How US military planning has shifted from counterterrorism to preparing for tensions and conflict with China and Russia

President Joe Biden’s recent approval of a significant change in US nuclear weapons strategy underscores the eye that the country's national security authorities are paying to China's ambitions for influence on the earth.

As threats to the United States change, the American military adjusts its strategic focus, budgets and planning. After September 11, for instance, Realignment of the US military A shift away from the main focus of war preparations on fighting a strong nation – the Soviet Union – and towards fighting small terrorist and insurgent groups.

Over the past decade, the Pentagon has refocused on preparing for what authorities call “Competition between the good powers” under the USA, Russia and China.

The most vital strategic shift evident within the planning of competition between great powers is the deal with deterrence. In classical military strategy Deterrence focuses on to make the enemy imagine that he can never achieve his goals by military force since the response could be overwhelming and decisive. National Defense Strategy The document, published in October 2022 and outlining the country's goals, objectives and resource allocation for the subsequent two years, explicitly acknowledges the potential risk of tensions and open conflict with Russia or China and calls for “integrated deterrence” to forestall this. That means joint efforts by the military, intelligence and diplomatic services across your complete US government.

The National Military Strategy – the military a part of the overarching National Defense Strategy – sets out how the U.S. military will contribute to this effort. former Deputy Secretary of Defense and Chief of Staff of the PentagonI see the military focused on three foremost goals: achieving integrated deterrence and stopping conflict with Russia or China.

New deployment plans

For the military, integrated deterrence signifies that it depends each on where forces are positioned and what they’ll do in the sphere to influence adversaries' decisions about when, where, how – and whether – to make use of military force against the United States or its interests.

As it moves away from counterterrorism and prepares for great-power conflict, the Defense Department has developed latest methods to cope with the indisputable fact that, unlike small terrorist groups, Russia and China can fight one another anywhere on the earth within the air, on land and at sea – and in addition online and in space.

The first of those methods is what the Pentagon calls “dynamic use of force”, wherein U.S. military forces are deployed around the globe quickly and without predictable rotation schedules. This approach can reassure allies facing threats from Russia or China.

For example, the USA has at times 10,000 soldiers to PolandThe troops should not permanently stationed there, however the constant presence of U.S. forces keeps Russia guessing concerning the size and capabilities of the force and shows that it’s willing to support nervous NATO allies in Eastern Europe.

Secondly, a shift of personnel and skills to the so-called “Multi-domain operations”, wherein units with different missions within the air, land, sea, space and cyberspace plan and train together. In this manner, they might be prepared for close cooperation in actual conflicts.

This type of cooperation allows the country to answer threats in a wide range of ways. For example, challenges to American naval power on the high seas do not need to be met directly with naval operations, but will also be met with cyberattacks or from space.

This approach could cause the Chinese People's Liberation Army to reconsider military operations against Taiwan. Not only would the Chinese potentially face a fierce direct conflict, but U.S. cyber and space operations could also disrupt or destroy Chinese military communications, hampering their attack.

Investments in modernization

Recent research has shown that China's investment in its military personnel and capabilities – particularly in its air, naval and nuclear forces – has increased exponentially over the past twenty years. Level is estimated to be near parity with the United States. This has prompted the US to modernize the relevant capabilities of its own military. For the 2024 budget, the Department of Defense allocated a whopping $234.9 billion for programs to support integrated deterrencewhich probably a rise of 10% above previous spending plans.

Part of this money can be invested in the event and acquisition F-35 fighter jets and buildings Columbia-class nuclear-powered submarinesIf the United States and its allies within the Pacific, similar to Japan, South Korea and AustraliaBy deploying these aircraft and submarines, they are going to remind potential adversaries of American military power – which itself is a deterrent against foreign aggression.

In the last 10 years China's rapid expansion of its nuclear weapons stockpile has alarmed senior policymakers within the United States Although then-President Barack Obama urged countries to a world without nuclear weaponshe approved most expensive and extensive upgrade ever to the US nuclear arsenal. In 2022, the Biden administration renewed a financial commitment for “field a contemporary, resilient nuclear triad“, consisting of intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched missiles and long-range nuclear bombers.

Advanced technology

In 2019 Space Force was established as an independent branch of the armed forces and tasked with defending American space assets and upholding international law. Due to the importance of satellite communications to military operations and civilian life – including web connectivity – the Space Force works closely with Cyber ​​Commandthe military organization tasked with defending the nation against cyberattacks to forestall malicious hackers from disrupting systems vital to the world, similar to the Global Positioning Systemcommonly often called GPS.

Recent findings suggest China plans destructive cyber attacks against critical U.S. infrastructure, including the ability grid, during a conflict. To counter these plans, Cyber ​​​​Command continues to enhance its capabilities, Defend US systems and protect firms from cyberattacks, in addition to perform attacks on systems in other countries.

The Pentagon can also be attempting to counter China’s rapidly growing military forces through the use of artificial intelligence in a program called Replicator InitiativeThe goal of the project is to construct 1000’s of low-cost, AI-controlled autonomous aircraft and boats that might be utilized in combat to “meet the mass of the (Chinese military) with one’s own mass“, said Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks.

Integration with allies and partners

The U.S. military has also sought to strengthen its alliances with other countries, particularly throughout the past 4 years of the Biden administration.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 led NATO to expand its membership and the number and capability of troops available to the organization. The United States has reaffirmed its commitment to NATO, Increasing troop deployment in Eastern Europe and supporting European defence initiatives through the commitment nearly $3 billion in funding for added fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft batteries and ammunition.

In Asia, across the Indian Ocean and across the Pacific Ocean, an enormous region that the federal government often refers to as “the Indo-Pacific“The United States has strengthened its alliances with Japan, South Korea and the Philippines through numerous military exercises and increased military aid.” Efforts similar to the annual Marine Aviation Support Exercise aim to counteract China's military and political influence.

The US has also sought to strengthen its alliances with Britain and Australia, with a commitment to five conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines to the Australian Navy by 2030.

Together, the United States has combined all of those efforts right into a coordinated approach to avoid open conflict with China and Russia. But the work will not be done yet: the worldwide political and military landscape is always changing, and latest security challenges are always emerging.

Grace Jonesa master's student in public policy and research fellow on the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, contributed research to this text.