The Academic Year 2026–27 Annual Estimate of the Strategic Security Environment provides a framework for those aspiring to tackle the Department of War’s most pressing challenges. This year’s authors highlight trending challenges and identify potential tension points across 10 sections organized under the broad themes of 1) Regional Challenges and Opportunities and 2) National and Institutional Challenges. This assessment represents the collective expertise of the US Army War College. The narrative is supplemented by a tailored list of 105 command-sponsored questions from 47 different Army and Joint organizations from across the Department of War. Combined, the distinct yet complementary narrative and question list offer unique insights into the vital matters impacting defense organizations and provide aspiring researchers with a necessary starting point.
Keywords:
Asia, People’s Republic of China (PRC), Xi Jinping, strategic competition, Indo-Pacific, Russia, Ukraine, Europe, NATO, military budget, European security, Middle East, Africa, Iran, Israel, Latin America, Caribbean, strategic access, terrorism, defense industrial base, defense budget, recruiting, retention, all-volunteer force, contested logistics, large-scale combat operations, survivability, polar regions, Arctic, natural resources, Joint Force, technology