Managing Expectations for the Ukrainian Counteroffensive
CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING — Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, the U.S. has allocated more than $75 billion in military, economic, and humanitarian support to Kyiv, in […] More
Military
The Perfect Tool for Scaling U.S. Defense Investment
OPINION — In the global techno-competition, the Department of Defense (DoD) has finally fielded a tool to incentivize America’s capital markets to invest in the […] More
The Pentagon Needs a Real Budget, Not Stop-Gap Solutions, says top DoD official
CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING — With President Joe Biden and top Republican lawmakers sitting down together this week in the hopes of averting an historic government […] More
Time May Be Running Short for Ukraine to Strike Back
CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING — Control of southern and eastern Ukraine – of which Russia has seized an estimated 40,000 square miles – could likely be […] More
America Has a Military Recruitment Problem. Some Are Trying to Fix It.
OPINION — “We [the Army] have a challenge connecting with America’s youth, or Generation Z. Most of today’s young adults are unaware of what it […] More
Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Chief Predicts How War Will End
Kyiv, Ukraine – As Ukraine announces a planned counteroffensive in the Spring, the head of the country’s Main Intelligence Directorate, Major General Kyrylo Budanov, is […] More
Balancing the Tightrope Between China and Russia is Serious Business
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang told reporters covering a parliamentary session in Beijing this week, that China is actively working to advance relations with Russia “as the […] More
Could the Wagner Group Be Facing New Competition?
The privately-owned military company Wagner Group under Yevgeny Prigozhin’s leadership, has served important Russian military and influence goals in Ukraine and elsewhere. The group’s march […] More
The Wagner Group’s Route to Infamy
BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT: The privately-owned Russian soldier-for-hire group known as the Wagner Group once operated in the shadows but in the past year, it […] More
What We Should Have Learned About Groupthink from the Iraq War
OPINION – As we approach the 20th anniversary of the Iraq invasion, we should reflect on what lessons the United States may have gleaned from […] More
Global Sustainability as a Means of Security
Militaries are more rapidly adopting green technology used to counter climate change to bolster their energy security and navigate increasingly complex logistics challenges. The Cipher […] More
Russia’s Military still has a lot to worry about
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — On the eve of the one-year mark of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Andriy Chernyak, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate at […] More
Can Russia’s Military Recover in Ukraine?
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — As the Russian war against Ukraine enters its 11th month, Moscow has fallen dramatically short of the military goals it set out last […] More
The Pentagon’s Cyber Personnel Issues Need More Attention
OPINION — The Army, which seeks to double the size of its cyber forces over the next five years, is already short-staffed in two key […] More
What is the Pentagon doing with record R&D Appropriations?
OPINION — House and Senate conferees on their own, upped the Defense Department’s fiscal 2023 research and development appropriations to $140 billion. That’s $10 billion […] More
Is AI the right fit for predictive military maintenance?
OPINION — The DoD is continually challenged to provide battle-ready ground combat systems, ships, submarines and aircraft to its warfighters, spending nearly $90 billion each […] More
How the U.S. Military is Thinking about Supporting its Own
OPINION — “First, and foremost, we support the men and women who serve in the United States military in this bill. Most specifically, we serve […] More
On the Radar: US Cruise Missile Defenses
Officials from Poland and NATO now say a missile that landed inside of Poland on Tuesday, killing two people looks as if it may have […] More