March 01, 2021
DoD weather capabilities have lagged; Space Force can turn that around
Just before dawn on August 30, 1776, a bank of fog crawled over New York’s East River, concealing George Washington’s beleaguered Continentals as they slipped away to safety and out of reach of the surrounding British forces. Washington had pulled off the miraculous evacuation of more than 9,000 soldiers from Brooklyn without a single casualty thanks to a fortunate turn of the weather.
Access to weather information is an enduring component of successful military operational planning, and similar episodes are well known in the annals of American military history, from the Battle of Long Island to D-Day to the infamous dust storms in the first Iraq War.
Today, U.S. service members are at risk of losing the most up-to-date knowledge of weather conditions.
For much of that history, America’s warfighters had to do without the highly advanced technological tools that forecast weather systems. These tools are now readily available, but today U.S. service members are at risk of losing the most up-to-date knowledge of weather conditions.
A gap in weather capabilities has been widening. The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) is at the end of its service life and follow-on programs have ranked low in the Air Force’s priority list. All of this could — and should — change with the Biden administration’s revitalized emphasis on climate change as an “essential element of our national security.”
Read the full article from Space News.
More from CNAS
-
It’s Time for a True Industrial Strategy for American National Security
Commentary
For an industrial strategy to work, the president must make it a White House priority that pulls together all elements of national power....
By Becca Wasser & Mara Rudman
-
Sharper: Allies and Partners
Commentary
Amid intensifying geopolitical challenges, the United States is finding new ways to address security issues by cultivating and strengthening alliances and partnerships. How ca...
By Gwendolyn Nowaczyk & Charles Horn
-
How We Survive Ep 5: Wargames
Podcast
Dr. Ed McGrady, Adjunct Senior Fellow for the Defense Program at CNAS, joins the show to discuss how climate began to factor into humanitarian crisis war games as far back as ...
By Dr. ED McGrady
-
Wars Are Not Accidents
Commentary
The road to conflict is an action-reaction process. Leaders decide whether and how to respond to a rival’s moves, and they often search for ways to lower the temperature. Esca...
By Erik Lin-Greenberg
