AFGHANISTAN – NONSTATE ARMED ACTORS
Nonstate threats in the Taliban’s Afghanistan. Joshua T. White, Brookings: While Afghanistan’s new Taliban leadership has been preoccupied with the near-term challenges of forming a government, managing internal tensions, and pursuing foreign recognition and funding to stave off an economic collapse, nonstate armed actors in Afghanistan have begun to assess the opportunities and limitations that come with a return to Taliban rule. For them, the new environment is likely to be favorable. These groups, including designated terrorist organizations, will find themselves less vulnerable to monitoring and targeting by the United States and its coalition partners; will be able to take advantage of a huge pool of experienced armed labor drawn from former Taliban, Afghan security forces, and other militant ranks; and will have increased space to forge new collaborations and plan operations in the region and further afield. Nonstate threats in the Taliban’s Afghanistan
AFRICA
The private sector must do its part on data governance in Africa. Lesly Goh, Buhle Goslar, Brookings: The last decade has seen an acceleration in the digitization of many aspects of our lives including financial services, commerce, education, and healthcare. Data gathering and exchange have accelerated alongside this swift uptake of digital engagement, and data has become the new essential commodity—with Africa as the next frontier. However, this rapid change brings along questions of data governance and privacy, especially as the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) moves forward. As the tech sector waits for regulators to catch up, individual companies can do more to protect consumers on their own. The private sector must do its part on data governance in Africa
ARCTIC – RUSSIA – CHINA
Moscow Needs Beijing in the Arctic but Worries About China’s Expanding Role. Paul Globe, The Jamestown Foundation: Russia has promoted the Northern Sea Route with the expectation that China will be a major user. And it is assertively advocating for the development of natural resources, such as natural gas in the Arctic, with the hope that China will be a major customer. Both of these calculations, combined with the economic pressure from the Western sanctions regime, have pushed Moscow to cooperate ever more closely with Beijing in the Arctic and Russian High North. However, concerns are growing in Moscow that the ambitious Russian goals for the region may not work out in the ways it hopes. Moscow Needs Beijing in the Arctic but Worries About China’s Expanding Role
ARGENTINA
Perché l’accordo con il Fmi per sventare il default spacca l’Argentina. Livio Zanotti, StartMag: I rapporti dell’Argentina e dell’intera America Latina con il Fondo Monetario Internazionale sono stati storicamente da problematici a incandescenti. Sostanzialmente, la sinistra e il movimentismo nazionalista in tutte le sue numerose declinazioni vedono l’FMI come il braccio finanziario della dominazione imperialista. Il ruolo determinante che vi esercitano gli Stati Uniti in quanto fin dalla fondazione nel secondo dopo-guerra soci principali del maggiore istituto di credito multinazionale del mondo, costituisce ai loro occhi una evidente conferma. Sebbene nei decenni trascorsi ma soprattutto negli ultimissimi tempi immagine e prassi reale del Fondo siano evolute, l’immaginario popolare ma anche quello politico latinoamericano non gli hanno cancellato lo stigma dell’usura. In Argentina non lo ha fatto neppure l’odierno scampato pericolo di un nuovo default. Perché l’accordo con il Fmi per sventare il default spacca l’Argentina
AUSTRALIA – CHINA
Hitting reset on the Australia–China relationship. Peter Van Ness, East Asia Forum: After years of disputes — over the origins of COVID-19, serious Chinese foreign trade restrictions, and differences about the fate of tennis star Peng Shuai — and working together with our Asian and Pacific neighbours, it is time for a new beginning in Australia’s relations with China. Recent events provide the opportunity, and there is evidence that Beijing may also be interested in a new beginning. Hitting reset on the Australia–China relationship
BELARUS – NATO – RUSSIA
The Nuclear Potential of Belarus in the Context of NATO-Russia Relations (Part One). Maxim Starchak, The Jamestown Foundation: On December 17, 2021, Russia published draft “proposals” on security guarantees with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United States. Moscow expressed dissatisfaction with NATO’s eastward enlargement, Western assistance to Ukraine, the deployment of strike weapons in countries bordering Russia, as well as the presence of US nuclear weapons in Europe. “If the United States and NATO refuse to consider these security proposals, Russia’s response may be very different. It depends on the proposals that our military experts will make to me,” President Vladimir Putin said days later, on Russian television (Smotrim.ru, December 26, 2021). Some Russian military experts suggest that the Kremlin’s threatened “military-technical” response could include placing nuclear weapons in Belarus. The Nuclear Potential of Belarus in the Context of NATO-Russia Relations (Part One)
