The D Brief: Cost of the DC Guard mission; Shipyard reports production rise; US dronemakers in Asia; Carrier clears builder’s trials; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson
• February 6, 2026

The D Brief: New START expires; Restoring a mil-to-mil tie; US, Iran to talk; CENTCOM hits ISIS; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• February 5, 2026

The D Brief: US downs Iranian UAV; Army to host drone competition; Guardsmen in civvies at ICE jail; Hegseth threatens Scouts; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• February 4, 2026

The D Brief: Munitions makers, investing; DOD’s new science board; Troops won’t go to MN; Venezuela plan reflects Iraq lessons; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• February 3, 2026

The D Brief: CBP’s wartime rhetoric; Agents’ high crime rate; Russian drone kills miners; Israeli strikes kill 32 in Gaza; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• February 2, 2026

The D Brief: Shutdown watch; Lingering defense-strategy qs; JAGs’ unusual new jobs; Secret drone’s recent mission; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson
• January 30, 2026

The D Brief: Domestic Guard missions, priced; More strikes on Somalia; New ‘non-kinetic’ cell aids planning; GAO’s missile-warning warning; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• January 29, 2026

Our allies passed your test, Mr. President. Would we?

A former U.S. infantryman responds to Trump’s amnesiac take on Afghanistan.

• Micah Ables
• January 28, 2026

The D Brief: CBP report belies ‘terrorist’ charges; Rubio threatens Venezuelan leaders; ‘Unsustainable’ national-security strategy?; EU, India near trade deal; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• January 28, 2026

Trump’s national defense strategy is unlike anything that’s come before it

It touts an end to interventionism and regime change, despite adventurism in Venezuela and Greenland.

• Meghann Myers
• January 27, 2026

The D Brief: Border Patrol boss out of MN; Misinformation pushback; Carrier reaches CENTCOM; Tariffs pledged on US shipbuilding partner; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• January 27, 2026

The D Brief: Feds kill again in Minnesota; National Defense Strategy drops; New USAF deployment concept; Space Force wants more troops; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• January 26, 2026

Defense One Radio, Ep. 202: The known perils of regime change

A scholar of civil wars warns against repeating the past mistakes from U.S. military interventions abroad.

• Ben Watson and Monica Duffy Toft
• January 23, 2026

The D Brief: Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’; Russian hybrid warfare; More Ukraine talks; Combat fitness, reimagined; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson
• January 23, 2026

Bombing Iran would shore up its regime

External attacks stir up nationalism and redirect public anger outward, a “rally-around-the-flag” effect long documented by political scientists.

• Rosemary Kelanic
• January 22, 2026

Russian hybrid warfare has become indistinguishable from politics

The war of realities in 2026 will determine the reality of war in 2027.

• Patrick Tucker
• January 22, 2026

The D Brief: Trump backs down on Greenland; More troops prep for MN deployment; Army tank arrives early; Congress demands Golden Dome answers; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• January 22, 2026