May 5, 2026

Irregular Warfare, Part One: Updating the Term and the Toolkit

Irregular warfare (IW) is not a new phenomenon, although its contemporary character has been substantively reshaped by advancements in technology, and more specifically, by the developments in AI.

May 4, 2026

Synthesized Command & Control: A new way human choices can guide AI warfighting

As the U.S. military races to adapt to ever-larger amounts of increasingly advanced, and iteratively autonomous AI, how do humans stay in control?

April 27, 2026

Losing the Loop: A Model for Human Operational Involvement Part Two: A Proposed System Toward a Solution

Last week’s “Losing the Loop: Iteratively Autonomous Artificial Intelligence and the Question of Human Operational Involvement” examined how increasing autonomy in agentic AI reshapes the structure, tempo, and locus of human decision-making in operational environments, particularly as these systems transition from analytic tools to increasingly directive and generative components of the human–machine team. Seen in sequence, the logic is cumulative. The first section demonstrates how autonomy can erode the integrity of the decision loop. The second makes that erosion visible, locating the specific points at which human judgment becomes constrained or displaced.

April 9, 2026

Cognitive Warfare and the Changing Character of Engagement: A Neurostrategic Perspective

The contemporary battlespace is undergoing a profound transformation in its fundamental logic.

April 8, 2026

Controlling Command: Is AI Capturing the Ethics of War?

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) with military operations is accelerating across global powers, including the United States, its allies, and competitor states such as China and Russia.

March 11, 2026

Precision in Words, Precision in Warfare: Terminology and Control in Military Discourse on Unmanned Systems

Unmanned vehicular systems (UVS) spanning aerial, maritime, terrestrial, and sub-surface domains have become integral to intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), logistics, strike operations, and electronic warfare. Yet despite the increasing ubiquity and sophistication of these technologies, discourse surrounding their capabilities can be undermined by imprecise terminology that conflates the terms automatic, remote, and autonomous in policy, technical, operational, strategic and policy briefings and planning.

Feb. 25, 2026

Strategic Assessment 2025: Evolving Great Power Competition at Mid-Decade

This mid-decade review of contemporary Great Power competition is most welcome because it presents U.S. political leadership and the national security community with an opportunity to reflect on the inherent challenges in this latest round of geopolitical rivalry. Although the turn toward contestation among the United States, China, and Russia (as well as others) was formally acknowledged by Washington first in its 2017 National Security Strategy, Great Power competition had never disappeared from the international system even during the halcyon days after the Cold War’s ending.

Feb. 10, 2026

Decision-Based Artificial Intelligence and the Strategic Reordering of Military Power

The public acknowledgement of the increasing use of decision-based artificial intelligence (AI) in U.S. defense provides a backdrop to a structural reordering of how military missions will be generated, exercised, and contested.

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.

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.