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3 weeks ago | 
mwi.westpoint.edu | Benjamin Jensen |Jake Kwon
Mass has long been a cornerstone of military strategy. Traditionally defined as the concentration of combat power at a decisive point to overwhelm the adversary, this principle remains as relevant to contemporary joint force planning as it was during the Napoleonic Wars. However, advancements in artificial intelligence are fundamentally reshaping how mass is generated, applied, and countered in modern warfare.
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3 weeks ago | 
csis.org | Benjamin Jensen |Mark Montgomery |Futures Lab
After Ukraine and Russia’s agreement to a Black Sea ceasefire as part of broader talks being brokered by the United States in Saudi Arabia, the next step is to design a coalition maritime force to secure the peace. This force will need multiple layers of defense, intelligence sharing, and the ability to counter hostile acts—particularly those aimed at grain corridors, critical infrastructure, or coastal regions.
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1 month ago | 
csis.org | Benjamin Jensen |Mark Montgomery |Futures Lab
The scale of Russian aggression against NATO airspace after its initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014 has led the alliance to increase its aerial policing missions, adding efforts in Romania (Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base) and Bulgaria (Graf Ignatievo Airforce Base). Each of these missions consists of the persistent presence of a squadron minus fighter aircraft (i.e., 4–6 aircraft) and 100–200 support personnel that operate alongside a similar number of host nation platforms.
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Jan 7, 2025 | 
csis.org | Benjamin Jensen |Futures Lab
Recent revelations that Moscow’s “ghost fleet” of oil tankers is loaded with spy gear and prone to undersea cable cutting indicate a pressing need to counter the Kremlin’s sabotage campaign in a manner that further undermines Russia’s wartime economy. For too long, the United States and Europe have turned a blind eye, relying on often late and feckless sanctions to counter Moscow’s illicit economic lifeline.
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Nov 19, 2024 | 
csis.org | Benjamin Jensen |Futures Lab
With talks of negotiations emerging, the United States needs a clear military strategy that supports the process and ensures Kyiv negotiates from a position of strength. This strategy should build on the recent, partial removal of long-range strike restrictions and drop outdated restrictions that limit weapons transfers that could actually save the U.S. taxpayer money and support continued economic growth.
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Nov 13, 2024 | 
csis.org | Benjamin Jensen |Futures Lab
Foreign policy in the United States relies on a mix of policy analysis, staffing processes, and bureaucratic procedures that have not changed for decades. The National Security Council (NSC), chartered to guide strategy formation and implementation, has proved impervious to advances in data science and artificial intelligence (AI). Instead, it relies on old-fashioned Microsoft Word documents and PowerPoint attachments to shape critical national security policy debates.
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Nov 6, 2024 | 
csis.org | Benjamin Jensen |Futures Lab
Americans across the aisle need to put aside our differences and draft a common blueprint for foreign policy and grand strategy for the next four years. Democrats can find compromises with Republicans to forge a new consensus that speaks directly to Trump voters’ concerns about economic policy and migration.
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Oct 23, 2024 | 
csis.org | Benjamin Jensen |Yasir Atalan |Futures Lab
Ukraine is under siege from Russian firepower strikes and needs additional Western military aid, expanded sanctions against Moscow’s allies, intelligence support, and long-range strike authorization to defend its citizens. From September 28, 2022, to September 1, 2024, Russia launched a total of 11,466 missiles. On average, 23.2 missiles were launched daily, with the median number of daily launches recorded at 17 missiles.
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Oct 4, 2024 | 
fdd.org | Daniel Ackerman |Craig Singleton |Benjamin Jensen
Introduction“The complete reunification of the motherland must be fulfilled, and it will definitely be fulfilled,” declared Xi Jinping on the 110th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution of 1911, underscoring Taiwan’s reintegration into China as a core element of his vision for the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” For the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), using minimal military force and preserving Taiwan’s infrastructure and economy during reunification are paramount.
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Jul 11, 2024 | 
fdd.org | Benjamin Jensen
In the future, NATO will need to field a larger, more capable fleet that can deny Russia the ability to hold member states at risk in the maritime domain and degrade Moscow’s ability to conduct long-range cruise missile strikes. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, the maritime focus of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) began to pivot from major combat operations to regional maritime security operations.
