In The News

Michael Kofman says, “Heading into 2023, Ukraine no longer has a manpower advantage and difficulties lie ahead.”

Samuel Bendett says, “When it comes to this war in Ukraine, it is truly the competent use of quadcopters for a variety of tasks, including for artillery and mortar units, that has really made this cheap, available, expendable (unmanned aerial vehicle), very lethal and very dangerous.”

Jonathan Schroden says, “When combined with the Taliban’s need for money and extant smuggling networks, that reservoir poses a substantial threat to regional actors for years to come.”

Jonathan Schroden says, “Why would they give them up?” “They'd be giving up the bulk of their air capacity, and I just don't see it being in the Taliban interests to do that.”

Steve Wills says, “If one sailor fails to keep their beard trimmed, has to put on a gas mask or respirator in an emergency and later dies, the amount of anger directed against Navy leadership will be immense.”

Samuel Bendett says, “It appears that most of the existing Markers, 3 out of 5, will in fact be tested in Ukraine, and can be lost in combat. It also appears that Android Technology is actually ok with that, indicating a willingness to respond to the [Ministry of Defense] needs for improved weapons and tactics, and perhaps indicating that the company is working on other projects that can build on the Marker experience.”

Jeffrey Becker says, “Since at least 2017, with the establishment of China’s first overseas base in Djibouti, the PLA, the People’s Liberation Army, has continued to expand its overseas footprint.”

Jeffrey Edmonds says, “The real challenge with giving the Ukrainians M1A1 tanks is not fuel but maintenance. Each system on the tank, from the turbine engine to the complex sights used by the gunner, is complex, requiring numerous intricate parts to function properly.”

Jeffrey Edmonds says, “I think this is significant. These are more complex, have higher firepower, more maneuverability than the tanks the Ukrainians have been using. And given the number of vehicles lost by both sides, this will bolster their maneuver forces.”

Samuel Bendett says, “Russia has a lot of volunteer efforts building small quadcopters and other small UAVs. For example, there was a recent state media article praising soldiers for putting together their own ISR [Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance] quadcopter. Compared to the overall Ukrainian effort, Russian efforts are probably still smaller in scale and some of these efforts started later than their Ukrainian counterparts.”

Samuel Bendett says, “Wagner mercenary group has rushed its soldiers, basically World War II style, against the Ukrainian positions and overwhelmed large parts of the Ukrainian defense forces in the Bakhmut. Wagner and the Russian claim to control a significant part of Bakhmut, in fact, they claim to control all of that.”

Dmitry Gorenburg says, “A normal army structure is like a pyramid. There are very few generals, more colonels, and so on, the pyramid expands towards the base. And the Russian army began to look more like an oval, the base was removed from the pyramid. There are too many mid-level officers. They have no one to command. It got to the point that some of them only had warehouses with equipment under their control.”

Jeffrey Edmonds says if Ukraine can maintain and operate them properly, "they're great for the Ukrainian force," Edmonds said, explaining that "the whole reason tanks were created was to make a static situation fluid."

Jeffrey Edmonds says, "I think the Ukrainians want to, at some point, launch counteroffensives. And that's much more effective with heavy armor — as much as you can get."

Samuel Bendett says the idea of the AI-enabled combat robot is to "replace a soldier in dangerous missions, and to make missions more effective.”

Christopher Steinitz says, “We learned that CFE had a particular focus on both infrastructure and engagement with partners and allies, so we designed the wargame with those considerations in mind.”