In The News

Samuel Bendett says, that Russia's inability to protect its airbases is "baffling." "Why didn't Russian air defenses track and identify the targets so deep inside the country?"

Samuel Bendett says, "Not sure about Iranian UAVs, but I would assume some of them were not specifically designed for frigid temperatures considering where they operate now."

Michael Kofman says, “I think the main difference is that Ukrainian troops are better equipped to deal with the conditions.”

Samuel Bendett says, “Two main developments are going to impact future war. The proliferation and availability of combat drones for longer-ranged, more-sophisticated operations, and the absolute necessity to have cheap tactical drones for close-support operations."

Dmitry Gorenburg says, "Paradoxically, it's the side which is losing in a war that often gets to decide when it stops. Russia is losing in Ukraine, but the war likely will not end until the Kremlin chooses to stop fighting."

Jonathan Schroden says, “In the absence of those connections, anything developed by the cell will exist as an isolated idea, likely to be choked by the weeds of a thousand other good ideas coming from the ranks.”

Daniel Lawrence says, “So I think ShotSpotter shouldn’t be viewed as the panacea to gun violence here. It’s one single tool that can be used in a broad array of different law enforcement approaches.”

Samuel Bendett says, “Russia has two goals at this point. Number one is to stabilize the front so that its mobilized forces can be there to sort of plug the existing gaps and really sort of fill up the front with manpower that has been impacted over the first eight or nine months of this war. The second goal is to continue impacting the Ukrainian will to fight now that the winter is actually here.”

Samuel Bendett says, “As far as what kind of drones Iran can sell to both Armenia and Serbia - there are a number of options that include both the Shahed and Ababil models since both were used by Iranian proxies in the Middle East, and now Shahed has demonstrated its limited, but key, capacity in Ukraine.”

Michael Kofman says, "I think Ukraine does face a real challenge from a concerted Russian strike campaign that's focused on the electricity grid. I think it is taking a toll over time. Ukraine is able to manage it right now, fix blackouts. And most Ukrainians cities, I've seen are enacting electricity conservation. They're quite dark at night even though they have power."

Michael Kofman says, “Ammunition availability” was one of the “most determinative aspects of this war. If you burn through 9 million rounds, you cannot make them in a month. So the issue is what is the ammunition production rate and what can be mobilized?”

Michael Kofman says, "No military is properly prepared to deal with the deep strike and precision fire" that these weapons provide.

Samuel Bendett says, “In a swarm—just like in an insect swarm, in a bird swarm, in a school of fish—each drone thinks for itself, communicates with the others, and shares information about its position in a swarm, the environment that the swarm is in, potential threats coming at the swarm, and what to do about it, especially when it comes to changes in direction or changes in swarm composition.”

Dmitry Gorenburg says that Russia using a potential port for commercial purposes to avoid bans “could certainly happen as Russia is working hard on ways to circumvent sanctions.”

Ken Gause says, "Whenever Ri Sol Ju appears, there is strategic messaging involved. Normally designed to tamp down tensions, counter other aggressive messaging (like tests), or show Kim family cohesion in times of internal troubles."

Nilanthi Samaranayake highlighted hopes that all the riparian nations will come together to create a common mechanism for managing the vast water resources and ecosystems of the Brahmaputra for mutual benefits.