The Torch
Illuminating Security and Defence Issues
Welcome to The Torch, RKUSI’s curated roundup of timely and thought-provoking content from across the defence, security, and military affairs landscape.
Each edition brings together insightful articles, expert commentary, and notable developments—from Canada and around the world—that matter to our community of informed citizens, veterans, and professionals.
Explore the latest links and stay sharp on the issues shaping today’s strategic environment.
Great Power Competition
Russia
China and Russia seek to deepen defence and security cooperation
12 December 2025
The deepening strategic partnership between China and Russia will affect the Indo-Pacific and Europe more than anywhere else. International tension and conflict will increase as countries in these regions reluctantly respond to this partnership. We should not cling to hopes that either China or Russia will moderate the other....
USA
National Security Strategy of the United States of America -November 2025
13 December 2025
To ensure that America remains the world’s strongest, richest, most powerful, and most successful country for decades to come, our country needs a coherent, focused strategy for how we interact with the world. And to get that right, all Americans need to know what, exactly, it is we are trying to do and why....
China
THE FINAL FRONTIER: CHINA’SAMBITIONS TO DOMINATE SPACE
13 December 2025
China has embarked on a whole-of-government strategy to be- come the world’s preeminent space power. Beijing views space as a warfighting domain and it seeks to achieve space superiority as a cornerstone of its broader effort to establish information domi- nance—a prerequisite to controlling the battlespace and gaining operational advantage in future conflicts. To this end, China has rapidly developed, deployed, and operationalized advanced capa- bilities in space launch, satellites, and ground-based infrastruc- ture spanning its civil, military, and commercial sectors. These advancements are closing the gap in the strategic competition between the United States and China in space....
Emerging Technologies
The Future of Submarine Tracking Through Quantum Research and the AUKUS Partnership
13 December 2025
The U.K.’s successful testing of quantum atomic clocks aboard submarines provides validation for further research in quantum integration in underwater environments. These trials are not only advancing GPS-independent navigation but also validating the stability of quantum systems in submarine conditions. This progress will likely influence the development of quantum magnetometers in the near future. ...
The pilot of an F-22 just controlled a drone wingman in flight
13 December 2025
High above a Nevada test range, an F-22 pilot took control of a combat drone last month, a first for the Air Force's robot wingman effort. The pilot used a tablet for “command and control” of the MQ‑20 Avenger combat drone during an Oct. 21 flight at the Air Force’s Nevada Test and Training Range, according to a Monday press release by MQ-20 maker General Atomics, which worked on the demonstration with F-22 builder Lockheed Martin and defense company L3Harris....
Military AI needs guardrails—not to slow it down, but to keep it useful
13 December 2025
As the Trump administration pushes to “aggressively adopt AI” in the military, there’s a recognition that some of the models may have protections or limitations that aren’t applicable in a military context. To be sure, some of these will need modification to suit the military’s mission. But there are many reasons that the military will want to have guardrails built in, for its own protection....
Canada
Canada at the defence crossroads: The challenges of thinking long-term
13 December 2025
Witnessing the ongoing public debate about fighter jets and submarines this fall has felt a lot like watching people argue over baseball, hockey or some other team sport. Naturally, it has been particularly uncompromising online where the characteristics and quirks of each aircraft and boat have been analyzed to the nth degree with the kind of fan worship usually reserved for pro franchises....
Pan-Domain Command & Control (PDC2) Concept Paper
13 December 2025
The global security environment is complex and dangerous, characterized by the re-emergence of strategic competition, proliferation of advanced technologies, and evolving multi-domain threats. Traditional domain-centric approaches to command and control (C2) are inadequate to address these evolving challenges. The Pan-Domain Command and Control (PDC2) concept establishes a transformative framework for how the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) conducts C2 across complex operating environments....
DND scrambles to figure out how to mobilize and equip a citizens’ army: documents
13 December 2025
The Department of National Defence is scrambling to figure out how it will clothe, equip and train hundreds of thousands of new reservists envisioned under an ambitious mobilization proposal that Canada’s top military commander describes as a work in progress....
5 Eyes Partners
What Trump’s National Security Strategy means for Australia
13 December 2025
Before its release on 4 December, the Trump administration’s National Security Strategy (NSS) had been expected to emphasise increased defence burden-sharing among allies and partners; a refresh of US priorities, placing ‘America First’; a more active US role in the Indo-Pacific; and deeper multi-domain interoperability. The strategy, which sets the United States’ security agenda until January 2029, delivers on those expectations, most notably by reconnecting ends and means in pursuit of core national interests....
Trump’s Terrifying New Security Doctrine Turns Canada into a Target
13 December 2025
THE NEW NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY (NSS) issued by the White House on December 4 is the real deal, a nightmarish document to be read with care and trepidation.It can’t be dismissed as anything akin to a late-night Donald Trump tweet, a press conference outburst, or some random appearance on Fox News. It is twenty-nine pages long, and has NO CAPS. It is an encapsulation of the United States president’s belief system about how America should conduct itself in the world....
Strategic Defence Review – Making Britain Safer: secure at home,strong abroad 2025
13 December 2025
My first duty as Prime Minister is to keep the British people safe. That is why national security is the foundation of this Government’s Plan for Change. In this new era for defence and security, when Russia is waging war on our continent and probing our defences at home, we must meet the danger head on. We must recognise the very nature of warfare is being transformed on the battlefields of Ukraine and adapt our armed forces and our industry to lead this innovation. ...
Podcast
US Forces Off the Coast of Venezuela: What’s Really Going On?
13 December 2025
In recent weeks, tensions between the US and Venezuela have been growing. Several US military strikes have targeted boats in the Caribbean allegedly carrying illicit drugs, and US President Donald Trump has said that he has authorized the CIA to use lethal force in Venezuela. And the issue doesn't end there, now there is wider involvement from Europe and elsewhere. GPF Chairman George Friedman joined host Christian Smith on this episode of Talking Geopolitics to dive into what's really going on, how it ties into the Monroe Doctrine - the policy relating to affairs in the Western Hemisphere - and what Russia's role in all of it is....
Associate Event
What is China’s vision for a new world order?
22 January 2026 -
As America retreats from its dominant role on the global stage changes, experts debate Beijing’s international ambitions and how it aims to remake the world order....
Video
Hegseth At National War College
13 December 2025
Pete Hegseth delivers remarks at the National War College....