IW Weekly - 27 September 2026

Cheap drones are outpacing the defenses built to stop them. Cartel operators on the U.S.-Mexico border grow more creative, JIATF-401 is spending over $25 million on counter-UAS for SOUTHCOM, and the Pacific drone race has no rules. Russia's grey-zone attacks on Europe are growing bolder, and Beijing is working the narrative against Taiwan.

The heaviest thread runs through chokepoints. Houthi missiles are assembled from Chinese parts, insurance markets are being weaponized around Hormuz, Somali piracy has surged in a new form and illicit Iran-China oil is routed through Malaysia. Each turns commerce into a weapon.

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Inaugural Narrative Strategy Symposium | September 30; DC

6th Annual Summit on Economic Statecraft | October 5-6; DC

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

Future of War Conference | October 26-28; Netherlands

Anchorage Security and Defense Dialogue | October 27-29; Anchorage, AK

Tactical Trauma 2026 | November 2-4; Sweden

SOF & Irregular Warfare Symposium | December 9-10; Tampa, FL

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

Nordic Conference on Violent Extremism | May 13-14, 2027; Helsinki

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

Why Should We Care if the Illicit Iran-China Oil Trade Goes Through Malaysia?

Voting for War Putinism

Red Lines and Reality: The West's Escalation Dilemma in Ukraine

Russia's worldview, disinformation, and the politics of influence

Lips and Teeth? China, North Korea, and the Korean Peninsula

Is the U.S.-Philippines Alliance Really at a Historic High?

Africa at the UN: Voice or Leverage?

Hybrid Warfare in the New Age: The Future Forward (Part Three)

Hybrid Warfare in the New Age: Japan Expands the Conflict Aperture (Part Two)

Hybrid Warfare in the New Age: Stretching the Envelope (Part One)

The Price of Arctic Ambition

Leveraging Social Media Intel and OSINT for AI-Driven Predictive Analytics in IW

America Needs a National Irregular Warfare Stress Test

Building Citizen Resilience for an Era of Narrative Strategy

Claiming the Kill in Cyber Offense

Keynote Conversation with Gen. Joseph L. Votel, U.S. Army, Ret. (Future Security Forum 2026)

Dismantling China's Supply-Chain Weapon

Defense Industrial Mobilization Needs More Than Startups and Drones

Army Medicine Must Be More 'Agile and Survivable'

The New Signature Wounds: How Drone Warfare Is Reshaping Injuries Veterans Bring Home

Don't Wait for Hypotension: Resuscitation Decision-Making

Train The Trainer In The Jungle TCCC For A Resistance Force

America is not ready for the drone threat

JIATF-401 Awards Over $25 Million to Expand C-UAS Capabilities for SOUTHCOM

The Pacific Drone Arms Race Has No Rules

Five Questions for a General: Brigadier General Matthew Ross and JIATF 401

Latin American organized crime groups are expanding their presence in Europe

The Rise and Fall of the Puntland Security Force

Houthi Leverage over the Red Sea Escalates Threats for Africa

Irregular Threats in Africa: Building Resilience in an Evolving Security Landscape

Mali: Kyiv's support for Sahel insurgents clashes with US goals

Tripoli leverages Community of Sahel-Saharan States to seal rapprochement with Déby

Somali Piracy in 2026 is Not Just a Resurgence of a Past Problem

Iran-Backed Houthis Build Missiles, Weapons With Parts Made in China

Can Baghdad ever bring Iraq's militias under state control?

Down but not out: The Islamic State and al-Qaeda remain a threat in the Middle East

The System, Not the Centrifuges

Little Venice, little Sparta: The UAE's statecraft meets the war on Iran

Why Saudi Arabia's Houthi Problem Is Our Problem, Too

Donbas Is More Than a Line on a Map: Lessons From Gettysburg, Normandy and Iwo Jima

Russian Intelligence, Europe, and Putin's Secret War

Securing Europe's Telecom Supply Chain

The MWI Pacific Papers

Chinese Culture Is Not the Obstacle

What's Wrong With US Pacific Islands Policy?

Think tank with Trump administration ties calls for major US military pullback in Pacific

In Trump, Xi Sees 'Rare Window' to Convince Taiwan That Resistance Is Futile

Infrastructure & Insurgency in Indonesian Papua

Australia, Japan and the US: Implementing a trilateral denial strategy along the FIC

The Shape of Victory: The Logic of Chinese Global Strategy

The Drones of Bannockburn: A Fourteenth-Century Battle's Lessons for Taiwan's Defense

How China Could Use Geo-Economics and Narrative Warfare to Reshape Asia After Taiwan

Counter-Terrorism: Narrative Strategies

Review - Shadows Over Kabul

Call for Papers - Nordic Conference on Violent Extremism (due October 9, 2026)

Call for Abstracts - Phoenix Challenge® London 2027 (due November 16, 2026)

Call For Papers - JSOU 2027 (due March 1, 2027)

Ed - Irregular Warfare 101 (IW Basics)

Ed - Irregular Warfare 201 (IW Advanced)

Ed - Irregular Warfare 301 (IW Campaigning)

Ed - Irregular Warfare 401 (IW Campaign Design)

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

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

Grey-Zone Warfare in the 21st Century - Oxford Lifelong Learning | Oct 16-Nov 20; Virtual

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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