CINA
La crisi immobiliare colpirà anche Xi. La profezia di Soros. Laura Ciarti, Formiche: Sebbene Xi Jinping rappresenti la “più grande minaccia” per le società aperte di tutto il mondo, la posizione del leader cinese non è così solida come generalmente si crede. Omicron “minaccia di essere la [sua] disfatta” perché in Cina il Covid-19 “non è più sotto controllo”. Ne è certo il finanziere e filantropo George Soros, intervenuto alla vigilia delle Olimpiadi invernali di Pechino a un panel della Hoover Institution. La crisi immobiliare colpirà anche Xi. La profezia di Soros
EGYPT – SOUTH KOREA
Why did Egypt choose to buy South Korea’s K9 howitzer? Agnes Helou, Defense News: Egypt has ordered K9 self-propelled howitzers and other support vehicles from Hanwha Defense, according to a Feb. 1 announcement by South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration. A source with knowledge of the deal told Defense News that most of the artillery and vehicles are scheduled to be locally produced at Factory 200, a state-run defense manufacturing facility just outside the Egyptian capital, while an initial batch is to be delivered by Hanwha Defense. Why did Egypt choose to buy South Korea’s K9 howitzer?
Egypt inks $1.7 billion deal for K9 howitzers from South Korea. Brian Kim, Agnes Helou, Defense News: Hanwha Defense has signed the largest deal to export its K9 self-propelled howitzers and other support vehicles to Egypt, South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced Feb. 1. The arms agency did not disclose the details of the deal, valued around $1.7 billion, but a source privy to the deal told Defense News that about 200 K9 artillery systems will be supplied to the Egyptian military, along with scores of support vehicles, such as the K10 ammunition resupply vehicles. Egypt inks $1.7 billion deal for K9 howitzers from South Korea
ETHIOPIA
Still far from peace in Ethiopia. Vanda Felbab-Brown, Brookings: The year-long conflict in Ethiopia pitting the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and its allies against the Ethiopian government has caused thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of battlefield casualties. All warring parties have perpetrated severe human rights abuses. In the massive humanitarian catastrophe caused by the conflict, 5.2 million people in Ethiopia’s north have faced hunger and lacked basic supplies for a year as the government purposefully sought to strangle the Tigray region and violence hampered aid delivery. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced and suffered in the Amhara and Afar regions. The war has pulled in neighboring countries, and its persistence threatens the stability of the Horn of Africa and Red Sea regions. Yet despite intense diplomatic engagement, including by the United States, the African Union, and European countries, the conflict dynamics have been mostly driven by battlefield circumstances. Still far from peace in Ethiopia
EUROPE
Lanciatori, ArianeGroup punta su MaiaSpace contro SpaceX. Chiara Rossi, StartMag: Oltre ai razzi riutilizzabili dell’americana SpaceX, ci saranno anche quelli europei di MaiaSpace. Il riutilizzo dei primi stadi è infatti una delle caratteristiche principali del sistema di lancio di SpaceX e garantisce importanti risparmi. Ma anche il colosso franco-tedesco ArianeGroup sta sviluppando un piccolo lanciatore riutilizzabile. Nel corso della prima giornata della European Space Conference a Bruxelles, ArianeGroup ha annunciato il lancio di MaiaSpace, una start-up consociata con l’obiettivo di sviluppare, in tempi brevi, Maia, il primo mini lanciatore europeo riutilizzabile ed eco-friendly, accelerando la validazione in volo delle tecnologie riutilizzabili necessarie per implementare la nuova famiglia di lanciatori spaziali europei. Lanciatori, ArianeGroup punta su MaiaSpace contro SpaceX
GUINEA BISSAU
Guinea-Bissau’s ‘attempted coup’. Al Jazeera: What you need to know. Al Jazeera: Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo has survived an attempted coup but says many members of the security forces were killed repelling an “attack on democracy”. Calm returned to the streets of the capital Bissau on Wednesday, a day after men armed with machine guns and assault rifles attacked the government palace. Guinea-Bissau’s ‘attempted coup’: What you need to know
INDO – PACIFIC
