21st century security

Warfare is changing. With the rapid rise of Chinese and Russian technological advancement, the United States and its allies and partners are at risk of losing their military edge on the global stage. This Forward Defense (FD) project advances outside-the-box thinking on the novel operational concepts and capabilities needed to keep pace with the security threats of tomorrow.

The global threat environment is evolving at pace, requiring the United States and its allies and partners to constantly learn and adapt. The ongoing development of new and advanced technologies, the rise of revisionist actors, and the militarization of emerging domains—to include space and cyberspace—are forcing a transformation in the way we think about warfare. To deter and defeat adversarial aggression, US and allied defense planners must develop novel operational concepts to link, combine, and employ existing military capabilities.

This project is generously supported by

The Forward Defense Forum is designed for defense visionaries to put forth novel ideas for how the United States and its allies and partners can adapt, innovate, and win on the future battlefield. Built for creative thinking, this interactive public forum provides a space for the defense community to engage on issues core to the future of US and allied security.

Read transcripts from past fora

Transcript

May 2, 2022

The Pentagon needs a new technology strategy to deter Russia and China, says Lockheed Martin CEO

By Atlantic Council

Lockheed Martin Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer James Taiclet joined the Atlantic Council to talk about a security strategy for the twenty-first century.

Conflict Defense Industry

Transcript

Oct 12, 2022

How the US can prepare to deter China and defend Taiwan in the 2020s

By Atlantic Council

Michèle Flournoy discussed how the United States can maintain a credible deterrent against China in the next decade and beyond as part of the Atlantic Council’s Forward Defense Forum.

China Conflict

Engage with Forward Defense’s experts as we release new commentary and analyses on how the resolution of operational military problems can be translated into enhanced deterrence.

New Atlanticist

May 16, 2023

Money talks: Here’s what the president’s budget says about the US military edge

By Clementine G. Starling, Marek Jestrab, Julia Siegel

Biden’s $886-billion request for defense-related activities may be insufficient to meet the moment.

China Crisis Management

New Atlanticist

Jan 12, 2023

How the US and its allies should respond to evolving space threats

By Forward Defense experts

Adversaries are changing the ways they disrupt or destroy US and allied space operations. Our experts give their sense of the latest challenges to security.

China Russia

New Atlanticist

Nov 21, 2022

Our military insiders’ views of the new National Defense Strategy

By Atlantic Council military fellows

The Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security’s military fellows weighed in on the NDS, addressing potential gaps between budgets and strategy, and more.

Conflict Crisis Management

Report Nov 30, 2020

The Five Revolutions: Examining defense innovation in the Indo-Pacific region

By Tate Nurkin

The Indo-Pacific region has become a center of gravity for innovation in defense technologies and emerging military capabilities. This report explores major drivers of modernization and advances a new framework to capture defense technology and investment efforts in the region.

China Defense Industry

Report Jun 18, 2020

An affordable defense of Asia

By T.X. Hammes

US military advantages over China are steadily eroding. Therefore, in this inaugural report for Forward Defense, T.X. Hammes crafts a new strategy and corresponding operational concepts which leverage geography and emerging technology to improve the US and allied warfighting posture in Asia.

China Conflict

Issue Brief Jun 27, 2019

The Melians’ revenge

By Dr. T.X. Hammes

How can small, frontline, European states defend against Russia? Emerging, high-tech, and low cost systems can provide the answer.

Drones NATO

Fellow

Kyle Atwell

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Afghanistan Colombia

Former fellow

John B. Barranco

2021-22 Senior US Marine Corps Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Americas Iraq

Fellow

Scott Cooper

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Afghanistan Civil Society

Fellow

Jennifer A. Counter

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Defense Technologies Intelligence

Former fellow

Matthew R. Crouch

Former Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Afghanistan China

Former fellow

Benjamin G. Johnson

2021-2022 Senior US Army Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Afghanistan Defense Industry

Fellow

Sarah Kirchberger

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Scowcroft Strategy Initiative

China Defense Industry

Board director

Franklin D. Kramer

Distinguished Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Cybersecurity Defense Policy

Fellow

Tate Nurkin

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

China Defense Industry

Fellow

Barry Pavel

Distinguished Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Defense Policy Defense Technologies

Staff

Clementine G. Starling

Director, Forward Defense

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Security & Defense NATO

Former fellow

Daniel Vardiman

2021-22 Senior US Navy Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Conflict Intelligence

Fellow

John T. Watts

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Conflict Crisis Management

Fellow

Tyson Wetzel

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Europe & Eurasia Indo-Pacific

Forward Defense, housed within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, shapes the debate around the greatest military challenges facing the United States and its allies, and creates forward-looking assessments of the trends, technologies, and concepts that will define the future of warfare.

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