In a Future Military, You Must Spend to Deter
OPINION — President-elect Joe Biden and Defense Secretary-designee ret-Gen. Lloyd Austin will inherit a Defense Department already in transition, shifting to China as the future […] More
Military
The Uneasy Relationship Between the Pandemic, the Military and the Law
The Cipher Brief’s Academic Incubator program partners with colleges and Universities across the country to bring you the voices of the next generation of national […] More
The Challenging Vaccine Distribution Mission
OPINION — Last Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci used the metaphor, “the cavalry is on the way,” referring to two COVID-19 vaccines that are expected to […] More
The Times that Try Men’s Souls
OPINION – The military has become the U.S. institution in which the public has the most confidence, as measured by the latest Gallup Poll, which […] More
The Military’s Mission: Artificial Intelligence in the Cockpit
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently hosted the AlphaDogfight Trials putting artificial intelligence technology from eight different organizations up against human pilots. In […] More
The Future of Lethal AI Capabilities and Military Aviation
In the aftermath of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) recent AlphaDogfight Trials that saw AI defeat a human F-16 pilot in a simulated […] More
A Look at the U.S. Army’s Future Mission
Thousands of people are virtually gathering this week as the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) kicks off its annual conference focused on the […] More
Aligning Security Force Assistance for the Next Large-Scale Conflict
The Cipher Brief’s Academic Incubator program partners with colleges and Universities across the country to highlight the voices of the next generation of national security […] More
The China Problem
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called out China’s claims in the South China Sea this week, saying they are “completely unlawful.” It was a distinctive […] More
Russian Aims in Afghanistan
Bottom Line: Russia is accused of funding Taliban contract killings of US troops in Afghanistan. US military officials made limited accusations of Russian arms support […] More
The Battle over Bounties and the Bottom Line
OPINION — On 27 June, The New York Times reported Russia was offering bounties to the Taliban to kill American soldiers. The paper cited anonymous […] More
An Apolitical Military is Essential to Maintaining Balance Among US Institutions
OPINION — Today, American institutions are front and center as we simultaneously confront the triple threat of an active pandemic, civil unrest spurred by racial […] More
NATO Imagines Future Warfare
Innovation is a key component of readiness when it comes to future threats. NATO’s Innovation Hub recently commissioned a short story from author August Cole, […] More
DoD’s Blueprint for Coronavirus Testing
OPINION — Defense Department senior officials last week described plans to increase testing for Covid-19 over the next few months, prioritizing higher risk forces but […] More
OSINT Global Trendline Report: COVID and the Americas
The Cipher Brief’s Open Source Trend Line Report utilizes open source data on a quarterly basis to track trends around the world that impact national and global […] More
How Will COVID-19 Impact U.S. Military Readiness?
Bottom Line Up Front COVID-19 has required the U.S. military to shift personnel and materiel to a domestic mandate to augment civilian state and […] More
Coronavirus and the Military
During this time of social distancing, The Cipher Brief is bringing our experts to your laptop in a new series of web-based briefings on critical […] More
Why a Closer Look at SOCOM Should be on the Radar
OPINION — It’s time for the House or Senate Armed Services Committees to take a close look at U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) and hold […] More