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The portion of the national budget that is allocated to defense covers salaries, training, and health care; maintains and purchases arms, equipment, and facilities; funds military operations; and funds the development of new technologies. RAND analyzes defense expenditures and advises military and civilian decisionmakers on options to maximize the effectiveness, continuity, and innovation of the nation's military force.
Commentary
Reform the Budget Process to Strengthen U.S. Global Leadership
As the U.S. government confronts two near-peer challengers in China and Russia, along with mounting conflict in the Middle East, ensuring stability, predictability, and some measure of flexibility in the U.S. defense budget is more important than ever. Yet the U.S. budgeting system is in a state of disarray.
Feb 7, 2024
Report
What Is the Invasion of Ukraine Costing Russia?
As of September 2022, Russia's military costs of its invasion of Ukraine reached $40 billion. GDP losses in 2022 were between $81 billion and $104 billion. Russia can sustain these costs for at least several years but over the long term its economy and standard of living are likely to decline.
Dec 18, 2023
Explore Military Budgets and Defense Spending
Report
Evaluation of Alternative Price and Credit Policies for Spare Parts: Addressing Price Changes and Reliance on Credits
Researchers analyzed alternative price and credit policies for depot-level reparable parts to identify options that would provide units more-predictable budget execution, reduce reliance on credits, and ease the financial management workload.
Feb 13, 2024
Commentary
Public Finance Initiative Problems? The Challenges of Long-Term Defence Acquisition in a Rapidly Changing World
Future-proofing defense equipment acquisition remains a perplexing and wicked problem for policymakers, but one that merits ever greater attention. Acquisition decisionmakers would benefit from greater use of robust decisionmaking tools and methods to help them identify options that could increase the UK's operational (and financial) resilience for multiple different futures.
Feb 6, 2024
Report
Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution in Comparative Organizations: Volume 4, Executive Summary
This executive summary distills key insights from nine case studies of budgeting processes across comparative organizations, as detailed in three companion volumes.
Jan 23, 2024
Report
Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution in Comparative Organizations: Volume 1, Case Studies of China and Russia
In this first volume of four reports examining nine case studies of budgeting processes across comparative organizations, RAND Corporation researchers conduct case studies of the defense budgeting processes of China and Russia.
Jan 23, 2024
Report
Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution in Comparative Organizations: Volume 3, Case Studies of Selected Non-DoD Federal Agencies
This report, part of a four-volume set, presents case studies of planning, programming, budgeting, and execution (PPBE) functions in four federal agencies comparable to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to help improve DoD's PPBE processes.
Jan 23, 2024
Report
Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution in Comparative Organizations: Volume 2, Case Studies of Selected Allied and Partner Nations
In this second volume of four reports examining nine case studies of defense budgeting processes across comparative organizations, RAND researchers conducted case studies of the budgeting processes of Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Jan 23, 2024
Report
Assessing the Value of Overseas Military Campaigning in Strategic Competition
The authors examine trade-offs between the contributions of campaigning instruments to U.S. strategic goals and their costs. They provide the foundations of a decision-support tool to inform U.S. Department of Defense campaign planning.
Dec 13, 2023
Report
A Revised Recruiting Resource Model for Achieving the Army Personnel Strategy: Accounting for Digital Advertising
Using an updated version of RAND’s Recruiting Resource Model, the authors analyze how observed and alternative mixes of advertising, recruiters, and bonuses affect the Army’s ability to achieve recruiting goals and the cost of doing so.
Nov 6, 2023
Commentary
Japan's Play for Today: Too Much? Just Right? Or Never Enough?
Japan is pushing ahead on a broad array of initiatives meant to strengthen the Self-Defense Forces' deterrent power across multiple domains. But there are bound to be limits in manpower, resources, capacity, or capabilities that will place limits on what the end point of Japan's buildup ultimately looks like.
Oct 31, 2023
Journal Article
Defence Industrial Power: Understanding the UK's Post-Brexit Role
This article explores the current challenges in UK foreign policy, particularly in regard to defence. It argues that the UK retains considerable potential post-Brexit, but faces several obstacles in developing its defence industrial power.
Sep 29, 2023
Brochure
An Enduring Partnership to Address the Department of the Air Force's Greatest Challenges
This brochure describes PAF's institutional values, research areas, expertise, and recent successes as well as how to access previous research, commission a PAF project, and engage with PAF leadership.
Sep 27, 2023
Research Brief
Findings and Recommendations for Funding Technology-Related Business Initiatives in the Department of the Air Force
This brief provides a short overview of the budgeting and execution process, describes findings related to the funding of technology-related business initiatives, and offers some recommendations for better program advocacy.
Sep 21, 2023
Commentary
The Strawman Defense Is Torching Taiwan's Military
There are many reasons why the political future of Taiwan Strait relations is uncertain, but the military considerations for Taiwan are much more straightforward. Taiwan should invest in capabilities that are highly survivable and potent against a potential attack from mainland China.
Sep 15, 2023
Report
Improving Integration and Synchronization of Space Acquisition and Fielding
The authors of this research explored ways the United States Space Force can facilitate the integration and synchronization of space acquisition and fielding to support the delivery of end-to-end space capabilities to outpace adversary threats.
Aug 31, 2023
Brochure
Saving the Government Money: Examples from RAND's FFRDCs
RAND's defense-related federally funded research and development centers apply research capital they have developed over the years to help decisionmakers solve problems and often save money as well. This publication lists and briefly summarizes some RAND projects undertaken over the past several years that have helped save the government money or that have identified ways to do so.
Aug 25, 2023
Commentary
Defense Budgeting and the Dilemma of Lost Time
Since 2011, Congress has routinely struggled to pass a budget on time. Instead, Congress leverages continuing resolutions to fund the government and prevent shutdowns. This flawed process that relies on temporary fixes is hampering Pentagon planning and could pose long-term risks to U.S. military readiness and competitiveness.
Aug 16, 2023
Report
Army Aviation Special and Incentive Pay Policies to Promote Performance, Manage Talent, and Sustain Retention
This report presents results of an effort to determine how the U.S. Army This report presents results of an effort to determine how the U.S. Army might modernize special and incentive pays to better reward Army aviators' career advancement while cost-effectively achieving retention objectives. modernize special and incentive pays to better reward Army aviators’ career advancement while cost-effectively achieving retention objectives.
Aug 7, 2023
Blog
Ukrainian Refugees, U.S. and Allied Defense Strategy, Threats from AI: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on supporting Ukrainian refugees, the future of U.S. and allied defense strategy, existential threats posed by artificial intelligence, and more.
Aug 4, 2023
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- RAND Army Research Division
- RAND Project AIR FORCE
- RAND National Security Research Division
- RAND Europe
