Independent research at the intersection of strategy, technology, and national power.
The Hailston Research Group supports public- and private-sector decision makers with disciplined research, technical judgment, and strategic analysis grounded in military, academic, and engineering experience.
Who We Are
Institutional ProfileThe Hailston Research Group is a research and advisory organization dedicated to sober analysis of geopolitical, aerospace, scientific, and technological issues shaping American strategy and allied security.
Cleared Research Support
Available for cleared and sensitive research environments where operational discretion, sound methodology, and careful handling of information are essential.
Military and Academic Backgrounds
Our team draws on prior military service, graduate research, and applied analysis across security studies, engineering, and international affairs.
Multidiscipline Engineering
Specialized capacity in technical assessment, systems thinking, aviation/aerospace issues, science and technology trends, and research translation for senior audiences.
Research Areas
Core ProgramsHRG organizes its work around research programs that combine policy analysis with technical literacy and an appreciation for operational realities.
Geopolitical Strategy
- Great-power competition
- Alliance structures and burden-sharing
- Regional security architecture
- Strategic forecasting and scenario design
- Political risk and state capacity
Aviation / Aerospace
- Airpower modernization
- Aerospace industrial capacity
- Uncrewed systems and counter-UAS
- Space, high-altitude, and ISR systems
- Airfield resilience and logistics
Science & Technology
- Emerging technology assessment
- Dual-use innovation
- Engineering risk analysis
- Technical research synthesis
- AI, autonomy, and decision support
Defense Industrial Base
- Supply-chain resilience
- Munitions and sustainment capacity
- Acquisition bottlenecks
- Workforce and manufacturing readiness
- Allied industrial cooperation
Maritime and Littoral Security
- Sea-lane control and denial
- Port, chokepoint, and undersea infrastructure
- Naval modernization
- Gray-zone maritime coercion
- Expeditionary logistics
Cyber, Data, and Information Integrity
- Cyber risk and operational resilience
- Influence operations
- Data governance for research programs
- Critical infrastructure vulnerability
- Open-source intelligence methodology
Become a Hailston Researcher
Fellowship and CollaborationAs new challenges arise internationally to American influence, a new cadre of intellectuals must emerge to lead American strategy into the next age of foreign policy. The Hailston Research Group aims to cultivate rising scholars and practitioners in international relations by establishing a working relationship between emerging researchers and principals with decades of practical experience and academic contribution.
Under Admiral Hailston’s tutelage, the group aims to pass down the collective experience of a generation of foreign-policy professionals to new American thinkers and leaders, preparing them for challenges to American power across the globe.
How to Join
Applicants should demonstrate deep subject knowledge in either US-NATO relations or the Asia-Pacific region. At minimum, applicants should hold a master’s degree in a relevant field or possess equivalent professional experience.
Applicants should submit a resume, at least two published scholarly articles, and an extensive project proposal outlining a research project for collaboration with Admiral Hailston.
Minimum Skills
- Collate, sort, and present research data for lay and expert audiences.
- Conduct research independently and collaboratively.
- Attend relevant events, network effectively, and gather anecdotal evidence ethically.
- Support fundraising for research activity.
- Manage junior researchers while maintaining quality control.
- Assign, manage, and account for project budgets.
- Monitor and assess research projects and index materials for finished products.
- Maintain research integrity, data security, privacy, and collection ethics.
Researcher Application Form
Research Topics
Current Lines of InquiryThe Belt and Road Initiative
- Collaboration vs. competition: how does the BRI affect partner countries?
- Effectiveness of the BRI across regions.
- Chinese grand strategy and its enactment through BRI.
The East and South China Seas
- Freedom of Navigation Operations.
- Partnerships with Southeast Asian countries.
- Japan’s relationship with South Korea and prospects for stabilization.
- Chinese artificial islands and their military implications.
Taiwan
- The state of the Taiwanese military.
- Changing Taiwanese defense acquisitions from American suppliers.
- Is Taiwan defensible against Chinese invasion?
- What would the loss of Taiwan mean for Japan’s defense posture?
The New Role of NATO
- Future operating conditions.
- Cooperation among NATO countries with divergent geostrategic goals.
- Coordination of diplomatic and military programs within NATO.
- NATO and China: possible military conflict and economic entanglement.
NATO’s Potential Additions or Subtractions
- Turkey and Erdogan.
- Ukraine and the “little green men.”
- Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- Georgia.
Defense Industrial Base Resilience
- Allied munitions production and surge capacity.
- Single-source supplier exposure in critical systems.
- Shipbuilding, aerospace, and missile-production constraints.
- Acquisition reform and the transition from prototype to program of record.
Autonomy, AI, and Future Warfare
- Human-machine teaming in contested environments.
- Operational use of AI-enabled intelligence fusion.
- Ethical and command-accountability questions in autonomous systems.
- Counter-autonomy, electronic warfare, and battlefield adaptation.
Arctic and High North Security
- Russian military posture in the Arctic.
- Allied basing, logistics, and domain awareness in extreme climates.
- Critical minerals, sea routes, and infrastructure competition.
- NATO coordination among Arctic member states.
Space and Strategic Infrastructure
- Satellite resilience and proliferated architectures.
- Counterspace threats and deterrence signaling.
- Commercial space integration into national-security missions.
- Vulnerability of undersea cables, ports, and energy nodes.
Middle East Security Architecture
- Maritime security and energy chokepoints.
- Iranian proxy networks and escalation dynamics.
- Air and missile defense integration among partners.
- Great-power competition in regional arms markets.
Irregular Warfare and Gray-Zone Competition
- Coercion below the threshold of armed conflict.
- Proxy forces, private military actors, and attribution challenges.
- Disinformation and strategic communications.
- Resilience of civil institutions under hybrid pressure.
Contact Portal
Consultation RequestInitial consultation instructions: Use the form below to identify your topic of interest, organizational affiliation, and preferred availability for a 1-on-1 introductory consulting session. A representative will review the request and provide acknowledgement with appropriate next-step instructions.
RSS and Reference Feeds
Open-Source MonitoringSelected open-source feeds for monitoring defense, international affairs, aerospace, science, and engineering developments.