[ad_1] U.S. special operations forces have a unique role to play in today’s strategic competition with China and Russia, yet—outside a niche community—understanding of what SOF do is limited, outdated, and under-appreciated. It’s time that changed. For global security challenges that transcend traditional boundaries and cut across theaters and domains, Defense Department planners should look ...

[ad_1] By large margins on Saturday, the House passed a package of three linked bills advancing $60 billion in military aid for Ukraine, $26 billion in military aid for Israel, and $8 billion for “countering China” in the Pacific.  The measures come at “a moment of grave urgency, with Israel facing unprecedented attacks from Iran, ...

[ad_1] HUNTSVILLE, Alabama—The Army may introduce a drone and robotics platoon into its armored brigade combat teams, an Army leader announced Tuesday at the AUSA Global Force conference.  A proposal to stand up the new type of platoon has been sent to the Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, for eventual inclusion in an update ...

[ad_1] Russia recruited about 10 people to attack the cars of an interior minister and a journalist in Estonia last year, Estonian officials said Tuesday—a bizarre incident that shows the changing texture of Moscow’s efforts to undermine neighboring democracies. Russian agents used social media to find Estonian citizens or Russian citizens living in Estonia willing ...

[ad_1] Britain and Latvia will co-lead an effort to send Ukraine thousands of first-person-view (FPV) drones, which Ukrainian and Russian forces have used in vast numbers as improvised loitering munitions.    At least some will come from British manufacturers, according to a British Ministry of Defense press release issued Thursday. The order will be the first ...

[ad_1] The Army aims to double production of a key munition used in Ukraine by October, Army acquisition chief Doug Bush said today.  U.S. production of 155mm artillery shells is slated to rise from 28,000 last October—the most recent month for which hard numbers have been released—to roughly 37,000 in April and about 60,000 in ...

[ad_1] Amid the recent catastrophes in the Middle East—the renewed Israel-Hamas war; widening violence in Lebanon, Iraq, the Persian Gulf, and the Red Sea—one player counts the past year a success: China.  Beijing stacked up strategic win after win, not just expanding its economic presence, but convening leadership summits, brokering peace deals, and even holding ...

[ad_1] Twenty million dollars doesn’t usually change much in the U.S. military, but lawmakers hope it’s enough to usher the Pentagon’s irregular-warfare efforts into a new era.  A provision in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act provides $20 million and “funding authority, direction, definition, and Congressional reporting requirements to make permanent SOF’s ability to conduct ...