The latest twist of fate in Russia’s war on Ukraine, precipitated by President Trump’s comments in New York, underscores the drastically changed nature of this conflict. The Trump Administration is considering improved intelligence and weapons support for Ukraine, including long-range cruise missiles, and is calling for increased tariffs on nations that buy Russian energy. This was preceded by Russian drone violations of NATO airspace – stretching from the Baltics to the Black Sea – which led Ukraine to propose a joint air and missile defense network with European partners.

What kind of support could, or should, Washington provide? What would the integration of Ukraine into European air defense networks look like? And what type of reform is needed to prepare Ukraine for integration into Western security architectures?

To assess recent developments in Ukraine, FDD hosts Admiral Ihor Voronchenko, former inspector general of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, former commander of the Naval Forces of Ukraine, and an Army division commander in the 2014 conflict; Col (Ret.) Andy Bain, executive director of Ukraine Freedom Fund in Kyiv; Maj Gen (Ret.) Charles Corcoran, former assistant deputy chief of staff for U.S. Air Force Operations; and RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, senior director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation. The conversation will be moderated by Tara Copp, journalist at The Washington Post, with introductory remarks by ADM (Ret.) Lisa Franchetti, former chief of Naval Operations and commander, Sixth Fleet.

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/10/14/supporting-ukraines-defense-today-tomorrow-and-in-the-future/

The Axis of Aggressors — China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea — are pursuing “unprecedented levels of cooperation,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine testified in June, “driven by a desire to challenge U.S. interests and stability around the world.” These adversaries are cooperating not just in the military domain but also in the “cyber, economic, and informational domains.”

What are the threats from each of these adversaries, and what are the implications of their cooperation? How should the United States and our allies respond? As the Trump administration finalizes its new National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy, and Global Posture Review, how can Washington align ends, ways, and means to ensure Americans and our interests are protected?

To discuss these questions, FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP) hosts a conversation with CMPP Chairman and former U.S. National Security Advisor LTG (Ret.) H.R. McMaster, and GEN (Ret.) Laura Richardson, a member of CMPP’s board of advisors who served in the U.S. Army for 38 years and commanded U.S. Southern Command from 2021 to 2024. The panel is moderated by CMPP Senior Director Bradley Bowman.

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/10/09/countering-the-axis-of-aggressors-with-ltg-ret-hr-mcmaster-and-gen-ret-laura-richardson/

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted a targeted strike against senior Hamas operatives based in Doha, Qatar. Reported targets include longtime leaders Khaled Mashal, Muhammad Ismail Darwish, Khalil al-Hayya, Mousa Abu Marzook, and Zaher Jabarin. These men are directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Israelis and Americans and have overseen Hamas’s global operations for decades, including serving as key architects of the October 7 massacre.

The strike highlights Hamas’s dependence on external safe havens — and the challenge Israel faces in confronting a terrorist organization whose leaders operate from luxury in Muslim Brotherhood-sponsoring states like Qatar while directing violence against civilians. Key questions remain: How effective was the strike? How might this bold action shape Israel’s security and war strategy? And what are the implications for U.S.-Israel relations, given Qatar’s status as a Major Non-NATO Ally and host of the largest American military base in the region?

FDD Executive Director Jonathan Schanzer, Senior Advisor Richard Goldberg, and Senior Fellow Jonathan Conricus will assess the implications for Israel’s counterterrorism campaign, regional security, and U.S. policy.

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/09/09/fdd-sitrep-idf-strikes-senior-hamas-leadership-in-doha/?_thumbnail_id=274720

South Africa is emerging as a key enabler of authoritarian influence. From hosting joint military exercises with Russia and China to serving as a sanctions evasion hub and a vocal defender of Tehran, Pretoria is positioning itself in direct opposition to U.S. strategic interests. At the same time, South Africa is spearheading a campaign of legal warfare against Israel at the International Court of Justice – doing the bidding of Hamas while undermining the credibility of international legal institutions. All of this comes as the Financial Action Task Force, the global anti-money laundering watchdog, considers whether to remove South Africa from its grey list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring.

For a discussion on how Washington is reexamining its relationship with South Africa, FDD hosts Max Meizlish, senior research analyst, Foundation for Defense of Democracies; Joshua Meservey, senior fellow, Hudson Institute; and Benji Shulman, executive director, Middle East Africa Research Institute. Moderated by FDD Executive Director Jonathan Schanzer, this panel will unpack the nature of South Africa’s foreign policy shift and outline what a credible and consequential U.S. response could look like.

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/08/26/reexamining-the-us-south-africa-relationship/

The terrorism challenges facing U.S. are significant — and widening. A dangerous network of independent and adversary-backed groups pose a grave danger to the United States, with America’s critical infrastructure, global supply chains, economic assets, and citizens vulnerable to cyber, drone, and conventional attack. More than twenty years after the ‘War on Terror’ began, Sunni extremism also persists, joined by radical Islamists that are aligned and cultivated by the regime in Iran. Proliferating across Central and South America, the Horn of Africa and the Sahel, Southeast Asia, and beyond, strong and integrated U.S. counterterrorism strategy is needed today no less than after the attacks of 9/11.

