Inside the Ring
China moving toward nuclear coercion
Beijing's rapid large-scale buildup of nuclear weapons is a sign the Chinese military is moving away from its past defensive strategy toward the use of "nuclear coercion" to achieve Chinese Communist Party aims, such as the takeover of Taiwan, according to a think tank report authored by a Strategic Command analyst.
Space Force leader backs soft Biden agenda
Air Force Gen. John Raymond, chief of the newly created Space Force, says he supports efforts by the Biden administration to reach a U.N.-sponsored agreement on military activity in space, something past administrations has rejected an arms control ploy by China and Russia to limit the American power in space.
Navy warship marks S. China Sea ruling anniversary
A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer this week helped mark the sixth anniversary of a landmark international tribunal ruling declaring the South China Sea to be international waters and not a Chinese lake.
'ChinaDan' hacks Shanghai police files on 1 billion people
An unidentified computer hacker successfully obtained a massive database from a police network in Shanghai, a database that includes records held by the security organization on an estimated 1 billion Chinese citizens.
U.S. Pacific commander: China targeting military C2
Adm. John Aquilino, commander of the Hawaii-based Indo-Pacific Command, said recently that all U.S. services are strengthening command and control systems to prepare for a future conflict with China.
Congress to restore nuclear cruise missile funds
Biden administration anti-nuclear policymakers suffered a bipartisan rebuke as Congress voted to reverse Pentagon plans to eliminate a nuclear-tipped, sea-launched cruise missile.
China to U.S.: Leave communist system alone
A senior Chinese Communist Party official this week repeated Beijing's demand that the United States not seek to overthrow the communist system.
China conducts two threatening aerial intercepts
Tensions between China's military and two U.S. allies increased recently after People's Liberation Army fighter planes conducted what officials say were dangerous aerial encounters.
Northcom: Threats to U.S. homeland surging
The commander of the Pentagon's Northern Command recently told Congress that the United States faces growing threats of attack from China, Russia and North Korea.
North Korea built up nuclear, missile power during pandemic
North Korea continued to build missiles and nuclear weapons during the pandemic and now has nuclear missiles capable of striking the United States, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea disclosed recently in congressional testimony.
Russia to deploy nuclear-armed drone torpedo
Russia's navy later this year will deploy a drone torpedo armed with a megaton-class nuclear warhead capable of destroying entire cities or ports, according to the commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
DIA: Intel suggests COVID virus was lab-engineered
Army Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, revealed in prepared Senate testimony this week that some U.S. intelligence agencies -- not identified by name -- believe the virus behind the COVID-19 pandemic may have been genetically modified in a laboratory and not transmitted naturally from an animal host in China, where it was first identified.
Report details massive Chinese IP theft
Cybersecurity sleuths recently uncovered a massive Chinese government-linked hacking operation that is part of the billions of dollars' worth of stolen intellectual property and other data designed to support further cyber espionage taken from U.S. and foreign companies.
Army reports on Putin's dysfunctional war
Russian President Vladimir Putin badly miscalculated in launching the invasion of Ukraine and falsely believed his army could rapidly overrun the country, according to an analysis of the war published by the Army War College.
China preps for 'metaverse warfare'
China's People's Liberation Army is preparing to wage high-technology warfare in the metaverse, the emerging amalgam of virtual reality, the internet and the real world, according to a report by an Air Force think tank.
AUKUS weapons technology sharing detailed
The Biden administration disclosed new details this week on the implementation of a new weapons and technology cooperation agreement between Australia, Britain and the United States under the recently formed AUKUS alliance.
European commander: Keep nuke cruise missile, gravity bomb
The commander of U.S. forces in Europe, Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, told Congress Wednesday that his forces in Europe need a nuclear-armed cruise missile and the 1980s-era B83 nuclear gravity bomb to maintain deterrence.
U.S. lags China, Russia in hypersonic arms race
Pentagon efforts to rapidly build hypersonic missiles to compete with similar systems of U.S. adversaries took a second hit last week after Russia reportedly used a hypersonic missile in a bomb strike against Ukraine.
Pacific general vows 'robust' response to China attack
China needs to learn the lessons being taught to the Russian military in Ukraine and the dangers Beijing's military forces will face from any attack on Taiwan or another regional nation, the commander of the Pacific Air Forces said this week.
DNI: China still blocking virus origin probe
China is continuing to prevent international investigators from tracing the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has falsely blamed the United States for the deadly pandemic, the annual threat assessment produced by the office of Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines revealed this week.