An Indo-Pacific test case: Tackling illegal fishing with counternarcotics tactics. Jeremy Greenwood, Brookings: Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU-F) has quickly become one of the largest environmental and economic issues facing the globe, as fish are responsible for providing an estimated 3.3 billion people with almost 20% of their average intake of animal protein. Though a commonly used policy term, it encompasses a wide variety of harmful fishing activity that threatens global fish stocks, endangers the livelihoods of as many as 39 million fishers, and in many cases enriches illicit criminal networks. To combat these criminal networks in a more holistic way, build more meaningful relationships with Indo-Pacific partners, and increase U.S. maritime presence in the Pacific, Congress should charge the Department of Defense with a more direct supporting role in combatting IUU-F. An Indo-Pacific test case: Tackling illegal fishing with counternarcotics tactics
JAPAN
Solving Japan’s wage stagnation. Richard Katz, East Asia Forum: The issue of wages has been on Japan’s political agenda since former prime minister Shinzo Abe urged companies to raise wages to fight inflation. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida included wage hikes in his slogan of ‘new capitalism’. But the government has only applied toothless measures, such as requests by the prime minister for companies to alter their behaviour, applying temporary tax cuts for permanent wage hikes and enacting a series of weak ‘equal pay for equal work’ laws. Solving Japan’s wage stagnation
KAZAKHSTAN
Kazakhstan’s President Tokayev Struggles to Break With Nazarbayev Era (Part One). Serik Rymbetov, The Jamestown Foundation: Since consolidating power on January 5, when he assumed the chairmanship of the Security Council instead of Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstani President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev has generated unprecedented popular expectations for change. Tokayev is closely associated with the Nazarbayev regime (Nazarbayev was president of Kazakhstan from 1990 to 2019), under which he made a brilliant political career. He held the constitutionally second-most-important office in the country—chair of the Senate—in 2007–2011 and again in 2013-2019. And yet many within Kazakhstan consider the sitting head of state a personally honest, well-educated and pragmatic politician. His election to the presidency in June 2019, less than three months after Nazarbayev stepped down, was met with protests (see EDM, June 12, 2019). However, the January 2022 crisis (see EDM, January 20, 21) appears to have drastically improved Tokayev’s public credibility after he sidelined his predecessor (Akorda.kz, Tengrinews.kz, Vlast.kz, Informburo.kz, January 5). Kazakhstan’s President Tokayev Struggles to Break With Nazarbayev Era (Part One)
MYANMAR
One year after Myanmar’s coup, old and new resistance is undermined by divisions. Yun Sun, Brookings: Among people who work on Myanmar, there is a politically incorrect but popular saying: “When there are three Burmese, there are four opinions.” Terrible as it may sound, it gives a flavor of the profound diversity, and therefore division of interests and views, that has long marked the norm in the country. Despite the urgent and unprecedented need for unity after the February coup last year, the old and the new resistance to the military government have not yet been able to find a common path despite the presence of a common cause. Instead, the factionalization within the oppositions that had plagued the national reconciliation process for decades before the coup continues to affect the modality and the effectiveness of the opposition today. One year after Myanmar’s coup, old and new resistance is undermined by divisions
NONSTATE ACTORS – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Cascading chaos: Nonstate actors and AI on the battlefield. Sarah Kreps, Richard Li, Brookings: In November 2018, then-Commander of Army Cyber Command Lt. Gen Paul Nakasone expressed concern about nonstate actors getting their hands on artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled battlefield technology. That day is here. Cascading chaos: Nonstate actors and AI on the battlefield
NONSTATE ARMED ACTORS
Nonstate armed actors in 2022: Alive and powerful in the new geopolitics. Vanda Felbab-Brown, Brookings: Two decades after the September 11 attacks, the United States and the West have lost the appetite for counterinsurgency, stabilization, and state-building efforts. Beyond the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan, many such projects have been mired in misgovernance by problematic local partners whose corruption and parochialism have undermined efforts to build capable local forces and deliver effective, locally-accepted, and accountable governance. Police reform efforts continue to struggle throughout Latin America, with criminal violence often having debilitating effects similar to those of political militancy. Synthetic drugs are reshaping organized crime and making supply-control challenges even greater. Nonstate armed actors in 2022: Alive and powerful in the new geopolitics
