Modern War Institute at West Point

What Modern War Institute at West Point does

The Modern War Institute (MWI) is a research and professional military education institute housed within the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Founded in 2014, MWI operates with three stated goals — research, integrate, and educate — and produces a portfolio of intellectual outputs including the peer-reviewed Modern War Journal (MWJ), six podcast series (the MWI Podcast, The Spear, Urban Warfare Project Podcast, Five Questions for a General, Social Science of War, and the Class of 1974 MWI Podcast), and thematic research collections such as The MWI Ukraine Papers (2022-2025) and The MWI Autonomy Papers. The institute also runs an annual Research Fellows program and convenes flagship events including the Hagel Lecture, Sandhurst Conference, and the MWI War Council.

The institute serves active-duty military officers, defense analysts, policy makers, USMA cadets, and the broader public as a forum for sharing opinions and cultivating ideas on modern warfare. It does not sell products or services; all content, podcasts, journals, and events are distributed free of charge through the mwi.westpoint.edu website, major podcast platforms, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Operating funding is institutional, derived from USMA support and endowment-style contributions from the West Point Classes of 1974 (podcast endowment) and 1982 (Modern War Journal), with the West Point Press serving as publication partner.

MWI operates with a lean staff of approximately 25 personnel embedded in the US Army's educational infrastructure. It is structured as a government-state entity rather than a commercial company, has no external investors, no funding rounds, and no mergers or acquisitions activity. Its products span commentary and analysis, special research series (Urban Warfare Project, The SIGAR Project, War Books, FICINT, Book Reviews, Videos), and recurring conferences that collectively function as an open intellectual commons for the US military profession.

Name

Modern War Institute at West Point

Legal name

Modern War Institute at West Point

Website

https://mwi.westpoint.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Modern War Institute at West Point is a US Army research and education institute that publishes a peer-reviewed journal, six podcast series, and thematic research collections on modern warfare for military professionals, cadets, and defense policy makers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Defense Research and Military Education

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Educational Support Services (611710), National Security (928110)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Defense Universities & Joint Professional Military Education (PME) (EDAHAOAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Specialized Military Schools (Aviation, Naval, Cyber, Intelligence, Medical) (EDAHAOAG), Military Operations & Force Readiness (BPAIAHAA)

Keywords

• Military research institute
• Defense policy analysis
• Professional military education
• Military journal publication
• Warfare studies

Headquarters

HQ city

West Point

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Institutional Funding: MWI is funded through institutional support from the United States Military Academy at West Point and is produced in partnership with the West Point Press

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Modern War Institute (MWI) is a research and education institute at the United States Military Academy at West Point that produces peer-reviewed publications, podcasts, research papers, and convenes events on modern warfare. It generates new knowledge for the profession of arms, supports West Point cadet education, and engages military and policy audiences with open-access analysis on contemporary conflict.

Product overview

The Modern War Institute at West Point operates as a military research and education institute that publishes multiple content products including the Modern War Journal (MWJ), a peer-reviewed military journal; multiple podcast series (MWI Podcast, The Spear, Urban Warfare Project Podcast, Five Questions for a General, Social Science of War); and research series such as the MWI Autonomy Papers and MWI Ukraine Papers. The institute also runs a Research Fellows Program and special initiatives including the Urban Warfare Project and The SIGAR Project. These products collectively serve MWI's mission to generate new knowledge for the profession of arms, enhance the West Point curriculum, and serve as an intellectual resource for solving military problems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Modern War Journal (MWJ): A journal produced by MWI featuring content from academics, policymakers, and military practitioners focused on helping win tomorrow's wars today.
• Five Questions for a General
• Urban Warfare Project Podcast
• The Spear
• Class of 1974 MWI Podcast
• The MWI Autonomy Papers
• The MWI Ukraine Papers
• Hagel Lecture

Products and services

• Modern War Journal

Quantifiable outcome

• Two annual issues of the Modern War Journal with contributions from academics, policy makers, and military practitioners

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Irregular Warfare InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026MWI partners with the Irregular Warfare Initiative and the Association of the United States Army for the 'Five Years Later: Remembering the Lessons of Afghanistan' event scheduled for May 2026.
• University of Chicago's Chicago Project on Security and ThreatsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026MWI collaborated with the University of Chicago's Chicago Project on Security and Threats for the 2026 Hagel Lecture featuring former Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell.
• West Point PresscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMWI partners with West Point Press for the production and publication of the Modern War Journal and other scholarly outputs, supporting the institute's mission to generate knowledge for the profession of arms.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Atlantic Council: The Atlantic Council is an international affairs think tank producing research, commentary, and events on defense, security, and geopolitics. It is comparable to MWI in its focus on defense policy discourse and engagement with senior military and policy leaders, though it operates at a much larger institutional scale.
• Brookings Institution: Brookings conducts research and publishes commentary on foreign policy, defense, and national security from a broader policy-research perspective. It overlaps with MWI in serving defense policymakers and engaging on modern warfare and security issues, though in a broader research portfolio.
• Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS): CSIS is a major bipartisan defense and security think tank that publishes research, podcasts, and commentary on national security issues. It overlaps with MWI in its focus on defense policy, military strategy, and engagement with senior military and policy leaders.
• RAND Corporation: RAND is a large, established defense and policy research organization that produces analysis on national security, military strategy, and modern warfare. Like MWI, it serves defense policymakers, military professionals, and academics, but at materially greater scale and with a broader portfolio that includes contracted government research.
• Modern War Institute at West Point (peer structural analog: U.S. Army War College): The U.S. Army War College is a senior service college that conducts strategic research and professional military education for senior officers. It is comparable to MWI as an Army-affiliated PME institution that contributes to military strategy and force readiness discourse.

Direct peers

• War on the Rocks: War on the Rocks is a leading online platform for defense and foreign affairs commentary and analysis, featuring podcasts, articles, and contributions from military professionals, academics, and policymakers. It closely mirrors MWI's content model and audience focus on modern warfare, strategy, and force design.
• Marine Corps University Press: Marine Corps University Press publishes peer-reviewed journals, books, and articles on military topics from a service-university perspective. It is directly comparable to MWJ as a service-academia outlet for military scholarship and professional military education.
• Naval War College Review: The Naval War College Review is a peer-reviewed journal published by the U.S. Naval War College covering naval and joint military strategy, operations, and policy. Like MWI's Modern War Journal, it is a service-academy-affiliated publication targeting military professionals and defense policy audiences.
• Air University Press: Air University Press is the publishing arm of the U.S. Air Force's professional military education institution, producing journals, research, and books on aerospace power, strategy, and doctrine. Like MWI, it is a service-academy-affiliated research and publication outlet.
• National Defense University (NDU) Press: NDU Press publishes Joint Force Quarterly and other defense research outputs covering strategy, operations, and national security policy. It is a closely aligned peer as a joint professional military education institution producing scholarship for senior military and policy audiences.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WarInstitute
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCuPw-SWaYafDK4Dfy72FnbQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/ModernWarInstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/modern-war-institute-at-west-point

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Modern War Institute at West Point