Defense Blogs and Articles
Defense Blogs and Articles
Defense Pulse
EMAIL DIGESTS
Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
EMAIL DIGESTS
Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
Tom Barrack, the Trump administration’s special envoy to Syria and Turkey, announced on Jan. 20 that the Syrian Democratic Forces’ anti‑ISIS mission had largely expired, signalling a pivot toward Damascus and a centralized Syrian state. The shift sparked protests among Kurds in northeast Syria, Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, Europe and the United States, who view the move as a betrayal of the autonomy they helped secure. Barrack’s portfolio has expanded to include the U.S. Iraq portfolio, where he met Kurdish leaders amid concerns about Baghdad’s own centralizing agenda. The episode revives a long‑standing pattern of U.S. policy reversals that undermine Kurdish trust.
Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled its 2024 presidential election after intelligence uncovered a massive Russian hybrid campaign that included 34 coordinated attacks, 85,000 cyber intrusions and a TikTok‑driven disinformation surge that lifted a fringe far‑right candidate to a first‑round win. The...
U.S. Special Operations Command is urged to supplement its high‑signature, expensive military radios with disposable, low‑power commercial‑off‑the‑shelf (COTS) solutions such as LoRa. By operating in the unlicensed sub‑gigahertz ISM band and using chirp spread spectrum, these radios can hide below...
The author debated the escalating war in Iran on Piers Morgan’s show, joining a former IDF spokesman, a retired U.S. general, a Young Turks host, and an Iranian activist. Before the panel, former Vice President Mike Pence was interviewed, reiterating...
The United States and Israel launched a strike against Iran, dominating global headlines as China prepares for its annual Two Sessions. Beijing’s response has been limited to diplomatic condemnations, mirroring its usual stance in such crises. Iranian crude accounts for...
The United States and Israel have escalated military strikes against Iran, prompting expectations of Iranian retaliation in the Gulf. U.S. intelligence agencies, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are now operating on heightened alert to counter potential threats....
Belgium announced the deployment of a NASAMS air‑defence system at the Port of Antwerp. The move reflects a broader shift as European commercial harbours are increasingly viewed as potential military targets amid heightened geopolitical tensions. Authorities across the continent are...
On a special edition of the President’s Tech Brief, hosts Ylli Bajraktari and Martijn Rasser, joined by SCSP experts Chip Usher, Ylber Bajraktari, and guest Joel Rayburn, dissected the recent joint U.S.-Israel strikes against Iran. They examined the immediate fallout...
![Defense & Aerospace Daily Podcast [Mar 02, 2026] Dov Zakheim on Iran & Look Ahead W/ Byron Callan](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://hixhlmpcokxhartfkpyi.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/images/thumbnails/21f724f03ff6a27b2998bba6e941a588.webp)
Former Pentagon comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim and Capital Alpha Partners’ Byron Callan discussed the ongoing US‑Israel military campaign against Iran on the Defense & Aerospace Daily podcast. They warned that operations could continue for weeks, even as allies push for...
CSIS analyst Mona Yacoubian warns that recent joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran have triggered immediate Iranian missile and drone attacks across the Gulf, shutting airspace and threatening oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s retaliation targeted civilian infrastructure in...
The Strait of Hormuz, a 21‑mile narrow waterway, was shut after a severe incident dubbed “Epic Fury.” The closure halted the transit of roughly 20 million barrels of oil per day, about one‑fifth of global consumption. Heightened tensions between Iran and...
The United States and Israel launched coordinated airstrikes against Iranian facilities over the weekend, prompting a rapid cascade of retaliatory actions. Iran responded by firing missiles at the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar, extending the conflict beyond its borders....
The U.S. military operation against Iran is pulling Washington’s attention away from its newly‑declared Western Hemisphere priority, threatening to sideline a March 7 summit of Trump‑friendly Latin leaders. Latin American governments are divided: Brazil and Colombia condemn the strikes, Argentina...
Three U.S. Air Force F‑15E Strike Eagles were lost over Kuwait in an apparent friendly‑fire incident during Operation Epic Fury. All six crew members ejected safely and were rescued. CENTCOM confirmed the jets were shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses,...
A new Willis Research Network report warns that gray‑zone aggression has become a material threat for businesses across all sectors. Previously limited to aviation and shipping, these ambiguous, deniable tactics now disrupt supply chains, insurance coverage and operational continuity. The...
