Next Army: Envisioning the U.S. Army at 250 and Beyond

As the U.S. Army nears its 250th birthday, a new revolution in land power is underway. Next Army—a CSIS Futures Lab and Modern War Institute series—explores how AI, drones, and doctrinal shifts are transforming the battlefield for the age of agentic warfare.

As the U.S. Army approaches its 250th anniversary, a generational transformation is underway. Next Army, a CSIS Futures Lab project, examines how technological disruption, evolving threat environments, and a tradition of institutional innovation are reshaping the character of land power. The Army is on the cusp of its next doctrinal revolution—one that may prove as significant as Emory Upton’s post-Civil War reforms, Donn Starry’s AirLand Battle concept, or Gordon Sullivan’s push into information-age warfare.

The Army of tomorrow will wage agentic warfare, powered by ubiquitous sensor networks, AI, and autonomous systems. Uncrewed aerial systems—ranging from nano-drones to loitering munitions—will saturate the battlespace, turning tactical maneuver into a contest of data and deception. Swarming drones will reconnoiter, jam, and strike, while AI-enabled edge computing will help small units localize decision-making at machine speed. Instead of sprawling command posts layered in staff officers, expect lean, mobile teams working through cloud-native kill webs and AI agents to deliver precision effects across domains.

At the center of this future is the land domain—not just terrain to be held or crossed, but a critical connective tissue linking cyber, space, and fires into a unified campaign. The Next Army will be smaller, smarter, and more networked, with humans and machines collaborating in complex adaptive systems to out cycle adversaries.

Yet even amid such radical change, the Army remains grounded in a core principle: it is a learning organization. From George Washington’s pioneering use of vaccines to counter smallpox and Sergeant Clubbin’s hedgerow clippers during the Battle of Normandy to Chief of Staff Randy George’s experimental Transforming in Contact (TiC) brigades, the Army has long adapted through experimentation. Today, initiatives like Project Convergence push this legacy forward—testing new concepts in real-time, high-risk environments.

Next Army brings together warfighters and strategic thinkers to chart the Army’s future force. Through commentaries ranging from insights from wargames and AI-driven scenarios to historical analysis, the project will assess how the Army can harness AI, automation, and human creativity to remain the dominant land power in a new era.

Banner image: Dr. Benjamin Jensen/Created using the Midjourney.

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Out-Adapting the Enemy: Why Mass Alone Won’t Win Tomorrow’s Wars

Tomorrow’s victory depends less on outbuilding the enemy and more on out-adapting them. The future Army should empower soldiers to tinker, test, and tailor tech on the fly, making battlefield adaptation—not mass—the key to military advantage.

Commentary by Benjamin Jensen — July 11, 2025

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Out-Adapting the Enemy: Why Mass Alone Won’t Win Tomorrow’s Wars

Tomorrow’s victory depends less on outbuilding the enemy and more on out-adapting them. The future Army should empower soldiers to tinker, test, and tailor tech on the fly, making battlefield adaptation—not mass—the key to military advantage.

Commentary by Benjamin Jensen — July 11, 2025

Innovate or Die: The Army Transformation Initiative and the Future of Allied Land Warfare

Russia is adapting fast from wars in Ukraine, Israel, and Iran. NATO must act now or risk battlefield irrelevance. The U.S. Army’s Transformation Initiative should lead in reform, experimentation, and joint action to prepare allied forces for the fight ahead.

Commentary by Maj. Gen. Matthew Van Wagenen, Col. Arnel P. David, and Benjamin Jensen — July 10, 2025

Building a Brain of the Army Through Professional Military Education

The Army’s next revolution won’t just be fought on battlefields—it’ll be trained in classrooms. In this piece, Ben Jensen highlights how professional military education can build an AI-powered ‘brain of the Army’ ready for 2040 and beyond.

Commentary by Benjamin Jensen — June 10, 2025