New project will advance dialogue on the innovative operational concepts and capabilities needed for the United States and its allies to deter and, if necessary, fight and win future wars
WASHINGTON, DC—April 25, 2022—The Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and its Forward Defense practice announced today the launch of 21st Century Security, a new project that will put forth outside-the-box ideas on the novel operational concepts and capabilities needed to help the United States and US allies keep pace with the security threats of tomorrow. Generously supported by the Lockheed Martin Corporation, this one-year partnership will include quarterly forum discussions with defense visionaries, rapid commentary articles responding to real-time security developments, and a series of policy memos delving into how the resolution of operational military problems can enhance deterrence.
Warfare is changing, and the way in which the United States and its allies and partners approach warfare must similarly adapt. The rapid development of new and advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, the rise of great-power competitors Russia and China, and the militarization of novel domains—such as space and cyberspace—are changing the traditional paradigm of war. To deter and defeat adversarial aggression, US and allied defense planners must develop novel operational concepts to link, combine, and employ existing military capabilities. Through this project, Forward Defense will consider how the United States and its allies can adapt to keep pace with the trends and technologies defining the future battlefield.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s continued coercion of Taiwan both test the resilience of US and allied deterrence and, more broadly, the military preeminence of the United States and its allies vis-à-vis potential adversaries,” said Barry Pavel, Atlantic Council senior vice president and senior director of the Scowcroft Center. “The current conflict can and should serve as an additional impetus for revamping the US approach to warfare. This Forward Defense project provides ample opportunity to reexamine what has worked in past wars and determine what will win in the future.”
The project’s inaugural Forward Defense Forum—designed for defense visionaries to put forth innovative ideas for how the United States and its allies and partners can innovate and win on the future battlefield—will be held on Friday, April 29, at 1:00 p.m. ET and will feature a fireside chat with Lockheed Martin chairman, president, and chief executive officer James D. Taiclet.
To learn more about the 21st Century Security project, please visit here. You can register for the inaugural Forward Defense Forum here. To keep up with the project’s latest developments, subscribe to Forward Defense.
Please contact press@atlanticcouncil.org for media inquiries.