Jonathan Dowdall

This weekend, world leaders and defense officials will converge in Chicago for NATO’s bi-annual diplomatic summit. The largest defense meeting of its kind, in attendance are the leaders of three nuclear armed nations, and officials commanding 28…

The unmanned aerial systems (UAS) — or drones — sector continues to expand rapidly. Forecasters have predicted a boom in the Asian drone market, while the UK and France —  Europe’s largest military spenders —  have announced plans to expand their…

Recently, I’ve been reading a great deal about what dangers the strategic defense and security environment will hold for us millennials, the next generation of policy leaders. Whether focused on the demands of austerity on U.S military spending, the…

The future of U.S-Europe defense cooperation is taking shape, after a top Pentagon official has confirmed that the U.S will be expecting European militaries to bear more of the defense burden in future. As reported by news outlet DefenceReport in…

Britain is gripped by a new separatist controversy, after leading Scottish ministers declared their intention to hold a public referendum on independence from the United Kingdom in 2014. While the Scottish independence movement is not new, this…

The Pentagon’s new “strategic guidance” document attempts to outline the global security environment — a mind-bogglingly difficult task for a 16-page document. So inevitably, the paper relies on some fairly simple “narratives,” or stories, to help…

In a much-anticipated speech at the Pentagon, President Barack Obama has formally unveiled “the projected security environment and the key military missions for which the Department of Defense (DoD) must prepare” in the coming decade.  Focus by…

Whilst the rest of the world speculates about the likelihood of a U.S. war with Iran in 2012, in Britain the New Year has been accompanied by some ominous news from their tiny overseas territory of the Falklands Islands. Led by Argentina, who…

This holiday season, I’ve been taking a vacation from defense and security news, and have joined the millions of people who buy and play video games in ever-increasing numbers. Indeed, on whichever platform you care to indulge the gamers’ itch, 2011…

Amongst the defense and security policy community, there are certain stock phrases which occur with startling repetitiveness: the idea that our world is growing "increasingly complex," with "new and emerging security challenges" coming from "diverse…

With the financial crisis hanging like a dark cloud over the U.S. budget cuts debate, defense policy pundits have back and forthed this week about the relative merits of steep cuts to U.S. defense spending. While a general debate about programs that…

A horrific grenade and gun attack in the Belgian city of Liege which killed five and injured 123 others has dominated headlines. Despite being at a conference at the time, I was soon informed nonetheless, as relatives and friends in theUK called…

During a recent meeting of European defense ministers, cash-strapped militaries revealed for the first time exactly which capabilities they felt could viably be “shared” across borders. Whilst there are reasons to be skeptical about such non-binding…

Last week, Austria announced it would be scrapping or selling 758 of its tanks and armored vehicles — over 66% of its entire force. This highlights an escalating trend: European militaries are substantially reducing their armored vehicle fleets. The…

At a recent conference in Brussels, IT consultant Florian Walther claimed there is one “root cause” of all cyber-security issues – cheap or poorly made software that is “full of bugs and vulnerabilities.” In Walther’s perspective, the myriad…

On Friday, the European Union will begin an ambitious large-scale crisis management exercise. The scenario will see the EU institutions and member states developing civilian and military action plans for handling an escalating internal security…

Today is the day of commemoration for those killed in war. Just like the United States’ Veterans Day holiday, “Remembrance Day” is a national holiday in much of Europe, and in the UK and many other Commonwealth nations it is marked by wearing red…

As NATO operations formally came to a close over Libya on November 1st, the largest development aid donor bloc in the world, the European Union, has stepped up to help the transitional government rebuild the war-torn country. Yet, it is less well…

In a recent BBC op-ed, journalist Will Self argues that euphemism and jargon are used by political “spin doctors” and arms manufacturers alike to conceal the true, dark nature of armed conflict. Terms such a “defense,” "surges,” "operations," and…

Last Friday, the European Union launched the first part of Galileo: A European answer to GPS that offers more accurate geo-positioning and strong emergency communication capabilities. The project is predicted to generate between $81-122 billion in…