Marcel Plichta
@marcelplichta.bsky.social
Former DoD analyst. Write on drones and Wagner. Words in FP, Telegraph, & others. I teach intel at: http://school.greydynamics.com
Pinned
Marcel Plichta
@marcelplichta.bsky.social
· Nov 13
Intelligence Cycle Fundamentals
This comprehensive program equips you with the knowledge and fundamentals skills necessary to navigate the world of intelligence!
greydynamics.com
For those interested in the online intelligence certificate courses I helped build and teach, you can learn more at the link below 👇
greydynamics.com/school-progr...
greydynamics.com/school-progr...
just learned gamefly still exists. It hasn't failed us we failed it
November 14, 2025 at 11:31 PM
just learned gamefly still exists. It hasn't failed us we failed it
Reposted by Marcel Plichta
The incitement against the Sana'a Center is atrocious
Here’s the SC statement on the threats their folks received in response to their editorial. Tldr; space for civil actors is under threat in all parts of Yemen, not only in the ways that make it to the pages of @nytimes.com or @wsj.com
Statement: The Sana’a Center Condemns the Incitement Campaign by the Islah Party and its Aligned Military Elements - Sana'a Center For Strategic Studies
The Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies strongly condemns the incitement campaign directed against the Center and its Chairperson, Maged al-Madhaji—a vicious online smear campaign that culminated in a...
sanaacenter.org
November 8, 2025 at 2:51 PM
The incitement against the Sana'a Center is atrocious
Airwars has done some great work over the past few years and this is no exception 👇
Airwars has published an interactive tool tracking all publicly declared U.S. strikes targeting small boats in the Caribbean & Pacific.
airwars.org/conflict/u-s...
airwars.org/conflict/u-s...
U.S. Military in Latin America and the Caribbean
Airwars tracking of U.S. military strikes against alleged 'narco-terrorists' in small boats
airwars.org
November 4, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Airwars has done some great work over the past few years and this is no exception 👇
Reposted by Marcel Plichta
I was recently invited on Yemen Today TV's Third Dimension for an in-depth discussion of the impact of the Gaza ceasefire on Yemen
youtu.be/PsQ8-BSqLmY?...
youtu.be/PsQ8-BSqLmY?...
Nicholas Brumfield on the Impact of Gaza Ceasefire on Houthi Red Sea Attacks
YouTube video by YEMEN TODAY ENGLISH
youtu.be
October 25, 2025 at 12:05 PM
I was recently invited on Yemen Today TV's Third Dimension for an in-depth discussion of the impact of the Gaza ceasefire on Yemen
youtu.be/PsQ8-BSqLmY?...
youtu.be/PsQ8-BSqLmY?...
actually, I think you'll find that you have *fewer* reasons than ever to maintain our friendship
October 24, 2025 at 7:46 PM
actually, I think you'll find that you have *fewer* reasons than ever to maintain our friendship
OWA drones are everyone's problem:
An Army brigade’s trial by fire against Iranian drones trib.al/l0cC3N6
An Army brigade's trial by fire against Iranian drones
Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division 2nd Brigade Combat Team took out more than 100 one-way attack drones in 2023.
trib.al
October 23, 2025 at 9:16 PM
OWA drones are everyone's problem:
It's probably not more relevant today than when it came out
October 22, 2025 at 12:17 AM
It's probably not more relevant today than when it came out
Reposted by Marcel Plichta
Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.
After a longer-than-expected hiatus due to other obligations, Nick's Yemen Roundup is back with a rundown of the most important events in and around Yemen for the past month.
Check it out!
After a longer-than-expected hiatus due to other obligations, Nick's Yemen Roundup is back with a rundown of the most important events in and around Yemen for the past month.
Check it out!
Houthi-Israel War Heats Up, ROYG Navigates Crisis - Nick's Yemen Roundup, 18 Aug-30 September 2025
YouTube video by Nick J. Brumfield
www.youtube.com
September 30, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.
