Opinion

Defense News offers the commentaries and opinions from military and industry decision-makers that frame the global debate about defense policy, programs and strategy.

Opinion

To achieve Replicator, the Pentagon should mirror Unmanned Task Force

Disruptive innovation inside any large organization is extremely hard. Few organizations have shown they can sustain disruptive innovation over time.

3 days ago

Opinion

Three directions the US defense budget could go

Battles over border security, as well as aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, make the outcome for the FY25 defense budget difficult to predict.

6 days ago

Opinion

To keep pace, the Pentagon needs a new way to plan its budget

The PBBE process is no longer able to keep up with the pace of innovation and the complexity of growing national defense threats.

Opinion

Rearming US Navy ships at sea is no longer an option, but a necessity

Fortunately, rearming VLS cells at sea is not an impossible engineering problem.

7 days ago

Opinion

How Europe can build its defense while maintaining US support

Europe sought “autonomy” without providing adequate defense resources, while the U.S. wanted more European defense contributions without losing influence.

12 days ago

Opinion

How to hold Ukraine over until Congress passes more aid funding

Washington still retains the authority to give Kyiv more than $4 billion worth of materiel from U.S. stocks.

14 days ago

Humanitarian aid trucks enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel into the Gaza Strip on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023.

Opinion

Can Biden’s new arms policy lead to real accountability for Israel?

This new memorandum could — and hopefully will — help operationalize important existing law and lead to new points of leverage over Israeli operations.

3 weeks ago

Opinion

How to end China’s chokehold on the Pentagon’s supply chains

Countless China-based firms remain deeply embedded in Defense Department supply chains across 12 critical technologies.

4 weeks ago

Opinion

Department of the Air Force needs more resources for successful reorg

No organizational plan, no matter how competent its design, can make up for shortfalls without additional resources.

4 weeks ago

Opinion

Adopt a treaty for semiconductor export control

The absence of a robust global semiconductor export control regime leaves the United States vulnerable in the technological race.

5 weeks ago

Opinion

Want an interchangeable naval force? Expand foreign exchanges.

Refocusing exchange programs through the lens of potential military conflict can accelerate the benefits of collaboration.

5 weeks ago

Opinion

How to help solve Ukraine’s drone shortage problem

While the Ukrainians adopted FPV drones first, Russia now has the edge thanks to its advantage in production capacity.

5 weeks ago

Opinion

NATO has a munitions problem, and Europe needs to step up

There are at least three competing munitions demands on the European defense industry that require immediate attention.

6 weeks ago

Opinion

Implementing the industrial base strategy won’t be easy

This is a national crisis that will take an all hands on deck effort to resolve. But it’s not clear the sense of urgency is strong enough.

6 weeks ago

Opinion

To deter China, the US and Taiwan should seek asymmetric symmetry

The days of black-and-white definitions of asymmetry have passed.

7 weeks ago

Opinion

An unprepared West contemplates threat of Russia’s nonstrategic nukes

A deeper and broader study of Russia’s approach to nonstrategic nuclear weapons is essential to maintaining the peace in Europe.

7 weeks ago

Opinion

Rebuild US brain trust to curb reliance on foreign critical minerals

China’s Commerce Ministry recently imposed export controls on gallium and germanium, minerals essential for computer chips and solar panels.

7 weeks ago

Opinion

Think the Sentinel nuclear program is pricey? Try living without it.

Budgets are tight, which means every defense dollar counts, but the program should not be thought of as “unaffordable,” given the stakes.

7 weeks ago

Opinion

Corruption in China’s military is no excuse for American complacency

American policymakers should not bet on corruption to hamstring PLA modernization.

7 weeks ago