Pentagon Releases National Defense Strategy to Deter Threats from China, Russia

The Pentagon on Thursday laid out National Defense Strategy aimed at countering “multi-domain threats” posed by China, and Russia’s “acute threats” capable of cyber and missile attacks on the U.S.

The Department of Defense released the 80-page unclassified National Defense Strategy (NDS), Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), and Missile Defense Review (MDR) on October 27, 2022.

The 2022 NDS sets the Department’s strategic direction and priorities for the Joint Force, identifying how the U.S. military will meet growing threats to U.S. national security interests and to a stable and open international system.

The 2022 NDS identifies four top-level defense priorities that the Department must pursue to strengthen deterrence:

• Defending the homeland, paced to the growing multi-domain threat posed by the People’s Republic of China (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.

“The NDS bluntly describes Russia as an acute threat, and we chose the word ‘acute’ carefully,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters. “Unlike China, Russia can’t systemically challenge the United States over the long term, but Russian aggression does pose an immediate and sharp threat to our interests and values. And [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s reckless war of choice against Ukraine, the worst threat to European security since the end of World War II, has made that very clear for the whole world.”

The 2022 NDS also identifies three ways in which the Department will achieve its priorities – integrated deterrence, campaigning, and building enduring advantage.

The 2022 NPR reaffirms that as long as nuclear weapons exist, the fundamental role of U.S. nuclear weapons is to deter nuclear attack on the United States and its allies. The Pentagon said it would only consider the use of nuclear weapons in extreme circumstances to defend the vital interests of the U.S. or its Allies and partners.

It also calls for making “the right technology investments” as it points to new threats from space weapons, tactical nuclear weapons, and new applications of artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies. Along with investments in directed-energy and hypersonic weapons, the strategy says it would be a “fast-follower” where market forces are driving commercialization of capabilities the military would use, like AI, autonomy and renewable energy.

The 2022 MDR underscores that missile defense contributes to integrated deterrence by undermining a potential foe’s confidence in its ability to mount a successful attack.