In such a landscape, what can be done to address existing and emerging threats in this space? What is the Trump administration’s strategy to keep Americans safe from terrorism? Join Jonathan Schanzer, FDD’s executive director, and Dr. Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the President and senior director for counterterrorism, for a discussion on U.S. counterterrorism strategy, including forthcoming efforts to safeguard American security and policy options to combat the domestic and international threat landscape.

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/07/23/surveying-the-us-counterterrorism-landscape-with-dr-sebastian-gorka/

China has developed a state-led policy of weaponizing critical supply chains against rivals, raising serious economic security and national security concerns for the United States. Nowhere is this strategy more apparent than in advanced battery and critical mineral supply chains, where China controls upwards of 80% of the supply of graphite, cobalt, manganese, battery anodes, and the essential material for battery cathodes. China’s dominance of these supply chains represents a clear and present danger to the security of U.S. military supply chains and core industries, and the efficient functioning of market economies around the globe.

Both the Biden and Trump administrations have taken important steps to bolster domestic production of minerals, components, and batteries, but much more can and should be done to unlock private sector funding and innovation, support ally-shoring and allied capacity, stabilize pricing and streamline permitting. The U.S. must also develop strategies to push back against a wide range of Chinese non-market practices that it uses to establish supply chain dominance, create resource dependencies, undermine foreign rivals, concentrate economic power, and destabilize American and global economies.

There are strategies and solutions to break China’s battery chokehold that the U.S. should prioritize. In a new monograph, “Unplugging Beijing: A Playbook to Reclaim America’s Advanced Battery Supply Chain,” FDD’s Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP) examines the non-market practices driving China’s battery and critical mineral dominance, and explores policy responses that America and its allies can use to escape China’s economic gravity.

To discuss the report’s findings, FDD’s CEFP hosts a panel discussion with industry experts led by Elaine Dezenski, CEFP senior director and head, with keynote remarks by Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX).

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/07/22/breaking-chinas-chokehold-securing-americas-advanced-battery-supply-chains/

After days and weeks of uncertainty, the United States struck Iran’s most fortified nuclear site — the crown jewel, Fordow — along with Natanz and Esfahan. The attack capped a week of Israeli operations that shattered key components of Iran’s nuclear program and eliminated top IRGC commanders and nuclear scientists. Are we witnessing the final chapter of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program unfold before our eyes?

Tune in to FDD’s Emergency SITREP with Executive Director Jonathan Schanzer, CEO Mark Dubowitz, Deputy Director for Nonproliferation and Biodefense Andrea Stricker, and Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation Senior Director RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery for real-time analysis of the fallout.

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/06/21/fdd-sitrep-us-bombs-iran-nuclear-sites/

For malign actors seeking to undermine U.S. global leadership and economic prosperity, AI is the latest battleground. To learn how U.S. adversaries leverage AI to advance their military, cyber, and malign influence capabilities, join RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, senior director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation (CCTI); Matt Pottinger, chairman of FDD’s China Program and CEO of Garnaut Global LLC; and Leah Siskind, AI research fellow and director of impact at FDD.

This panel will discuss how the government and private sector innovation base can collaborate to combat national security threats, counter adversarial AI use, and expand the innovation capabilities of America and its allies around the world.

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/06/04/battleground-ai-us-national-security-and-adversarial-use-of-ai/

To help protect the United States and its allies from the rising threat of missile and drone attacks, FDD is excited to inaugurate its new Air and Missile Defense Program, housed within the Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP).

This state-of-the-art program conducts rigorous, timely research regarding the air and missile defense capabilities necessary to protect the United States, its forward-deployed forces, and its allies and partners from adversary missiles, aircraft, and drones. The development, procurement, and fielding of cutting-edge air and missile defense capabilities — in sufficient quantities — by the United States, its NATO allies, Israel, Taiwan, Ukraine, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and others can bolster deterrence and enhance collective defense against evolving threats.

Join FDD for a kickoff discussion of the systems, policies, and infrastructure critical to empowering the United States and its allies to meet these challenges. The panel features program co-leaders Bradley Bowman, senior director of FDD’s CMPP and RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, senior director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation (CCTI), as well as Lydia LaFavor, CMPP research fellow. The conversation will be moderated by Pentagon reporter at Politico, Paul McLeary.

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/04/22/fdds-air-and-missile-defense-program-launch/

The current economic “moment” is seeing a generational re-ordering of global trade, alliances, and capital. The Trump Administration is unleashing an unprecedented and muscular use of economic power, with tariffs on historical allies and adversaries alike, ramped up sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, new investment incentives and reviews, and willingness to endure economic pain to remake the global order. The framework and objectives for this new use of economic power, however, continue to evolve.

What tools are available for advancing America’s strategic interests and what doctrinal guardrails should govern their use? How can the U.S. and partners limit emerging geoeconomic risks? What new models of economic integration, trade, investment, and development should we be pursuing? Which pathways are available to counteract adversarial challenges, and what strategic alignments are required among allies to sustain U.S. and global prosperity? As questions abound, the United States and its partners face choices about how to safeguard domestic interests while fostering global economic resilience and security.

To examine these questions and more, FDD hosts an on-the-record expert panel including Brian Hook, vice chairman of Cerberus Global Investments; and Elaine Dezenski, senior director and head of FDD’s Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP). Juan C. Zarate, chairman and co-founder of FDD’s CEFP, will moderate the discussion.

For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2025/04/21/the-trajectory-of-us-economic-statecraft/