Defense Policy
Policy changes have reduced AUKUS trade friction, but U.S. shipyard throughput and supplier reliability now determine whether Pillar I timelines hold.
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Defense Policy
Analysis of U.S. defense policy, Pentagon strategy, military deployments, NATO commitments, and national security decisions.
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Defense Policy
Three carrier strike groups remain committed to the Gulf as Operation Epic Fury extends into week five, leaving INDOPACOM at its lowest Pacific carrier coverage in two decades — and Beijing is taking note.
Defense Policy
Houthi forces resume drone and missile strikes as Operation Epic Fury enters week five. CENTCOM must now divide naval assets between the Hormuz cordon and Red Sea escort duties — straining both operations and complicating ceasefire diplomacy.
Defense Policy
As Operation Epic Fury enters week four, CENTCOM planners are evaluating a naval blockade of Iran's oil export terminals — an option with serious escalatory risks and strategic contradictions the White House has yet to resolve.
Defense Policy
Trump's threats to destroy Iran's energy, ports, and power grid expose fault lines between presidential escalation, U.S. targeting doctrine, and Rubio's fragile diplomatic back-channels.
Defense Policy
The 2026 Annual Threat Assessment walks back the 2027 Taiwan invasion benchmark while warning that China, Russia, and North Korea are developing missiles capable of striking U.S. soil.
Defense Policy
Germany, Spain, Italy, and Australia ruled out military deployments to the Strait of Hormuz as Trump demanded allied warships to reopen the critical chokepoint, exposing deep fault lines in U.S. alliance management.
Defense Policy
A Pentagon review and Congressional Research Service report raise fundamental questions about whether Australia will ever receive the Virginia-class submarines promised under the $240 billion AUKUS pact.
Defense Policy
As Mojtaba Khamenei consolidates power in Tehran, Washington faces a widening gap between Secretary Rubio's declared military benchmarks and the regime-change expectations that defined the operation's launch.
Defense Policy
After dismantling Iran's Gulf of Oman fleet in Operation Epic Fury, U.S. Central Command has pivoted to sustaining open passage through the world's most critical energy chokepoint — a mission with no clear endpoint and rising global stakes.
Defense Policy
Trump's trade threat against Spain over NATO spending and military base access reveals deepening fault lines in the transatlantic alliance's burden-sharing compact — and the Pentagon's blueprint for restructuring it.
Defense Policy
After three rounds of indirect negotiations failed to produce a framework agreement, the U.S. and Israel launched coordinated strikes on February 28, 2026, targeting Iran's missile sites, military infrastructure, and nuclear program remnants.