National Security Analysis Mission Area

Mission Area

National Security Analysis

Shaping Tomorrow鈥檚 Solutions to National Security Challenges

Johns Hopkins APL鈥檚 National Security Analysis Mission Area combines innovative technical knowledge and operational analysis to create emerging capability solutions to national security challenges, thereby ensuring our nation鈥檚 preeminence in the 21st century.

Our analysis and concept development inform senior decision-makers across the government and operational commanders on national policy, technology, acquisition, exercises and experimentation, and complex current and future operations. In addition to shaping decisions across the national security spectrum, our work often involves maturing technology, creatively employing technology in new ways, and even rapidly demonstrating capabilities in partnership with the rest of the Laboratory, external partners, and the government.

To enable this vision, the National Security Analysis Mission Area is organized into two primary program areas.

Emerging Capabilities and Challenges Program Area

The Emerging Capabilities and Challenges Program Area supports the executive branch of the government, including senior leaders, the intelligence community, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Joint Staff, and Military Services, providing top government officials with fact-based analysis of pressing gaps, challenges, and opportunities to advance our national security superiority. Analysts use detailed, mission-focused analysis to provide technical feasibility and military utility assessments of new systems or innovative applications of existing systems.

The analysis includes operationally relevant concerns, such as multi-mission constraints, cross-domain coordinated operations, deployment timelines, and end-to-end effects chains, and is designed to help senior leaders in the program budget and acquisition process. Projects can be quick turn, supporting emerging senior leader questions and concerns, or longer-term study efforts supporting advanced capability concept exploration, analysis of alternatives, acquisition, development and testing, and sustainment.

Focus areas include policy and strategy, intelligence, and capability and capacity. In policy and strategy, analysis is conducted to help inform policy, strategy, and international norm development. For intelligence, the goal is to conduct analyses that help uncover future challenges and potential opportunities today. The capability and capacity focus area is aligned to shape the capability, design, and capacity of the future force.

Innovative Operational Concepts Program Area

The Innovative Operational Concepts Program Area leads technology-infused operational analyses in support of operating forces and combatant commanders.

Focus areas include posture and readiness, operational planning and exercises, and technology-infused operations. In posture and readiness, JOC works to redefine proficiency to align with operational needs and determine how technology can be leveraged most effectively to meet training and readiness requirements. For operational planning and exercises, JOC leverages technology and operations research expertise to reconstruct and analyze exercises, mission rehearsals, and real-world events to shape operational plans and support innovative multi-domain operations. JOC鈥檚 technology-infused operations work links current and emerging technologies to operations across all domains and provides operators with rigorous, objective analyses to support decision-making at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels.

Publications

Our national security analysis publications represent the highest standards of Johns Hopkins APL鈥檚 technical knowledge and operational analysis. Our work examines current and past events to deliver critical insights and solutions to national security challenges.

View Our Current Publications

Highlights

APL analyses have identified, quantified, and prioritized opportunities to address time-critical targets across multiple domains.

Countering Anti-Access, Area-Denial Threats

APL is an established, critical partner of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Strategic Capabilities Office, which provides lower-cost, strategic alternatives for shaping and countering emerging threats.

Learn more about Countering Anti-Access, Area-Denial Threats

Engaging Senior Decision-Makers

APL partnered with the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics to design and execute a space wargame based on a rigorous analytical framework.

Learn more about Engaging Senior Decision-Makers

Illustration of a globe (Credit: Bigstock)

Ensuring Resilient Enabling Capabilities in Denied Environments

On behalf of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, APL is merging technical capabilities with acquisition strategy to mitigate adversary threats to command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) in the maritime, terrestrial, air, space, and cyber domains.

Learn more about Ensuring Resilient Enabling Capabilities in Denied Environments

Representatives from more than 50 public and private sector organizations participate in the Vista Gladiator homeland defense wargame held at Johns Hopkins APL (Credit: Johns Hopkins APL/Craig Weiman)

News

Apr 7, 2025

Johns Hopkins APL Team Applies Expertise to Homeland Defense Wargame

A team from APL played a central role in a recent Defense Department wargame that addressed the challenges of protecting logistics infrastructure against growing adversarial threats.

Learn more about Johns Hopkins APL Team Applies Expertise to Homeland Defense Wargame

News

Mar 3, 2025

Generative AI Wargaming Promises to Accelerate Mission Analysis

A team at Johns Hopkins APL is creating an artificial intelligence-driven capability that automates much of the work that goes into designing, setting up, developing and running wargames. The effort holds promise to dramatically amplify the impact and value of wargames and similar exercises for the military and other government agencies.

Learn more about Generative AI Wargaming Promises to Accelerate Mission Analysis

Participants at the Multi-Domain Space Deterrence Framework 2024 wargame stand outside The Hague

Press Release

May 21, 2024

Johns Hopkins APL Supports NATO STO Multi-Domain Space Deterrence Wargame

For the second year in a row, APL research analyst Susanne Wirwille directed a NATO Science and Technology Organization multi-domain space deterrence wargame. This year鈥檚 event was held in the Netherlands and brought together 37 participants from nine NATO nations to develop and test a comprehensive space deterrence framework.

Learn more about Johns Hopkins APL Supports NATO STO Multi-Domain Space Deterrence Wargame

Feature Story

May 21, 2024

Into Vanishing Ice

The melting Arctic is creating new trade, economic and operational opportunities 鈥� but also new challenges that could threaten the U.S. border and the region鈥檚 fragile ecosystem. Researchers at Johns Hopkins APL are pooling their expertise and established experience in materials, modeling, AI and sensing to develop the technology and knowledge for a sustainable and lasting foothold in this rapidly changing region.

News

Mar 25, 2024

Johns Hopkins APL鈥檚 Adams Named to Federal 100 List for Service to Nation

James Adams, a senior advisor in APL鈥檚 National Security Analysis Department, has been named to the Federal 100 this year.

Learn more about Johns Hopkins APL鈥檚 Adams Named to Federal 100 List for Service to Nation

Mission Area