The Department of Defense released the unclassified 2022 National Defense Strategy, Nuclear Posture Review, and Missile Defense Review. Together, these reports set the strategic direction of the Department to support U.S. national security priorities, with the combined approach of integrated deterrence, campaigning, and actions that build enduring advantages.
The National Defense Strategy (NDS) urges the government to act quickly in order to sustain and strengthen U.S. deterrence, with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “pacing challenge.” The NDS also clarifies how we will cooperate with NATO Allies and partners to reinforce deterrence in the face of Russia’s current aggression while continuing to safeguard against threats from North Korea, Iran, violent extremist organizations, and other current challenges such as climate change.
Overall, the authors identify four top-level defense priorities for the U.S.:
- Defending the homeland, paced to the growing multi-domain threat posed by PRC;
- Deterring strategic attacks against the United States, Allies, and partners;
- Deterring aggression, while being prepared to prevail in conflict when necessary – prioritizing the PRC challenge in the Indo-Pacific region, then the Russia challenge in Europe, and;
- Building a resilient Joint Force and defense ecosystem.
You can read the full document here.
For more resources related to this piece, check out HSDL’s In Focus on Nuclear Weapons or other resources related to nuclear posture or missile defense.
