Operational concepts, capabilities & posture

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.

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

“There may be a strategic case for the withdrawal of almost 12,000 US troops from Germany, but Secretary of Defense Esper’s announcement today does not make it,” Daniel Fried says.

Deputy Director of Forward Defense Clementine Starling reviews the successes of and challenges to European military mobility in the wake of COVID-19, and advances four solutions.

Military mobility is the logical and critical next step to enhancing the twenty-first-century conventional deterrence posture throughout Europe, an essential part of the formula for keeping the peace.

To provide an independent perspective, the Atlantic Council established a task force to assess the broader political and military implications of an enhanced US posture in North Central Europe. The report’s recommendations, guided by several key principles, are a result of the task force members’ agreement that enhancements to the US presence in the region could, and should, be undertaken to bolster deterrence and reinforce Alliance cohesion.