Events

Since the Budget Control Act (BCA) was enacted in 2011, the cost of nuclear forces has received considerable attention because nearly every component of the triad is due for modernization. To execute these programs as currently planned, the Department of Defense (DoD) will need to increase funding for U.S. nuclear forces well above recent levels, creating additional pressure on an already-strained defense budget. This has led some to conclude that nuclear forces are "unaffordable."

Success or failure in war is often measured in terms of territory gained and losses imposed on the enemy. These metrics, however, may not reflect what is really most useful in winning a war or a military competition. Our research shows that it is often more cost effective to impose delay, disruptions and inefficiency on adversary battle networks than to adopt traditional attrition warfare metrics.

The U.S. military has enjoyed an enormous advantage in precision strike over the past 25 years. The success of America’s precision strike operations has not gone unnoticed, however. Potential enemies have invested in active and passive defenses that could force the U.S. military to fly more strike sorties and expend larger numbers of precision-guided munitions (PGMs) in future wars.

On April 29, ten CSBA experts joined dozens of others from a bipartisan group of think tanks in calling for reforms to the Department of Defense. CSBA, the American Enterprise Institute, the Center for a New American Security, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies invite you to join us for an upcoming discussion of these reforms. On Thursday, May 14th, a panel of experts will discuss the Defense Reform Consensus’ proposals: base closures, changes to the DoD civilian workforce, and military compensation reform.

On Tuesday April 14 at 9:00 AM, CSBA's Dr. John Stillion will discuss his forthcoming study on trends in air-to-air combat at the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. The study concludes that advances in electronic sensors, communications technology, and guided weapons over the past few decades may have fundamentally transformed the nature of air combat. As a result, the utility of some attributes traditionally associated with fighter aircraft has decreased, while the utility of attributes not usually associated with fighter aircraft has increased. Dr. Stillion argues that due to these trends, it may be appropriate to cast a much wider net in the development of future air combat operational concepts, sensors, weapons, and platforms, and examine radical departures from traditional fighter concepts.

On Friday, January 30, 2015, CSBA Senior Fellow of Defense Budget Studies Todd Harrison hosted his annual press briefing to offer perspectives on the FY16 Budget Request.