STRATEGIC INSIGHTS

 

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Missile Defense

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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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GU GJIA

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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CSWMD

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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GU GJIA

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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CSWMD

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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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U.S. Withdrawal from the Antiballistic Missile Treaty

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)

South Korean soldiers pull security on a M3 Bridge vehicle during a wet gap crossing exercise.

Dec. 2, 2025

The Variables of OPCON: What "Conditions"?

Language around wartime operational control (OPCON) transition has evolved over the last decade, revealing important patterns and subtle (or not so subtle) shifts in position and policy.

Digital artwork of a human face split into blue and red circuitry, surrounded by glowing data lines representing human–AI interaction.

Dec. 2, 2025

Human Agency Under Predictive Insight: Neuroethical Guidance of Behavioral AI

The examination of the Centaur AI system highlights a turning point at the intersection of behavioral science and artificial intelligence, and reveals a compelling truth: human choice displays structured regularity that advanced analytic systems can model.

Cover of the Journal of Strategic Studies

Nov. 26, 2025

When Competition Becomes Contagious: Strategic Arms Racing Spillovers, Alliance Politics, and the Sino-American Nuclear Competition

The emergence of increasingly sophisticated conventional counterforce and missile defense systems is altering the dynamics around the nuclear security dilemma, in both its traditional and alliance forms.

Cover of the CTC Sentinel publication featuring a police officer standing in front of an anti-terrorism awareness poster. The top banner reads ‘Combating Terrorism Center at West Point – CTC Sentinel.’ The main feature articles listed are ‘Terrorism Risk: Theory, Practice, and Evolution’ and an interview with Admiral Frank Bradley.

Nov. 25, 2025

Foreign Terrorist Fighters: A Threat in Stasis

The threat of foreign fighters today is best understood as being in stasis.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) walk side by side down a hall to attend a welcoming ceremony ahead of their talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Dec. 6.

Nov. 25, 2025

INSS joins NUPI Russia Conference 2025

INSS Distinguished Research Fellow Dr. Jeffrey Mankoff participated in the NUPI Russia Conference 2025: Russian power practices and repertoires.

A soldier wears virtual reality glasses; a graphic depiction of a chess set sits in the foreground. Illustration created by NIWC Pacific.

Nov. 24, 2025

Critical Technology Areas Part 2: Implications and Recommendations for the Warfighter and Warfighting

As noted in last week’s special edition Strategic Insights, the Department of War will focus upon furthering research, testing and use of six key domains of disruptive technology (viz., applied artificial intelligence [AI], biomanufacturing, contested logistics technologies, quantum and battlefield information dominance, scaled directed energy, and scaled hypersonics).

image of the Earth with text super imposed on it, Implications of a PRC Shift to a Launch-on-Warning Nuclear Posture

Nov. 21, 2025

Implications of a PRC Shift to a Launch-on-Warning Nuclear Posture

This Defense Threat Reduction Agency study assesses the prospects and implications of China’s adoption of a launch-on-warning (LOW) posture for U.S. national security objectives. It evaluates China’s ability to adopt a LOW posture, identifies the key design decisions, examines what a Chinese LOW posture might look like, and assesses the implications and identifies potential mitigation measures.

The words "Special Edition" are laid out in white text over a black background.

Nov. 18, 2025

Convergent Critical Technologies Part 1: The Integrative Transformation of Warfighting

The Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering’s designation of six Critical Technology Areas (CTAs; viz., Applied Artificial Intelligence, Biomanufacturing, Contested Logistics Technologies, Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance, Scaled Directed Energy, and Scaled Hypersonics) constitutes a fundamental conceptualization of how power will be projected, contested, and sustained across the conflict spectrum.

The image shows a silhouette of a human head in profile, with the brain area illustrated using circuit-like patterns. At the center of the brain is a large microchip, symbolizing artificial intelligence or a combination of human cognition and technology. Radiating outward from the chip are multiple circuit lines, connecting the brain to the surrounding background. The background features bright blue concentric circles and electric-like energy streaks, creating a futuristic, high-tech atmosphere.

Nov. 18, 2025

Darwin Monkey: Next Generation Neuromorphic Computing and Competition for Cognitive Capability and Control

The Darwin Monkey System represents a substantive pivot from conventional AI toward synthetic cognition through neuromorphic architectures that emulate the structural and functional dynamics of the brain.

Soldier using virtual tablet hologram army technology

Nov. 17, 2025

The Agentic Database and Military Command: A Perspective on Autonomous C2 Systems

The shift from passive databases to “active reasoning engines” in commercial agentic AI signals a fundamental transformation in how decisions are made, authority is exercised, and accountability is maintained.