The U.S. Department of Defense faces difficult strategic choices. It needs sound, but rapid decision making processes to enable it to make good decisions quickly, and then to align its resources with its chosen strategy. The CNAS Defense Program helps policymakers make the right choices in resourcing and institutional reform through the following lines of effort:
Closing the Say-Do Gap
Implementing the defense strategy requires not only an appropriate level of resources but that sufficient funds are allocated to key strategic priorities. In this line of effort, the CNAS Defense Program assesses the alignment between the president’s budget requests and the defense strategy and offers recommendations on how to bring the two into lockstep.
Minding the Gaps
The U.S. Department of Defense currently lacks a rigorous and timely analytic process that enables valid comparisons across the joint portfolio to inform strategy, force structure, and resourcing decisions. This line of effort seeks to improve strategic analysis in the Department and revitalize its ability to produce timely, transparent, and robust analysis for senior leader decision support.
Unfinished Business in Defense Innovation
Despite recent reforms, defense acquisition processes remain too slow and inflexible, and the innovation ecosystem remains on the periphery of the larger acquisition enterprise. This project considers how to mainstream defense innovation so that that the Department can overcome the challenges that inhibit the rapid acquisition of new technologies to ensure U.S. military technological superiority over the coming decades.
Research Team
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Stacie Pettyjohn
Senior Fellow and Director, Defense Program
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Becca Wasser
Senior Fellow, Defense Program
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Hannah Dennis
Research Associate, Defense Program
Highlights
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“Production Is Deterrence”
Reports
This report explores whether the fiscal year (FY) 2024 U.S. defense budget request for key conventional precision-guided munitions (PGMs) aligns with the 2022 National Defense...
By Stacie Pettyjohn & Hannah Dennis
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Precision and Posture: Defense Spending Trends and the FY23 Budget Request
Reports
This report examines the fiscal year (FY) 2023 defense budget request and assesses whether it sufficiently resources what was known of the Biden administration’s national defe...
By Stacie Pettyjohn & Hannah Dennis
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The ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ Is in Peril
Commentary
The U.S. was once known as “the arsenal of democracy,” for its ability to build enough weapons not only for itself but also for its allies. In recent decades, that moniker has...
By Stacie Pettyjohn & Hannah Dennis
