October 18, 2016
A Ready, Modern Force: Ready for Today, Prepared for Tomorrow
Experts from the CNAS Defense Strategies and Assessments Program participated in a panel discussion on defense spending. Senior Fellows Jerry Hendrix, Paul Scharre, and Elbridge Colby focused on maintaining readiness for today’s threats while modernizing the force for future challenges. The experts assumed a two percent increase in defense spending above PB17 levels – a realistic level given political dynamics. By investing in a diverse high-low mix of forces for the range of DoD missions, rather than attempting to field a one-size-fits-all “utility infielder” force, Hendrix, Scharre, and Colby modernized the force while maintaining capacity.
More from CNAS
-
Defense / Transatlantic Security
When Defense Becomes Destruction: Austria-Hungary’s Mistake and Ukraine’s RiskThis article was originally posted on War on the Rocks. The southeastern Polish city of Przemyśl, with its elegant 19th century Habsburg-era train station, remains one of the ...
By Franz-Stefan Gady
-
Defense / Transatlantic Security
Ukraine’s Catch-22 MomentThis article was originally published in the Financial Times. In Joseph Heller’s wartime classic, Catch-22, the protagonist Yossarian seeks out the US army surgeon Doc Daneeka...
By Franz-Stefan Gady
-
CNAS Insights | Budgetary Own Goals Undermine “Speed and Volume”
On November 7, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth laid out a plan to overhaul the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) acquisition system. Placing an emphasis on delivering new capa...
By Philip Sheers, Carlton Haelig & Stacie Pettyjohn
-
Drones: Who Is Making the New Weapons of War?
From Ukraine and Russia to Gaza and Sudan, drones have become a key weapon of war. Which companies are making them, and profiting from this rapidly expanding but controversial...
By Stacie Pettyjohn