda and recruitment. The advice appears in the group’s English‑language magazine *Voice of Khorasan*, framing AI use as a “responsible”...
U.S. Delta Force captured President Nicolás Maduro in December, installing Vice President Delcy Rodríguez as acting leader with a narrow mandate to open the oil sector to American firms. Analysts argue that Venezuela’s long‑term stability hinges on a comprehensive peace...
The latest Israel‑U.S. campaign that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei and other senior officials raises complex questions about the law of armed conflict (LOAC). Under LOAC, state leaders can be lawfully targeted if they are combatants or civilians directly participating...
On March 4, 2026 Israel’s air campaign struck Tehran, Qom and key Iranian military sites, including the first recorded air‑to‑air kill by an F‑35 against an Iranian jet. Iran retaliated with roughly 40 ballistic missiles aimed at U.S. bases in...
U.S. Special Forces have deployed to Ecuador to conduct joint operations against designated terrorist groups. While the exact role remains unclear, the troops are believed to be primarily advisors but are authorized to engage in combat if necessary. The deployment...
Microsoft disclosed that dozens of companies are embedding hidden instructions in “Summarize with AI” buttons, using URL prompt parameters to bias AI assistants toward their products. Over 50 unique prompts were identified across 31 firms in 14 industries, demonstrating a...
The article argues that the United States needs a Coast Guard‑led interagency task force to address the expanding security and operational challenges in the Arctic, where melting ice is opening new shipping routes and exposing valuable resources. Russian militarization and...
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that a more moderate, popular figure already embedded in Iran’s regime could lead Tehran after the conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that while the war may be protracted, it is unlikely to last...
The latest episode tackles the legal quagmire of a potential U.S. war with Iran, emphasizing the 1973 War Powers Resolution and Congress’s role in authorizing armed conflict. It then shifts to immigration enforcement, highlighting judges repeatedly rebuking the government for...
On March 4, 2026, the Israeli Air Force confirmed that an F‑35I Adir shot down an Iranian Yak‑130 over Tehran, marking the first time an F‑35 has downed a manned fighter. The Yak‑130 was reportedly on a counter‑drone mission, equipped...
China has launched a high‑profile diplomatic campaign to halt the escalating Iran‑U.S./Israel war, calling for an immediate cease‑fire and a return to negotiations. Beijing emphasizes its flexible, interest‑based partnerships with Tehran rather than a binding alliance, underscoring that the Middle...
Russia’s Africa Corps in Mali has failed to counter JNIM’s insurgency, highlighting the perils of over‑reliance on technical intelligence (TECHINT) without robust human intelligence (HUMINT). The JNIM fuel blockade of Bamako and simultaneous attacks revealed that Africa Corps’ coercive, sensor‑driven...
Russia is intensifying gray‑zone campaigns in the Western Balkans, using propaganda, cyber attacks, and support for nationalist proxies to undermine Euro‑Atlantic integration. Existing Western responses remain largely reactive, addressing crises only after they materialize. The article proposes a Balkan Denial...
In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the EU has elevated military mobility to a strategic priority, building on the 2017 Military Mobility policy and a 2018 Action Plan. A €1.7 billion Connecting Europe Facility budget for 2021‑27 supports dual‑use transport...
Operation Roaring Lion entered its fourth day with intensified air campaigns against Iran and its proxies. Israeli Air Force pilots have flown roughly 1,600 strike sorties, deploying about 4,000 munitions, and executed over 300 strike waves in the last 24...
On Feb 28 2026 the United States and Israel began joint strikes—Operation Epic Fury (U.S.) and Roaring Lion (Israel)—against Iran’s nuclear facilities, missile sites, IRGC installations and senior leadership. The initial wave killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other top officials, while CENTCOM...
President Donald Trump asserted that Iran, equipped with long‑range missiles and nuclear weapons, poses an imminent threat to the United States, using the claim to justify potential airstrikes. Arms‑control specialists, however, dispute the immediacy of Iran’s ability to launch missiles...
The Pentagon’s demand that Anthropic’s AI models be usable for all lawful purposes collided with the company’s refusal to support mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons, sparking a supply‑chain‑risk designation and a legal showdown. The dispute highlights a clash between...
China’s foreign ministry publicly condemned Israeli and U.S. military strikes against Iran, urging an immediate cease‑fire and emphasizing diplomatic solutions. Wang Yi’s call with Israel’s Gideon Sa’ar highlighted Beijing’s call for de‑escalation and protection of shipping lanes in the region....
U.S. officials, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, framed the March 2026 strike on Iran as a pre‑emptive, or anticipatory, act of self‑defense, arguing that an imminent Israeli attack would trigger Iranian retaliation against U.S. bases. The justification hinges...
President Donald Trump ordered a direct military strike against Iran, presenting a litany of contradictory justifications ranging from regime change to pre‑emptive defense. The decision unfolded amid pressure from regional allies such as Israel and Saudi Arabia, yet the administration...
At the outset of World War II, the United States relied almost entirely on imported natural rubber, which supplied roughly 70 percent of tire production. When Japan cut off shipments in April 1942, the country faced a crippling rubber famine that limited military...
The Joint Special Operations University report warns that sensor‑rich battlefields are turning every movement into a data point, exposing Special Operations Forces to automated inference, overhead drones, subsurface vibration detectors, and ambient device networks. Gielas argues that merely knowing these...
Navantia UK announced it will recruit 35 apprentices for its Scottish yards in Methil and Arnish, covering Level 2 and Level 3 programmes in electrical engineering, fabrication, welding and CAD design. The hiring supports the company's broader pledge to train 500 apprentices...
Dr. Carter Malkasian’s Winter 2026 TNSR article argues that the Cold War fundamentally reshaped warfare in the greater Middle East, eroding state monopolies on violence and empowering non‑state actors. Post‑colonial regimes built conventional armies modeled on European powers, but social...
A superseding indictment in Texas adds material‑support‑to‑terrorism charges under 18 U.S.C. § 2339A to nine defendants accused of shooting a police officer during a July 4, 2025 protest at an ICE detention center. The statute, originally crafted to disrupt terrorist logistics, does not require proof...
Ukraine has emerged from its harshest winter with its power grid crippled by Russian attacks that cut electricity production by roughly 80%, yet civilian life in Kyiv continues thanks to generators and restored heating. On the battlefield, the front remains...
The article defines the "third nuclear age" as a chaotic, multipolar era marked by expanding arsenals, the 2026 expiration of the New START treaty, and rapid modernization in the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom and France. Emerging technologies...
On March 3, 2026, coordinated U.S. and Israeli airstrikes continued to degrade Iranian command, missile and naval infrastructure while collateral damage caused civilian casualties. Major marine reinsurers issued 72‑hour war‑risk cancellation notices for the Persian Gulf and adjacent waters, effective March 5,...
India is negotiating to acquire Israel’s Iron Dome and Iron Beam systems to plug a critical short‑range gap in its multi‑layered air‑defense architecture, known as Mission Sudarshan Chakra. The plan emphasizes sensor‑fusion, centralized command and cost‑effective interception of drones, rockets...
