Ideas

Users Can’t Be Afterthoughts in the Pentagon’s AI Efforts

The troops, commanders, and civilians who will use artificial-intelligence tools have vital roles to play in creating, training, and improving them.

Ideas

Are Directed-Energy Weapons Behind the Havana Syndrome?

As an aerospace engineer and former Vice Chair of the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, I can attest to the effectiveness of such weapons.

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AFA Conference Wire: Keeping AI Safe From Bad Data

News and notes from the 2021 Air Force Association's Air, Space & Cyber conference.

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Biden Just Gave France Something More Valuable than a Submarine Contract

The White House endorsement of European defense apart from NATO is worth more than a $66 billion deal with Australia.

Ideas

AFA Conference Wire: New Space Force Uniforms, Hub-and-Spoke

News and notes from the 2021 Air Force Association's Air, Space & Cyber conference.

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Why France Is Getting No Sympathy for Its Lost Sub Deal

Its European neighbors have long bristled at Paris’ self-dealing and aggressive sales tactics.

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AFA Conference Wire: China Warnings and B-21 Numbers

News and notes from the 2021 Air Force Association's Air, Space & Cyber conference.

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AUKUS Is the Death Knell of Australia's Strategic Ambiguity

At what cost is Australia attempting to strengthen its deterrence of China?

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AFA Conference Wire: Force Mixes and COVID Masks

Vaccine cards and masks are back on the agenda for the 2021 Air Force Association.

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Trade Versus Subs: The Risky U.S. Tradeoff in the Asia-Pacific

Which will matter more, a dozen more nuclear subs on the U.S. side of the ledger or a trade pact that could draw many of the world's largest economies ever-closer toward China?

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Defense One Radio, Ep. 88: How Air Warfare is Changing

Four experts describe lessons from Iraq, Azerbaijan, Gaza, and more.

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The Taliban PR Campaign Has Not Ended, But Transformed

Messages of liberation and inclusiveness have given way to ones that serve the consolidatation of power.

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How Chinese Strategists Think AI Will Power a Military Leap Ahead

The U.S. military should ready itself for a warfighting environment in which the PLA’s realizes its vision of "intelligenization."

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Generals Should Not Have to Break the Rules to Prevent Nuclear War

Rather than criticizing Milley, we need to change the policy that put him in an impossible spot.

Ideas

The U.S. Should Get Serious About Submarine Cable Security

Three trends are accelerating risks to underwater cables’ security and resilience. 

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Boost Defense Spending? Congress Owes Us a Better Explanation

The proposed 2022 budget plus-ups add to a long history of hiding flimsy arguments behind dramatic rhetoric.

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Between Then and Now, They Did Not Die in Vain

I was among the first to parachute into Afghanistan in 2001. This is how I will remember the war.

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Seven Movies Worth Watching About 9/11

Some of these films are fictional. Others are inspired by, or based on, actual events. Each tries to provide insight into what the events of that day unleashed.

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Defense One Radio, Ep. 87: Climate change vs. everyone

In this episode, we review how our understanding of the threats posed by human-caused climate change is evolving, and we look at some ways the U.S. could more smartly compete with China.