News

Quest for More Lethal U.S. Warship Could Raise Cost

February 24, 2014 Reuters

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's decision to stop building the current class of coastal warships after 32 vessels and focus on ships with more firepower and protection will result in higher costs, U.S. defense officials said on Monday.

Pentagon Plan to Downsize Army: a Sign of US Reluctance to Nation-Build

February 24, 2014 Christian Science Monitor

With Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announcing Monday a historic downsizing of US ground forces, along with other cost-cutting measures, what does the move say about military priorities at the end of two long wars?

Studies

No Dominant Strategy for Air Dominance: Collaborative Combat Aircraft Employment, Basing, and Sortie Generation in a Taiwan Scenario

April 30, 2025 Travis Sharp

In 2023, the Air Force unveiled plans to acquire a fleet of autonomous unmanned collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) that would fly under the custody of manned aircraft pilots as loyal wingmen. The Air Force has stressed the CCA’s broad usefulness across diverse missions, including forward sensing, air-to-air attack, and electronic warfare. Despite this emphasis, the fact remains that tradeoffs must be made for any aircraft to excel at a given mission. The CCA is no exception.

Studies

Ready Player None? An End-To-End Assessment of the Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft Program

April 30, 2025 Travis Sharp

In 2023, the Air Force unveiled plans to acquire a fleet of autonomous unmanned collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) that would fly under the custody of manned aircraft pilots as loyal wingmen and perform forward sensing, air-to-air attack, and electronic warfare. Moving the CCA from promise to reality will require difficult work stretching far into the future. To succeed, the Air Force must start with an honest accounting of what is required and where things stand.

Briefs

To Preserve Extended Nuclear Deterrence in Europe an American Should be SACEUR

April 18, 2025 Eric Edelman, Franklin C. Miller

Recent press reports suggest that Pentagon leaders are considering a dramatic organizational change: relinquishing the traditional U.S. role of providing NATO with its Supreme Allied Commander (SACEUR). This would be deeply unwise and potentially dangerous for the United States, as well as for our European allies. Since December 1950, when General Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first Supreme Allied Commander of the newly created North Atlantic Alliance, the position has been filled by an American. This is not spelled out in any formal document. Rather, it is a norm that has been honored by the Alliance for almost 80 years because the United States is the alliance’s strongest member. It also serves as an important sign of Washington’s commitment to European defense. And it underpins the forward deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons on the territory of select European NATO members, which remains central to extended deterrence.

Studies

Peaceful Resolution: Reframing U.S. Defense Strategy Toward Taiwan

April 17, 2025 Jack Bianchi

America’s strategic approach to Taiwan is ripe for reevaluation. Although Washington’s sensitivity to Taipei’s security dilemma has increased markedly in recent years, U.S. policy toward Taiwan remains bound by a series of outdated historical understandings. As a result, American policymakers have focused narrowly on arms sales to the island, rather than developing and articulating a new vision for United States-Taiwan security cooperation.

Studies

Relook Playbook: Defense Budgeting Insights From a CSBA Rebalancing Exercise

April 2, 2025 Travis Sharp, Casey Nicastro, Evan B. Montgomery

In February 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the Pentagon to reexamine the 2026 budget request, which has been drafted but not sent to Congress, to ensure that it reflected the Trump administration’s priorities. Specifically, he tasked the military departments and defense agencies with identifying lower-priority activities totaling 8 percent of their projected annual budgets from 2026 to 2030. These lists of potential cuts will create a substantial pool of money available for potential reallocation.

Studies

The Lost Art of the Bargaining Chip? The Case for Gaining Negotiating Leverage for Nuclear Arms Control With Russia and China

February 6, 2025 David A. Cooper

Over the past decade, as Russia and China have enhanced their nuclear capabilities, the United States has sought to negotiate arms control arrangements that would avoid a new nuclear arms race. So far, however, those efforts have proven unsuccessful. As a result, Washington is on track to confront an authoritarian axis of two nuclear peer competitors over the next decade. Meanwhile, its planned nuclear posture still reflects a far more benign threat environment.

Ready Player None? An End-To-End Assessment of the Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft Program

No Dominant Strategy for Air Dominance: Collaborative Combat Aircraft Employment, Basing, and Sortie Generation in a Taiwan Scenario

Peaceful Resolution: Reframing U.S. Defense Strategy Toward Taiwan

Relook Playbook: Defense Budgeting Insights From a CSBA Rebalancing Exercise

The Lost Art of the Bargaining Chip? The Case for Gaining Negotiating Leverage for Nuclear Arms Control With Russia and China

Focused Force: China’s Military Challenge and Australia’s Response

Putting It All Together: The 2025 Defense Budget Request, Alternative Budget Proposals, and NATO Spending

More of the Same? The Future of the Russian Military And Its Ability to Change

Strengthening the Phalanx: Layered, Comprehensive, and Distributed Air and Missile Defense in the Indo-Pacific

Inconsistent Congress: Analysis of the 2024 Defense Budget Request

Evaluate Like We Operate: Why DOD Should Evaluate Weapons Systems as Networked Force Packages, Not Individual Platforms

Extending Deterrence by Detection: The Case for Integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems Into the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness

Beyond Precision: Maintaining America’s Strike Advantage in Great Power Conflict

The Decisive Decade: United States–China Competition in Defense Innovation and Defense Industrial Policy in and Beyond the 2020s

Featured Event

Report Release Webinar: Strengthening the Phalanx: Layered, Comprehensive, and Distributed Air and Missile Defense in the Indo-Pacific

Quest for More Lethal U.S. Warship Could Raise Cost

Pentagon Plan to Downsize Army: a Sign of US Reluctance to Nation-Build

Veterans Advocates Prepare for New Budget Fights

Sources: Obama Administration To Slow Special Ops Funding

What You Need to Know About the Next Defense Budget

The Pentagon Has a Massive Leak Problem. Why Can’t It Close the Floodgates?

Latest Publications

No Dominant Strategy for Air Dominance: Collaborative Combat Aircraft Employment, Basing, and Sortie Generation in a Taiwan Scenario

Ready Player None? An End-To-End Assessment of the Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft Program

To Preserve Extended Nuclear Deterrence in Europe an American Should be SACEUR

Peaceful Resolution: Reframing U.S. Defense Strategy Toward Taiwan

Relook Playbook: Defense Budgeting Insights From a CSBA Rebalancing Exercise

The Lost Art of the Bargaining Chip? The Case for Gaining Negotiating Leverage for Nuclear Arms Control With Russia and China