In The News

Samuel Bendett says, "It is not yet clear how many of the UGVs will be manufactured and then delivered to Russia's armed forces." 

Samuel Bendett says, “I certainly won’t dispute the Ukrainian government officials talking about drone numbers.”

Samuel Bendett says, "It's all about flying them at frequencies that are not jammed by EW equipment." 

Samuel Bendett says, “Combat drones are probably of little use in a river crossing. What’s more important is to have ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] ones flying for constant overwatch, as well as a menagerie of counter-drone and electronic warfare systems to protect personnel and equipment.”

Samuel Bendett says, "Multiple Russian volunteer, state and affiliated manufacturing efforts have significantly ramped up FPV development and shipped large quantities to the front." 

Jonathan Schroden says, “The types of security forces that we were trying to build, which were relatively sophisticated and relied on advanced technology and electronics logistics systems, were just not within the general capacity of what Afghanistan would be able to use in sustainable ways.”

Sam Bendett said, "Telegram as a media network where many Russians turn for the news will become even more important, both as a source of info about the war and about tech developments that interested Russians need to get access to information.”

Samuel Bendett says, “If this is actually the case, then we are witnessing the capability that the Russian military has announced a while back, including stating that these drones will take to Ukrainian battlefield.”

Ken Gause says, “If you're going to do something like this, you're probably going to have to get started early and spend not years but probably decades socializing this with the larger leadership.”

Ken Gause says that now, Kim is developing his nukes more with an eye to keeping them than trading them away, even if it means living under sanctions.

Jonathan Schroden says that Afghanistan and Pakistan “have a fraught relationship for well past the last few decades, and a lot of the issues there stem from the Durand Line, which is the sort of artificially drawn border between Afghanistan and Pakistan that was created by the British when they were a colonial empire in this region.“

Samuel Bendett says that no drone can individually provide the same capability as an AWACS, "but a combination of different drones with varying ranges and altitudes can fill in some of the gaps left open by the loss of A-50."

Samuel Bendett says, “The volunteers … are still complaining that the country’s defense industrial sector is not fully involved in FPV drone manufacturing.”

Samuel Bendett says, “Given that anything that moves in the Ukraine combat will be observed, tracked and hit with a drone, many of these unmanned ground vehicle designs are very simple and inexpensive, DIY-ed at the front by units or delivered by volunteers.”

Julian Waller says, “Rufo is very intentionally acting as a bridging actor between people to his right – in a variety of dimensions and different ideological segments – and the more institutional establishment world: the harder right of American politics.”

Samuel Bendett says, “One of the more remarkable developments two years into this conflict has been our assessment of and how much we were probably off in that assessment in Russia’s ability to take casualties.”