The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel released a memorandum justifying the Trump administration’s 2025 Venezuela operation, revealing that the memo places the decision on the president’s authority rather than providing an independent legal determination. It concedes a lack of...
A U.S. delta‑force raid captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, prompting scholars to reassess whether such regime‑change actions could spur nuclear proliferation. The article argues that, despite realist concerns linking security threats to nuclear ambition, the Venezuela operation...
The Royal Navy entered the escalating Middle‑East crisis with virtually no combat‑ready warships deployed in the Mediterranean or Gulf. Only HMS Duncan, freshly worked‑up, is immediately available, while the rest of the fleet is tied up in refits, maintenance periods, or...
Large language model (LLM) agents can now deanonymize individuals from a handful of anonymous online posts, achieving high precision across platforms such as Hacker News, Reddit, LinkedIn, and interview transcripts. The technique extracts location, occupation and interest signals, then matches...
Iran’s recent missile barrage over the Persian Gulf resulted in debris striking Jebel Ali, the world’s busiest container port, igniting a fire that forced a temporary shutdown. The incident halted more than 10% of global container throughput, disrupting supply chains that...
Retired Rear Admiral Bruce Loveless reflects on his decade‑long ordeal stemming from the “Fat Leonard” scandal, the largest corruption case in U.S. Navy history. After an initial suspension in 2013, he was arrested in 2017, endured a protracted trial, and...
The European Union has announced that Operation ASPIDES, its naval mission protecting Red Sea shipping, will be extended through 2027. The decision signals that the underlying drivers of the Red Sea crisis – chiefly Houthi‑linked attacks on commercial vessels –...
The Navy is emphasizing command culture as a force multiplier for expeditionary logistics, linking initiatives such as Culture of Excellence 2.0 and Get Real, Get Better to operational readiness. Leaders are urged to foster psychological safety, decentralized decision‑making, and learning‑focused...
Lloyd’s Register has issued an Approval in Principle for a hybrid nuclear‑ready power concept co‑developed with Australian ship designer Seatransport. The design merges micro‑modular nuclear reactors (1.2‑2.6 MW) with diesel‑electric propulsion on 73‑metre and 90‑metre amphibious stern landing vessels. Recent sea...
Reports from regional media claim a United States Air Force F-15 fighter crashed in northern Kuwait near the Iraqi border, with video showing a smoking aircraft and visible flames. Sources suggest the pilot ejected and was assisted by local residents,...
UAE airports were shut for two days after Israeli and US strikes on Iran triggered Iranian missile and drone attacks on Gulf allies. The closure left tens of thousands of passengers stranded in transit hubs. The General Civil Aviation Authority...
On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel conducted coordinated airstrikes against Iranian targets, prompting a massive retaliatory offensive by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC launched the largest attack in its history, striking more than 20...
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth designated AI firm Anthropic a supply‑chain risk after it refused to let the Department of War use its models for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons. Hours later, OpenAI announced an agreement‑in‑principle to fill the gap,...
![Defense & Aerospace Report Podcast [Mar 01 ’26 Business Report]](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://hixhlmpcokxhartfkpyi.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/images/thumbnails/440580e7626a3e7f86c52ab345291708.webp)
The Defense & Aerospace Report podcast highlighted Wall Street’s worst day of 2026, driven by AI‑related worries and disappointing U.S. job numbers. A joint Israel‑U.S. strike on Iran sparked a broad regional retaliation, raising concerns over depleted U.S. weapons stocks...
The article warns that the Department of War’s rush to embed frontier AI models in national‑security systems mirrors the "Red October" fiasco, where safety mechanisms were disabled and catastrophic failure followed. It argues that without a mission‑aligned, fit‑for‑purpose evaluation framework,...
The article expands the "mineral imperative" concept, arguing that global demand for metals and critical minerals must roughly double by 2050 to sustain development, decarbonisation, digitalisation and now defence. While population growth, urbanisation, electrification and AI have already driven material...
The Ukrainian Marine Corps has redesignated its three coastal defense brigades—the 34th, 39th and 40th—as Marine Brigades, raising the total number of active marine formations from four to seven. The change, announced on March 1, 2026, shifts these units from...
The RF‑4C tactical reconnaissance aircraft entered service in 1964, with 499 units built for the USAF. During the 1965 deployment to Vietnam, crew chief SSgt Edgar M. Mays faced a fuel‑system failure that would have grounded the aircraft for weeks....
