Feb. 1, 2003

Decision Dominance: Exploiting Transformational Asymmetries

This paper introduces a new operational concept—decision dominance— to help guide the strategic employment of U.S. forces in wartime. This concept is not a replacement for existing paradigms. If added to the current list, however, it may better illuminate how American forces can operate effectively in ways that will achieve their political-military goals more decisively in future wars.

Jan. 1, 2003

The Silence of the Labs

Something important to the Nation’s defense has vanished, yet the top Pentagon brass never noticed. Not the stuff of headlines, this loss would not arouse public concern, especially during these times of terrorist massacres, anthrax attacks, corporate scandal, and war. Nevertheless, like the miner’s canary that is first to die with the rush of an ill wind, this loss is a warning.

Dec. 1, 2002

The Emergence of Mini UAVs for Military Applications

The successes of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Afghanistan most likely will accelerate the introduction of UAVs into the military force structure. What emerged in Afghanistan was a tiered observation-detection-targeting system consisting of spacecraft, the Global Hawk UAV, the Predator UAV, and often a spotter on the ground. However, in complex terrain, as in Afghanistan, and in urban situations, airborne assets may be needed much closer to the ground. A low-altitude tier of UAVs— mini UAVs—could serve such a purpose.

Oct. 1, 2002

From Petro to Agro: Seeds of a New Economy

This paper describes the increasing importance of agriculture to defense, as a part of the Nation’s industrial base, offering the most economical way to produce large quantities of biological materials. It explains why agricultural fields will assume the same significance as oil fields.

Oct. 1, 2002

Effects-Based Operations: Building the Analytic Tools

This paper describes effects-based operations (EBO), an effort to leverage American military and technical might with enormous advantages in computation, information, and analysis in order to achieve political-military outcomes in a new strategic environment.

Oct. 1, 2002

High-Energy Lasers: Technical, Operational, and Policy Issues

This paper considers the unique and promising attributes of high energy laser (HEL) weapon systems and examines the technical challenges, at both the system and component level, that need to be overcome for an HEL to be competitive against alternative weapon systems. The policy and operational challenges are also highlighted.

Aug. 1, 2002

Computer Simulation and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty

The authors believe that the ASCI (Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative) computational capabilities will enable nuclear weapon designers to draw on archived data from more than 1,000 nuclear tests to adapt proven designs to future mission requirements. Furthermore, through extensive computer modeling and nonnuclear testing, new nuclear weapons could be designed and introduced into the stockpile, so long as the new weapons used design concepts similar to those proven in nuclear tests.

Aug. 1, 2002

The Virtual Border: Countering Seaborne Container Terrorism

This paper discusses the implementation of a virtual border security program that reduces the risk of terrorism form seaborne containers beginning at their foreign point of origin. The authors explain the container domain, means of detection of various container threats, and ways to implement security measures.

Aug. 1, 2002

Biological Weapons: Toward a Threat Reduction Strategy

The authors discuss the threat of biological weapons to military forces and operations and outline the connection of biologicla weapons to the homeland security challenge.

June 1, 2002

Toward Missile Defenses from the Sea

The authors argue for the sea basing of national defenses against intercontinental ballistic missiles and for the construction of a new type of ship designed solely for that purpose.