CASI Quarterly update
#2 for 2025
Friends of CASI,
This quarter saw the biennial CMSI conference, which was a terrific event despite the challenges they faced. Kudos to the whole CMSI team and the people who wrote papers for them. We look forward to reading them all. We alternate conference years with them so CASI is up next. Stay tuned for more information on the 2026 CASI Conference in the coming months.
Personnel:
It is that time of the year, so naturally there have been some changes around the office. Our current CASI Fellows, Maj Emily Gill and Maj Katie Baier, have turned in their thesis and are moving on to SASS and SAW respectively. They have been a big help to the CASI team and will be missed. We will welcome the new CASI Fellows in the next newsletter after they arrive and get settled in.
It is always bittersweet saying goodbye in the military, but the retirement of CASI’s Deputy Director, Lt Col Dusty Burleson, has been a tough one to take. Dusty did an amazing job shepherding CASI and CASI’s interest through the AU and LeMay ups and downs and changes. He is a great officer, who jumped in with both feet, showed he knew his stuff, and led by example. He taught dozens of classes to countless Airmen of all ranks from cadets to Lieutenant Generals and from all services. He reviewed CASI’s articles and publications, navigated the bureaucracy, and did it all with poise and humility. And the real fact of the matter is, he is just a really great and genuinely nice person. He will be sorely missed. We wish him fair winds and following seas.
On a happier note, we are happy to welcome the newest member of the CASI family! Our soon-to-be Senior Researcher Eli Tirk and his wife welcomed the arrival of their first child, a son, at the end of May. Eli will be taking time off to deal with diapers and long nights, but will be back before you know it. Congrats to the Tirks!
When the hiring freeze ends, we will be looking for a Director of Education (GS-14) at Maxwell AFB, and a China Research Analyst (GS-12) position here in D.C. So, keep your ears open when the time comes if you, or someone you know, would be interested in either of those.
CASI’s Fundamentals of the PLA Course:
We continue to have great interest in, and turn out for, our three-day PLA Fundamentals Course. This quarter, CASI instructed PLA Fundamentals courses at Peterson SFB, CO, and at Andersen AFB in Guam as well as an “in-house” course at our National Defense University offices.
The next NDU in-house PLA Fundamentals course will be 11-13 August. If you are interested in attending, please sign up at: https://tinyurl.com/CASI-PLA-Fundamentals
If you are interested in hosting a Mobile Education Team (MET) version of the PLA Fundamentals course, let us know and we will do our best to find open space on the calendar to support your organization. Please be aware that due to high demand, we are currently booked out through FY 2025, so we are already looking at late 2025 and early 2026 dates for our next availability. The PLA Fundamentals course is free to attend (TDY costs only if traveling to NDU or TDY costs for the three CASI SMEs traveling to your location for the MET version) and open to all DoD and U.S. government employees, Allies, as well as civilian contractors working for the DoD. There is no security clearance requirement.
China Centers- And check out what great work the other China Centers are doing:
China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI)
China Landpower Studies Center (CLSC)
Recent Publications
- PLA Information Support to the Battlefield: UAV Employment Concepts and Challenges
- PLA Concepts of UAV Swarms and Manned/ Unmanned Teaming
- The People’s Liberation Army at the Nexus of Mind and Technology to Shape the Cognitive Battlefield
- China’s Conceptual Approaches to Counter-UAS and Lessons from Recent Conflicts
- The Real Space Race: China Will Send a Crew to Orbit Mars by 2050
- Taking Flight: China’s Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Industry
- Deterring China's Use of Force in the Space Domain
- Checking in on Modernization and Reforms in the People’s Liberation Army
- Tiananmen Square: The Declassified History - w/ postscript 2025
- China’s Lunar Space Situational Awareness—An Update
- The Oriental Maritime Space Port: China's Sea-Based Expansion
- China’s Strategic Hinterland: Enhancing New-Quality Combat Capabilities in Sichuan
- “China’s military aims to harness the coming ‘ChatGPT for robotics’
CASI’s “In Their Own Words” – Translations of PRC materials
- ITOW: Research on Intelligent Planning of On-Orbit Servicing Tasks
CASI is pleased to offer hard copies of CASI full reports for free. Please see our website at: https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/CASI/CASI-Publications/
for the full list and for the order form. Please note- most of the articles and short reports are available in PDF only.
