The Defense Policy Board met Tuesday, Sept. 6 and Wednesday, Sept. 7 at the Pentagon.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III appointed Dr. Janine Davidson as the board chair to lead classified deliberations on how China and Russia's potential development of fractional orbital bombardment systems and space-to-ground weapons could impact U.S. deterrence and strategic stability. The board considered U.S. response options to the potential development of such capabilities by any adversary, and participated in a classified Pacific-theater tabletop exercise. The board will present their findings to the Secretary of Defense in a future meeting.
Secretary Austin joined the meeting prior to his departure for the Ukraine Defense Consultative Group meeting at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and thanked the board members for their dedication to the defense of the nation through service on the board.
The Defense Policy Board is chartered to provide independent advice and recommendations on matters concerning defense policy in response to specific tasks from the Secretary of Defense and the Deputy Secretary of Defense, or the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.
The board focuses on issues central to strategic Department of Defense planning; policy implications of U.S. force structure and force modernization on DoD’s ability to execute U.S. defense strategy; U.S. regional defense policies; and any other topics raised by the Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, or the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.
More information on the Defense Policy Board is available here: https://policy.defense.gov/OUSDP-Offices/Defense-Policy-Board/