A New Paper Calls Out America’s Shrinking Air Force
And Likelihood It Can’t Win Against China
By Eric Tegler, Forbes: “. . . a new paper from the Mitchell Institute details an underfunded U.S. Air Force which may not be able to win against China."
And Likelihood It Can’t Win Against China
By Eric Tegler, Forbes: “. . . a new paper from the Mitchell Institute details an underfunded U.S. Air Force which may not be able to win against China."
Increase DARPA Funding and Tackle Ambitious Missions in 2023
By Benedict Capaldi, RealClearDefense: “Funding by top venture capital firms like a16z, Lux Capital, and Founders Fund is fueling companies known as the SHARPEs: ShieldAI, Hawkeye 360, Anduril, Rebellion Defense, Palantir, and Epirus."
Books for the Century:
Military, Scientific, and Technological
By Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs: "Three important approaches to the study of war were established by books published during World War II."
By Benedict Capaldi, RealClearDefense: “Funding by top venture capital firms like a16z, Lux Capital, and Founders Fund is fueling companies known as the SHARPEs: ShieldAI, Hawkeye 360, Anduril, Rebellion Defense, Palantir, and Epirus."
Books for the Century:
Military, Scientific, and Technological
By Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs: "Three important approaches to the study of war were established by books published during World War II."
Marine Corps Planning for Wars Where Robots Kill Each Other
By Konstantin Toropin, Military.com: "Marine leaders are laying out a more detailed and concrete vision for the use of unmanned platforms and drones that includes things like robot-driven supply lines and robot combat in the wake of the huge maritime exercise in the Pacific."
By Konstantin Toropin, Military.com: "Marine leaders are laying out a more detailed and concrete vision for the use of unmanned platforms and drones that includes things like robot-driven supply lines and robot combat in the wake of the huge maritime exercise in the Pacific."
Supply Chain Problems Are Hurting Nuclear Modernization
By Joe Gould, Defense News: "The nominee to lead the U.S. nuclear arsenal said Thursday that supply chain snags that are pummeling the defense industrial base are also hurting Washington’s plans to modernize its aging nuclear arsenal."
By Joe Gould, Defense News: "The nominee to lead the U.S. nuclear arsenal said Thursday that supply chain snags that are pummeling the defense industrial base are also hurting Washington’s plans to modernize its aging nuclear arsenal."
Only Democracy Can Bring Stability to the Balkans, by Maja Bjelos
Net Assessment: Galvanizing America's Defense Industrial Policy, with Christopher Preble, Melanie Marlowe, and Zack Cooper
Net Assessment: Galvanizing America's Defense Industrial Policy, with Christopher Preble, Melanie Marlowe, and Zack Cooper
According to William C. Greenwalt, the Department of Defense has lost one of its most dynamic innovators. Mike Brown retired as head of the Defense Innovation Unit on Friday, September 2, after his efforts to engage with private-sector innovation reportedly met with "a critical lack of support from Pentagon leadership." The resistance to Brown's efforts, Greenwalt argues, shows that the Pentagon "is doubling down on a bureaucratic, risk-averse, and time-intensive system that puts us at greater risk to being outmaneuvered."
The Pentagon Gets the Better Part of a Trillion Dollars a Year. Why Isn't That Enough?
By Mackenzie Eaglen
The budgeting process has calcified, with huge sums going to the priorities of yesteryear.
By Mackenzie Eaglen
The budgeting process has calcified, with huge sums going to the priorities of yesteryear.
| china_defense_2022_build_up.pdf |
Recruitment Is Now a Real Threat to a Frail Force Facing Formidable Foes
Mackenzie Eaglen | Breaking Defense
Recruiting challenges are fraying and decaying the US armed forces at a time when the military needs to be growing.
Mackenzie Eaglen | Breaking Defense
Recruiting challenges are fraying and decaying the US armed forces at a time when the military needs to be growing.
The Anvil and the Lighthouse:
Why Forward Deployments Are Vital
By James Stavridis, Proceedings: "Like a lighthouse on a rocky coast, Navy and Marine Corps forward-deployed forces might never know what crises their presence has averted, but their deterrent value is critical in the turbulent 21st century."