After a longer-than-expected hiatus due to other obligations, Nick's Yemen Roundup is back with a rundown of the most important events in and around Yemen for the past month.
Check it out!
After a longer-than-expected hiatus due to other obligations, Nick's Yemen Roundup is back with a rundown of the most important events in and around Yemen for the past month.
Check it out!
June 2022, was I right? www.thedailybeast.com/vladimir-put...
Putin Should Be Worried About Ukraine’s New Kamikaze Drone
These new, cheaply made drones only need to get lucky once.
www.thedailybeast.com
September 24, 2025 at 12:51 AM
June 2022, was I right? www.thedailybeast.com/vladimir-put...
slightly late to the party on this but I've been watching the sopranos and it's pretty good
September 20, 2025 at 6:05 PM
slightly late to the party on this but I've been watching the sopranos and it's pretty good
I'm sure these aren't the only two examples, but in the case of "Almost Cut My Hair" by CSNY and "Going to Georgia" by the Mountain Goats the songwriters both said it was one of their more immature songs but nonetheless are pretty popular with their respective fanbases.
September 16, 2025 at 3:01 PM
I'm sure these aren't the only two examples, but in the case of "Almost Cut My Hair" by CSNY and "Going to Georgia" by the Mountain Goats the songwriters both said it was one of their more immature songs but nonetheless are pretty popular with their respective fanbases.
Reposted by Marcel Plichta
Don't lecture me about insurgencies if you haven't read the foundational literature
December 19, 2024 at 11:45 PM
Don't lecture me about insurgencies if you haven't read the foundational literature
Reposted by Marcel Plichta
In a world obsessed with Israeli airstrikes, in this piece I argue that you're never going to contain the Houthis without a stronger IRG
And that's going to require addressing deep obstacles to the flow and distribution of Yemen's hydrocarbon wealth
And that's going to require addressing deep obstacles to the flow and distribution of Yemen's hydrocarbon wealth
Fueling Instability: Hydrocarbons, Protests, and the Limits of Yemen’s Internationally Recognized Government
In late July 2025, large-scale protests against electricity outages, economic deterioration, and general mismanagement by Yemen’s Internationally Recognized Government (IRG) erupted in Mukalla, Yemen’...
arabcenterdc.org
September 13, 2025 at 12:13 PM
In a world obsessed with Israeli airstrikes, in this piece I argue that you're never going to contain the Houthis without a stronger IRG
And that's going to require addressing deep obstacles to the flow and distribution of Yemen's hydrocarbon wealth
And that's going to require addressing deep obstacles to the flow and distribution of Yemen's hydrocarbon wealth
I like Alien Earth but I'm still confused by the headlines comparing it to Andor a few weeks ago. It's only like Andor in that it's pretty good. It's more like Blade Runner vs Akira vs Alien vs Predator
September 12, 2025 at 1:41 PM
I like Alien Earth but I'm still confused by the headlines comparing it to Andor a few weeks ago. It's only like Andor in that it's pretty good. It's more like Blade Runner vs Akira vs Alien vs Predator
don't fall for the pizza index
September 10, 2025 at 10:05 AM
don't fall for the pizza index
OWA drones are everyone's problem:
Poland closes airspace and shoots down Russian drones. The war edges closer.
Poland shoots down drones over its territory amid Russian attack on Ukraine, prime minister says
Donald Tusk says operation launched after ‘repeated violations of Polish airspace’
www.theguardian.com
September 10, 2025 at 4:49 AM
OWA drones are everyone's problem:
admittedly, this is not the way I expected Yemen to show up in the news today
New UAP video shared at the hearing apparently shows a UAP being hit by a Hellfire missile & it just keeps going.
