Sharper: America’s Edge

A volatile global security environment requires the United States and its allies to develop new tactics and capabilities to deal with novel global threats. On June 3, policymakers, industry leaders, and others will discuss how to face this challenge at the 2025 CNAS National Security Conference: America’s Edge. In this edition of Sharper, CNAS experts deepen the conversation about maintaining America’s edge in warfighting, economic security, technology leadership, and more. Continue reading to learn more.

Features

Around the Center | The 2025 CNAS National Security Conference

The 2025 CNAS National Security Conference: America’s Edge is right around the corner. Register now to attend virtually and join recently announced speakers, including:

• General David Allvin | Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force
• Andreas Michaelis | German Ambassador to the United States
• Congressman John Moolenar | Chair of the House Select Committee on China
• Congressman Jim Himes | Ranking Member of House Intelligence Committee
• Bogdan Klich | Polish Chargé d’Affaires in Washington, D.C.
• Michael Polsky | Founder and CEO, Invenergy
• Lieutenant General Joseph A. Ryan | Deputy Chief of Staff, U.S. Army
• Michèle Flournoy | Cofounder of CNAS and Former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy

Report | Biopower: Securing American Leadership in Biotechnology

The biorevolution is upon us. According to one estimate, existing biotechnologies could have a direct economic impact of $4 trillion a year for the next 20 years. As innovation continues, the ceiling could be far higher. China’s ambition to close the biotechnology gap with the United States should inspire action from policymakers to secure and extend America’s lead. A recent report from Vivek Chilukuri and Hannah Kelley outlines a series of immediate and longer-term recommendations in six key areas for leaders in policymaking and industry.

Report | From Production Lines to Front Lines: Revitalizing the U.S. Defense Industrial Base for Future Great Power Conflict

A recent report from Becca Wasser and Philip Sheers warns that the current capacity of the U.S. defense industrial base (DIB) is insufficient to meet the demands of modern warfare, let alone the requirements of a large-scale conflict against an advanced adversary such as China. The authors argue that decades of underinvestment, slow production timelines, and unpredictable demand signals have left defense manufacturing struggling to deliver at the speed and scale required for 21st-century warfare. The report identifies how to reform the DIB to better support U.S. defense strategy by integrating four critical attributes: greater capacity, responsiveness, flexibility, and resilience.

Commentary | Ukraine Is Europe’s War. Isn’t It?

A new article from Andrea Kendall-Taylor in The New York Times highlights the stakes of the war in Ukraine for the United States. If the United States fails to stand up to Russia now, in Ukraine, it is likely to have to do so at a significantly higher cost in the future. One of the major implications of the war for the United States is the risk of a broader war in Europe, given Putin’s objectives extend beyond Ukraine—a conflict which would not leave the United States unscathed. The war in Ukraine may be fought across an ocean, but if the Trump administration chooses not to invest in resisting Russia now, Americans will pay a greater cost down the line.

Commentary

America’s Eroding Airpower

Stacie Pettyjohn in Foreign Policy
March 2025

For more than 80 years, a cornerstone of the United States’ military strength has been its unparalleled ability to project power through the air. Washington has the most sophisticated fleet of combat aircraft in the world. Because these planes can be refueled by the country’s many tankers, they have global reach. From domestic bases, stealthy bombers can fly through heavily defended airspace unmolested and destroy multiple targets in one mission. American short-range fighter aircraft can drop bombs and take out enemy planes and surface-to-air missiles. But the U.S. fleet is shrinking, and its airpower advantage appears to be eroding.

A World Safe for Prosperity: How America Can Foster Economic Security

Emily Kilcrease and Geoffrey Gertz in Foreign Affairs
February 2025

Should the Trump administration continue with haphazard threats to close partners, these countries may even come to see their integration with and dependence on the U.S. market not as an asset but as a geopolitical vulnerability, a development that would delight Beijing. The challenge will be to focus on the right target—China—and to use economic security agreements to chart a durable path forward for the future of the global economic order.

Build Allied AI or Risk Fighting Alone

Becca Wasser and Josh Wallin in Foreign Policy
February 2025

Amid the hype about AI and autonomous systems, militaries around the world are developing, experimenting with, and integrating these tools into every aspect of their operations. Working in coalitions, a particular strength of western nations, depends on interoperability—the ability to conduct military operations together. While this has been difficult even before the recent boom in machine learning, AI and autonomy present new challenges that militaries will have to confront. As each country races to build up their own AI arsenal, now is a critical time to establish the foundations of this interoperability—before the real fight begins.

In the News

Commentary and analysis from Katherine Kuzminski, Janet Egan, and Taren Sylvester