Why Forward Deployments Are Vital
By James Stavridis, Proceedings: "Like a lighthouse on a rocky coast, Navy and Marine Corps forward-deployed forces might never know what crises their presence has averted, but their deterrent value is critical in the turbulent 21st century."
How To Slash the Time and Money Needed To Build Warships
—Without Cutting Capabilities
By Loren Thompson, Forbes: “Virtually every official assessment of how many warships the Navy needs to do its job identifies a number well above 300."
—Without Cutting Capabilities
By Loren Thompson, Forbes: “Virtually every official assessment of how many warships the Navy needs to do its job identifies a number well above 300."
The Paradox of Scarcity in a Defense Budget of Largesse
Mackenzie Eaglen | AEI
In her latest report, Mackenzie Eaglen analyzes the scarcity of buying power available in the US defense budget to advance the National Defense Strategy. Between two-thirds and three-quarters of the defense budget is fenced and fixed each year before the Department of Defense (DOD) and Congress can make changes to address threats and advance the defense strategy. Inflation is drastically cutting into the DOD’s buying power, further reducing the little share left to decision makers to fund new strategic initiatives. Congress must increase funds above inflation and stop deferring hard choices while US adversaries surge ahead in innovation and military development. Read More >
Mackenzie Eaglen | AEI
In her latest report, Mackenzie Eaglen analyzes the scarcity of buying power available in the US defense budget to advance the National Defense Strategy. Between two-thirds and three-quarters of the defense budget is fenced and fixed each year before the Department of Defense (DOD) and Congress can make changes to address threats and advance the defense strategy. Inflation is drastically cutting into the DOD’s buying power, further reducing the little share left to decision makers to fund new strategic initiatives. Congress must increase funds above inflation and stop deferring hard choices while US adversaries surge ahead in innovation and military development. Read More >
Congress Must Do Its Job: Provide and Maintain a Navy
Mackenzie Eaglen | AEIdeas
The Pentagon has proposed retiring Navy ships that are only three years old before new and improved replacements are available. Mackenzie Eaglen argues that the US Nay’s proposed strategy of “divest to invest” is in reality a strategy of “invest to divest.” While there is plenty to criticize about the Littoral Combat Ship, the law of physics still matters in a world not getting any smaller: One ship can only be in one place at one time. The US military cannot afford to lose the space covered and deterred by these ships. Spending money to prematurely retire ships at a time of record deployments is needlessly wasteful for an asset still needed. Read More >>
Mackenzie Eaglen | AEIdeas
The Pentagon has proposed retiring Navy ships that are only three years old before new and improved replacements are available. Mackenzie Eaglen argues that the US Nay’s proposed strategy of “divest to invest” is in reality a strategy of “invest to divest.” While there is plenty to criticize about the Littoral Combat Ship, the law of physics still matters in a world not getting any smaller: One ship can only be in one place at one time. The US military cannot afford to lose the space covered and deterred by these ships. Spending money to prematurely retire ships at a time of record deployments is needlessly wasteful for an asset still needed. Read More >>
House Authorizers Rescue Procurement
Elaine McCusker and John G. Ferrari | AEIdeas
Following the approval of the fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act by House appropriators, Elaine McCusker and John G. Ferrari analyze the $37 billion increase that the House authorized. They note that the substantial increases in procurement of equipment and facilities tell us two things. First, Congress does not agree with the Department of Defense (DOD) strategy of sacrificing procurement in favor of continued investments in long-term technology development. Second, Congress recognizes that buying more tanks, ships, and munitions is crucial to a robust supply chain—a point DOD seems not to understand. Read More >>
Elaine McCusker and John G. Ferrari | AEIdeas
Following the approval of the fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act by House appropriators, Elaine McCusker and John G. Ferrari analyze the $37 billion increase that the House authorized. They note that the substantial increases in procurement of equipment and facilities tell us two things. First, Congress does not agree with the Department of Defense (DOD) strategy of sacrificing procurement in favor of continued investments in long-term technology development. Second, Congress recognizes that buying more tanks, ships, and munitions is crucial to a robust supply chain—a point DOD seems not to understand. Read More >>
