In The News
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Robot Kamikaze Boats Blew Up Russia’s Bridge to Crimea. Again.Popular Mechanics | 17 Jul 2023
: Samuel Bendett wrote on social media, “The reality is that Ukraine is constantly imposing high costs on the Russian Navy by launching small, cheap USVs against ships and port facilities. Defending against such attacks means constant state of awareness and high-levels of stress.”
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Drone boats give Ukraine a cheap, 'asymmetric' edge against Russia and may have just damaged a key bridgeBusiness Insider | 17 Jul 2023
Samuel Bendett says, "The cost of manufacturing and fielding these vehicles is considerably less — many magnitudes less — than the cost of trying to defend against them and just basic resource allocation in trying to interdict and destroy these assets."
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This 12-mile-bridge in Crimea is a lifeline for Russia's occupation, but attacks and damages are making it a headache for MoscowBusiness Insider | 17 Jul 2023
Samuel Bendett says, "How do you defend a long bridge like that? Where do you place your defenses? Do you fly patrols around it? Do you install sensors on it all the time? Do you have maritime patrols all the time? It's difficult to properly and completely defend an asset as large as a bridge like that."
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What Are the Aquatic Drones Reportedly Behind Strike on Crimea Bridge?Newsweek | 17 Jul 2023
Samuel Bendett says that however, they would still be able to "do significant damage" and it may be that larger boats have been used without being detected, he said. Although there are sensors and cameras attached to the bridge, it is difficult to monitor the maritime and aerial environment surrounding it.
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What Are the Aquatic Drones Reportedly Behind Strike on Crimea Bridge?Newsweek | 17 Jul 2023
Samuel Bendett says "that however, they would still be able to "do significant damage" and it may be that larger boats have been used without being detected." Although there are sensors and cameras attached to the bridge, it is difficult to monitor the maritime and aerial environment surrounding it.
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Daily Podcast [Jul 17, 23] Sam Bendett on Russia-Ukraine & Byron Callan’s Week AheadDefense & Aerospace Report | 17 Jul 2023
Samuel Bendett says, “We talked about the difficulties of Ukrainian counter offensive in the face of Russia’s growing defenses and their entrenched positions. Russia has had time to develop a lot of these defensive trenches that stretch for 100s of kilometers basically along the entirety of the front. We talked earlier that it would be difficult to storm these well-fortified positions.”
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Put Educational Wargaming in the Hands of the WarfighterWar on the Rocks | 13 Jul 2023
Sebastian Bae writes, "Wargaming today, by contrast, risks becoming the exclusive domain of select officers and leadership within the Beltway. And when wargaming is concentrated in a handful of select institutions, it increasingly becomes susceptible to the historical boom and bust cycle where benefits and experience can be quickly lost."
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Jailers face mounting questions after string of suspected murderers escapeABC News | 12 Jul 2023
Bryce Peterson says that many of the escapees also appear to have the motivation to run, saying inmates serving long sentences or facing serious charges like murder "are the most likely to escape."
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Defense & Aerospace Daily Podcast [Jul 10, 23] Sam Bendett on Russia-Ukraine & Byron Callan’s Week AheadDefense & Aerospace Report | 10 Jul 2023
Samuel Bendett says, “We knew there would be some kind of government response; Putin and the Kremlin had to respond to the insurrection one way or another. There would have to be some type of internal investigation, and clearly, because it was demonstrated that all Wagner forces joined this insurrection, there has to be some kind of investigation into what actually transpired.”
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There’s Still Law in the Far NorthForeign Policy | 10 Jul 2023
“At the Center for Naval Analyses, we recently demonstrated how Canada, Norway, Russia, and the United States all use their own foreign direct investment screening laws to scrutinize and block investments from China at odds with national security,” writes Cornell Overfield.
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Cluster Bombs Are a 'Tragic Necessity' for Ukraine: Ex-AmbassadorNewsweek | 08 Jul 2023
"Providing cluster munitions to Ukraine, at this stage, could have a significant impact beyond what other capabilities might achieve,” says Michael Kofman.
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Russia, Iran building combat drone factory in Tatarstan – reportNew Voices of Ukrain | 06 Jul 2023
"If Russia wants to do something covert with Iran, this is an advantageous location. It’s on the river that flows into the Volga, so you can bring parts by ship from Iran covertly," writes Samuel Bendett.
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Like the first world war, but with high technologyThe Economist | 03 Jul 2023
Michael Kofman says that precision warfare can counter some advantages of mass: Ukraine was outnumbered 12 to one north of Kyiv. It can also complement mass. Software-based targeting saves around 15-30% in shells, according to sources familiar with the data. But what precision cannot do, is substitute for mass.
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A week after an armed rebellion rattled Russia, key details about it are still shrouded in mysteryAssociated Press | 01 Jul 2023
Michael Kofman says, “I suspect the way Moscow hopes this will play out is the commanders will move to Belarus and then possibly decamp for operations in Africa. Meanwhile, they will try to get back Wagner’s heavy equipment, and then figure out how to use the rank and file that chooses to stay.”
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His Glory Fading, a Russian Warlord Took One Last Stab at PowerThe New York Times | 27 Jun 2023
Michael Kofman says “Prigozhin’s mutiny was ultimately a desperate act of someone who was cornered,” said Michael Kofman, director of Russia Studies at Virginia-based research group CNA. “His options were narrowing as his bitter dispute intensified.”
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How Advanced is Russian-Chinese Military Cooperation?War on the Rocks | 26 Jun 2023
Dmitry Gorenburg, Elizabeth Wishnick, Paul Schwarts and Brian Waidelich write, "there is widespread consensus among analysts that, although Russia and China have been moving toward closer cooperation through the entire post-Soviet era, the trend has accelerated rapidly since 2014."