IW Weekly - 26 July 2026

Gray zone escalation dominates this week: China batons Philippine sailors in disputed waters, Russia's shadow fleet and Wagner rebrand for the maritime and PMC front, and Iran's underground resistance movements test the regime from within.

Cognitive and economic warfare run as the second thread—Chinese AI as an economic-warfare vector, information disorder reshaping IW practice, and China's "elevating cognitive effects" toward Taipei. The strongest signal: adversaries are contesting the informational and economic domains as deliberately as the physical ones.

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CACI 2026 Dark Web and OSINT Summit — July 28; Arlington, VA

CTF in Africa: From Doctrine and Concepts to Operations — July 29; Virtual

Navigating the Strait of Hormuz Energy Crisis — August 4; DC

Irregular Warfare in the Homeland, IWC Symposium — August 4-6; Arlington, VA

Indo-Pacific Irregular Warfare Symposium — August 18-20; Honolulu

Introducing APEX 2026 - IPA — September 8-9; Reston, VA

NATO Annual CIMIC Foresight Conference — September 14-18; The Hague

SAVE THE DATE: 25 Years After, Lessons From America’s Post-9/11 War — September 15; DC

Modern War Conference 2026: Deterrence in the Pacific — September 24-25; West Point

SAVE THE DATE: Inaugural Narrative Strategy Symposium — September 30; DC

Global SOF in Europe Conference — October 6-8; Rome

Future of War Conference — October 26-28; Netherlands

Tactical Trauma 2026 — November 2-4; Sweden

Int’l Conference of the Society for Terrorism Research — December 9-11; Sydney, Australia

Medicine In the Mediterranean 2027 — January 29-31, 2027; Malta

Phoenix Challenge London 2027 — March 9-11, 2027; London

Have an event to highlight? Send details to mick@stratagemconsultingllc.com.

Deterring China from Attacking Taiwan: The Role of Economic Statecraft

How Prepared is the United States for War in the Indo-Pacific?

Is Ukraine Winning? Inside the Battlefield of Drones, AI, and Autonomous Warfare

Why Should We Care if China Won’t Restrain Its Flood of Exports

Inside the War in Ukraine: Strategy, Technology and the Future of Security

Colombia at a Crossroads: Abelardo de la Espriella and the New Political Era

SOF Assessment, Selection, and Qualification (Part 2)

White Hulls, Gray Zone: The Coast Guard Is Built for the Fight

Intel Support to Over-the-Horizon Targeting in Contested Environments

Gray Zone Attacks Against U.S. Allies and Partners

The Silent Battlefield: Information Warfare Maneuver in the Era of Strategic Competition

UTS and the Human Domain

Solving the Wrong Problem? A Practitioners’ Method for Campaigning in Irregular Warfare

How Cognitive Warfare Can Turn Uncertainty Into a Weapon

Reform U.S. Security Assistance

Beyond the battlefield: Why the US must prioritize the information domain

Forecasting the Future of the Axis of Upheaval

Cognitive Engagement as a Strategic Imperative of Irregular Warfare

Insurgency-Related Conflict

Conference on Critical Minerals: Resourcing Shortcomings and Solutions

American Crisis Management for a New Era

Why the Return of Tarnak Farm is One of the Clearest Indicators of Al-Qaeda's Resurgence

Canada Is Gearing Up for the Arctic Great Game

Guam’s Logistics Capacity Must Be Increased

China’s Arctic Shipping Ambition Is Moving From Experiment to Network

Logistics, Modern Warfare, and the Future Fight with Lt. Gen. Stephen Sklenka

Green Beret on Surviving Catastrophic Injury and Reimagining Combat Casualty Care

Trauma Surgeons Urge Action to Maintain Military Surgery Readiness

The War in Ukraine Is Changing How US Troops Train With Tourniquets

From Tourniquet to Crush: Mastering Hyperkalemia with Calcium in Prolonged Field Care

