April 24, 2026 Digital Twin Technology for Skill Acquisition and Training How can research explore the effectiveness of using digital twin technology for training SOF functions and support efforts by examining instructional design, user strategies, and the impact on skill transfer and performance improvement?
April 24, 2026 Size of the Future Nuclear Force and Theater Capabilities in a Two-Peer Environment How must the United States size and structure its future overall nuclear force and specific theater capabilities to successfully deter simultaneous aggression from two nuclear peers—Russia and China—while also managing regional threats like North Korea and reassuring global allies?
April 24, 2026 Transnational Threats, Cybercrime, and Non-State Actors How can the U.S. military enable regional partners to counter transnational threats in the Western Hemisphere, and how should U.S. cybersecurity policy define restraint, allocate resources, and determine the threshold at which state-affiliated cybercrime and ransomware operations escalate from a law
April 24, 2026 Autonomy, Active Border Defenses, and Partner-Centric Approaches to Security Cooperation How do partner nation political will, absorptive capacity, and institutional factors shape U.S. security cooperation strategy in the Middle East, and can the implementation of active border defense constructs successfully enable these nations to assume primary responsibility for their own long-term
April 24, 2026 Interoperability, Interdependence, and the Definition of Integration in Combined Operations How must the United States military and U.S. Forces Japan define the conceptual boundaries of interoperability, interdependence, and integration with Japan's Joint Operations Command, and strategically leverage the Military Personnel Exchange Program across optimal echelons to maximize return on
April 24, 2026 Logistic and Resupply Operations in a Chemical or Radiological Environment Is the Air Force adequately prepared with the necessary logistics strategies, guidance, and capabilities to sustain critical re-supply operations in the face of chemical or radiological hazards in austere environments?
April 24, 2026 Unmanned Warfare and the Implications of Militarily Relevant COTS Technologies Does the rapid proliferation of dual-use, commercial-off-the-shelf unmanned and autonomous technologies across all domains constitute a true revolution in military affairs, and how can the Department of Defense accelerate its adoption of these systems while effectively controlling their diffusion to
April 24, 2026 Forecasting Unintended Consequences How must the Joint Force and the broader defense enterprise utilize cross-regional planning and comprehensive risk characterization frameworks to mitigate the unintended consequences and escalation risks of global operations, while effectively communicating strategic risk and risk aversion to
April 24, 2026 Integrated Deterrence What specific operational, fiscal, and legal authorities does SOF require to effectively execute its role in global and theater-level integrated deterrence, including campaigning, engagement, irregular warfare, and nuclear deterrence support?
April 24, 2026 SOF’s Relationship with Space and Cyber / Space Operations Forces and SOF How must Special Operations Forces formally integrate with space and cyber components to establish a mutually supporting SOF-Space-Cyber Triad, mitigate electromagnetic vulnerabilities, and potentially redefine the concept of an "operator" to include missions supporting U.S. interests in