QATAR – ITALY
Ecco come Fincantieri farà felice il Qatar. Chiara Rossi, StartMag: Avanza Fincantieri nell’ambito del contratto sottoscritto con il ministero della Difesa del Qatar nel 2016. Si è svolta presso lo stabilimento di Muggiano (La Spezia) la consegna del pattugliatore (Opv – Offshore Patrol Vessel) “Musherib”, prima unità della classe omonima, commissionata a Fincantieri dal ministero della Difesa del Qatar nell’ambito di un programma di acquisizione navale commissionato nel 2016. Ecco come Fincantieri farà felice il Qatar
QATAR – USA – EUROPE
Passa dal Qatar la terza via americana ed europea sul gas. Francesco De Palo, Formiche: Il day after della visita a Washington dell’emiro del Qatar, lo sceicco Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, porta in dote la consapevolezza di aver trovato una terza via per l’approvvigionamento di gas. Ma al contempo l’occasione data dall’emergenza energetica rimescola alleanze e rapporti di forza nel golfo. Se da un lato Tamim è il primo leader del Golfo Persico a incontrare Joe Biden, dall’altro la spinta dell’amministrazione Trump verso Arabia Saudita ed Emirati Arabi Uniti potrebbe essere stemperata proprio a favore del Qatar. Passa dal Qatar la terza via americana ed europea sul gas
RUSSIA – UKRAINE
Cobalto, vanadio e non solo: tutti i metalli (e le aziende) toccati dalla crisi Russia-Ucraina. Marco Dell’Aguzzo, StartMag: Il mercato dei metalli sta seguendo con particolare attenzione gli sviluppi della crisi tra Russia e Ucraina, cercando di capire in anticipo quale sarà l’impatto sugli equilibri offerta-domanda, e di conseguenza sui prezzi, delle sanzioni economiche che l’Occidente potrebbe imporre contro Mosca in caso di attacco a Kiev. Cobalto, vanadio e non solo: tutti i metalli (e le aziende) toccati dalla crisi Russia-Ucraina
Guerra ibrida contro Kiev. Mosca muove la Wagner dall’Africa. Emanuele Rossi, Formiche: Secondo il sito americano Daily Beast, sarebbe in corso un trasferimento di contractor militari del Wagner Group dall’Africa alle aree russe prossime al confine ucraino — dove sono già ammassati oltre centomila soldati russi con attrezzature da battaglia. Sono informazioni che difficilmente riceveranno conferma ufficiale perché i movimenti di questa ormai nota PMC sono solitamente coperti da cortine fumogene di disinformazione e dal fatto che si tratta di attività aziendali di una società privata. Aspetto quest’ultimo che Mosca usa come alibi, metodo per creare separazione e plausible deniability — quando invece sono stati più volte ricostruiti collegamenti tra il Cremlino e la Wagner, tra Vladimir Putin e il deus ex machina della società, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Guerra ibrida contro Kiev. Mosca muove la Wagner dall’Africa
Cosa racconta lo scontro all’Onu sull’Ucraina. Emanuele Rossi, Formiche: Al Consiglio di Sicurezza dell’Onu si è consumato un passaggio del confronto tra modelli — democrazie contro autoritarismi — quando lunedì 31 gennaio gli Stati Uniti hanno chiesto di intavolare la discussione sulla crisi innescata dall’ammassamento di truppe russe lungo il confine ucraino. Cosa racconta lo scontro all’Onu sull’Ucraina
The U.S. is Working to Improve Ukraine’s Cyber Defenses in the Face of Russian Threat. Mariam Baksh, Nextgov: Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Tech Anne Neuberger will meet with European allies this week as part of an effort to shore up Ukrainian cyber defenses in case of an attack from Russia. “We have been working closely with Ukrainians to harden their defenses, and we will continue to do so in the days ahead,” senior administration officials told reporters Tuesday. “That being said, significant improvements in resilience don’t happen in weeks, and we are realistic about what we can achieve, and also [are] focused on ensuring we have incident response capacity available to them, if needed. The [National Security Council] has been talking to various European counterparts to coordinate that.” – The U.S. is Working to Improve Ukraine’s Cyber Defenses in the Face of Russian Threat
Ukraine seeks closer ties with NATO on cyber defense. Sebastian Sprenger, Defense News: Ukrainian government officials want closer collaboration with NATO’s cyber center of excellence, even after center overseers denied Kyiv a formal membership status last year. The request, and news of its rejection, comes as Ukraine faces potential Russian cyber attacks that Western officials believe would likely accompany a large-scale invasion. The Russian government has denied having such plans, though Moscow has declined to move back a buildup of 100,000-plus troops from the border unless the alliance closes the door to an eventual Ukrainian NATO membership. Ukraine seeks closer ties with NATO on cyber defense
