News

CSBA Welcomes Dr. Thane C. Clare, Captain, U.S. Navy (Retired) as Senior Fellow

March 13, 2023

Washington, DC, March 13, 2023 – The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), one of the nation’s premier institutions for understanding competition and conflict, is pleased to announce that Captain Thane Clare, (USN, Ret.) has joined the Center as a Senior Fellow. He will support a wide range of CSBA’s work, including naval, air, and space power, strategic and defense planning for great-power competition, as well as the nexus between operational planning and defense acquisition.

CSBA Welcomes Dr. Sameer Lalwani as Non-Resident Senior Fellow

October 17, 2022

The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), one of the nation’s premier centers for understanding competition and conflict, today announced the appointment of Dr. Sameer Lalwani as a Non-Resident Senior Fellow. Dr. Lalwani, currently a Senior Expert with the Asia Center of the United States Institute of Peace, will support CSBA’s ongoing work on Indo-Pacific strategy, nuclear deterrence, and strategic competition.

CSBA Introduces New Strategic Choices Tool to Assess China’s Military Modernization

August 4, 2022

The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) is pleased to announce the launch of its latest analytical innovation, the China Strategic Choices Tool (SCT). Developed as the result of a dedicated multi-year research and analysis effort, the China Strategic Choices Tool builds on more than a decade of experience with CSBA’s proprietary U.S. Strategic Choices Tool. The China Strategic Choices Tool represents a truly unique analytical capability that allows users to explore Chinese defense investments as well as the costs associated with various defense options.

CSBA Welcomes Whitney McNamara as Non-Resident Senior Fellow

May 6, 2022

The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) announced the appointment of Whitney M. McNamara as a Non-Resident Senior Fellow. Ms. McNamara, currently an Associate Vice President at Beacon Global Strategies, will support CSBA’s ongoing work on defense innovation, future operational concepts, and emerging technologies.

CSBA Welcomes New Defense Journalism Fellows

February 7, 2022

CSBA is proud to announce its inaugural fellows for the CSBA 2022 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.

Studies

Air Power Metamorphosis: Rethinking Air Force Combat Force Modernization

March 10, 2023 Christopher J. Bowie

For the past three decades, Chinese leadership has closely studied the United States’ power projection capabilities and concept of operations. Consequently, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has tailored its anti-access/area denial approach and air defenses to prevent the United States from leveraging its current strengths. A short- or medium-range concept of air power is unlikely to be successful for power projection or deterrence in the Western Pacific, and a change in direction for the U.S. Air Force is likely necessary.

Studies

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

January 11, 2023 Thomas G. Mahnken, Evan B. Montgomery, Tyler Hacker

Following nearly two decades of counterinsurgency in the Greater Middle East, the United States Department of Defense finds itself looking to the Cold War for lessons on how to adapt to the operational challenges presented by China and Russia. To modernize its platforms, doctrine, and force structure to compete with and defeat 21st-century great power competitors, the military services and the Department of Defense as a whole are seeking to promote conceptual, organizational, and technological innovation within the U.S. armed forces.

Studies

Chinese Lessons From the Pacific War: Implications for PLA Warfighting

January 5, 2023 Toshi Yoshihara

Senior Fellow Toshi Yoshihara surveys Chinese histories of the Pacific War to discern lessons that mainland analysts have drawn from the ocean-spanning struggle. He examines the extensive Chinese-language literature on the great battles at Midway, Guadalcanal, and Okinawa and pinpoints the operational insights that Chinese strategists have gleaned from them. The selected campaigns involved warfighting that will feature prominently in a future Sino-American conflict: carrier air warfare, contested amphibious landings, expeditionary logistics, and electronic warfare.

Studies

Moving Pieces: Near-Term Changes to Pacific Air Posture

November 18, 2022 Carl Rehberg, Josh Chang

The threat to U.S. and allied air facilities in the Indo-Pacific region is increasing. Current air force posture is vulnerable to adversary first strike due to insufficient posture resiliency—the ability of deployed forces to survive, operate, and regenerate under adversary attack. The recently announced decision to replace the permanent F-15C Eagle squadrons at Kadena Air Base with a rotational deployment only reduces the effectiveness of U.S. Indo-Pacific air forces in the event of a conflict. Defense planning in recent years has outlined recommendations to improve the defense of both facilities and others in the region, but these recommendations have only been partially implemented at best.

Testimonies

Testimony before the Senate Committee on Armed Services Regarding Nuclear Strategy and Policy

September 21, 2022 Eric Edelman

On September 20, 2022, CSBA Counselor, Eric S. Edelman and Franklin C. Miller, Principal at The Scowcroft Group, testified before the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services regarding nuclear strategy and policy.

Studies

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

August 24, 2022 Eric Edelman, Josh Chang, Tyler Hacker

In the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019, then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper indicated that he believed it would be useful to deploy conventional intermediate-range ballistic missiles in the Indo-Pacific region. But it is not yet clear that allied or partner governments in either this region or in Europe would be willing to host such capabilities on their territory.

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

Rings of Fire: A Conventional Missile Strategy for a Post-INF Treaty World

Deterrence and Defense in the Baltic Region

Featured Event

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

CSBA Welcomes Dr. Thane C. Clare, Captain, U.S. Navy (Retired) as Senior Fellow

CSBA Welcomes Dr. Sameer Lalwani as Non-Resident Senior Fellow

CSBA Introduces New Strategic Choices Tool to Assess China’s Military Modernization

CSBA Welcomes Whitney McNamara as Non-Resident Senior Fellow

New Senior Fellows Join CSBA

CSBA Welcomes New Defense Journalism Fellows

Latest Publications

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

Testimony before the Senate Committee on Armed Services Regarding Nuclear Strategy and Policy

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