Commentary • The Defense Post

Sep- 2026 -

16 September

A Turkish TB3 unmanned combat aerial vehicle sits on the flight deck of TCG Anadolu during Exercise Steadfast Dart 26. Between January and March, around 10,000 troops from 13 NATO Allies deployed across Europe for the Alliance’s largest exercise of the year. Photo: NATO

NATO’s Drones Work. Its Foundations Don’t.

NATO’s growing reliance on unmanned systems is exposing an overlooked weakness: the physical infrastructure needed to deploy, sustain, and respond with those capabilities.

15 September

Ronny Jackson

America Can’t Afford to Test Drones at Peacetime Speed

The US can't keep testing and fielding small drones at peacetime bureaucratic speed while adversaries iterate at wartime speed.

Aug- 2026 -

28 August

Ukrainian FPV drone operator holding a quadcopter during combat preparation. Photo: Ministry of Defence of Ukraine

Gonçalo Oliveira

When Strategy Beats Strength: Ukraine’s Model of Resistance Against Russia

Ukraine didn't just improvise asymmetric warfare out of necessity — it turned it into formal state doctrine, and that institutionalization is what's let a conventionally weaker state fight a nuclear-armed power to a standstill.

26 August

Syrian Army soldiers deploy throughout the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods following days of fierce clashes with SDF Kurdish forces, which ultimately result in the withdrawal of the Kurdish forces towards eastern Syria.

Amy Austin Holmes

Syria Is Sidelining the Fighters Who Beat ISIS

Syria's new army is sidelining the loyal, US-trained SDF while absorbing foreign jihadists and abusive warlords instead, squandering a decade of American investment at a moment when that force's skills are needed most.

18 August

Two uniformed soldiers stand front and center of the image, staring straight. They both hold automatic rifles, pointed down. They are wearing a blue helmets and vests. The soldier on the right has 'UN' written in white in front of his helmet. Underneath their vests, they have a camouflage uniform on. A white tank with 'UN' written on its body in black is seen stationed in the background. Its orange headlights are on. The background is a dark blue sky.

Cecília Nham Bega

30 Years of SHIRBRIG: What the Brigade Still Teaches About Peacekeeping Reforms

The small-coalition model SHIRBRIG pioneered is worth revisiting as reformers look for ways to speed up peacekeeping deployment, but only if they fix the one structural flaw that undid SHIRBRIG.

17 August

Russia pounds Kyiv with a massive missile and drone attack that kills four people, authorities say, after President Vladimir Putin threatened retaliation for strikes in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine.

Viktoriia Vyshnivska

What Is Really Inside Russia’s Oreshnik Missile?

New evidence from Oreshnik debris suggests Russia has restarted domestic production of missile components, complicating assumptions behind current sanctions.

6 August

Ju Hyung Kim

South Korea’s Tanks Need a Ukraine Wake-Up Call

South Korea’s K1 and K2 tanks need drones and electronic warfare built in, not bolted on.

Jul- 2026 -

29 July

Artist's illustration of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite in Earth orbit. Earth observation satellites support scientific research, disaster response, and critical infrastructure monitoring. Image: NASA

Graeme Ritchie

Here’s What’s Wrong With the Term ‘Dual-Use’

"Dual-use" is a misleading term because it implies a clean split between civilian and military life that doesn't actually exist, and clinging to that split is dangerous for Europe right now.

15 July