Budgeting

Decades of Air Force Underfunding Threaten America’s Ability to Win

The Air Force’s budget has been less than the Navy and Army’s for the last 30 years in a row. The Army received over $1.3 trillion more than the Air Force between 2002–2021, an average of $66 billion more per year than the Air Force. These sorts of realities repeatedly prompted service officials to pursue “divest to invest” modernization strategies that introduced significant risk and failed to effectively balance modernization, force size, and readiness. Resetting the Air Force to meet the national security demands of today and tomorrow is possible, but it will take forceful leadership at the highest levels of the Department of Defense. Without modernizing our geriatric Air Force and building it to the capacity required by our national defense strategy, the U.S. is a great risk of losing its next major conflict.

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Congress, Ukraine, and China: The Rendezvous

In this Rendezvous episode, we discuss the defense bills moving through the House and Senate, with predictions regarding what Air Force priorities will win and lose. We also discuss the latest events that are occurring in Ukraine and we talk about a number of meetings Chinese leaders have been holding with Pacific island nations as they seek economic and military agreements.

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More Issues

Acquisition

Empowering actors at all levels with a smart set of options at the right time and place demands procuring the most effective, efficient, and resilient set of tools.

Airpower

No matter the mission, from air superiority and long range strike to air mobility and command and control, a broad range of missions executed in the air provide vital options at the strategic, operational, and tactical realms.

Nuclear

Strategic deterrence is the bedrock of the national security enterprise thanks to the virtues and value of the triad.

Space

National security space activities are essential facets of any military operation, while also creating conditions essential for the civilian economy.

Strategy

Meeting national security requirements today and tomorrow requires insightful, creative approaches that prioritize America’s strengths, while not projecting undue vulnerability.