
Ideas
The Bloated Pentagon Budget Isn’t Just Wasteful. It’s Racist
In this era of racial reckoning, national security policy and defense budgets cannot be exempt from the scrutiny of their effects on communities of color.
Ideas
Why the US Military Is Leading the Charge on 5G
It’s not unlike the way that the armed forces invested in radar technology during World War II.
Ideas
The Original Sin of the War in Afghanistan
How Biden viewed the start of America’s post-9/11 wars may inform his future decisions on the use of force.
Sponsor Content
eBook: Joint All Domain Command & Control (JADC2)
Defense One takes a look inside the Pentagon’s effort to get every service branch’s battle networks to talk to each other.

Ideas
$264B for ICBMs That Would Be Destroyed in the Ground? No, Thanks
Creating a spiffy new “nuclear sponge” makes neither fiscal nor strategic sense.
Threats
US Nuclear Fears Are Shifting From a Clear Russian Threat to a Murkier Chinese One
Bejing might use nukes to coerce U.S. leaders in a crisis, STRATCOM chief tells lawmakers.
Sponsor Content
API-Led Hybrid Integration is Key to Successful Implementation of DoD Data Strategy
This paper explores four technical challenges facing the DoD data strategy: Accessibility, discoverability, security, and scalability.

Voices
Science & Tech
Free the Data: Vice Chiefs Launch an Acquisition Crusade
Better access to weapon data is crucial to faster Pentagon purchasing — and dangerous to industry business models.
Ideas
Countering China’s Military Challenge, Today
Denying the PLA its objectives in the 2020s requires diversification, distribution, and resiliency across posture and mission.
Ideas
Germany’s Military an Unexpected Star in Pandemic Relief
The Bundeswehr’s ubiquity and effectiveness in various facets of the COVID response has created an unusual problem.
Ideas
Biden Should Sink This Proposed Nuclear Weapon
None of the arguments for the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile hold water.
Ideas
Afghanistan Will Know No Peace Without Pressure on Pakistan
Inconsistent global powers, foreign politics, and indifference to Pakistan’s Taliban sponsorship continue to frustrate Afghans and spoil peace efforts.
Ideas
Release the Last ‘Low-Value’ Afghanistan POW Held at Gitmo
International law required the U.S. to release Asadullah Haroon Gul five years ago. Now there is truly no reason to hold him.
Ideas
The USAF’s Bad Bets on Pilot Retention Show It Needs Outside Help
Service leaders think the same old tactics can reverse a pilot shortage in a resurging economy.
Policy
Advocates Hope First Female Army Secretary Brings Change
Nominee Christine Wormuth has led strategy and policy at the highest levels. Can she lead cultural change as well?
Ideas
No F-35s for UAE, Please
The sale is likely to deepen existing conflicts and further enmesh the U.S. in the region.
Ideas
Can the US and Russia Agree to Disagree?
The relationship is cold, but there are still some areas of mutual interest.
Policy
Trump-era Efforts to Boost Military Readiness Produced Mixed Results, GAO Finds
New report adds fuel to debate over how to conceive of and measure readiness.
Ideas
Biden Can Redeem His Mistake
In 1975, he failed to see what America owed the Vietnamese who had bet their lives on American promises.
Policy