The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) examined three options for national defense if funding for the Pentagon would be reduced by 14 percent, or approximately $1 trillion, from 2022 through 2031.
Under the first option, the Department of Defense would maintain the “deterrence by denial” as its national security strategy and reduce the size of its U.S. forces by approximately 20 percent while keeping the “same balance of capabilities,” CBO said in a report published Thursday.
For the second option, the U.S. would transition its strategy to “deterrence through punishment” and would heavily rely on allied forces in combat operations while bolstering its long-range strike capabilities, including air defense missiles and cruise missiles.
Under the third option, the U.S. government would focus on keeping the freedom of space, air and maritime navigation, which is also known as the global commons; increase investment in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities for the Air Force and Space Force; and keep a larger naval force than the first option to help the U.S. facilitate control of sea lanes.
“Although the second and third options would require the same amount of funding as the first option, they would result in different force structures and different budget allocations among the military services,” the CBO report reads.
