Defense Budget and Acquisition

NATO’s call for each member country to spend 2% of its GDP and 20% of its defense expenditure on major new equipment risks addressing the problem of force planning with a non-solution.

This CSIS ASP report compares, contrasts, and critiques three congressionally mandated studies of the Air Force’s future force structure. This analysis only considers the unclassified material released to provide an independent assessment of the current state of the Air Force.

Annually, CSIS senior adviser Mark Cancian publishes a series of papers on U.S. military forces—their composition, new initiatives, long-term trends, and challenges.

The Marine Corps is developing capabilities for great power conflict after decades of counterinsurgency. In the third white paper in a series on U.S. forces, CSIS's Mark Cancian analyzes the Marine Corps’ force structure, strategic reorientation, and long-term challenges.

The U.S. Navy is gearing up for great power conflict even as it struggles to meet day-to-day operational demands. In the second white paper in his series on the U.S. forces, CSIS's Mark Cancian analyzes the Navy’s force structure, proposed changes, and long-term challenges.

CSIS's Mark Cancian analyzes the structure of military forces, proposed changes, and long-term challenges in his series on U.S. forces in the FY 2020 budget. This first white paper describes the strategic and budgetary context.