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Military Budgets and Defense Spending

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The portion of the national budget that is allocated to defense covers salaries, training, and health care; maintains and purchases arms, equipment, and facilities; funds military operations; and funds the development of new technologies. RAND analyzes defense expenditures and advises military and civilian decisionmakers on options to maximize the effectiveness, continuity, and innovation of the nation's military force.

Report
Weighing the Cost and Necessity of Nuclear Modernization
The United States has fielded a Triad of air-, sea-, and land-based nuclear delivery systems since the 1950s. Major components are nearing the end of their service lives, raising the question of whether to extend or replace them. Meanwhile, Russia and China continue to modernize, diversify, and expand their nuclear arsenals.
Jan 3, 2022
Research Brief
Assessing China's Defense Industrial Base
What are the systemic strengths and vulnerabilities of China's defense industrial base? A comparative systems analysis looks at six key categories: economics; governance and regulations; raw materials; manufacturing; workforce, labor, and skills; and research, development, and innovation.
Feb 9, 2022

Explore Military Budgets and Defense Spending

Commentary
Rising to the Challenge: A Methodological Approach to Prioritizing Defense Investments
Meeting the Pentagon's goals to invest efficiently in military capabilities calls for a methodological process hinging on five key elements: aligning strategies with tasks, understanding what drives military innovation, embracing specificity in problem-solving, preparing for an unknown future, and assessing technology investments for prioritization.
May 30, 2023
Journal Article
Coast Guard Operations: Emerging Challenges and Responses
Coast guards around the globe face a tremendous confluence of challenges. By anticipating these challenges and finding ways to overcome them, coastguards around the globe can continue to protect both people at sea and the maritime environment.
May 19, 2023
Report
A History of the Strategic Implications of the Great Recession and Its Aftermath on U.S. National Defense
The authors discuss the Great Recession's reverberations, and especially the emergence of a focus on deficit reduction, on the Department of Defense as leaders worked to shift focus amid a dynamic threat environment and budgetary uncertainty.
Apr 25, 2023
Commentary
Japan's New Security Policies: A Long Road to Full Implementation
The historic ambition contained within Japan's new defense strategies is notable. But the reality is that an extraordinary alignment of political, economic, fiscal, and other stars will be necessary for Japan's government to fully implement their stated ambitions over the next five to ten years.
Mar 27, 2023
Commentary
Why Is China Strengthening Its Military? It's Not All About War
China's military modernization goals serve a variety of political and military purposes, none of which imply any intent to actually start a war. A grasp of the myriad drivers could help observers more accurately assess the danger posed by the PLA's modernization.
Mar 24, 2023
Commentary
Venture Capital Gives America a Strategic Edge in the Age of Technology Wars
U.S. early-stage hardware startups are seriously disadvantaged by a persistent lack of financing. Congress authorized the U.S. Department of Defense to spend $75 million to invest in dual-use hardware startups. But the Pentagon has proven reticent to embrace a venture capital–style approach, even though research has demonstrated it is optimal for driving innovation.
Mar 20, 2023
Commentary
Bad Idea: Looking for Easy Solutions for PPBE Reform
The means by which the Department of Defense decides how to spend its budget has long been criticized as needlessly complex and incapable of helping policymakers choose among investments to meet strategic goals. Seeking solutions, Congress created the Commission on PPBE Reform in the 2022 defense policy bill. But the reforms the system needs may not be as obvious as they seem.
Mar 2, 2023
Report
A Cost Estimating Framework for U.S. Marine Corps Joint Cyber Weapons
To help improve leadership decisionmaking related to the costs of offensive cyber operations acquisition, the authors developed a life-cycle cost-estimating framework for the U.S. Marine Corps and conducted exploratory modeling and simulation.
Feb 2, 2023
Report
Assessing the Implications of Policy Options for the Military Personnel Budget: An Analytic Framework for Evaluating Costs and Trade-Offs
A new tool simulates how various Department of the Air Force personnel policy changes could affect military spending. The tool lets users view cost variances and trade-offs when adjusting such factors as personnel count, rank, and experience levels.
