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: Army Reserve’s Pacific plan; What Ukraine needs; Peace talks in Turkey; Misinformation studies cancelled; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson
Threats

The D Brief: New jets announced; Border-ops funding shift; Putin’s no-show; Europe’s trillion-dollar problem; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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The D Brief: Defense-exports deal; F-47 specs; China’s Gulf inroads; Air Force One dangers; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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The D Brief: Why Yemen strikes ended; Gitmo flights, tallied; Spectrum battle; Turkey’s PKK disbands; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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The D Brief: State’s cuts; Trans ban, in effect; Concerns about Army plan; B-52s join B-2s; And a bit more.

  • Bradley Peniston and Ben Watson
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The D Brief: India, Pakistan trade fire; Yemen outlook; China’s space-sensing firm; Russia’s ceasefire violations?; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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The D Brief: India, Pakistan exchange fire; Houthi ceasefire?; Shipyard drain; Another jet overboard; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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The D Brief: 10% fewer generals; ‘Conquer Gaza’; New ICBM expense; ‘Airpower trap’?; And a bit more.

  • Bradley Peniston, Ben Watson and Patrick Tucker
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The D Brief: Budget ‘gimmicks’; Drones down fighter jets; China’s counter-drone efforts; Army’s network experiment; And a bit more.

  • Bradley Peniston and Ben Watson
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The D Brief: Budget-proposal reveal; Yemen-strike stats; Army’s to-do list; Marines’ top goal; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson
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The D Brief: Waltz, out?; New Army goals, cuts; Extremist groups, rising; Ukraine minerals deal; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Featured eBooks
Information Warfare
Future of Naval Warfare
AI & Autonomy
Threats

The D Brief: Army reorg coming?; F-15s get boost; Marines’ cargo-drone plans; DARPA’s next AI-cyber contest; And a bit more.

  • Bradley Peniston and Ben Watson
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The D Brief: Jet falls off carrier; Yemen-bombing stats; Global defense-spending spike; Amazon’s first satellites; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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The D Brief: Army’s runaway tank; Ukraine’s ‘long-range, remote combat’; Pyongyang confirms involvement; Trump’s natsec ‘emergencies’; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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The D Brief: India-Pakistan tensions rise; China’s ‘ChatGPT for robots’; Golden Dome price tag; Robot-wingman reversal; And a bit more.

  • Bradley Peniston and Ben Watson
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The D Brief: WH pressures Ukraine; Hegseth latest; Rare-earths squeeze; Boeing’s no-loss quarter; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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The D Brief: More loose lips; Troops get detention powers; State’s coming cuts; Primes’ aircraft plans; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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The D Brief: More DOD turmoil; US warns on Chinese sats; Nordics’ emerging power; Army’s new radar; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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The D Brief: ‘Full-blown meltdown’; Syrian drawdown; Russia’s Easter attacks; NDU resignation-in-protest; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: State of Defense, service by service; US strikes Yemen port; DEI is out at DOD; Shakeup week for OSD; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Lauren C. Williams