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Defense

Coverage of military posture, weapons systems, defense industrial base, and the evolution of modern warfare and force structure.

Taiwan's outlying islands and the HIMARS gamble: hours, not days

Taiwan's outlying islands and the HIMARS gamble: hours, not days

Taiwan plans to deploy HIMARS launchers to islands within sight of the Chinese coast. The launchers could devastate an invasion fleet—if they survive long enough to fire. Military logic and political reality collide in a space measured in minutes.

Can America strike Iran without Gulf bases? The uncomfortable arithmetic of Middle East deterrence

Can America strike Iran without Gulf bases? The uncomfortable arithmetic of Middle East deterrence

When B-2 bombers hit Iranian nuclear facilities in January 2025, they flew from Missouri—not Qatar or the UAE. Gulf allies are hedging, and Washington's regional leverage is narrower than it admits.

Xi's military purge: Weakened invasion force or tighter grip on the trigger?

Xi's military purge: Weakened invasion force or tighter grip on the trigger?

China has removed at least sixty senior military officers since 2023 in its biggest purge since Mao. The campaign has gutted the Rocket Force and frozen defense procurement—yet PLA exercises around Taiwan grow more sophisticated. The purge reveals Xi's priorities: he fears disloyalty more than...

What breaks first when America deprioritizes China: Allied trust or allied capacity?

What breaks first when America deprioritizes China: Allied trust or allied capacity?

The 2026 National Defense Strategy has reordered American priorities, placing homeland defense ahead of comprehensive China containment. For allies who restructured their security postures around sustained confrontation with Beijing, the shift does not merely alter strategy—it questions the...

Why Britain traded sovereignty for security at Diego Garcia

Why Britain traded sovereignty for security at Diego Garcia

The UK-Mauritius deal on the Chagos Archipelago looks like retreat. It is actually a strategic consolidation—trading the fiction of colonial ownership for a 99-year lease that secures one of the world's most important military bases against legal challenges that were becoming impossible to ignore.

What happens when America's Gulf allies refuse to host Iran strikes

What happens when America's Gulf allies refuse to host Iran strikes

When Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar denied basing and overflight access for operations against Iran, they exposed the fragility beneath four decades of American military investment in the Gulf. The US can still strike—but not sustain a campaign.

Xi's military purge: Why removing generals makes China both weaker and more dangerous

Xi's military purge: Why removing generals makes China both weaker and more dangerous

The decimation of China's Central Military Commission has destroyed institutional knowledge and created a culture of fear. But a wounded military is not necessarily a less threatening one—especially for Taiwan.

Why America's Pacific allies are losing sleep over the Pentagon's new priorities

Why America's Pacific allies are losing sleep over the Pentagon's new priorities

The 2026 National Defense Strategy demotes China from top threat to regional concern. For Japan, the Philippines, and Australia—facing Beijing's gray-zone coercion daily—the timing could not be worse. What happens when the guarantor's attention wanders?

Xi Jinping's military purge: What the fall of China's top generals reveals

Xi Jinping's military purge: What the fall of China's top generals reveals

The elimination of nearly the entire senior command structure—including Xi's closest military ally—signals neither war preparation nor regime collapse. It signals both, simultaneously, in ways that make prediction impossible.

What breaks first when US allies must self-defend: NATO's eastern flank, Taiwan, or the Gulf?

What breaks first when US allies must self-defend: NATO's eastern flank, Taiwan, or the Gulf?

Three allied theaters share a common vulnerability: industrial dependence on American production that no ally has seriously attempted to replicate. When stockpiles determine survival, the question becomes who runs out first.

Britain cedes Diego Garcia sovereignty—but America keeps the base

Britain cedes Diego Garcia sovereignty—but America keeps the base

The UK-Mauritius agreement transfers sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago while preserving a 99-year US military lease. Critics warn of strategic disaster. The operational reality is far more mundane—and the legal foundations far stronger.

Japan's hypersonic gamble: Deterrence restored or arms race accelerated?

Japan's hypersonic gamble: Deterrence restored or arms race accelerated?

Tokyo's new strike capabilities are designed to counter China and North Korea. But the same weapons that strengthen deterrence also fuel the regional arms competition they aim to prevent—a contradiction Japan cannot escape.