Slow Read
Defence
Armed forces, deterrence and the industry that equips them.
6 new picks worth reading, every week.
Get new Defence picks by email, once a week. Subscribe →
-
★★★★☆ Pick of the week Added 28/10/2026
Thailand's air war on the Cambodian border, sortie by sortie
What did Thailand's air force actually do when border clashes with Cambodia escalated in July and December 2025? Olli Pekka Suorsa reconstructs both campaigns from open sources: which wings flew, how targets were found and struck, and which munitions were dropped and where they came from. Read it for a rare operational account of a Southeast Asian air war, the kind usually written only about Western forces. We picked it for the detail Suorsa assembles from scattered public evidence; the sources are mostly Thai, and the Cambodian side is barely heard. The text we read gives no biography; we found no stake.
-
★★★★☆ Added 28/10/2026
Why China built a fleet of hospital ships, and what it says about its navy
Why does China's navy now operate a dozen hospital ships when it had none before 1991? Jonathan Robinson traces the fleet back to a short clash with South Vietnam over the Paracel Islands in 1974, and follows each generation of vessel since. Read it to see how medical logistics, rarely discussed, reveal a navy's real ambitions, including its plans for a war close to home. We picked it as this issue's wildcard: a careful history of an overlooked capability. Robinson is an assistant professor at the US Naval War College and has supported US Navy hospital-ship missions; we found no stake in the argument.
-
★★★★☆ Added 28/10/2026
How insurers, not warships, could cut Taiwan off
Could China cut Taiwan's sea trade without firing a shot? Tang Meng Kit argues that a quarantine would start with underwriters rather than warships: once war-risk cover narrows, contracts and lenders push ships away on their own. Read it for a clear account of how marine insurance, charter parties and loan covenants can turn a legal grey zone into a blockade. We picked it for explaining a mechanism most naval writing skips; it argues for a US-led backstop and tests the idea against its own limits. Tang is a Singaporean freelance analyst and aerospace engineer who graduated from Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies; we found no stake.
-
★★★☆☆ Added 28/10/2026
Undersea cables that listen, and the rules nobody has written
What happens when the internet cables on the seabed can also hear what passes over them? Samuel Bashfield and Oscar Youlten explain how fibre-optic sensing turns ordinary submarine cables into listening arrays, and why the signal that warns of a dragged anchor can also track a warship. Read it for a plain account of a technology few people know exists, and of how thin the rules are across the Indo-Pacific. We picked it for explaining the mechanism before the policy fight begins. Bashfield is a research fellow at La Trobe University and Youlten works for a Canberra defence consultancy; the piece comes from a project supported by Australia's Department of Defence, a stake in the subject.
-
★★★☆☆ Added 28/10/2026
Kaliningrad as a burden rather than a fortress
Is Kaliningrad, Russia's armed exclave on the Baltic, a dagger pointed at NATO or a burden Moscow can no longer carry? Daniel Peris argues the second, reading the territory through centuries of rulers who governed it from afar and a Russia that Peris sees as an empire in retreat. Read it for the long view that daily coverage of the Suwałki Gap leaves out. We picked it as a counterweight to the usual threat framing; the thesis is stated openly, though the case for near-term danger gets less attention. Peris trained as a historian of modern Russia and manages dividend portfolios for a US asset manager; we found no stake.
-
★★★☆☆ Added 28/10/2026
Drones in the hands of Southeast Asia's smugglers and militants
How are criminal gangs and militant cells in Southeast Asia using cheap commercial drones? Rueben Dass builds a small dataset of incidents across the region, from prison drug drops in Malaysia and Indonesia to drone parts trafficked towards Myanmar and Syria, drawing in part on Indonesian court documents. Read it for the patterns behind incidents that are usually reported one at a time. We picked it for original data from a region that rarely gets this kind of analysis, though Dass notes that press reports may undercount. The text we read gives no biography for Dass; we found no stake.
-
★★★★★ Pick of the week Added 27/10/2026
A debrief with Ukraine’s soldiers
What does the front line in Ukraine look like to the soldiers holding it? Peter Caddick-Adams relays a briefing from Ukrainian officers just back from the front, speaking under noms de guerre. Read it to understand why there may no longer be a front line in the old sense, and what has replaced it. We picked it for first-hand testimony set in historical context. Caddick-Adams is a military historian writing for Engelsberg Ideas; we found no stake.
-
★★★★★ Added 27/10/2026
Guns, Growth, and the German Reinvention of Military Keynesianism
Is Germany rearming because of Russia, or to rescue its economy? Marina Henke and Jack Snyder argue that the answer is both, and explain the political bargain that made it possible. Read it to understand the biggest change in European defence spending, and its domestic logic. We picked it for an argument that joins security and economics. Henke and Snyder write for War on the Rocks; we found no stake.
-
★★★★☆ Added 27/10/2026
Closing the Sea: Lessons from Ancient Mediterranean Blockades
What can ancient sea blockades teach us about a blockade of Taiwan or Iran? Stephen DeCasien reads four cases from antiquity through a classic distinction in naval strategy. Read it for the long view: why controlling the sea is one thing, and holding it long enough to win is another. We picked it as history that sharpens a live question. DeCasien writes for CIMSEC, a forum on maritime security; we found no stake.
-
★★★★☆ Added 27/10/2026
Hymn to Hai Kun: The Gap Between Ceremony and Capability
Is Taiwan's first home-built submarine the deterrent its launch ceremony promised? Meng Kit Tang compares the symbolism with the record so far. Read it to understand the gap between ceremony and capability in Taiwan's defence, and why it matters for deterrence. We picked it for a sober look at a project wrapped in national pride. Tang writes for CIMSEC, a forum on maritime security; we found no stake.
-
★★★★☆ Added 27/10/2026
Deception in Mass Autonomous Warfare
On a battlefield where drones see everything, how do soldiers survive? Édouard Maurin argues that hiding is no longer enough, drawing on time spent in a Ukrainian command post. Read it for first-hand evidence on how deception is changing war, beyond the usual talk of drones. We picked it for reporting from inside a unit at the front. Maurin's company makes battlefield decoys, a stake the piece discloses and readers should weigh.
You have read everything on this page.
11 picks
How we rate
How the stars work
★★★★★ Original reporting or data, explains a mechanism, argues fairly.
★★★★ Excellent, one soft spot: a frame, narrow scope, or an interview.
★★★ Solid, if the subject already interests you.
Rated on the piece, never its politics. A frame tag, in italics, names the position a piece argues from so you can weigh it before you read.