View Featured Battle Networks: The Three Part Series By Todd Harrison PublishedMarch 4, 2022 Militaries use battle networks to detect what is happening on the battlefield, process that data into actionable information, decide on a course of action, communicate decisions among forces, act on those decisions, and assess the effectiveness of the actions taken. Battle networks are sometimes referred to as the “sensor-to-shooter kill chain” (or just the “kill…
View Does the FY24 Budget Request Reflect Defense Priorities? By Kari A. Bingen PublishedMay 30, 2023 This commentary was originally published by the National Security Space Association on May 30, 2023, as part of a compilation of views on the U.S. Space Force budget from national security space experts. While this is the fourth budget request for the U.S. Space Force, it is the first since the release of the Biden administration’s National…
Battle Networks and the Future Force: Part 3 By Todd Harrison, Christopher Reid PublishedMarch 4, 2022 The Role of Allies and Partners This CSIS brief is the third in a series on the future of battle networks and Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2). The first brief in the series examined the importance of battle networks to modern military operations and presented a framework of five functional elements that make up a…
View Battle Networks and the Future Force: Part 2 By Todd Harrison PublishedNovember 3, 2021 This paper draws on lessons from previous attempts to improve battle network integration and explores how DoD can properly scope the problem and organize itself to effectively and efficiently acquire the systems needed to realize its vision for JADC2.
View Battle Networks and the Future Force: Part 1 By Todd Harrison PublishedAugust 5, 2021 As the first in a series that explores the future of battle networks in the U.S. military—what has become known as Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2)—this paper examines the importance of battle networks to modern military operations and presents a framework of five functional elements that make up a battle network. This framework provides a common basis for conceptualizing and comparing existing systems and proposed new capabilities in terms of how they contribute to JADC2.
View Rethinking the Role of Remotely Crewed Systems in the Future Force By Todd Harrison PublishedMarch 3, 2021 In the wake of the cuts driven by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA), many senior military and political leaders lamented the effects these cuts were having on the U.S. military. In a major speech on national security during the 2016 presidential campaign, then-candidate Trump called for significant increases in the military…
View Cross-domain Competition: How Organizational Stovepipes Create Risks for Shared Missions By Morgan Dwyer PublishedOctober 29, 2020 Today, traditional nuclear missions increasingly intersect with emerging technical domains such as space and cyber. How can policymakers mitigate the risks that bureaucratic competition can pose to the shared mission of defending the nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) system?
View A Balance of Instability: Effects of a Direct-ascent Anti-satellite Weapons Ban on Nuclear Stability By Kaitlyn Johnson PublishedOctober 26, 2020 How would new norms for testing space weapons affect nuclear stability and traditional deterrence? Would a direct-ascent ASAT limit or ban create stability or further destabilize the space and nuclear domains?
View The Air Force Digital Century Series: Beyond the Buzzwords By Morgan Dwyer PublishedNovember 18, 2019 Today, the USAF characterizes the Digital Century Series in terms of a “holy trinity” of agile development, open architecture, and digital engineering. But as was discussed at the Air Force Association’s 2019 National Convention, the Digital Century Series is more than just a series of buzzwords. My understanding of the USAF’s plan to implement and…
View How the Air Force Can Save $30 Billion By Todd Harrison PublishedNovember 11, 2019 This analysis examines possible fleet reductions that could generate $30 billion in savings over the next five years for the US Air Force.
