Volume 79, Number 2 (2026) Spring 2026

Artificial intelligence seems to permeate every aspect of modern life, and military discourse is no exception. In our lead article, “Emerging Warfare Dynamics in the Algorithmic Age: Artificial Intelligence, Mass, and Deception in Systemic Conflict,” Jonathan Compton analyzes the rapid proliferation of AI and autonomous systems in both the United States and the PRC and their critical impact on future warfare. In “Cyberattack-Resilient Artificial Intelligence in Navies: Solving the Skill-Needs Gap,” Chris Demchak presents a rubric for naval commands to help allocate the proper manning to instill resiliency in AI systems. AI also impacts military-adjacent support, which Thomas Welch examines in “The Artificial Intelligence Challenge to Strategic-Assessment Organizations.” Moving from the virtual to the physical, Sean A. G. Andrews makes a case for the continued relevance of modern navies in the wake of drone warfare in “Will Navies Prevail in ‘Generation Drone’?” Interest in drone warfare continues, particularly in light of events between Ukraine and Russia, as Thomas C. Linn explores in “The First AI War,” this issue’s Research & Debate essay. Of course, even in futuristic warfare, the past still holds key lessons. Securing a “strong place” overseas without disrupting local politics or agitating rivals is as crucial today as ever, and Terence M. Nicholas’s case study dives deep in “The Art of Securing ‘Strong Places’ Overseas: The History of a British Naval Base in Oman in the Early Twentieth Century.” Finally, in this issue’s Set & Drift feature, Thomas Bernitt, Jason Gilbert, and Michael Dalrymple examine the underdiscussed history of explosive ordnance disposal efforts, acutely resonant in today’s climate, in “Disposing of Sea Mines in Operation Desert Shield: Developing EOD Doctrine in Wartime.”