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After You, Mr. Putin
Robert Joseph, Eric Edelman, Rebeccah Heinrichs •
Analysis
Peeling Back the Layers: A New Concept for Air Defense
The newest concept being forwarded by U.S. Navy surface fleet leaders is “distributed lethality”, in which almost every combatant and noncombatant surface ship would wield offensive missiles such as the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) or Long Range Anti-ship Missile (LRASM). The concept’s central idea is that deploying a large number of U.S. ships able to threaten enemy ships, aircraft, or shore facilities will create a potentially unmanageable targeting problem for potential adversaries. This, it is argued, could deter opponents from pursuing aggression and in conflict could compel adversaries to increase their defensive efforts, constrain their maneuver, and spend valuable time finding and defeating U.S. forces in detail.
Analysis
How to Deter China: The Case for Archipelagic Defense
In the U.S. military, at least, the “pivot” to Asia has begun. By 2020, the navy and the air force plan to base 60 percent of their forces in the Asia-Pacific region. The Pentagon, meanwhile, is investing a growing share of its shrinking resources in new long-range bombers and nuclear-powered submarines designed to operate in high-threat environments.
Analysis
A Rallying Call for Our Nation’s Defense
Last week, the government confirmed that Kayla Mueller had died while in the custody of ISIS. In the weeks prior, we learned about the brutal murders of three innocent people -- the beheading of two Japanese citizens and the immolation of a Jordanian pilot. That followed news that Russia was stepping up its aggression in Ukraine, which followed the overthrow of the Yemeni government by an Iranian proxy, which followed the Charlie Hebdo killings, which followed the North Korean cyber attack on an American company. The Pentagon has announced more troop deployments to the Middle East. Boko Haram is still kidnapping people in Nigeria, tensions are still high in the South and East China Seas, and Iran is still positioned to develop a nuclear bomb. China continues its massive military build-up, which is shifting the balance of power in its favor in the Western Pacific.
Analysis
Keeping Faith With The Troops: How Congress Can Fix The Military’s Compensation Problems
Keeping faith with the troops means more than protecting the existing compensation system. It means ensuring our military remains the best trained and equipped force in the world. Breaking faith with the troops is sending them into battle understaffed, undertrained, or with inferior equipment.
Analysis
The 2016 Defense Budget: It’s All About the Budget Caps
Next Monday the President is scheduled to submit his fiscal year 2016 budget request to Congress, an annual process that marks the official beginning of the budget season. While we don’t have the details of what will be included in this year’s defense budget yet, the broad outlines are well known. The Defense Department’s base budget for FY 2016 is expected to total $534 billion (not including war funding), which is a six percent real increase from the level appropriated in FY 2015. The administration is also expected to request an additional $51 billion in war funding, for a total of some $585 billion in DoD funding.