War on the Rocks

War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 24, 2023 at 13:37 UTC

The Russo-Ukrainian war provides Ukraine’s supporters with a compelling moment to re-examine defense acquisition policy.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 23, 2023 at 11:00 UTC

How can the United States make so much progress in some parts of the Indo-Pacific yet struggle elsewhere?

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 22, 2023 at 16:14 UTC

In this episode, Nick Danforth sat down with Mike Kofman to discuss the latest from Ukraine's three axes of advance.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 22, 2023 at 10:54 UTC

The Department of Defense Appropriations bill and its accompanying report contain provisions that will significantly increase the budget of the Defense Innovation Unit.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 21, 2023 at 10:38 UTC

Looking at the role of logistics interdiction in potential Chinese military operations has important implications for Taiwan’s defense.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 18, 2023 at 10:05 UTC

The only way to overcome a deeply held narrative is to replace it with a more convincing one, and the ability to make a convincing narrative takes practice and training.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 17, 2023 at 09:54 UTC

Ultimately, Rome’s “New Look” aims to reboot Italy’s role as a regional power with global influence, while still operating within the framework of NATO and the European Union.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 16, 2023 at 09:32 UTC

Defense planners’ focus on short war scenarios and the commensurate development of a military built around exquisite high-tech platforms has opened the United States to potential strategic failure in conflict.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 15, 2023 at 10:37 UTC

Unfortunately, contemporary debates about conscription often rely on a distorted understanding of its history.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 14, 2023 at 10:45 UTC

In recent decades, U.S. sales of military equipment have been largely uncoordinated and not tied to a strategy of global competition.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 11, 2023 at 14:07 UTC

Massive weapon flows to the Middle East fuel the root causes of instability and provide nefarious actors with the tools for their repressive and aggressive domestic and foreign policies.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 10, 2023 at 21:12 UTC

France’s policy shift on Ukraine in NATO is part of a broader structural shift in its foreign policy that will affect the equilibrium on European debates over security and enlargement.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 10, 2023 at 10:59 UTC

The battle of Hostomel was arguably the most critical battle of the Russo-Ukrainian war to date.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 09, 2023 at 10:42 UTC

With increasingly bellicose military actions and rhetoric from both North Korea and China, the risks for a miscalculation — and resumption of the Korean War — are higher than at any time in years.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 08, 2023 at 11:41 UTC

What happens when the military bureaucracy changes but novel experiments with AI/ML fail to shift doctrine and prevailing ideas about warfare across the profession of arms?

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 07, 2023 at 12:01 UTC

The Ukrainian military has struggled to adapt to the rapidly changing threats and demands on the battlefield, and has largely moved away from NATO-style combined-arms tactics in the face of a challenging offensive.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 04, 2023 at 12:06 UTC

Given the challenges of mine warfare, it is critical that the Department of Defense rapidly reconstitute mine countermeasure and mining capabilities.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 03, 2023 at 10:51 UTC

For the first time, we present the Strategic Outpost movie list — our highly unscientific picks for some of the best, as well as some of the worst, war movies of all time!

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 02, 2023 at 08:38 UTC

Japan needs to clarify the ultimate ends and respective means of its counterstrike capabilities, referring to and coordinating with South Korea’s Three Axis system.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 01, 2023 at 10:15 UTC

The Petro administration should revamp military intelligence and mobility capabilities, improve training and recruitment, and appoint more effective civilian leadership.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 31, 2023 at 12:56 UTC

Turkey’s goal is not to balance against Russia. It’s to be distinct, and ultimately independent, from its Western allies.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 28, 2023 at 13:08 UTC

The Wagner mutiny offered a rare but clear example of vulnerability and instability within the Russian system. This raises more questions for Beijing about the future of its alignment with Moscow.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 27, 2023 at 17:06 UTC

On this episode of the Russia Contingency, Mike is joined by Franz Stefan-Gady and Konrad Muzyka to discuss their recent field work in Ukraine and their initial impressions from visiting the front lines.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 27, 2023 at 15:32 UTC

Aaron sat down with Mike to discuss the Ukrainian counteroffensive and where things stand along the three axes of advance. The two discussed the state of the Ukrainian armed forces, the units committed to the fight, Russia’s well-prepared defense and whether the offensive is at an inflection point.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 27, 2023 at 15:14 UTC

It is possible to maintain first-strike stability and avoid qualitatively new arms race dynamics among three major power nuclear adversaries.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 26, 2023 at 14:39 UTC

The Prigozhin affair was indeed a puzzling event. Yet, in proper historical perspective, the march and its outcome emerge as an age-old but stubbornly persistent Russian practice: the delivery of a petition to the autocrat.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 25, 2023 at 12:44 UTC

