Expert Analysis

Chinese telecom giant Huawei filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, claiming the National Defense Authorization Act banning the installation of their hardware in federal defense systems is unconstitutional. The lawsuit complaint states: Plaintiffs Huawei Technologies USA, Inc., and Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (collectively, “Plaintiffs” or “Huawei”), by and through their attorneys, bring this action […]

Russia’s struggling economy may not make for a particularly effective military, but the Kremlin’s ability to mold public perceptions remains among the nation’s most comprehensive and powerful skill sets. While some within the United States are still content to dispute the idea that Moscow uses a combination of state-run media outlets and social media outreach […]

After nearly two straight decades of counter-insurgency and anti-terrorism warfare, the United States has found itself at a disadvantage compared to the smaller and less technologically advanced militaries of China and Russia in some circumstances. With these nation-level competitors enjoying the lead in hypersonic missile technology, long-range artillery technology, and even the development of new […]

While it could be said that every unit which falls under the “special ops” umbrella is comprised of operators who can move, shoot, and communicate with lethal efficiency, different units developed to address specialized challenges. As the years wore on, and particularly since the onset of the Global War on Terrorism, lines may have blurred […]

In 2010, Chelsea Manning, then US Army Specialist Bradley Manning, approached Wikileaks and was responsible for the largest leak of classified information in American history.  She claims to be ideologically motivated and felt that the American public needed to know what was in the leaked documents, a disclosure often compared to the Pentagon Papers.  President […]

The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has replaced its commander and chief, Abu Musab al-Barnawi, naming Abu Abdullah Ibn Umar al-Barnawi as the new region commander. The former commander’s father was none other than Muhammad Yusuf, the founder of Boko Haram. It raises the question: has the Islamic State just killed al-Barnawi? Mamman Nur and al-Barnawi created ISWAP in late […]

Although it’s becoming increasingly apparent Russia’s foray into the world of fifth-generation fighters, the Sukhoi Su-57, will likely never be fielded in sufficient numbers to represent any real strategic value, Moscow is already looking toward the “stealth” fighter’s replacement. The Su-57, widely touted in Russian media as a match for America’s F-22 Raptor and F-35 […]

The booby-trapped body of a man captured and killed by jihadists last week exploded when relatives tried to bury it, killing 17 individuals and injuring many others. It’s thought the citizen went to find grass for his cattle in a forest outside of Diankabou in Koro, located in the Mopti region of Mali. He never […]

The Koulikoro Training Center (KTC), part of the European Union Training Mission (EUTM) in Mali, came under assault late last month from unknown gunmen and was rocked by a pair of suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (SVBIEDs). Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) has claimed responsibility for the attack and released  images of their “heroes” […]

With the exception of one engagement over Syria in 2017, the United States has not found any of its fighters in a good old-fashioned “dogfight” since the early 1990s. Throughout much of the world, the same can be said for most other national militaries. As a result (and bolstered by new fighter technologies), there’s a […]

Abu Iyadh al-Tunisi, a senior al-Qaeda member and the architect of the Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia, has been killed in an operation by French forces, according to Menastream. The operation took place in El Aklé, nearly 186 miles northwest of Timbuktu, Mali, on the border with Mauritania. Abu Iyadh, an Afghanistan veteran, founded […]

Amadou Koufa, the senior member of the Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), is alive—despite French forces claiming to have killed him. The top militant commander purportedly died in a November 2018 raid led by French forces in the central Mopti region. French media shared the story that Koufa appeared “in a 19-minute-long video, answering […]