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.
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.
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 […]
Insights & Impact by
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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.