Author Archive

Ben Watson

Senior Multimedia Editor

Ben Watson is lead author of The D Brief and senior multimedia editor at Defense One. Since arriving in Washington in 2012, Ben has written and produced award-winning features, videos and podcasts on politics, international security, technology, and military history for NPR, The Atlantic and Defense One. Prior to that, he served for five years in the U.S. Army.
Threats

Today's D Brief: FBI, MI5 on the 'long-term threat' of China; Russian advances halt in Ukraine; US Army's personnel crisis; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson
Threats

Today's D Brief: Russia wants more of Ukraine; Spain's defense spending boost; The risks of arming Ukraine; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Jennifer Hlad
Threats

Today's D Brief: NATO's Nordic expansion plods on; Putin hits pause; Mass shooting at July 4 parade; US microchips and China's AI race; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson
Threats

Today's D Brief: Russia strikes Odesa region; Turkey’s NATO deal; Another $800M for Ukraine; New Medal of Honor recipients; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Jacqueline Feldscher
Threats

Today's D Brief: Russia flees island; US to add troops in Europe; Marines’ infowar plan; NATO’s climate center; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson
Threats

Today's D Brief: New US forces to Europe; Turkey lifts NATO objection; ‘Our 1937 moment’; China targets rare-earths firm; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson
Threats

Today's D Brief: Russia strikes Ukrainian mall; Moscow's missile escalation; US, Turkish strikes in Syria; Last Black Hawk order?; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Jennifer Hlad
Threats

Today's D Brief: NATO adds 260K troops to response force; Russian debt default; G7 vows $600B to challenge China; Iran's new rocket test; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Jennifer Hlad
Threats

Today's D Brief: $450M in new US arms to Ukraine; Gun-violence bill advances; Troops lose right to abortion; Historic shipwreck found; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

Today's D Brief: HIMARS arrive in Ukraine; Russian forces advance near Severodonetsk; Turkey’s fine line; Estonian PM’s warning; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson
Threats

The D Brief: Russian refinery hit; Ukrainian grain terminals attacked; Putin’s rock-bottom approval ratings; China’s Taiwan swarm; Suspicion in Syria; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Jennifer Hlad
Featured eBooks
Joint All Domain Command & Control (JADC2)
Special Operations Technology
Extremism vs. Equality: Building Diversity in Defense
Threats

Today's D Brief: Russia’s long war; Moscow threatens Lithuania; Stoltenberg in Paris; Iran plays chicken in the Hormuz Strait; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson
Threats

Today's D Brief: Putin's EU gas squeeze; Germany's LNG 'trap'; #D1TechSummit, day 5; China's new carrier; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson, Bradley Peniston and Jennifer Hlad
Threats

Today's D Brief: New, old Western arms to Ukraine; EU leaders in Kyiv; Grain bins for Ukraine; ISIS leader captured in Syria; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Jennifer Hlad
Threats

Today's D Brief: NATO DMs huddle in Brussels; Kyiv wants anti-missile weapons; Xi, Putin chat; #D1TechSummit, day 3; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson, Jennifer Hlad and Caitlin M. Kenney
Threats

Today's D Brief: Zelenskyy's new requests; Russians advance in Severodonetsk; Pope knocks Putin's invasion; #D1TechSummit, day 2; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson, Jennifer Hlad and Caitlin M. Kenney
Threats

Today's D Brief: Gun-control 'breakthrough' on the Hill; #D1TechSummit, day one; More river crossings in E. Ukraine; Extremists in a U-Haul; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Jennifer Hlad
Ideas

Defense One Radio, Ep. 103: Three perspectives on Ukraine's future

We hear from three people whose lives have become bound up with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

  • Ben Watson
Threats

Today's D Brief: Ukraine wants weapons 'fast'; Putin longs for Peter the Great; J6 was 'an attempted coup'; China's new Taiwan war warning; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Jennifer Hlad
Threats

Today's D Brief: J6 oversight hearings begin; Boeing’s new Air Force One problem; Gun control measure passes in the House; ‘Intense’ street fighting in Ukraine; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Jennifer Hlad