Author Archive
Thomas Corbett
Research analyst, BluePath Labs
Thomas Corbett is a research analyst with BluePath Labs. His areas of focus include Chinese foreign relations, emerging technology, and Indo-Pacific security studies.
Threats
A new breakthrough could deepen US troops' dependence on Chinese batteries
The Qingdao Institute reports a new manufacturing technique that enables cells to charge quicker and age slower.
- Thomas Corbett and Peter W. Singer
Science & Tech
China is building its own Starlink—even as questions surround Musk's constellation
A recent rocket launch lofted satellites for a Chinese service to mimic SpaceX, which was slammed this weekend by a top U.S. lawmaker.
- Thomas Corbett, Matt Bruzzese and Peter W. Singer
Ideas
China is honing runway-repair teams
In a Pacific conflict, sustained air operations will turn on the ability to keep airfields open.
- Thomas Corbett and Peter W. Singer
Ideas
China’s war planners are leaning harder on its militia
The PLA’s reserve auxiliary force dwarfs the regular military, but is understudied and too often overlooked.
- Thomas Corbett and Peter W. Singer
Ideas
China’s New Conscription Rules Reveal Concerns
New sections on wartime drafts, punishment, and physical fitness offer a glimpse into PLA leaders’ minds.
- Thomas Corbett and Peter W. Singer
Ideas
Chinese Breakthroughs Bring Quantum Tools Closer to Practicality
Still, concerns of a Chinese “quantum supremacy” should be softened by the realities and difficulties of this new space.
- Thomas Corbett and Peter W. Singer
Ideas
China Is Eating Russia’s Lunch in the Defense Market
The script has flipped in the countries’ traditional defense-industrial relationship.
- Thomas Corbett and Peter W. Singer
Ideas
China ‘Colonizes’ Space with Its First Rice Harvest
The cultivation of food in orbit is part of a larger push by the Chinese space program toward a lunar base.
- Peter W. Singer and Thomas Corbett
Ideas
How the West May Have Helped Build China’s Spy Balloons
Beijing has long pursued aerostat technology, even enlisting French and American firms to help.
- Thomas Corbett and Peter W. Singer
Ideas
China’s Big New Warship Is Missing an Important New Weapon
When will we finally see the HQ-26 missile?
- Thomas Corbett and Peter W. Singer
Ideas
Putin’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week Looks Even Worse Through a China Lens
A series of meetings reveal how Beijing is stealing Russia’s influence even in its own backyard.
- Thomas Corbett and Peter W. Singer
Ideas
China’s ‘Particle Beam Cannon’ Is a Nuclear-Power Breakthrough
It promises to recycle spent nuclear fuel, making it cheaper and less dangerous—and moving Beijing toward energy independence.
- Thomas Corbett and Peter W. Singer
Ideas
China May Have Just Taken the Lead in the Quantum Computing Race
China’s record-shattering processor is 1 million times faster than what Google achieved three years ago–but we are years from the finish line.
- Thomas Corbett and Peter W. Singer
Ideas
What Is China Learning from the Ukraine War?
From battlefield concepts to geopolitics, Beijing is sure to be watching with avid interest—and some chagrin.
- Thomas Corbett, Ma Xiu and Peter W. Singer
Ideas
As Climate Change Threatens China, PLA Is Missing in Action
China’s military will have to reckon with a new security environment. When will it start?
- Thomas Corbett and Peter W. Singer
Ideas
China’s Fusion Research Is Heating Up
The EAST reactor in Hefei broke records last month as it edges toward the sustained stellar temperatures needed to generate fusion energy.
- Thomas Corbett and Peter W. Singer