First-person view

June 3, 2026 | David Daoud |

Israel Seizes Medieval Fortress in Renewed Effort To Defeat Hezbollah

After an interval of 26 years, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has again captured Beaufort Castle, a 12th century fortress that occupies strategic high ground in the South Lebanon Security Zone that was...

May 18, 2026 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Why Hezbollah’s Use of FPV Drones Against Israel Will Backfire

Hezbollah has begun using first-person view (FPV) drones against Israel, causing casualties among Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops deployed along the Lebanese border. While the threat is growing, it...

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 13, 2026 | Aaron Goren |

Hamas’s Quiet Reconstitution Efforts

All signs point to a Hamas resurgence. A new document from the IDF, reviewed by Israel’s Channel 13, assesses that the group is producing hundreds of explosives and surveilling IDF troops stationed...

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 2, 2026 | Justin Leopold-Cohen, Ryan Brobst

Hezbollah Likely Employing FPV Drones Against IDF

Video footage emerged Tuesday that appears to show Hezbollah attacking two Israeli Namer armored personnel carriers and a military truck with first-person view (FPV) drones. These attacks follow Hezbollah...

March 27, 2026 | RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, Richard Goldberg, Max Meizlish, Joe Dougherty

The Strait of Hormuz: The Military, Energy, and Economic Challenges

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...

February 19, 2026 | RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, John Hardie, Ivana Stradner, Peter Doran, Joe Dougherty

Marking Four Years of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

January 28, 2026 | John Hardie |

Russian military launches recruitment drive for drone units

The Russian military has launched a recruitment drive to fill its Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), placing greater-than-usual emphasis on candidate quality. This campaign reflects the key role drones have...

June 14, 2025 | John Hardie |

Ukrainian intelligence details Russia’s new V2U autonomous loitering munition

Russia has developed a new loitering munition called the V2U that, according to Ukrainian reports, can use AI to navigate and strike targets and may have a swarm capability. If these reports are true,...

April 25, 2025 | John Hardie |

The Kursk gambit: What Ukraine’s boldest operation achieved — and failed to achieve

Ukrainian forces have retreated from most of the territory they once controlled in Russia’s Kursk Region. Although limited fighting on Russian soil continues, experts are already drawing conclusions...

March 21, 2025 | John Hardie |

Ukraine’s Belgorod incursion makes limited gains

Days after it withdrew from most of Russia’s Kursk region, Ukraine launched a cross-border incursion into neighboring Belgorod Oblast. The operation appears to be much more limited in scale and objectives...

January 9, 2025 | John Hardie |

Ukraine, Russia trade attacks in Kursk while Russia takes Kurakhove

Russia and Ukraine both launched sizable attacks in different parts of Kursk Oblast in recent days, battling over territory that Kyiv hopes to use as leverage in potential peace talks. In eastern Ukraine,...

September 26, 2024 | John Hardie |

Russia closes in on “fortress” city of Vuhledar

Ukraine’s yearslong defense of Vuhledar, a small city serving as a defensive stronghold in the Donetsk region, appears to be nearing its denouement. Russian advances on Vuhledar’s flanks have put it...

June 21, 2024 | John Hardie |

Ukraine’s new Unmanned Systems Forces takes shape

The Ukrainian military announced last week that it appointed Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi as the commander of its inchoate Unmanned Systems Forces (USF). Sukharevskyi shared some interesting details...

April 22, 2024 | RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, Bradley Bowman, John Hardie, Joe Dougherty

Update on Russia-Ukraine War – status, next steps

March 22, 2024 | John Hardie |

Battle of Avdiivka: A Preliminary Analysis

This article offers a preliminary analysis of the Battle of Avdiivka, particularly its final weeks. While more information will no doubt come to light as time passes, some initial conclusions stand out....

March 22, 2024 | John Hardie, Bradley Bowman

Ukraine Needs More Drones. Here’s One Way Washington Can Help.

Ukraine could double its annual production of drones if it had more funding, a Ukrainian official told The Guardian in an interview published on Wednesday. In addition to encouraging our European allies...

February 8, 2024 | John Hardie |

Ukraine’s Hold on Avdiivka Slipping

A Ukrainian military spokesman confirmed today that Russian troops have pressed into northern Avdiivka, a small city in southeastern Ukraine that has been on the front line since 2014. While...