Guerrilla Surgeon: Life-Saving Surgery in Caves, Dirt Rooms & War Zones

The Army Is Building Its Autonomy Enterprise From the Integration Up

Trump to Investigate Iranian Drones in Cuba: What this Means

Ukraine Lands Armed Robot Ashore In Russian-Held Territory Via Drone Boat

Attritability of Unmanned Systems in Modern Warfare

Gas from Above: UAVs Bring Chemical Warfare Back to the Battlefield

Foreign Terrorist Organization Designation of Juarez Cartel and Los Viagras

Cartel Attacks, Tactical Evolution, and the Impact of 2025 Terrorist Designations

State Response to Criminal Armed Groups in Mexico, CentMa, and the Caribbean

Mothership Sought By Navy For Southern Command Operations

As the Horn of Africa Nears Boiling Point, Time for Urgent Diplomacy

Africa Political Monitor No. 66

Ghana’s Illegal Gold Mining Crisis: A National Security Threat with Regional Implications

RUS Influence in Africa—Implications and Recommendations for USSOF

Kidnapping for ransom in the Sahel: analysis of 24 years of data shows a new trend

Army stands up new PSYOP Company focused on Africa

Why US plans for power-sharing in Libya will not work

New Lessons from Côte d'Ivoire

Two U.S. Service Members KIA in Jordan

The Strategic Messages of Operation Epic Fury

War by Any Other Name

Another Hormuz? What to Know About the Houthi Threat to the Red Sea

How the US and Iran dragged each other back toward war

Trends US Strategy Session 6 | Beyond US Defense In The Gulf | The Role Of UKR and Israel

Covert Maritime Intelligence and Russia’s Shadow Fleet

Ukraine is winning. Here’s what it needs to finish the job

Why Russia Could Escalate Hybrid Warfare Against Europe

As Ukraine's Crimea campaign grows, so does its underground resistance

Ongoing Belt and Road Initiative Poses Strategic Risks in the Western Balkans

The Balkans’ Critical Infrastructure Front

China’s Economic Espionage and Subnational Influence in the United States

Indo-Pacific Pressure Geostrategic Map

The Short-War Illusion: What Iran Teaches Beijing About Taiwan

Dongshan Island: A Critical Node for the PRC Operational Plans for Taiwan Contingencies

Five Plays to Seize Time and Deter War in the Western Pacific

Coast Guard shifts cutter squadron from Middle East to Pacific

U.S. Coast Guard monitors Chinese ships off Alaska coast

PH Navy personnel injured as PRC staff uses baton in clash over disputed waters

Congress told U.S. ill-prepared for China’s ‘unrestricted warfare’

Total War on Taipei: China Explores Elevating Cognitive Effects into Its Vision of Warfare

China security partner Solomon Islands to sign US Coast Guard patrol deal

The Language of Terrorists: Distinguishing Trolls from Violent Extremists

Armed Groups of the Greater Middle East

Hard Broke: Asymmetric Warfare, Great Power Competition, and Institutional Paralysis

AI and the Future of War

Global Narratives of Russian Disinformation

Russian Hybrid and Information Warfare

Welcome to the Blob! - The Blob

Call for Papers - Information Professionals Association (due July 31)

Papers: “Civil Affairs: Securing the Victory in New Environments” (due September 11)

Ed - Irregular Warfare 101 (IW Basics)

Ed - Irregular Warfare 201 (IW Advanced)

Ed - Irregular Warfare 301 (IW Campaigning)

Ed - Irregular Warfare 110 (IW approaches for Homeland Security and Homeland Defense)

Ed - Center for Homeland and Defense Studies Self-Study Courses

The Harding Fellowship: A Leadership Opportunity for Army Professionals (due August 15)

The IW Weekly is made possible through the generous support of Stratagem Consulting . We're especially grateful to Mick Crnkovich, Founder and CEO of Stratagem, for championing thoughtful, practitioner-oriented resources in the national security space.

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