Author Archive

Ben Watson

Senior Multimedia Editor, Defense One

Ben Watson is an Army veteran who writes The D Brief daily newsletter and hosts the bimonthly Defense One Radio podcast. Since arriving in Washington in 2012, Ben has written and produced award-winning features on politics, international security, technology, and military history for NPR, The Atlantic and Defense One.
Threats

The D Brief: US bombs ISIS in Syria; Iranian protests swell; Execs rebuff oil plan; Meet the Army’s dronemakers; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: Trump: ‘I don’t need international law’; Senate votes to limit Venezuela action; USAF consolidates PEOs; Marines’ own robot wingman; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: Offshore banks to hold seized-oil profits; Pay caps for defense CEOs; Army’s flight-school outsourcing, snagged; Right-to-repair urged; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: Trump plans oil seizure; US forces seize tanker; Greenland seizure floated; Experts pan Maduro seizure; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson
Threats

The D Brief: Post-Maduro moves; Europe unites over Greenland; Marines’ ‘hidden crisis’; Jan. 6, remembered; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: Trump threatens more countries after Maduro abduction; SCOTUS rejects Guard deployment; Nigerian-strike fallout; 2025 scorecard; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: New ‘battleship’ announced; Nigeria, under US surveillance; China’s ICBMs; Boat-strike Qs; And a bit more.

  • Bradley Peniston and Ben Watson
Threats

The D Brief: US hits 70 ISIS targets; Another tanker seized; Army seeks common C-UAS controller; More firms cleared for Golden Dome work; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: Europe pledges aid to Kyiv; Dems seek boat-strike docs; Navy’s next frigate; Conflicts to watch; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson
Threats

Defense One Radio, Ep. 201: Conflicts to watch in 2026

CFR's Paul Stares unpacks the latest annual survey of foreign policy experts bracing for what might lie ahead.

  • Ben Watson
Threats

The D Brief: Trump rebrands housing subsidies as ‘bonus’; Venezuelan navy starts escorting tankers; SOF needs jamming ranges; Big arms sale to Taiwan; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Featured eBooks
Intel and Analytics
Special Ops Technology
Future of the Army
Threats

The D Brief: Trump sets blockage on Venezuela; Europe warns of war; SecDef won’t release boat-strike video; Nominees to fill long-vacant posts; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: Fentanyl now a ‘WMD’; Airstrikes rise in Somalia; Cocom consolidation, mulled; Post-quantum encryption; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: 3 Americans killed in Syria; Ukraine peace talks; Germany on Russian sabotage; Scharre on AI in war; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Science & Tech

Defense One Radio, Ep. 200: Paul Scharre explains the global AI arms race

The former Army Ranger explores how AI might reshape drone warfare, America's tech race with China, Russia's war in Ukraine, and much more.

  • Ben Watson and Patrick Tucker
Threats

The D Brief: More F-35s head south; The divide in Space Force; No sign of ‘enemy from within’; FBI’s antifa fumble; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson, Thomas Novelly and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: US seizes tanker; House passes $901B NDAA; US pushes business-centered ‘peace plan’; Chipping away at US AI edge; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: F/A-18s’ Venezuelan flyby; Unpublished version of NSS; Little public support for boat attacks; Funding falters for Navy’s next jet; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson, Thomas Novelly and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: NDAA deets; Boat-strike tug-of-war; DOD’s AI plans; GD’s collaborative lab; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: Higher spending on the way?; Anti-boat effort’s lopsided costs; Security-strategy reax; Navy’s next frigate program; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston