Environment: May 30, 2022

Environment and Climate Industry Study

The overarching purpose of the Environment & Climate Industry Study is to assess U.S. and international competitiveness in the environmental and climate sector(s) of industry within the context of national security, broadly defined. The environmental industry includes firms providing a wide array of goods and services, all with an environmental aim — from waste management and environmental protection to water utilities and regulatory compliance. The related climate change industry includes those activities aimed at minimizing the negative impacts of human activity on the climate, like renewable energy, green buildings, and adaptation and mitigation efforts designed to help society cope with climate-related events without sacrificing quality of life. Firms operating in this “industry of industries” face numerous challenges, not the least of which is ideological. Widely identified as a national security threat, climate change is altering the way many on the planet live and contributing to geopolitical flashpoints that affect human, national, and global security. The U.S. government must recognize (a) the dependency of its economic strength on global environmental security, and (b) its leadership role in shaping environmental, climate, and economic policies, both domestically and internationally. By leveraging the strength of U.S. environmental firms that are already shaping market and consumer behavior, government can accelerate mitigation and adaptation efforts, embrace innovation that increases efficiency, sustainability, and resilience, and produce stronger domestic and global economies, with attendant benefits to human, environmental, national, and global security.

Maritime (Formerly Shipbuilding, Maritime Domain, Sea Domain) May 30, 2022

Righting the Ship: Positioning the U.S. Maritime Industrial Base to Mobilize in the 21st Century Strategic Competition

Since the turn of the twenty-first century, China’s maritime interests (the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), Chinese Coast Guard, and Maritime Militia) have rapidly accelerated on a path to challenge United States’ naval supremacy. As a result, the United States is moving to modernize its Naval Service, defined collectively as the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard, into an integrated all-domain force that excels in Distributed Maritime Operations to maintain the advantage at sea and enforce foreign policy objectives.

Energy: May 30, 2022

Energy Industry Study Report

This paper documents a top-level exploration of the global energy industry and its ramifications for the United States’ enduring interests and national security. Prior scholars at National Defense University conducted similar research and documented their results within publicly available reports. Current students examined reports from 2009 and 2018 to find gaps in the research and analyze trends within the energy industry. Previous reports conducted a point-in-time analysis of the energy industry and are therefore ripe for an update.

Aircraft (formerly Air Domain): May 30, 2022

Aerial Mass for Strategic Competition: The Quality-Quantity Paradox

As the United States (US) returns to strategic competition and contemplates large scale conventional conflict once again, several factors make a World War II-era surge of military aircraft production highly unlikely. The need for aerial mass, and the associated limitations to mass production in the military aviation industry, together constitute the problem addressed by this report, whose research question is: given constraints in tools, technology, training, and policy within the military aviation industry, what steps can the US government take to ensure sufficient mass for strategic competition?

Artificial Intelligence (formerly Emerging Technologies): May 30, 2022

In AI We Trust, All Others We Model

The NSCAI explained in its 2021final report that AI is a unique human invention that is not a single event or technology. Rather, AI is like what Thomas Edison said of electricity, “It is a field of fields… it holds the secrets which will reorganize the life of the world.” Today, we experience AI daily. We interact directly with digital assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Watson or the IRS has our tax returns analyzed by AI to detect fraud. However, the examples today are minor advances (the tip of an iceberg) in comparison to the transformation that is coming.

C4ISR: May 30, 2022

A Review of the C4ISR Industry Efforts to Implement the Concept for Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2)

After the 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS) release, the Joint Staff endeavored to modernize and enhance the U.S. global integrated defense posture and joint capabilities and concepts. The NDS recognized the emerging Great Power Competition (GPC) and refocused the Department of Defense’s (DoD) priorities. The Combatant Commands (CCMD), who report directly to the Secretary of Defense (SecDef), maintain theater-specific defense partnerships and force postures to respond to threats in their areas of responsibility. However, the strategic environment described in the NDS demanded transregional approaches and joint, All-Domain capabilities. Over the last four years, the resultant modernization efforts within the Services and the Joint Staff’s concept development for warfighting concepts to support the CCMDs intersected. The Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) concept emerged as the framework to connect the people, systems, and warfighting concepts.

Networking (Formerly Newsmedia, Information Communications and Technology) May 30, 2022

Networked Power: Addressing the Role of Networking & Communication Technologies in 21st-Century Influence Operations

The paper discusses how adversaries use propaganda, disinformation, and deception through modern networking and communication technology (NCT) to gain strategic advantages, with social media emerging as a powerful tool. NCT has made it easier and cheaper to influence large populations, shifting power from governments to individuals, creating new national security concerns. These methods are often used alongside diplomatic, military, or economic tools, but future strategies may prioritize information as a key instrument of power. While NCT can defend against malign influence and protect democratic values, it also poses risks, including threats to civil liberties. The U.S. and its allies are unprepared to address these challenges, risking ineffective responses that could harm free speech and privacy. The paper outlines research on NCT, providing recommendations for securing the benefits of a connected world through regulatory reform, partnerships, education, and national strategy.

Missile Defense (Formerly Weapons of Mass Destruction) May 22, 2022

Missile Defense

The return of great power competition coincides with the emergence of an age of missiles. The United States competes with a rising China and increasingly unstable and provocative Russia to shape security architectures and global norms and practices. In addition to Russia and China, the missile threat emanating from the rogue nations of North Korea and Iran toward the United States and its interests is evolving, and so must the United States’ ability to counter these rising threats. The U.S. missile defense enterprise is challenged to effectively counter adversaries’ growing offensive capabilities, including cruise missiles and hypersonic glide vehicles (HGV). A weak defense industrial base (DIB), the need to reallocate responsibilities amongst the entities involved with missile defense research, development, procurement, and sustainment, as well as the need to update the U.S. missile defense strategy and increase the speed and effectiveness of research and development hamper the U.S.’s ability to provide adequate missile defense.