Asymmetric warfare

September 30, 2026 | Will Selber

Anti-Taliban resistance claims attacks across Afghanistan in September

As the Taliban enters its sixth year in power, a resistance against its rule remains active despite lacking a sanctuary or an official state sponsor. Throughout September, eight anti-Taliban resistance...

September 18, 2026 | David Daoud |

How Hezbollah reframed the battle for Ali al Taher as Israel advanced

Nearly a week after demolishing Hezbollah’s underground complex at Ali Al Taher in south Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces on September 16 disclosed new details about its roughly three-month...

September 17, 2026 | Jiwon Ma |

South Korea’s Cyber Response Options Beyond the Peninsula

Introduction Since 2015, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) cyber operations have evolved into one of the fastest growing and most consequential asymmetric threats in the Indo-Pacific....

September 10, 2026 | Ryan Brobst |

Overlooking the obvious: The most likely way AI can enable terror attacks

Nightmare scenarios of AI-engineered super-plagues or nuclear bombs have, understandably, attracted the most attention. But there is lots of lower-hanging fruit for terrorists.

July 29, 2026 | Bridget Toomey |

The Houthis Are Hitting Saudi Arabia’s Energy Pipeline — and Here’s Why That Matters

Saudi Arabia has weathered Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz by relying on its east-west pipeline to send crude from the kingdom’s energy-rich eastern province to the Red Sea terminal...

July 20, 2026 | Reuel Marc Gerecht, Ray Takeyh

Iran’s Fortitude Is Its Decisive Edge

The ayatollahs want to fight and have a greater tolerance than Trump for pain.

May 15, 2026 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Hezbollah Is Using FPV Drones Attached to Fiber Optic Cables That Are Impossible to Jam to Attack Israeli Soldiers

The Israeli Air Force struck a Hezbollah drone launch position in Lebanon on May 9. Hezbollah is using First Person View (FPV) drones attached to fiber optic cables to attack Israeli soldiers. Fiber-optic...

May 15, 2026 | Craig Singleton, Duncan Lazarow

China Is Preparing for a Robot-Led Taiwan Invasion

China’s use of military robotics is a warning to the United States and Taiwan to accelerate robotics deployment and counter-robotics defenses to preserve deterrence.

May 7, 2026 | Matt Pottinger, Seamus Boyle

KMT Risks Missing the Lessons of the Wars in Ukraine and Iran

Taiwan's opposition Kuomintang is poised to pass a defense budget that falls short of the lessons wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have made unmistakably clear on drones, layered air defense, and offensive deterrence. With the 2026 and 2028 elections approaching, can it afford to keep signaling weakness on the issue that matters most?

May 6, 2026 | David Daoud |

Israeli forces face challenges as Hezbollah ramps up use of FPV drones

Hezbollah’s Al Ahed newspaper stated on April 29 that the group had “amassed a massive arsenal of” precision diving/attack drones, which it said had been modified “during the...

April 28, 2026 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Hezbollah’s New Drone Threat

The Israel-Hezbollah conflict will now lead to another leap in understanding the dynamics between warfare and drone technology.

April 23, 2026 | Mark Dubowitz, John Spencer

No March on Tehran: The Military Logic of the Iran War

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April 17, 2026 | Jonathan Schanzer |

What Victory Looks Like When Your Foe Won’t Surrender

The U.S. can win without Iran acknowledging it lost

April 2, 2026 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Iran and proxies fire fewer total projectiles, increase accuracy in attacks on region (March 28–April 1 updates)

Iran and its allied militias continued launching drones, missiles, and rockets against regional countries between March 28 and April 1. There were nearly 90 incidents in this period, including distinct...

March 26, 2026 | Ryan Brobst, Cameron McMillan

Why seizing Iran’s Kharg Island could be a trap of America’s own making

The battle for the Persian Gulf could be entering a new phase as thousands of US Marines are reportedly due to arrive in the Middle East on Friday, the same day that President Donald Trump’s...

March 26, 2026 | Janatan Sayeh |

Iran Is Using Its Citizens As Human Shields

Tehran’s regime is sacrificing ordinary Iranians and calling it "defense."

March 25, 2026 | Max Meizlish |

Iran’s Most Powerful Weapon? Keeping the Market Guessing

In order to hurt Washington, Tehran is practicing a deliberate strategy to weaponize uncertainty.

March 23, 2026 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Iran and proxies continue attacking regional airports, energy facilities, military bases, and residential areas (March 20-23 updates)

Between March 20 and March 23, Iran and its allied militias continued launching drones, missiles, and rockets against Arab countries. The attacks targeted energy infrastructure, airports, military bases,...

March 19, 2026 | Cameron McMillan, Bradley Bowman

Operational gains against Iran continue, but threats to US forces persist

The United States, along with its Israeli partners, continues to make considerable progress toward its military objectives of removing Iran’s primary military means to threaten the region in the third...

March 16, 2026 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Iranian drones and missiles hit regional oil fields, airports, military bases, and ports (March 13-16 updates)

Between March 13 and March 16, Iran and its allied militias continued launching drones, missiles, rockets, and other weapon platforms across the Middle East. The attacks targeted energy infrastructure,...