Tom Karako

Senior Fellow, International Security Program and Director, Missile Defense Project
Tom Karako

Thomas Karako is a senior fellow with the International Security Program and the director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where he arrived in 2014. His research focuses on national security, missile defense, nuclear deterrence, and public law. In 2010–2011, he was an American Political Science Association congressional fellow, working with the professional staff of the House Armed Services Committee and the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces on U.S. strategic forces policy, nonproliferation, and NATO. Dr. Karako is also currently a fellow with the Institute for Politics and Strategy of Carnegie Mellon University. He received his PhD from Claremont Graduate University and his BA from the University of Dallas.

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Countering Small Uncrewed Aerial Systems

Small drones are a serious threat on the modern battlefield. This report examines the threat, the various kinetic and non-kinetic defenses available to defeat them, and how the U.S. Department of Defense has approached this air defense mission across the joint force.

Report by Shaan Shaikh Tom Karako and Michelle McLoughlin — November 14, 2023

Project Atom 2023

How can the United States deter two peer competitors? To assist U.S. policy makers in addressing this question, the Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) invited a group of experts to develop competing strategies for deterring Russia and China through 2035.

Report by Heather Williams Kelsey Hartigan Lachlan MacKenzie Robert Soofer Tom Karako Oriana Skylar Mastro Franklin Miller Leonor Tomero and Jon Wolfsthal — September 29, 2023

Integration of the U.S. Missile Defense Enterprise

Please join the CSIS Missile Defense Project for a conversation on missile defense missions, roles and responsibilities across the U.S. Department of Defense, and recommendations for improving the enterprise.

Event — September 14, 2023

Missile Defense at 40

Please join the CSIS Missile Defense Project and the Ronald Reagan Institute for a daylong conference on the past and future of missile defense.

    Event — March 24, 2023