Biotechnology May 31, 2024

Biotech Diplomacy: Strengthening U.S. National Security and International Partnerships with Brazil and Argentina through Health, Food, and Economic Innovation

As we reach the mid-2020s, the United States navigates a period of strategic competition characterized by rapid technological advancement that presents extraordinary opportunities and formidable new threats. Simultaneously, U.S. adversaries seek to capitalize on these technological shifts to support their populations while undermining the rules-based international order. In this context, the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are racing for dominance in these emerging technological areas. The biotechnology (biotech) industry represents one of the most important arenas for this great power competition, pitting autocracy against democracy. Biotech can empower democracies by fostering innovations in healthcare and agriculture, saving millions of lives while transforming the global economy. By promoting accessibility to biotech, the U.S. government can position more vulnerable populations to benefit from this emerging technology and strengthen U.S. influence by building new partnerships with developing countries.

Biotechnology: May 30, 2023

Biotechnology: How the United States Can Mitigate Risks and Increase Opportunities for the Next Industrial Revolution

Like the previous industrial revolutions in chemistry and engineering, the era of biotechnology is swiftly altering human progress and the global landscape. The biotech industry is rapidly changing how humans create food, acquire resources, and approach healthcare – it has the potential to impact every facet of human life. Biotechnology provides tools through which humanity can effectively tackle the adverse consequences of human development, encompassing environmental degradation, climate change, and the inequitable distribution of food supplies. Biotechnology is also presenting society with new challenges, compelling people to confront ethical dilemmas, security threats, and divisions regarding the acceptance or rejection of this rapidly expanding industry.

Biotechnology: May 30, 2022

Securing the Strategic Advantage in Biotechnology

The United States (U.S.) is the world leader in biotechnology (biotech) and innovation. Biotech availability has increased competition in the global market, threatening America's dominance in the industry. Biotechnology is simply defined as the "application of biology for useful purposes." It is not a defined list of products or industries but a set of "enabling technologies" that are industrialized and used to replace chemical compounds. The biotech industry is one of the world's fastest-growing, lucrative, and expansive global markets, introducing new scientific methods and bio-products at an unprecedented pace. Research-intensive biotech corporations have effectively redefined modern medicine, enhancing health care and developing techniques to increase human performance at the molecular level. Industry revenues exceed the global semiconductor market and contribute more than seven percent of America's gross domestic product (GDP). Advancements in bioengineering and manufacturing led to increased agricultural, pharmaceutical, and petrochemical productivity within the U.S. This report provides an overview of the biotech industry, its application to the defense industrial base, global competition, and its impact on U.S. policy and strategy to protect national security while maintaining the leading edge in the field.

C4ISR May 31, 2024

Government and Industry Perspectives on Accelerating the Development of Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control

The Department of Defense (DoD) aims to reform command and control (C2) across all domains through the Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) campaign, which requires overcoming political, economic, social, and technological challenges. Despite progress, CJADC2 efforts are hindered by decentralized leadership, restrictive security policies, incompatible legal authorities, and barriers in the defense industry. The study identifies seven key obstacles, including differences in doctrine, outdated security policies, and misaligned industry incentives. To address these issues, the report recommends five actions: -Accelerate the creation of a data enterprise to improve connectivity and information-sharing. 1. Apply portfolio management to streamline CJADC2 capabilities. 2. Establish a central program office to improve oversight and coordination. 3. Reform information management and security policies to enable better information sharing. 4. Integrate enabling technologies like AI to enhance decision-making. While these recommendations carry risks, particularly in coordinating between the Executive and Legislative branches, they are critical to building a strong technical foundation, centralized management, and policies for effective CJADC2 implementation.

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.

C4ISR: May 30, 2023

A View of the C4ISR Industry in the Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) Environment

The 2022 National Security Strategy (NSS) illuminates China’s economic rise and newfound global influence, underpinning the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) ambitions of challenging the free and open international rules-based system. After decades of studying the United States, the CCP has undergone a sustained effort to bolster its military to disrupt the U.S. ability to project power. Simultaneously, the CCP is pursuing a concept called “informatized” war to replicate the U.S. approach to network warfare. Both nations rely on their defense industries to outpace their adversaries in this pivotal aspect of great power competition.

Cyber (formerly Information and Communications Technology): May 30, 2023

Safeguarding Cyberspace: The Imperative for Reform and Rebalance

The United States (US) will most likely continue to suffer unacceptable losses in strategic competition with autocracies in cyberspace until it shapes the cyberspace domain by improving cyberspace attention, leadership, and governance, fostering a more collaborative relationship with private industry to advance digital literacy and cybersecurity, and involving more offensive cyberspace operations through integrated deterrence via defend forward and persistent engagement strategies. Allies and partners should be engaged to ensure synchronous policies. The 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS), though appropriately advancing cybersecurity, will unlikely bend the positive slope of Intellectual Property (IP) theft, ransomware loss, malign cyber information operations (CIO), and ongoing cyberspace threats to US critical infrastructure by Russia and China. The US remains largely timid in cyberspace, especially in punishing malign actors, fearing escalation to kinetic conflict, and limits itself to cybersecurity. To date, US operations involving denial capabilities have not resulted in escalation to military conflict.

Education May 30, 2017

Education

Education is a key component underpinning the national security of the United States (US). It drives the economy, sharpens the nation’s competitive edge in science, technology, and innovation, develops the minds of people of all ages, raises the poor out of poverty, and is the great social equalizer. The US is a recognized global leader in education, and higher education is the fuel for prosperity and security. As college costs rise, students are increasingly ill-prepared for postsecondary courses, and employers are less able to find qualified employees, some may ask whether the fuel is running out. As the nation and its new administration look to secure opportunities and economic prosperity for its populace, it is appropriate to assess the current higher education landscape, evaluate the market drivers, and look for ways to improve the possibilities for future generations. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the US spent $11,700 per full-time equivalent (FTE) student in 2012, which was 31 percent higher than the average of other countries. At the postsecondary level, the US spent 2.8 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which was higher than the average (1.5 percent) and higher than that of any other country. If one includes education spending across all levels (elementary, secondary, and postsecondary), spending grows to 6.4 percent of GDP.

Electromagnetic Warfare May 31, 2024

Electromagnetic Warfare

Modern warfare is dominated by advanced capabilities that operate through the electromagnetic spectrum, including communications systems, remotely operated aircraft, and radar and electro-optical sensing systems. Superiority in the electromagnetic operating environment will define how the wars of tomorrow are fought and won. However, the electromagnetic spectrum has become more congested and contested as commercial use of the spectrum has increased and competitors like the People's Republic of China and Russia have expanded their electromagnetic warfare capabilities. To protect national security interests, the United States must remove impediments to the development and fielding of electromagnetic warfare capabilities.

Electromagnetic Warfare: May 30, 2023

Electromagnetic Warfare Roadblocks: Stifling Innovation and Operational Effectiveness

The United States must innovate and operationalize electromagnetic warfare (EW) capability across the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) or U.S. national security will be at risk. Superiority in the EMS maneuver space is a fundamental precursor that enables the Department of Defense (DoD) to successfully operate in all domains and achieve the goals of the National Defense Strategy. The ability to operate freely within the EMS – at the time, place, and parameters of the nation’s choosing – is no longer guaranteed within today’s geopolitical environment. While acute threats like Russia pose significant EMS threats, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) presents the United States with its most significant pacing challenge. China fuses innovation across civil and military spheres, which enables it to make technological advances quickly. To maintain EMS superiority, the United States must remove roadblocks and impediments that slow EW innovation and prevent EW operational effectiveness.