#UFOsky #EndUAPSecrecy
#UFOsky #EndUAPSecrecy
September 10, 2025 at 2:27 AM
admittedly, this is not the way I expected Yemen to show up in the news today
Wednesday doesn't work as an Addams Family show, and Addams Family characters aren't a good fit for a Riverdale-type show, but the lack of viable alternatives for either right now means both audiences will try to suffer through it
September 9, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Wednesday doesn't work as an Addams Family show, and Addams Family characters aren't a good fit for a Riverdale-type show, but the lack of viable alternatives for either right now means both audiences will try to suffer through it
Curious how a Houthi drone could have possibly gotten through Israel's sophisticated air defense to strike Ramon airport? Our research into OWA drones explains how inexpensive systems with long range strain air defense over time: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
September 8, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Curious how a Houthi drone could have possibly gotten through Israel's sophisticated air defense to strike Ramon airport? Our research into OWA drones explains how inexpensive systems with long range strain air defense over time: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
It's important to note that launching a "record" number of OWA drones is not just a reflection of increased production, but a deliberate strategy by Russia to grab international headlines. I wrote on this topic a while back explaining the Kremlin's thinking: theconversation.com/russia-has-b...
September 7, 2025 at 1:21 PM
It's important to note that launching a "record" number of OWA drones is not just a reflection of increased production, but a deliberate strategy by Russia to grab international headlines. I wrote on this topic a while back explaining the Kremlin's thinking: theconversation.com/russia-has-b...
There's also a need to set expectations: Russia, Ukraine, and Israel have made massive investments into their air defense and still cannot guarantee an 100% intercept rate, even when the UAS in question is less capable than a missile. The strategy quickly becomes one of managing threats
Europe must move way quicker to counter this threat or risk a disastrous winter in Ukraine and a severe threat to itself.
Manufacturers are developing solutions, but without real government backing these will not scale into the crash programs urgently required.
2/2
Manufacturers are developing solutions, but without real government backing these will not scale into the crash programs urgently required.
2/2
September 7, 2025 at 12:55 PM
There's also a need to set expectations: Russia, Ukraine, and Israel have made massive investments into their air defense and still cannot guarantee an 100% intercept rate, even when the UAS in question is less capable than a missile. The strategy quickly becomes one of managing threats
My new article is now my most-read publication on Taylor & Francis!! Many thanks to those that read and shared it. Even though it took a while to come out, Ukraine's use of OWA drones to strike Russia remains a salient topic that we should try to understand better.
My NEW (and first) solo-authored academic article "Precise Mass in Action: Assessing Ukraine’s One-Way Attack Drone Campaign" has just been published by the RUSI journal (@rusi.bsky.social). It is open access so anyone can read it: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Precise Mass in Action: Assessing Ukraine’s One-Way Attack Drone Campaign
The study of drones in interstate war is rapidly evolving. Much of the existing scholarship focuses on the impact of a few types of drones, despite growth in new types. Such scholarship also makes ...
www.tandfonline.com
August 31, 2025 at 2:46 PM
My new article is now my most-read publication on Taylor & Francis!! Many thanks to those that read and shared it. Even though it took a while to come out, Ukraine's use of OWA drones to strike Russia remains a salient topic that we should try to understand better.
Reposted by Marcel Plichta
If you're a journalist trying to piece together what the hell just happened in Sana'a, I've been following Houthi politics on a daily basis for a very long time and have a lot to say about who got killed, just sayin'
August 31, 2025 at 3:09 AM
If you're a journalist trying to piece together what the hell just happened in Sana'a, I've been following Houthi politics on a daily basis for a very long time and have a lot to say about who got killed, just sayin'
I am seeing deep misconceptions about the Israeli strike in Yemen claiming that it was against the legitimate government (it was not) or that it decapitated the Houthis (it did not). Over a decade into this awful conflict and there's still such little understanding in english-language discourse.
August 30, 2025 at 8:11 PM
I am seeing deep misconceptions about the Israeli strike in Yemen claiming that it was against the legitimate government (it was not) or that it decapitated the Houthis (it did not). Over a decade into this awful conflict and there's still such little understanding in english-language discourse.