Kari A. Bingen

Director, Aerospace Security Project and Senior Fellow, Defense and Security Department
Kari Bingen

Kari A. Bingen is the director of the Aerospace Security Project and a senior fellow in the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Her interests lie at the intersection of technology and policy, national and economic security, and the collaborative roles of the public and private sectors in advancing both. Before joining CSIS, Kari was the chief strategy officer at HawkEye 360, an innovative space technology company. She previously served as the deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security, a U.S. Senate-confirmed role in which she oversaw the nation's defense intelligence and security enterprises—comprising more than 120,000 personnel and an annual budget exceeding $54 billion. Prior, Kari was the policy director on the House Armed Services Committee and staff lead for its Strategic Forces Subcommittee, advising members of Congress on defense policy, programs, and budgets. Prior to government service, she worked in the national security space sector, supporting U.S. defense and intelligence community organizations, first as a space systems analyst at SRA International’s Adroit C4ISR Center, and later as a senior space policy analyst at the Aerospace Corporation. In addition to her work at CSIS, Kari is passionate about “paying it forward” as an adjunct assistant professor at Georgetown University.  She is a member of the U.S. National Intelligence University's Board of Visitors, a member of the U.S. Strategic Command Strategic Advisory Group, and serves on a number of corporate and nonprofit advisory boards.  She holds a degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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America's 'Golden Dome' Explained

Please join the CSIS Defense and Security Department for a conversation on the feasibility, cost, and security implications of future U.S. missile defense programs.

Event — June 4, 2025

The Cost of Deterrence

Please join the CSIS Defense and Security Department for a conversation on the future of U.S. defense spending and the cost of American military power, featuring CSIS experts Dr. Tom Karako, Dr. Heather Williams, and Kari A. Bingen. 

Event — May 6, 2025

Space Threat Assessment 2025

The 2025 Space Threat Assessment covers the growing counterspace capabilities of China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and others. It also features analysis on GPS jamming and spoofing, satellite rendezvous and proximity operations, unintentional debris creation, and other counterspace topics.

Report by Clayton Swope, Kari A. Bingen, Makena Young, and Kendra LaFave — April 25, 2025

Europe's Nuclear Future

Please join the CSIS Defense and Security Department for a conversation on the future of European rearmament, nuclear deterrence, and transatlantic relations.

Event — March 11, 2025

What is the "Iron Dome for America"?

CSIS Defense and Security Department Senior Fellows Tom Karako, Heather Williams, and Kari Bingen discuss the implications of the "Iron Dome for America" executive order for the strategic force. 

Event — February 11, 2025