Russian Hybrid Threats Report: Will Moscow provide weapons and passports to breakaway Ukrainian regions? Atlantic Council: As the crisis in Europe over Ukraine heats up, the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) is keeping a close eye on Russia’s movements across the military, cyber, and information domains. With more than five years of experience monitoring the situation in Ukraine, as well as Russia’s use of propaganda and disinformation to undermine the United States, NATO, and the European Union, DFRLab’s global team presents the latest installment of the Russian Hybrid Threats Report. Russian Hybrid Threats Report: Will Moscow provide weapons and passports to breakaway Ukrainian regions?
UK
British military plans to spend big on space, but some wonder if it’s enough. Andrew Chuter, Defense News: Britain laid out its military space development priorities Feb. 1 as the Ministry of Defence published its long-awaited strategy for the sector. The bulk of the £6.4 billion ($8.7 billion) set aside by the MoD for space spending over the next 10 years has long been earmarked for the Skynet 6 satellite communications program, but the study did itemize some of the other capabilities the British were pursing, several of them with an eye to an increasingly aggressive space threat posed by Russia and China. British military plans to spend big on space, but some wonder if it’s enough
USA
Security Specialists: Microsoft’s Discounted Logging Offering Warrants Scrutiny. Marian Baksh, Nextgov: The federal government should carefully consider risks associated with reduced-price logging services Microsoft is offering for agencies to meet executive-mandated Office of Management and Budget requirements, according to academics and others closely studying the national security issue. Microsoft’s offering, announced in a blog post Tuesday, doesn’t detail exactly how the discounts would work but promotes a ‘Maturity Model for Event Log Management solution’ that is designed to adapt to the tiered implementation plan OMB laid out. Under the plan, agencies should have submitted their logging posture and needs to OMB over the fall and be preparing to meet at least a basic level of event logging this coming summer. Microsoft told Nextgov the discounts would vary based on agencies’ needs and that they would work with federal government customers on a case-by-case basis. Security Specialists: Microsoft’s Discounted Logging Offering Warrants Scrutiny
GAO Audit Again Shines Light on Problems in VA’s Health Records Rollout. Frank Konkel, Nextgov: An audit released Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office outlines several issues that have complicated the Veterans Affairs Department’s multibillion-dollar electronic health records rollout. The core issues identified by GAO’s latest audit revolve around the quality of data migrated from VA’s legacy health records system to the new Cerner Millennium platform as well as a lack of stakeholder engagement in the rollout itself. GAO Audit Again Shines Light on Problems in VA’s Health Records Rollout
Audit: Labor Department Information Security Program ‘Not Effective’. Frank Konkel, Nextgov: Third-party auditors found deficiencies in the Labor Department’s information security and continuous monitoring controls. KPMG, which performed an audit released Tuesday by the Labor Department Office of Inspector General, alerted the department’s chief information officer of 45 control deficiencies and a host of other findings. Audit: Labor Department Information Security Program ‘Not Effective’
EARN IT Act Reintroduced, Draws Criticism Over Encryption Implications. Alexandra Kelley, Nextgov: The Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies, or EARN IT Act, was reintroduced into the U.S. Senate on Monday, reopening the potential for Congress to impose stricter penalties related to online content featuring child sex abuse material. A key pillar of the proposed legislation is augmenting the provisions outlined in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects online platforms from being liable for third party content hosted on their domains. EARN IT Act Reintroduced, Draws Criticism Over Encryption Implications
Lawmakers Push Army to Deploy Advanced Cameras for Improved Situational Awareness. Brandi Vincent, Nextgov: New York lawmakers from both Congressional chambers recently pressed the Army to prioritize the development of advanced cameras that can improve military surveillance and situational awareness—particularly in tight spaces. In a letter penned late last week to Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Reps. Brian Higgins, D-N.Y., and Joseph Morelle, D-N.Y., called for the branch to implement technology that offers 360-degree views. Lawmakers Push Army to Deploy Advanced Cameras for Improved Situational Awareness
