Commentary

“We have to build and sustain submarines in the next 15 to 17-plus years the same way we did in the ’80s with an industrial base that’s one-third the size.” On a recent trip to Lake Charles, Louisiana, the executive director of program…

During his New Year’s Eve address, the Chinese leader Xi Jinping said that “China will surely be reunified” and that “all Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common purpose.” In stark contrast, North Korean…

Across the Department of Defense, today’s watchword is innovation. In 2018, Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google and the first chairman of the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Board, aptly declared that “the does not have an innovation…

On Oct. 7, 2023, a nonstate actor, the violent Palestinian organization in control of the impoverished Gaza Strip, inflicted the worst defeat in the history of the country with the strongest military in the Middle East. In Israel, where…

Even as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping a were forming “a new epoch in relations” between their two countries, Russia was still planning for the possibility of nuclear war against China as late as…

As a new surface warfare officer, your time is split between running a division and getting qualified. While much of qualifying means opening every publication and tactical handbook you can find and learning it cold, a great deal of your…

Dear War on the Rocks Community, As we reflect on an incredible decade of delivering in-depth analysis and perspectives on strategy, defense, and foreign affairs, we stand at the precipice of a new era. Our journey has been both enriching…

As the Oscar-winning film Oppenheimer popularized the story of the Manhattan Project, we were reminded that foreign-born geniuses like Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi played a major part in American innovation. In the context of World War…

First, there are rumors, then comes the announcement: “Relieved of command due to a loss of confidence.” So, it went for several Air Force officers, who were removed from command in 2023. Military officers have often been regarded as the…

In the minutes after a launch detection or nuclear detonation, would America’s nuclear command, control, and communications system enable the president to make a timely and accurate decision to retaliate? We do not know. In a 2019 War on…