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

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
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The D Brief: F/A-18s’ Venezuelan flyby; Unpublished version of NSS; Little public support for boat attacks; Funding falters for Navy’s next jet; And a bit more.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
Featured eBooks
Future of the Army
Special Ops Technology
Future of the Air Force
Threats

The D Brief: Evolving boat-strike defense; Signalgate report, published; The $148B failure; New poll on natsec issues; And a bit more.

  • Bradley Peniston and Ben Watson
Threats

The D Brief: Hegseth cites ‘fog of war’; USAF axes China-focused reforms; CENTCOM’s new attack-drone unit; Firms qualify for Golden Dome work; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: WH, DOD change their stories; Trump pardons drug trafficker; Today’s US-Russia talks; ‘Awful arithmetic’; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: Congress investigates boat strikes; Promises of profit propelled peace proposal; Guardsman in critical condition; Germany’s war plan; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: US envoy’s advice to Russia; Navy axes frigate program; USAF’s tanker-extending plan; False claims in Guard justification; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson, Bradley Peniston and Meghann Myers
Threats

The D Brief: US, Ukraine in talks; Counter-drone war, at scale?; China’s anti-AI playbook; Spies see opportunity in feds’ fear; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: ‘Peace plan’ pushback; Words vs. actions off Venezuela; Army’s most tech-forward division; CNO on shipbuilding; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: US presses Kyiv; DepSecDef gets oversight of top USAF programs; Report: JAG warned against boat strikes; Coast Guard scuttles swastika change; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: Kyiv left out as WH drafts peace plan; Military aircraft crash rate, rising; Ukraine’s ATACMS strike; Border Patrol monitors US drivers; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston