Opinion

Defense News offers the commentaries and opinions from military and industry decision-makers that frame the global debate about defense policy, programs and strategy.


  • Editorial: Coordinate Parallel Efforts
    Editorial: Coordinate Parallel Efforts

    As is often the case in the run-up to a major air show, European nations have launched a high-profile industry initiative, in this case their latest effort to develop an alternative to US and Israeli remotely operated aircraft.

  • Commentary: Cyber Command as a 5-Year-Old
    Commentary: Cyber Command as a 5-Year-Old

    US Cyber Command recently celebrated its fifth year as the nation’s premier military cyber headquarters.

  • Commentary: Defend Freedom of Navigation
    Commentary: Defend Freedom of Navigation

    For the first time since the 1980s, the United States and the world are fixated on the right of freedom of navigation

  • Editorial: Weigh All Options, But Do No Harm
    Editorial: Weigh All Options, But Do No Harm

    Editorial: Weigh All Options, But Do No Harm

  • Commentary: New Regulation an Opportunity, Not a Curse
    Commentary: New Regulation an Opportunity, Not a Curse

    No one loves a new federal regulation. Say “compliance” and you’ll hear a chorus of groans. Compliance regulations often feel like a convoluted mousetrap designed by lawmakers who have no practical experience in the field.

  • Commentary: Return Acquisition Role to Service Chiefs
    Commentary: Return Acquisition Role to Service Chiefs

    The passage of Goldwater-Nichols and the Packard Commission recommendations back in 1986 was a historic accomplishment that helped build the best military in the world. But there were a few defects that have needed correction for a long time.

  • Letter: Questionable Source
    Letter: Questionable Source

    Barbara Opall-Rome’s article “Report Cites Shift in Israeli War Doctrine” [DefenseNews.com, May 5] repeats, without any qualifications, a report by a group called Breaking the Silence (BtS) that alleges abuses by Israeli soldiers in the 2014 Gaza strip fighting.

  • Editorial: Priorities for DoD’s New Team
    Editorial: Priorities for DoD’s New Team

    Since being tapped to become US defense secretary, Ash Carter spent four months developing a strategy for his tenure and focusing on who would fill the nation’s top military jobs.

  • Commentary: North Korea’s ‘Fake’ Missiles Stir to Life
    Commentary: North Korea’s ‘Fake’ Missiles Stir to Life

    On May 9, a beaming Kim Jong Un watched his country’s first sub-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) leaping out of the water after being launched from a submerged North Korean submarine. The missile, a spitting image of the Soviet era SSN6, was dubbed “Bukkeukseong 1” (Polaris 1) by the North Koreans, a thinly veiled allusion to…

  • Editorial: The Right Cooperation Message
    Editorial: The Right Cooperation Message

    The United States and many of its allies face the same problem: Costs are growing faster than budgets.

  • Editorial: Coordinate Parallel Efforts
    Editorial: Coordinate Parallel Efforts

    As is often the case in the run-up to a major air show, European nations have launched a high-profile industry initiative, in this case their latest effort to develop an alternative to US and Israeli remotely operated aircraft.

  • Commentary: Cyber Command as a 5-Year-Old
    Commentary: Cyber Command as a 5-Year-Old

    US Cyber Command recently celebrated its fifth year as the nation’s premier military cyber headquarters.

  • Commentary: Defend Freedom of Navigation
    Commentary: Defend Freedom of Navigation

    For the first time since the 1980s, the United States and the world are fixated on the right of freedom of navigation

  • Editorial: Weigh All Options, But Do No Harm
    Editorial: Weigh All Options, But Do No Harm

    Editorial: Weigh All Options, But Do No Harm

  • Commentary: New Regulation an Opportunity, Not a Curse
    Commentary: New Regulation an Opportunity, Not a Curse

    No one loves a new federal regulation. Say “compliance” and you’ll hear a chorus of groans. Compliance regulations often feel like a convoluted mousetrap designed by lawmakers who have no practical experience in the field.

  • Commentary: Return Acquisition Role to Service Chiefs
    Commentary: Return Acquisition Role to Service Chiefs

    The passage of Goldwater-Nichols and the Packard Commission recommendations back in 1986 was a historic accomplishment that helped build the best military in the world. But there were a few defects that have needed correction for a long time.

  • Letter: Questionable Source
    Letter: Questionable Source

    Barbara Opall-Rome’s article “Report Cites Shift in Israeli War Doctrine” [DefenseNews.com, May 5] repeats, without any qualifications, a report by a group called Breaking the Silence (BtS) that alleges abuses by Israeli soldiers in the 2014 Gaza strip fighting.

  • Editorial: Priorities for DoD’s New Team
    Editorial: Priorities for DoD’s New Team

    Since being tapped to become US defense secretary, Ash Carter spent four months developing a strategy for his tenure and focusing on who would fill the nation’s top military jobs.

  • Commentary: North Korea’s ‘Fake’ Missiles Stir to Life
    Commentary: North Korea’s ‘Fake’ Missiles Stir to Life

    On May 9, a beaming Kim Jong Un watched his country’s first sub-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) leaping out of the water after being launched from a submerged North Korean submarine. The missile, a spitting image of the Soviet era SSN6, was dubbed “Bukkeukseong 1” (Polaris 1) by the North Koreans, a thinly veiled allusion to…

  • Editorial: The Right Cooperation Message
    Editorial: The Right Cooperation Message

    The United States and many of its allies face the same problem: Costs are growing faster than budgets.

  • Editorial: Coordinate Parallel Efforts
    Editorial: Coordinate Parallel Efforts

    As is often the case in the run-up to a major air show, European nations have launched a high-profile industry initiative, in this case their latest effort to develop an alternative to US and Israeli remotely operated aircraft.

  • Commentary: Cyber Command as a 5-Year-Old
    Commentary: Cyber Command as a 5-Year-Old

    US Cyber Command recently celebrated its fifth year as the nation’s premier military cyber headquarters.

  • Commentary: Defend Freedom of Navigation
    Commentary: Defend Freedom of Navigation

    For the first time since the 1980s, the United States and the world are fixated on the right of freedom of navigation

  • Editorial: Weigh All Options, But Do No Harm
    Editorial: Weigh All Options, But Do No Harm

    Editorial: Weigh All Options, But Do No Harm

  • Commentary: New Regulation an Opportunity, Not a Curse
    Commentary: New Regulation an Opportunity, Not a Curse

    No one loves a new federal regulation. Say “compliance” and you’ll hear a chorus of groans. Compliance regulations often feel like a convoluted mousetrap designed by lawmakers who have no practical experience in the field.

  • Commentary: Return Acquisition Role to Service Chiefs
    Commentary: Return Acquisition Role to Service Chiefs

    The passage of Goldwater-Nichols and the Packard Commission recommendations back in 1986 was a historic accomplishment that helped build the best military in the world. But there were a few defects that have needed correction for a long time.

  • Letter: Questionable Source
    Letter: Questionable Source

    Barbara Opall-Rome’s article “Report Cites Shift in Israeli War Doctrine” [DefenseNews.com, May 5] repeats, without any qualifications, a report by a group called Breaking the Silence (BtS) that alleges abuses by Israeli soldiers in the 2014 Gaza strip fighting.

  • Editorial: Priorities for DoD’s New Team
    Editorial: Priorities for DoD’s New Team

    Since being tapped to become US defense secretary, Ash Carter spent four months developing a strategy for his tenure and focusing on who would fill the nation’s top military jobs.

  • Commentary: North Korea’s ‘Fake’ Missiles Stir to Life
    Commentary: North Korea’s ‘Fake’ Missiles Stir to Life

    On May 9, a beaming Kim Jong Un watched his country’s first sub-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) leaping out of the water after being launched from a submerged North Korean submarine. The missile, a spitting image of the Soviet era SSN6, was dubbed “Bukkeukseong 1” (Polaris 1) by the North Koreans, a thinly veiled allusion to…

  • Editorial: The Right Cooperation Message
    Editorial: The Right Cooperation Message

    The United States and many of its allies face the same problem: Costs are growing faster than budgets.