Recent U.S. and Israeli strikes inside Iran, coupled with reports of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's death, have triggered a sharp geopolitical escalation. Diplomacy appears to have given way to force, raising the prospect of retaliatory attacks and broader regional spillover....
The University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs and Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, in partnership with the Alliance for Peacebuilding, are hosting a full‑day virtual webinar on March 10, 2026 titled “American Peacebuilding at a Crossroads.”...
The Small Wars Journal roundup highlights a surge in U.S.-Iran tensions, citing a CIA assessment that hard‑line IRGC elements could replace Ayatollah Khamenei if he is killed, and President Trump’s reaffirmed red line leading to a massive strike plan. Israeli...
President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces have launched major combat operations against Iran, a move widely regarded as a clear breach of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter. An emergency UN Security Council session is convening to address the violation....
The White House unveiled a Maritime Action Plan aimed at confronting Beijing’s dominance in global shipbuilding. The strategy calls for a massive increase in U.S. shipyard capacity, leveraging $30 billion in federal funding and new partnerships with allies such as Japan...
Dubai International Airport (DXB), the world’s busiest airport handling roughly 261,000 passengers daily, remains shut indefinitely as Iran’s missile and drone attacks force airspace closures across the Middle East. Emirates has halted all flights to and from Dubai with no...
El Al Israel Airlines broke its Shabbat grounding policy on Saturday to launch an emergency evacuation of its fleet from Ben Gurion Airport amid ongoing Iranian missile strikes across the region. Twelve aircraft, including Boeing 787 Dreamliners and a 737...
Just Security’s weekly digest (Feb. 23‑27, 2026) aggregates more than a dozen expert pieces on international law, security, and U.S. policy. Highlights include a two‑part analysis of a lawful peace for Ukraine, a court‑focused critique of ICE and CBP actions, an updated...
KrebsOnSecurity identified the individual behind the Kimwolf botnet as a teenager from Canada using the handle "Dort" and aliases like CPacket and M1CE. Public OSINT links the persona to a GitHub account, multiple cyber‑crime forum registrations, and a history of...
Iran experienced a near‑total internet blackout on Feb. 28, 2026, as U.S. and Israeli strikes hit the country. Network monitoring by NetBlocks showed national connectivity dropping to roughly 4% of normal levels, while Cloudflare reported traffic falling to effectively zero...
Congress is weighing a pivotal decision on the FBI’s next headquarters as the aging Hoover Building must be replaced. Lawmakers are considering the Ronald Reagan Building, but security experts argue it cannot satisfy Interagency Security Committee Level V standards. The article highlights...
![Defense & Aerospace Report Podcast [Feb 27, ’26 Washington Roundtable]](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://hixhlmpcokxhartfkpyi.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/images/thumbnails/6fc46098d29fc1b3a3a751892176f761.webp)
The Washington Roundtable highlighted President Trump’s push for new tariffs following a Supreme Court ruling, while Republicans draft related legislation. Analysts debated the 2027 defense budget, noting a consensus around $1.1‑$1.2 trillion versus the president’s $1.5 trillion request. The Pentagon warned AI...
The SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals upheld Sugarloaf Technologies, an SDVOSB mentor‑protégé joint venture, after GSA protested its award for missing the specific reporting language required by 13 C.F.R. § 128.402(c)(11)‑(12). Sugarloaf’s agreement instead contained a clause stating reports would be submitted...
In a recent ClubGPF live discussion, Geopolitical Futures chairman George Friedman revisited his book *The Storm Before the Calm* to argue that America is moving through an 80‑year institutional cycle. He compared today’s political polarization and economic anxiety to three...
Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) has launched its first defence export project, delivering a floating dry dock to the Sri Lanka Navy. The dock, constructed by Goa Shipyard Limited, was inaugurated on February 19, 2026, with Rear Admiral MDK Wijewardana...
The UK Ministry of Defence confirmed that the incoming Chinook H‑47(ER) helicopters will be delivered with a built‑in air‑to‑air refuelling receiver. Despite this capability, the current plan is to rely on United States KC‑130 aircraft for in‑flight refuelling rather than...
SEALSQ Corp is expanding its footprint in Japan by showcasing its production‑ready QS7001 secure System‑on‑Chip and QVault Trusted Platform Module at two March 2026 industry events. The move backs Japan’s National Cyber Command Office mandate to transition all government and critical‑infrastructure...
