National Security

RAND conducts a broad array of national security research for the U.S. Department of Defense. RAND also carries out an extensive research program in homeland security, homeland defense, and terrorism-related research for the U.S. Government, as well as selected research for key allied governments and ministries of defense. Through its long-term investment in federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), the U.S. government has built a network of institutions with unique analytical and technical capabilities.

National security research is conducted by the following RAND FFRDCs: RAND Project AIR FORCE, sponsored by the U.S. Air Force; RAND Arroyo Center, sponsored by the U.S. Army; RAND National Defense Research Institute, sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense; RAND Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center, sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security.

Latest Research

  • Servicemembers from all four military branches salute during the 50th Annual EOD Memorial Service, May 4, 2019, photo by Samuel King Jr./U.S. Air Force

    U.S. Military Approaches to Leadership Vary Among Services

    Aug 10, 2020

    Emerging global security challenges might require different military leadership approaches and perspectives. How do the services currently develop leaders? And how do each service's personnel practices and culture influence how general and flag officers lead, manage, and advise?

  • A throng of shoppers in Myungdong, downtown Seoul, South Korea, July 17, 2011, photo by United Nations/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

    A North Korean Artillery Attack Could Kill Thousands in Only an Hour

    Aug 6, 2020

    North Korea maintains nearly 6,000 artillery systems within range of major South Korean population centers. Five attack scenarios show that casualties could range from 4,500 to more than 200,000. The United States and South Korea should avoid military provocation cycles that could lead to these attacks.

  • A group of U.S. NATO Implementation Force (IFOR) soldiers climb off a destroyed Bosnian tank March 16, 1996, that was hit in 1992, at the beginning of the war between Bosnian Moslem and Serbs, photo by Peter Andrews/Reuters

    Why America Fails in Irregular Warfare

    Jul 29, 2020

    A memoir drawn from four decades of experience in the U.S. Army explores the strengths and limitations of America's irregular warfare capability. The author, who often saw success at the tactical level only to be followed by strategic muddling and eventual failure, offers ideas on how to develop a world-class way of irregular war.

  • North Korean and South Korean Flags

    Rising Tensions Between the Two Koreas

    Jul 27, 2020

    RAND policy analyst Soo Kim describes how the United States, South Korea, and Japan might respond to North Korea's recent provocations.

  • Chinese flag, yuan, and soldiers, image design by Katherine Wu/RAND Corporation; photos by Dmytro and Mike/Adobe Stock

    China's Grand Strategy

    Jul 24, 2020

    China aims to be well governed, socially stable, economically prosperous, technologically advanced, and militarily powerful by 2050. Will it succeed? And how might its progress affect U.S.-China relations over the next three decades?

National Security News