War on the Rocks
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Latest posts
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The G.I. and the Paperback: A World War II Love Story
On June 5, 1944, as soldiers lined British shores, preparing for their perilous journey to the beaches of Normandy, Special Services units handed out comfort items, from packs of cigarettes to candy. But one item was more sought after than any other: books. Crouched on the…
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The Cost of Waiting: Why the Houthis Are Getting More Dangerous and Where to Hit Them
In 2025, Ari Heistein wrote, “Defeating the Houthis Will Require More Than Killing Their Chief.” A year later, we asked him to reflect on the Houthis’ Red Sea gains, the limits of killing leaders, and why another ceasefire would only buy them time to rearm.Image: Mehr News…
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Quantum’s Quietest Branch: A Case for Magnetometry
After an F-15E went down in Operation Epic Fury, the weapons systems officer landed injured, behind enemy lines, and with a bounty on his head. CIA Director John Ratcliffe analogized locating him to finding a “grain of sand in the middle of a desert.” When commandos pulled him…
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Humanity’s Promethean Gap with AI
Frontier AI systems are beginning to test the limits of human oversight, while the companies developing them retain considerable power to define the risks and the terms of their scrutiny. In security and defense, the stakes are particularly high. The industry’s new calls to pace…
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Corruption in the Crosshairs: The Debate Over Transparency and Saving Face
Welcome to The Ukraine Compass, a weekly digest of Ukrainian commentary and analysis from across the political spectrum, only for War on the Rocks members. Each week, we bring you a curated selection of articles from Ukrainian media offering insight into how Ukrainians…
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The Pentagon-Silicon Complex and the Rise of the Neo-Primes
What happens when the military depends on technologies it doesn’t own? Sharon Weinberger, the new editor-in-chief of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, stops by the studio to discuss her book, Valley of Death: How Big Tech Is Fueling the Future of War. She delves into the…
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What Israel’s Election Results Mean for the Middle East and Beyond
Israeli elections on Oct. 27 produced a complex result, with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition alliance, led by Gadi Eisenkot, winning enough seats in the Knesset to form a government. The opposition faces a tricky choice: attempt to form a…
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What’s a Revolution in Military Affairs Good For?
For decades, militaries have chased the next revolution in warfare. But what actually makes a revolution in military affairs revolutionary? Is there one happening now? Does it matter? Is it just about drones and AI or something more? Ryan digs into the promises, pitfalls, and…
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A Tale of Two Markets: A Dickensian Take on the Coming Years in Defense Tech
It’s a strange time for the defense technology sector. Despite the headlines of record capital, valuations, and defense budgets, there is a growing unease among investors and leadership teams. Production contracts remain as elusive as ever, and a generation of startups is…
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Sitting Ducks or Strategic Shields: What Does the Small Reactor Promise Mean for Future Conflicts?
Amid the rapid expansion of AI and data centers alongside growing climate commitments as the demand for clean energy rises, nuclear power is increasingly viewed as a reliable source to fill the gaps and complement the stochastic output of solar and hydropower. This renewed…
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Jihadism’s Global Struggle, and Where It’s Gaining
In 2018, Barak Mendelsohn wrote, “Bound to Fail: Transnational Jihadism and the Aggregation Problem,” where he argued that transnational jihadist groups like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State would continue failing to turn local victories into a lasting caliphate, allowing…
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The Atlantic Brief: After the U.S. Midterms, Trans-Atlantic Defense Cooperation
Date: Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026Time: 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ESTThe third joint webinar by RUSI and War on the Rocks: Two leading defense publications from both sides of the Atlantic present their expert panel.Overview:For this edition of The Atlantic Brief, the Royal United Services…
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The Next Congress Needs to Reclaim Its Oversight of the Department of Defense
Since returning to office in January 2025, the Trump administration has aggressively exercised executive authority across the federal government. Meanwhile, Congress has not adequately applied its oversight role to rein in the executive branch, particularly over the Department…
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The Machine Staff
At Nellis Air Force Base last year, an AI system was tasked with building courses of action, a complex operational problem that military planners have spent generations learning to perform. The AI system took less than a minute to complete its task with solutions rated at 97…
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The Anti-Taliban Resistance Has Survived. Can It Win?
As the Taliban enters its sixth year in power, it remains more powerful than it was before the Sept. 11 attacks. The Taliban’s flag flies in all of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. While only Russia has formally recognized the group as the country’s government, China and the United…
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Tensions Rise
Welcome to The Adversarial. Every other week, we’ll provide you with expert analysis on America’s greatest challengers: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and jihadists. Read more below.***IranIndications of a return to direct hostilities are increasing. The United States is…
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Are Critiques of Zelensky a Side Effect of Societal Exhaustion?
Welcome to The Ukraine Compass, a weekly digest of Ukrainian commentary and analysis from across the political spectrum only for War on the Rocks members. Each week, we bring you a curated selection of articles from Ukrainian media offering insight into how Ukrainians themselves…
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Lessons for Pentagon Procurement from the Special Operations Enterprise
As the Pentagon races to buy hundreds of thousands of unmanned systems, acquisition professionals have turned to the special operations community to learn about how to buy commercial technologies fast. Cara Teeter, deputy assistant secretary of war for special operations…
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The Importance of the Battle of Bailén
Early on the morning of July 16, 1808, Captain-General Francisco Javier Castaños of the Army of Andalusia launched a surprise attack against the divided forces of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s Army of the Gironde. After three grueling days of combat, French Gen. Pierre Dupont…
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Deception in Mass Autonomous Warfare
“[T]he exigencies of desperate survival do stimulate wise leaders to seek such unorthodox solutions.” —Barton Whaley, StratagemOn the night of Jan. 5, 2025, my first mission in the Pokrovsk command post was to make a fake radio call. We knew Russian forces were listening in. We…