While no silver bullet, there is no future warfighting scenario in which European states will not wish to have access to large arsenals of long-range strike weapons.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 24, 2023 at 13:13 UTC

The past five years should be a wake-up call to U.S. Navy and Marine Corps planners. Iran’s proxies have developed the requisite capability to challenge the U.S. Navy’s sea control in the eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 21, 2023 at 12:50 UTC

Many observers mistakenly attribute Moscow’s every decision to Putin personally. But even if he were taken out of the picture, the complex structure that he has constructed could very well endure.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 20, 2023 at 12:47 UTC

The true test of whether the latest push for innovation will succeed is whether or not military organizations start to build new command and control constructs and entirely new formations.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 19, 2023 at 12:51 UTC

Codifying domestic extremism as a punitive article under the military code would provide a means for commanders to adequately address the rising tide of domestic extremism.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 18, 2023 at 12:32 UTC

Western observers must therefore accept an uncomfortable reality: For as long as Russia fights against Ukraine, and for as long as the United States and Europe support Ukraine in its defense, there will be no cure against Russia’s “nuclear fever” — and the risk of nuclear war will remain.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 17, 2023 at 13:07 UTC

To mark a decade, we compiled the 25 most-read articles we’ve ever published. This list includes topics as diverse as your interests, from Russian military logistics to the U.S. Army’s physical fitness test. Enjoy!

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 14, 2023 at 11:48 UTC

The Air Force is quickly approaching a point where realistic live-fly test and training focused on the simulated air-to-air threats from China and Russia are not possible.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 13, 2023 at 11:09 UTC

Wargaming should reclaim its historical position as a critical educational tool for the entire force.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 12, 2023 at 12:04 UTC

But as much as Gaza represents some of the worst suffering of the conflict, current political circumstances are actually ripe for concluding what could be a game-changing, long-term ceasefire between Israel and the de facto authority in Gaza, Hamas, supported by the United States.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 11, 2023 at 11:22 UTC

In the face of the resilience of these regimes, Western nations should not stand idle, but should instead adopt “strategic patience” and acknowledge that they have few levers to change the strategic path that Russia and Iran have chosen.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 10, 2023 at 20:06 UTC

The United States should keep its intercontinental ballistic force “on alert” and maintain its “launch under attack” option to both ensure the force’s survivability in a conflict and deter adversaries from seriously contemplating a first strike.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 10, 2023 at 11:14 UTC

China’s expansion, Russia’s aggression, and increased Chinese-Russian “no limits” military and political alignment have fundamentally shifted threat perceptions around the world.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 07, 2023 at 10:26 UTC

The war in Ukraine has already reshaped, and will continue to redefine, NATO’s approach to China in several ways.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 06, 2023 at 11:47 UTC

“I love America, both as a place and a concept, and Top Gun is about America, for better and worse, warts and all.”

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 05, 2023 at 09:53 UTC

If nuclear deterrence is a religion, as some critics contend, then Sir Michael surely is one of its patron saints.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 30, 2023 at 12:18 UTC

Developers have a responsibility to both combatants and civilians around the world to ensure that the systems they design are reliable, discriminate, and subject to meaningful human control.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 29, 2023 at 13:12 UTC

Ultimately, the transatlantic alliance will persist only if the leadership on both sides of the Atlantic believes they have something to gain from its partners.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 28, 2023 at 12:01 UTC

Mutiny, regime change, and civil war are some of the ways in which war can reshape the political landscape. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this type of event has occurred in Russian history many times before.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 27, 2023 at 12:26 UTC

If the Air Force cannot protect its short-range aircraft and the bases they operate from, it will need to look elsewhere if it is to apply combat power to the problem of sinking ships in the Taiwan Strait.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 26, 2023 at 13:01 UTC

The specter of a Russian-Chinese partnership is threatening to the United States, not only because it makes U.S. military planning more challenging, but also because it raises the possibility of two adversaries joining forces to counter U.S. interests.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 24, 2023 at 12:33 UTC

In today’s WOTR episode, Mike looks at the slow progress of the #Ukrainian offensive and what, if anything, it means for the course of the war. He also discusses #Russia’s defensive strategy and how grateful he is not to be in Yevgeny Prigozhin’s head.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 23, 2023 at 12:27 UTC

Though Wagner Group operations in the Sahel and North Africa have provided the basis for renewed grievances against the Russian state, an internal event could actually provide the spark for a jihadist uprising within Russia’s borders.

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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 22, 2023 at 11:59 UTC

To tackle maritime security comprehensively, China should not be the sole focus of U.S. policy in the region.

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