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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)

Podcast cover art for "Russian Roulette" by CSIS. The design features a black-and-white photo of a historic Russian building overlaid on a red map of Moscow. Three diagonal black lines intersect the top right corner. The podcast title is in bold black letters at the bottom, and "CSIS" appears in the upper left corner.

July 16, 2025

Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Geopolitics in the South Caucasus

Jeffrey Mankoff, a Distinguished Research Fellow in the INSS Center for Strategy and Military Power (CSMP), joined The Russian Roulette podcast.

Soldier moves across rope during Wolf Blitz 25 at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany.

July 15, 2025

Joint Force Quarterly 118 (3rd Quarter 2025)

This issue of Joint Force Quarterly addresses key strategic, operational, and doctrinal questions shaping the future of the joint force.

A circuit board contains multiple examples of important microelectronics innovation. The Defense Department's microelectronics commons aims to close gaps in America's ability to bring new microelectronics technology to market.

July 14, 2025

Major Concerns About Microelectronics

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is decisively shaping the future of warfare. It accelerates decision cycles, extends operational reach, and enables exercised control of the informational, and cognitive dimensions of engagement.

Cover Image for the Center for Disruptive Technology for Future Warfare Conference

July 8, 2025

INSS Hosts Disruptive Technology for Future Warfare Conference

This conference took place on 4 September 2025 and explored how the DoW can adapt new technology and engage the defense industrial base (DIB) to support the warfighter.

A composite image showing the Pentagon building on the left, symbolizing the U.S. Department of Defense, and a close-up of multiple $100 bills on the right, representing military spending or defense budget.

July 8, 2025

Strategic Innovation in the DoD FY 2026 RDTE Budget: Leveraging Disruptive Technologies for Deterrence, Defense, and Command and Control

The Department of Defense FY 2026 Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDTE) budget request marks a strategic inflection that reflects a doctrinal shift toward convergent disruptive technologies, and with it, a re-posturing of how deterrence, defense and decisive command will be engaged on the near-future battlefield.

Cover of the AJOB Neuroscience journal, Volume 16, 2025, Number 3 (July–September). The background features an artistic rendering of neurons and synapses in a grayscale palette with highlighted red and orange synaptic connections. The journal title is displayed prominently in gold text on a dark banner across the top.

July 7, 2025

Super Soldiers or Social Burden? Ethical Exploration of the Benefits and Costs of Military Bioenhancement

Biotechnological enhancements for military personnel arouse scrutiny, beyond the ethics of experimental research and due care during operational service, to the eventual return to a civilian life.

The White House is pictured behind a large-scale fence at night.

July 7, 2025

Iran’s Strategic Crossroads: Options Beyond the Axis?

Events of 2023-2024, culminating with the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, have brought Iran’s regional strategy—a triad of ballistic missile capabilities, nuclear latency, and a decentralized network of regional armed partners—to a moment of reckoning.

President Donald Trump sits with senior national security officials in the White House Situation Room during the U.S. operation targeting Iran's nuclear program on June 22, 2025.

July 6, 2025

A Better Way to Talk About Risk

Defense planners are prepared to accept risk to deter China, but what does that mean for counterterrorism?

Chinese PLA (People's Liberation Army) soldiers stand in formation attending the 100-day countdown launch event for the Group of 20 (G20) 2016 summit in Hangzhou city, east China's Zhejiang province.

July 5, 2025

China’s Military Diplomacy in the New Era

Military diplomacy — including senior-level visits, port calls, and joint exercises — has become a vital tool of Chinese statecraft.

July 1, 2025

The Orb’s Eye: Seeing the National Security Implications of Iris Based ‘Proof of Humanity’

As recently reported in the cover story of Time magazine, the launch of The Orb — a beach‑ball‑sized biometric device developed by Tools for Humanity (co‑founded by Sam Altman) — marks a paradigmatic shift in digital identity and biosecurity technology and its implications.