The U.S. military has become increasingly concerned about the challenges it could face in gaining access to an operational area. Given their global responsibilities, the U.S. armed forces must be prepared to deploy to a wide range of locations that include almost any type of terrain and that span the threat spectrum from very poorly armed opposition to peer-level foes. Research indicates that, in most situations, anti-access challenges require a joint solution, in which the capabilities of the different services can be brought to bear based on the threat and the mission. This study examined the nature of those future...

In this chapter, we review the general types of A2AD threats that U.S. forces face today and will likely confront in the future. Some of the A2 threats presented here are of particular concern and are discussed in greater detail in the next chapter.

Irregular adversaries could be nonstate actors (such as a terrorist group or insurgents who have limited support from a state sponsor) or the armed forces of a very weak nation. It is likely that the A2 capability of such an opponent is limited.¹

A2 threats that U.S. forces could encounter include the following:

small, high-speed boats...

Chapter Two provided an overview of the types of military A2AD threats that the U.S. military currently faces and is likely to confront in future operations. As noted in that chapter, the severity of threats varies considerably, depending on the capability of the opponent. In some cases, a nonstate opponent, such as Hezbollah, might be better armed than the military forces of a weak nation-state.

This chapter examines some particularly challenging threats in greater detail. Many of the threats examined in this chapter have major implications for the Air Force and Navy. This matters to the Army, because if enemy...

As discussed earlier in this report, U.S. forces could face a wide range of A2AD threats. A review of U.S. operations conducted since World War II, combined with the development and examination of possible future scenarios, indicated that, in most situations, the United States would employ a joint approach to overcoming diplomatic, geographic, and military A2AD challenges. The capabilities of the different services can be brought to bear in ways that are tailored for each specific operational environment.

In the area ofdiplomaticchallenges, actions taken by the U.S. military can offer considerable assistance. During periods of peace, when there...

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the global war on terrorism took the services and their weapon modernization initiatives in a new direction. From 2002 to 2012, the Army shifted much of its portfolio of capabilities to better address the lower end of the threat spectrum. Meanwhile, global threats have continued to evolve. As the U.S. military looks toward the future, it must address the A2AD challenges that it currently faces and those that are likely to arise in the coming years. Importantly, the military writ large, and the Army in particular, will have to cope with a...