News

CSBA’s Analysis of the 2022 Defense Budget Request

July 30, 2021

In this report, CSBA Fellow and Director of Defense Budget Studies Travis Sharp analyzes the FY 2022 Defense Department Budget Request with a focus not only on comparisons with the previous administration's defense budgets but also on the insights into the current and future strategic priorities for the Biden Administration.

New CSBA Report Outlines U.S. Navy Strategy for Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Systems

June 2, 2021

In the rapidly accelerating field of artificial intelligence (AI) and unmanned autonomous systems (UxS) development, the United States has maintained its technological edge over its peer and near-peer competitors. However, research and development (R&D) efforts in this field have largely been decentralized to date.

CSBA Welcomes Travis Sharp as Head of Defense Budget Studies

March 9, 2021

CSBA has reappointed Dr. Travis Sharp to its senior professional staff, following the completion of his mobilization to active duty as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Dr. Sharp, who first joined CSBA in 2018, returns to direct the Center’s defense budget studies program and lead CSBA’s efforts to inform policymakers, journalists, and the public about national security resources and investment priorities.

CSBA Welcomes Defense Journalism Fellows

January 27, 2021

CSBA is proud to announce its inaugural fellows for the CSBA Defense Journalism Seminar Series. This seminar series is an in-depth program for working journalists in the defense and national security beats and aims to provide outstanding defense reporters with tools to master the foundations of defense policy, operational concepts, budgets, and the intricacies of contemporary national security processes.

CSBA Research Fellow David Zikusoka to Join U.S. Department of Defense

January 20, 2021

The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments is proud to congratulate David Zikusoka, CSBA’s Research Fellow in Aerospace Studies, on his selection as Special Assistant, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy.

Studies

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

August 15, 2023 Travis Sharp, Tyler Hacker

Weapons do not conduct military operations in isolation from one another, and yet the U.S. defense community devotes considerable attention each year to individual platforms. The time spent appraising specific weapons is understandable, given the huge investments and cutthroat politics surrounding these projects, not to mention the defense budget boiling everything down to line items, but is misplaced in a strategic context.

Studies

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

July 13, 2023 Travis Sharp, Thomas G. Mahnken, Tim Sadov

In May 2022, the “Quad” nations — the United States, Australia, Japan, and India — announced the creation of the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) to monitor illegal fishing, humanitarian crises, maritime security, marine conservation, and related issues in the region. IPMDA’s most significant activity involves disseminating unclassified data collected by commercial satellites to improve the common operating picture of participating nations and bolster information sharing across regional fusion centers, including in India, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.

Studies

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

June 12, 2023 Tyler Hacker

The United States' (U.S.) provision of weapons to Ukraine over the last year has raised critical questions about the overall supply of Western munitions and the ability of the weapon industrial base to meet the munitions demands of contemporary conflict. Although war in Ukraine has focused the world’s attention on the munitions issue, a survey of previous U.S. strike operations reveals that the U.S. has struggled to meet PGM demands in nearly every major campaign undertaken since their adoption. Looking to the future, simply producing and procuring more PGMs may not be enough to satisfy the requirements of a near-term great power conflict given current fiscal, industrial, and political constraints.

Studies

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

May 22, 2023 Thomas G. Mahnken, Tai Ming Cheung

In the long-term competition between the United States and China, the competitive edge will be decided not only by who more effectively fields current capabilities and strategies, but also by which state's techno-security system can most effectively develop and field new technologies for strategic, dual-use, and defense applications. Although both states recognize the need to prevail in the techno-security competition, the two have drastically different approaches to defense innovation and defense industrial policy.

Studies

Speeding Toward Instability? Hypersonic Weapons and the Risks of Nuclear Use

May 1, 2023 Evan B. Montgomery, Toshi Yoshihara

Today, states are pursuing an array of supposedly "disruptive" or "game-changing" technologies that could alter how they organize, train, equip, and employ their forces, including their nuclear forces. The 2022 National Defense Strategy emphasized the link between some of these technologies and the risk of nuclear use, noting that "a wide range of new or fast-evolving technologies and applications are complicating escalation dynamics and creating new challenges for strategic stability."

Briefs

2022 Annual Report

April 21, 2023

For nearly three decades, CSBA has provided consistent, high-quality, and innovative research on defense strategy, budgets, and the security environment.

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

Speeding Toward Instability? Hypersonic Weapons and the Risks of Nuclear Use

Air Power Metamorphosis: Rethinking Air Force Combat Force Modernization

Innovating for Great Power Competition: An Examination of Service and Joint Innovation Efforts

Chinese Lessons From the Pacific War: Implications for PLA Warfighting

Moving Pieces: Near-Term Changes to Pacific Air Posture

Arming America’s Allies: Historical Lessons for Implementing a Post-INF Treaty Missile Strategy

Featured Event

Report Release Webinar: Chinese Lessons From the Pacific War: Implications for PLA Warfighting

CSBA’s Analysis of the 2022 Defense Budget Request

New CSBA Report Outlines U.S. Navy Strategy for Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Systems

CSBA Welcomes Travis Sharp as Head of Defense Budget Studies

CSBA Welcomes Defense Journalism Fellows

CSBA Research Fellow David Zikusoka to Join U.S. Department of Defense

Reagan Institute and the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments Warn Policy Makers About the Consequences of Defense Budget Cuts

Latest Publications

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

Speeding Toward Instability? Hypersonic Weapons and the Risks of Nuclear Use

2022 Annual Report