A Federal Pandemic Watchdog Says its Oversight Money Will Run Out in July. Courtney Bublé, Nextgov: A federal watchdog, created specifically for the coronavirus pandemic, is warning it is running out of money, and without a cash infusion will have to cease its oversight activities. The Office of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery, established by the CARES Act, issued its latest quarterly report on Monday about its oversight efforts into certain pandemic programs as well as issued a dire warning. A Federal Pandemic Watchdog Says its Oversight Money Will Run Out in July
Tribal Broadband Effort Gets $1.5 Million Federal Investment. Alexandra Kelley, Nextgov: An additional $1.5 million dollars in federal funding was awarded to Native American communities to continue to establish improved broadband connectivity across tribal lands. Awarded by the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the money will be distributed within the Biden administration’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program, an initiative dedicated to providing high-speed broadband access to remote Native American communities. Tribal Broadband Effort Gets $1.5 Million Federal Investment
AT&T Completes First 5G Demonstration for ‘Smart Warehouse’ Effort. Brandi Vincent, Nextgov: AT&T recently demonstrated its 5G network testbed capabilities for Naval Base Coronado, officials confirmed Tuesday, marking the completion of an initial, major milestone in its effort to deliver ultramodern smart warehouse applications for the Defense Department. “The types of applications that can result from these capabilities are limited only by the imagination,” AT&T Public Sector and FirstNet Client Executive Vice President for Defense, Lance Spencer, told Nextgov in an email on Monday. AT&T Completes First 5G Demonstration for ‘Smart Warehouse’ Effort
Autonomy specialist Anduril buys underwater drone-maker Dive Technologies. Megan Eckstein, Defense News: Defense technology company Anduril Industries has acquired autonomous underwater vehicle-maker Dive Technologies in a bid to grow its portfolio of artificial intelligence-powered products. Dive Technologies, based in Boston, builds the DIVE-LD large displacement unmanned underwater vehicle, or LD UUV. The system has already been matured and could conduct defense and commercial missions such as long-range oceanographic sensing, undersea battlespace awareness, mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare, seabed mapping and infrastructure health monitoring. Autonomy specialist Anduril buys underwater drone-maker Dive Technologies
Censoring weapons tests risks troops’ lives, says Warren. Joe Gould, Defense News: Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling on the Pentagon to stop censoring its annual weapons testing report and return to the transparency that marked it for the last 40 years. In a letter Tuesday to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Warren rapped the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation office for omitting data about more than 20 programs from its public report published Thursday while a fuller version, marked “controlled unclassified information,” was given to Congress and Defense Department officials. Censoring weapons tests risks troops’ lives, says Warren
US Army to present strategy for modernizing organic industrial base. Jen Judson, Defense News: The U.S. Army’s strategy to modernize the organic industrial base is complete, and now the service’s materiel commander will brief it to Army leadership over the next month, followed by a trip to Capitol Hill to lay out the plans with lawmakers in detail. Gen. Edward Daly, who leads Army Materiel Command, has been working on the organic industrial base strategy since he took over from Gen. Gus Perna in 2020. The strategy has been in the works for several years and will lay out a modernization plan to be executed over the next 15 years. US Army to present strategy for modernizing organic industrial base
Space weather sensor passes final design review. Courtney Albon, Defense News: The U.S. Space Force has signed off on the final design for a new imaging sensor that could improve the service’s weather forecasting capabilities. The electro-optical infrared sensor, developed by EO Vista, is part of General Atomics’ offering for the service’s EO/IR Weather System (EWS) program, which will provide military users with crucial weather imagery and cloud characterization data. Space weather sensor passes final design review (defensenews.com)
