Strategically Forward…
Forward Defense seeks to craft sustainable, nonpartisan strategies with allies and partners to counter, deter, and overcome the diverse military challenges posed by great-power competitors and other potential adversaries.
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Strategic forces balance of the future
Image source: US Air Force
Tracking the strategic forces balance
The advent of nuclear weapons and the continual development of strategic delivery mechanisms encouraged lively analytical debate on theories of deterrence and defense during the Cold War. Today, emerging technologies like hypersonic weapons, space-based platforms, and autonomous systems may once again alter the strategic balance among the United States and other major powers. Forward Defense seeks to project and prepare for the strategic forces balance of the 21st century.
Mon, Aug 17, 2020
Primer on hypersonic weapons in the Indo-Pacific region
Hypersonic weapons are nearing maturation, but debates about their military relevance are often defined solely by technology. This primer situates hypersonic weapons within the regional context of the Indo-Pacific to provide a foundation for strategic analysis.
Fri, Mar 6, 2020
Russia’s exotic nuclear weapons and implications for the United States and NATO
Great-power competition has returned, and with it, the importance of nuclear weapons in international politics.
Issue Brief by
Tue, Apr 24, 2018
A strategy for deterring Russian de-escalation strikes
The United States and its NATO allies have not developed a clear strategy for deterring limited Russian nuclear strikes. Specifically, in the event of a limited Russian nuclear attack, how would the United States and its NATO allies respond?
Report by
Great-power competition
As articulated in the 2017 National Security Strategy and 2018 National Defense Strategy, great-power competition has returned as the most significant and troubling national security challenge for the United States. Forward Defense unpacks the military implications of these geostrategic shifts and assesses how the United States, alongside allies and partners, can contend with adversaries and maintain global stability.
US Air Force launches Department’s first Arctic Strategy at Atlantic Council event
Driven by rising temperatures and melting ice, the vast Arctic region is changing—and so are the military priorities of the United States and its two biggest adversaries: Russia and China.
The future of high-tech warfare
ONLINE EVENT – How true is the truism that the United States possesses the world’s strongest military? While many in Washington and beyond worry about the military rise of great-power rivals like China, Christian Brose makes the provocative case that the United States is already lagging behind in the military competition because it has for years invested billions of dollars in expensive and vulnerable ships, planes, and other military platforms.
Packard and Jensen in War on the Rocks: Washington needs to rethink its China strategy
Reviewing the Trump administration’s current China strategy, Marine Corps University Assistant Professor Nathan Packard and Forward Defense Senior Fellow Benjamin Jensen advance points of convergence and divergence, while examining critical flaws.
Pavel in Defense One: Pandemic raises likelihood of great-power conflict
On June 1, Defense One published an article by Scowcroft Center Director Barry Pavel titled: “The Coronavirus is Raising the Likelihood of Great-Power Conflict.” The article addresses the intensifying military operations in the western Pacific and warns of potential escalation if efforts are not calibrated carefully.
The return of great power rivalry
ONLINE EVENT – This virtual event features a discussion of great-power competition among the United States, China, and Russia, and a consideration of themes from Dr. Matthew Kroenig’s new book, “The Return of Great Power Rivalry: Democracy versus Autocracy from the Ancient World to the US and China.”
Managed competition: Meeting China’s challenge in a multi-vector world
In his latest report, Distinguished Fellow Franklin D. Kramer suggests a strategic approach of “managed competition” to meet the full spectrum of challenges posed by China, including economic and innovation, diplomatic and influence, and security, both hybrid and conventional military.
Security cooperation
Security cooperation is a multifaceted tool of defense strategy. Encompassing training, advising, and equipping, it builds interoperability while enabling the United States and its allies and partners to collaborate on the most significant defense and security challenges. Therefore, Forward Defense provides actionable recommendations for enhanced security cooperation and opportunities for US and allied defense initiatives.
Strengthening US alliances and partnerships in an era of great-power competition: A conversation with US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper
AN #ACFRONTPAGE EVENT – US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper joins the Atlantic Council’s #ACFrontPage event series in conversation with Atlantic Council CEO Frederick Kempe to outline the Pentagon’s new strategic framework for prioritizing and strengthening alliances and partnerships.
Security through global partnerships
Lieutenant General Charles Hooper, director of the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency, joins the Scowcroft Center for a virtual discussion on defense security cooperation in an era of great-power competition.
Emerging technologies and the future of US-Japan defense collaboration
This new report by Tate Nurkin and Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi explores the drivers, tensions, and constraints shaping US-Japan collaboration on emerging defense technologies, while providing concrete recommendations for the US-Japan alliance.
Reenergizing transatlantic space cooperation: Opportunities in security and beyond
In this report, Stephen Ganote describes concrete steps for how leaders on both sides of the Atlantic should: 1) increase space resiliency through better information sharing and system interoperability; 2) improve space operations through better training and updated doctrine; and 3) strengthen the space security supply chain through improved regulations and industrial cooperation.
Innovative strategies & policies
Fri, Oct 9, 2020
Effective resilience and national strategy: Lessons from the pandemic and requirements for key critical infrastructures
A US national strategy for “effective resilience,” the capacity to prepare for and withstand shocks of the magnitude of a major pandemic or equivalent such as a major cyberattack with any resulting disruption significantly less than that caused by COVID-19.
Report by Franklin D. Kramer
Wed, Sep 9, 2020
Future of DHS Project: Full report
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) needs to refocus its mission to lead the defense of the United States against major nonmilitary threats.
Report by
Mon, Sep 28, 2020
Competitive strategy insights from wargames
Warfighting eclipses the moment of battle. This report assesses the results from a series of competitive strategy wargames in order to explore how US military-modernization investments can shape adversary decisions long before the battle ever begins.
Report by
Tue, Jul 7, 2020
A global strategy for shaping the post-COVID-19 world
The COVID-19 pandemic is an acute public health and economic crisis that is further destabilizing an already weakened rules-based international system. With cooperation, determination, and resolve, however, the United States and its allies can recover from the crisis and revitalize an adapted rules-based system to bring about decades of future freedom, peace, and prosperity.
Atlantic Council Strategy Paper Series by
Tue, Dec 10, 2019
A candle in the dark: US national security strategy for artificial intelligence
AI is expected to have a transformational impact on the future of geopolitics, defense, and security. In this fluctuating environment, where the US is engaged in a high-stakes competition with is near-peer adversaries, and AI is enabling paradigm-shifting changes in public and private sector operations, how should the US respond?
Atlantic Council Strategy Paper Series by
Thu, Oct 31, 2019
Present at the Re-Creation: A Global Strategy for a World at Risk
How can the rules-based international system be re-created for the 21st century? Can and should the US re-build a liberal, rules-based international system? What goals should the US, and its allies, pursue in a changed world, where emerging risks and enduring challenges persist? Those were some of the key questions which animated the event Present […]
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Forward Defense 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.