CSBA in the News

A glimpse of what could lie ahead, if the next president continues the projects begun by the Obama Pentagon, came in a provocative 2014 study, “Toward a New Offset Strategy,” by Robert Martinage of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

He also mentioned the studies launched by the service branch, Mitre Corp. and the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Analysis on a new fleet design as well as the Navy’s plan to increase surface ships’ offensive capabilities.

“The Navy and Marine Corps are pursuing capabilities to implement their Littoral Operations in a Contested Environment concept, which reflects the shift the Marine Corps is making away from large-scale amphibious assaults with amphibs and the Maritime Prepositioning Force and toward more distributed, smaller-scale amphibious operations,” said Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. 

How to insert autonomous systems into the fleet is indeed one of the subjects of debate, says naval analyst Bryan Clark, of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Clark and other outside experts have participated in a series of “fleet architecture studies” led by the office of the chief of naval operations. Their findings will shape decisions on how to size and organize the future fleet.

“This year’s Sea Breeze exercise is definitely a signal to Russia,” said Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments who previously served as special assistant to the chief of naval operations and director of his Commander’s Action Group. “It is in part to demonstrate to Russia that U.S. and NATO forces will still operate adjacent to Russian territory and forces despite Russia's protests. 

A new report from a Washington think tank highlights current and future challenges facing defense spending, while the GOP-dominated Congress is expected to continue a bitter budget battle with Democrats and the White House when lawmakers return from summer recess next month.