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Oshkosh M-ATV with Objective Gunner Protection Kit (OGPK) The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) recently conducted multi-think tank exercise entitled " HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH? ALTERNATIVE DEFENSE STRATEGIES ". In it, they enlisted the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), the CATO Institute,  Center for a New American Security (CNAS), and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) to weigh in on alternative strategies and force structures for the US Military. Each team presented a set of force level changes for each service, and the CSBA compared them to the current baseline plan. For the Army, most teams significantly cut the number of Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCTs) in the force model. Most also increased the number of heavy ABCTs, reflecting their renewed emphasis on conventional conflicts. However, if we look at the resulting structures, IBCTs still comprise a significant portion (9-12 IBCTs out of ~30 total) of the ...

Multiple, recent papers from the Navy think tank community 1 has espoused the benefits of solid state lasers (SSLs), electromagnetic rail guns and hyper velocity projectiles (HVPs) to increase the magazine depth of Navy ships when defending against cruise and ballistic missile strikes. LaWS on Ponce However none of these technologies has come close to shooting down even simulated cruise missiles.  At best SSLs have shot down small, light weight UAVs. BAE HVP Current HVP programs haven't even done this.  They are still heavily in the research phase. The one exception is the OTO Melara Strales/DART program, which appears to be far closer to production.  However, it is purely a Close-in Weapon System (CIWS) replacement.   It's unclear to me how many successful tests of this system have occurred. OTO Melara Strales 76mm gun OTO Melara DART munition Before we "bet the farm" on the transformational power of SSLs and HVPs to allow ou...