Jan 17, 2023
Commentary
How Big of a Fleet? A Look at the U.S. Navy's Size and Readiness Needs
Congress is trying to nudge the Navy to expand the size of the fleet. But without comparable levels of funding for personnel, maintenance, technology upgrades, logistics and other support functions, a larger fleet could come at the cost of readiness.
Jan 11, 2023
Report
How the U.S. Air Force Can Incorporate New Data Technologies into Its Talent Management System: Framework and Use Cases for Technology-Enabled Talent Management
The U.S. Air Force and the other military services have a long history of innovation in human resource management (HRM). This report describes how adopting HRM practices that are technology-enabled could lead to more-effective talent management.
Dec 21, 2022
Report
An Enterprise Cost-Effectiveness Approach to Decisionmaking: Improving Analytic Support to Senior Defense Leaders
The authors propose analytic and programmatic frameworks to explore potential cost-per-effect measures, assess those measures with an enterprise cost-effectiveness approach, and chart a roadmap to add a joint focus in future Air Force decisionmaking.
Dec 5, 2022
Report
A Methodology for Quantifying the Value of Cybersecurity Investments in the Navy
Researchers developed a methodology to assess the value of resource options for U.S. Navy cybersecurity investments. The proposed methodology enables the Navy to rationalize the cost-effectiveness of potential investments within the POM process.
Sep 28, 2022
Blog
Talking to Russia, Racial Bias, Mine-Hunting Dolphins: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on preventing escalation of the war in Ukraine, how racial bias compounds over time, why the Navy should stick with its mine-hunting dolphins, and more.
Jul 29, 2022
Commentary
China's Military Aid Is Probably Less Than You Think
The first comprehensive assessment of Chinese military aid shows that China's $560 million total during 2013–2018 pales in comparison to the U.S. total of over $35 billion in the same period. This should offer advantages in the intensifying U.S.-China strategic competition.
Jul 26, 2022
Commentary
Why It Makes Sense to Keep Mine-Hunting Dolphins on the Navy's Payroll
Mine-hunting dolphins—none of whom have ever been harmed by a mine—make the seas safer for naval ships and other vessels. Yet budget cuts could spell the end of the program that trains them.
Jul 22, 2022
Report
Improving Defense Acquisition
Informed by 35 years of RAND research on defense acquisition, a new analysis describes overarching trends that affect DoD's acquisition system, outlines challenges in the acquisition process, and suggests improvements that might help address those challenges.
Jun 16, 2022
Report
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Resources: Financial Management Programming Evaluation
The authors examined how the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has programmed its resources, focusing on the reasons for changes over time and the results of the changes.
Jun 8, 2022
Commentary
Rethinking the EU's Role in European Collective Defence
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is forcing European nations to quickly re-evaluate how best to maintain their collective security. This makes the concept of European strategic autonomy—the EU's increased ability to operate independently and with partners of choice on defence and security matters—more relevant than ever.
May 20, 2022
Report
Funding Technology-Related Business Initiatives in the Department of the Air Force
This report—one in a series focused on transforming human resource management via information technology and business systems—explores challenges in the budgeting process and offers recommendations for better program advocacy.
Apr 7, 2022

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Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

William Shelton

Director of Strategic Planning and Operations, RAND Homeland Security Research Division

William (Bill) Shelton is director of strategic planning and operations in the RAND Homeland Security Research Division (HSRD), which operates the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC), a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) sponsored by the Department of…
Jonathan P. Wong

Associate Director, Strategy, Doctrine, and Resources Program, RAND Arroyo Center

Jonathan Wong (he/him) is associate director of the Strategy, Doctrine, and Resources Program of the RAND Arroyo Center, a policy researcher at RAND Corporation, and a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. His research focuses on the role of new technologies and operational concepts, and…

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