Retired Australian Army Major General Mick Ryan–author of three recent books on the future of warfare–joins our hosts Ray Powell and Jim Carouso to discuss how autonomous weapons (drones) are challenging our military assumptions, and their implications for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific.

Mick draws lessons from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and asserts that drones don’t necessarily mean the obsolescence of current inventories of manned weapon systems, but will require significant cultural and organizational changes to integrate them into our strategies, tactics and force structure.

Mick considers the U.S. “Replicator” project to field drones at high volume, and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s notion of turning the Taiwan Strait into a drone “hellscape” for any potential invasion. He also talks about how developing countries can leverage inexpensive drone technology to level the playing field against larger aggressors.

If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you won’t miss an episode! Your subscription also helps us reach more people on these important Indo-Pacific topics.

You can also follow Mick Ryan’s substack, Futura Doctrina, a conversation about technology, ideas, people and their convergence in contemporary war and competition. Also covering issues related to the war in Ukraine, Chinese aggression against Taiwan and Indo-Pacific defence.

Our podcast is produced by IEJ Media, sharing news that matters on statecraft & instruments of national power.

Sponsored by BowerGroupAsia, a strategic advisory firm that specializes in the Indo-Pacific.

RAND’s senior behavioral scientist Todd Helmus joins Jim Carouso and Ray Powell to explain how China exploits the maritime “gray zone” to pursue its aggressive and expansionist policies without triggering open conflict.

They examine how China’s competitors have seen their sovereignty eroded and their influence wane by remaining passive in the face of gray-zone aggression. They discuss the crucial role of assertive transparency and affirmative engagement in illuminating these activities in order to counter them, while also building resiliency and international support against them.

Turning their attention to the South China Sea, they discuss how China has turned its coast guard into a large and highly capable paramilitary force, and has paired it with its maritime militia to pressure the Philippines into surrendering its own maritime rights. Meanwhile, the Philippines’ southeast Asian neighbors’ responses have ranged from muted to outwardly critical of Manila due to their fear of economic retaliation from Beijing.

They conclude by talking about how the U.S. and its allies need to develop comprehensive strategies to counter China’s gray-zone campaign before it achieves its expansionist objectives.

Read RAND’s work on gray-zone responses:

• Understanding and Countering China's Maritime Gray Zone Operations
• How the United States Can Support Allied and Partner Efforts to Counter China in the Gray Zone

Produced by IEJ Media ), sharing news that matters on statecraft & instruments of national power.

Sponsored by BowerGroupAsia, a strategic advisory firm that specializes in the Indo-Pacific.

Ray and Jim welcome back one of their most popular guests, retired Rear Admiral Mike Studeman, to discuss his recent assertion that Beijing’s malign influence operations–which extend from hacking computer networks to undermining faith in institutions to altering the media landscape–have reached the point of constituting a ‘silent invasion’ of the U.S. homeland.

Mike discusses his documented concerns about the extraordinary case of Elon Musk, America’s most important industrialist whose core businesses also have deep dependencies on Beijing’s largesse, and who has also now become a major political figure. Mike answers questions about why he has raised alarms about Musk as being “compromised and co-opted” by America’s most powerful adversary.

Mike argues that America needs leaders who can lead a national conversation and “connect the dots” for the public so that Americans can understand the pervasive nature of the threat.