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Missile Defense

Points De Vue |

Russia's Cold War Perspective on Missile Defense in Europe

John P. Caves, Jr. and M. Elaine Bunn

In this article, John P. Caves, Jr. and M. Elaine Bunn look at how Russia's opposition to the U.S. proposal to locate missile defense assets in Central Europe is primarily responsible for the controversy currently surrounding this initiative within Europe. They further look into how should Russia's objections be interpreted and what should be done about them?

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Georgetown Journal of International Affairs |

China’s Hypersonic Weapons

Paul Bernstein and Dain Hancock

Bernstein and Hancock identify potential strategic and operational issues that will need to be addressed as China's hypersonic capabilities mature.

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International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) |

Inevitable bedfellows? Cooperation on military technology for the development of UAVs and cruise missiles in the Asia-Pacific

Amy J. Nelson and T.X. Hammes

Will states in the Asia-Pacific develop real capabilities to deter Chinese aggression? In this discussion paper – published as part of the Missile Dialogue Initiative research programme – Dr Amy J. Nelson and Dr T. X. Hammes examine the increased likelihood that UAV and cruise-missile technologies will proliferate throughout the Asia-Pacific.

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Georgetown Journal of International Affairs |

Russia's Hypersonic Weapons

Paul Bernstein and Harrison Menke

While Russian hypersonic weapons could pose problems for U.S. and NATO defense planning, their introduction in the near-term is not likely to fundamentally alter the existing balance of power or the prospects for strategic stability.

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Power Under Parity

Distinguished Research Fellow Paul Bernstein contributed his expertise to this report on strategic parity in an era of great power competition.

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WMD Proceedings |

Star Wars Rebooted: Global Missile Defense in 2017

Bruno Gruselle

At present and for the near future, missile defense (MD) is not in peril of dismemberment. Indeed,

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WMD Case Study 2 |

U.S. Withdrawal from the Antiballistic Missile Treaty

Lynn F. Rusten

As President George W. Bush made these remarks in a speech at the National Defense University (NDU)

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ArticleCS - Article List (HIDDEN)

NIST physicists used this apparatus to coax two beryllium ions (electrically charged atoms) into swapping the smallest measurable units of energy back and forth, a technique that may simplify information processing in a quantum computer. The ions are trapped about 40 micrometers apart above the square gold chip in the center. The chip is surrounded by a copper enclosure and gold wire mesh to prevent buildup of static charge.

Jan. 27, 2026

Quantum Technologies: Focusing a Bit Upon Realities

Quantum technologies are often discussed in terms of being “revolutionary.” In the long term, this may likely be true, but at present, at least in military contexts, perhaps a more useful framing is to ask: in what domains and ways do quantum capabilities demonstrably outperform contemporary classical approaches; where are such technologies still insufficiently mature in readiness and operational feasibility; and what effects do such technologies exert on force design, intelligence tradecraft, and risks to national security?

Jan. 26, 2026

AI-powered military neurotech: Mind enhancement or control?

Neurable, a consumer neurotechnology startup, has partnered with the Air Force to study whether electrode-studded headphones can track service members’ cognitive fitness, much like Garmin smartwatches have monitored Space Force members’ physical fitness, company and government officials said this month.

The Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) welcomed two experts from Japan’s National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS), Dr. Hiroshi Yamazoe and Mr. Reito Kaneko, for a research dialogue. They are pictured with Dr. Phil Saunders (left) and Dr. Clint Work in INSS. They all stand in the atrium of National Defense University.

Jan. 22, 2026

INSS hosts counterparts from Japan’s National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS)

On 21 Jan, the Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) welcomed two experts from Japan’s National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS), Dr. Hiroshi Yamazoe and Mr. Reito Kaneko, for a research dialogue.

The icebreaker USCGC Healy (WAGB 20) keeps station while conducting crane operations alongside a multi-year ice floe for a science evolution in the Beaufort Sea, Aug. 9, 2023. Healy is the Coast Guard’s only icebreaker specifically designed for Arctic research, as well as the nation’s sole surface presence routinely operating in the Arctic Ocean.

Jan. 22, 2026

The Arctic is a Strategic Distraction

Over the past five years, numerous articles have called for increased U.S. defense resources focused on the Arctic. This is a strategic mistake, a distraction.

Jan. 20, 2026

Artificial Intelligence and a Reconfiguration of Military Power

Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael has emphasized that the DoW has historically under-deployed artificial intelligence (AI) and that the current moment demands rapid, enterprise-wide integration of AI capabilities across the DoW workforce to better support both efficiency and warfighting functions.

Cover of The 2024 Carlisle Conference of the PLA

Jan. 20, 2026

INSS Contributes Chapter on "PLA High Command in a Protracted War" in Army War College Book

INSS China Center Senior Research Fellow Dr. Joel Wuthnow published a chapter on “PLA High Command in a Protracted War: Four Scenarios” in a new Army War College book edited by Joshua Arostegui, The 2024 Carlisle Conference on the PLA: Protracted War Against the PRC.

Jan. 13, 2026

Fortifying Technologic Innovation in National Defense: Strategic Security Imperatives for Research and Acquisition

The recently announced Fundamental Research Security Initiatives and Implementation Memorandum, intended to strengthen protections for Department of War (DoW)-funded research, represents a crucial evolution in how the United States (U.S.) secures innovation enterprise within the defense industrial base (DIB). This initiative affirms that security and innovation are equal, co-foundational components of national defense and activities of the DIB.

Cover Image for Journal of Military Ethics, Volume 24, Issue 3-4, (2025)

Jan. 8, 2026

Re-constructing and Construing the Warfighter: The Intersection of Bioengineering and Identity in Neurotechnologically Enhanced Military Personnel

Current joint warfighters are no longer merely trained — in many ways, they are increasingly bioengineered.

Jan. 6, 2026

Cognitive Warfare 2026: NATO’s Chief Scientist Report as Sentinel Call for Operational Readiness

The recently released NATO Chief Scientist’s 2025 Report on Cognitive Warfare provides a timely acknowledgment of a strategic reality that contemporary conflict is increasingly behavior-centric, and the decisive terrain is often not geographic but how individuals and groups perceive, interpret, decide, and act.

U.S. and Republic of Korea Army soldiers stand guard near the border of North and South Korea during a Swedish Delegation visit to the Joint Security Area, Oct. 15, 2025.

Dec. 22, 2025

What Would OPCON Transfer Mean for the UN Command in Korea?

Considered by some as an artifact of the Cold War, the United Nations Command (UNC) continues to serve several critical roles, from maintaining the armistice agreement to coordinating multinational support for the South Korea-U.S. alliance.