The Propaganda Promise of AI

Lingua Sinica | Lingua Sinica and David Bandurski

China’s flagship English-language state newspaper, China Daily, is systematically integrating artificial intelligence into its social responsibility report initiatives to transition its global propaganda from a cognitive audience-analysis tool into an active, rapid-response content generation weapon. This technological shift enables the rapid production of targeted video commentaries, such as animated responses to Japanese defense policies, aimed at instantly shaping international public opinion during geopolitical disputes.

New Silo Type Built at 1 st Test and Training District in Jilantai

China Aerospace Studies Institute  |  Eli Tirk

The People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force has constructed a novel, multi-cell fixed launch system at the 1st Test and Training District in Jilantai, potentially enhancing China's conventional quick-strike capabilities. This newly identified infrastructure appears designed to support short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, directly threatening United States forces and allied assets within the First Island Chain.

Forging the Future Soldier: Exoskeletons, Genetic Engineering, and Cyborgs

Small Wars Journal | Fabio Lusiani

Military forces in the United States, China, and Russia are accelerating the development of advanced exoskeletons, genetic engineering, and cyborg technologies to engineer enhanced future soldiers. This technological arms race aims to revolutionize battlefield lethality and survivability but introduces severe vulnerabilities to electronic warfare and cyberattacks. Driven by the demands of increasingly complex operational environments, these nations are leveraging dual-use biotechnologies and human-machine interfaces to surpass normal human physical and cognitive limits.

Beijing is testing who will stand by Taiwan

The Strategist | Nathan Attrill

Beijing is intensifying a coordinated diplomatic coercion campaign in 2026 to systematically obstruct Taiwan's everyday international engagement and isolate the democratic island without resorting to military force. This aggressive strategy targets routine channels like parliamentary visits, overflight routes, and technical conferences to test the political resolve of United States allies.

Taiwan Intensifies Resistance to PRC Political Warfare

The Jamestown Foundation | Matthew Fulco

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has intensified counter-political warfare operations against the People’s Republic of China by aggressively prosecuting espionage, deporting subversive influencers, and restricting cross-Strait travel. These administrative measures bypass the opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan to directly safeguard national security against Beijing's annexation efforts. This domestic crackdown responds to a sharp rise in Chinese intelligence operations targeting active and retired Taiwanese military personnel, including leaks of sensitive diplomatic itineraries and elite brigade data, such as the 333rd Mechanized Infantry Brigade.

Xi Jinping warns against creating ‘new historical injustices’ in AI era

South China Morning Post | Sylvia Main and Howard Liu

Chinese President Xi Jinping advocated for a more inclusive global artificial intelligence order at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, warning against "new historical injustices" as tech rivalries with the United States intensify. This high-profile address directly countered recent American accusations of Chinese state-sponsored election data theft.

China Laughs at the US Approach to Irregular Warfare!

Small Wars Journal | Russell D. Howard

China is executing an orchestrated, multi-domain irregular warfare campaign against the United States homeland and its partners to achieve strategic victory without conventional military conflict. This offensive spans twelve distinct fronts, including algorithmic cognitive warfare, critical infrastructure cyber pre-positioning by Volt Typhoon, and maritime militia swarming in the South China Sea.

Trump's War Won’t Go Away

Comment is Freed  |  Lawrence Freedman

The United States and Iran have resumed active military exchanges over the Strait of Hormuz, establishing a state of mutual denial where neither side can secure operational control. This sudden escalation threatens critical global energy corridors as both nations employ aggressive military and economic tactics to force diplomatic concessions.

Why Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz after decades of holding back

The Conversation | Ben Soodavar

US military forces have struck hundreds of Iranian targets, including the port city of Bandar Abbas, to regain control of the Strait of Hormuz after Iran blocked the waterway. This escalation follows Iranian retaliatory strikes on commercial tankers and US bases across the Gulf, threatening global energy corridors and disrupting international maritime trade.

Ends Without Means: A Strategic Net Assessment of the US-Iran War

Small Wars Journal | Joe Funderburke

The United States has failed to integrate its diplomatic, military, and economic instruments of power during Operation Epic Fury, exposing severe strategic risks in its ongoing conflict with Iran. This operational misalignment stems from a rapidly shifting political objective that has fluctuated between nuclear disarmament, regime change, and negotiated settlement.

How Marco Rubio Is Running Venezuela From Afar

The New York Times  |  Tyler Pager, Anatoly Kurmanaev

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has assumed de facto control over Venezuela's finances, government, and natural resources from Washington following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro by American commandos. This unprecedented exercise of extraterritorial authority positions the American diplomat as a modern viceroy, managing the sovereign nation's daily operations without having set foot in Caracas since the transition.

On the War Against Iran, the Pentagon Has Said Little

The New York Times  |  Helene Cooper

United States Central Command launched a wave of airstrikes against Iranian command centers, air defense sites, and missile capabilities on July 15, 2026, to degrade Tehran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This military escalation marks a volatile sixth day of direct combat following the collapse of a fragile bilateral truce.

Eleven takeaways from the NATO Summit in Ankara

Atlantic Council  |  Torrey Taussig, Philippe Dickinson, LeAnne Noelani Howard, Nate Swanson, John Herbst, Grady Wilson, Daniel Fried

NATO allies concluded their summit in Ankara by reaffirming their collective defense commitments under Article 5 and advancing defense spending targets toward a five percent GDP goal by 2035. This critical diplomatic alignment occurred despite intense transatlantic friction over Greenland, renewed hostilities with Iran, and European defense budget allocations that have strained relations.