These seven principles could help DoD acquisition in the face of the China threat. Robert A. McDonald Sr., M. Sam Araki and Robert Wilkie, Defense News: The U.S. military is getting older faster than it is getting modern. As currently postured, “the U.S. military continues to be only marginally able to meet the demands of defending America’s vital national interests.” The crisis is most evident in the Pacific. The Middle Kingdom’s military is not only rapidly expanding, but it is buttressed by financial muscle of which the sclerotic Soviet Union could only dream. But China is not invincible: It has structural, ideological and geographic vulnerabilities that can be exploited be a vigorous America. But we must act now — invest in new weapons, divest legacy systems, and harden our space and cyber assets. Unleash Silicon Valley to condense the kill chain by turning to artificial intelligence. But we must also burst out of industrial-age acquisition and developmental straitjackets. These seven principles could help DoD acquisition in the face of the China threat
NSA’s cybersecurity directorate looks to scale up this year. Mark Pomerleau, Defense News: A top goal this year for the National Security Agency’s nearly two year old cybersecurity directorate is to scale up and expand its partnership with the defense industrial base. After a series of high profile hacks and breaches, the NSA had to “up its game,” officials said. It established the directorate as a means of using its unique intelligence capabilities to share threat information with companies and the defense industrial base in a timely fashion to ensure they stay ahead of the most sophisticated threats. NSA’s cybersecurity directorate looks to scale up this year
AT&T sees progress in Navy’s 5G smart warehouse experiment. Nathan Strout, Defense News: AT&T claims initial success in setting up a 5G network experiment that could enable “smart warehouses” for the U.S. Navy, with its network demonstrating data throughput speeds greater than 4 gigabits per second. The Department of Defense wants to establish a smart warehouse, where autonomous robots, cameras, augmented reality systems and other Internet of Things applications are connected over a 5G network to revolutionize warehouse operations. If successful, the Navy believes the smart warehouse concept could increase the efficiency and fidelity of its logistics operations, helping with a number of tasks such as “identification, recording, organization, storage, retrieval, and transportation of materiel and supplies.”. AT&T sees progress in Navy’s 5G smart warehouse experiment
A pro-democracy rallying cry for the upcoming election. Michael Hais, Doug Ross, Morley Winograd, Brookings: Conventional wisdom holds that the Democrats are going to lose the midterm elections, especially if they were held today. Given current rates of inflation, the seemingly never-ending pandemic, and the level of partisan hostility that has poisoned our politics, it’s an understandable concern. Those problems don’t lend themselves to quick fixes, raising the specter of a Republican sweep and a Trump return in 2024 that some suggest might be the end of democracy as we know it. A pro-democracy rallying cry for the upcoming election
The chip shortage won’t be fixed without major federal investment. Mark Muro, Robert Maxim, Brookings: Intel’s recent announcement that it plans to build a $20 billion semiconductor plant outside Columbus, Ohio unleashed euphoric headlines, with President Joe Biden calling it a “game changer” that would begin to revive the Midwest’s industrial sector and address supply chain bottlenecks that have led to the current computer chip shortage. The chip shortage won’t be fixed without major federal investment
USA – EUROPE – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The EU and U.S. are starting to align on AI regulation. Alex Engler, Brookings: Arange of regulatory changes and new hires from the Biden administration signals a more proactive stance by the federal government towards artificial intelligence (AI) regulation, which brings the U.S. closer to that of the European Union (EU). These developments are promising, as is the inclusion of AI issues in the new EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council (TTC). But there are other steps that these leading democracies can take to build alignment on curtailing AI harms. The EU and U.S. are starting to align on AI regulation
YEMEN
The Houthis have won in Yemen: What next? Bruce Riedel, Brookings: The Houthis have won the war in Yemen, defeating their opponents in the civil war, the Saudis who intervened in 2015 against them, and the United States which backed the Saudis. It is a remarkable accomplishment for a militia group with no air force or navy. It is also strikingly like Hezbollah’s success story in Lebanon. The Houthis have won in Yemen: What next?
The Global Eye è pubblicato in collaborazione con The Science of Where Magazine
