Strategic Security Environment 2025 & Beyond

Advancing Armor and Warfighter Protection from an Industrial Age Rut

Frank Prautzsch

“The incompetence regarding body and vehicle armor rise almost to a level of criminal negligence.” 

-- Hon. John Olver, Phd.

In our timeline of current military operations, we are at a shallow operational pause in major engagements.  While this period should be a time for reflection, experimentation, and discovery, we have…

Precision and the Consequences for the Modern Battlefield

Albert Palazzo

Introduction

The effectiveness of precision weapons at striking targets has been repeatedly demonstrated in recent wars. It is no longer remarkable that a missile or shell fired from a considerable distance or a bomb released from a great height can hit a target with only a minuscule margin of error. Precision munitions are now even available for…

The Real Captain America: Bioengineering the Super Soldiers of Tomorrow

Jared M. Stafford, James J. Valdes and Aleksandr E. Miklos

With the rapidly advancing field of genomics and gene modification, the distinct possibility has arisen for applying these technologies to enhance a soldier’s physical capacity. Genetic modification or “gene doping”, already banned from its possible future use in the Olympics, has many further…

The Gray Zone and Intelligence Preparation of the Battle Space

Patricia DeGennaro

 “As cities grow, many governments fail to provide adequate security, employment, infrastructure, and services… For Army leaders to thrive in these uncertain and chaotic conditions they must be able to understand the cognitive, informational, social, cultural, political, and physical influences that affect human behavior”…

The Long Telegram of 2050

Christopher J. Heatherly

Prologue

E Ring, The Pentagon, Washington, D.C., 1730hrs, December 7th, 2049

I arrived at the Pentagon’s main entrance on a bleak, cold and snowy evening. The sun’s last rays lit the building’s façade in an unearthly light. Pulling the collar of my overcoat up over my neck, I grabbed my travel worn leather briefcase and opened the limousine’s door against the cold. Thanking…

The Role of Network Science in Analyzing Slums in Rapidly Growing Urban Areas

Amy Krakowka Richmond, Chris Arney, Kathryn Coronges and Matthew Simonson

Introduction

In the coming decades the United States military will find itself operating in increasingly complex environments.  New concepts of operations and new language in military doctrine are needed to address the complexities of these tactical, operational, and strategic…

Capstone Commanders: Adaptability in the Complex Security Environment

Clarence J. Henderson

Through undulating canopies of reed grass the insurgents appear, then press forward to cross the river. Approaching a screen line, U.S. forces deliberately show their presence to channel the six-man team into a zone favorable for an attack. Two hours earlier this same team was identified at a distance of 1,500 meters forward of…

Towards a Fourth Offset Strategy

Edward J. Horres

The Department of Defense has launched the Third Offset Strategy to increase our completive advantage by a much-needed effort to restore technological superiority.  But is it really strategy?

The Secretary of Defense recently launched the Defense Innovation Initiative[1] and the Corresponding Third Offset Strategy[2] to restore U.S. technological superiority and offset…

People, Infrastructure, and Conflict: Analyzing the Dynamics of Infrastructure Disruption and Community Response

Natalie Myers, Jeanne Roningen, Ellen Hartman, Tina Hurt, Scott Tweddale, and Patrick Edwards

Introduction

Human well-being is heavily reliant on infrastructure systems to provide food, water, power, communication, shelter, and transportation. In 2050, the world will have welcomed a net 2.5 billion additional…

Designing Autonomous Systems for Warfighters: Keeping Humans in the Loop

George Galdorisi

Perspective

In his best-selling book, War Made New, military historian Max Boot notes, “My view is that technology sets the parameters of the possible; it creates the potential for a military revolution.”[1] He supports his thesis with historical examples to show how technological-driven “Revolutions in Military Affairs…

The Human Domain and the Future of Army Warfare: Present as Prelude to 2050

Colin D. Wood

“The ultimate cause of our failure was a simple one: despite all statements to the contrary, it was not due to lack of bravery on the part of our men, or to any fault of the Fleet's. We were defeated by one thing only - by the inferior science of our enemies. I repeat - by the inferior science of our enemies.” – Arthur…

The Future Operating Environment 2050: Chaos, Complexity and Competition

Kimberly Amerson and Spencer B. Meredith III

Chaos, Complexity and Competition

The end of the Cold War brought the expectation that the world would cease teetering on the brink of existential annihilation, and the optimistic hope of a better world was cautiously balanced by precarious uncertainty. However, the emerging world proved to be a combination…

A Small Box That’s a Big Deal: How Latin American Countries Are Using CubeSATs and Why it Matters

Kevin Freese

Introduction

The Army is the Defense Department’s largest space user and is heavily dependent upon space capabilities to achieve land dominance,[1] so the space domain is an essential part of the current and future operational environment.  That domain is getting more crowded, not just in terms of…