One of the defining features of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has been the inability of the much larger and more advanced Russian Aerospace Forces to establish air superiority in the conflict. This surprised analysts and prompted a widespread reconsideration of the services’ capabilities as well as the potential threat it poses to NATO countries.

In this episode CNA’s Julian Waller and RUSI’s Justin Bronk join John Stimpson, to examine Russian air operations during the Ukraine War and ask what lessons policy makers can learn from them.

Guest Biographies

Justin Bronk is the Senior Research Fellow for Airpower and Technology in the Military Sciences team at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), and the Editor of the RUSI Defence Systems online journal. His areas of expertise include the modern combat air environment, Russian and Chinese ground-based air defences and fast jet capabilities, the air war during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, unmanned combat aerial vehicles and novel weapons technology.

 Twitter: @Justin_Br0nk

Julian G. Waller is an associate Research analyst in CNA’s Russia Studies program. He is expert in the politics of authoritarian regimes in post-Soviet Eurasia and Europe, with a focus on Russian and Ukrainian domestic political institutions and their relation to political-military issues. At CNA, he has developed reports on Russian military strategy, political media analysis and domestic artificial intelligence developments.

Twitter: @JulianWaller

Further Reading

CNA Report - Russian Combat Air Strengths and Limitations: Lessons from Ukraine

Free and fair elections are an essential of the democratic process, but in recent years foreign inference and disinformation have shaken voters trust in the electoral system.

In this episode, guest host Sabrina Verleysen, sits down with CNA’s Dawn Thomas and former Elections Assistance Commissioner Matt Masterson. They discuss how jurisdictions can secure their elections, what resources are available to them and how to ensure their voters are confident in the results.

Guests

Matt Masterson served as Senior Cybersecurity Advisor at the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (known as CISA), where he focused on election security issues. He previously served as a Commissioner at the Election Assistance Commission from December 2014 until March 2018, including serving as the Commission’s Chairman in 2017-2018.

Dawn Thomas is a co-director of the Center for Emergency Management and Operations and director of the Center for Critical Incident Analysis. She is an expert in large-scale incident planning and response. She has worked on a large array of emergency preparedness issues including: biological attacks, active shooters, large-scale evacuations, medical evacuations, earthquakes and tsunamis, mass casualty chemical incidents, public health outbreaks and cyberattacks.

Sabrina Verleysen is an expert in government relations and Indonesian civilian-military relations. She collaborates regularly on business development lifecycle activities and executes strategic initiatives, events, and engagements. In addition, she supports projects funded by the Department of State that focus on civilian harm mitigation.

Further Reading

Learn more about election security preparations using workshops, drills, and tabletop exercises on CNA.org.

If you’d like to receive updates about upcoming election security seminars please email electionsecurity@cna.org.

Drones have become a ubiquitous part of our society, used by everyday people for fun or as part of their business. The potential of these tools seems limitless but one area that is less discussed is how they can be used by first responders and emergency managers to help keep the public safe.

In this episode Addam Jordan and Marina Rozenblat join John Stimpson. To discuss how jurisdiction can successfully implement drones into their public safety and emergency response plans.

Guest Biographies

Marina Chumakov Rozenblat is the Chief Scientist for CNA’s Center for Data Management and Analytics. She is an expert in data management, cybersecurity, uncrewed aircraft systems, and aviation applications of AI and machine learning.

Addam Jordan is the Chief Scientist for CNA’s Center for Enterprise Systems Modernization. He specializes in new entrants, uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity.

Further Reading

Sign up for Marina’s workshop here.

CNA Spotlight: The Glorious Future of Unmanned Aircraft Systems

For the past 3 months Israel has experienced the largest mass protest movement in its history. The demonstrators oppose judicial reforms which, if enacted, would give the government greater control over appointing Supreme Court judges and allow its parliament to overrule supreme court decisions.

In this episode, Samuel Plapinger returns to the podcast to discuss the protests, why they have been so effective and what this portends for Prime Minster Netanyahu’s administration.

Samuel Plapinger is a Research Scientist with CNA’s Special Activities and Intelligence program. He is an expert on strategic competition, irregular warfare, combat effectiveness, insurgency, terrorism, and Middle East security.

Episode Links

CNA InDepth: Israel’s New Government Is the Most Far-right in Its History

National Security Seminar: Artificial Intelligence in Nuclear Operations  

In this episode, Dmirtry Gorenburg and Steve Wills join John Stimpson. They discuss Finland and Sweden’s NATO accession and what it means for the alliance and for Russia.

Dmitry Gorenburg is a Senior Research Scientist with CNA’s Russia Studies program. He is an expert on security issues in the former Soviet Union, the Russian military, Russian foreign policy, and ethnic politics and identity. He is also an associate at the Davis center for Russian and Eurasian studies at Harvard university.

