Publications
"Nobody does defense policy better than CSBA. Their work on strategic and budgetary topics manages to combine first-rate quality and in-depth research with timeliness and accessibility—which is why so many professionals consider their products indispensable." – Gideon Rose, Editor of Foreign Affairs, 2010-2021
Search Publications
Studies
Shaping America’s Future Military: Toward a New Force Planning Construct
This year, DoD will conduct yet another Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) of its strategy, plans, and programs. Similar to strategic reviews completed since the end of the Cold War, the QDR is expected to produce guidance for how the Pentagon intends to size and shape its future forces.
Studies
Beyond the Ramparts: The Future of U.S. Special Operations Forces
Special Operations Forces emerged as one of the most cost-effective “weapons systems” in the U.S. military arsenal and a major source of strategic advantage for the nation.
Testimonies
Joint Concept Development and Experimentation
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to appear before you today, and to share my views on this important issue. My testimony is intended to provide a context within which one might assess Joint Forces Command’s (JFCOM’s) mission for joint concept development and experimentation in the wake of the command’s disestablishment.
Studies
Sustaining America’s Strategic Advantage in Long-Range Strike
The ability to conduct long-range strike operations has long provided the United States with a decisive military advantage over its enemies. Today, that advantage is dissipating
Studies
Littoral Combat Ship: An Examination of Its Possible Concepts of Operations
In 2008, the US Navy commissioned USS Freedom (LCS-1), the first of a new type of ship, the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), produced by Lockheed Martin. It anticipated commissioning a second, distinctly different LCS variant, to be named Independence (LCS-2), produced by General Dynamics, late in 2009. Despite initial issues with design, operational requirements, and especially cost growth, the Navy plans to order substantial numbers of one variant to help address the problem of declining surface ship force levels.
Studies
Defense Planning for the Long Haul: Scenarios, Operational Concepts, and the Future Security Environment
Senior defense officials face a host of critical issues when assessing the nation’s military posture. Most importantly, they are responsible for determining which threats the United States must be prepared to address, what capabilities will be required to do so, and how the US military should be organized, trained, equipped, and employed to counter these threats successfully if and when they materialize.