War on the Rocks

Last fall, the U.S. Marine Corps had virtually no first-person view attack drones. That's changed quickly. This episode is about how a team of marines at Weapons Training Battalion at Quantico went from a cold start to building a Marine Corps-wide first-person view drone  training system. Ryan was pleased to welcome some great marines onto the show:  Col. Scott Cuomo, CWO5 Steve Pearsoll, CWO3 (Gu...

When is the risk of war the highest? And what should the United States be doing about it? One of the most important but underappreciated questions in international politics is how states think about the future balance of power. Countries that believe their position is improving often choose patience. Those who fear their position is deteriorating may feel pressure to act before their advantages di...

Rose Gottemoeller joined Ryan in Washington. They discussed how the West might think about relations with Russia once the war with Ukraine ends, as well as nuclear diplomacy and other critical issues. Gottemoeller was the deputy secretary general of NATO and, before that, served as a senior State Department official. She is currently at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Sta...

Gen. Frank Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command, sat down with Ryan to discuss the vision behind the command's new Autonomous Warfare Command and what it signals for the future of military operations in the Western Hemisphere. Donovan explains how SOUTHCOM aims to move drones and autonomous systems beyond tactical experimentation and connect them to strategic effect: disrupting cartel netwo...

Hungary has turned the page. After 16 years of rule by Viktor Orbán, opposition leader Péter Magyar has emerged as the winner by a landslide. Ryan is joined by Sándor Ésik, the lawyer and writer behind the Hungarian Muse , to understand how Orbán built his "soft-authoritarian" system, how it failed to stave off Magyar's challenge, and what comes next. Of course, Orbán was anti-Ukrainian, pro-Russi...

Michael Kofman joined Ryan at a live event earlier this year to discuss the performance of American defense technology in Ukraine and why it often falls short. They examine the challenges of fielding and iterating systems in combat, from poor implementation and weak feedback loops to deeper mismatches between design and battlefield reality. They also explore what it takes to succeed in this enviro...

Michael Kofman joins Ryan to unpack the current state of the Russo-Ukrainian War after his recent trip to the front. They examine how drone warfare has transformed the battlefield into a dispersed contest over a vast kill zone, why Russian infiltration tactics have failed to produce meaningful gains, and how Ukraine is working to close gaps in its strike capabilities. They also explore the growing...

Two retired U.S. admirals with deep experience at sea and in the air joined Ryan to discuss the military challenge of reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Adm. (ret.) Jamie Foggo and Vice Adm. (ret.) John "Fozzie" Miller unpack how Iran has been able to throttle one of the world's most important waterways and what it would actually take to restore freedom of navigation. The conversation explores mines,...

On this special, crossover episode of our members-only armed services podcasts, some of our hosts sat down to discuss their experiences with indirect fire and bombardment. With the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, they rehash some of their own personal stories, provide context on today's threat environment, and share some advice for troops both downrange and at home.

What does it take to rebuild the foundation of American military power? Michael Cadenazzi, assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy, joined Ryan at a live event a few weeks back for a fascinating discussion on the state of the defense industrial base (from new VC-backed entrants to the primes), the race for critical minerals, supply chain vulnerabilities, the unsexy realities of i...

China's top military leadership has been shaken by a new round of purges at the highest level, raising urgent questions about loyalty, corruption, and combat readiness. What do these removals, and especially the purge of Zhang Youxia, signal about Xi Jinping's grip on power, the health of the People's Liberation Army, and Beijing's appetite for risk abroad? We are joined by four seasoned analysts...

On this special, free episode of Marine Pulse, Ian Brown sat down with two Marines who recount their mission at Hamid Karzai International Airport on the day of the suicide bombing attack at the Abbey gate during the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan. Aaron Reep and Lee Bowden share their personal accounts of the mission, what stood out to them about their fellow Marines during the mission...