Twitter: @russmil

Steve Wills is a Research Scientist with CNA’s Strategy and Policy Analysis Program. As a Navy historian, his research interests include the history of U.S. Navy strategy development over the Cold War and immediate post-Cold War eras, and the post-World War II Navy surface fleet. He is an also the Navalist at the Center for maritime strategy at Navy league US.

Twitter: @Lazarus_Navy

In this bonus episode of CNA Talks, we are bringing you the recording of CNA’s recent National Security Seminar, “Nuclear cooperation with strategic competitors,” which has held on March 21, 2023. The event featured panelists Timothy McDonnell and Rose Gottemoeller. McDonnell is the author of a recent CNA publication entitled, “Working with the Adversary: Great Power Cooperation and Nuclear Risk Management.” This report uses archival sources to examine three historical cases of great power nuclear cooperation, distilling lessons and insights for practitioners. During the event Dr. McDonnell shared his findings and then discussed them with Gottemoeller, a seasoned arms control practitioner, about its findings and implications. The event was moderated by CNA’s Mary Chesnut.

Rose Gottemoeller, Steven C. Házy Lecturer, Center for International Security and Cooperation, and Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; former Deputy Secretary General, NATO; former Under Secretary for Arms Control & International Security and chief US negotiator for the New START Treaty, US State Department

Timothy P. McDonnell, Research Analyst and nuclear weapons policy expert, Strategy and Policy Analysis Program, CNA. He is the author of the report, “Working with the Adversary: Great Power Cooperation and Nuclear Risk Management.”

Mary Chesnut, Research Analyst and nuclear weapons policy expert, Russia Studies Program, CNA

Further Reading

CNA- Working with the Adversary: Great Power Competetion and Nuclear Risk Management

The Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center, in Panama City Florida, trains more than 1,200 military divers from across the services. These students are persuing certificates in everything from underwater construction to explosive ordnance disposal.  

In this episode, Neil Carey joins John Stimpson to discuss his research on the potential of extended reality technology (which includes virtual reality, augmented reality and mix/merged reality) as a tool for the training and assessment of these divers.

Resources

Dr. Neil Carey is a Senior Research Scientist with CNA’s Navy Human Resources Program. He is an expert in psychological measurement, cognitive psychology, and their applications to learning. 

CNA: The Promise and Pitfalls Of Extended Reality In Naval Training

In this episode, we examine a new regulation from the Department of Commerce aimed at limiting China’s access to semiconductors and microchips, the impact it is having on China and how U.S. partner nations are responding.

Guests 

April Herlevi is a Senior Research Scientist with CNA's Indo-Pacific Security Affairs program. She is an expert in China's foreign economic policy, special economic zones, and economic statecraft. 

Christopher Cairns is a Research Scientist with CNA's Indo-Pacific Security Affairs program. He is an expert in China's economic statecraft and technology acquisition efforts and U.S. ally and partner issues in the Indo-Pacific. 

Links

To subscribe to the Intersections newsletter, please email intersections@cna.org

Intersections Issue 1: https://www.cna.org/our-media/newsletters/intersections/issue-1

Intersections Issue 2: https://www.cna.org/our-media/newsletters/intersections/issue-2

Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has been the predominant foreign power in the Middle East, influencing the economic, political and security affairs of the region. But in recent years other great powers have begun to chip away at this power, carving out their own spheres of influence in the region.

In this episode, we explore the strategic objectives of China and Russia in the Middle East, the tools they are using to achieve them, and what this means for U.S. policymakers.

Guests

Michael Connell is an expert in Persian Gulf security-related issues, the armed forces of Iran, U.S.-GCC security cooperation, and adversary cyber policy and strategy.

Samuel Plapinger is an expert on strategic competition, irregular warfare, combat effectiveness, insurgency, terrorism, and Middle East security.

Links

Report: China’s Presence in the Middle East and Western Indian Ocean

Podcast: Putin, Raisi and Their Common Enemy

What do search engine optimization, airline schedules and standardized testing have in common? They are all vulnerable to Goodhart’s law, the idea that when a metric becomes a target it ceases to be a good metric.  

In this episode Michael Stumborg and Timothy Blasius join John to discuss their report, “Goodhart’s Law: Recognizing and Mitigating the Manipulation of Measures in Analysis.”

Michael Stumborg is a Principal Research Scientist with CNA’s ​Strike and Air Warfare Program.

Timothy Blasius is a Senior Research Scientist with CNA’s Strike and Air Warfare Program.

CNA: Goodhart’s Law: Recognizing and Mitigating the Manipulation of Measures in Analysis

Army War College: Lying to Ourselves: Dishonesty in the Army Profession

For the past 80 years, the Center for Naval Analyses has been the Navy’s partner and an essential resource for agencies across the federal government.

In this episode, Executive Vice President of the Center for Naval Analyses, Andrew Mara sits down to discuss the Center’s accomplishments over the past fiscal year and where the organization is headed in the coming one.