Future of Defense Task Force Exposes Major Vulnerabilities in U.S. National Security
On September 29, 2020, the bipartisan Future of Defense Task Force released their final report, findings, and recommendations following a months-long review of U.S. defense assets and capabilities. The task force’s results show that U.S. national security is at a turning point. The report states that remaining competitive “will require a paradigm shift in our defense posture from heavy, expensive, and antiquated, to lean, adaptive, and integrated.”
Co-chaired by Representatives Seth Moulton (D-MA) and Jim Banks (R-IN), the task force consists of an equal number of Democrat and Republican representatives. The task force was asked to review the nation’s defense assets and capabilities to better assess future threats by adversaries such as Russia, China, and North Korea.
In a press release releasing the final report, Congressman Moulton said, “America needs a plan to confront the dual threats of Russia's aggression and China's rise. This is it. For the first time, there is agreement among both parties in Congress about the path forward, we can take it no matter the outcome of the November election, if we fail to act on this plan, the world order will shift from one that favors democracy to one that favors authoritarianism.”
The report is extensive and has several key findings, including the following:
China represents the most significant economic and national security threat to the United States over the next 20 to 30 years.
China will soon overtake the United States as the world's largest economy, and despite historic defense budgets, the United States has failed to keep pace with China’s and Russia's military modernization.
Assuring the United States’ continued leadership will require dramatic changes to the structure and implementation of the defense budget.
To remain competitive, the United States must prioritize the development of emerging technologies over fielding and maintaining legacy systems because warfare is changing.
The Pentagon’s emerging operational concepts have the potential to provide the U.S. military a decisive advantage, but they are not yet fully viable.
The United States must strengthen and modernize geopolitical alliances with longstanding allies while establishing new alliances to meet emerging threats.
Authoritarianism is on the rise globally, whereas democracy is waning.
Increased government investment in basic scientific research must be complemented by increased cooperation with the private sector to quickly adopt resulting technologies.
While acknowledging the serious issues raised by this report, Representative Moulton said, “We’ve said this isn’t a race that we might lose, this is a race that right now, today, we are losing. And if that does anything to appropriately strike fear in the minds of American citizens but also of our colleagues in Congress, I hope we’re successful there … [and] we’ve come to these truths in a fully bipartisan way.”
The report issues several recommendations to combat the problems found with American defense capabilities. According to the aforementioned press release, the report:
Suggests strategies to win the artificial intelligence and biotechnology race;
Calls for an evaluation of the effects of emerging technology integrations into the existing defense apparatus;
Urges the government to leverage the innovation base;
Underscores the need for strengthened partnership and alliances;
Calls for the creation of additional pathways for STEM talent to enter the Department of Defense workforce; and
Suggests strengthening the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) to include industries related to AI, quantum computing, sensing, autonomy, space, and robotics.
Speaking on these recommendations, Representative Banks noted, “There are a lot of other items that we tackle from fostering the type of talent that we need domestically through legislative efforts to increase the STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] skills of American students to foster this type of innovation. And also, better partnerships with Silicon Valley, with innovators around the country to foster the type of technology and innovation that we need to compete with China and Russia as well.”
