Defense Budget Analysis

The Defense Budget Analysis Program leads the Center’s efforts to provide in-depth, nonpartisan research and analysis of defense funding issues

Led by fellow Seamus Daniels, the program explores trends in the overall defense budget, military readiness, force structure, defense acquisitions, and military compensation in a broader effort to assess the alignment of the country’s defense strategy and its resources.

Contact Information

Featured Project

Photo: iLab/CSIS

Defense Futures Simulator

The Center for Strategic and International Studies, the American Enterprise Institute, and War on the Rocks collaborated to address a shared concern: a lack of understanding about how defense strategy and security objectives are translated into concrete budget choices. To meet this challenge, the three organizations built the Defense Futures Simulator.

View the page

All Defense Budget Analysis Content

Filter by

41 - 50 of 54 results

How much should we spend on defense?

President-elect Trump will take office with budget caps already in place that extend through his entire first term. Neither George W. Bush nor Barack Obama entered office with these kinds of statutory constraints on fiscal policy. The budget caps limit the budget options available to the next president and will force him to begin negotiating with Congress right away for some sort of deal that raises the caps.

Report by Todd Harrison Mark F. Cancian and Andrew Philip Hunter — December 15, 2016

Analysis of the FY 2017 Defense Budget

The Obama administration’s FY 2017 budget—the eighth and final budget submitted by the administration—requests a total of $619.5 billion in funding for national defense.

Report by Todd Harrison — April 20, 2016

Defense Outlook 2016: What to Know, What to Expect

Defense Outlook 2016: What to Know, What to Expect is an annual review of what happened in the U.S. Department of Defense in 2015 and what CSIS experts are looking for in 2016.

Report by Mark F. Cancian Todd Harrison and Kathleen H. Hicks — January 26, 2016

Defense Modernization Plans through the 2020s

Since the enactment of the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011, much attention has been paid to the near-term effects of budgetary constraints on national defense.

Report by Todd Harrison — January 26, 2016

Fiscal Futures, U.S. Forces, and Strategic Choices

Defense strategy is ultimately about choices. While strategy should, in principle, drive budget decisions, strategy must also align with the resources available, or it will not be executable in practice.

Report by Mark F. Cancian and Todd Harrison — November 16, 2015