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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)

After patrolling through a wadi and searching its caves for evidence of smuggling, scouts from Company C, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion move back toward their vehicles to conduct further Reconnaissance in the area west of Mosul. Task Force Ninewa, the ground-combat element for Operation Defeat Al Qaeda in the North II, is built around 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (Task Force Highlander). It is comprised of Marines from 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Battalion 2nd Marine Regiment, as well as augments from ANGLICO, Explosive Ordinance Disposal, and other combat assets of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, and now controls the open areas of northern Iraq near Mosul.

July 20, 2020

Al-Qaeda’s Iran Dilemma: Evidence from the Abbottabad Records

Through a comprehensive review of documents recovered from Usama bin Ladin’s Abbottabad compound, this study provides a new periodization of al-Qaeda’s relationship with Iran. The analysis reveals that al-Qaeda often had to reconcile conflicting operational and ideational pressures in its interactions with the Islamic Republic over time. Beyond offering insight into the trajectory of this important relationship and direction for future scholarship, the analysis suggests some ways through which the United States might expand the strategic wedge that exists between these unlikely allies and highlights the need for a more flexible understanding of state sponsored terrorism.

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July 14, 2020

Terrorism in Afghanistan: A Joint Threat Assessment (Chapter III)

Chapter III: Afghanistan in the Regional Security Interplay ContextAs it has for centuries,

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July 13, 2020

Western Way of War

RUSI Western Way of War audio discussion featuring Dr. Frank Hoffman.

NDU Korea Futures 2025 Symposium

June 29, 2020

NDU Korea Futures 2025 Symposium

National Defense University’s Institute for National Strategic Studies has now released a public report from its February 2020 “Korea Futures 2025” symposium. The objective was to explore the implications and consequences of differing Korean futures for the United States and the countries of Northeast Asia. The report summarizes the discussions and presents key findings.

System Overload: Can China’s Military Be Distracted in a War over Taiwan?

June 25, 2020

System Overload: Can China’s Military Be Distracted in a War over Taiwan?

In his 2019 New Year’s Day address, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping issued a stern warning to Taiwan: “We make no promise to abandon the use of force, and retain the option of taking all necessary measures.” At the same time, he warned that force could also be used to forestall “intervention by external forces,” referring to the United States. While designed to intimidate recalcitrant Taiwan and U.S. leaders—and appeal to domestic nationalists—rather than to signal an imminent confrontation, Xi’s comments underscored the very real military threats that China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) poses to Taiwan. As the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency notes, Taiwan has been the “primary driver” of PLA modernization for decades, spurring the development of short- and long-range ballistic missiles, amphibious and airborne units, and other capabilities targeted at Taiwan and intervening U.S. forces. Those threats have become more worrisome as the PLA conducts large-scale exercises and provocative bomber flights around the island. The PLA’s improved warfighting capabilities have contributed to China’s near-term cross–Taiwan Strait objective—deterring Taiwan independence. Understanding the costs that a war would impose on the island, few but the most die-hard Taiwan independence activists have supported overt moves toward de jure independence.

COVID-19 Illustration

June 24, 2020

How Will the EU Survive the Coronavirus?

What will be the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on Europe?  How will the pandemic change the

Senior Airman Elijah Thompkins, 75th Medical Group, hands a prescription over to a beneficiary March 23, 2020, at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The 75th Medical Group Satellite Pharmacy is providing curbside service until further notice in front of the Base Exchange shopping center in support of social distancing recommendations and to increase efforts to mitigate further spread of the novel coronavirus.(U.S. Air Force photo by Cynthia Griggs)

June 24, 2020

The Health-Security Nexus: Reassessing Priorities after COVID-19

While Covid-19 has spurred debate about the need to elevate public health as a security concern, the securitisation of health presents both opportunities and trade-offs that need to be considered if we are to reallocate military spending to prepare for the next pandemic. Mr. Nima Gerami and Ms. Amanda Moodie address these issues in their latest for The Oxford University Politics Blog.

An Expeditionary Warfare Unmanned Surface Vessel autonomously navigates a predetermined course through the water during Advanced Naval Technology Exercise 2019 at Camp Lejeune, N.C. July 12, 2019. ANTX East 2019 is an event designed to test new technology with acedemic, industry and Navy participants. (Marine Corps photo by LCpl. Nicholas Guevara)

June 23, 2020

An Affordable Defense of Asia

US military advantages over China are steadily eroding…For the last two decades, China has studied

PRISM Vol. 8, No. 4 (June 2020)

June 12, 2020

PRISM Vol. 8, No. 4 (June 2020)

As the National Security and National Defense Strategies state, the world has entered a phase of great power competition in which the United States is confronted by a rising China and a resurgent Russia. PRISM V.8,N.4 offers perspective on this competition with articles by Sir Lawrence Freedman, the Honorable Joseph Nye, and the Honorable Andrew Natsios.

Chinese President Xi Jinping

June 10, 2020

China’s Inopportune Pandemic Assertiveness

For a state just beginning to recover from Covid-19, China has been remarkably active in pressing