Dean-of-Defense Strategy 2025: U.S. Shifts Focus to Homeland and Indo-Pacific Amid Escalating Rivalries

U.S. Triggers Development of 2025 National Defense Strategy

On May 2, 2025, the Department of Defense (DoD) formally initiated the drafting of the National Defense Strategy (NDS) for 2025, under new guidance from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. The strategy is anchored in the administration’s “America First” and “Peace Through Strength” agenda, setting clear priorities: defending the U.S. homeland, securing its skies and borders, and deterring China in the Indo-Pacific. The initiative is spearheaded by Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, in coordination with Joint Staff and service-level strategists, with a targeted delivery date of August 31, 2025.

Shifting Emphasis: Homeland Over Global Commitments

Unlike recent administrations, the current interim NDS emphasizes the American homeland as the foremost strategic priority. Defense Secretary Hegseth described the shift—crafted quickly at the start of the term—as a necessary rebound from previous strategic direction. While China and the Indo-Pacific remain significant concerns, other theaters—particularly Europe, the Middle East, and Africa—are being deprioritized, with the Pentagon increasingly urging allies to bear more of the regional defense burden.

A classified interim guidance memo, heavily influenced by the Heritage Foundation, reinforces this adjustment: urging “denial defense” of Taiwan, enhancing homeland defense—including countering migration and drug threats—and scaling back U.S. obligations elsewhere.

Modernizing Forces for the New Era

In parallel with strategy development, Secretary Hegseth is driving substantial transformation in Army capabilities. A memo mandates integration of drone swarms—targeting one thousand drones per division—to supplant some crewed helicopter roles, and prioritizes advanced systems like the Precision Strike Missile and Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon. Streamlining headquarters, eliminating obsolescent systems, and embedding AI-driven command networks are central to this modernization push, especially aimed at enhancing lethality and readiness in the Indo-Pacific.

The Army Transformation Initiative further reinforces these reforms, consolidating multiple commands (Futures Command with TRADOC; Forces Command, North, and South into a Western Hemisphere Command), downsizing general officers, restructuring infantry brigades into mobile units, and deploying modern platforms—all to align resources with strategic imperatives.

Strategic Reform and Budgetary Constraints

Think tanks such as the Atlantic Council point out that the new NDS must navigate mounting fiscal pressures and technological disruption. Their analysis recommends five strategic pillars for the upcoming strategy: homeland defense, deterrence via modern force posture, recognizing China as the primary competitor, force modernization for AI-enabled combined-arms warfare, and dominance in space. Meanwhile, the broader defense planning community calls for a shift to mission-based force planning to align strategy with budget realities—emphasizing that previous NDS editions were ill-equipped to counter two major adversaries simultaneously.

Global Implications and Alliance Dynamics

Europe and other allies are poised for the fallout of the U.S.’ strategic pivot. The U.S.’ emphasis on burden-sharing is reshaping NATO expectations, with allies potentially assuming greater roles in regional defense in exchange for U.S. commitments elsewhere. At the same time, this shift underlines growing pressure on partners to modernize and increase contributions—especially as the U.S. reallocates resources toward Indo-Pacific deterrence and borders.

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