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Your search for Military Effectiveness found 100 results.

Countering Chinese and Russian Alliance Wedge Strategies Write Up

/analyses/2022/06/countering-chinese-and-russian-alliance-wedge-strategies-write-up

In CNA’s National Security Seminar Series, Timothy Crawford, CNA’s David Wallsh, and others discuss efforts by China and Russia to weaken U.S. alliances.

the following: China and Russia have a poor overall record of wedging effectiveness. Of the study’s six cases, only one includes a clear instance of wedging success: Russia’s use of military sales

AI in Russia Issue 11

/analyses/2020/09/ai-in-russia-issue-11

This report, the eleventh in a series of biweekly updates, is part of an effort by CNA to provide timely, accurate, and relevant information and analysis of the field of civilian and military artificial intelligence (AI) in Russia and, in particular, how Russia is applying AI to its military capabilities. It relies on Russian-language open source material.

, and relevant information and analysis of the field of civilian and military artificial intelligence (AI) in Russia and, in particular, how Russia is applying AI to its military capabilities ... into the following sections: Governance and Legal Developments Military and Security Developments Corporate and Market Developments Education and Training Developments ... (services), based predominantly on domestic AI technologies, that provide a qualitatively new level of activity effectiveness.” Its key activities seek to generate demand for Russia-developed AI

Military Purges at China’s Fourth Plenum Have Implications for Readiness

/our-media/indepth/2025/11/military-purges-at-chinas-fourth-plenum-have-implications-for-readiness

Analysis of the Fourth Plenum of the 20th Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, where nine senior military officials were expelled from the party.

Military Purges at China’s Fourth Plenum have Implications for Readiness Analysis of the Fourth Plenum of the 20th Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, where nine senior military officials were expelled from the party. /images/InDepth/2025/11/InDepth%20Xi_Zhang_He.webp Military Purges at China’s Fourth Plenum Have Implications for Readiness Eduardo Jaramillo and Michael Donmoyer Eduardo Jaramillo and Michael Donmoyer are analysts with CNA’s China Studies Program . Nine senior military officials were officially expelled from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the Fourth Plenum

50 Years of the Volunteer Force

/our-media/indepth/2023/01/50-years-of-the-volunteer-force

On the 50 anniversary of the All-Volunteer Force, Jeffrey Peterson this force made created a more professional enlisted force than its draft-induced predecessor.

, President Richard Nixon signed into law the bill that would be the death knell of the draft. The Military Selective Service Act nearly doubled the pay of first-term recruits, which Nixon hailed as “a significant step toward an all volunteer armed force.” On this anniversary, we would be well served to consider the transformation made possible by the all-volunteer military: the professionalization ... the effectiveness of volunteers in ever-changing economic and strategic environments. A survey of those questions tells the story of the creation of the professional enlisted forces. Which Recruits Have

Protecting Civilians in Gaza Requires Not Just a Will, but a Way

/our-media/indepth/2023/10/protecting-civilians-in-gaza

The U.S. can help Israel reduce civilian casualties in Gaza with advice on civilian harm mitigation in military operations, using lessons from Iraq, etc.

Protecting Civilians in Gaza The U.S. can help Israel reduce civilian casualties in Gaza with advice on civilian harm mitigation in military operations, using lessons from Iraq, etc. /images ... wanting to protect civilians does not help a military achieve that goal. Rather, civilian protection requires specific capabilities and processes, incorporated into an adaptive, learning approach ... by identifying risk factors to civilians, developing and implementing operational adaptations that reduce harm, and assessing their effectiveness. And the US government, with its unique experience built up

Declining Demographics Challenge South Korea’s Defense

/our-media/indepth/2024/08/declining-demographics-challenge-south-koreas-defense

South Korea’s low birth rate threatens to reduce its troop strength. Seoul is exploring options to compensate, with implications for the US-South Korea alliance.

of immigration—to maintain a stable population. All South Korean men between the ages of 18 and 35 are required to serve 18–24 months in the military, but the number of 20-year-old men conscripted ... that the South Korean military needs to onboard approximately 200,000 soldiers a year to sustain current troop levels. The demographic crisis has propelled South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense to look for alternative solutions, by increasing compulsory service recruitments and using modern weaponry in lieu of manpower. Expanding Options for Military Personnel The Ministry of National Defense has

Drones Over Ukraine

/our-media/indepth/2022/04/drones-over-ukraine

Samuel Bendett explores how Russia and Ukraine have used unmanned aerial vehicles, especially commercial drones, throughout the war in Ukraine.

Over Ukraine 119 Samuel Bendett Samuel Bendett is an Advisor for CNA's Russia Studies Program . He is an expert on the Russian defense and technology developments, unmanned and autonomous military systems and artificial intelligence, as well as Russian military capabilities and decision-making. Over the past decade, there has been a massive growth in the development and use of military drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Drones are now an inescapable part of practically any military conflict and a key component of armies, militaries, security and defense forces, as well as non-state

“Covert” Troop Mobilization Fuels Russia’s War in Ukraine. Will It Last?

/our-media/indepth/2024/12/covert-troop-mobilization-fuels-russias-war-in-ukraine

Russia compensates for troop losses in Ukraine by using “covert” recruiting, including irregular, private, and contract forces—to avoid mobilizing reservists.

to enlist North Korean troops to supplement Russian combat units in the Kursk region. CNA’s recent report  Russian Military Mobilization During the Ukraine War , commissioned by the Russia Strategic Initiative of US European Command, examines Russian mobilization activities in detail, while gauging their effectiveness in sustaining Russian combat power through the first two years of the war. Although Moscow struggled at first to mobilize sufficient combat troops to maintain an effective military balance on the ground, Russia’s partial mobilization of 300,000 reservists in September 2022 and its

The Race for Sixth-Generation Fighter Supremacy: Pilots Aren’t Going Away

/our-media/indepth/2025/05/the-race-for-sixth-generation-fighter-supremacy

Both China and the United States are signaling that their future sixth-generation fighter jets will team with unmanned drones but will still use human pilots.

reveal in the PRC in December 2024, where videos of two advanced, tailless tactical combat aircraft—unofficially dubbed by Western military analysts as the J-50 and JH-XX —circulated on social media. Despite speculation in the PRC and international media that these were sixth-generation prototypes, neither the PRC government nor its military have confirmed this. While much remains ... unmanned systems have come to dominate the air domain. Based on observations of the fighting in Ukraine, US military commentators like David Barno and Nora Bensahel have argued that “masses

Wrong War, Right Weapons: Lessons for the Next Conflict

/our-media/indepth/2021/02/wrong-war-right-weapons

Precision-guided munitions contributed to Desert Storm’s sweeping success, but were developed for an adversary and battlefield nothing like the one faced in the Persian Gulf.

. This is what military planners call an “offset strategy.” Offsets address what appears to be a competition that is unwinnable — or winnable only at unacceptable cost — by changing the balance through ... . The Second Offset proposed advanced technology to provide better information on the battlefield and develop the ability to conduct precision strikes in order to improve combat effectiveness ... to targeting traditional military objectives. That does not mean they have been a panacea for every military requirement. U.S. forces relied on similar precision airpower to try to drive ISIS from the Syrian