Last month, President Donald Trump hosted Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for a visit that captured both the promise and the shortcomings of America’s Indo‑Pacific strategy.In some ways, the meeting was a success: It produced a few commercial deals, reaffirmed the strength of the bilateral relationship, and — most importantly — demonstrated a visibly warm personal rapport between the two leaders (despite an awkward moment).
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Editor’s note: This article is the eighth in an 11-part series examining how the United States should organize, lead, and integrate economic statecraft into strategy, defense practice, and the broader national security ecosystem. This special series is brought to you by the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies and War on the Rocks. Prior installments can be found at the War by Other Ledgers page.In Sept. 2010, following a collision between a Chinese trawler and Japanese coast guard vessels near the Senkaku Islands, Chinese authorities halted shipments of rare earth minerals to Japan.
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This past weekend, on April 18, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at accelerating research and access to psychedelic therapies for serious mental illness, placing veterans at the center of the effort. Substances once pushed to the margins—psilocybin, MDMA, ibogaine—are now being discussed at the highest levels of government as potential tools to address PTSD, depression, addiction, and suicide. On its face, this is a bold move. It acknowledges something many veterans already know: the current system is not reaching everyone who needs help.
United States Air Force F-22 fifth generation fighters operating from Basa Air Base in the Philippines have flown near contested territories int he South China Sea, as well as the strategically located Luzon Strait, which U.S. experts have expands military pressure across the first island chain as part of the Pivot to Asia initiative. Exercise Cope Thunder 26-1 showed that U.S.
China is rapidly expanding its military power across the Indo-Pacific, fielding advanced missile systems and modern warships, constructing supercarriers, building a growing carrier fleet designed to challenge U.S. dominance in the region, and rapidly closing the technological gap with the U.S. aerospace sector. But at the center of its massive buildup is a project that has yet to fully appear in public view: the Xi’an H-20 stealth bomber.
For decades, the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) was a visible symbol of American maritime power – and while for many years it served as an operational flattop, it later became a news story as the Navy grappled with the difficulty of retiring a ship of this size.
On January 16, 2025, the decommissioned carrier departed the U.S. Navy’s Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia to be towed to Brownsville, Texas, where it will be dismantled. “The ex-John F. Kennedy (CV 67) began its final journey this morning as it departed from the U.S.
J-20 vs. F-22: Who Wins? The Cold War was more than a battle of political ideologies and economic systems. It was also a battle for technological superiority and bragging rights.
Competition ranged from the space race to the effort to field the best submarines and main battle tanks.
J-20 Fighter Fueling Up. Image Credit: Chinese Weibo.
The U.S. government is modernizing its Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs to get after contemporary warfare and national security gaps, senior officials involved in the work said on Wednesday.
Referred to collectively as “America’s seed fund,” that decades-old pair of federal programs provides technology-focused small businesses and startups with early-stage investments and support to commercialize their products, and ultimately field them for use by federal agencies and the military.
As the hot summer months approach, nearly 20,000 Marines live in barracks that lack working air conditioning. While plans are underway for a Corps-wide overhaul of barracks that will include climate control systems, many Marines may get some relief this summer with portable air conditioning units, Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Calros Ruiz said this week.
Marine Corps officials have authorized local commanders to purchase portable air conditioning units for Marines whose buildings lack good central air systems.
The Dassault Rafale reminds me of the F-16 Fighting Falcon. This French fourth-generation fighter may not be stealthy, but it is a lethal hot rod that makes pilots giddy worldwide.
Export customers are also excited to receive the Rafale, and their aviators are impressed by its speed and maneuverability. Sales competition in foreign militaries is steep, though. Air forces also consider the high-quality JAS 39 Gripen from Sweden and the Eurofighter Typhoon.
Dassault Rafale Fighter from France. Image Credit: Creative Commons.