America’s economic recovery and growth are impossible without secure access to three key regions –the Western Pacific, Persian Gulf, and Europe–and to the global commons–space, cyberspace, and the undersea. However, in all of these areas, save Europe, the U.S. access is being challenged.

As defense acquisition costs have soared over the past decade, efforts at reforming the acquisition system have focused intensely on creating more opportunities for competition as a means to reduce…

In an era of fiscal austerity, the investment decisions the U.S. military services make in the coming years must give others pause as they consider military competition or conflict with the United States. For the Air Force, this means preserving a highly credible capability to strike any targets anywhere on the globe while recapitalizing its aging inventory of combat aircraft.