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Virtual Event | Stuck in the Cul-de-Sac: How U.S. Defense Spending Prioritizes Innovation over Deterrence
Oct 23, 2025
11:00am
to
12:00pm
ET
Watch
In a new report, Stuck in the Cul de Sac: How U.S. Defense Spending Prioritizes Innovation over Deterrence, CNAS Defense Program experts Dr. Carlton Haelig and Philip Sheers examine the gaps between the Department of Defense’s strategic priorities and its resource allocation and identify a wide range of challenges and opportunities the Pentagon faces in transitioning its key modernization initiatives to the field. This discussion drew on those insights and cover a range of topics from satellites to shipbuilding.
On October 23, CNAS hosted a panel on the U.S. defense budget and the Department of Defense’s alignment of resources to strategy.

The Honorable Susanna V. Blume
Distinguished Senior Fellow, Defense Program
Center for a New American Security

Todd Harrison
Senior Fellow
American Enterprise Institute

Dr. Carlton Haelig
Fellow, Defense Program
Center for a New American Security
Moderated by:

Philip Sheers
Research Associate, Defense Program
Center for a New American Security
