Tsentr 2019, this year’s largest Russian strategic-operational exercise, involving both Russian troops and seven regional allies and partners, was a highly promoted event by Russia’s state-owned news outlets. According to Sputnik News, the maneuvers (September 16–21) “demonstrated to the world the unprecedented defensive capabilities of... MORE

Portuguese military journalist Nuno Felix tweeted, on September 8, that a group of Russian military personnel—not private military company (PMC) employees—had landed at the Nacala Airport, in Mozambique. The journalist claimed this information came “from a credible local military source” (Twitter.com/Felix_Nuno, September 8). A month... MORE

Last January, Rosbalt commentator Aleksandr Zhelenin suggested it was a mistake to try to find some “grand political design” in Russia’s deepening involvement in Africa. The explanation for what has been occurring, he said, is “both simpler and more disturbing”: it is a reflection of... MORE

The massive and indiscriminate air strikes and the limited land offensive into Kurdish-controlled northern Syria launched by Turkey last Wednesday (October 9) have attracted prime international attention and caused much dismay in Washington, DC; but Moscow has remained uncharacteristically silent about the explosion of armed... MORE

Russo-Chinese relations continue to improve (see EDM, July 25, 30) as both countries’ ties with the United States have grown increasingly strained. Moscow and Beijing describe their bilateral relationship as a “strategic partnership,” constantly adding new adjectives to emphasize its evolving strength. The People’s Republic... MORE

On September 27, AldriMer, a Norwegian information outlet specializing in military affairs, claimed that, according to its sources, “members of the Russian special services without any insignia and dressed as civilians were spotted on Svalbard [Spitsbergen] Island” and on Norwegian continental territory. As noted by... MORE

Russia’s Armed Forces and defense industry are making considerable advances in the design and introduction of modern unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology. While there is growing interest in diversifying both the roles and types of UAVs in service within the Russian military, the biggest advances... MORE

Russia’s so-far ambiguous approach to Libya’s internal conflict, one of reassuring both sides of its continued support, has begun to shift with the deployment of Russian mercenaries backing “Field Marshal” Khalifa Haftar on the front lines of the battle for Tripoli. Despite Moscow’s search for... MORE

Editor’s Note:  This is a special theme issue of China Brief, focused on the evolving concept of “military-civil fusion” (军民融合, junmin ronghe), or MCF, a complex set of initiatives by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to share resources between the military and civilian industry.... MORE

Note: This article leverages previous research and analysis on China’s military-civil fusion strategy by Pointe Bello, a strategic intelligence and advisory firm specializing in China. Introduction A great gamble is underway in China, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempts to introduce new concepts that... MORE