Keeping Putin’s Nuclear Threat from Launching an Arms Race
Hal Brands | Bloomberg
The war in Ukraine has put a serious strain on American achievements in nuclear nonproliferation. Yet, Hal Brands explains that the future of nuclear nonproliferation will depend heavily on how the US addresses not just the Ukraine war but a larger set of rivalries and tensions around the globe. So far, Washington has limited the danger of nuclear dominoes falling in Europe. In order to inhibit proliferation, the US must have greater consultation with allies on nuclear strategy, engage in discussions of how Washington would respond to a limited Chinese use of nuclear weapons, and perhaps even station nuclear weapons on or near the territory of key allies. Read More >>
Hal Brands | Bloomberg
The war in Ukraine has put a serious strain on American achievements in nuclear nonproliferation. Yet, Hal Brands explains that the future of nuclear nonproliferation will depend heavily on how the US addresses not just the Ukraine war but a larger set of rivalries and tensions around the globe. So far, Washington has limited the danger of nuclear dominoes falling in Europe. In order to inhibit proliferation, the US must have greater consultation with allies on nuclear strategy, engage in discussions of how Washington would respond to a limited Chinese use of nuclear weapons, and perhaps even station nuclear weapons on or near the territory of key allies. Read More >>
When the Chips Are Down
Klon Kitchen | Dispatch
The United States needs to make major investments in domestic semiconductor manufacturing capability, attract technical talent from overseas in the near term, and build a deep pool of domestic talent for the long term, argues Klon Kitchen. The US does not have the capacity and industry growth possible to meet our own demand for semiconductor chips, let alone that of the rest of the world. The current semiconductor global supply chain is insufficiently secure, diverse, and resilient to meet our national security requirements, and therefore, significant action must be taken. Read More >>
Klon Kitchen | Dispatch
The United States needs to make major investments in domestic semiconductor manufacturing capability, attract technical talent from overseas in the near term, and build a deep pool of domestic talent for the long term, argues Klon Kitchen. The US does not have the capacity and industry growth possible to meet our own demand for semiconductor chips, let alone that of the rest of the world. The current semiconductor global supply chain is insufficiently secure, diverse, and resilient to meet our national security requirements, and therefore, significant action must be taken. Read More >>
China’s Roadblocks to Becoming A Science Superpower
By Ma Xiu & Peter W. Singer, Defense One: "Historical and structural problems complicate Beijing’s vision of tech leadership."
By Ma Xiu & Peter W. Singer, Defense One: "Historical and structural problems complicate Beijing’s vision of tech leadership."
Hedging with Humility: Reassessing China’s Power Projection Capabilities Against Taiwan, by Collin Fox, Trevor Phillips-Levine, and Kyle Cregge
China’s Increasingly Impressive Air-to-Air Missile Inventory
By Thomas Newdick, The War Zone: "China has made very impressive progress in its air-to-air missile development, but these weapons remain relatively obscure in the West.
By Thomas Newdick, The War Zone: "China has made very impressive progress in its air-to-air missile development, but these weapons remain relatively obscure in the West.
A Strategist’s Cast of Characters:
The Critical Attributes and Skills of Strategic Decision-Makers
By Roni Yadlin, Strategy Bridge: "Since the day when Thespis made dramatic history and first took to the stage as a character in a play, the ancient Greeks used theatrical productions to provide social commentary, impart lessons, and inspire action."
The Critical Attributes and Skills of Strategic Decision-Makers
By Roni Yadlin, Strategy Bridge: "Since the day when Thespis made dramatic history and first took to the stage as a character in a play, the ancient Greeks used theatrical productions to provide social commentary, impart lessons, and inspire action."
China’s Gorbachev Phobia
By Minxin Pei, The Strategist (ASPI): "There was a time when well-meaning, if not wishful-thinking, Westerners thought that ‘China’s Gorbachev’ was the highest compliment they could pay a Chinese leader who looked like a reformer."
By Minxin Pei, The Strategist (ASPI): "There was a time when well-meaning, if not wishful-thinking, Westerners thought that ‘China’s Gorbachev’ was the highest compliment they could pay a Chinese leader who looked like a reformer."
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