Mark Cozad

The People's Republic of China's (PRC's) and the People's Liberation Army's (PLA's) understanding of the military balance is fundamentally based on systems warfare concepts. The authors provide a detailed analysis of the factors and components associated with PRC leaders' assessments of the Chinese PLA's strength and the implications for the U.S.-China military balance.

The authors identify four pathways that Russia might take in reconstituting its armed forces after the end of the Russia-Ukraine war. They examine how historical Russian defense reforms; the performance of the Russian armed forces in the Ukraine conflict; and political, economic, demographic, technical, and foreign relations considerations will shape Russian decisionmaking on reconstitution.

In this report, the authors explore possible future cooperation scenarios between the Russian Armed Forces and the People's Liberation Army by examining historical patterns of Russian and Chinese alliance behavior, military-to-military engagements between these two militaries, and three scenarios that illustrate how Russian and Chinese forces might operate together, as well as implications for U.S. policymakers, commanders, and planners.

This report evaluates the potential for further escalation in the conflict in Ukraine, including the prospects for escalation to Russian nuclear use. The report is intended to inform U.S. and NATO policymakers as they consider how to avoid further escalation of the conflict while assisting Ukraine in its efforts to defeat the Russian invasion and to better inform the public debate around these issues.

This report examines whether the assumption that jointness--the combination of cross-service activities, capabilities, operations, and organizations that enhances and increases the capabilities of individual services beyond their organic contributions--is valuable to the U.S. military is correct. Understanding which aspects of jointness are most valuable and why can help the Department of Defense compete more effectively against its adversaries.

The authors examine how direct combat experience has shaped the way the U.S. military approaches training and how indirect experience outside combat has shaped the approach of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The authors then consider the extent to which training and operational model adaptations in both militaries have kept pace with an evolving global context and prepared the U.S. military and PLA for great power conflict.

The authors of this report examine the methodological and practical evolution of the concept of correlation of forces and means--the military balance between two opponents at the global, regional, and local levels--in Russian military thinking, and they explore current definitions and applications in Russia's operational and military planning in response to changes in modern warfare.