Support to the Warfighter
- Conducted PLA Fundamentals Course at Peterson SFB in April
- Held discussions with field grade intel officers
- Keynote speaker at Eglin AFB Senior Leader professional development event in April
- Conducted PLA-focused seminar on behalf of Defense Attache Office (DAO) London in April
- Guest speaker at Cannon AFB series of lectures on the PLA for base personnel, leadership, and local civic leaders
- Participated in Tri-Lab wargame
- Keynote speaker at Air Force Civil Engineering Center (AFCEC) center-wide professional development event in May
- Keynote speaker for Andrews Air Force Base event
- Keynote speaker at two 721st AMOG leadership professional development events in May
- Guest speakers at three Goodfellow AFB-sponsored professional development events in May and June
- Lectured several hundred AFROTC cadets attending summer field training at Maxwell AFB on three separate occasions in June
- Presented to 5-Eye partners event on China
- Presented at CMSI conference on PLA
- Keynote speaker at McConnell AFB base-wide professional development event in June
- Keynote speaker at Schriever SFB base-wide professional development event in June
- Conducted PLA Fundamentals Course at Andersen AFB, Guam in June
- Lectured at ISR300
- Guest speaker at USAFE/NATO Chaplains Conference in June
- Lectured members of the 134th ARW
- Met with DLA Director of Logistics Operations
- Presented at NATO conference on IAMD
- Presented research paper at China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) Conference in May
- Lectured on strategic competition with China at the Defense Security Cooperation University
- Participated in Global Strike Command wargame
- Held meetings with USSF S2
- Participant in DARPA workshop
- Participated in INDOPACOM PLA Conference on “How Comprehensive National Power Is Reshaping the PLA”
- Spoke to 600+ members of DLA for the Commander’s Warfighter Talks
Education
- Hosted CASI’s PLA Fundamental Course at NDU
- Lectured at the Air Component Senior Leader Course (ACSLC) in April and again in May
- Lectured at a Department of Homeland Security-sponsored Health Security course in April
- Keynote speaker at Eglin AFB Senior Leader Course in April
- Lectured at Senior Joint Information Operations Applications Course (SJIOAC) in April
- Lectured at Vosler NCO Academy, Peterson SFB, CO in April
- Lectured at USAF DET 330 in April
- Guest speaker at the Defense Financial Management Course (DFMC) in April, May, and June
- Guest speaker at Pre-Command Training Team (PCTT) in April and May
- Guest speaker at Kenney Airpower Strategy Seminar in April
- Guest speaker at Air Staff Development Course in April
- Guest speaker at ISR200 course in April and June
- Guest speaker at Officer Training School in April, twice in May, and again in June
- Guest speaker at First Sergeant Academy in April and June
- Guest speaker at Squadron Officer School in May
- Guest speaker at Sheppard AFB NCOA
- Guest speaker at Senior NCO Academy in May
- Lectured ROTC cadets during three iterations of field training at Maxwell AFB in June
- Guest speaker at ACC Sword Bearer course in June
- Guest speaker at SNCO Foundations 700 course in June
- Met with STARCOM to discuss PLA education in the USSF
- Guest speaker at NCO Foundations 500 course in June
- Lectured at Air Reserve Component seminar for Air War College and Air Command and Staff College in June
- Guest speaker at ACC Senior Enlisted Leader course in June
Engagement and Outreach
In addition to providing support to the Department of the Air Force staff, CASI has had another busy quarter supporting the USAF and the DoD, as well as our allies, partners, and friends. CASI:
- Presented on China’s Mind-Tech Nexus to representatives from over 60 nations at the Marshall Center in Garmisch, Germany
- Quoted in Defense News on the performance of Chinese fighters and missiles in the Indian conflict with Pakistan
- Feature article in Air & Space Force Daily on Deterring China in Space
- Quoted in Data Center Dynamic “China's AdSspace orbits first 12 AI-cloud satellites of 2,800-strong constellation”
- Referenced in Ryan McBeth video on the PLA Air Force: https://www.youtube.com/ryanmcbethprogramming
- Presented on China’s lunar exploration program at the Space Law Symposium.
- Held discussions with RUSI researcher
- Participated in the Air Force Association’s “Aerospace Advantage” podcast to discuss CASI’s report on “Deterring China’s Use of Force in the Space Domain.”
- Participated in the PNT Summit
- Hosted UK Attache to Beijing
- Featured speaker at Space Situational Awareness event
- Lectured to a University of New South Wales class on China’s space program.
- Hosted delegation from RAF to discuss China military issues
- Attended China Maritime Studies Institute conference on the PLA
- Attended the Space Foundation’s Space Symposium
- Quoted in The Economist on US-China competition on PNT
- Interviewed by NPR
- Interviewed by The Economist
- Attended event on China-Russia Military Relationship
- Guest panelist for ICAS Spring Symposium Lux 2025 with Ambassador Nobukatsu Kanehara
- Featured speaker at Military Satellite Communications event
- Taught in the European Department at the Foreign Service Institute
- Participated in the National Institute for Deterrence Studies podcast “Real Space Strategy” to discuss CASI’s report on “Deterring China’s Use of Force in the Space Domain.”
- Met with DIA’s Regional Program Manager for Learning – China & the Indo-Pacific Joint Military Intelligence Training Center to discuss teaching a seminar / future partnerships
- Hosted AUKUS Cognitive Warfare Group to discuss research on China’s threat in the domain
- Met with NATO Irregular Warfare Working group to discuss emerging challenges China poses to national security
- Met with “China House” at State Department HQ
- Participated in the Workshop of the Irregular Warfare & Hybrid Threats Working Group titled “China’s Cognitive Domain Operations in Europe” hosted by NATO and Partnership of Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes (PfPC) at the Marshall Center.
- Book signing at the Military Cyber Professionals Association’s national convention HammerCon
- Interviewed by Washington Times for article “Brain control warfare: China’s bleeding-edge strategy for winning without firing a shot”
- Interviewed by CNBC for China’s interest in the Iran/ Israel conflict
- Conducted a seminar about the Chinese air force and the Sino-Russian combined strategic patrols with the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force at the Canon Institute for Global Studies (CIGS) in Tokyo. Besides members of CIGS, representatives from the Japanese Self-Defense Forces’ staff college and the Japanese Cabinet Office attended
- Met at White House with the Office of the National Cyber Director
- Chair of the New Emerging & Research & Development Track at Military Cyber Professionals Association’s HammerCon
Keep in contact with us:
CASI website www.airuniversity.af.mil/CASI/
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Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CASI.Research.Org
Link with us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/china-aerospace-studies-institute
As always, please feel free to send this update, or our website/ contact information, to anyone you feel might be interested in CASI or our research. Let us know if you have any thoughts, requests for support, or ideas for future papers and projects.