When does Andy Burnham become prime minister and what are his policies?

BBC News  |  Alex Boyd, Duncan Walker

Andy Burnham will become UK prime minister on Monday, replacing Sir Keir Starmer in No 10 Downing Street following a rapid political transition. The former Greater Manchester mayor secured the Labour Party leadership uncontested after returning to Parliament in a recent by-election, capitalising on Starmer's declining public support and local election gains by Reform UK.

Strategic Snapshot: Russian Oil Woes Reinforce Economic Troubles

The Jamestown Foundation

Ukrainian long-range drone strikes targeting critical Russian oil infrastructure have expanded up to 1,500 miles from the border, hitting refineries in the Omsk and Novosibirsk oblasts. This deep-penetration campaign has triggered widespread domestic fuel shortages and forced the Kremlin to implement nationwide gas rationing, directly exposing structural vulnerabilities within Russia's heavily sanctioned wartime economy.

An AI Crash Is a Real Possibility

Persuasion | Damon Silvers and Matt Scherer

Generative artificial intelligence developers are accumulating unprecedented debt, including $570 billion in 2026 alone, to fund a massive $7 trillion data center buildout that far outpaces their revenues. This widening capital-expenditure-to-revenue gap threatens to trigger a systemic financial crisis because these highly leveraged firms now comprise 45 percent of the S&P 500 market capitalization.

The 20-Somethings Running Ukraine’s War Machine

The New York Times  |  Constant Méheut

Ukraine’s defense sector is undergoing a rapid generational shift as young professionals under thirty increasingly displace Soviet-era bureaucrats to accelerate weapons procurement and military innovation. This emerging cohort of engineers, entrepreneurs, and ministry officials is bypassing traditional red tape to secure critical Western munitions and develop combat-proven technologies like electronic warfare-resistant radios.

The Decline of Strategic Depth? Beyond Geography in Modern War

Mick Ryan's Substack  |  Mick Ryan

Ukrainian long-range strike capabilities have systematically targeted Russian military production and logistics deep within the state's traditional rear areas, challenging the historical concept of geographic strategic depth. This rapid proliferation of advanced drones and deep-strike planning threatens the sanctuary of homelands globally, forcing defence ministries to re-evaluate their national security assumptions.

Lebanon’s Peacekeepers Are Heading for the Exits

Foreign Policy | Anchal Vohra

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is preparing to withdraw its peacekeeping forces from the southern region of the country, leaving a critical security vacuum along the highly contested Blue Line border with Israel. This planned departure of international troops significantly heightens the risk of direct, unmitigated military confrontation between Israeli forces and regional armed groups.

The risk of weather data sabotage is rising

MIT Technology Review  |  Monique Kuglitsch, Jesper Dramsch, Franz G. Kuglitsch, Andrea Toreti

Weather station manipulation at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in April 2026 exposed a critical vulnerability in global meteorological data integrity. Gamblers used simple heating devices to trigger false temperature spikes of 22 °C, securing $20,000 payouts on online prediction markets and demonstrating how financial incentives can drive localized data sabotage.

A Framework for Frontier AI and the Dawning of a New Age

X  |  Demis Hassabis

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) development requires an immediate, United States-led regulatory framework to mitigate catastrophic national security risks before advanced models achieve recursive self-improvement. Google DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis proposed establishing a federally overseen public-private Standards Body, modeled on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, to evaluate these frontier-class systems.

America’s Trillion-Dollar Failure: The Pentagon Is Broken, but Congress Can Fix It

Foreign Affairs  |  Ro Khanna

The United States Department of Defense faces a severe acquisition crisis as slow procurement timelines and massive budget overruns leave the military lagging behind adversaries in critical modern technologies. Despite spending over $1 trillion annually, the Pentagon struggles to field hypersonic weapons, autonomous drone swarms, and missile interceptors, threatening its ability to deter great-power conflict.

Maneuvering to Obsolescence: The Death Ride of the Armor Branch

Small Wars Journal | Amos Fox

The United States Army's Armor branch faces institutional obsolescence by 2035 due to its dogmatic adherence to legacy maneuver warfare concepts. This doctrinal rigidity, combined with a failure to secure key leadership roles and adapt force structures, threatens to eliminate the military's heavy mechanized land warfare capabilities, creating a catastrophic warfighting vulnerability.

Army’s heavy units face counter-drone capability gaps

DefenseScoop | Drew F. Lawrence

The United States Army’s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team recently exposed critical counter-drone capability gaps during a major training rotation at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California. Unit leaders warned that the inability to rapidly defeat enemy unmanned aerial systems represents the single greatest threat to heavy armored maneuver on the modern battlefield.

Survival Skills: Why the Army Needs to Relearn Passive Defense

Modern War Institute  |  James L. Andreasen

The United States Army must rapidly integrate passive defense measures like netting, concealment, and deception to survive drone-saturated battlefields where persistent detection and cheap precision strikes make exposed units highly vulnerable. While active counter-unmanned aircraft systems remain critical, they cannot carry the entire survivability burden across all echelons.