The Iranian regime has crushed the latest wave of protests through brute force, but the regime's survival comes at a cost. It now confronts a volatile mix of domestic opposition, weakened regional proxies, and years of economic decay. Ryan is joined by co-host Kerry Anderson in a conversation with Alex Vatanka (Middle East Institute), Holly Dagres (Washington Institute for Near East Policy), and N...

Lt. Gen. (ret) David Deptula sat down with Patrick McSpadden in the War on the Rocks studio for a wide-ranging conversation. Deptula highlights the Air Force's current challenges and addresses what it will take to fix them. The duo discuss everything from previous missions to Deptula's advice for current Airmen, even delving into his favorite D.C. gems for food and drinks. You don't want to miss t...

Ryan had an hour-long conversation with Afshon Ostovar, a leading expert on the Iranian regime and its brutal security services. Afshon breaks down everything you need to know to understand the protest movement taking to the streets across Iran, openly calling for the end of this authoritarian regime. How does the regime operate its repressive apparatus? What of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the ousted...

As the year comes to a close, Dara Massicot and Mike Kofman talk with Ryan about the state of play from diplomacy to the battlefield .

Gen. Sir Gwyn Jenkins visited Washington a few weeks ago and was kind enough to invite Ryan to the British Embassy for a nice chat about the U.S.-U.K. alliance, the threat landscape, his vision for delivering seapower, learning from Ukraine, acquisition reform, the future of the Royal Navy — which currently faces serious challenges but also key opportunities, and so much more. 

Gen.  Xavier T. Brunson  is a busy man. As the senior U.S. military leader on the Korean Peninsula, he has three jobs, commanding U.N.  Command,  South Korean-U.S.  Combined Forces Command and U .S.  Forces Korea . What all this boils down to is, if the balloon goes up with North Korea, or another adversary in the region, the forces under his command are expected to be ready to "fight tonight." Du...

Since joining NATO in 2024, Sweden has taken on a more prominent role in European security. Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson joined Ryan in Washington to discuss how Sweden is supporting Ukraine, rebuilding its own military with more resources, and pushing for a faster, more agile defense acquisition system.

When should Ukraine commit more forces to a perhaps desperate stand to hold ground it will likely lose? And when is it the difficult but correct choice to preserve the force and pull back to the next defensive line? This is the real, agonizing strategic dilemma shaping the war, now highlighted in the fight for Pokrovsk. Distinguished strategist Lawrence Freedman joins Ryan at a cafe in Vilnius, wh...

The American president has a ... different approach to strategy than his predecessors. To make sense of the extent American strategy can work and is working at the moment, Ryan was joined by Frank Hoffman, Justin Logan (Cato Institute), and Rebecca Friedman Lissner (Council on Foreign Relations). Join for the brilliant minds. Stay for the spicy takes on American statecraft in Latin America, Europe...

Gen. (ret.) CQ Brown, Jr. may have been removed from his post as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but he isn't finished serving. He joined Ryan at War on the Rocks HQ to talk about how America can realize the true promise of its faltering defense industrial enterprise (the focus of a recent article he authored). Brown argues the playbook already exists. What is missing is concerted action. H...

As ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut has deep insights into national security. And he is concerned. He joined Ryan to share his thoughts on strikes on drug boats, the Trump administration's foreign policy in Latin America, the way the administration fails to work with Congress on matters of national security, and strategy in other...

Army Chief Technology Officer Alex Miller join ed Ryan at a live event  to talk about what countering improvised explosive devices taught him about defeating drones, what the Army is learning from the southern border about emerging threats, and what he wants to see from industry. He makes the case for deeper collaboration between companies, sharper focus , and the courage to shut down what no long...

Michael Kofman and Dara Massicot join Ryan to discuss the state of the front, how Ukraine and Russia are staying in the fight, the possible provision of Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, contingencies expected and unexpected, the failures of Russian diplomacy, and what the most important developments of the year so far have been.